Getting the word out
Town hall meeting to discuss underage drinking
MOSES LAKE — At one time parent Philomine Lund remembers being a parent of three small children and concerned about underage drinking.
Today Lund works with special projects for the Grant County Prevention and Recovery Center, where her latest project has been to organize a town meeting to discuss underage drinking.
Tuesday evening, parents and community members with concerns about their own children and others within the community, are invited to attend a forum at Frontier Middle School to address the issue.
"The statistics we are going to show that night are not just nationwide or statewide, they are Moses Lake," Lund said. The purpose for the evening is "for people to get an idea that underage drinking is a very serious problem in Moses Lake."
Representatives from law enforcement personnel, educators, drug treatment facilities and the medical field will be on hand to discuss problems specific to Moses Lake and give steps to help reduce or prevent the problem.
PARC is the agency hosting the forum April 18 beginning at 7 p.m.
FMS principal Chris Lupo said PARC approached the school about having the forum in order to reach students and their parents at the middle school level.
This is "making them aware of how to talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol," Lupo said.
Lupo likens the forum to a parenting class on how to talk to youth and look for signs of drug and alcohol use.
Getting the word out to parents about the impact drinking has on their children, especially at a young age, and encouraging them not to be afraid to approach their kids are two important goals of the event, Lund said.
While the forum is geared toward parents, students are also welcome.
"There is nothing there that they shouldn't hear," Lund said.
At the middle school level Lupo has not seen a large number of students showing signs of alcohol use.
"You see them experimenting," he said. "I would say it is a small percentage, but a bigger percentage than you would like to see."