ALCOHOL, DRUG PROJECT TO INVOLVE AREA YOUTH

A cross section of about 100 students from 10 area high schools are expected to take part in a new drug and alcohol program called Team Spirit. It is the first such program in Missouri.

Sharee Galnore, who works with the Cape Girardeau Police Department's traffic safety division, and Donna Boardman, an independent consultant, have been named leaders of the program.

The program will feature a conference next July in Cape Girardeau on teen-age driving problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse.

The 3 1/2-day conference "won't just be a seminar on why drinking and driving are wrong," Boardman said. "It will take students through various phases and show them the consequences of their actions and how it relates to their future and their family."

Galnore said there will be workshops to provide a true understanding of the court system.

"We'll probably have a victim of a DWI or someone who has experienced the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol tell their story," she said.

Students participating in the conference will be expected to implement a program or programs in their schools.

Boardman, who has also worked for the Cape Girardeau community traffic safety program, said she decided to become involved in the project because it is different from other projects.

"The team spirit concept is designed to help students develop something their entire school can follow," Boardman said. "We've had programs where an individual is educated and sent back to a group. This might be a little easier to put into place because we're getting a lot more people involved in the process."

Boardman, who has implemented several alcohol and drug prevention programs, added that past programs were developed by adults for teens or were programs designed by adults for adults, but "this offers a different twist."

The two leaders are in the process of determining the specifics of the Team Spirit Conference.

Galnore said the students will be a mix of the student body.

Students representing various clubs or factions of student populations will be chosen to participate in the program.

"We don't just want to grab everyone from the student council," Galnore said. "We're looking for leaders who will represent a cross section of a student population."

There will be 10 representatives each from Cape Girardeau Central, Notre Dame, Jackson, Oak Ridge and Delta in the southeast Missouri region. Five more schools will send 10 students each to the conference.

The Cape Girardeau City Council passed a resolution at its last session for Boardman and Galnore to contract with the Missouri Division of Highway Safety to fund a leadership conference for regional high school youth.

The project, which costs $32,000, will be funded through the Community Traffic Safety Program.

All expenses will be reimbursed by the state highway safety division. Some $2,000 will be used for a contract ending Sept. 30. The balance will be contracted through Sept. 30, 1995.

The project will fund conference materials and supplies, food and lodging, two part-time coordinators and 10 conference coordinators.