PEER PRESSURE POSITIVE IN ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM

Following are a few short takes on recent news items that deserve some mention:

It is true that peer pressure is a reason some young people become involved in alcohol or drug use. Peer pressure can also steer children in the other direction. That is the impetus behind a program at Cape Girardeau Central High School in which specially trained teen-age volunteers are dispatched to teach first-, third- and fifth-grade students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Twenty-six high school students are participating in the program, which began its educational work earlier this month.

The area's school districts, public and private, have numerous programs aimed at steering young people clear of trouble with controlled substances, and this (called Central Against Substance Abuse CASA) is just one of them. However, this program carries a special appeal because it offers young people serving as positive role models for younger people. Not only does this demonstrate a great deal of concern on the part of the volunteers, it should give us all considerable optimism for the future; these young people are working to see the drug problem solved from the ground up.

Speaking of special young people, a few in our area are getting a broader and more prestigious audience this month for their ample gifts.

A senior at Central High School, Tarina Kang, was chosen in a nationwide audition process to perform next week as a violinist in the 70-member New York String Orchestra. Her yule vacation will include a Christmas Eve concert at Carnegie Hall and a Dec. 26 performance at Lincoln Center in New York Center. In addition, two area ballet students, Sarah Jane Semmler of Cape Girardeau and Bridgette Nocle Birk of Jackson, were chosen to perform in the St. Louis Fox Theatre production of "The Nutcracker." The first performance was last night and the production, which includes the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the State Ballet of Missouri, ends Sunday. These are invaluable performance opportunities for these young people, and we are pleased they will represent this area with their talents.

Responding to the times, the American Red Cross is getting more response to a program in which persons anticipating surgery in the near future can donate blood for their own use. The program has expanded in use since its inception here a couple of years ago because of fears about contraction of AIDS. In fact, as the knowledge base about AIDS has grown, the integrity of the nation's blood supply has been elevated. Still, this program provides a measure of comfort for many people; in addition, some medical evidence indicates that one's own blood has a value in post-operative recovery. The safest blood persons can get is their own, and this program accommodates that safety.