Author: wctrueblue

Kentucky’s House of Representatives adopted “tobacco 21” legislation on March 26, 2020; the bill already passed the Senate and will soon be headed to Gov. Beshear’s desk. Senate Bill 56 would conform Kentucky statutes to new federal law raising the legal age to purchase all tobacco products to 21; the bill also would remove status offense and other penalties on youth who purchase, use or possess tobacco products. Following statement is from Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow:

“Today, the Kentucky General Assembly took a crucial step to publicly recognize that tobacco products are extremely harmful, especially for our youth whose developing brains are particularly susceptible to nicotine,” said Ben Chandler, chair of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow, which comprises more than 225 Kentucky organizations working to reduce tobacco use in the Commonwealth. “While smoking among our youth has been declining for decades, e-cigarette use has exploded the past three years. In 2019, more than 53,000 high school students and 27,000 middle schoolers in Kentucky were using e-cigarette, or ‘vaping.’ Removing the penalties is about improving health as well because inserting kids into our judicial system for these types of offenses leads to worse health outcomes. Congratulations to the Kentucky legislature, and to Sen. Ralph Alvarado, for their work to protect our youth from tobacco.” 

Information provided by:

Rich Nading, Tobacco Control Coordinator, Green River District Health Department

Webster County KY-ASAP True Blue DFC and Webster County Board of Education developed a plan in 2017 to implement Character Counts for all students, grades K-12.  Character Counts is framework for developing positive character traits and may be implemented in schools, homes, and communities.

For more information and Character Counts activities visit charactercounts.org or on Facebook @CharacterCounts.

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week is March 30-April 3, 2020. During the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic when so many families are in self-isolation is the perfect time to start talking with your children about family expectations around alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Children need clear set guidelines.

For tips on how to talk with your children visit:

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/parents

March 10-12, 2020, Lily Martin, Raygan Ranes, and Seth Ranes attended the Kentucky Dover Youth2Youth Training in Louisville. Youth representing each Regional Prevention Center in Kentucky were asked to attend this training.  The students were trained in Youth Recruitment, Policy Change, Presentation Skills, and Developing Community awareness and Media Campaigns.

Lily, Raygan, and Seth are members of the YES Youth Council and the WC True Blue Crew. They will collaborate with Dianne McFarling, River Valley Prevention Center Director, and Cora Cain, River Valley Youth Empowerment Prevention Specialist, to train Western Kentucky youth.  River Valley Regional Prevention Center serves Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster.  Webster County middle and elementary True Blue Crew members will also be trained using the Youth2Youth Toolkit.

Please join the Webster County True Blue Crew in welcoming home Tiffany Cole Hall who will be our guest speaker for the next True Blue Community training on March 25.

WC True Blue was represented at the annual CADCA Forum, February 2-6, 2020, by Melea Ramin, Coalition Chairperson, and Donna Bumpus, DFC Coordinator.  Participants attended workshops on Youth Vaping; Gen-Z Marketing: Engaging the next Generation; Impacts of Marijuana Legalization; Addressing the Opioid Crisis in Rural Communities; Building Partnerships with Law Enforcement; and Exploring the Intersections of Opioids, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide.

While attending the conference, WC True Blue was recognized as Runners Up for the National Dose of Prevention Award. The Dose of Prevention Award is sponsored by the Consumer Healthcare products Association (CHPA) and CADCA, this award recognizes member coalitions that have helped raise awareness about the dangers of over-the-counter cough medicine misuse and prescription drug misuses in their community during National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month in October, 2019.

The Webster County Middle School True Blue Crew recently participated in the APEX after school program. Crew members served as peer leaders introducing team building and Character Counts activities to their classmates.

On December 9, 2019, Judge Executive, Steve Henry, proclaimed the first day of each month in 2020 TRUE BLUE DAY in Webster County. On the first day of each month, all Webster County citizens are encouraged to wear royal blue in support of a drug free community. When the first falls on a weekend, we celebrate on the Friday prior to the first.