Tharptown fifth grade student wins bicycle

By Staff
Melissa Cason. Franklin County Times
THARPTOWN – A Tharptown fifth grader was awarded a D.A.R.E. bicycle as recognition for her excellent achievement in the Franklin County D.A.R.E. program.
Chelsea Olive was presented with the custom D.A.R.E. bicycle with a matching helmet by Franklin County Sheriff Larry Plott during the school's award presentation yesterday morning.
Plott made a short speech about the importance of drug education to the students and their parents. He said that law enforcement may not have the capabilities to completely rid the county of drugs, but together they could keep them out of our schools.
"We cannot close the borders of our county to keep drugs out," Plott said.
He continued by saying that law enforcement is doing all they can to keep drugs out of the schools, and D.A.R.E. is a tool used to educate younger students about the affect of drugs.
"It's not a question of will you be affected by drugs, unfortunately it's a question of when," Plott said.
The D.A.R.E. program targets fifth grade students throughout the county focusing on alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use in teens.
"These drugs are known as the starter drugs, which is why they are our focus," Mike Franklin, Franklin County's D.A.R.E. officer said.
The winner of the D.A.R.E. bicycle is chosen by a teacher from outside the county, and is based on scores made in the D.A.R.E. program and an essay about the program.
"The bike winners are selected from the top essays from each school so it is the best of the best," Franklin said.