HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-06-15 Substance Abuse Prevention Advisory Council MinutesL
ERK
Reading Substance Abuse Advisory Councils (MASS
Minutes
June 15, 2001 2001 EP L 1 11: 53
Present: Bill Carrick, Sandy Michaud, Leone Sullivan, Lori-Leland, John Costigan, Dale Merrill,
Marc Alterio, Nicole LeBlanc, Bill Griset, Cathy Kosta (arrived late-had phoned to let us know), Jane
Fiore.
Called, Excused: Amy Rosenblatt and David LeBassi.
Meeting called to order: 7:40 P.M. by chairman Bill Carrick.
Membership Update: Four members were recently reappointed - Sandy Michaud, Dave LeBassi,
Leone Sullivan, and Dale Merrill. A new member, Karen Storti was also appointed, as was a new peer
leader, Nicole LeBlanc. Nicole was welcomed to the council. She is a currently a sophomore at
RMHS. There was discussion to seek the advice of Town Counsel regarding what officially constitutes
a quorum - 50% plus one or 50%?
Secretary's Report: Sandy Michaud asked the council to review the minutes of May 17, 2001. Leone
Sullivan clarified that she had applied for Health Fair funds through the Governor's Alliance Against
Drugs, not the Justice Dept. Leone Sullivan made a motion to accept the minutes with that amendment.
Lori Leland seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as amended: 9-0-1.
Public Input: There was no public input at the meeting.
Old Business:
Publications/Correspondence: Sandy Michaud reported that Nadine Wandzilak from the
Reading Advocate informed her at the recent Board ofSelectmen's meeting that she will use the
reappointment of four members of the Council as a lead into an article regarding the recent Open
Forum on Ecstasy and Inhalants.
Police Report: Leone Sullivan reported that there was recently an armed robbery at the CVS in
Reading. Three 17222 year olds with guns were after oxycontin. oxycontin is the active iqgr-edient in
Percocet. While there are 5-10 mg of oxycontin in Percocet, there are 160 mg in oxycontin tablets.
Oxycontin is an opiate like heroin. The dosage must be increased over time to achieve the same effect.
The street value is in the range of $40.00 per tablet. Oxycontin is currently a problem at RMHS.
There was discussion to do a forum next year around "4hig-h class" drug experimentation, such -as
Ecstasy and oxycontin. There was also discussion regarding the benefits of having recent postgraduates
return to the high school to talk to parents about what went on at the high school while they were there.
School Report: Marc Alterio reported that the Parenting Series for Middle School Parents was a
great success.-When combined with the series for elementary school parents, the participation in the
two lecture series approached 500 participants. This was most likely a result of the direct home mailing
to announce the lecture series. A copy -of the reference material recommended in 1helectures Mtl l),e
provided for each of the schools, to be stored in either the library/media center or lobby, thus making a
mini-parenting library Tor each school. -SurveysSiven at the -end oT-each lecture showed that ar ~
gave the lectures an average rating of 3.6 on a 1-4 scale (with 4 being the highest rating). The surveys
also showed a great interest in information about transitions (e.g. 5h to 6'h and -9ffi to 9ffi grades),
academics, eating disorders, and friendships (dating). It was felt that there was not enough time for a
detailed discussion and so there-were requests-Tor a series lidks on the same sti#iject.-NexlyearMarc
r
will try to bring in a big name speaker fat a cost of $2,'000) to try to bring in even a larger audience.
The Health & Wellness web Site is up and running with a link to a page for the Substance Abuse
Prevention Advisory 'Council. Our council page can post meeting elates, noti~ica~ion~#~~t~be minutes
are available in the library, the list of the membership, and Marc Alterio's and Jane Fiore's telephone
numbers as contact persons. If any member on the Council has a sqggestion for links forourp~ge, tbey
should bring a copy of the face sheet from the link to the August meeting. We must be very careful that
any sites we add links for are appropriate je.g. no advertising or questionable information). ~'he`Web
site costs $285.00 per year. The parenting series could be on line. Respond a group from Somerville
that is the provider of programs on teen dating violence is contracted to be ourschool's provider for
such information. They will give classroom presentations in the freshman Decisions course and in the
junior/senior workshops. Marc shared witli the council the-high school's new antismokingptopt al.
He and Mr. Orlando are looking for community input over the summer regarding the new policy. Marc
felt it would be appropriate to provide teachertraining-bylevel onbasic drug/alcobol awareness.Tor
PDP's there must be a minimum of 10 hours of training. A grant would have to be written to cover the
cost of the program- pay for the trainer and substitute teachers.
Health Dept Report: Defray due to lateness of evening.
StudenrLiason Report:-None duetola'teness oTevenilIg.l3llCarrick sqggested'thatthe~tuzlent
Liason Report be moved to earlier on the agenda.
Plan for future parent program: 13irchMeadow "School is bringing in a top=flight speaker-on
bullying. There is concern that there needs to be alternation of leadership for bringing in parenting
programs sq tbat it is a whole community effort and continuity is more guaranteed. As it-stands now, a
few people at a particular school spearhead bringing in a speaker, but as their children move on, there's
no guarantge that someone else will step in.
Subcommittee" discussion: John Costigan volunteered to serve on-the-Forum subcommittee. l'be first
forum will be Oct. P.
Adjournment: Leone Sullivan, seconded by Sandy Michaud, made a motion to adjourn. The motion
passed 8-0-16. -the meeting was adjourned at'9:45-P:M.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Mich