By Jennifer Marino
The walk is sponsored and supported by many organizations including the school SADD clubs, Youth Decide, the Drug and Alcohol Task Force and the Rockville Centre police department. About 170 participants set off on the two-mile walk at about noon in their powder blue Awareness Walk t-shirts and carrying signs bearing slogans such as "Say No to Drugs."
Board of Education members Mark Masin and Marcia Hirsch joined the parents, children and furry friends to raise awareness of drug and alcohol abuse in the community. Lilleen Russell and her daughter Sarah even dressed their dog Spotty in an Awareness Walk t-shirt to help the cause.
Back at the middle school, the walkers convened to listen to some guest speakers. Mayor Eugene Murray emphasized the importance of the program. To show the serious consequences of drug and alcohol abuse, the mayor told the story of recent occurrences in the village. In the separate instances, two 13-year-old children passed out and had to be taken to the hospital after drinking too much alcohol at a party.
School Board President Marcia Hirsch congratulated the participants and shared the slogan, "Be smart, don't start." South Side High School social worker Naomi Bisk emphasized that drug and alcohol abuse is an "all ages issue." Members of the SADD Club and Youth Decide from South Side High School also spoke, as well as village trustees Mary Bossart and Jim Sutton.
Children from the middle and elementary school SADD clubs shared their reasons for staying drug, alcohol and tobacco free. "I don't do drugs because I want to stay healthy," said Iain Ostrofsky, a fifth grader at Watson School.
The walk also raised money for Confide, Rockville Centre's community-based drug and alcohol treatment program.
