By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Central/Memorial PTSA president, Tony Spezio, said that when he attended a training session in October with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, she spoke of the growing heroin epidemic spreading among teenagers on Long Island. "It really bothered me," Spezio said. "Heroin was the thing when I was growing up. It's snortable now and that got me very concerned."
Spezio said he brought this startling information to Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein, and Bernstein told him he was all for hosting a program that would underscore the dangers of substance abuse. "We want to get the awareness out," Spezio said. "Let's not be naive. If [parents] see something, they should say something."
District Director of Guidance Jill Vogel said a committee of social workers, administrators, PTSA presidents, students and the executive director of Tempo Group Inc. --- a drug abuse outpatient clinic -- were assembled to put together the event. She noted that the program is divided into three parts. During the 6 p.m. hour, she said, parents and students are welcome to dine on snacks prepared by the students in the culinary program, as well as gather information on substance abuse prevention and ask questions to local social agencies that deal with drug abuse.
At 7 p.m., the program will move into the auditorium, where Dr. Stephen Dewey will speak on drug abuse and give a visual presentation on its affect on the human brain. Dewey is a senior scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a professor of Psychiatry at New York University Medical Center and a professor of Pharmacology at SUNY Stony Brook. After Dewey, Nora Ammirati, coordinator of the Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison program in Nassau County, will speak on her personal experience dealing with a child who abused drugs.
Lastly, there will be a question and answer period with a panel composed of Barry Wilansky, executive director of the Tempo Group; Tricia Baylis, director of the substance abuse treatment services at the Peninsula Counseling Center; and Michelle Reshard, a social worker at Central.
Vogel said that a program like this is needed to not only steer students away from using drugs or alcohol, but inform their parents of the warning signs of substance abuse. "It is important," Vogel said, "for parents to understand the types of substances that are available to their kids, to have open dialogue with their children to stay away from those substances, and to recognize the signs that their child may be involved."
