By Peggy Mackenzie
Sgt. Jonathan D. Hughes with the Lewisburg Police Department, recently received a distinguished graduate award at the D.A.R.E. Instructor Program in Ohio County, WV, in January, 2020. He is now serving as the D.A.R.E. instructor with the Lewisburg Elementary School.
Chief Chris Teubert stated that his goal is “to let everyone know we have a new D.A.R.E. officer and to inform the parents that you are going to see a Lewisburg police cruiser at the school a lot.” Teubert himself taught the D.A.R.E. program years ago when Hughes was a student at Lewisburg Elementary School. Hughes has also been handed the reins to overseeing the annual D.A.R.E. To Cruz Car Show, initiated 14 years ago by former Lewisburg Police Chief Tim Stover.
DARE stands for drug abuse resistance education and the training covers all types of drugs and alcohol use. DARE education in schools also focuses on teaching the dangers of over-the-counter drugs and vaping. According to OH County Sheriff Tom Howard, coordinator for the first DARE Instructor Program in the state, “It’s a very intense training they go through,” he said. There are lessons on how to deal with stress and peer pressure and avoidance techniques. As Hughes stated to the press, “It’s a pretty well-rounded program. Helping kids keep their lives on track is the goal of the D.A.R.E. program,” he said. “Kids know what’s going on,” and as they become familiar with the presence of a helpful and approachable police officer in an elementary school setting, they can learn to make better decisions when dealing with the risks and consequences in everyday life from the lessons offered in the 10-week D.A.R.E. Program.
