Collective Action Against Underage Drinking Minutes

June 27, 2012

Collective Action Against Underage Drinking Minutes

12 Sectors: / Members Present:
Youth
Parent
Business
Media / Dave Neely (Renda Broadcasting)
School / Kate Linder (Indiana University of PA), Bill Zimmerman (IUP SOAR, Office of Housing & Residential Life), Bevi Powell (IUP Highway Safety Project)
Youth-serving organization
Law enforcement / Tami Cramer (IUP PD), Jeff Atherton (Indiana Borough PD), Sheriff Robert Fyock (Indiana Co. Sheriff’s Dept.), Sergeant Ryan Maher (Indiana PSP), District Attorney Patrick Dougherty
Religious/Fraternal organization
Civic/Volunteer group
Healthcare professional
State, Local, or Tribal governmental agency / David Frick (Indiana Co. Commissioner), Carrie Bence and Jennifer McCroskey (AICDAC), Shawn Houck (PennDOT), Karen Grey (Indiana Co. Dept. Human Services), Mayor George Hood (Mayor of Indiana)
Other organizations for reducing ATOD use and abuse / Vince Mercuri (TOD)

On June 27, 2012, the final meeting was held at the Indiana Borough Building for the Collective Action Against Underage Drinking Coalition. Vince Mercuri called the meeting to order. The minutes from the May 23, 2012, meeting were approved, with a motion from Shawn Houck and a second by Jeff Atherton. The motion carried.

Welcome/Introduction/Sign-In:

Vince welcomed everyone to the meeting. Everyone introduced themselves and stated their titles/positions.

Same PAGE Training Update:

Carrie informed the coalition that the Same PAGE training that was scheduled for June 11th was cancelled due to low enrollment. It will be rescheduled in the fall. She invited everyone to still attend the training once it is rescheduled.

Indiana H.S. SADD- Summer Fundraisers

Jennifer informed the coalition that a student from the Indiana High School SADD club has contacted her about summer fundraising for SADD club. She discussed scheduling a car wash, a bake sale, or yard sale to help raise money for the club this fall. Jennifer said that she would be in contact with the student, and they hope to start planning these events soon.

IUP Day:

Kate Linder stated to the coalition that IUP Day will take place this year on Saturday, September 8th in the Delaney Courtyard. The event will be from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Kate stated that IUP Day is a student-organized event, and they already have 40 groups pre-registered (with more to come). She also mentioned that the messages on the t-shirts will be closely monitored at the 2012 IUP Day. Kate again encouraged the coalition to attend.

Strategic Prevention Framework- State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG):

Carrie explained to the coalition that the SPF-SIG grant will run until June 30th of this year, but the evaluation will be extended until July 30th. Carrie then did a presentation on the coalition’s work through the SPF-SIG grant. She discussed that Indiana was second behind Centre County for Underage Drinking arrests per 1,000 residents, so the Armstrong-Indiana Drug and Alcohol Commission was statistically a leading candidate to receive the Underage Drinking Grant from the state. The grant focused on Indiana Borough, Indiana Area School District, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Class Action Curriculum was held at Homer-Center high school because Indiana Area School District wasn’t able to do the curriculum. The grant focused on illegal use/misuse of alcohol in youth ages 18-21, and the increased rate of underage drinking and young adult drinking in youth ages 16-21. Carrie discussed all of the activities/events that CAAUD set up through the grant. She discussed involvement with law enforcement, trainings made available, and activities with the community and youth. Carrie then asked the coalition to think of some things that could have been done better. Parental involvement, technology for webcasts, and legislative outreach were listed as things that could be improved upon by the coalition. These suggestions will be integrated into the DFC Strategic Plan.

Drug Free Communities Coalition:

Carrie stated that after July 1st, the DFC coalition meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Drug and Alcohol Commission in Shelocta from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. She stated that at the July DFC meeting, the time may change for the meetings. Carrie invited the coalition to attend the DFC meetings once CAAUD is finished, so they can still be involved in prevention efforts for the county. She also stressed that prevention will still meet separately with SOAR and SADD groups.

Public Comment:

Vince thanked Mayor Hood for attending the CAAUD meetings and for allowing the meetings to be held at the Borough Building. He also thanked everyone else for being a part of the coalition.

Commissioner David Frick asked how we get kids to not follow their parent’s examples, like speeding, drinking, etc. Vince answered that there isn’t one definite way to do it, but prevention is important, along with positive role modeling from parents. Vince stated that community involvement is important too, and then explained how an elderly couple attended a town hall meeting, and then wanted to start up their own bible-based recovery program. They did so by attending some meetings at The Open Door, and now they run their own group. This was a clear example of how the efforts of the coalition members being involved in the Town Hall meetings contributed to community awareness of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug issues.

Dave Neely presented the coalition with several commercials about marijuana. He let the coalition listen to a commercial of a man leafing through books about information on marijuana, and then a commercial with a little girl discussing marijuana with her father. The coalition discussed the commercials, and agreed that the one with the child was more impactful to them. Shawn Houck suggested making a commercial that focuses on driving under the influence of drugs as well.

Kate Linder discussed marijuana use at IUP. She stated that the students say they “bond” around it, stating that there is appropriate “Pot Etiquette,” and that the students are unapologetic about their use. She explained that marijuana is now being viewed as a social drug and the students don’t see anything wrong with using it. Tami Cramer and Bill Zimmerman agreed, saying that they have dealt with students who will admit to using marijuana, but only if they will get a summary offense for its use.

Kate Linder invited the coalition to come and meet the new president of IUP, Michael Driscoll, on Monday, July 16th, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the KCAC Center. There will be an open reception, and then the president will speak at 5:30 p.m.

Closing:

The meeting was motioned to adjourn by Mayor George Hood, and seconded by Jeff Atherton. The meeting ended at 9:30 a.m.

Thank you for taking part in CAAUD.