Newtown Prevention Council Has Its First Meeting Of The School Year

By Eliza Hallabeck

“Welcome to the first Newtown Prevention Council meeting of the school year,” said council Co-Chair Judy Blanchard on Thursday, September 20.

For the first time since June, the Newtown Prevention Council gathered, and discussion included recent efforts made by council members and some changes that will effect some of its grants this coming year.

A bag with a new Newtown Prevention Council notebook was given to each of the members to keep track of council documents and more. Other items in the bag included a car magnet with the school district and Prevention Council’s core character attributes tree displayed on it.

Some things coming up for the council include conducting 2013 student and parent surveys to continue to the effort to monitor drug and alcohol use and conceptions in the community, and a scheduled opening on November 7 of a new parent corner at C.H. Booth Library funded by a grant through the prevention council.

The council also discussed a media campaign that used two local families, with members in the council, for photos to create billboards on Route 25, one near Sand Hill Plaza and the other toward Bethel. Ms Blanchard said the council will also help promote a social norms campaign this year, focusing on the positive attributes of society rather than the negative aspects.

This Saturday’s 19th Annual Health and Public Safety Fair, sponsored by the Newtown Prevention Council, was also a topic during the meeting. The event will be held at Newtown Middle School from 9 am until 1 pm, and will include 50 exhibitors. The event is free of charge and health screenings will also be available.

Ms Blanchard also told the Prevention Council members to brainstorm new potential programs, because due to changes made to the Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant, funding for some past programs will no longer be available to the council. One program that was nearly cut by the change was the late bus at Newtown Middle School that transports students, but, Ms Blanchard said, council members argued to continue that funding.