It is with great pleasure that we begin this thank you to all those concerned people of Richland County who supported our efforts in obtaining the financial support we needed to provide education on the dangers of drug usage to Sidney and everyone in Richland County!
This entire event was created to spread the message about drug usage not only to the students during the National Red Ribbon Campaign Week, but to an entire community. Dr. Gary Dale, former State of Montana Medical Examiner and Kat Perkins, top 5 winner of Season 6 of “The Voice”, were essential tools to the assemblies for the students, parents, grandparents, business owners/managers and for everyone in our community. Our goal was to teach and show everyone about drug usage and what we are facing if we don’t do something about this epidemic that is not only hitting our community but everywhere.
We have four types of children affected by this assembly. Students and parents who do not do drugs, Students who do not use drugs and the parents do, Students who do drugs and the parents do not, and unfortunately the hardest one is our students and parents who both do drugs. The inner turmoil that the graphic images created inside each of these students and community members were very difficult. As Dr. Dale noted several times during his presentation, these images were not meant to shock the students but rather to educate them. Students begin noticing the drug availability at about 11-13 years old. About 11.2% of the overall first time users of illegal drugs are between the ages of 16-17 and about 10.4% between the ages of 18-20. And to think that in 2014, 70 fatal accidents in Montana were due to alcohol and 50 were from drugs. Illegal use of prescription drugs is on the rise with 100 prescription drug related deaths per year in Montana.
As Governor Steve Bullock mentioned in his letter of support for this event, “Drugs strain the resources of communities, hospitals and local police departments. They tear apart families and ravage the bonds that tie communities together. Promoting healthy choices and alternatives to drug abuse helps lower school dropout rates, incidents of crime, the spread of diseases and healthcare costs”. Governor Bullock also stated, “The greatest benefits to our community across Montana is the mental wellness our citizens regain when they are no longer addicted to or abusing drugs.” So…we are eternally grateful to those who contributed and truly care about our community and were willing to help make a difference.
Now is the perfect time to talk about what was seen with your child. It is educational events like this that will provide a key piece to prevention. Our community is very fortunate to have an excellent Chemical Dependency and Prevention Resource center right here in Sidney! District II Alcohol & Drug located downstairs at 102 N Central Avenue, has services that they offer to the entire community for drug and alcohol consultations, addiction, and or treatment. Many of their programs include Outpatient Counseling, Assessment/Evaluation, Underage Drinking, DUI offenders, Intervention, 24 Hour Crisis Hotline Services – 406-433-4635, Youth/Adult Case Management, Tobacco Education, Substance Abuse Professionals, Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Take Back Program, Suicide Intervention Training and many more.
Not only do we need to thank our financial sponsors, but also the 26 committee members from different organizations such as Boys & Girls Club, Chamber of Commerce, Cherry Creek Radio Power 95, District II Alcohol & Drug, Foundation for Community Care, Richland County Health Department, Richland County RSVP Program, Richland County Best Beginnings, Richland County DUI Taskforce, Sidney Herald, Sidney High School, Sidney Middle School, Substance Abuse Services and The Roundup. We couldn’t have done it without their expertise and knowledge.
I had no idea of how many organizations had resources available in our community until I tackled this project. So many great groups to be a part of. Please help make this community stronger. Call any one of these organizations and ask how you can help in any of these organizations to make our community the best it can be.
Richland County Boys & Girls Club, Richland County Best Beginnings, Richland County DUI Taskforce, Richland County Partnership for Promise, Richland County RSVP, Richland County Health Department, Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation for Community Care.
GOLD SPONSORS
Best Western Golden Prairie Inn
Checkers, Inc.
Sidney Health Center
Sidney Herald
The Roundup
XTO Energy
SILVER SPONSORS
Action Auto
Ameriprise Financial/Mike Mohl
B&B Builders
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Montana
Bob Burnison
CHS Farmers Elevator
Colleen Zimmerman
Con’s Weed Control Service
Dayton Foundation
District II Alcohol & Drug
Fairview Ministerial Association
Fairview School System
Franz Construction, Inc.
Fulkerson-Stevenson Funeral Home
Loren and Jacki Young
Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Coop
Nabors Drilling
Seitz Insurance
Shane & Kim Usselman
Sidney Middle & High School Friends of Rachel
Sidney Public School – Business Professionals of America
Sidney Public School – Student Council
Sidney Rental
Sidney Sugars
Stockman Bank
Tri-County Implement
Uintah Engineering & Land Surveying
BRONZE SPONSORS
Anonymous Donor
A2Z Construction
Basin Precast
Beagle Properties
Big Sky Siding & Windows
BPO Elks Lodge
Brunsvold Trucking, Inc.
Chance & Rachel Leininger
Cowboy Crane Service
Dennis and Renita Welnel
East Mont Enterprises
ElectricLand
Elk River Printing
Enid Huotari – Edward Jones
Hurley Enterprises
Interstate Engineering
J&L Fencing
Jerry Rau
John and Tanya Seitz
Jitterbugs Pre-School
Keith and Donna Nelson
Kelly Johnson
Kiwanis Youth Fund
KorManagement Services
Lyle Panasuk – Attorney at Law
Mike Weber
Nuverra/Landtech
Peggy Errecart
Picture Perfect Photography
Prewitt & Company
Real Trucking
Reynolds Grocery
Richard L. Fink, D.M.D
Richey High School
Richland Federal Credit Union
Richland Pump & Supply
Ronald D. Gebhardt
Sidney Livestock Market Center, LLC
Sidney Public School – National Honor Society
Yellowstone Bank
PLATINUM SPONSORS
B&B Steel Buildings, LLC
Brad Baisch
Gina Heckey
Jeri Chapman
Johnson Hardware & Furniture
Montana MAADAC
Rayna Rice
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