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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/04/1992STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON AUGUST 4, 1992 7:30 PM FREDERICK H. TUTTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 1992 at 7:30 PM in the library of the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, Dorset Street. Members Present: City Council: Michael Flaherty, James Condos, William Cimonetti, City Manager Charles Hafter School Board: Theodore Manazir, Dennis Snyder, Peter Cole, Julie Duppstadt, Francis Murray, Assistant Superintendent Lawrence Lecours Also Present: Rowshan Golshayan, Anne Geggis, Ruth Poger, Joan Picard, Don Picard, Irma Porter, Ann J. Sorrell; Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Director; Leo Brown, Chief Financial Officer; Fran Johnston, Donna Carlson, JoAnn Auge, Carol Lutz, Patti Zerr; Brian Searles, S.B. Police Chief; Michael Simpson, Martha Campione, Peggy Tucker, Barbara Hibbitts, Sally Schroeder, Maureen Shepard, Ernie Nalette, Phyllis Cole, Jane DiFerdinando, Kathleen M. Hazen, A. Joe Eplin, Pamela Hameline 1. Appointment of Steering Committee Chairman: Mr. Condos made a motion to appoint Mr. Michael D. Flaherty as Chairman of the Steering Committee. Mr. Cimonetti seconded the motion and the motion was passed unanimously. 2. Appointment of Steering Committee Clerk: Ms. Duppstadt made a motion to appoint Peter Cole as Clerk of the Steering Committee. Mr. Snyder seconded the motion and the motion was passed unanimously. 3. Approval of Minutes of April 9, 1992 and June 8, 1992. A motion was made by Mr. Condos to approve the minutes of April 9, 1992 and June 8, 1992 and seconded by Mr. Manazir. The minutes were approved as written. 4. Discussion and Suggestions on the Issue of Drug/Alcohol Abuse in the South Burlington Schools and Community Mr. Lecours began the discussion with capsulizing the different events, guest speakers, meetings and round-table discussions, that have taken place following the last Steering Committee meeting (7/21/92). He was very encouraged with the attendance at the meetings and the interest and enthusiasm that has evolved from these meetings. Mr. Ladeau spoke on the three (3) round-table discussions that have taken place at the high school. The first being the meeting with Dr. Stephen Cohen and his guidance with "dealing with grief." The second meeting was led by Anthony Quintiliani, and he spoke on the drug usage in the community and specifically among our young people. Ms. Betsy Ferries spoke and led us through our third round-table discussion and the focus was on communicating with our young people. All of the meetings were well attended and helped in developing ideas as to where to start in dealing with this overwhelming problem. Mr. Ladeau mentioned that Dr. Cohen will be returning to the high school upon request to continue to work with the faculty and students as needed. These concepts are a few that Mr. Ladeau felt important: Dr. Cohen: A close death will often bring all life's traumas to the forefront. The grieving person will then have to deal with trauma from the past as well as the trauma at the present. Dr. Cohen shared some of his techniques in trying to help someone who is grieving. What to say. What not to say. What to do. etc. Being honest with whatever we feel is most often what makes those grieving the most comfortable. Mr. Anthony Quintiliani: The largest group attended this round-table discussion. Mr. Quintiliani spoke on the peer pressure that young people feel. How they will not only deny peer pressure but will also not recognize it. He spoke on co-dependency, community based intervention and the high percentage of drug and alcohol usage among our high school students. He pointed out that we, as a community, not challenge the school's drug/alcohol related policies. It is important not to blame any one segment of our society because all segments play a major part in this concern. Mr. Quintiliani pointed out the value of the family-living theater. While students are involved in this course the involvement with drugs and alcohol is very small and maybe not at all. Lack of self esteem is not enough and is not the only reason a person gravitates toward the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. Many times a person with very high self esteem will participate in alcohol and drug usage to show off his/her courage and to be "one of the guys." There is no substitute for communication. It is very important to constantly work on the ability to communicate and improve upon it. Peer counseling is often very effective but needs to be supervised closely by professionals. Ms. Betsy Ferries - "How Do I Communicate with My Children About Drugs?" It is important to talk to our children about our parent/student relationship and to work at being good listeners. Make a point of knowing our children's friends and encourage them to seek out friends with healthy values. Ms. Ferries indicated with statistics that alcohol is still the greatest risk among our young people. Ms. Ferries then asked each person present why they came and asked them what they hoped to gain from this discussion. There were many different reasons why people attended: to learn how to deal with peer pressure, how to say "no", how to deal with permissive parents, how to meet parents of their children's friends., etc. It is important for us, as adults, to remember that fun to teenagers quite often means dangerous, and exciting. What we need to do is help them plan "fun" activities that are reasonable and safe. This is where we have to be good listeners and work at guiding their ideas and suggestions in the right direction. Ms. Ferries stated that statistics indicate that the longer a young person can be kept from alcohol and drugs the less influence it will have on their lives. A suggestion Ms. Ferries had was to work up parent/student peer groups. They are often very effective and a real learning experience for parents and students. Always examine the groups and work to make certain that they are divided in a way that the individuals can work comfortably together. Mrs. Lee Nelson spoke to the group explaining that she along with Mrs. Rowshan Golshayan have been busy developing a parents' group to follow up on the discussions. They have contacted several people and are in the process of contacting interested parents. Their purpose, as a group, is to study and understand the school practices and policies, work to seek financial support if necessary, and set up activities that would be healthy and interesting to the student body. Their first priorities at this time is to make arrangements to have Billy Ward speak again and to set aside more time to spend with SB students. They also stressed the need to have Mr. Anthony Quintiliani do three (3) one (1) day training sessions with parents and citizens. Mrs. Golshayan recognizes the need to raise monies to be able to provide these activities and pointed out that this group could work to raise money. Councilman Cimonetti pointed out to Mrs. Nelson that the City has a Committee on Social Responsibility already established and it would be a perfect place to look to for ideas and financial support. They have tax monies to work with and Mr. Cimonetti sees this as a worthy group to offer monies to. He did point out that for this fiscal year the monies have all been allocated. Mrs. Nelson also suggested that they would like to ask the South Burlington Police Department to offer opportunities for young people to work along side of them. It may be a good experience for young people to see our police in action. They would like to encourage all parents to be a part of this group and all other interested citizens as well. It was a general feeling that parents from the islands be major participants in this organization. The parents that need to participate most are most often those that do not participate. They are working to figure ways to encourage the interest of these parents. Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Golshayan said that they did not have a name for this organization at this time but would appreciate any suggestions that anyone may have. Mr. Frank Murray expressed his impressions of the meetings that he has organized and attended. He first suggested that this time be taken to amend the Resolution passed on June 8, 1992 as follows: . . . the Steering of South Burlington . . . meet jointly and publicly no less frequently than every two (2) months to discuss the prevalence of illegal use of alcohol and other addictive substances and to develop programs for the improvement of the well-being and the education of our students, parents and other members of our community. The items that seemed to be agreed upon and discussed in each of the meetings preceding this Steering Committee are as followed: 1. S.B.H.S. has a serious drug/alcohol problem. It may be no more serious than other schools but because of the drug-related violence and the drug business is more organized and sophisticated, we can no longer ignore the issue. 2. It is a cultural problem. This is a problem that has gone on for years and it will take years to change. Not only is it a student concern, it is a community concern. 3. There is not a community standard. Some parents are considered permissive parents, some moderate parents and some parents are abstinent parents. We have to learn to live with each other and rely on each other to always work so that our young people will grow up in the healthiest and safest environment possible. 4. There is no single cause for drug/alcohol abuse. Our society is known to be a society of medicators. 5. In most families both parents have a full time job. Our economy demands this of us but many times this forces a family to lose direction and the supervision is not as vigilant as it should be. Mr. Murray did say that following the first meeting he went away thinking that the schools were not doing enough and the drug/alcohol education is lacking. After doing much research and visiting the different schools and administrators he changed his thinking in this area. He was very impressed with the amount of education that has taken place in the schools from the time a child enters kindergarten through their high school graduation. Solving this problem is an ongoing concern and school is the center of our community but is only one important vehicle when thinking about this problem. The solving of the community's drug and alcohol problem requires teamwork and the use of many vehicles. Mr. Flaherty extended his thanks and appreciation to Frank Murray for all of the time and work he has put into this concern. Mr. Flaherty pointed out that if Mr. Murray had not spent the time that he had spent in preparing for tonight's meeting it would not have be as organized and there would not have been as much accomplished. Mr. Flaherty then turned to the audience for any ideas or suggestions. Barbara Hibbitts expressed the genuine concern she has especially after agonizing for many years with her own children directly involved. Mrs. Hibbitts stated that there are students who have been honored with very prestigious positions with drug/alcohol problems. It should just not happen! These students have been representatives on the school board, presidents of their class and officers in various organizations. What can be done to prevent this? Mrs. Hibbitts would like to work at conquering the "parent denial" problem. She felt that many times the drug/alcohol usage is taking place in what people think of as the nicer neighborhoods of this community. Joan Picard felt strongly that there is a communication problem when dealing with parents and children but there is also a real communication problem among adults. Adults need as much education and help in learning to communicate as young people do. Ann Pugh stated that she is a member of 2/3 of the South Burlington community who do not have children in the school system. She applauds the efforts of the community members who are working to improve upon the drug/alcohol problem and felt that there are many in our community without S.B. students who will be eager to do whatever is necessary to help with this concern. She suggested tapping college students and professors, and to also look at the good kids, their strength and try to understand how some young people can avoid these temptations and others ruin their lives with them. Mrs. Donna Carlson asked what the purpose of the Steering Committee is, why is a Task Force necessary, and what can be done in a hurry rather than spend more time on talking about the issue. She feels impatient and is anxious to see something done. Mr. Flaherty explained that the Steering Committee is made up of the City Council and the School Board and was formed to deal with community issues with no political overtones. The thought is to form a task force which would review and propose a plan that will be effective in improving upon the drug/alcohol concerns. It was suggested that the task force be made up of the people who participated in the July 21, 1992 round-table discussion along with at least 10 more interested participants (including at least 5 students). It is hoped that this task force would meet at least twice before school starts and be prepared to present some concrete plans and ideas to the Steering Committee in October. Mrs. Sally Schroeder has been working with Karen Grace and has spent time in parent groups discussing various concerns in parenting. She highly encourages involving Anthony Quintiliani more frequently in the high school for student guidance and parent guidance. Mrs. Schroeder felt that this is the time that we start calling in the professionals and specialists to help us work on solutions. Mrs. Golshayan suggested that more work be done in advertising these public meetings such as tonight's. She felt that not many people knew of this meeting or needed more of a reminder. Martha Campione strongly suggested that we, as a school and community, seriously consider supporting the Chittenden County Alcohol and Drug Alliance. She also reminded all of us that students be major contributors in formulating a plan to combat drugs and alcohol. Without their support there would be very little success in whatever was planned. At this point Chief of Police Brian Searles supported Martha's suggestions and expressed that the alliance with a hired staff person could be a real boost to the success rate of conquering our drug/alcohol concerns. Brian indicated that the major problem is the money issue but we have to remind ourselves of the money that is presently spent in defending ourselves against the drug/alcohol problem. Recreation Director Bruce O'Neill expressed that he felt that maybe we are forgetting our young people and without the young people's support we are fighting a losing battle. City Councilman Bill Cimonetti felt that the Steering Committee should be the focus organization and the place where the task force should turn to turn for guidance, advise and support. Bill stated that the responsibility belongs in the hands of the Steering Committee. Dennis Snyder expressed his concern that we need to reach out to the parents who do not attend these meetings and we should focus on education and awareness for those people who tend to deny the problem. Peter Cole called for immediate action from the Steering Committee comprised of two (2) different bodies. It is important that some action take place before school begins. He suggested that the task force turn to City Council for some monies to support substance free activities because City Council had suggested that they have some monies that could be used for such activities through the Social Responsibility Committee. Jim Condos made a motion and Julie Duppstadt seconded the motion to appoint Frank Murray to the position of Chairman of the Task Force Committee and Bill Cimonetti seconded this motion. The motion passed unanimously. Julie suggested that at least 10 interested community members be added to the task force and the majority should be students. Mr. Murray asked that there be ideas and suggestions presented to the task force and the task force will work to discuss the different options and put them in place. Julie Duppstadt had suggestions as to what could be done now. Everyone should have access to a list of all parents and their telephone numbers, we should be planning another community-wide activity similar to the Bicentennial Parade held during the summer of 1991, combined student/parent activities should be planned, and the cafeterias and libraries should be open for student gatherings and usage during the weekends. Frank Murray made a motion for the following: (1) review, evaluate and report on the school district's curriculum, activities, etc. for dealing with drug and alcohol education and prevention. Can more be done? Can what is already being done be done better? (2) reach out to community religious organizations and businesses for help toward addressing this difficult drug and alcohol issue. (3) explore supporting the Chittenden County Alcohol and Drug Alliance, an organization designed to take comprehensive action on the full range of problems and issues of substance abuse. These problems cross town borders and there are 54 different agencies and 62 different programs in the County which presently addresses the problem. (4) identify and arrange for speakers who are knowledgeable on topics about the problem and who can speak to students, parents, teachers and the community in the future. (5) work with students to provide drug and alcohol free social activity which they would enjoy, and which they would plan with the assistance of adults. (6) work with school administrators and teachers to identify students leaders from a heterogeneous group of students. It is believed that there are too many different isolated groups of students and that there is a need to reach out to all of them so that these groups communicate and interact more with one another. It is believed that we need to better communicate with these student leaders about the need for them to take responsibility for class unity and for creating alcohol and drug free attitudes. (7) arrange for parent groups at the elementary, middle and high school levels to help parents communicate better with their children and to learn more about the drug and alcohol problem. (8) develop methods of better communication as a community. These methods might include public television, the "Other Paper," newsletters, working through the PTO's, etc. (9) consider including more students on the School Board and students on the Steering Committee. (10) consider a community survey for attitudes about drug and alcohol use so that we may determine whether what we are doing makes a difference. (11) pursue the idea of discouraging mass media from advertising alcohol where students are impacted. (12) consider different enforcement options, including prosecution of adults who provide alcohol to teenagers at parties, making the furnishing of alcohol to minors a felony and seeking the death penalty for those who traffic drugs to children and for those who kill someone in the pursuit of drug trafficking. The motion was seconded by Julie Duppstadt and passed by the Steering Committee. Barbara Hibbitts suggested that the task force meetings be held in different areas of the community. This would encourage involvement of people that are not presently involved, and would encourage neighborhoods to come together. Councilman Jim Condos felt it very important to include young people in any of the decisions or gatherings that may take place. We need their input and their ownership. He also suggested that we might want to encourage involvement among the elementary school parents. Mr. Cimonetti made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:18 PM and Mr. Murray seconded this motion. The motion was passed and the meeting adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.