Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Red Ribbon Week Begins

The 1997 Red Ribbon Week celebration, a national week-long drug-free celebration, officially begins in Arkansas today, Wednesday, October 22.

The Prevention Resource Center (PRC), housed at South Arkansas Regional Health Center in El Dorado, can provide free alcohaol, tobacco and other drug abuse prevention materials to any individual, club, organization, church group or school for use during Red Ribbon Week ar at any other time during the year.

The PRC houses a clearinghouse of prevention materials, including brochures, pamphlets, activity books, posters and research materials on current issues concerning alcohol, tobacco and drug use.

Other topics, such as conflict resolution, anger control, AIDS/HIV/STDs, self-esteem, teenage pregnancy and cultural diversity, are dealt with in various kinds of literature.

With funding assistance from the Arkansas Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, the south Arkansas PRC provides all its services free of charge. Additionally, the PRC may be contacted for educational trainings for youth and adults, technical assistance with community organizations applying for state grants, and coordination between community coalition.

Red Ribbon Week will officially kick off at 11 a.m. today with a state parade, rally and picnic at the State Capitol in Little Rock. On October 24, some area schools will participate in a Red Ribbon balloon release at their home football games. This will be part of the pre-game activities.

Susan Rumph, PRC coordinator, said that all schools are encouraged to participate in the activity at some time in the day, whether they have home athletic events or not.

October 26 is Drug Free Religious Day and all area churches are urged to present a durg-free message during the worship service. Churches are also encouraed to distrubute red ribbons to the congregations and include drug-free information in their bulletins.

Decoration Day is October 27. All area businesses and schools are asked to decorate in red to remind patrons and students of the Red Ribbon Week message. October 28 is Wear Red Day and residents are asked to wear red as a message to encourage a drug-free lifestyle.

Red Ribbon Week will end with Pledge Day on October 29.

Thursday, October 30, is Recognition Day to honor those associated with drug prevention. Many south Arkansas local organizers are planning special bewitching activities to celebrate Halloween as Scare Away Drugs Day.

Red Ribbon Week was initiated when family and friends of Enrique Camarena a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who was brutally murdered by drug traffickers in 1977, began wearing red ribbons in his memory.

"This year marks the 12th anniversaqry of his death and today, the red ribbon is worn to symbolize Enrique's belief that one person can make a difference and that together we can give the greatest gift to the future - drug free youth," Rumph said.

The Red Ribbon celebration has since grown into a national movement observed during October of every year. Arkansans for Drug-Free Youth spearheads most of the Red Ribbon state events and the area Prevention Resource Centers are closely involved in individual county preparations.