by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A free presentation called “Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force” will be given from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13 in the Multi-Purpose Room at Sartell Middle School. This is the third of four programs sponsored by the Sartell-St. Stephen Drug-Free Coalition – one program each month through December.
The Nov. 13 program features speaker Steve Soyka. Formerly known as the Drug and Gang Task Force, the renamed task force investigates crimes involving narcotics, prostitution and gang behavior, as well as other forms of violent offenses.
The Drug-Free Coalition’s programs focus on substance abuse, its causes and ways to prevent the terrible scourges of addiction and abuse.
Other programs included the following: an upcoming Dec. 11 “SCSU’s U-Choose,” an education-based prevention effort to share resources to help ease these conversations with youth, as well sharing a data-driven, evidence-based approach that works to empower students to make informed choices and understand the consequences of high-risk drinking and drug use. More in-depth write-ups of each may be found at www.thenewsleaders.com; the September program “Generation X” to inform people of all ages about the potential dangers of misuse of prescription medications; and the October “TXT4Life” a free, crisis-based suicide-prevention texting program that provides counseling 24/7 every day of the year.
