Members of the Wellspring

Community Network and Il-

waco High School Youth Ac-

tion Klub (YAK) combined

efforts to help students have a

safe and sober prom season.

YAK members designed the

message and graphic that was

used to create a post card and

cards for the local florist to

distribute. The post cards were

mailed to the homes of all Il-

waco juniors and seniors. Be-

fore mailing the cards, YAK

members wrote messages en-

couraging students to make

healthy choices.

Wellspring Community Net-

work again sponsored the post-

prom breakfast. Students and

prom chaperones enjoyed waf-

fles and bacon at The Lost Roo

after the big dance. The post-

prom breakfast has become an

annual event that students look

forward to.

Thank you to Wellspring Com-

munity Network!

Wellspring and YAK Combine Resources for Safe

and Sober Prom Project

Volume 6, Issue 9

Prevention

Newsletter May 2014

Oscars Night Recognizes Many Students On May 21st the Ilwaco High

School Renaissance Club hosted

the annual Oscar Awards Night.

Over 125 students were recog-

nized for outstanding academic

achievement, citizenship, and

improvement.

Renaissance club members

planned the event, decorated, and

were the announcers during the

show. Earlier in the month club

members hosted a talent show to

choose the entertainment for the

evening. At the beginning of the

awards night German exchange

student Franzi Feil wowed the

crowd with a piano performance.

In the middle of the awards

sophomore Maddie Larcom

played guitar and sang for the

crowd. Just before everyone

moved to the reception for cook-

ies and punch, sophomores Nata-

lie Tapio and Ahnna Neace per-

formed a piano and song duo.

The masters of ceremony for the

Oscar Awards were Renaissance

club members Alicia Trusty,

Kayla Coffin, Noelle Derrey, and

Taylor Kemmer.

During the ceremony long time

English teacher Carolyn Savaria

was recognized and thanked for

all she has done for her hundreds

of students over the years. Mrs.

Savaria is a well loved teacher

who always looks for the best in

others.

Wellspring Community Network

again provided funding for the

event. Thank you very much to

Wellspring!

Ilwaco Middle/High School

TATU Helps Edu-

cate

2

Helpline Available 2

Play Healthy

Awards

2

Safe Graduation

Project

3

What is DMX? 3

Teen Brain 3

Zero Tobacco

Sales to Minors

4

Inside this issue:

Prevention Newsletter Page 2

Five members of Ilwaco’s Teens Against

Tobacco Use (TATU) club traveled to

Ocean Park and Long Beach Elementary

schools to educate 5th grade students about

the dangers of tobacco use.

Maddie Chabot, Gillian Hope,

Devan Keeler, Emma Stark, and

Adrianna Araujo used demonstra-

tions such as “pig lungs” and “Mr.

Gross Mouth” to teach younger

students about the effects of tobacco

on the body.

The students at both elementary

schools were very good audiences

and were very appreciative of the

information.

Value, and are committed to fair, drug-free play

and an overall healthy lifestyle

Understand the importance of teamwork

Demonstrate excellent leadership in sports by

empowering, encouraging and helping others

Display integrity and maintain a positive attitude

both on and off the field

Strive for personal excellence, regardless of

natural athletic ability or experience

The Commissioner's Play

Healthy Awards celebrate

and recognize one youth

sports coach and one

The Partnership at Drugfree.org, in conjunction

with Major League Baseball Charities, invites

you to nominate extraordinary youth sports

coaches and student athletes. Maybe they have

inspired others to give it their all, made the team

smile after a defeat or shown exemplary charac-

ter and integrity both on and off the field. You

tell us.Each winner — one youth sports coach

and one student athlete — will receive an excit-

ing trip for him/herself and one special guest to

New York City!

Our panel of judges will be looking for

coaches and players who:

student athlete who each embody the spirit of

teamwork, dedication, leadership, hard work,

fun and a healthy, drug-free lifestyle — regard-

less of won-loss records. Young athletes and

their coaches are an integral part of our commu-

nities and are essential to instilling important

lessons in others about playing fair, both on and

off the field.

To nominate someone visit: http://

playhealthy.drugfree.org/awards/detail/2014-

play-healthy-awards

Play Healthy Award Nominees Now Being Accepted

Middle School Students Educate Elementary Students about Tobacco

• Listen to your concerns, challenges,

setbacks and emotional turmoil that you

have experienced with your child’s sub-

stance abuse or addiction

• Help you outline a course of effec-

tive action – whether it’s prevention, inter-

vention, seeking treatment or supporting

recovery – grounded in science-based

resources

• Inform you of different resources

available to you nationally

• “Our parent specialists speak English

and Spanish and are professionally trained parent support specialists and psychologists with years of ex-perience helping individuals and their families prevent and overcome sub-stance abuse problems.”

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed or

have a specific question about your

child’s drug or alcohol use? The Partner-

ship for Drug-Free Kids Helpline is a na-

tionwide support service that offers assis-

tance to parents and other primary care-

givers of children who want to talk to

someone about their child’s drug use and

drinking. Trained and caring parent spe-

cialists will:

HELPL INE 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)

Volume 6, Issue 9 Page 3

Members of Ilwaco’s Youth Action Klub

(YAK) are working hard to help students

stay safe and sober during graduation

season.

YAK has received letters from 6th grade

students congratulating the seniors and

letting them know how proud they are of

them. These personalized letters along

with drawings from kindergarten stu-

dents and encouraging notes from YAK

members will be presented to the seniors

during graduation practice.

2013-2014 YAK president Anna Frue-

hauf and active YAK members Bailey

Jensen and Tyler Long will graduate this

year.

YAK would like to congratulate the

class of 2014!!

From mood swings to risk taking,

“normal teenage behavior” can ap-

pear to be anything-but-normal to

parents and other bystanders. How-

ever, new research reveals that

patterns of brain development dur-

ing these formative years play a

significant role in shaping your

teen’s personality and actions.

Have you

ever looked

at your

teenager

and won-

dered:

“Why does

my teen do

that?”

Scientists are beginning to learn

that it takes a brain about 25 years

to fully develop, and that a huge

burst of development happens dur-

ing adolescence. That burst can

explain a lot of unpredictable – and

sometimes risky – teen behavior.

More information available at

www.drugfree.org/why-do-teens-

act-this-way/

The Teen Brain: Why Do Teens Act This Way?

YAK Focuses on Safe Graduation Project

ness, double or blurred vision, slurred

speech, impaired physical coordination,

abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, rapid

heartbeat, drowsiness, numbness of fingers

and toes, and disorientation. DXM abusers

describe different “plateaus” ranging from

mild distortions of color and sound to vis-

ual hallucinations and “out-of-body,” dis-

sociative, sensations, and loss of motor

control.

What are its long-term effects?

The abuse of cough medications including

DXM can contain other ingredients, such as

acetaminophen, which can be very danger-

ous when taken in large quantities. For

example, large quantities of acetaminophen

can damage the liver.

DXM is also sometimes abused with other

drugs or alcohol, which can increase the

dangerous physical effects.

What are the street names/slang terms?

Dex, Robo, Skittles, Triple C, Tussin

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration

(DEA)

Dextromethorphan is a cough-suppressing

ingredient found in a variety of over-the-

counter cold and cough medications. Like

PCP and Ketamine, dextromethorphan is a

dissociative anesthetic, meaning DXM

effects can include hallucinations.

What does it look like?

Cough syrup and cough and cold tablets or

gel caps that are available without a pre-

scription. Also, dextromethorphan can be

purchased in a powder form, often over the

internet.

What are its short-term effects?

The effects of dextromethorphan abuse

vary with the amount taken. Common

DXM effects can include confusion, dizzi-

What is DXM?

ZERO Tobacco Sales made in South Pacific County during

Compliance Checks

YAK—Youth Action Klub is open to all Ilwaco High

School students. Meetings are held every Wednesday dur-

ing 1st and 3rd lunches in the library. YAK focuses on

helping students live a safe, healthy, substance free life.

YES—Youth Empowerment Squad is open to all Pacific

County Middle and High School aged students. Meeting are

held once a month. For more information contact Mrs.

Kelly at Ilwaco Middle School.

P r e v e n t i o n C e n t e r

Some of you may be curious as to why

the WA State Liquor Control Board and

the Pacific Co. Health & Human Services

Dept. work so diligently to make sure

these compliance checks occur on a regu-

lar basis. Although, these particular SY-

NAR checks are required as part of legis-

lation of ALL states, these two agencies

work together to complete additional

alcohol, tobacco, and liquor compliance

checks. This is a key environmental

strategy to effectively reduce underage

use of alcohol/tobacco by limiting access

to the product. Research shows that

youth smoking is a major predictor of

WA State Liquor Control Board with the

help of youth operatives recently com-

pleted SYNAR tobacco compliance

checks with retailers in South Pacific

County. During the past round of com-

pliance checks a total of 11 locations

were checked and ZERO sales were

made to the underage minor for 100%

compliance. The locations that did a

great job of checking ID’s and did not

provide to the minor included:

Johnson Arco & One Stop and Okie’s

Select Market in Naselle; Chinook Coun-

try Store in Chinook; Ilwaco Food Mar-

ket in Ilwaco; Seaview Texaco, Short

Stop Store-N-Deli, and Sid’s IGA all of

Seaview; Pioneer Market & Deli and

Gas-N-Grub of Long Beach; Okie’s

Thriftway and Surfside Mini Mart/Video

in Ocean Park.

other substance use, and that decreasing

youth smoking can play a substantial role

in significantly decreasing the odds of

other substance use.

Melissa Sexton, Program Specialist at

Pacific County Health Dept. states, “We

are so appreciative to our retailers for

doing a great job of properly checking

ID’s and not providing tobacco to mi-

nors. They are a key piece to the preven-

tion puzzle. When they don’t provide

alcohol or tobacco to underage youth,

they give that youth a better future.”

For more information about our preven-

tion strategies, please contact Melissa

Sexton at (360)642-9349 or visit us at

www.pacificcountyhealthdepartment.com

Phone: 360-642-1244

Fax: 360-642-1224

E-mail:

sarah.taylor@oceanbeachschools.org

PO Box F

Ilwaco, WA 98624

Ilwaco Middle/High School

Newsletters online@

www.ocean.k12.wa.us