March 31, 2010

Underage drinking subject of Town Hall Meeting

By Tina Foreman
Farmer Staff Writer

Underage drinking is a big problem in McKenzie County and the McKenzie County Community Coalition (MC3) wants your help in resolving this problem.
Once again, MC3 is sponsoring its Annual Town Hall Meeting to coincide with April’s Alcohol Awareness month in hopes of informing area parents of the problem behaviors associated with underage drinking.
“Our hope is that the meeting will bring awareness to parents and kids,” says Marcia Hellandsaas, MC3 Committee Member and McKenzie County Extension agent. “We want parents to get involved and talk to their kids before they start seeing pressure to drink.”
This year’s Town Hall Meeting and Community Barbecue will be held on April 8 at the Watford City Civic Center. The free community barbecue will run from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., with the meeting to follow.
The objective of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for parents, teachers, community officials, community members and youth to voice their concerns and suggest ideas for preventing area youth from drinking.
Last year’s 2nd Annual Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the same group provided area residents with insight into McKenzie County’s underage drinking problem from a panel of public service officials. As a result, the Community Coalition has continued its work toward making positive changes within McKenzie County.
This year’s meeting will feature Region 1 Prevention Coordinator Tom Volk, Watford City Police Chief Slade Herfindahl and McKenzie County Sheriff Ron Rankin, as well as their staff.
The 3rd Annual Town Hall Meeting is a great place for parents, kids, teachers and anyone else with a desire to help local kids stay away from alcohol and other destructive behaviors.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER