Moved to action
by Jesse Phelps

A community moved into action Monday night as The Nordhoff Parent Association convened for its third General Meeting of the 2002-2003 school year. Students, parents and community members packed the Nordhoff cafeteria to take part in the discussion to find some solutions to the drug abuse problem plaguing Ojai's youth.
There weren't quite enough chairs to go around for an estimated 250 to 300 people, who first murmured and applauded the various presenters and later took part in a lively discussion.
Association President John Kenyon introduced the agenda, welcoming the concerned citizens of Ojai. Nordhoff Principal Dan Musick also thanked the gathered throng, asking the 25 students in attendance to stand and be acknowledged.
He stressed the importance of awareness, saying, "This is a solutions-oriented evening. We're not here to point fingers at who's responsible. We all are responsible for the solutions ... What can we do as a community of Ojai to take care of this horrible problem?"
Capt. Gary Pentis, Ojai's Chief of Police, and Dr. Bruce Gladstone taked about the new problem of opiate abuse, particularly the dangers of OxyContin. "Our rates of abuse are much higher than the national average," said Pentis.
Gladstone provided eight recommendations for how the community can attack the problem, including the creation of the Ojai Valley Substance Abuse Education Project, an organizational body made up of concerned citizens, which could gather and distribute funds to fight the problem.
He stressed the importance of education, data collection and sharing, twelve-step programs, treatment options, getting physicians involved in the process, and developing funding for those who cannot afford treatment.
Gladstone's ASTER Foundation is taking donations to support the drug education project. Time is of the essence and the foundation needs monetary donations to make so many of the good ideas already out there into realities. First up on the agenda is a drug awareness class for Nordhoff students entitled "Introduction to Substance Abuse and Addiction."
The class curriculum will be presented to the Ojai Unified School District board of trustees Dec. 10 for approval and hopes are that it can be offered in the school as soon as January.
Nordhoff students Ashley Thomas, Alexis Kenyon, Catie Schmidt and Regina Bernaldo provided the meeting with both the youthful perspective and a preview of many of the solutions that would be debated throughout. They brought up the idea of random drug testing for students and agreed that more activities are necessary for kids. They also agreed that seeing people in the midst of addiction would be a powerful deterrent.
Executive Director Caryn Bosson and Terry Mitchell of the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation brought a little light to the proceedings, a reminder of kid-centered creative and service-oriented outlets already present in the valley.
"Our community has been working very hard for the last five years to pull together and work with our young people, not just for our young people," Bosson said, after receiving one of the louder rounds of applause all evening.
The meeting came full circle in the second hour as Kenyon asked everybody to gather into smaller groups, to share ideas under the guidance of counselors. All in attendance were asked to express their own experience and come up with some specific solutions to be presented at the meeting's conclusion.
Proposals included increased youth activities, the acquisition of money to fund anything from the reopening of the bowling alley - that got loud applause - to the creation of a fund for treatment of lower-income child addicts.
Assistant School Superintendent Jim Berube advocated for a neighborhood watch, a crackdown on parents who supply kids and "coordinating programs and funding sources in the valley to deal with this problem."
The meeting concluded with a round of lively information sharing. Talk turned again to the touchy subject of random drug testing. Local educator Mike Krumpschmidt pointed out that in other areas where testing has worked, "The results only go to the families. They would not go to any other agency. I think a concept like that has a chance. If the random drug testing results go elsewhere, I don't think that concept has any chance."
Debate is sure to continue about the many issues and potential solutions raised at the meeting, but an apparent groundswell has begun and Ojai's parents are more aware of the dangers facing their kids.
"I know the Nordhoff Parent Association, it's always been a goal of theirs to be a community group, not just be a booster group," said Musick. "I think their dream, their goal, is finally being realized. Unfortunately it had to happen with something negative but if we can get positives out of this, I think we're off to a great start here."
Kenyon agreed. "I'm just overwhelmed with the people and at the outpouring of concern that people have. The latest deaths that have happened have struck people in the heart," he said.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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