craigdailypress.com

A local organization is gearing up for another round of media messages and community programs to alert local parents to underage alcohol use.

Youth Wellness Initiative administrators, along with local parents and community members, are scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association's Craig office, 745 Russell St.

Group members will discuss the program's upcoming media campaign and review the 2007-08 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, a document that studies youth alcohol use and other behaviors.

Records indicate that local parents "saw, heard and acted on our message," during the group's last media campaign, Project Coordinator Diane Miller said.

Numbers back up her words.

The Youth Wellness Initiative conducted the survey during the Moffat County High School's parent-teacher conference near the end of the 2007-08 school year. Of the 137 parents surveyed, 111 said they had seen one or more advertisements the group had put out in various forms, including print and radio.

About 80 percent of those 111 parents responded that they had talked to their children about alcohol use as a result of the media campaign, according to Wellness Initiative records.

"I think it's very effective that we've continued this (advertising) effort for a year," Miller said.

She said she thinks the advertisements are effective because they highlight the responsibility of parents and other adults in keeping alcohol out of the hands of the underaged.

At the meeting, Wellness Initiative members also are slated to discuss the possibility of designing a social host ordinance and begin planning for a weeklong community presentation in February from motivational speaker John Underwood.

Underwood "has worked with many communities in identifying ways to reduce the availability of alcohol to youth," Miller said.

Underwood is scheduled to bring presentations aimed at various agencies and individuals, she said, including schools, law enforcement and parents.

Bridget Manley can be reached at 875-1795 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com