Healthy Tekoa Coalition to begin sticker campaign

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Oct 02, 20130

The Healthy Tekoa Coalition and the Tekoa High School Healthy Tekoa Youth Coalition will begin “Project Sticker Shock” this week, a campaign to combat underage drinking in Tekoa.

Beginning Friday morning at two Tekoa grocery markets, local youth and community members will work with beer retailers to put stickers on cases, which read, “This could be the most expensive alcohol you will buy. It is illegal to supply alcohol to anyone under 21 — $5,000 fine and/or one year in jail — Adult suppliers watch out! Reduce youth access to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.”

The effort is part of a statewide program which created the stickers.

In addition to stickers for beer cases, there are also poster-size versions of the sticker which Healthy Tekoa Coalition (HTC) members have put up in Crosby Street businesses this week.

“We’ve got great community support,” said Diane Harp, Community Coordinator for HTC. “They are supportive of our efforts about decreasing the intention. If we have more adults aware of what the consequences are for providing to minors, then the youth in turn would know the adults are more informed so the kids aren’t as likely to try to gain access to that.”

Part of the surveys asked middle school and high school students which drugs they intend to try as they get older and the coalition hopes to decrease those intentions.

The HTC was founded in 2011. This is their first official awareness campaign.

“All of it is to increase the discussion,” said Harp. “To keep it on the table and not the back burner.”

Tekoa was chosen as one of 52 communities across the state to receive funding after higher-than-average scores regarding drug and alcohol use came in on the state’s 2011 biennial healthy youth surveys.

Once Tekoa was chosen, the program allowed funding to hire a part-time community coordinator and a part-time counselor at the school.

Harp began as the community coordinator May 1 of this year and started an adult coalition and a youth coalition, which meet once per month. She took over from previous coordinator Sigrid Gauger, who retired after beginning in September 2012.