The Duncan Banner

Local News

May 30, 2009

Drug Free Community Coalition ready to start work

First open forum is scheduled

John Walker

DUNCAN — In the aftermath of the 30-minute Crystal Darkness state-wide television program earlier this year, it may seem that not much has been accomplished, but that would be a wrong assumption.

Dave Narducci, who headed the Crystal Darkness campaign for Stephens County, will also head the aftermath of that campaign for Stephens County, called the Drug Free Community Coalition, which will hold its first community wide forum 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 10 at the Simmons Center.

“I feel real good about that date,” Narducci said. “I’ve led two forums already. One was in Le Flore County and the other was in McAlister.”

According to a press release to The Banner, the coalition seeks to better collaborate, coordinate and focus efforts to achieve the shared goals of a a drug free community.

The coalition officially came into being after about 15 people volunteered at a luncheon with Narducci on May 15 to help get the coalition rolling.

“Now we just got to put some more structure to it,” Narducci said.

Part of that structure will come into being once the coalition gets some funding from grants for its purposes. A mentoring grant has already been applied for, but Narducci is waiting for the July 10 forum to occur because that will allow them to seek out even more money.

And it will be at that forum where the overall structure of the coalition will form when the community-wide action plan is created.

“That’s the most important thing,” Narducci said. “We spend all day to get to this. It’s the culmination of the Crystal Darkness campaign.”

The purpose of the action plan is to develop a list of problem areas that are specific for the county that need to be solved.

“We’ll determine what the hindrances are to our goals and how we are going to deal with those hindrances,” he said.

The action plan will be specific to Stephens County whose purpose will be to implement state approved evidence based programs, he said.

Those evidence based programs are approved for state and federal funding programs and grants.

Wichita Mountain, an area prevention resource center in Lawton, will assist Narducci in getting the forum and coalition rolling.

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