Columbiana fifth grade students Airianna Scullion, fourth from left, Chloe Loveland and Emily Smith were essay winners for the DARE program at the school. Pictured with them are, from left, Crystal Dragon Martial Arts teachers James Nicora and Doug Nibell, DARE instructor and Columbiana Police Detective Wade Boley and county juvenile prosecutor Bret Apple. (Salem News photo by Katie White)

COLUMBIANA — A power outage Thursday that affected the entire Columbiana High School building prompted everyone inside to quickly Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate the situation.

The unplanned interruption was just another example of how the DARE program can be used in all aspects of life.

Known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the DARE program teaches students to Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate situations in their lives to make good choices.

The outage occurred midway through the DARE graduation ceremony as high winds blew through the county.

Despite the setback, the ceremony for fifth-grade students continued on with the use of backup emergency lights run on a generator.

Reacting quickly, school staff and DARE instructor Wade Boley decided to continue on after seeing there was no threat to safety and the outage was the result of the weather.

Students and their parents adjusted well to the fact that it was difficult to see in the auditorium, with parents and staff using their cell phones as additional light to help with visibility inside the darkened school.

“Will you remember this graduation?” South Side Middle School Principal Dave Buzzard joked to students, who replied with a resounding yes.

A total of 77 fifth graders received certificates for completing the DARE program. The program has been taught in the Columbiana School District the last 30 years.

Focused mainly on teaching students to avoid drugs, the program also teachers students how to resist any form of peer pressure, whether subtle or overt.

Boley, who is the school’s resource officer, is also a detective with the Columbiana Police Department.

Superintendent Don Mook said it is not uncommon to see police at the schools, and is thankful for the work the local department does.

“You will constantly see a police presence around our schools. I think that gives tremendous relief to parents,” he said.

He then pointed out that from 2012 to 2015 there have been 7,482 deaths in Ohio from drug use alone.

Columbiana County has averaged about 20 overdose deaths per year, he added.

“The damage to family due to drug addition is both a state and national tragedy,” he said. “We don’t want to allow anyone in this room to become the statistic … stop this terrible, terrible thing from happening in Ohio.”

Bret Apple, the county’s juvenile prosecutor, warned the students not just of the physical consequences of drug use, but the legal consequence as well.

He said that roughly 75 percent of the juvenile court cases he handles are drug or alcohol related.

“The main thing is, to be good, don’t do any drugs or alcohol,” he said.

He said that if a juvenile commits a minor misdemeanor, whether for possession of marijuana or assault, they are automatically facing 90 days at the Tobin Detention Center or six to nine months at the Residential Treatment Center in Canton.

They could also end up in the Department of Youth Services, which he said is basically a prison for youth.

“The longer you are involved with drugs and alcohol the longer you will be involved in the court system,” he said.

He also cautioned students against smoking cigarettes and getting involved in sexting, or sending sexually explicit text messages to one another.

“Parents, you have kids in high school sending pictures to each other. They don’t understand they can be committing a felony and can end up in prison,” he said.

He went on to say that parents should not expect the schools, administration and the teachers to raise their children.

The local DARE program is sponsored by the Crystal Dragon Family Martial Arts Center, located on South Main Street.

kwhite@mojonews.com