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Targeting underage drinking Forum at Carmel High will inform parents, teachers about ways to stop activity
Troubled by a perceived complacency about underage drinking, Lake County civic leaders will host a town hall meeting on the subject next month in Mundelein. The forum, to be held April 11 at Carmel Catholic High School, is designed to let parents, teachers, government officials and other people share concerns and find ways to stop the phenomenon, organizers said. "We know that underage drinking is costly, in terms of impact to the kids, their families and their communities," said state Rep. Kathy Ryg, co-president of the Lake County After School Coalition, one of the groups sponsoring the event. "This is going to be an opportunity for people to really talk about it on a personal level." Other sponsors include the Lake County Health Department, the College of Lake County and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Alcohol use is a leading risk factor in youth homicides, suicides and fatal unintentional injuries, according to a report on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site. A 2003 survey showed 45 percent of ninth- through 12th-graders reported drinking alcohol at least once in the previous 30 days, the CDC report stated. The same study showed about 28 percent of ninth- through 12th-graders reported binge drinking at least once during the same period. Those statistics are cause for great concern, said Mundelein Police Chief Raymond J. Rose, the after-school coalition's other co-president. "The attitude is that it's OK, but we have to stand together as a community and remind people it's not OK," Rose said. The meeting will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Carmel, which is on Route 176 east of Hawley Street. The session is open to anyone. Refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. Similar forums are being held across the state and nation this month and in April. For more information, visit www.lakecountyafterschoolcoalition.org or call (847) 680-5909. |