The Henderson County Quill

Our Teens Keep Us Informed

by Dessa Rodeffer
Quill Editor/Publisher

9 June 1999

It seems to me, after attending a college, three high school, two junior high, and one pre-school graduation, there is a lot of enthusiastic, ambitious students in our midst. Rest assured, the next generation is more on-top-of-it than ever before, and will surely keep us informed, as they continue to strive for higher and higher education.

One girl in particular told me she was going to finish college early, get her masters, get her CPA and go on to get her doctorate degree. That's pretty ambitious.

Another college graduate from La Harpe plans 11 years of schooling to become a surgeon.

It was interesting reading some of the applications turned in for the Henderson County Sheriff's scholarship. To apply, applicants had to write a page type written essay on "What Could The Sheriffs Office Do To Better My Community?"

The essays can certainly inform us about the problems in our midst as well as solutions to them.

I was surprised at just how serious problems were in our small county, and it seems to be nation wide. But our kids had some good suggestions.

I am going to include the winner's observations in making the Sheriff's office better.

Winner Amanda Hinshaw who plans to pursue an accounting and business career at Monmouth College, said: "I think there are many ways in which my Sheriff's Office could better the community in which I live. I feel drugs and alcohol are one of the major problems of my community.

I think there are a lot of ways the Sheriff's department could help prevent this out of control problem. I believe that if something is not done about it very soon something serious or even deadly could happen.

Drugs such as Marijuana, Acid, Crystal, and Cocaine are just a few of the drugs that are available to the teenagers of the present and future. I believe these four drugs are a major problem in our community among young adults.

With the many advances in technology the strength, amount, and availability of these drugs and many other types can only get worse. I think having random road blocks and safety checks in different areas would be one way to help out with this problem.

Another way would be to bust the people who are supplying the adolescents of our community with this self-imposed deadly weapon.

I know nothing major has come of this drug problem so far, but as it gets worse and worse I believe it will cause something harmful to happen.

Alcohol of any kind is very harmful to anyone planning to get behind the wheel driving drunk or driving sober. I feel that drunk driving is very high in our community. Someone who gets behind the wheel of a car is not only endangering themselves and the people riding with them, but anyone else who may be on or near the road.

Road blocks and random safety checks would also help with this problem, but I think something more drastic should be done to get the point across. I believe anyone who is leaving a bar or someplace that serves alcohol and showing any probable cause should be pulled over and busted if they have been drinking.

I believe if a few people are busted it will set an example and the level of drunk driving incidents will lower.

The Sheriff's Office in my community does a great job like most do, but there is always room for improvement.

A community can never be perfect so there are always things that can be done to make it a safer and better place to live.

I think the drug and alcohol problem is something that the Sheriff's Office can not fight alone. They need the cooperation and support of the community members."