Owen County
TAPP receives YES Group of the Year, Youth Leadership in
School Safety awards
An Owen County youth organization has once again received
state recognition for its efforts in reducing underage
drinking in Owen County.
Owen County Teen Alcohol Prevention Project received the
Youth Empowerment Systems Group of the Year award on Sept.
16 in Shepherdsville and the Steve Kimberling Youth
Leadership in School Safety Award presented by the Kentucky
School Board Association on Oct. 12. The group also
received the Robert Straus Award Group of the Year award in
July.
“These two awards just highlight how important the work
that is taking place in Owen County is in improving the
lives of our youth,” said Patti Clark, coordinator of Owen
County TAPP. “I’m pleased for our kids that they are being
recognized at a state level for the life-changing work they
are doing here in Owen County.”
The group was honored by the YES group for the efforts it
has made in changing the community culture that sends the
message that it’s all right for youth to drink because that
activity is just a “rite of passage.”
Activities noted on the nomination include several
alternative events, including the Rebel Palooza; an
after-prom activity; skits performed for the student body;
and presentations given at regional, state and national
conferences to increase awareness of the issue of underage
drinking.
At this year’s Rebel Palooza, held immediately after the
homecoming game on Oct. 2, more than 300 students and
nearly 50 adults were in attendance enjoying inflatables, a
movie and free food.
“It was a safe place for kids to hang out after the
homecoming game,” said Mary Kennedy, president of the OCHS
SADD/TAPP club at the high school. “We were excited because
about 50 percent of the student body was in attendance.”
Also highlighted is the “I Choose Not to Use Alcohol
Because…” silhouette project. Twenty-five high school
students posed for the silhouettes, which have been placed
around town.
“These silhouettes serve as reminders that our community’s
youth would rather do a lot of things than drink alcohol or
use drugs,” Clark said. “It is our responsibility as adults
to support them in their efforts to create a culture that
says it’s OK not to drink or abuse substances.”
Last week, in Louisville, the group was honored at the Safe
Schools Conference in Louisville with the first ever Youth
Leadership in School Safety Award. Kimberling, who died of
cancer in February 2008, created the conference.
“This is a very special award because Steve was a very
special man,” said Mark Cleveland, superintendent of the
Owen County School System.
Cleveland, OCHS Principal Shannon Treece, and school board
members Terry Patterson, Margaret Forsee and Brian Young
also attended the awards presentation with the youth.
To receive the award, the group had to show how its work
had impacted the school in terms of increased safety for
students.
Since the TAPP program began in October 2006, as reported
on the KIP Survey, which is taken by sixth-, eighth-, 10th-
and 12th-graders:
• 12th-graders who report they had used alcohol dropped
from 85 percent to 61 percent
• The number of 10th-graders who report they’ve been drunk
in the past 30 days decreased 24 percent
• 12th-graders who reported they’d used marijuana dropped
from 44 percent to 29 percent
• 12th-graders who reported they’d used cocaine or crack
dropped from 16 percent to 5 percent
• 12th-graders who reported they’d used meth dropped from
10 percent to 3 percent.
• The percentage of students who report they’d sold
drugs at school dropped 50 percent between 2006 and 2008
• The number of students who reported they’d attacked
someone in school decreased from 11 percent to 7 percent.
“We are aware that these decreases aren’t specifically the
results of the efforts of TAPP only, but a combination of
efforts at the school and in the community to increase the
possibility of success for our students,” Clark said. “We
see the changes that are taking place, and we hear the
comments, and we know these youth are playing an active
role in changing the culture of this community.”
The members of the group said they believe their work has
just begun.
“When we started, I think we reached the kids who were on
the fence, who hadn’t decided if they were going to drink
or not. Now, I think we’re beginning to reach those who
have already chosen to drink but who are deciding that they
don’t really have to in order to have fun,” said Mary
Kenned, one of the students
“Owen County TAPP has demonstrated what an amazing,
positive impact a group of young people can have on its
community,” said Amy Baker, director of the Substance Abuse
Prevention Program across the state.
“For students this age, being popular is often more
important than doing the right thing, but these students
have chosen to do the right thing regardless of how it
makes them look in the social setting of high school,”
Clark added. “They have been bold. They have made
sacrifices by standing up and speaking out about underage
alcohol use. They have given up friends and activities and
events that meant a lot to them in order to change the
culture of Owen County.”