Public to speak at coalition
meetings
By Kyle Boggs
Summer
Reporter
For the first time, The Coalition for a Drug-Free
Tippecanoe County is inviting the public to speak at its meetings to
educate legislators about alcohol, tobacco and other drug enforcement
policies that they would like to see addressed in the next legislative
session.
In past meetings, the Coalition for a Drug-Free
Tippecanoe County has hosted forums to hear from area legislators and
candidates regarding issues of drugs and alcohol, but this is the first
time that the public will actually be able to speak directly to the
legislators.
"Coalition After Hours" will take place from 5:30
p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Tippecanoe County Public Library.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for legislators
to hear from their constituents about alcohol, tobacco and other drug
issues," said co-chair of the Legislative Advocacy Committee Tammy Loew.
Some prominent people that will be at Tuesday's
meeting include Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-27; Rep. Sue Scholer, R-26; and
Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-7.
"We are expecting a wide variety of issues to come
up and a wide range of opinions in the room," said Loew. Whether they
disagree with a law, want new laws to be developed or existing laws
to be modified, the public is invited to speak their minds directly
to the legislators about any of these issues, she said.
The representatives will sit at a table in the
front, and, one at a time, the public will have a chance to speak to
them for two minutes at a time, said executive director for the Coalition
for a Drug-Free Tippecanoe County Jennifer Bushore.
"The legislators will take notes on the issues
and the public should feel free to bring additional materials that they
may not be able to cover in the time provided for them," said Bushore.
This meeting is the first of three forums that
focus on substance abuse. This meeting, on Tuesday, will focus on better
law and judicial enforcement.
"Perhaps our laws aren't strict enough," said Bushore.
"This isn't just for our state, but we may be able to begin influence
federal laws as well."
Topics for forums in the future include topics
such as "treatment intervention" and "prevention education."
The meeting will also address the problems associated
with server training.
Bushore says there should be better mandatory server
training that would make servers more responsible and be able to distinguish
whether someone has had enough alcohol or not.
"I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but we are
very lucky to have legislators that are so responsive to the public,"
said Loew. "It will be interesting to see so many different perspectives.
The police, the public and the legislators will all have different angles
on the subject."
• Anyone that has any questions regarding
the meeting should contact The Coalition for a Drug-Free Tippecanoe
County at 471-9916.
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