Good for teens, good for police

Friday, October 14, 2011

As part of its Merrimack Safeguard, the Merrimack Police Department created Merrimack Teens in Action, an endeavor that should be roundly applauded by everyone concerned with the future of America’s youth.

Teens in Action, according to Officer Tom Prentice, who oversees the program, is made up of seventh- and eighth-grade students and meets once a week after school to plan and coordinate community events to bring drug and alcohol awareness to their peers and to the community at large. And this year, ninth-graders who participated in the program when they were in middle school will be included.

This is a great way for kids to be involved in their town, a great way for them to get to know the police officers who serve and protect them, and a great way for them to help spread the message that drugs and alcohol are things that teens really should avoid.

With the addition of the ninth-graders, Officer Prentice said in an article in last week’s Journal, Teens in Action will be spread into the high school and that’s a good thing. We can never have too much of the anti-drug, anti-alcohol message, especially when it is spread by ninth-graders to their upper-classmen peers. We don’t doubt that the message will be welcomed.

But this isn’t the only job the kids will take on, Officer Prentice said. They will also coordinate a food drive to benefit local Merrimack families during the holidays, setting up collection bins in November and December at the middle school.

This is great because it will give the teens an opportunity to see how much their peers, or the adults in the community, care about those who have less, who need some help during the holidays. And we all know that even in Merrimack, people can need help.

We hope that everyone will pitch in when the bins are set up. Fill them with whatever the teens ask for.

This is a wonderful program aimed at doing a lot of good in Merrimack, so it behooves everyone to support it when and how they cn.