On Thursday, Feb. 29, Toby Kidd, a self-proclaimed “Bookaneer” came to Woonsocket Elementary to promote the importance of reading and the benefits of being a good reader. He introduced himself and admitted that he has done the research and is a direct descendant of the pirate, Captain Kidd. Then, he got himself into costume and became a pirate who invited kids to join him in some magic tricks and live stories. All kids in grades Pre-K through six were in attendance and were engaged for the entire hour. This assembly was paid for by the Woonsocket Elementary Parent Club and was perfectly timed with the celebration of Read Across America over the weekend and this week.

…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, the students from Woonsocket and Sanborn Central in grades seven through 12 were gathered at the Sanborn Central School gym in Forestburg to listen to Lynn Riemer, an accomplished speaker, trainer and advocate on issues related to substance abuse. She was invited here and sponsored by the South Dakota Firefighters Union to speak to the county’s youth and educators about addictive and psychoactive substances, both legal and illegal, which are available in their communities. She has worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and North Metro Drug Task Force and has been involved in thousands of drug busts. Most of her work has been done in San Francisco and the state of Colorado. Thus, she has an incredible amount of information on the topic. 

Riemer started her presentation with information about how the nation’s youth are targeted by the drug companies and drug dealers. Drugs are glamorized in music, movies, social media and TV shows. She talked a lot about vaping and the dangers of it. She stated that in her experiences, they have taken vapes off of kids as young as kindergartners. Vaping is illegal for people under the age of 21 in most states, but that doesn’t keep youth of all ages thinking it is something they should do. Many people vape marijuana, and that is extremely dangerous because the oils of the THC in marijuana are what get clogged up in a person’s lungs and make them so sick, they have to be hospitalized, and there have been deaths reported from it.

…Read on and see a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!