Casselton Chosen as Town Hall Site

Casselton has been selected as one of 2,000 communities nationwide, including 18 communities in North Dakota, to promote the understanding and awareness of underage drinking and it’s impact on individuals, families and society by holding a Town Hall Meeting. The Town Hall Meeting, hosted by Generations Connecting, will be held during the week of March 31 – April 4 2008 to coincide with the national observance of Alcohol Awareness Month.

Generations Connecting became aware of the project, stemming from the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking, last fall and applied to be part of the effort.  The group will receive a modest stipend and educational resources to assist with planning and community education. The Surgeon General stresses that underage drinking continues to be a leading public health problem in the United States threatening the safety and healthy development of more young people than any other substance – more than tobacco and illicit drugs. 

The Office of the First Lady of ND and the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse are also promoting and supporting the Town Halls across the state.  Data from recent surveys continue to indicate the seriousness of the underage alcohol problem in North Dakota.  The 2007 North Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports 73.9% of high school students had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life compared to 32.7% of students grades 7-8.  19.7% of high school students reported having their first drink of alcohol before age 13 and 9.9% of students in grades 7 – 8 reported having their first drink of alcohol before age 11.  32.5% of high school students had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row within a couple of hours on one or more days of the past month compared with 15% of students in grades 7-8.

Underage drinking can and does affect everyone, including people who don’t drink.  Dangerous behavior, property damage, violence and rape are examples of behaviors which become more likely when teens are under the influence of alcohol. 45% of people under 21 years of age who die in car crashes involving a drunk driver are people other than the driver.  Youth behavior influences adult problems more often than many people realize. Research clearly states adults who first used alcohol before age 15 are five times more likely to report dependence on or abuse of alcohol than adults who started using alcohol at age 21 or older.  The Town Hall effort is designed to involve all concerned community members in discussion and education.

While local and national statistics often paint a bleak picture, communities can choose to be part of the solution.   When we are all on the same page, saying underage drinking is not OK, we have the potential of seeing positive behavior choices among youth.  The message, in order to be effective, needs to be consistent whether youth hear it at home, school, in places of worship, on the sports field, or any other place people gather.  It’s an attitude – we need to encourage positive behaviors among our youth for their benefit and the healthy future of our community.

Generations Connecting, a community based youth task force, is pleased to be a part of the Town Hall Meeting effort.  “Generations Connecting is committed to providing community education and promoting healthy choices so the Town Hall Meeting concept is a good fit for our group.  We are making plans to offer an interesting panel discussion on underage alcohol use, it’s consequences, and what the community can do to promote the safety of our young people.  We are excited that Casselton was chosen to be a part of this statewide and nationwide effort.  We hope everyone will watch for further details, take an interest, and attend the Town Hall Meeting this spring.”  (Rebecca Berge-Buss, Coordinator – Generations Connecting)