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CATS News & Events
Rockingham County 4-H News
Save the Date! Rx Take Back scheduled for Saturday, September 29th
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Submit a request for your event to be added to the CATS calendar.
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 | | Click image to read about the teen youth group. |
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CATS Staff
Sue Centner Director
Paula Galvin, M.Ed. Special Assistant
Kaitlyn Clarke, Youth Coordinator
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Community Alliance for Teen Safety is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Our mission is to promote safe habits for all youth by increasing awareness of high-risk behaviors, encouraging healthy choices, and fostering community alliances.
www.catsnh.org
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| August 2012
Letter from the Director
On July 9, 2012, the federal Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 was signed into law. The law adds certain classes of synthetic cannabinoids and two substituted cathinones-mephedrone and MDPV-to the federal controlled substances act. To see which states have legislation outlawing synthetic drugs visit http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/synthetic-drug-threats.aspx. Use of synthetic drugs is an alarming and dangerous trend which necessitates that we all be more vigilant when it comes to what is being sold in our own communities.
Christopher M. Hutchins, Sergeant-Special Investigations Unit and Drug Evaluation and Classification State Coordinator for the NH Division of Liquor Enforcement, recently noted "As the DECP State Coordinator, I can tell you that these products are still readily available in most NH smoke "Head" Shops and gas stations throughout the state." For more information about these products visit the CATS website.
Even though we feel the heavy weight of the overwhelming challenges for communities to address issues such as the dangers of synthetic drug use, there are many positive things happening every day that counterbalance these conditions. There are wonderful resources and activities available in our community and around the state this summer for families that are healthy, safe and fun.Continue reading
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NH Prevention Coalitions Attend CADCA Conference
NH was well represented at the recent Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) annual mid-year conference in Nashville, TN July 22 -27. Coalitions including CATS sent representatives to participate in the intensive workshops designed to provide the most current information to help address community tobacco, alcohol and other drug problems, including the emerging and very dangerous use of bath salts and synthetic marijuana products. NH attendees had the opportunity to network together and with those from across the United States and other countries. Those attending from NH were: Hinsdale Prevention Coalition, Franklin Mayor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Task Force, NH National Guard - Drug Demand Reduction, Dover Coalition for Youth, Bridging the Gap: Rochester Coalition for Alcohol & Drug Prevention, Community Alliance for Teen Safety.
Learn more about CADCA.
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Youth Attend Media Camp
 | | Paul Boyd of Danvile and Devin Sullivan of Chester in the control booth at DCTV |
Eighteen youth participated in CATS' summer media camp for youth July 30th to August 3rd at the Derry Community Television studio. The camp introduced the youth to all aspects of the broadcast facility and trained them in the essentials of camera operation, audio, lighting, editing and studio production. The attendees were tasked with creating a brief in-studio production and a pair of 30 second public service announcements. To accomplish their tasks, the youth split into three teams or broadcast networks, were given full training, full use of the studio, and full support by an array of staff and advisors.
Camp provided the opportunity for youth to be trained, bond with their team mates and become exposed to the idea of creating media messages around youth wellness and safety. On Friday afternoon parents, friends and family gathered to see the media projects created during camp and hear firsthand from the attendees about their experiences.
Attendees will be invited to continue their instruction at the studio in more advanced techniques, work with CATS to create more PSAs and media projects and explore volunteer opportunities at the Derry CTV. Continue reading
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 | Get ready to go back to school safely!
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Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe! is a new child transportation safety campaign from NHTSA and Ludorum, the producers of the Chuggington television series.
Traffic incidents continue to be a leading cause of injury and death for children. Research show the key to traffic safety is education. Understanding that young children learn best when engaged, Chuggington and NHTSA have partnered to create an interactive traffic safety campaign that delivers life-saving lessons to kids preschool-aged to 3rd grade, all hosted by the "trainees" of Chuggington, Wilson, Koko and Brewster! Lessons focus on four main areas: pedestrian, bus, bike, and car seat safety. Visit the Traffic Safety Toolkit to learn more.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Plan Your Labor Day Weekend...Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
 Did you know about No Refusal? The No Refusal program is an enforcement strategy that allows jurisdictions to obtain search warrants for blood samples from suspected impaired drivers who refuse breath tests. Many jurisdictions allow officers to request warrants via phone from on-call judges or magistrates. This enables law enforcement to legally acquire a proper blood sample from drivers who refuse to give a breath sample.
August 17th to September 3rd is a national crackdown on impaired driving.
It is illegal in all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter. Despite these laws, in 2010 more than 10,000 people died in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was impaired. Enjoy the end of the summer and your Labor Day Weekend safely! Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Value of CADCA Conference
Abby Rugg
When I was involved with CATS in high school, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Youth Leadership conference in Washington D.C. I went with several other Youth Advisory Board (YAB) members, and we spent the better part of a week learning about grassroots campaigns from other communities and participating in leadership exercises. Of course, it was a great learning experience. We went to workshops and seminars on everything from seatbelts to underage drug use. We met then-Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, and discussed with her what we hoped to accomplish with CATS.
But what stands out to me is how much I learned from CADCA's Youth Leadership conference about social skills. That was really the first time I had ever been forced out of my comfort zone and had to network with people and speak with people whom I hadn't known for most of my life. I met a lot of teenagers that week who did not share many of my cultural experiences: kids had come from all over the country for the conference, and besides sharing the same classes and goals we didn't always have that much in common. This experience not only taught me a lot about myself by forcing me to connect with people who were not like me, it also-without me knowing it-prepared me for college and my professional life. With the experience I gained at CADCA, I was already ready when I left my childhood friends to make friends with people that had different social and political views-and very different interests-than I had. I don't know if I realized at the time how lucky I was to be able to attend such an important event, but I hope that CATS still has the chance to send kids to the youth conference, because it was a valuable learning experience for me.
Abby Rugg is a former youth member of CATS.
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