Local News in Brief : Countywide : Board OKs Sheriff’s Drug Abuse Program
The Board of Supervisors ignored a warning from the county administrative office Tuesday and approved a $400,000 drug abuse education program requested by Sheriff Brad Gates.
The vote means that later this year sheriff’s deputies will begin appearances at elementary schools in the unincorporated area of the county to teach fifth- and sixth-grade children about drugs.
The county administrative office had rejected the idea because it said the program was too expensive for a county that is in financial trouble. The program is expected to be funded with money seized by the Sheriff’s Department during drug investigations.
The supervisors vote was 3-0 with only Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder commenting in favor of the idea. Supervisor Roger R. Stanton was absent because he is ill and Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez was attending a speech in Fullerton by President Reagan.
“It’s one of the most crucial issues of the day,” Wieder said. “It’s not always the bottom line--what it costs--that counts.”
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