After being recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the safest communities in the world in which to live, the Rainy River District now has another feather in its hat.
The Rainy River Valley Safety Coalition (RRVSC) has just received the 2002 Award of Excellence from the Safe Communities Foundation in recognition of it’s ongoing achievements in promoting a healthy environment for adults and children throughout the district.
The RRVSC has promoted and sponsored the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and Smart Risk in the local schools, as well as the Safe Community Incentive Program (SCIP). Smart Risk has been in effect in the district for four years and Silander says the difference in the attitudes of young people is quite profound.
“We’re so excited about this,” said RRDSC spokesperson and manager for the West Rainy River District Ambulance Services, Grace Silander.
The award included a cheque for $1,500, which Silander said will be reinvested in DARE.
OPP Sr. Cst. Dereck McLean shared the coalition’s enthusiasm. It was he who presented Silander and RRVSC co-chair Dorothy Poperechny with the cheque on Friday in Fort Frances.
“It’s so rewarding for the officers because the students are embracing us and the message,” he said.
DARE began in 1997 at the Grade 6 level with an initial investment of $2,000 and last year was introduced for the first time in Grade 10. Poperechny said already students who had been through the program at earlier grades show signs of maturity and responsibility that might not otherwise be there.
The SCIP program is directed toward and partially sponsored by local business owners. Initially, some of the funding came from refunds from the Workers’ Compensation Board premiums.
“The board recognized businesses adopting this program were a lower risk and adjusted the premiums accordingly,” said Silander.
The Awards of Excellence are giving out in four categories. The Rainy River District finished on top among all communities with populations over 100,000.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
