Don't lose faith

The possibility of there being drugs in our school system should be a worry for everyone in Hot Springs County. If we think back, at the same age, we thought we were “ten foot tall and bulletproof” and no one could touch us because we were smarter than the adults.

We know better now.

But I also want to say how very fortunate I am to get to coach some of the best kids in the district. I don’t want everyone to think all the kids are smoking and drinking and partying every weekend. It is literally a very small number of students trapped in that circle.

The students I work with are smart, talented and funny, as are a lot of the students in our high school. It doesn’t take long to see these are the ones who are spending hours after school honing their talents, whether it be with the speech team or the wrestling team.

And their weekends? They’re giving up their weekends to travel with their team all over the state, stand up in front of perfect strangers and give four to six, sometimes twice that number, of speeches in two days.

I know right now it feels like all our young people are going down a path of destruction, but take heart, there are more students fulfilling their dreams than there are smoking their lives away.

Kudos too, to the Thermopolice Police Department and the Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office for stepping in and doing the right thing. These folks have to tread such a fine line between their duties and their relationship with the kids.

I haven’t lost faith in our young people, but they do need our support. Perhaps a pat on the back after a tough game or a “congratulations” after a winning round of debate is all that stands between one life and another.