Johnson County Central Students Meet With Senator Watermeier
March 10, 2014
Launch the media gallery 1 playerJohnson County Coalition Attends Nebraska Prevention Legislative Day
To promote awareness of county prevention coalitions and to promote laws regarding substance abuse the Johnson County Coalition headed to the state capitol on Friday, February 7th. Many counties from Region V Systems' sixteen counties gathered to prepare information to give to their local senators concerning substance abuse. Two students from Johnson County Central High School, Ariel Sears and Angelica Wellman, and one student from Sterling Public School, along with Joan Peters, CAN sponsor, were representatives from the local coalition who attended. Johnson County is one of the few coalitions that have active youth members.
Some of the information that was prepared for the senators was concerning K2, which is a fairly new man-made drug that looks and smells like potpourri. It is not an illegal drug but can be extremely dangerous. The manufacturers market it in packages that appeal to children. We also presented information on prescription drug abuse among Nebraska youth.
Our coalition introduced themselves to Senator Watermeier and were able to visit him in his office. Students explained what our coalition was about and the different activities and programs that we do here in Johnson County. Our goal was to make him aware of who we are and what we are trying to achieve county-wide. Students then had the chance to ask him questions concerning his stance on substance abuse and any bills that might concern our youth.
The coalitions met with many senators and legislative aides for a lunch at the capitol. After lunch a presentation of the K2 drug and LB811 was given by Corey O'Brien, Assistant to the Attorney General, and a presentation on prescription drug abuse was given by Carey Pomykata. She the video, Dillon's House, where a father shares how devastating it can be to lose a son to an overdose of prescription drugs.
During the morning the students had a chance to tour the capitol and watch the legislature in action. Senator Watermeier also attended the luncheon and we snapped this photo with him before it was time to head for home.