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-5- <br /> Councilmember Marks introduced the two members who had served with him on the <br /> planning committee "charged with reorganizing the St. Anthony Chemical Abuse Aware- <br /> ness Committee to better serve the community"; Janet Kallestad, a 1975 graduate of <br /> District #282 High School who is associated with her parents in Print Craft, Inc. <br /> in New Brighton; and Tom Fruth, a New Brighton resident whose three children attend <br /> the District.•Middle School and High School . Under the reorganization plan, the <br /> three would serve as the Board of Directors for the Committee as a whole and would <br /> provide individual representation and direction to the subcommittees formed to <br /> achieve the various goals and objectives of the Committee, according to Council- <br /> member Marks. <br /> Ms. Kallestad told the Council of some of the events in her own life which had led <br /> her to want to do anything she could to help families understand and cope with <br /> chemical addiction. The new Board member read various passages from the little <br /> booklet "Awareness", which. had been produced at no cost to the Committee by her <br /> family, which the Committee plans to distribute throughout the community, which <br /> along with the projects planned for the Committee, Ms. Kallestad said, she hoped <br /> "would make people more aware of the scope of the chemical abuse problem in <br /> St. Anthony and would help break down the system of 'denial ' which often prevents <br /> action being taken When questioned as to the scope of the problem in the City, <br /> Ms. Kallestad indicated she perceived the "scariest" thing about the problem here <br /> and in other communities was that "the age range of youngsters who are involved in <br /> drug and alcohol abuse is getting lower and lower each year until there are even <br /> ten and eleven year olds using now" . As reported in the booklet, the Committee <br /> planner reiterated that one of the most accessible drugs was cocaine "crack". <br /> Ms. Kallestad urged the Council to give the requested monetary support to the program. <br /> • Mr. Fruth said the mission which his group had now defined for the Committee was, <br /> as stated in the booklet, "to provide information and education on chemical abuse <br /> and its effect on the community", in a manner which would be more effective than in <br /> the past, the Board member said, because membership on the Board and Committee <br /> itself would require full attendance and participation in the projects now set for <br /> accomplishment. "Just warming a chair" would no longer be acceptable and Mr. Fruth <br /> distributed copies of the listing of responsibilities both Board and Committee <br /> members would be expected to assume with membership. <br /> Mayor Sundland indicated he agreed that it made no difference how many persons served <br /> on the committee as long as the ones who did serve were. all willing to do what would <br /> be required of them to fulfill the committee's mission. The Mayor said he perceived <br /> the three had done a "magnificent" job of reorganizing the organization and redefining <br /> its mission. Councilmembers Enrooth and Ranallo agreed, saying they especi.ally <br /> appreciated the leadership they perceived Councilmember Marks had provided. Council- <br /> member Ranallo indicated he knew from personal experience of having served on the <br /> committee eight years ago that the mission of the committee had not really been <br /> c-learly defined up until now, but, he added„ he certainly would not want to take <br /> away from efforts made in the past by committee members who he knew had, in fact, <br /> worked very hard to accomplish the projects they had achieved. <br /> Mayor Sundland offered to use any contacts he had with other service organizations, <br /> indicating it might be a good idea to make an immediate "pitch" to some of those <br /> groups who he knew were "always looking for a worthwhile project to support" . Mr. <br /> Childs told the Board members that if they made the same presentation to other groups <br /> they had that evening, he perceived "your sales job would be done for you" . <br />