A noisy helicopter flew over a sea of about 900 West Hawaii students as they yelled in excitement during the annual DARE celebration at the Kekuaokalani Gym in Kailua-Kona on Thursday.
The rescue chopper landed around EMS vehicles as part of a live demonstration led by the Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii County Fire Department, and other emergency personnel.
Afterwards, the middle school students flooded into the gymnasium as the show continued with a demonstration by the police department’s vice section. A drug bust scenario played out in front of the exuberant youngsters using the department’s friendly K-9 who successfully tracked down a bag of drugs in a book bag. The onlookers shouted in joy and applause echoed throughout the gym.
A dance contest followed and students came from the stands and ventured to the middle of the floor to show off their latest and greatest break dance moves to the enthusiastic crowd.
These activities and more went on for most of the day Thursday.
Hawaii police officer Wyatt Nahale said the hoopla was in honor of the student’s completion of a 10-week DARE program at area schools. During that time, police officers educate the children about how to make good choices and to stay away from drugs and violence.
During the program, the students were also required to write an essay by the end of the 10 weeks explaining what they learned. Nahale, who has been coordinating the event for the past three years, said he enjoys seeing all the students join together for a good cause. He says the program is a beneficial to the middle school students of Hawaii County and gives them the opportunity to get to know law enforcement officers on a more personal level.
“We become more of mentors to the children,” he said.
They also get a sense of accomplishment and motivation out of the course, as well.
“They’re rewarded for their good behavior and get to hear from successful people in the community that positive choices have positive outcomes,” he said.
Guest speakers on Thursday included professional bodyboarders Mike Stewart and David Kelly.
Nahale also said numerous local businesses, the Hawaii County Mayor’s Office and Hawaii County Council assisted in the event by offering donations.
And according to Kealakehe Intermediate School students Zoe Stevens and Emma Napolean-Martins, both 11, the day’s festivities went off without a hitch.
“It was really fun!” they yelled in unison.
Both of the girls said they were thankful to have experienced the DARE program and that they learned one major lesson — don’t do drugs or you’ll end up in trouble.
“If you do drugs, you could go to jail for a lifetime,” Stevens said.
And both the girls learned that it’s OK to say “no.”
“I learned that if I see someone doing drugs and they offer them to me to just say, ‘no’” Napolean-Martins said.
According to the DAREHawaii website, the program on the Big Island is instructed by the Hawaii Police Department’s Community Policing Section. Both School Resource Police Officers and Community Police Officers are trained to teach the curriculum to fifth through eighth-graders at various schools in Hawaii County.
The DARE Program on the Big Island culminates with DARE days held in West Hawaii and East Hawaii.