Laura Bucio
Assistant Editor

The Youth and Family Action Committee met Tuesday in La Verne city hall at 6:30 p.m. to discuss advancements on some of their most current projects.

The committee addressed drunk driving, truancies and the possibility of having dogs to search for drugs or weapons.

“This committee is the one meeting I go to where things actually get done,” said Patti Latourelle, board member of the Bonita Unified Board of Education and member of the executive board of the Youth and Family Action Committee for six years. “We make a real impact on kids here.”

The meeting began with an update on some of the most current programs the committee has sponsored.

One of the programs discussed was “Every 15 minutes…” The program’s name refers to the fact that every 15 minutes one person in the United States dies from an alcohol related injury and is designed to raise awareness about the risks of drunk driving among high school students.

The program is held every other year, with the last one taking place in 2004. This year it was on March 29 and 30.

For this program several students are removed from Bonita High School and taken to a two-day program, where they are educated about the dangers of drunk driving. Several activities are scheduled, including a staged collision.

“It affects these kids for so many years,” said Carol Escobedo, police services coordinator “It does what we want it to do.”

The committee was awarded a certificate by the Youth and Family Action Committee in recognizing the impact the program has had in the community.

“Thank you for the certificate, but I actually feel I should be giving you a certificate; it is through the support of organizations like this that make this program a success,” Escobedo said.

Keith Garwick, school resources officer from the La Verne police department spoke about the importance of encouraging students to attend school.

“If you can get that habit by junior high, it wouldn’t be an issue,” Garwick said.

Garwick also spoke of developing a “Youth Court” where students would have complete authority.

“We don’t want to punish, we want to fix the problem.” Garwick said.

The committee also addressed the possibility of creating the “Generation to Generation” program, where seniors in La Verne are paired up with youth in the community.

The Youth and Family Committee was created in 1992 as part of Dan Harden’s campaign to introduce him.

The committee was developed as a way to bring together all the different groups trying to help youth and improve the community. It is composed of several members of the community.

“We got them all organized and now they are all out here doing their thing on their own,” Harden said.

The committee holds several fund raising events, for example dances and concerts in order to provide financial support to a lot of groups that need to make their programs successful.

Most of the programs are focused on making a difference in young people’s lives and improving the overall quality of life in the city of La Verne.

The next meeting is scheduled for May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

Laura Bucio can be reached at lbucio@ulv.edu.