The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 12, 2013

Adults, students to get drug test queries

By Joe Pinchot Herald Staff Writer

HERMITAGE — Hermitage school officials have not decided to implement a voluntary student drug testing program, or even concluded the best way to go about it.

But, officials are planning to run the idea by some students and adults to gauge support for the idea.

Hermitage patrolman Anthony Moses, who is stationed full time in the school district, pitched the idea of voluntary testing last month, arguing that it could generate peer pressure to keep kids from trying drugs in the first place.



A small group of students who sign up for the program would be tested monthly, but results only would be sent to parents. School officials and police would not learn if students tested positive or not.



Parents could come to school officials if their kids test positive, but only to seek help for their students or themselves in dealing with the issue, Moses said. Referrals could be made to Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission, Sharon Regional Health System, Community Counseling Center or other agencies, he said.



Hickory High School Principal Chris Gill said the presidents of school clubs will be given the same presentation on Moses’ idea Wednesday as school board members were given last month.

Superintendent Dr. Daniel Bell said the topic also will be on the agenda for an upcoming Citizen’s Advisory Committee meeting. The committee is a group of parents who meet with school officials, and officials have bounced ideas off them in the past, Bell said.

While Moses recommended that hair be tested, officials also are considering urine testing, Bell said. Hair tests are more expensive but are less invasive for students, and the accuracy of each kind of test tends to be a product of how extensively a sample is tested, officials said.

“They both have issues,” Bell said.

Many school districts that have voluntary testing programs use hair, and are not necessarily worried about the tests being foolproof.

“It’s a preventative tool to give the kids a reason not to get into drugs in the first place,” he said.



Moses is writing to potential donors to determine if there are grants available to pay for the testing. Moses had recommended a company that can perform hair tests for $60 a pop.

Board member Tim McGonigle asked if the tests would go on in the summer, when students are out of school.



“If it doesn’t go through the summer months - those are the most idle months for our kids,” he said.

Bell said officials had not reached a conclusion on that issue.

Text Only
Local News
  • Vote totals change Tuesday

    Mercer County completed scanning 337 absentee ballots Friday morning which have been added to Tuesday’s vote totals posted on the county’s website, said Jeff Greenburg, Mercer County’s elections director.

    May 25, 2013

  • IUs could control special ed funding for cybers, rep says

    A state lawmaker has proposed that all special education services for cyber school students be funneled through the state’s regional educational intermediate units.

    May 25, 2013

  • Prosecutor doesn’t want kids to testify in person

    A man accused of raping three young children while he babysat them was “ready to go forward” with his preliminary hearing Thursday but the prosecution put the brakes on, arguing that the children shouldn’t have to testify in the man’s presence.

    May 24, 2013

  • Hearing in fatal shooting case delayed

    More than 20 family and friends gathered Thursday outside the Farrell district court of Judge Ronald Antos to support the man accused of shooting Andrew T. Walko to death on May 13.

    May 24, 2013

  • Ex-PTO officers in court on embezzlement charges

    Two women accused of stealing more than $35,000 from the Hermitage Parent-Teacher Organization turned themselves in at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Hermitage police station.

    May 24, 2013

  • Urban decay creates hazard for schoolkids

    Sharon schools Superintendent John Sarandrea shook his head Thursday afternoon as he surveyed a partially collapsed building across the street from Musser Elementary School.

    May 24, 2013

  • Voters choose 4 newcomers, unseating 2 board members

    Sharon residents likely will be seeing four new faces at school board meetings starting in December.

    May 23, 2013

  • Plan for Speedway station gets nod from commissioners

    Alan Baldarelli asked whether he could appeal Hermitage commissioners’ decision to approve a land-development plan for a Speedway gas station and convenience store, but did not say whether he planned to appeal.

    May 23, 2013

  • PTO officers charged with theft

    Hermitage police on Wednesday charged two officials of the Hermitage Parent-Teacher Organization with stealing more than $35,000 from the organization between May 2012 and March.

    May 23, 2013

  • Memorial Day events

    Area communities announced their Memorial Day commemorations for 2013.

    May 23, 2013