Ketchum horns, bells and sirens to sound in unison with Idaho’s cities

This afternoon, the third afternoon of the third month at 3 p.m., cities statewide will ring bells, blow whistles, honk horns and sound sirens for 33 seconds in a shared outcry against drug abuse in Idaho.

According to Ketchum Mayor Guy Coles, the city will distribute fire, ambulance and police vehicles all over town to sound horns and sirens. Members of the public are encouraged to participate using door bells, car horns or whatever they can find to make noise.

Ketchum resolved to undertake these efforts in a Proclamation for Enough is Enough, signed by Mayor Coles on Friday.

Ketchum city administrator Jim Jaquet said the goal is to raise the consciousness of the community to a level that recognizes that there is a drug problem in Idaho and that the city of Ketchum is emphasizing, through these efforts, the fact that it has a drug-free policy.

The city independently adopted a policy in April 1992 that prohibits illegal drug use. City employees arrested for drug use are subject to disciplinary action, and city employees who drive or operate city equipment are subject to immediate dismissal should illegal drug use be substantiated, cites the policy.

"The city has an obligation to all its employees, as well as to the public at large, to establish a work environment free from the influence of drugs and/or alcohol," Ketchum’s policy reads.

On Dec. 21, Ketchum reiterated its commitment to a drug-free work place and to a drug-free Idaho when it joined a network of the state’s municipalities, which are pulling together to fight drug use and abuse.

The document signed by Coles states, "The Association of Idaho Cities, representing the 201 cities in Idaho, has launched a statewide campaign to end complacency, ignorance and apathy about the impacts of drug abuse…We affirm that the battle against substance abuse and addiction is about our children. We must help them walk drug-free through a drug-filled world."

The bell ringing and siren squealing will also kick off a month-long anti-drug campaign called Enough is Enough ‘99—March for Idaho. The campaign promises to be the largest anti-drug crusade ever attempted by Idaho, states AIC president Chuck Geska in a letter to Coles.

Drug prevention educators Milton Creagh and Van Houser will be in Idaho from March 9 through March 22 speaking to children and adults at various cities around the state. Their talks will culminate at 10:30 a.m. on March 22 with a March for Idaho ’99 parade down Boise’s Capitol Boulevard.

In that parade, Jaquet will carry Ketchum’s flag and Coles will ride in a Ketchum police car.

Ketchum has random drug testing among its driving and machinery-oriented personnel, and Jaquet said discussions are ongoing as to whether to have testing of all city employees.

There are legal issues that revolve around the random testing of non-safety-related positions, he said.