Wilson: Underage drinking must be addressed

Please allow me the chance to vent my feelings. I’m not looking for readers to agree with me or disagree, I just need to be able to express how I am feeling. We have lost, as a community, another young life to underage drinking over this last weekend. I realize that most people will say, “Oh well … kids will be kids,” or “It happens everywhere, it just seems worse since we are in a small town.” I wish as a community we could do more.
Minor in possession citations are handed out like suckers at the bank. I truly feel the lack of intolerance to underage drinking adds fuel to the fire. I have no great ideas myself. But don’t you think we should have more for the kids to participate in or along with MIPs have a teen or young adult alcohol program for those who get an MIP, not just fines and community service?
We need to include all the kids in our community for activities, not just those who do sports and farming and such. We now have a very diverse group of young people and we need to make an effort to meet more of their interests as well. I am so sad and angry and feel very helpless.
I will probably get a lot of backlash for this, but I think we all take some responsibility for all the kids in the community, not just the ones that excel in school and sports and such, but also for the ones that fall to the way side. I’m sure plenty of readers at this point are thinking, “Well why don’t you come up with an idea?” I think it will take more than just one person and believe me, my brain is working overtime thinking about what I could do.
Diane Wilson
Rangely