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These arrests mean less poison ending up in the presence of children, which is something law enforcement strives for every day. Drug arrests get headlines; it is the nature of the work. But it is also deserving of attention when prevention efforts happen at policy and funding levels.

With that in mind, kudos to Rep. Greg Walden for taking a long view on the policy level, in two ways:

First, the Second District Republican from Hood River has helped lead the fight to reauthorize the Drug Endangered Children grant. The House approved the legislation Monday; it now awaits Senate action.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, more than 15,000 children were found at methamphetamine labs from 2000 to 2004. The grant program aids innocent children exposed to drug abuse at home.

Keeping kids away from where drugs are made or used goes hand-in-hand with the need to foster healthy life choices in children and direct them away from abusing drugs of all varieties.

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Second, Walden has invited two of the country’s top drug officials to the Second District for a summit next spring with community organizations devoted to fighting drug abuse.

Walden invited John Walters, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (also known as the “drug czar”), and Karen Tandy, the administrator at the Drug Enforcement Agency, during a meeting in the U.S. Capitol with a small group of legislators last week.

“Through many extensive town halls I have held throughout the district on the issue of drug abuse, I have seen the alarming effects that drugs like meth can have on individuals, families, and communities,” said Walden, who met with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Task Force on Saturday.

This will not be the first time Walden has convened drug summits in the district; similar events in Hood River and The Dalles in February 2005 drew large crowds and a variety of insights and ideas from agency representatives from throughout the Pacific Northwest.

In particular were the need for parental involvement and role modeling, suggested by Donita Huskey-Wilson, head of the Hood River County Community Justice programs, and increasing funding for long-term counseling to keep recovering addicts off drugs, urged by Sharon Guidera of Mid-Columbia Center For Living.

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With regard to prevention, there is more going on on the ground. Students who themselves were barely out of middle school in 2005 have taken to heart lessons and ideas on substance abuse prevention.

The Hood River County Coalition on Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention has continued to break ground in prevention efforts, as evidenced by students who last week impressed none other than the acting U.S. Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu.

Moritsugu shared a panel with Yesenia Castro and Elvia Santillan of Hood River Valley High School at a prevention meeting in Portland. The youths asked Moritsugu to add students’ insights to his “Call to Action” plan for prevention programs.

Moritsugu agreed, and asked the students to help develop a Call to Action — aimed specifically at teens — on how to reduce teenage drinking. Congratulations to these young people for receiving such a high-level recognition of their thoughtful hard work.

(Joining Castro and Santillan will be Oregon State University student Cindy Hernandez, who was also actively involved in Coalition efforts while at HRVHS.)

The students’ emphasis is on underage drinking, but whether it is booze or hard narcotics, substance abuse presents a continued threat to the welfare of our young people and society as a whole.