The Clinton County Extension Office held its annual Truth or Consequenses event last Friday at the Clinton County Fairgrounds with a host of high school freshmen learning the hard cold truth about certain aspects of life.

The program is designed to especially target substance abuse.

The event saw a collection of community leaders donate their time to the good cause, teaching Clinton County High School freshmen about drug addiction and how their actions can affect how their life will play out.

Christy Nuetzman, in charge of Family and Consumer Sciences at the Clinton County Extension Office, led Friday’s event and she said since she has been putting this program on, she has seen the difference it is starting to make.

“I think it went really good Friday,” Nuetzman said. “At this point, since we have done it for a number of years, our community partners know what to expect. I feel like it was a really good day because we had other people from different counties throughout the state to observe this.”

Friday’s event was set up with several members of the community present including the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, Albany Police Department, District Judge Scarlett Latham, County Attorney Michael Rains and others with presentatioons and booths that included school principals, the Clinton County Hospital, Clinton County Jail and area churches.

Each student was given a piece of paper with a scenario outline. The students, along with an adult, had to go to the three tables that housed a particular community partner that was described on the piece of paper.

“It was probably one of our better events,” Nuetzman said. “We’ve been doing this since 2006, which was our very first Truth and Consequenses. I think one of the things we were able to do this time, since we took it through the publication process at UK, we had very structured instruments that we used to do pre-test and post-test with the kids.”

Nuetzman said these tests are used to supply parents and community partners with a more reliable evaluation in order to see if there is an area not included in the events.

“We will be able to see what we need and add things into the event,” Nuetzman said.

The event targets the freshmen age group because the data confirms there is a need for this type of awareness at this age.

Nuetzman looks at the Kentucky Incentive Prevention data (KIP) which shows how early in life kids come in contact with drugs and other addictive agents.

“We are seeing usage as early as sixth grade,” Nuetzman said. “We were seeing a high rate of usage in eighth graders and an even higher rate as sophomores, so we knew that we must be missing something. Part of it is the transition out of the middle school and into the high school. We knew we needed to target something in that freshman year.”

The Truth or Consequenses doesn’t just target freshmen, however, Nuetzman wants to continue the program to all the youth in the county.

“My goal is to do this for the freshmen and take that same group of freshmen when they are juniors and seniors and do something a little bit different, not only to see if what they had as freshmen really held with them, but also to say you are going to enter into another phase of life as you leave high school and go to work or go on to college.”

Nuetzman said they need the data to see what’s next for Clinton County’s youth.

“I think there is more for us to do. A lot of the data is not just how frequently they use, but how easy it is to get access to certain drugs,” Nuetzman said. “It’s not just prescription drugs, it looks at alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, meth … You put it all in there.”

Nuetzman said some of the groups over the years don’t know how harmful drugs can be and many think if it’s prescription drugs then it must be safe.

“There are still kids who think one thing is safer than the other,” Nuetzman said. “We want them to understand that there is harm either way you go.”

Friday’s event saw one of the biggest groups of freshmen Nuetzman has hosted since the programs started. She hopes they realize the type of people who are out in our society who can help with different situations.

“Maybe some of them had a scenario and they didn’t interact with law enforcement. Some of them had to go before the judge or go before the school,” Nuetzman said. “What I hoped happened was they saw a lot of different people in our community who have a roll in youth substance abuse issues.”

Nuetzman said the goal is to put the youth in front of community partners so they can explain to the youth of the county that they have a choice.

“They have a choice right now that could end in a positive result or something that’s not as negative and I think that’s the role the community partners played for us,” Nuetzman said. “I hope that it sends a message to not only know what the consequenses are, but to know that there are a lot of people who want to help you and who are here to support you. That way they know that they don’t have to make that choice that will lead them down the wrong path.”

With most younger students, the “taking it serious” aspect in these types of events seems to be the one thing that doesn’t reach the students. With the Truth or Consequenses approach, Nuetzman said she really thinks it hits home with a lot of the kids.

“Every year we have done this, it might seem like it was cute or funny for the first few minutes for some of those kids. By the time they are actually through a scenario and they have gone as far as being handcuffed or going in front of a judge, they realize that the grin and giggle effect is gone. It’s a very solemn experience,” Nuetzman said.

Nuetzman said she also thinks it helps the youth recognize the community partners. She said many of them may recognize a law enforcement officer, but might not know the county attorney out on the street.

“For them to sit there and give their time for those youth, I think it brings that reality in for them,” Nuetzman said. “We were real successful this time, even more that in previous times, at having the real partner there. I really appreciated the people taking the time to sit out there because it is a time commitment. We didn’t have to have anyone filling in for a certain booth. They were all there and that made a really big impact on them.”