Taking the pledge: Students complete D.A.R.E. program

KAILUA-KONA — Hundreds of West Hawaii students took the D.A.R.E. pledge to remain drug-free during a ceremony held Friday at Old Kona Airport Park.

The vow was the culmination of the weeks-long Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program led by Hawaii Police Department officers at various schools on the leeward side of Hawaii Island.

After taking the pledge at Kona Community Aquatic Center, the kids got to witness the Hawaii Police Department and its Special Response Team (SRT) and the Hawaii Fire Department in action after police revived a mock report of a hit-and-run incident. The spectacle was followed by fun, games and food.

The D.A.R.E. program was founded in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department to teach school-age children how to resist peer pressure and live drug- and violence-free lives, according to the nonprofit organization’s website. It has been taught in schools throughout Hawaii for more than three decades.