Published: 7/23/2008

2 area agencies get $1.6M to stem teen alcohol use

Two northwest Ohio educational organizations have been awarded more than $1.6 million in grants to prevent alcohol abuse among middle school and high school students.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded $511,000 to the Swanton Local School District and about $1.13 million to the Wood County Educational Service Center.

The awards were given through the department s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. The money is to be used over three years to implement innovative and effective programs aimed at preventing alcohol abuse.

One of the things they look at in awarding dollars is success rates in that area, said Kevin Mullan, a spokesman for The Community Partnership, a nonprofit organization on Southwyck Boulevard dedicated to reducing substance abuse. That shows us that what we re doing across northwest Ohio is working.

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