JEFFERSON TWP - Not many decisions are left up to a child to make, especially when he's in the fifth grade.

But one choice a child often makes on his own can be the one decision that will make or break his future - the decision to use drugs or alcohol.

That's the message fifth graders at Saxonburg Intermediate Elementary School heard both Monday and Tuesday, as graduation ceremonies were held at the school for students who successfully completed the D.A.R.E. program.

D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was offered at the school for the first time this year, according to Lt. Brian Karenbauer, an officer with the Butler County Sheriff's Department. The department is in charge of the program throughout the county.

"I know it's been a long time in coming here to the South Butler School District," Karenbauer told the students during the graduation ceremony.

Karenbauer said requests by the district had been made in the past to get the program started there, but because of staff shortages, the department was unable to fulfill the request until this year.

Deputy Justin Houk was in charge of the classes at the school, which lasted for 10 weeks.

Students learned about alcohol awareness, tobacco use, marijuana, inhalants, building friendship foundations, peer pressure and good decision-making skills. The program is funded by grant money from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Deliquency.

Other school districts in the county that have D.A.R.E. programs include Slippery Rock, Karns City and five private schools, Karenbauer said.

Houk said the D.A.R.E. program is taught at four levels: kindergarten through fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade, junior high and senior high.

However, it is most effective when taught in the earlier grades, Houk said.

This year, the program has over 30 D.A.R.E. classes in various schools, with 800 students participating. At South Butler, eight classes with about 200 students successfully completed the program.

Four students won awards for essays on the program. Those students were recognized during the graduation ceremony prior to the handing out of D.A.R.E. certificates.

One of those winners, Georgia Smith, said she learned many valuable lessons during the D.A.R.E. classes. Among them was that marijuana is a potent drug that contains 50 to 70 percent more cancer-causing elements than just plain cigarettes.

Smith swore she would never use or abuse drugs or alcohol and asked her fellow classmates to do the same.

"I learned a lot of things in D.A.R.E. and I hope everyone else did, too," she said.

Crystal Fogel, another essay winner, said she learned that smoking can cause heart and other health problems. She also said she promised herself she would never use drugs because it would not only hurt her, but also other people she cared about.

Karenbauer told the students he was proud of them and wanted them to know that the decision to use drugs and alcohol can be influenced by many people in their lives, but the choice to do so ultimately was up to them.

"Right now, the choice is in your hands," he said. "When it comes right down to it, the choice is yours."