The Decision House free Fall Festival will take place Friday, October 28, 2011 and Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m., on the grounds of the Police Department. The Festival will encompass two different areas:

• An alternative to a haunted house. Scenes will be acted out by local  church groups and CCISD students,  focusing on the impact poor decisions can have on themselves, their families, and the community.  Examples of the consequences of teen alcohol and drug use, involvement in gangs, and being untruthful.
• The second area will offer live music, games, and information from local colleges, law enforcement agencies, the armed services, and other organizations. The information provided by these organizations will reinforce the concept of making the “right decision”.

Mayor Joe Adame, Chief of Police Troy Riggs, members of Faith Based Services Coalition and Citizens in Support of the CCPD Police Foundation, the Corpus Christi Citizens Police Academy Alumni, Volunteers in Police Service, along with community volunteers, will take part in an opening ceremony on Friday, October 28, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. at the Police Department, 321 John Sartain. Members of Police Explorer’s Post#133 will present the colors during the event.

The Corpus Christi Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration continue working together to Keep Corpus Christi Safe by hosting their 2nd Annual Prescription Take-Back for 2011. 

Please see the following news release from the Drug Enforcement Administration for additional information.

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION CONDUCTS SECOND COASTAL BEND PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY ON OCTOBER 29, 2011    “Living Drug Free Starts at Home”

(Corpus Christi, TX) –   The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with the Corpus Christi, Portland, Cuero, and Sinton Police Departments and the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office, will provide the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  On Saturday, October 29th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., DEA along with its local law enforcement counterparts will host the Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.  There will be ten Take-Back locations within the Coastal Bend Community.  Additionally, students from the Texas A&M Health Science Center – Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy will be at select locations offering complimentary blood pressure and glucose screenings. 

This initiative, “Living Drug Free Starts at Home,” addresses vital public safety and health issues.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high–more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).  The same study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.  In April of 2011, Americans turned in 376,593 pounds—188 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners.  

The Prescription Take-Back service is free and no questions will be asked. 

 Collection Sites will be set up at the following locations: 

• KIII TV                                               5002 S.P.I.D., Corpus Christi
• Boys and Girls Club                           3902 Greendwood Drive, Corpus Christi
• HEB                                                      5313 Saratoga Boulvevard, Corpus Christi
• HEB (Flour Bluff)                               1145 Waldron Road, Corpus Christi
• HEB (Annaville)                               11100 Leopard Sttreet, Corpus Christi
• HEB                                                     1600 Wildcat Boulevard, Portland
• Coastal Bend College                         1814 Brahma Boulevard, Kingsville
• Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office      1500 E. King Street, Kingsville
• Cuero City Hall                                    201 E. Main Street, Cuero
• Sinton Chamber of Commerce          218 West Sinton Street, Sinton

Prescription drug disposal and the DEA’s Take-Back events are significant pieces of the White House’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan released this year by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Purging home medicine cabinets of neglected drugs is one of four strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion laid out in Epidemic:  Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis.  The other strategies include education of health care providers, patients, parents and youth; establishing prescription drug monitoring programs in all states; and increased enforcement to address doctor shopping and pill mills. 

For more information and collection sites nation-wide, please visit www.dea.gov.

No one sets out to make decisions that will forever damage the course of their life. Yet every day, good individuals make wrong decisions which they may never recover from. Decision House is a realistic example of how seemingly small decisions can lead youth down a path to ruin and provides them with the tools to make the right decisions.

The Decision House free Fall Festival will take place Friday, October 28, 2011 and Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m., on the grounds of the Police Department. The Festival will encompass two different areas:

• An alternative to a haunted house. Scenes will be acted out by local church groups and CCISD students, focusing on the impact poor decisions can have on themselves, their families, and the community. Examples the consequences of teen alcohol and drug use, involvement in gangs, and being untruthful.

• The second area will offer live music, games, and information from local colleges, law enforcement agencies, the armed services, and other organizations. The information provided by these organizations will reinforce the concept of making the “right decision”.

Mayor Joe Adame, Chief of Police Troy Riggs, members of Faith Based Services Coalition and Citizens in Support of the CCPD Police Foundation, along with the Corpus Christi Citizens Police Academy Alumni, Volunteers in Police Service, and  community volunteers, will take part in an opening ceremony on Friday, October 28, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. at the Police Department, 321 John Sartain. Members of Police Explorer’s Post#133 will present the colors during the event.

The first annual Decision House Fall Festival will officially open at 6:00 p.m. Everyone who tours Decision House will receive a free hot dog, bag of chips, and a soda until supplies run out. Free parking is available at a lot located at the corner of N. Chaparral and Cooper’s Alley.

To register for a group tour contact DeAnna McQueen, Special Projects Coordinator, at (361) 826-2940.