Baker Middle School’s DARE graduation took place May 20 when 65 seventh-graders walked across the Municipal Auditorium stage to receive certificates and other awards. Baker Police Sgt. Jason Doyle, DARE director, welcomed

the group and introduced the master of ceremonies, Johnnie Domino of Power 94.9 and www.MissyRadio.com Brad Grzych, Miracle Place Church care pastor, delivered the prayer and Baker Police Lt. Felton Thornton led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Words of encouragement and congratulations were heard from Mayor Harold Rideau; Earl Langlois, principal, and Ericka Jones, acting principal, Baker Middle School; and Ulysses Joseph, interim superintendent, Baker School Board. The main speaker was Lt. Darrel Roan of the West Feliciana Sheriff’s Office. He noted that most of these seventh-graders passed through the fifth grade DARE graduation and now know how to make good decisions.

Remember, you are “perfectly made” as you are and do not have to follow others, Roan said. He looks forward to teaching the graduates who are participating in the Southeastern Law Enforcement Academy in Gulfport, Miss., June 19-25. The students had written essays on “What DARE Means to Me.” They addressed drugs, alcohol, bullying and violence.

The winners were Nakosha Rose, first place; Myeisha Anderson, second place; and Asia Broussard, third place. DARE mascot, Darren the Lion, made an appearance and danced with the graduates.

DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and consists of a series of classroom lessons led by a police officer. It is an international program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs and violence, and to lead productive lives.