Chamber members hear about Southern Illinois Substance Abuse Alliance

The Chester Chamber of Commerce sponsored a community lunch meeting at the Chester Eagles Club on Feb. 19, where Shane Wagner, chairman of Chester's Planning Commission, gave a brief update on the proposed Monroe/Randolph Counties Enterprise Zone.

Chamber Treasurer Bruce Luthy Jr. spoke about the chamber's upcoming Murder Mystery fundraising event which will be Saturday, April 27 at the St. Nicholas Landmark. The evening will include dinner and a "murder mystery" puzzle for the audience to solve, along with special prize drawings.

Seating in the landmark's River Room will be limited and reservations will be required. More information will be forthcoming.

The featured speaker was Dennis Trask, Human Service Center youth prevention coordinator, who spoke about the Southern Illinois Substance Abuse Alliance, a coalition that is working to reduce teen use of alcohol and drugs in Randolph and Washington counties.

The coalition provides resources to schools to talk about drugs and alcohol with students. Although the alliance consists of many people from different organizations, Trask works to build membership, provide content and training for schools and promotes the anti-drug lifestyle message. He stressed, "really talking to your kids."

"Be present where your kids are concerned," Trask urged. "Teens are practicing independence, but you can't just let them go. Help them learn how to make good decisions by asking the important questions."

Teens are less likely to drink if they think their parents will find out, he said.

Those in attendance were urged to save June 14 for the chamber's annual dinner at the Chester Country Club.

The next chamber lunch will be Tuesday, April 16 at the Chester Eagles when guest speakers will be Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker and Sheriff Shannon Wolf.