Harlowton, MT

Our second Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking was held on April 2, 2008 at Hillcrest Elementary School.  Over 45 people attended and broke into small groups to discuss possible action steps to help address the issue of underage drinking in our community.  Each group choose one item as a starting point for action and then presented that item to the group.  The Beginning Action Items are:

• Fundraising for Bowling Alley
• Hang Out for High School and kids under 21
• Panel Discussion or Listening Session with Law Enforcement/Judicial/City and County Attorney/ Youth Probation Officer
• Volunteer Mentoring to help youth complete community service
• Drug and Alcohol free Scholarship
• Survey Adults and Parents regarding Educational needs
• Increase Communication between Parents and Kids

Each member of the community signed up under the action item they felt they wanted to work on and each action has a volunteer chair person. If you are interested in serving on an action committee or have any questions, please contact the Extension Office at 632-4728. 

When a local book club read the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, the members took Dr. Mortenson’s message to heart. The book club decided they could best spread the message of bringing peace to the world through education — one school at a time by starting at home. When Harlowton High School’s English teacher said she would like to teach the book to her seniors but didn’t have funds in her budget to purchase the novel, the club bought the books for the class. Upon completion of their study in January, the book club will present them with a note explaining why the books were purchased for them and asking them to “pay it forward.”