Recent Modesto Bee news stories and editorials have highlighted the 2005 State Incentive Grant survey findings. Below is a link to a summary report of those findings.
From the Modesto Bee. A few years ago, a thin woman walked through the front doors of the Stanislaus County coroner's office in Modesto. She probably was in her 30s, but her wrinkled skin and gaunt appearance made her look far older; she was the unmistakable embodiment of methamphetamine life. Read more here.
From the Modesto Bee. The Patterson car wreck that injured a dozen teens after they drank alcohol allegedly offered by an adult at a house party last week underscores a common theme in efforts to limit underage alcohol use:
Most Stanislaus County high school students who drink alcohol say they get alcohol from their homes. One in four say parents knowingly provide alcohol to minors, according to a 2005 survey. Read more here.
From the Modesto Bee. Authorities traced alcohol found at a teenage party in Hughson to a father suspected of buying kegs of beer for his 17-year-old son, Modesto police reported Friday. Read more here.
From the Modesto Bee. Up to 90 high school students are spending their Saturday night partying in a big workshop near Hughson, out in the country where they figure no one will notice. Most probably have told their parents they are going to a friend's grandparents' house for a birthday party. And that's sort of true, because the girl whose grandparents own the property and two classmates are celebrating their 18th birthdays. But the grandparents aren't around, and it's doubtful the kids really 'fessed up that they were going to a kegger, even though some of the kids apparently kicked in money to buy the beer.
Apparently at least one parent was complicit in all this. It's learned later that he purchased the kegs and helped load them into the back of a vehicle to be driven to the party by a minor.
These kids come from several Modesto high schools and include all ethnic groups, though most are white. A number are athletes. They are the kind we label "good kids." Read more here.
From the Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County is back in the media spotlight, this time because a Grayson mother allegedly bought alcohol for teens and had sex with two teenage boys. The latter is the element that has people talking and TV cameras rolling.
The frustrating thing about this sensational case is it diverts attention from a pervasive social problem — the growing number of adults who condone and even host underage drinking parties. Read more here.
