Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano addressed parents and students during the sixth-grade D.A.R.E. graduation program, held April 30 at Colonel John Siegfried Elementary School.

D.A.R.E. is a 10-week course that teaches students to resist drugs and violence, along with tobacco, alcohol and bullying. The program is taught by Patrolman Ryan Konetsky and Chief Ron Morey, who after more than a decade, is turning the reins over to Konetsky.

Social interaction is important, Morey said.

"That's what D.A.R.E. is, we get to know each other," he said.

He instructed the sixth-graders, who will be entering middle school in September, "What you learned, take with you."

"My speech is directed to the parents," Giordano. "The number one job in your life is parenting. Know who your children's friends are, know where they are.

"Every day I see kids' lives ruined," Giordano added. "Tell them you know you are going to be a pain in the neck. It's OK not to be included. It's OK not to be popular."

Students wrote essays about what the D.A.R.E. classes meant to them and what they learned during the program. The top three in each homeroom received a stuffed lion, and the first-place winner read the essay.

Retired teacher Gary Pierzga, who headed the program in the past, spoke to the students.

Morey was presented with a clock desk set in recognition of his dedication to the D.A.R.E. program at the borough school.

The fifth-grade students who completed the D.A.R.E. program were recognized April 29.