TO THE EDITOR: THE NORTHFIELD NEWS I'VE WORKED for the Greater Northfield Coalition Council (GNCC) for nine years. I may have failed at part of my job: letting people know what GNCC does. We exist to prevent substance abuse, especially among youth. For three years, we've had a walk-in center right on the Common.

This year, GNCC asked voters for $2000 after the Select Board voted unanimously to put our request directly into the Warning. It only takes one penny in the evaluation calculation to raise $30,000 so I figured we could all afford it.

GNCC and the school were the only two requests to go down in defeat. At least we were each in good company. We need the school. We need GNCC. Voters know what the school is but may be mystified by GNCC's name and purpose. I repeat, we work to prevent substance abuse.

Substance abuse prevention efforts started in earnest in 1997 when a significant rise in youth vandalism, two alcohol-related fatalities and the suicides of two ninth graders spurred action by the community. The group called itself Take Back Our Kids. Next, prevention work continued for three years after receiving a "New Directions" grant.

Then we applied for and received a Drug Free Communities Support Program grant from the Justice Department. Another name to add to the list of names! Personally, I apologize for the GNCC name but we created it to reflect the federal program and it does say who we are. It just doesn't say what we do (work to prevent substance abuse). Perhaps we should once again call ourselves Take Back Our Kids. Who wouldn't vote for that?

Over the last nine years, the feds have granted nearly a million dollars to GNCC (the majority of it spent in Northfield and Roxbury--I also do some of the bookkeeping so I know). The grant is for two purposes: to prevent substance abuse among Roxbury and Northfield youth and to assemble neighbors (a coalition) to work together. Over the years, we've worked with every youth-serving group in the two towns who wanted to work with us. Great people, such as Carol Jean Suitor, Alan Weiss, Judy Plumley, Debbie Maloney Evans, Jack Baroffio, Sue D'Amico, Tom Chomentowski and our current director, Roxanne Benson, (with many, many others) have worked and volunteered with GNCC.

This grant will end in 2010. Who will work on Keeping Our Kids With Us other than coalition, a group, a bunch, of concerned citizens?

Thanks for reading this. Thanks for voting for GNCC. We strive to prevent substance abuse for the kids we love.
JANE E. BRYANT
Northfield