The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Peggy Guiterrez, who is the Drug Free Coordinator Grant Program Director in Columbia County, is retiring.

Guiterrez said she was serving as the Prevention Specialist at Blue Mountain Counseling when the Coalition for Youth and Families was encouraged by the state Prevention Services Manager to apply for the Drug Free Communities Grant in 2011.

"We applied in 2011 and missed the cut off by two points, so we applied again in 2012 and received the grant on our second attempt," she said.

Guiterrez was initially hired to serve as the Community Coordinator, which included serving as the Advisor for SHEO (Students Helping Each Other), which had been written into the grant.

"Because I was part of the team that wrote the body of the grant, I was aware of the opportunities that it would provide," Guiterrez said.

"I think the most important contribution was the development of SHEO, growth of the program and the opportunities we have afforded the students of our community. With grant funding we have been able to expand SHEO to the middle school and increase the impact in the high school. The leadership retreats have expanded beyond just SHEO students and are now open to all students in the high school, creating a great partnership across all clubs, and cross sections of the student body," she said.

Guiterrez said SHEO students have received three state awards in the past five years including the Innovation Award at the Spring Forum in 2013 and Outstanding /State Youth Program in 2013, as well as the Impact Award at the 2017 Spring Forum.

The process was completed for SHEO to become a recognized ASB Club in the Dayton middle and high schools during the 2013-14 school year. The grant is now ending, but the district has made a commitment to fund SHEO advisor Monica Mitchell as a district employee.

"The fact the Dayton School District has made a commitment to sustain SHEO with an in-house advisor speaks to the importance and impact of the program," she said.

As the DFC Grant Program Director, Guiterrez has been responsible for implementation of the media campaign, performing community outreach, managing fiscal duties, which includes coordinating payables with the fiscal agent, and completing federal reporting requirements.

Guiterrez said she wishes she had more time and impact in educating the community about the realities of marijuana and the dangers to youth.

"With legalization, the perception of harm has gone down greatly, not only in youth, but with adults, as well. . . It will take time for us, as a society, to recognize the real impact of the legalizations of marijuana. Personally, I don't think the money generated by taxes outweighs the costs it creates in health care, addiction treatment, loss of production in the work force, or classrooms, and the impact on families," she said.

"Prevention is my passion, and I have devoted the bulk of my career with that as the emphasis," said Guiterrez, who has been involved in all aspects of prevention, intervention, and outpatient treatment, since 1990.

Guiterrez' last day on the job is Friday, September 29.

She said she looks forward to attending a granddaughter's Senior Night at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, in May, 2018, going to NAIA softball games, and spending time with all nine of her grandchildren.

She also plans to volunteer in some "hands on" community events, such as Habitat for Humanity, she said.

Guiterrez said she, and her husband, Kevin, have a "bucket list" trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in mind, as well.