Published: May 01, 2008 06:28 pm            

NIAGARA FALLS: State Lions convene downtown

A top official from the National Drug Control Policy will be the featured speaker for the three-day Lions Clubs of New York state and Bermuda convention in Niagara Falls.

Dr. Bertha Madras, deputy director for Demand Reduction in the drug control agency, was appointed to her post by President George Bush in 2006.

She will speak at the Youth at Risk Symposium at 1:30 p.m. today at the Conference Center Niagara Falls. The sessions and related activities run through Sunday.

The symposium also will discuss children’s issues in the state and how Lions Clubs and other community groups can help improve the youngsters’ lives.

Madras is expected to focus on strategies, programs and policies aimed a reducing the demand for illicit drugs and promoting the best practices for intervention and treatment.

A staunch advocate of screening in schools and in the workplace and educating the public on the adverse consequences of drugs, Madras has directed a National Institute on Drug Abuse-sponsored exhibit, “Changing Your Mind: Drugs in the Brain,” at the Museum of Science in Boston.

She has presented programs on the impact of drugs on the brain, body and behavior to audiences ranging from high school students to lawyers and judges.

Other participants at the symposium will include Dr. Joan Ogilvie, community development director for the state Department of Education; State Police Officer John Campanella, community and school outreach officer; Robert Kline, past director of the Lions Clubs International and current Lions liaison to the United Nations; and Sandy Lear, coordinator for Project Quest, a youth initiative from Lions Clubs International.

Kate Scaglione, director of marketing and communications for the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., said the convention is drawing about 1,100 Lions and their guests.

They will be staying at six hotels in the city with the Crowne Plaza & Suites, Third Street, as their headquarters.

“This marks the first time the state Lions are holding their convention here since 1997,” she said.

The statewide organization had initially selected Niagara Falls for its 2003 convention but that plan was scrapped when the Convention and Civic Center was converted to the Seneca Niagara Casino.

        

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