Shawsville Elementary School fifth-grader Brooke Smith looks at a DARE book during a presentation.

Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Master Deputy Chris Lucas says he believes the DARE — Drug Abuse Resistance Education — classes are effective. "I tell all of our kids that at some point in time they're going to be faced with a situation where they're going to have to make some type of decision about whether to do something or not to do something," Lucas says. "You can't get that message out early enough."

KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Master Deputy Chris Lucas of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, who was named the state's DARE Officer of the Year, teaches the program to a group of fifth-graders at Shawsville Elementary School in Elliston.

| Shawna Morrison

shawna.morrison@roanoke.com, 381-1665

SHAWSVILLE -- When Master Deputy Chris Lucas asked a Shawsville Elementary School class what they had learned during their first day of the DARE program, hands flew up.

"Don't smoke."

"Don't chew tobacco."

"Don't be drunk."

"How to make good decisions."

In one day, the fifth-graders had already learned the gist of much of what Lucas was going to spend the next nine weeks teaching.

Lucas -- who taught DARE at Price's Fork Elementary School for 10 years before adding Shawsville, Elliston-Lafayette and Belview elementary schools this year -- is good at connecting with children.

It's part of what earned him the Mike Bentowski DARE Officer of the Year Award from the Virginia DARE Officers Association in July.

"I was pretty flattered," Lucas said. "There's a lot of folks who are probably more deserving than I am."

Lucas, who works for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, tries hard to drive home to fifth-graders the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use and how to resist peer pressure.

At the same time, he manages to become their buddy.

He gives them high-fives. He gets down on his knees to talk to them. He eats lunch and plays kickball with them.

In the letter she wrote to nominate Lucas for the Officer of the Year award, Jenna Swann, a fifth-grade teacher at Price's Fork Elementary, wrote, "I believe in the lessons taught, but no matter how great the lessons are, they cannot reach troubled children or make a difference in all of our children's lives unless the DARE officer teaching them inspires, motivates, and excites.

"This is exactly what Chris Lucas does."

She included in her nomination a comment from the DARE essay Nathan Hjulstrom wrote last year when he was a fifth-grader at Price's Fork. Hjulstrom said Lucas "has the playfulness of a kindergartner, the respect of an adult, and the love of a huge stuffed teddy bear all rolled into one."

"Chris has a remarkable talent for relating to all types of audiences, especially kids," said Montgomery County Lt. Brian Wright.

Lucas said he thinks DARE -- Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- classes are effective.

"I tell all of our kids that at some point in time they're going to be faced with a situation where they're going to have to make some type of decision about whether to do something or not to do something," Lucas said. "You can't get that message out early enough."

Another benefit to DARE, Lucas said, is that the program allows children to meet a law enforcement officer.

Some youngsters, he said, will greet him right away. Others are shy around officers.

Senior Trooper Gene Ayers of the Virginia State Police, the state's DARE coordinator, said he doesn't know how many times he has heard a parent say to a child, "There's a police officer. If you're not good, he's going to lock you up."

One girl began to cry as soon as she saw Lucas at Elliston-Lafayette, saying she was scared of police, he said. He went to talk to her.

"She said, 'I thought you were going to shoot me,' " Lucas said. "I told her, 'I'm your friend.' "

The next time she saw Lucas, the girl high-fived him.

That sort of interaction, Lucas said, helps children trust their school resource officers when they enter middle school. He also stops by the preschool through fourth-grade classes at each school to introduce himself to the children and make sure they know how to dial 911.

Lucas, a 41-year-old Blacksburg native, has been with the sheriff's office since Jan. 1, 1997. He began teaching DARE 10 years ago. He worked as a school resource officer at Christiansburg Middle School until a Christiansburg police officer took over this year.

Now, Lucas is one of two full-time crime prevention officers at the sheriff's office.

Lucas is also running the department's Citizens Police Academy. The father of two boys, 11-year-old Aaron and 8-year-old Jacob, he helps coach football and baseball.

He is also a tournament bass fisherman -- with a room full of trophies -- and is the director of the Angler's Choice Marine Team Tournament at Smith Mountain Lake.

Part of what makes Lucas a good DARE officer is his natural ability to communicate with children, teenagers and adults, Ayers said.

"He is one of the fellows that I've always looked at as a strong DARE officer," he said, even when Lucas went through the two-week class required to teach DARE several years ago.

Now, he is working to become a DARE mentor to teach other DARE officers. He spent a week late last month in Kansas City, Mo., taking class all day and doing several hours worth of homework each night. He will shadow another mentor for two weeks, then will be shadowed while he mentors before he becomes certified.

Lucas said it's rewarding to watch a group of fifth-graders complete the DARE program, knowing they may be better prepared to face tough decisions.

"If you touch the life of just one, it's worth it," Lucas said. "But I think, by far, you touch the lives of many others."