“We do have problems with that, but it is declining which is great,” Kopec said.
By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
According to Tucker County Sheriff Jake Kopec, vape use among juveniles is on the decline in Tucker County. Kopec informed the Tucker County Commission on October 16th during their regular session that in the previous month, vape use among juveniles was on the decline. “We do have problems with that, but it is declining which is great,” Kopec said.
Kopec said that much of the credit for the decline can be attributed to the efforts of his School Resource Officers. Kopec said that the presence of the officers and their active interaction and discouraging of vape use has been making a difference in the school. “Some of that has to do with our School Resource Officer presence there and just interacting with the kids and discouraging vape use.”
Kopec said another factor can be attributed to the school investing in vape detectors that have been installed in the bathrooms. “Also the school has bought these vape detector things and they are putting them around the bathrooms,” Kopec said.
According to Kopec, the vape detectors are designed to alarm if vape emissions are detected in the bathrooms. “They go off if kids are vaping in the bathrooms,” Kopec said.
Kopec informed the Commission that in the past month his department had only confiscated $25 in other contraband such as vape pens.
