Drug-sniffing dog finds little at Hopi High

By Stan Bindell
For The Independent

PHOENIX — Hopi Jr/Sr High School passed the drug test Thursday.

The Major Crimes Apprehension Team brought in drug sniffing dogs to see what they could find. The unannounced visit didn’t come up with much.

The Major Crimes Apprehension Team came in with the administration’s approval. The team included officers from the Winslow Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Officer Roberto Sheets said the dog came up with a few hits, but they couldn’t decide what it was so it was confiscated and sent to the laboratory. No weapons were found.

“This is a good school. The Hopi kids should be proud,” Sheets said.

The four MCAT officers gave presentations about drugs during a school assembly that followed. Sheets warned the students that drugs are a dead end. He especially spoke about the ills of using meth amphetamines, saying it can cause a 20-year-old to look 60 years old.

Officer Kasey Clark told the students that meth can kill them, and if the drug doesn’t kill them the people they hang around with who use meth will kill them. Sheets said meth sells for as little as $5 or $10.

“It’s the poor man’s drug,” he said.

Sheets said some parents think meth is legal because the ingredients can be purchased at stores. He said the ingredients aren’t illegal, but when they combine to make meth it becomes illegal.

Officer Carl Calnimptewa, who graduated from Hopi High School, told students that drug usage results in students losing their culture. He said he is glad that the school has security guards and a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

“Life is hard out here. That’s why so many go off the reservation to get jobs. Hopefully they’ll use that information to come back here,” he said.

Lynn Root, substance abuse prevention counselor, said the Hopi Jr/Sr High School students should be proud of their behavior and the way the search went. He also praised the teachers for their patience while the drug sniffing dogs went through the classrooms.