OWENSVILLE — Seventh-graders from Gasconade County filled the auditorium at the First Baptist Church in Owensville on Oct. 21 for the county’s first annual CRUSH Teen Drug Summit. The event was focused primarily on the prevention of drug use but touched on several other topics concerning health and safety.

Gasconade County Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger spoke to open the event before welcoming Deputy David Gomez to the stage. Gomez spent 14 years as a School Resource Officer and is a former sheriff of Boise County in Idaho. He now works with the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and does public speaking events regarding digital safety for youth.

Gomez gave a very candid speech about the risks of drug use as well as the danger from online sexual predators and scammers. Much of his work in Boise was with a task force focused on the hunting and arrest of online predators, and he shared stories from his experience that ranged from extremely alarming to somewhat more lighthearted.

“Kids need real conversations,” Gomez said. “Schools are afraid and parents are usually kind of awkward.”

Following his speech, the students were split up into six groups and spent the next few hours – with plenty of breaks – rotating between rooms with different speakers. The speakers included a probation and parole officer, a narcotics task force officer, a healthcare worker and three individuals who have personally experienced issues with drug use.

Jeannette Krupp was the closing speaker. Krupp is a long-time public school teacher and fitness coach who now lives in Texas, but is originally from Owensville.

Her brother, Karl, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021 at the age of 38. In 2019, while Karl was still struggling with sobriety, Jeannette started a non-profit organization called Stay Strong Krupp. She uses long-distance bicycle rides – from 450-700 miles – to help create awareness regarding mental health and substance abuse issues.

Krupp spoke, fighting through tears at times, of her brother’s life, her cycling and other work to raise awareness and even the basics of how someone can use Narcan to save a life.

When asked about the importance of getting her message to Owensville residents while they are still young, she said, “I think that’s where we’re going to change it. We can’t stop the drugs.”

Krupp noted that she was raised alongside her brother and that while she turned to fitness and weightlifting, he turned to drugs to deal with the difficulties of life. She said she wants young people to understand that there are better outlets for dealing with the issues that arise in the course of our complicated lives.

Krupp took a picture on the stage with all the students after her speech. She also took the time to speak with some students one-on-one, whether they wanted to thank her for speaking about her experience or to talk about their own.

The event was spearheaded by Probation and Parole Officer Erica Horne. She previously attended a Crush Summit event in Franklin County that inspired her to bring the summit to Gasconade County. Horne applied to the state for opioid settlement funds and once they were approved, she spent 13 months organizing the event.

Horne said that all the hard work was worth it “if we can get one kid to say no even one time.” She also confirmed that she will apply for a grant again, and that the plan is to make the CRUSH Summit an annual event.

The students in attendance were from Owensville, Hermann and St. George Catholic School. There were tables set up for students to visit between speaking sessions with information, candy and various swag. The groups with tables were the Owensville Police Department, Owensville EMS, Hermann EMS, the Gasconade County Health Department, Compass Health and the Scenic Regional Library.