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Dawson will address Internet dangers What does the average parent really know about the people their children are visiting with on the Internet? It is a school chum, a friend of the family, a relative or could it be an Internet predator searching for the next victim? A special program sponsored by the Wharton Independent School District and First Presbyterian Church of Wharton to inform the community about Internet predators will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at the Dawson Elementary School gym. The program will be presented by Sgt. Paul Aleman of the Cyber Crimes Unit of the office of the Attorney General. It will cover such topics as: how do Internet predators target children, what techniques they use, what can be done to stop them. "For many children and young adults, there is a sense that what happens online can't hurt them," Christine Stransky said. Stransky is a member of the church's mission and outreach team. "Unfortunately, many teens are posting personal information in chat rooms and on social networking sites making them easy prey for child predators. The program will help answer a lot of questions and topics that parents might not be familiar with." Stransky said the program has taken about a year to arrange. Organizers wanted to make sure they didn't duplicate past programs. "We wanted to do a community program with some significance and looked into drug and alcohol awareness, but that was covered by such programs as 'Shattered Dreams,'" she said. "Then my mother-in-law saw an article in the Deer Park newspaper about Internet predators and it really fit what we wanted to do. Sgt. Aleman does these programs across the state and this was the first opportunity to bring him here so she was took advantage of it." Stransky added the program is free and open to the public with a special invitation going out to parents with students in the Wharton, Boling and East Bernard school districts. For more information, contact Stransky by calling the church at 532-3375. |
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