Satin ribbons and red banners adorned the Centre County Courthouse yesterday as Bellefonte Area High School cheerleaders shouted, "Hey, hey what do you say — just say no!"

The Centre County Red Ribbon Rally took place at noon on the steps of the Centre County Courthouse and the Centre County Drug and Alcohol Prevention sponsored the event.

After the Bellefonte Area Middle School Band played the Star Spangled Banner, Bellefonte mayor Candace Dannaker gave the proclamation that officially began Red Ribbon week.

"Education and prevention are the keys to a drug free community," Dannaker said.

The main speaker at the event was State College Police Department Detective and member of the Centre County Drug Task Force, Christopher Weaver.

The task force helps to fight the drug problem in Centre County and was instrumental in breaking a cocaine ring in 1998, which resulted in 23 arrests in the area.

The task force has a number for people to call with drug tips. Weaver said the task force, "gives us a connection to the community."

The tip line, 1-877-898-DRUG, is confidential and any information given will be investigated, Weaver said.

Also in attendance at yesterday's rally were Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, and Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre and Mifflin, who serves as president of Centre Area Prevention Partnership.

"Doing war on drugs is two-fold," said Corman about combating drug use through national and local programs. Statewide programs Corman is working on include increasing the budget for statewide drug prevention efforts through the use of both public funds and those obtained from drug conviction fines.

The rally concluded with an interpretive dance performance by members of Happy Valley Pride, a student organization promoting drug and alcohol awareness. Members representing addictive substances, such as cocaine and LSD, formed a circle around a member who turned to drugs as an escape.

The Red Ribbon Rally began in 1985 in response to the brutal death of U.S. Drug Enforcement Officer Enrique Camarena during his involvement in uncovering a multi-billion dollar drug ring. The campaign soon spread throughout the country as a program to combat the abuse of drugs and alcohol.