GRANT COUNTY – Parents often wish they knew what their kids were thinking.

Now they have a chance to find out at a town hall forum, “In the Know: What Teens are Thinking.”

The youth-led town halls will be held from 6-7 p.m. in three locations: Prairie City School gym, Wednesday, April 28; Monument School gym, Thursday, April 29; and Mt. Vernon Middle School gym, Friday, April 30.

Both teens and their parents are invited to the prom-themed event, in which parents will learn how to talk to their teens about drugs and drinking.

Guest speakers for the program are Laura Brunton, a certified addiction counselor; Oregon State Police trooper Larry Johnson; and emergency medical technician TR Hilton.

In-between the speakers, there will be a skit on the topic of underage drinking and drug use, followed by a discussion period.

The evening will also include a game on the different choices facing teens and a PowerPoint game show presentation.

The purpose of the town halls is to increase community awareness on the issue from the youth perspective.

According to the Oregon Healthy Teens (OHT) survey for 2009, 50 percent of Grant County youth had started drinking before the age of 13. Statewide, the figure was 36.2 percent.

The event is sponsored by the Grant County Prevention Program, the Grant County Commission on Children and Families and the Grant County Safe Communities Coalition.

For more information, call Russ Comer, Grant County’s prevention program manager, at 541-575-4068.