Imbler fifth graders graduate BEST program on prevention, safety skills
Imbler’s 23 fifth graders finished a seven-week safety curriculum built to cut peer pressure, substance-use and abuse risks before middle school.
Imbler Elementary’s 23 fifth graders finished a local prevention program on May 19, graduating from the Union County Sheriff’s Office’s BEST class as county leaders keep pushing school-based safety lessons into younger grades.
BEST stands for Be aware, Evaluate, Stand up and speak up for yourself and others, and Talk to your support team. The program is built around decision-making, resistance strategies and identifying trusted adults, with the goal of helping children handle pressure before they reach middle school and adolescence.
The sheriff’s office says BEST is a collaborative effort with the La Grande School District for fifth-grade students and runs for seven weeks with weekly lessons. Launched in early 2023, the curriculum was created in part by then-Union County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Hernandez, now Sergeant Hernandez, as local officials looked for a more targeted replacement for D.A.R.E. The newer program was designed to go beyond basic drug and alcohol warnings and focus on the choices that can lead to substance use, addiction, peer pressure and abuse.
That shift has now reached Imbler. Union County expanded its school resource officer coverage in 2025, and the sheriff’s office said Imbler would be included in BEST as part of the wider school-safety rollout. The office now lists Deputy Humphries as assigned to Cove, Union, Imbler and North Powder school districts, while Deputy Sutten and Deputy Capers are assigned to the La Grande School District.
Humphries and Hernandez have together reached about 600 students through the program so far, according to sheriff’s office materials. That reach makes BEST more than a one-classroom lesson at Imbler: it is part of a countywide prevention effort meant to reduce future behavioral and safety problems by giving students practical tools early.
For Union County families, the graduation signals a broader strategy taking root in local schools. Instead of waiting until problems surface in middle school, the sheriff’s office and district partners are trying to build prevention into fifth grade, where students can still be taught how to evaluate risk, speak up, and lean on a support network before harder choices arrive.
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