Drug Free Montcalm (DFM) activists reviewed the past and looked to the future Friday. They also met their new leader.

The Montabella Community Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a one-year lease to Endeavor to use the gymnasium located in the Montabella Central Office facility at a special meeting last week. The decision came at the recommendation of facilities committee members Dennis Stratton, Mike Rasmussen and Sheri Miel. Credit references and a security deposit were secured prior to accepting the lease agreement.

“Sticks and stones will break your bones, and names WILL hurt you,” said Ron Glodoski, a national expert on bullying, resiliency, and drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. “How many people in this room have ever teased another kid or been teased by another kid?” Glodoski asked the Teen Summit audience at Montabella Junior/Senior High School on Dec. 14.

Ron Farrell has spent almost half a century in education. The longtime Montabella Community Schools administrator recently announced his retirement, which will be effective June 30. He’s worked in the Montabella school district for more than four decades, the same district where he grew up and attended school.