Snitches in Training

In Fayetteville, Ark., they're teaching the young 'uns to police the house for code violations :

Beware Fayetteville homeowners with trash or old tires in overgrown yards: Children might be watching.

An educational program to teach kids how to spot building and property code violations—complete with colorful characters such as "Willie Weeds" and "Trashy Tina"—will be in the hot little hands of local children soon, thanks to Fayetteville city officials.

The program is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant and corporate sponsors.

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Alan Wilbourn, director of school/community relations for Fayetteville Schools, said educating children to give information to parents can work.

"It sounds like a neat idea," Wilbourn said of the program. "The seat belt program nationwide got kick-started the same way."

Wilbourn said Fayetteville schools work closely with city departments to inform children about how to be model citizens.

"The DARE program has been in the schools for years," he said.

And we know how well that's worked out . The are apparently similar programs underway in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas.