Woodstock – A popular police officer faces charges that she stole more than $4,600 from the DARE drug education program to pay her rent and finance family vacations.

A Grafton County grand jury handed up four indictments Friday against Barbara Mack-Keeney, 52, of Woodstock, alleging theft by unauthorized taking from the New Hampshire DARE Officers Association.

Mack-Keeney was named Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer of the year in 2003.

The indictments allege that Mack-Keeney transferred $4,668.16 between Sept. 11, 2001, and March 24, 2004, from DARE accounts to pay for personal expenses, including $1,600 for rent and $860 for family vacation expenses.

The indictments follow an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office assisted by the New Hampshire State Police with cooperation of the New Hampshire DARE Officers Association.

The association, which gets no state money, is an independent organization of police officers who assist in DARE officer training. It is separate from the New Hampshire DARE program.

In more than a decade of teaching the drug prevention program at Lincoln-Woodstock Public School, Mack-Keeney served the state association as its president and treasurer.

The 2003 nomination that led to her being named DARE officer of the year cited her program, which tracked each student through the high school years. Mack-Keeney saved the students’ fifth-grade essays about their goals in life and mailed them to the students when they graduated from high school.

“Barb did a wonderful job with the DARE program,” Police Chief Douglas Moorhead said, noting the charges should not reflect on her performance in the classroom.

Mack-Keeney grew up in Woodstock and, after working in the local resort industry, became a certified police officer in her hometown in 1987, Moorhead said.

She was very active in the town, serving as its health officer and for many years as the Toys for Tots organizer. Each year, her DARE students put together a float for the Lincoln-Woodstock July 4th parade.

Mack-Keeney resigned in November after 17 years with the department. She had been a sergeant.

Her husband, Steve Keeney, is the school resource officer in Littleton.

Mack-Keeney is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 9 in Grafton County Superior Court.