|
|
|
|
|
Home  News Latest Town meeting on underage drinking
|
|
Town meeting on underage drinking |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 10 April 2008 |
|
Page 1 of 2 By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
 YOU ARE A STAT – The Grim Reaper presents one of 13 black carnations to a teenager at the town meeting on underage drinking. The 13 selected represent the number of youth under the age of 21 who became casualties of alcohol every day in the U.S. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
Pondera County Health Nurse Cynthia Grubb helped coordinate the meeting that was one of 2,000, sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with the help of the CHS National Honor Society, the local Extension office and Pondera County Safe Kids/Safe Communities.
As one entered the commons on Monday evening, the first thing you noticed was an elegantly decorated dinner table. Members of the NHS explained that the menu at each setting was a “real life drinking and driving scenario, with the first course being the ‘cause’ and the second course was the ‘effect,’ “ which students said, “was devastating.”
Grubb gave a short welcome, saying, “More kids drink than smoke or use drugs. I think we can do something about it if we work together.”
An adult panel consisted of CHS librarian Ruth Fladstol, MHP officer and assistant football coach Bob Bender, Pondera County Attorney Mary Ann Ries, Collette Steiner from Gateway Recovery and Gloria Auge from the Pondera County Tavern Association and owner of Ed’s Tavern.
Fladstol said she had, “No qualms about discussing alcohol and encouraging teens to make good decisions.” Auge touched on the problem of having to deal with phony ID cards.
Steiner talked about the development of the human brain and how different parts of the brain are impaired by alcohol.
Ries noted that, “It’s really frightening what happens to kids when they use alcohol. We cannot let our young people use alcohol; it’s just not worth it. Alcohol makes people do stupid things.”
And all during the meeting, the Grim Reaper made repeated visits to the audience. He randomly handed out 13 black carnations to teens in the crowd. That number represented the number of kids under the age of 21 who became casualties of alcohol everyday in our nation.
A teen panel was made up of Brett Bandow, Nate Gage, Cheney Gianarelli, Jamie Ries, Crystal Johnson, Erica Grubb, and Jacob Gouchenour.
|
|
