Anti-drug awareness week to kick off

BARSTOW • Students in both local school districts will join with over 80 million people across the nation in raising awareness about drug prevention during Red Ribbon Week, which runs Oct. 23 to 31.

The week-long national campaign kicks off in Barstow with the annual breakfast, where students, school officials and city leaders gather to promote a drug-free community at the Barstow Masonic Lodge.

Students in grades five to 12 from both Barstow and Silver Valley Unified School Districts also participated in an essay writing contest about promoting the anti-drug campaign. The winners will be announced at the breakfast.
This year’s theme for the week is “Dream, believe, achieve, succeed.” Congress established Red Ribbon Week in 1988 after Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique Camarena was murdered by drug traffickers in Mexico in 1985.

Students will be wearing red ribbons and participating in anti-drug awareness activities throughout the week, according to Espy Gutierrez, coordinator for BUSD.

Jessi Hodges, a Barstow High School 12th-grader, and other members of Sober Club, a student group that promotes drug-free activities, will educate their classmates by passing out flyers with facts on how much alcoholism and drug addiction costs Americans during a lunch pep rally.

According to Hodges, president of the  25- to 30-member group, Sober Club visits elementary schools and the junior high to promote drug-free behavior, holds volunteer service projects around town to keep kids involved in the community and plans trips to reward students for being dedicated.

“When kids are busy, they have less time to get involved with drugs and alcohol,” the 17-year-old said.

Students at Lewis Elementary School will let the entire Fort Irwin community know where they stand by spelling out “drug free” by tying red yarn to the fence near the school’s entrance, according to Tim Confair, physical education teacher.

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest anti-drug campaign, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Web site.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

Red Ribbon Week kick-off breakfast
When: Friday at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Where: Masonic Lodge, 221 Avenue J (behind Bun Boy).
Tickets: $9, pre-sale only. To purchase call (760) 447-2124.