THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410280284
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
An enthusiastic crowd of young people from Chesapeake rallied at Oscar Smith High School Wednesday to kick off ``Red Ribbon Week,'' a campaign to make their peers aware of the consequences of drug use.
The rally featured spirited performances by Chesapeake Pride and comments from student leaders and Mayor William E. Ward.
The observance of Red Ribbon Week began in 1985 after a Drug Enforcement Administration agent was murdered in Mexico by drug cartel thugs. A group of concerned parents and community leaders in the United States banded together to begin an anti-drug awareness program with the red ribbon as the movement's symbol.
Other special guests in the audience included Sheriff John R. Newhart, Police Chief Ian M. Shipley and John Humpreys of Norshipco, along with representatives from the Mayor's Task Force on Drugs, the Chesapeake School Board, the Chesapeake PTA Council, the Oscar Smith PTA council, Families United Against Drugs, Chesapeake Pride Parents and Project Link Partners, a group of area businesses who help sponsor and support school projects.
The audience was made up of Student Council Association leaders, Pals for Peers members, school conflict mediators and Students Against Drunk Driving from all of Chesapeake high and middle schools.
After a performance of ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' by 1994 Oscar Smith High graduate and Chesapeake Pride member Jeff Williams, which brought whoops and cheers from the enthusiastic crowd, the rally opened with comments from Oscar Smith Principal Glenn Koonce.
``They are here to promote positive attitudes,'' Koonce said of assembled students, who work to make Chesapeake drug-free. ``These young people are my heroes.''
Ward read an official City Council proclamation declaring Oct. 23-31 as Red Ribbon Week in Chesapeake and ended his address by telling the students to ``make a personal commitment to say no to drugs.''
The highlight of the morning event was the participation of Chesapeake Pride, a group of Chesapeake high school students who present music and dance performances throughout the city and region espousing drug-free lives.
Malia Piper, Oscar Smith career guidance counselor, is the group's administrative director and William R. ``Billy'' Williams, a 1983 Oscar Smith graduate, is its artistic director.
Great Bridge High School senior Marcie Frombell sang ``Through My Eyes,'' as the rest of the ensemble acted out scenarios of youth drinking, peer pressure, teens buying and consuming drugs and driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
Other Pride numbers included ``Got A Lot of Work to Do,'' a country line-dance routine featuring lead vocals by Heather Huskey, a Great Bridge High junior, and D.J. Carlile, an Oscar Smith senior; and ``We Go Together,'' a Broadway-styled up-tempo song-and-dance routine.
The rally ended with exhortations from 1994 Youth Alcohol Drug Abuse Prevention Project youth leaders Jeff Williams, Chrissy Huffman and Anna Miller of Oscar Smith and Jenifer Kraft of Indian River High School.
All four, who on Monday received the drug prevention Crystal Medal from Gov. George Allen in Richmond, urged the crowd to ``set an example'' and ``make a difference.'' MEMO: More information on Red Ribbon Week activities is available by
contacting any middle or high school or by calling Deborah Holmes at the
Chesapeake Police Department's Crime Prevention Bureau at 547-6538.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Marcie Frombell sang at the ``Red Ribbon Week'' assembly.
by CNB