Highland County commissioners recognize Red Ribbon Week
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
Ahead of a full of slate of activities planned in local schools to commemorate Red Ribbon Week, Highland County commissioners Jeff Duncan, Terry Britton and David Daniels issued a proclamation for the Oct. 24-28 observance during their Wednesday, Oct. 19 meeting.
Accepting the Red Ribbon Week proclamation were counselors from four of the five local school districts and representatives of other agencies, including: Karie Emery of Bright Local Schools; Kevy Jones and Amanda Perkins of Fairfield Local Schools; Toni Lewis of Greenfield Exempted Village Schools; Susan Rhoads of Hillsboro City Schools; Gena Bates of the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center; Creed Culbreath of the Highland County Drug Abuse Prevention Coalition and R.E.A.C.H. for Tomorrow; and Bill Showman of Paint Valley ADAMH.
Congress established Red Ribbon Week in 1988. The week raises awareness of drug use and the problems related to drugs and encourages parents, educators, business owners and other community organizations to promote drug-free lifestyles. Red Ribbon Week encourages the entire community to adopt healthy, drug-free lifestyles.
The theme of this year’s national Red Ribbon Week campaign is “Celebrate Life. Live Drug Free.” According to redribbon.org, this year’s theme serves as “a reminder that everyday Americans across the country make significant daily contributions to their communities by being the best they can be because they live drug-free.”
Duncan invited the school representatives to discuss how their respective districts plan to raise awareness during Red Ribbon Week.
Rhoads said that Hillsboro will be holding an essay contest and a Halloween-themed door decorating contest, as well as sharing educational videos for drug abuse awareness. Jones added that Fairfield will also have an essay contest, along with dress-up days and educational morning announcements. They also have “ribbons and cups to give to all our students,” Jones said.
Lewis told commissioners that Greenfield has planned “a lot of different activities throughout all the different levels of the schools.” Emery agreed, saying Bright Local will be engaging in similar activities to the other districts, although she spoke about a different program this year.
“Last year, we planted tulips for the kids, and I'll tell you, last spring when they came up, I probably had 200 kids say ‘look at our tulips, they’re so pretty,’” Emery said. “This year, we're going to focus on being naturally high.
“We're going to talk about drug use, but we're going to talk about what’s your natural high. Is it sports, is it music, is it band, is it going outside? We’re kind of going to do a little bit of a different spin on it. While drugs are terrible, what's your natural high?”
Bates said that the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center staff is also participating in dress-up days for Red Ribbon Week, as she said she has been coordinating the programming with local school districts for “about seven years.”
“We’re excited to see it going again this year, and thank you once again for the proclamation,” Bates told commissioners. “This is a great tradition we've set in our county.”
Duncan thanked everyone for attending the meeting and for “all you do for the school systems.” He read the proclamation which “urges all citizens to join in this special observance.”
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Accepting the Red Ribbon Week proclamation were counselors from four of the five local school districts and representatives of other agencies, including: Karie Emery of Bright Local Schools; Kevy Jones and Amanda Perkins of Fairfield Local Schools; Toni Lewis of Greenfield Exempted Village Schools; Susan Rhoads of Hillsboro City Schools; Gena Bates of the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center; Creed Culbreath of the Highland County Drug Abuse Prevention Coalition and R.E.A.C.H. for Tomorrow; and Bill Showman of Paint Valley ADAMH.
Congress established Red Ribbon Week in 1988. The week raises awareness of drug use and the problems related to drugs and encourages parents, educators, business owners and other community organizations to promote drug-free lifestyles. Red Ribbon Week encourages the entire community to adopt healthy, drug-free lifestyles.
The theme of this year’s national Red Ribbon Week campaign is “Celebrate Life. Live Drug Free.” According to redribbon.org, this year’s theme serves as “a reminder that everyday Americans across the country make significant daily contributions to their communities by being the best they can be because they live drug-free.”
Duncan invited the school representatives to discuss how their respective districts plan to raise awareness during Red Ribbon Week.
Rhoads said that Hillsboro will be holding an essay contest and a Halloween-themed door decorating contest, as well as sharing educational videos for drug abuse awareness. Jones added that Fairfield will also have an essay contest, along with dress-up days and educational morning announcements. They also have “ribbons and cups to give to all our students,” Jones said.
Lewis told commissioners that Greenfield has planned “a lot of different activities throughout all the different levels of the schools.” Emery agreed, saying Bright Local will be engaging in similar activities to the other districts, although she spoke about a different program this year.
“Last year, we planted tulips for the kids, and I'll tell you, last spring when they came up, I probably had 200 kids say ‘look at our tulips, they’re so pretty,’” Emery said. “This year, we're going to focus on being naturally high.
“We're going to talk about drug use, but we're going to talk about what’s your natural high. Is it sports, is it music, is it band, is it going outside? We’re kind of going to do a little bit of a different spin on it. While drugs are terrible, what's your natural high?”
Bates said that the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center staff is also participating in dress-up days for Red Ribbon Week, as she said she has been coordinating the programming with local school districts for “about seven years.”
“We’re excited to see it going again this year, and thank you once again for the proclamation,” Bates told commissioners. “This is a great tradition we've set in our county.”
Duncan thanked everyone for attending the meeting and for “all you do for the school systems.” He read the proclamation which “urges all citizens to join in this special observance.”
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