April 13, 2007

BMR High School Program Tells Students:
Drink, Drive - Face Consequences
Students Hear Emotional Plea from Local Advocate  

BLACKSTONE… “Make the right choices. Your parents are waiting to hear you say those words” said an emotional Dave Russell, founding executive director of the RI Chapter of MADD. Russell’s comments, delivered in the darkened interior of BMR high school’s Molony-Sullivan auditorium with a casket as a backdrop, flanked by student members of the school’s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), packed a jarring, emotional punch to the assembly of senior and juniors. Russell recounted how a friend approached him in 1982 in the aftermath of a niece’s death at the hands of a drunk driver “the pain has never stopped” said Russell. As a result Russell, a veteran radio personality and station manager, became the head of the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

With BMR’s annual “junior-senior” prom scheduled for later this month, the timing could not have been better. Working with the local fire and police departments, the local chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) sponsored a mock accident including the extraction of student “victims” by emergency personnel. Realism was the order of the day with fire apparatus from Millville, and Mendon joining Blackstone Fire and Police Departments. The finality of poor decisions was underscored with the participation of Francis Cartier of the Cartier Funeral Home of Bellingham who arrived with a casket bearing hearse.

“This event sends a powerful message to the young adults who are most susceptible to drinking and driving” said Richard A. Porter, BMR’s principal. “Every year educators and parents fear the possibility of teenage fatalities during the prom season” said Porter. “BMR is fortunate, and I am grateful for the cooperation we enjoy from the Blackstone Police and Fire Departments in conducting this training exercise to the benefit of first responders and students alike” he said. “No one wants to consider the worse case, but with alcohol related automobile accidents, fatalities are reality” said Porter.

"I am very pleased with the efforts made by the students in SADD to put together some very compelling activities during this pre-prom week" said Stefanie Anderson, local SADD chapter advisor. “I hope this will make students think twice about drinking and driving, not only this week but throughout their lives" she added.

In addition to a mock two-vehicle accident complete with 6 “victims” role played by student SADD members, extraction techniques were employed including the “Jaws of Life.” Victim triage, followed by first aid, included placing the students on backboards

and stretchers. Blackstone police officers administered a field sobriety and breathalyzer test to the “mock drunk driver” portrayed by SADD chapter president Matthew R. Chamberlin. Following the simulation, senior and junior class members attended a student assembly featuring Russell who spoke of his experiences as the founding executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Rhode Island 25 years ago. In the last reported statistics, 39% of motor vehicle fatalities in Massachusetts were alcohol related.

BMR’s chapter of SADD is lead by faculty advisor Stefanie Anderson and student leaders and class representatives. The accident simulation was timed to take place on the last day of classes prior to the April school vacation and the school’s prom and topped off several events designed to discourage teen drinking. These included have a wrecked car display at the entrance to the BMR campus, a video broadcast on teen drinking shown during homeroom and a “white face campaign” in which students wore white face paint to symbolize the statistic of one alcohol related death attributed to drunk driving every 33 minutes.

Blackstone-Millville Regional High School was established in 1970. It consists of students from the towns of Blackstone and Millville, is located at 175 Lincoln Street in Blackstone, Massachusetts and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges.

For more information on Mothers Against Drunk Driving, refer to www.madd.org