Tarrah Dunaway - Jessamine County Schools

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J E S S A M INE F A C ES o F 2 0 0 8The 2008 Support Staff Honors Luncheon was held at West Jessamine High School on May 20 to recognize the great work done by the folks who make the wheels turn in our school system. Bus drivers and monitors, food service workers, secretaries and administrative workers Page 4 were honored from each school and department. Classified Employees of the Year (please see page 2) and employees with Perfect Attendance were honored at the luncheon which was held for the first time on election day, enabling more employees to participate in the festivities.
story by Sam Wade, Safety Resource Officer at West Jessamine High School Ghost Out is an anti-drunk driving program targeting teenage drivers. In the early stages of the program, (Mon.- Wed.) students were given statistics, facts, and information about drinking and driving. They also participated in the Fatal Vision Golf Cart Course and INTOXICLOCK Demonstrations. On Thursday, a group of pre-selected students were removed from classes. One student was removed every thirty minutes during the school day. These students represented people who died in an alcohol related crashes. The Grim Reaper (played by Sgt. Matt Godsey of NPD) came into the classroom and touched the students’ shoulders to tell them that their time had come. The Grim Reaper was accompanied by the school’s Safety Resource Officer, (SRO) who explained what had happened and what it represented. A black carnation was left on that student’s desk to serve as a reminder of what had happened. The afternoon assembly began by entertaining students entering the gymnasium with loud vivacious music to simulate the good time they might have if they were at a party. Door prizes and awards were given to students. But the tone of the assembly quickly changed. Andy Simms of the Commonwealth Attorney’s office spoke about how drunk driving was a crime and how DUI drivers were treated by the courts. Then the featured speaker, Harold Dennis, a survivor of the 1988 Carrolton Bus Crash and former UK football player, told his terrifying story of the crash. He spoke graphically of his injuries, but more importantly of the friends he lost and how lives were changed, all because one man chose to drink and drive. He reminded students that their decisions affect not only themselves but everyone around them. Then the lights went out and 15 students were led by the Grim Reaper into the gym. Each one held a candle. Officer Wade read each student’s obituary, recounting the student’s life and goals that would never come to pass. Then each student’s candle was Wrecked cars decorated the East High School lawn during Ghost Out Week, reminding students of the consequences of driving while intoxicated. GHOST OUT at East and West High Schools! Page 5 extinguished and each was laid down by a member of EMS/FIRE workers and covered with a sheet to represent their deaths. I feel that the program was a great success. The students really listened and thought about the program. You could have heard a pin drop in the gym as the speakers talked and as students watched their friends get laid out. There were even a few tears shed by students and teachers alike during the assembly. We hope that our message against drunk driving will weigh heavily on the students’ minds as they begin their prom night and summer ventures. Mr. Harold Dennis gave students at both High Schools a graphic description of his harrowing experience surviving the tragic Carrolton Bus Crash in 1988, caused by a drunk driver. Jessamine County Schools thanks Mr. Dennis for his courage to tell his painful story for the benefit of our students, who listened in silence as he recounted that awful event.
Page 1 and 2: Tarrah Dunaway West Jessamine High
Page 3: Employees of the Year were announce
Page 7 and 8: Scholarship Winners! WJMS eighth-gr

Tarrah Dunaway - Jessamine County Schools

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