Community Services
Report
2001 - Spring 2002
Montana’s Youth
Grim reality
A distraught father waits anxiously in the lobby.
In an adjacent room at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, doctors,
nurses and emergency medical technicians work to revive a 17-
year old girl brought by ambulance to the emergency room minutes
earlier.
But they are having little success.
The teenager suffered head injuries in a drunken-driving motor
vehicle crash. She has no blood pressure and her eyes are fixed
and dilated.
Minutes later, the doctor calls her time of death. A social worker
and doctor deliver the message to her father.
It all seems so real, and that was the whole point.
The girl was one of 22 students and two teachers who participated
in the “Every 15 Minutes” program at Hamilton High
School to emphasize the need for youths to make responsible decisions
about drinking and driving. The program’s name was derived
from the statistics that every 15 minutes someone in the United
States is killed in an alcohol-related traffic collision.
To illustrate that point, the Grim Reaper, a high school senior
dressed in a black cloak and hood, walked the halls of Hamilton
High School and removed a student every 15 minutes.
As the student was led away, the teacher read the class the youth’s
obituary, a document drafted ahead of time by the student or his
or her parents.
The teenagers staged mock deaths from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.,
Monday, with the help of those who would normally respond to a
motor-vehicle
fatality.
Staff members at Marcus Daly Hospital and the Ravalli County
Sheriff’s
Office assisted in staging two mock emergency room scenes and in
delivering mock death notices to parents of pupils taken from class.
“
It seems pretty serious when they read the obituary,” said
Shane Driscoll, 18, a senior who played the Grim Reaper. “People
stop and think about it. It’s pretty intense.”
For Driscoll, the most sobering point of the exercise cam each
time he led a student out to the parking lot to meet a waiting
squad car that would take most of them to the old Westview Junior
High School.
“
When they take them away in the car you get the feeling of them
really being taken,” Driscoll said.
Students taken to Westview spent time writing farewell letters
to family and friends. At an assembly of several hundred students
later Monday afternoon, their prose accompanied a slide show
of photos of the youths growing up.
“
It was difficult,” said Jeremy Koppes, 17, a junior, of the
crafting of the farewell letter.
“
It’s hard to find the right last words, what you’d
want your family to know when you’ve left them forever,” said
Timarie Driscoll, 16, a junior.
The victims gathered on stage with their families and then were
joined by emergency medical technicians and law enforcement.
The crowd gathered to demonstrate how many people are actually
affected
by alcohol-related crashes.
“
As we go through life, we all make certain choices,” said
Glenda Wiles, director of the Ravalli County DUI Task Force. “This
program was put together to help you make responsible choices that
may affect not only your life but all of those around you.”
The student assembly also included a visit from National Football
League player Derwin Gray, who delivered a message on making good
choices. The former Carolina Panther and Indianapolis Colt gave
his “Traffic Light” message, which teaches four primary
character traits, discipline, love, respect and responsibility.
He said alcohol and drugs will prevent youth from becoming the
best that they can be.
“
Alcohol and drugs will destroy your life, slowly or quickly,” Gray
said. “You don’t need either to enjoy life.”
(Excerpted
from the Missoulian, Tuesday, May 8, 2001)
Teen volunteers bridge generations
 |
| Having fun at St. John’s Lutheran
Hospital Health Fair. |
Cookies and carols were the inter-generation bond Tuesday at
the Summit, but it goes deeper than that.
Teenage volunteers regularly work with the victims of stroke
and other head injuries at the rehabilitation department at Kalispell
Regional Medical Center.
It’s about affection given and Flathead High School senior
Lacey Bubnash, “It’s fun for us. We feel so appreciated.”
Representing the Volunteers group at the hospital and Anchor
Club (the junior edition of Glacier Pilot club), the teens spend
two
hours or more a week with people recovering from head injuries.
They play games, work together on arts and crafts, plant flowers
in the spring, and decorate Christmas cookies on days like Tuesday,
when Bubnash’s assessment of smiles was work on platefuls
of cookies.
Brianne Bennett, a junior at Flathead High School, said she,
like Bubnash, is interested in a career in medicine. This is a
nice
introduction to that, she said.
But it’s more personal than that, Bennett said.
“We learn a lot from all the patients. They can tell you
a lot about Kalispell and its history,” she said.
John Edwards has made a powerful recovery from his stroke nine
years ago. He was delighted with Bubnash’s School junior,
said the patients recoveries are bittersweet.
When they leave the rehabilitation program at the hospital, she’s
happy that they’re doing well, but “We don’t
even get to say good-bye” sometimes.
Her fondness for the people in the group is returned.
“Some people are very critical of teenagers these days.
They obviously don’t know these kids,” said Jake Braig.
Celebration of Youth awards given
The Second Annual Celebration of Our Youth awards ceremony, conducted
by the Red Lodge Youth Council, was held March 15 at the Red
Lodge Country Club.
Following is a list of award winners:
Youth of the Year Award, sponsored by the Boys & Girls Club
of Red Lodge.
Recipient: Aaron Kyro
Youth Citizen of the Year Award, sponsored by Red Lodge City
Council.
Recipient: Chaley Paulson.
Youth Environmental Steward Award, sponsored by the Red Lodge
Garden Club and Custer National Forest Beartooth Ranger District.
Recipient: Schuyler Walters.
Youth Volunteer in the Health Care Setting Award, sponsored
by Beartooth Hospital and Health Center.
Recipient: Kennon Douglas
Youth Acts of Kindness Award, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity.
Recipient: Lacey Bremer.
Youth Alcohol and Drug Prevention Award, sponsored by the
Carbon County DUI Task Force and Elks Club.
Outstanding Adult or Organization Volunteering to Youth
Award, sponsored by the Red Lodge Jaycees.
Recipient: Mary Newcom.
Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award, sponsored by the
Red Lodge Rotary Club
Recipient: Sam Tower.
Award for Outstanding Character, Leadership and Service,
sponsored by PEO, Chapter R.
Recipient: Anita Sandretto
Dedication and Kindness to Wildlife Award, sponsored
by the Beartooth Nature Center.
Recipient: Rachael Monroe.
Teacher in the Community Award, sponsored by
the Red Lodge High School Key Club.
Recipient: Kirt Nell.
Youth Balancing Work and School Award, sponsored
by the Red Lodge Board of Education.
Recipient: Brad Hauge.
Youth Religious Service and Leadership Award,
sponsored by the Red Lodge Ministerial
Association.
Recipient: Zak Beard.
|
