Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 24, 1995 TAG: 9510240061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
From U.S. 220, Clearbrook Elementary School looks as if it has been gift-wrapped for the holiday season.
Red ribbon - 903 feet of it - encircles the Roanoke County school. Red bows, balloons and banners deck the front walk.
The decorations signify not holiday cheer, but pupils' intolerance of alcohol and illegal drug use. The decorations were taped, tied and draped to draw attention to a message that representatives of some substance-abuse organizations said needs renewed emphasis.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Red Ribbon Campaign, initiated by the Virginia Federation of Communities for Drug-Free Youth. In the Roanoke Valley, dozens of activities - from serving red food in school cafeterias to switching the Mill Mountain Star's lights from white to red - are being sponsored through Oct. 30 by the Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Council (RAYSAC), the Roanoke Valley Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council and Blue Ridge Community Services.
In 10 years, the message has not changed - that young people and alcohol and illegal drugs should not mix. But the message has lost some of the power it once packed in the years after former First Lady Nancy Reagan launched her "Just Say No" to drugs campaign.
"I think people feel like it's an issue that's been dealt with, that it's OK now, we can go on to something else," Jack Liddy, RAYSAC co-chairman, said at a kick-off news conference Monday.
"That's typical. That's human nature. There's always another issue to go to. But this is one that's never going to go away."
It is important that schools be part of the week's observance, Liddy said. But it is equally important that the whole community be involved, he added.
The Roanoke Valley's Red Ribbon Campaign primarily has been a school-based effort in its 10 years. Three years ago, it became much more visible communitywide. Valley Metro buses sported red ribbons. The Mill Mountain Star burned red.
This year, buses again will sport ribbons and the star again will burn red. But efforts have grown to include more businesses. Some will display Red Ribbon Week banners. Cars in the lot of one auto dealership will have red ribbons tied to antennas.
"We're trying to make a stronger effort to get the community to be part of it," Liddy said. "Schools are great, but they're a captive audience. What we really need, and I feel very strongly about this, is more community involvement."
Alcohol-related crashes continue to be the No. 1 reason that young people are injured or killed in the Roanoke Valley, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Philip Trompeter said at the news conference.
"This has become an extremely serious issue for our youth in the Roanoke Valley," said Trompeter, who is chairman of the Roanoke Valley Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council. "I hope that each time we look at that star and look at these red ribbons that we will make a much stronger determination that this particular problem is not going to continue to affect our kids and families."
by CNB