|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| 16 June 2000 - West Hills High School CASA strives to fight substance abuse By Jane Bye On Thursday, May 18, a press conference on the risks and consequences of drinking and driving was held in the El Cajon Community Center. The event was hosted by C.A.S.A., Communities Against Substance Abuse. The first two speakers were Kristopher Beck, a manager from the Mission Bay Hotel, and Javonda Franklin, from Presidential Limousine. Beck went over the hotel's policy on hotel rooms on prom night, which states that parents must consent to students having a hotel room, and that minors caught with alcohol would be asked to leave the premises. Franklin discussed the company's policy on alcohol, which stated that minors caught with alcohol would immediately be returned to their homes and not refunded. Officer Frank Lamb then discussed the legal consequences of drinking and driving. Alcohol can be obtained by minors in many different ways, including parties with or without adults, as well as the illegal sale of alcohol from any store. "It's not an accident," said Lamb regarding the choice to drink and drive. The recently established Zero Tolerance law calls for immediate suspension of any person's driver's license who is caught drinking and driving. Being convicted of a DUI simply means, for a minor, having a blood alcohol level of 0.01 or higher, or failure to pass or refusal to take a field sobriety test. Losing your license to drive is separate from all other consequences of drinking and driving. The second to last speaker of the afternoon was Mr. Mike Newell. He began by saying that at any given moment, there are 7000 people enrolled in a D.U.I. program. Part of this education is a visit to an emergency room and the county morgue. The cost of the entire process is $10,000. The D.U.I. program also takes control of much of its participants' lives. The required class is two nights a week, along with one Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. With a second conviction there is the possibility of jail time, the fines are doubled, and you must complete the set amount of community service. All of the speakers were very informative, and the experience as a whole was one that provided a lot of valuable information to prevent alcohol abuse. Article Snapshot (51K) |
||
|
