Rusk FD to show truth about ‘Consequences’

Sun, May 18 2008

— By Cristin Ross
cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Tires squeal, glass shatters, metal crunches — the unmistakable sounds of lives irrevocably changed by reckless decisions.
Rusk High School students and the community will get the chance to see what could happen when poor decisions are made behind the wheel of a car during the Rusk Volunteer Fire Department’s presentation of “Consequences.” The event begins at 9:30 a.m., Thursday in the front parking lot of the Rusk High School and is open to the public for parents and driving-age children.
“We’re always doing fire prevention programs for the little kids,” program co-coordinator Terry Phillips said. “We wanted to do something for the older students.
“Teens are just getting their driver’s licenses, and they’re experimenting like all young people do. We want to be able to show what would happen if they decided to drink and drive or drive too fast.
Phillips said he and fellow Rusk firefighter James Sanchez brought the program to the attention of the fire department’s officials, who gave it the thumbs-up to add to the department’s repertoire of preventative presentations.
“We’ve had too many fatalities too close to home,” Sanchez said when asked why he picked the “Consequences” program. “It’s not just kids drinking and driving. It’s young drivers acting ignorant, it’s drugs — we can’t stop them, but if we show them what could happen maybe they’ll make better decisions. If we get through to 40 out of 200, I’ll be happy.”
Firefighters, EMS technicians and other volunteers will present the program. Guest speakers include the mother of teen crash victim Holly Jennings. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers will also present information at the program.
“Consequences” is a spin-off of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s “Shattered Dreams” program, which, according to the TABC Web site is an educational event that reminds people of the impacts of drinking and driving.
“What we are hearing from participants is that this program is touching kids and changing their behaviors as no other program has done before,” TABC Enforcement Chief James Smelser stated on the Web site.