Drill it into your heads
Editor’s Corner
editor@sierrastar.com

When the Sierra Star redesigned its editorial page in the fall of last year, the goal of the editorial board was to write its editorials always keeping in mind the best interest of the community. Since that time, this space has been filled with several articles touching on the importance of driving safely in the Mountain Area and how deadly crashes occur consistently, both ones which involve alcohol and ones which don’t.

Earlier this week, 40 local sponsors made up of business owners, emergency, fire and law enforcement personnel and the Yosemite High School staff and student body joined efforts to present “Every 15 Minutes” at YHS, a two-day drill designed to present the consequences of drinking and driving in a very real manner.

A select number of students were chosen to portray the victims, students on their way to the prom when tragedy occurs, with drinking and driving being a primary factor.

Students were informed that fellow classmates were killed during the crash and were shown what the vehicles involved look like. On the first day, emergency professionals arrived on scene and one student was arrested for driving under the influence. On the second day, a funeral was held for the students who were killed, with family members and students saying their good-byes.

This “15 Minutes” program was originally designed by the Chico Police Department in 1995, inspired by an early 1990s statistic that someone in the United States died or was seriously injured in an alcohol-related traffic collision every 15 minutes.

This drill would be beneficial to any high school in the United States, but it is even more so here, where the mountain roads can be deadly at anytime.

The staff and students at YHS and everyone involved with this week’s program deserve accolades for their participation.

While the event that took place was a dramatization, the next accident might not be.

This Saturday, local students will flock to Tenaya Lodge beginning at 8 p.m.

The occasion is the 2005 Yosemite High School junior and senior prom.

We strongly encourage anyone attending not to engage in drinking throughout the course of the evening and we urge members of the community not only to refrain from drinking and driving but also to take extra caution when driving throughout the mountain roads Saturday night.

We don’t want this week’s drill to turn into a reality.

The issues discussed above are chosen by the editorial board of the Sierra Star, made up of Betty E. Linn, publisher and David Richards, editor.

Yosemite Joint Union High School District News