National Guard helicopter visit helps Jackson Elementary with Red Ribbon message
Jackson Elementary students and staff watch the
arrival of a Colorado National Guard helicopter on their playground Oct. 22 as
part of Red Ribbon Week.
Courtesy of Jackson Elementary
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With the Guardsmen in the helicopter were representatives of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), while driving in to join them were city fire and police officers. Jackson is located in the Holland Park neighborhood, at 4340 Edwinstowe Ave.
The full student body (about 430 students) was present for the event, which started off the school day with the helicopter's arrival at about 8 a.m. During the hour before the flying machine departed, students learned the advantages of avoiding drug use as well as techniques for rejecting peer-group pressure in that direction. They also got a chance to get a close look at the outside of a helicopter, said Sharon Thomas, a first-year Jackson counselor who organized the visit, taking advantage of a Red Ribbon-related program.
“It was a collaboration for Red Ribbon, to promote healthy bodies and a positive relationship with the military and local officers,” she said.
The National Family Partnership started the national Red Ribbon Campaign in 1985, in response to the brutal murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena.
Under the Red Ribbon program, students pledge to live drug-free and are given a red ribbon to wear.
Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 11/3/14;
Schools:
Jackson Elementary)
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