With both prom and graduation season right around the corner, students are being encouraged to make smart decisions.
On April 30, students in grades 10-12 at the Jr./Sr. High School participated in a “Teen Traffic Safety Education Program” offered by the Oneida County STOP-DWI Program and Oneida County Office of Traffic Safety. As part of the program, students visited several educational stations in the gym sponsored by the following offices/organizations: 
Center for Family Life and Recovery – This station provided information on the dangers of using marijuana. Students could put on googles that simulated the loss of short-term memory and altered vision and motor coordination as if they were under the influence of marijuana.
Insight House – This station provided information on the dangers of using drugs, specifically opiates and heroin.
Mohawk Valley YWCA – This station provided information on the dangers of “date rape,” along with teen dating and sexual violence.
New York State Department of Transportation – This station provided information on how to safely drive through a work zone and also stressed pedestrian safety.
Oneida County Health Department – This station provided information on the dangers of using e-cigarettes and vaping, along with suicide awareness/prevention.
Oneida County Sheriff’s Office – This station provided information on the dangers of texting and driving, along with cyber bullying and mental health awareness. Students could sign a pledge to not text and drive.
Kristen Muir is a school social worker at the Westmoreland Central School District. She organized the “Teen Traffic Safety Education Program” at the Jr./Sr. High School.
“It’s very important to provide students with resources about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, tobacco and vaping,” Muir said. “Ultimately, we want these resources and important information to lead to good decision making.”
The “Teen Traffic Safety Education Program” also featured a guest speaker in the auditorium. Ed Devitt II shared the story of the car crash that killed the three people he was traveling with and caused him to sustain a traumatic brain injury. The group had been drinking prior to the crash.
As a result of his injury, Devitt temporarily lost his ability to speak, walk, eat and drink. He eventually regained most of his cognitive function and overcame years of depression and addiction resulting from the crash. Today, he travels to schools to talk about the dangers of driving while impaired and addiction.
The Oneida County STOP-DWI Program and Oneida County Office of Traffic Safety present the “Teen Traffic Safety Education Program” to area high schools every year preceding prom and graduation season. As a continuation of the program, Westmoreland Jr./Sr. High School will be the site of a mock DWI crash on May 23.