WINNERS CIRCLE: Officer Michelle Lingenfelter, Dolores Bielle of the Emblem Club, Dick Richards of the Elks Lodge, and principal of Sacred Heart School in Anderson stand with the winners of the drug awareness essay and poster contest.
Since 1993 the Elks Lodge has been holding an essay and poster contest in Shasta County schools to help raise awareness of the danger of drugs.
Dick Richards of the Redding Elk Lodge #1073, Dolores Bielle of the Emblem Club #515, and Officer Michelle Lingenfelter of the Anderson Peace Officer Association handed out the awards to eight students and two teachers. A number of students also received certificates of participation.
According to Bielle, Sacred Heart had the most winners in Shasta County, because they had the most entries out of any other school in Shasta County. There were 20 prizes awarded this year totaling $1,025, which also includes the two $100 prizes to teachers.
"Its just fun to be around the kids and to see them win," said Richards.
The poster contest was for students in both Shasta and Trinity Counties in the third through fifth grades. The essay contest was also for students in Shasta and Trinity Counties in grades sixth through eighth.
According to Bielle, the purpose of the essay and poster contests is to raise drug awareness and the effects it has on families as well as individually. She went on to say that many of the essays they received were first hand experiences of family members facing drug addictions.
Now with the push for the legalization of marijuana, Bielle fears for the children.
"Here we are trying to raise awareness of drugs and society is pushing for them to be legal."
For the poster contest, Addie Dardano won first place, Melinda De La Loza and John Downey placed second, Alex Robbings was third, and Alex Moore and Grace Dardano both received Honorable Mention Awards.
For the essay contest, sixth grader Hailee Mclean and her classmate Heely Rogers both received Honorable Mention Awards from the Anderson Peace Officer Association.
The two teacher recipients of the $100 prize were Mrs. Key and Mrs. Reaves.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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