Hi Everyone!!!!

Don't forget we have a SRSLY ST PATTY'S DAY PARTY!!!!!!!! on wednesday! :)

Retreat 2010

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to say a big 'THANK YOU' on behalf of the YSC to Reiley, Mrs. Morris, Mr. Knight, Bill&Tracie Christie, Sara Wild, Mr. Ingall, and all the other adults for helping us out with our retreat. I think we all learned some new ways to handle some of the tough things about being leaders, as well as had a great time. I didn't honestly think that I would have ever seen Reiley ice skating. Devin, you were crazy fast, and it was a little bit scary. Anyway, thank you everyone for coming, and it was a great time!

P.S. Congratulations to all of the YSC that were nominated and/or elected to new positions or just got re-elected to their old ones! I'm looking forward to a great year.

Ellen

$5.5 billion?!?!? Srsly?

SRSLY is seriously doing its best to help stop destructive behavior in teens! Did you know that each year, students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more than they spend on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee or books combined? Why not spend that money on doing something with your friends? Why not come to one of our monthly coalition meetings, or participate in one of our SRSLY sanctioned events? Coming up in March is the St. Patrick's Day Party. Speaking from experience, it t is a ton of fun and anyone is welcome! Have a safe Valentine's Day, and remember, Don't Do Drugs (or drink while underage) SRSLY!

The first post of 2010, from YSC Treasurer Judy Kim

The New Year’s Eve party was so fun! I think that CHO, the choir, and fiddle club played fantastically! If you were there, then I hope that you had tons of fun! The idea of the whole “scavenger” game was great to keep all of the kids busy and got them to have fun at different stations they would probably never go to. Very brilliant! J

Honestly you guys? Wasn’t playing Eye of the Tiger a million times a little too much? Sure it’s a great song, but too much of a good thing usually turns out to be a bad thing! It gets real tiring, trust me.

The idea of the party was a great hit this year again! So many people were in the cafeteria, I couldn’t even find a good spot to sit all the chairs were filled. The food was awesome, too! The pizza, chips, and drinks! Delicious! Apparently the pizza ran out which was a shame. The food was still scrumptious!

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far! Have a great 2010!

B srsly safe this holiday season

Hi Everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a great holiday season so far. Everyone loves the holiday season, all the partying and festivities. This is a perfect time to remind ourselves to be safe, and to make good choices. The holiday season is one of the biggest times for people to become involved with alcohol related accidents. New Year's Eve is the second most fatal holiday as far as drinking and driving goes. Please remember to be safe out there, everyone.

Also, a reminder to anyone that may be new to SRSLY, underage drinking is illegal. The consequences for a minor drinking are heavy: jail, fines, the whole bit. It's great to let your children have a fun time and have fun with their friends during the season, but please, be the best host possible and DON'T serve them alcohol. Alcohol has irreversible effects on the brain until the mid 20s.

Have a SRSLY safe holiday!

Ellen

PS - Don't miss the SRSLY New Year's Eve Party, 4:00 - 8:00 pm at Beach Middle School on the 31st. Free and fun!

Minimum Legal Drinking Age

MINIMUM LEGAL DRINKING AGE: 21

The issue of the minimum legal drinking age (or MLDA) has been on the news, and was recently discussed on the CBS program 60 Minutes, and Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. If you would like to read John McCardell’s argument for lowering the drinking age to 18, go to www.chooseresonsibility.org.

The non-profit organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving opposes this change. Go to www.madd.org to read why. Here are some Michigan-specific traffic crash data on the subject:

“In 1972, when the drinking age fell to 18, drinking drivers ages 18-20 in crashes more than doubled. In one year. By the last year of the 18 law, it had more than tripled. In 1979, we went back to 21, and those crashes fell by about a third. The number of drinking drivers ages 18-20 in crashes did not fall back below the 1971 number until 1990. The trend on fatalities was less severe. It didn't quite double, never did triple, and dipped below 1971 levels in 1985.” Source: Office of Highway Safety Planning, Michigan State Police.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the current minimum drinking age law has saved over 800 lives per year over the past five years. Source: www.nhtsa.gov.

Hi from Louisville!

Well it's Day 3 of the Mid-year Training Institute with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). We're in Louisville at the Downtown Marriott. It's hot and muggy outside, but it's FREEZING in here! They just loooooove air conditioning down here.

But besides the temperature extremes, I've had a great time meeting and learning from other coalition leaders, and hearing about what their communities are doing to prevent destructive behaviors. I've also had the chance to share some of what we're doing in Chelsea, and get some feedback and reactions. (everyone loves the Chaz/CPTN SRSLY idea - way to go Zoe!!!)

Now we're about to get started with a session on "Social Hosting Ordinances" and enforcing laws against parents hosting teen drinking parties. It's a packed room, full of other folks who want to prevent tragedies in their communities, that are so often the result of teen substance abuse. I can't wait to hear what other coalitions are doing to fight this problem, and what SRSLY can do in Chelsea.

Before I go, if anyone wants to review any of the presentations from this week, they're all going to be posted online at www.cadca.org. This is an awesome website with tons of resources, so check it out, and let me know if you see anything you think we can and should use in SRSLY!