The Shadow
On May 12, 2025, the Alleghany, Bath, Highland Bar Association (ABH Bar), an association of the local lawyers, put on a “So You’re 18” program for the Alleghany High School seniors. The idea is to give seniors legal advice about some of the issues they will face upon graduation. This is a program sponsored by the Virginia State Bar’s section entitled “Local and Specialty Bar Associations (LSBA).”
(The “quotes” below and the photographs were used by permission of the Recorder and were taken from the Recorder’s edition, which appeared on May 22, 2025.)
The panel of speakers was composed of:
1. Ann Gardner, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Alleghany County, who explained the ins and outs of the court system and some of the pitfalls one can encounter. She told the students, “A day makes a difference. The day you turn 18, you’re no longer treated like a child. So, what does it mean to be 18? At 18 you can go to jail, but you can’t drink a beer. You can go to war, but you can’t get a concealed carry permit. You can go to prison, but
you can’t rent a car. So really, you’re treated like an adult in some ways but not in others. Becoming an adult is an exciting time; you’re got your whole
life ahead of you. You’ve got the freedom to make choices, just make sure that you make good choices.” She explained one of the most important
things to consider about adulthood is that there are adult penalties for breaking the law. She said a felony conviction, which can be punishable by
up to life in prison, also means the forfeiture of rights. “You lose the right to vote, you lose the right to carry a firearm,” she said. “Also, a felony conviction can impact your ability to get a job.” She also warned students of the penalties for reckless driving. “Reckless driving will land you in jail,”
she explained. “Driving 20 miles an hour over the speed limit isn’t speeding, it is reckless driving. Driving over 85 – regardless of what the speed limit is – is also reckless driving.” Gardner explained Virginia has “zero tolerance” for underage drinking and for driving under the influence.
“Those are serious crimes,” she said. Drug use and possession carry more than just legal penalties, they also carry life consequences, she said.
“People die from drug overdoes right and left.”
2. Sheriff Kyle M. Moore, of Alleghany County, who spoke about law enforcement and some of the things young people might run into as they blend into adult life and how decisions made at an early age can affect the rest of your life. Sheriff Moore explained a DUI, on average, costs about
$10,000.00. In addition to hiring a defense attorney, he said, “ You’ve got to get special insurance when you get a DUI; your license gets suspended. You get mandatory fines, you get mandatory classes, and you’ve got to pay court fees. And the price just keeps going up and up and up.” Sheriff
Moore elaborated on marijuana and the laws surrounding its use. “I know marijuana is supposedly legal. Well, it being legal means that you can only
grow it at home and you can smoke it at home. You can’t buy it, trade it, sell it or have somebody give it to you,” he said. “Do you know that the
first time you smoke marijuana, you can die?” he asked. “Marijuana is a gateway drug that can be laced with nearly any drug that somebody wants
to put in it, and they can also lace it with things that are not drugs, and it can kill you.” He concluded by differentiating between “mistakes of the
mind and mistakes of the heart.” “We can correct mistakes of the mind,” he said. “If you make a mistake of the heart, you knew it was wrong, and
you did it anyway.” “Honesty is truly the best policy as an adult. Own your mistakes. Think about your choices in life, and make good choices.”
3. Attorney Taylor M. Baker, President of the ABH Bar, who introduced the panel, welcomed the students, and described the purpose of the “So You’re
18” program. He said the idea, coming from the VSB, is to give youngsters a heads up as to what they may expect, from a legal standpoint, as they go out into the world. Mr. Baker also talked about some of those legal hurdles. He explained to students how Good Samaritan law protects those underage from reporting other underage people who drink or use drugs. “Say you’re at a party, and you would never do drugs, but your friend did, and they overdose, and suddenly you’re scared that you’re going to go to jail or get in trouble, so you hesitate before you call 911. This law is designed to prevent that from happening. So, if someone’s overdosed, and you call for help… then you can’t get in trouble.” He also urged students to exercise caution when posting content online. “Nothing you put on your cell phone, nothing you put on Facebook, nothing you put on Snapchat, ever goes away. It stays forever. So, anything you wouldn’t want a judge to read, think twice about doing it.”
4. Attorney Christopher S. Dadak, from Roanoke, was there representing the LSBA. He also explained the purpose of the program and said, “Please
don’t ignore anything in this booklet.”
5. Mrs. Ingrid W. Barber, Executive Director of the Alleghany Highlands Community Services Board, described how her agency worked with young
people and their families as they dealt with all kinds of issues, including drug and alcohol addiction. She spoke about how the Drug Court helped
young and older people deal with issues involving law violations, especially those involving drugs and alcohol. “Ingrid reported, “Preliminary data from
2024 shows that there were 1,396 drug overdose deaths among Virginia residents, a 43% decrease from 2023” according to the to the data from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said that “while this national decline is encouraging news, overdose remains the leading cause
of death for Americans aged 18-44, highlighting the importance of sustained efforts to ensure this progress continues.” Barber explained that the panel was there to make the students aware and understand the risks of drugs. She stated, “any pill — no matter what it is — that was not prescribed by your doctor or filled in a licensed pharmacy cannot be trusted. No pill purchased on a social media website is safe.”
6. April Miller, Prevention Coordinator for Alleghany Highlands Community Services, talked about growing up in a family where there were problems
with drugs and alcohol. She cautioned the students to be aware of those pitfalls and to avoid them whenever possible. She talked about how drugs
impact not only the people taking them, but also their families. She said, “Alcohol and drug use affects everyone else around you. Don’t be so selfish
that you think that your drug use and bad choices only affects you. Drugs aren’t about just what it does to you, it’s not just about the high that you
get. It’s about what you do to your community, it’s about what you do to your family.”
7. Charles S. Moore, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Bath County, generally echoed the comments of Ms. Gardner and cautioned the students to think
carefully before acting and to be sure to read the “So You’re 18” booklet.
Before the meeting began, President Baker announced that handbooks were being passed out to the students, courtesy of the VSB, containing more detail about issues possibly to be faced by the students. The students were urged to keep the handbooks for future reference.
President Baker thanked Ms. Heather Terrell, Academic Advisor at Alleghany High School, for helping to put the program together and said that he hoped the ABH Bar could put on similar programs in years to come.
