The Shadow
Sgt.?Chris Fisher of the Alleghany?County Sheriff’s Office, left, and Dep. Ricky Bates of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, right, pose for a photograph with?student Austin?Jack following DARE?graduation ceremonies at Callaghan Elementary?School.?Fisher serves as DARE?instructor for Alleghany County?Schools, while Bates serves as school resource officer at Callaghan. (Gavin?Dressler Photo)
Fifth grade students in the Alleghany County Public Schools recently completed the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.
Under the tutelage of Sgt. Chris Fisher of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, who serves as DARE instructor for the three elementary schools, the students learned the importance of avoiding drugs, alcohol and tobacco, as well as violence and bullying. The program also emphasizes responsible decision-making.
The fifth-graders at Sharon, Mountain View and Callaghan elementary schools recently participated in graduation ceremonies to mark their completion of the program.
The theme for this year’s DARE program was “Champions.”
“I told these guys and girls — if you want to be your best, and you want to be a champion, you’ve got to leave the drugs alone and you’ve got to make good decisions,” said Fisher at the Sharon graduation, “because if you want to be your best and give your best, you’ll never do it with drugs, alcohol, violence, bullying — all the things we talked about.”
Representatives from the school system, as well as local law enforcement, were in attendance. Several of them shared words of encouragement with the students.
“Guys, please listen to what Sgt. Fisher has told you,” said Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall. “If you don’t do what Sgt. Fisher has told you to do this year, if you do not follow those rules … you’re going to end up in trouble.”
Fred Vaughan, director of human resources and pupil personnel for the school system, echoed Sheriff Hall’s sentiments. “You will have choices to make,” he told DARE students at Callag-han. “Take what you’ve learned this year and apply that to your decision making.”
As part of the DARE curriculum, each student was required to write an essay on what DARE meant to them. The essays were judged by a person not affiliated with DARE, and winners from each classroom were selected. Each winner received a trophy, and each read their essay aloud at their respective graduations.
Essay winners included Michael Caldwell, Kiera Lowman, Grace O’Byrne and Nolan Nicely, Sharon; Alaina McCormick, Kaylee Nicely, Emma Taylor and Matthew McDonald, Moun-tain View; and Abigail Elmore, Riley Kornieck, Landen Gibson, Brycen Griffin and Hayden Fridley, Callaghan.
Fisher also invited several Alleghany High School students to serve as keynote speakers. Those included Caitlyn Tierney, Lindsey Brown and Maggie Thomp-son, Sharon; Corey Easton, Jayson Easton and Zach Silver, Mountain View; and Colby Skidmore, Callaghan.
“The things you learn in DARE will stay with you the rest of your life — objectives like saying ‘no,” walking away and developing good decision-making skills are lessons that are essential for a healthy life,” said Brown at Sharon.
Brown, Tierney and Thompson were honor graduates at AHS this year, with Brown being selected as class salutatorian. All three graduated in the top 10 percent of their class, and each was involved in numerous clubs and extra-curricular activities.
The three are headed to college in the fall, and mentioned to the Sharon students that none of it would be possible had they been involved with drugs or alcohol.
The Easton brothers, speakers at Mountain View, were both members of the AHS varsity basketball team this year as freshmen.
Jayson spoke on the importance of choosing friends wisely. “Once I left middle school and got to high school, I created a very tight circle, so I let people who I wanted to associate myself with in there, and everybody else that I thought was a bad influence for me, I just kept them out,” he said.
Corey also mentioned the influence of peer pressure on experimenting with alternatives to smoking, such as e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. “They might say it’s better than smoking — it’s not,” he said. “Stay away from it.”
“My life has been impacted by drugs — a lot,” said Silver in recounting the story of his childhood, growing up with a mother who struggled with addiction. Silver and his siblings were eventually put up for adoption, and he was subsequently taken in by a foster family. He credits his adoptive family for helping him turn his life around.
“Having people tell me I could be successful really helped me out a lot,” he said, noting that he went from having a 1.3 grade point average to graduating with a 3.9 GPA under their guidance.
Silver, a member of the AHS wrestling team, also credits the sport with keeping him grounded. He finished his high school career with the third most wins in school history, and next fall will wrestle at Bluefield College, receiving an athletic and academic scholarship.
“Always believe in yourself, always work hard for anything you get in life, and be thankful for everything you’ve been given,” said Silver in conclusion.
At Callaghan, Skidmore stressed to the students the impact that drug use could potentially have on their futures. “I’m sure all of you have goals and dreams,” he said. “Those goals are impossible to achieve with drugs. As soon as drugs are introduced in your life, it would become hard enough just to do something simple, like graduating high school.”
Skidmore, who graduated in May, played basketball and baseball at AHS. “I love baseball,” Skidmore said, “and have for as long as I can remember.
“I was blessed with the opportunity to play for the next four years in college,” he added. “I can confidently say I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I’d used drugs of any kind.
“What I’m try to say is with drugs you won’t go anywhere in life, regardless; but without them there are endless opportunities,” he said in conclusion. “You don’t need drugs to have fun. Just say ‘no’ and stay on a good path in life and you can do a lot of great things.”
Fisher also expressed appreciation to several representatives who assisted him with the program throughout the year. He presented certificates of appreciation to teachers, administrators and office staff members, and each school’s Parent-Teacher Organization.
Fisher concluded the ceremonies with closing remarks. “There is help out there, there are people who care, there are people that will listen to you,” he said at Callaghan. “If you know somebody that’s on drugs, and it just seems like it keeps getting worse and worse … there is help out there, and there’s hope.”
Students who graduated from DARE received a certificate, as well as a DARE T-shirt and a goody bag.
Students at Sharon Elementary School completing the DARE program included: Presley Adams, Daniel Angle, Callie Armentrout, Blayne Burley-Smith, Michael Caldwell, Makhi Clarke, Colt Cook, Riley Cosby, Justin Craft, Macy Crush, Adam Crawford, Christian Dew, Jaime Gardner, Sonny Grimes, Logan Layton, Layken Leeman, MaKenzy Linkswiler, Kiera Lowman.
Also, Caleb Muterspaugh, Dalton Nelson, Carter Nicely, Mackenzie Nicely, Nolan Nicely, Grace O’Byrne, Zachary Robinson, Shayna Sammons, Zeke Saville, Brenden Seckner, Dalton Simmons, Elizabeth Small, Aubrey Smith, Zachary Smith, Jacklhyann Wright.
Students completing DARE at Mountain View Elementary School included: Ayden Anderson, Prosper Baker, Trenton Barber, Colby Bartley, Diego Basilio, Jody Bentley, Brianna Berry, Evan Bishop, Kyleigh Booze, Andrew Brooks, Connor Broughfman, Peyton Broughman, Owen Burch, Zoa Burns.
Also: Miles Christian II, Leland Dressler, Julianna Dunbar, Zoey Easton, Pauline Gavin, Drake Gibson, Asberry Godfrey Jr., Jaquin Godfrey, Hannah Hensely, David Higgins, Cora Hodges, Alexie Horton, Faith Kelly, Brandi Knight.
Also: Faith Leisure-White, Emma Linkenhoker, Jordan Loan, Makaylee Loudermilk, Autumn Mace, Hanna Malcom, Brady May, Chevelle May, Gabriella May, Alaina McCormick, Matthew McDonald, Ariel McKoy, Ethan Morris, Kaylee Nicely, Raegan Nicely, Remington Nicely.
Also: Isabel Patterson, Wyatt Paxton, Shawn Petty Jr., Tucker Phillips, Sandra Reyna, Tyler Richmond, Dakota Rocha, Kai Rowland, Savanna Sartain, Hayleigh Shinault, Kyleigh Simmerman, Lillian Smith, Madison Tabor, Allie Taylor, Emma Taylor, Destanee Terry, Waylon Tucker, Eliza Unroe, Phoebe Vess, Mikya Washington, Tristen Whitmer, Bryce Wiseman, Kevin Worley, Peyton Wykle.
Students at Callaghan Elementary School who completed DARE included: Hunter Craft, Michael Daugherty, Abigail Elmore, Landen Gibson, Paige Harris, Jaxon Hoover, Nyasia Jackson, Breanah Lane, Caysey Marshall, Brody O’Conner, Hanna Persinger, Ethan Shue, Riley Smith, Kylan Tolley, Shannon Tucker, Kolten Walton, Maddox Wickline.
Also: Graham Brewster, Caleb Flenner, Hayden Fridley, Brycen Griffith, Kami Hallet, Damien Hollenbeck, Lenny Ingram, Austin Jack, Taylor Jenkins, Michael King, Riley Kornieck, Selina McMillion, Meredith Minter, William Palella, Alayna Shumaker, Emma Skidmore, Ryan Tucker, Kiersten Williams, Ricky Wolfe.
