‘The Challenge’ for teens is about making choices–like not to drink and drive

It’s all about choices for teens today. Good choices include family, friends and school. Bad choices include drinking and driving. The challenge is in making the right choices.

Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez created a program call ‘The Challenge’, which he and a panel of guest speakers brought to Maricopa High School’s juniors and seniors on Thursday morning. District 3 Pinal County Supervisor David Snider emceed the presentation. “Drinking and driving can come at you in all ways, and, if not you, what about the other driver?” asked Snider, who introduced Sergeant Matt Thomas. Thomas showed some actual slides of fatalities attributed to drinking and driving. “You make choices every day,” he noted. “Bad choices can end in a visit from sheriff’s deputies, or jail or death; that’s the worst.”

Students also heard from Superior Court Judge William O’Neil. He recounted an incident in which a high school football star’s drinking and subsequent head-on crash killed a mother and two young children, the baby smashed against the teen’s windshield while he stayed pinned in the cab of his truck. O’Neil quoted Helen Keller: “Life is like a Greek tragedy; you can have sight, but if you lack vision, you don’t do very well.”

O’Neil urged students to think wisely. “When you fall into a dark spot, there’s a temptation to turn to a substance. I hope you have friends to help you through that.”

Maricopa High School juniors and seniors gave their complete attention to a very serious topic.

The Challenge panel (left to right) Judge William O’Neil, Judge Scott Sulley, Jerry Warren, Supervisor David Snider (standing), Sergeant Matt Thomas, Sheriff Chris Vasquez, Lance Lane, Mary Maldonado from the State Liquor Board and Jacob Pruit.

“The arresting officer doesn’t care if you are in the honor society, a football player or an average student,” explained Maricopa-Stanfield Justice of the Peace Scott Sulley, “he’s just glad you’re off the street.” Sulley explained that you don’t have to be drunk to be charged if the prosecutor can prove you were impaired. He also outlined some fees involved with a DUI conviction, including a $1,475 minimum fine for a misdemeanor, prosecution fees, alcohol screening fees and counseling fees. “If you make a decision to drive after drinking, then, in my opinion, you have an alcohol problem,” he added.

According to Lance Lane, Maricopa State Farm Insurance agent, “Choices have consequences like loss of life, loss of freedom, loss of relationships and financial loss. In my agency, we cannot insure an underage DUI, or anyone in that person’s household. Insurance rates increase about five times for a person who has been fined for drinking and driving. Remember that most employers will not hire a DUI. I know it’s tough due to peer pressure, but think about reality and the consequences of your choices.”

Martial Arts World Champion Jacob Pruit was barely 18 when he spent a weekend on a mountaintop near his hometown of Eloy, drinking with friends. He was popular, personable and had great athletic ability. He was working as a roofer, and the next morning, driving down the mountain, he blacked out, flipping his vehicle end over end five times. Pruit, who suffered severe spinal cord injuries, was not expected to live. His mother Rosa and his little brother, Nathan, were devastated.

Following the video depicting his life before and after the incident, Pruit, who is confined to a wheelchair with limited mobility in one arm, told the students that it was still hard for him to watch the video. “Hey, I’m alive, but I’m in this chair for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Have fun, but if you’re a good friend of someone drinking, grab his keys and don’t let him drive.”

Sheriff Vasquez reminded the students that choices were like a test with wrong and right responses. “Choose the right ones!” he urged.

Mortician Jerry Warren provided a casket for the event, but, instead of a body, there was a mirror inside. “On your way out, look at yourself in that mirror,” Warren said, “then ask yourself, ‘Is it worth it?'”

Teens making bad choices can literally end up here.

As the juniors and seniors of Maricopa High School filed out of the multi-purpose room, only a handful took a quick glance into the casket. ‘The Challenge’ program teaches that it’s all about choices, either good ones or bad. Looking at themselves in a coffin was probably a bit unnerving. Hopefully the students will remember that being there would be the worst choice of all.