Norm Guenette
Dear sir:
Recently I was afforded the opportunity to bring a class from Fort Frances High School to La Verendrye Hospital for an all-day presentation.
Organized and staged by the local paramedics, we were there to participate in what is called the P.A.R.T.Y. program.
I was in as a supply teacher for the regular teacher who was away, and I am thankful for having had the chance to see first-hand just how good this program is.
John Beaton and his team of paramedics, along with special guests and presenters, did quite the job, in my view, of driving home a simple but most important message: making a “bad” choice can have dire consequences.
Drinking and driving, not being careful at parties, or simply getting into a car with a driver who is under the influence can have (and has had) devastating consequences.
Few of us, and certainly few students, fully understand the full impact and rippling effect that a so-called “accident” can have on family, friends, and the community. This is especially so when it deals with young people and is the result of simply making the wrong choice—and for the wrong reasons.
Congratulations to both the paramedics and Fort Frances High School for tackling the problem head on and for providing every Grade 10 student at Fort High with the opportunity to see up close and personal the consequences that can result from making a bad choice.
It is an outstanding program. But in order to really drive the message home, parents need to get informed and involved, as well.
Yours truly,
Norm Guenette
Fort Frances, Ont.
