At a time when we were all taking time to count our blessings and express thanks for our many gifts, tragedy struck the Los Gatos community. In the afterglow of the Thanksgiving weekend, the community is asking what it will take to drive home the message that drinking and driving are a dangerous combination.
On the eve of the long holiday weekend, Los Gatos High School students apparently left a party in a hurry when police, responding to neighbors' complaints, arrived to break the party up. One student died; another was badly injured, and a 16-year-old was taken into custody for driving under the influence with great bodily injury—a charge likely to be increased now that one passenger has died.
The administration of the high school, the Parent-Student-Teacher Association, the Community Against Substance Abuse and the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department have worked tirelessly to warn students of the dangers of alcohol. Still, students party on.
In addition to numerous programs, every four years the school presents the two-day interactive multimedia program Every 15 Minutes, which simulates a drunken driving accident and its aftermath. It is one of the most excrutiatingly emotional experiences a teen can endure. There are tears; there are letters to parents from "dying" students; there are arrests and trips to the morgue. There are students taken from the classroom by the Grim Reaper "every 15 minutes," the frequency with which someone in the United States is killed in an alcohol-related traffic accident.
When it's over, the emotionally-drained teens say they've got the message. They say it's a wakeup call. Unfortunately, teens have very short memories. And there are friends who encourage them to forget the message; there are parents who allow drinking parties to take place in their homes; there are purveyors of alcohol who say they support responsible drinking, but whose advertising makes it clear they are targeting young people.
Every 15 minutes, someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related traffic accident. Last week, at a time when we were all relaxing in the afterglow of Thanksgiving, the Grim Reaper came to Los Gatos. Will young people get the message?
Holiday tradition returns
It started back in December of 1957, and the tradition will continue on Dec. 7 when the 46th annual Los Gatos Children's Christmas and Holiday Parade returns to N. Santa Cruz Avenue.
In a town that loves its celebrations and special events, this is truly the granddaddy of them all.
But, be aware, such a community event cannot come together without some minor inconvenience. Certain streets will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and parking will be restricted in certain town lots during that period.
But it is a small price to pay in return for an event that fosters such community spirit and generates so much activity in the downtown area.
