LOWER LAKE — Team DUI is on the move bringing an invaluable message to the entire community: Don”t drink and drive.
The group will host a town hall meeting, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the multipurpose room at Lower Lake High School. A panel of seven speakers will share the personal affects drinking and driving have had on their lives. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend this educational event.
Born from like concerns, Team DUI consists of a panel of local political, governmental and law enforcement leaders as well as victims of DUI-related collisions. A shared desire to reduce the injury and fatality rates attributed to driving under the influence has united this group in the good fight against drinking and driving.
Although the name “Team DUI” did not materialize until Oct. 15, 2007, the groundwork for the project was laid in Sept. 2006 with a collaborative effort between Clearlake Mayor Judy Thein and Victim/Witness Administrator Sam Laird.
“It was at a Board of Supervisors” meeting that Sam Laird and I connected and began moving forward with the education of reducing alcohol-related collision and reduction of underage drinking,” Thein said, adding that she was in attendance at the BOS meeting to voice support of the Driving Under the Influence Vertical Prosecution Program.
Soon after connecting with Laird, Thein began speaking out about the consequences of drinking and driving. Although it was painful, she said, she shared with others the effect the loss of her daughter, who was killed in a DUI-related collision, had on her and her family and all those who had cared about Kellie. She spoke before students and parents as well as professionals and advocates bringing awareness to the consequences of driving under the influence.
In May 2007, Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AODS) asked Thein to speak at a youth summit about underage drinking. It was there that Thein met Erica Harrison. The two made an unlikely connection. Harrison, who was 17 at the time, had been the driver in a DUI-collision that resulted in the loss of her leg. Thein was a mother who had lost her daughter at the hands of a drunk driver. Yet still, the two realized how effective they could be together and began speaking a various schools about underage drinking and the consequences of driving drunk.
As Thein continued to raise awareness, more people expressed an interest in the group and their desire to contribute to the effort. In June 2007 Carrie White and Catherine Rose of AODS joined the team. In August 2007, Victim/Witness Advocate Crystal Martin expressed her desire to help as did California Highway Patrol Clear Lake area Public Relations Officer Adam Garcia.
Meanwhile, Thein had found success in bringing an underage drinking ordinance to the City of Clearlake. A similar ordinance has passed its first reading with the Lakeport City Council and Thein will be bringing the item to the Board of Supervisors for unity among all Lake County jurisdictions.
October 2007 brought the inclusion of the Lake County Office of Education. “I asked Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck to attend our meeting so that all Lake County schools could be involved,” said Thein. “At his request, the addition of a new partnership to our underage drinking campaign joined the team and the Lake County Office of Education ? Safe Schools Healthy Students” Joyce Elmer and Rob Young became involved. Vice Mayor Curt Giambruno also joined the team.”
November 2007 brought the addition of Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain and Michael Rupe, program director of the Tobacco Control Program in Lake County.
“Throughout the activism of the momentum of the good fight against drinking and driving, tenacity and preparation of the past two years, it is difficult to attempt to take ownership of the force behind our existence because without the dedication of those members on the team, Team DUI would not be what it is today,” Thein stated. “Each member of Team DUI brings their own special uniqueness to the partnership making us whole in order to educate our county on the consequences of drinking and driving.”
Wednesday”s town hall meeting will cover such topics as the dangers of underage drinking, tobacco use and its gateway to underage drinking, the impact underage drinking has on the community, the value of parents discussing the issue with their children, the importance of prevention and how preventing underage drinking can reduce negative outcomes such as injuries and death from alcohol-related crashes and other steps the community can take to reduce the demand for, the availability of, and access to alcohol by persons younger than 21.
For more information about Team DUI or the upcoming town hall meeting, call Judy Thein at 994-8201.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
