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Braydon Jones was a good student at West Valley High School, a popular kid who liked soccer and cheering for the Seattle Mariners.
Last June, Braydon and a group of friends were out late on a Friday night. By early Saturday morning, police and emergency personnel would be called to the scene of a one-car rollover on Rutter Avenue just west of Fancher Road in the Felts Field neighborhood.
Braydon, a 15-year-old just completing his freshman year at WVHS, was killed in the crash. A 17-year-old girl was critically injured.
The driver of the 1998 Toyota 4Runner, Carson Sheridan was unhurt in the incident. He would later be charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
The toxicology report on Braydon would show he was substance-free at the time of the wreck. Police say that Sheridan had been drinking and using the drug, ecstasy, before he got behind the wheel. He was sentenced as a juvenile and will be released in September 2010.
Earlier in the year, some 15 miles from the scene of the fatal crash, a group of educators, students and representatives from local social service agencies gathered at the Spokane Regional Health District to talk about risk factors and consequences of drug and alcohol use among teens. The panel included four area high school students, two of whom were going through rehabilitation for substance abuse.
Stephen R. Luber, a pediatrician at Rockwood Clinic, told attendees at the gathering that “home and community must be in place” to provide youth with the support system they need to avoid risk-taking behavior. If kids are given the opportunity to achieve, grow and learn, Luber added, their chances of staying clean and sober improve by leaps and bounds.
“Drugs and alcohol substitute for success they’re missing somewhere in their lives,” Luber said.
Research from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsored the roundtable event last January, shows that when parents talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, the chance of substance abuse declines significantly.
“Kids who have positive family relationships are less likely to use drugs and alcohol because they feel connected,” the ONDCP said. “Their parents listen to them and take time to find out what’s going on in their world.”
Later this month, University High School will host a town hall meeting focusing on youth issues ranging from substance abuse to the Internet. The “Health and Safety Symposium” will be held Thursday, Feb. 28, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and will include presentations by Kami Beckwith of the FBI speaking on Internet predators and Dean Wells of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council. The program, underwritten by Ellingsen-Paxton Orthodontics and University Boosters, will also feature informational booths from close to two-dozen area agencies.
“This will be a worthwhile, important event for parents,” said Katy Leach, a University parent who helped coordinate the symposium. “It will be about what to look for and how to ask questions.”
Wells, who will speak on substance abuse prevention and treatment, said parents who don’t stay informed about the latest risk factors could face problems later at home.
“It’s important to be educated about what’s going on out there and to put that education into specific action,” Wells said.
Such an approach includes discussing the way drugs and alcohol are portrayed in the media and establishing clear guidelines at home. Wells added that parents should also securely store any prescription medications away from kids and make it a point to establish family celebrations where alcohol is not at the center of the event.
Leach said the Internet portion of the presentation will focus on ways “parents can keep their kids safe.”
“I don’t think most parents are aware of what’s happening on the Internet,” she said. “You need to ask questions and stay in tune to what’s out there.”
Travis Pendell of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office speaks to parents and kids at schools throughout the area about Internet concerns, from sexual predators to cyber bullying. Pendell said safety at home starts with placing the computer in an area where parents can monitor Internet use. He also recommended Internet filtering software like Content Watch to block inappropriate sites.
“It requires the participation of parents,” Pendell said. “You need to be involved if you want to keep them safe.”
Pendell emphasizes that personal information should not be used online and meeting someone in person after talking on the Internet should be off limits.
“Explain to them ahead of time the incredible dangers of meeting someone from the Internet,” he said. “You never know for certain who you’re talking to online.”
Scott Ryman of Spokane County Juvenile Court said an event such as the symposium “will help parents recognize the issues facing teen-agers.”
“Even if you don’t think your kid has a problem, it’s every parent’s duty to be aware of how to safeguard their children,” Ryman said. “It just makes sense to have that information.”
Want to find out more?
The Health and Safety Symposium will be held Thursday, Feb. 28 at University High School, 12420 E. 32nd, beginning at 6:30 p.m. To find out more, call 323-8128. For more information on substance abuse prevention, call the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council at 922-8383 or visit www.gssacpreventioncenter.com or www.theantidrug.com. To learn more about Internet safety, visit www.Family InternetSafety.com.
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By
Craig Howard
