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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 2, 2005 Teens send message on the dangers of drinking By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Laura Coffman says there’s plenty of alcohol use among kids at Crater High School. That’s a big reason the 15-year-old freshman helped create a radio ad that underscores steps she says parents can take to help kids stay alcohol-free. Crater teens aren’t the only ones using alcohol. In a 2004 survey, 66 percent of Jackson County teens said they’d tried alcohol, and 39 percent had drunk in the 30 days before the survey. Along with fellow students and Southern Oregon Drug Awareness members Amanda Lyon and Brian Blanchard, Laura took part in writing a one-minute alcohol-awareness spot that will air during January on Medford radio stations KBOY, Lite 102-FM and KAT Country 105-FM. Laura says the ad begins with dialogue, then shifts to a direct appeal to parents. "One kid says, ‘Hey, let’s go get drunk at your house ‘cause your parents are cool,’ " Laura says. "The next one says, ‘I wish my parents were that way.’ Advertisement "The next girl says, ‘You say that now, but if you were me you’d want them to care.’ " In the second half of the ad, young people urge parents to talk to their kids about the issue. Laura says her friends don’t drink, but plenty of kids do. "You hear about it," she says. "It’s usually like Bacardi or something. It’s drinking to get drunk." SODA Executive Director Shawn Martinez said the ad is part of a Drug Free Communities grant SODA is using to try to change community norms around under-age drinking, although a February survey found that 90 percent of Medford parents already said it was unacceptable for teens to drink. Martinez points to a national survey in which 73 percent of kids said their parents influence their decisions about drinking. Pamela Erickson, director of the Oregon Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, said the SODA ad is part of a broad-based effort to get parents involved in the problem of under-age drinking. "If we want to effectively combat under-age drinking in our communities, parents are a critical part of the solution," she said. When kids drink, it’s sometimes to extremes. More than 25 percent of 11th-graders in one survey said they engaged in at least one episode of binge drinking in the previous 30 days. Laura and her friends received no school credit for the radio spot. "I think it’s really good," she says. "I think it’ll grab parents’ attention." Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers