Seymour and Oxford high schools will team up for the eighth-annual joint town "Take a Stand Day!" in Seymour on Friday.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Seymour High School, 2 Botsford Road, Seymour. It is being sponsored by the Valley Community Foundation, Naugatuck Valley Savings & Loan, Griffin Hospital, People’s United Bank, Seymour/Oxford Rotary Club, Oxford Lions Club, Seymour Lions Club, Seymour Father’s Club, Naugatuck Savings Bank Foundation, Valley United Way Youth Venture Program, Daddio’s Used Auto Parts and Hot Grill Pizza.
The event, which has a rain date of May 4, is made possible through a cooperative effort between Seymour and Oxford High Schools, Seymour Police Department, Oxford Police, Oxford Resident State Trooper’s Office, Seymour Ambulance Association, , Seymour Fire Department and .
The event will focus on the responsibilities of safe driving, distracted driving and the consequences of mixing driving with alcohol and distractions. This program has received state and federal recognition, and national recognition from the National Organization for Youth Safety for being proactive in the joint effort to promote the responsibilities of safe driving & combating teen underage drinking & driving.
Participating in this day long event, which continues to grow, will be:
CT State Police with the “Roll-over Simulator” & “Seatbelt Convincer”; Seymour Police Department “Fatal Vision;" CT State Department of Transportation;" The “IMPACT” Program; American Red Cross; Griffin Hospital; Miller-Ward Funeral Home; Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association; LifeStar Air Ambulance Helicopter; “Think Again! A Pedal Kart Experience!;” St. Vincent Hospital Swim Across the Sound; Seymour & Oxford police officers conducting field sobriety tests; Mothers Against Drunk Driving; H.O.P.E. of Oxford; Wireless Wizard; Valley Substance Abuse Action Council and the All Star Driver Company.
Throughout the day, students from Oxford and Seymour high schools will be moving through different events, assemblies, outside hands-on activities, experience the “Think Again! Pedal Kart Experience!” and will witness several mock mass casualty multi-vehicle motor vehicle crashes/extrications with the participation of Life Star Helicopter (these crashes take place between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) to solidify our message that drinking & driving do not mix.
- The above information comes from a press release from Richard Kearns, director of security for Seymour Public Schools.
Editor's Note: This event was held at Seymour High School last year, as well. It was supposed to be held at Oxford High School this year, but has been moved in part because the Oxford High School community has recently dealt with a tragic car accident that claimed the life of 15-year-old sophomore Brandon Giordano. He died in an accident in Oxford on March 9. Oxford High School students can still attend this Friday's "Take a Stand Day!" program if they so choose.
