April 5, 2012
For immediate release

For more information, contact:          
Bonnie Prigge (573) 265-2993

                            
Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety subcommittee awards $3,350 in mini grants  

ST. JAMES — The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety – through its Meramec Region subcommittee – has awarded 12 mini grants, worth $3,350, to assist with 10 Project Graduations and two school docudramas, all in an effort to discourage drinking and driving among teenagers and to encourage good decision making while driving.

The following Meramec Region schools received Project Graduation mini-grants, which included $100 in cash and $100 in prizes such as stadium blankets, backpacks, and tie-dyed T-shirts with the Arrive Alive message:

• Crocker High School;
• Bourbon High School;
• Steelville R-3 School District;
• Maries County R-2 School District for Belle High School;
• Potosi High School;
• Richland High School;
• St. James High School;
• Dixon High School;
• Sullivan High School; and
• Rolla High School through Rolla Noon Kiwanis.

 Two docudrama programs received funding, including:

• The St. James High School Safe and Sober Prom Docudrama, coordinated by Mag Roberts, received a $700 grant; and
• The Ozark Central Ambulance District received a $650 grant for its mock accident docudrama, coordinated by Andy Littrell, for Belle High School.

The coalition’s goal is to reduce fatalities. Alternative Prom and graduation celebrations provide young drivers with a safe environment during these times and reduce the opportunity for drinking and driving. Docudramas portray what happens when teenagers drink and drive and the repercussions of their decisions.

The coalition encourages the use of seat belts, booster seats and child safety seats and discourages drinking and driving, the use of cell phones while driving and other types of distracted driving. The coalition strives to be actively involved in promoting the Arrive Alive message by encouraging roadway safety during community events and school presentations.

While fatalities in the state declined in 2011, they increased in the Meramec Region. Meramec Regional Planning Commission worked through MoDOT and the Coalition has formed a subcommittee to focus local efforts on reducing fatalities.

In order to encourage safe driving for students, the newly formed coalition awarded its first community outreach grants for Project Graduation and school docudramas.

Project Graduation committees raise funds throughout the year to provide seniors with a fun and safe atmosphere to celebrate graduation night. Docudrama presentations act out the repercussions of drinking and simulate accident scenes where students are killed.

The Meramec Region coalition formed for the counties of Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington to localize the efforts of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Central District, which includes 18 counties.

Law enforcement, fire departments, EMS personnel, educators, healthcare professionals and the general public are invited to participate in the coalition and learn more about its efforts to reduce fatalities and accidents. The next meeting of the Meramec Region Coalition for Roadway Safety Subcommittee is scheduled for June 2012 at Meramec Regional Planning Commission, 4 Industrial Drive in St. James.

  For more information, contact Kathleen Nahm at MRPC at 573-265-2993 or by email at knahm@meramecregion.org.

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