Drunk Driving Awareness “Every 15 Minutes” Presentation at Tillamook High School April 6th & 7th; Special Attention for Students, Community After Recent Tragic Accident

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Special Message from Christy Hartford, THS Principal: 

On March 31, 2022 Tillamook County experienced a tragedy with the loss of a Neah-Kah-Nie High School student. We recognize this loss impacts our entire community including our own THS community. On Monday, we will have a Care Room set up at THS to support students who are struggling to process the accident. If you feel that your student needs support, please reach out to their counselor.

This upcoming week, our students will be participating in a Drunk Driving Awareness program called Every 15 Minutes. We recognize that this may be a sensitive time for the rollout of this program, but also believe the message is too important to postpone. We want to reassure you that we will have support in place throughout the week to assist our students as needed. If you feel that this experience would not be best for your student at this time, please feel free to contact our main office to have them excused. Specific details regarding the activities can be found below.

As a school community, we want to wrap around our students during this challenging time. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the school if you believe your student needs support. Our thoughts are with our neighboring Neah-Kah-Nie community and all others impacted by this tragic loss.

EVERY 15 MINUTES PROGRAM OUTLINE

The Every 15 Minutes Program offers real-life experience without the real-life risks. This emotionally charged program is an event designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol or consuming other controlled substances and then operating a motor vehicle. This powerful program will challenge students to think about drinking, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved.

This program will involve the following events. If you wish to opt your child out of anything, please let the main office know.

Tuesday 4/5

  • Grades 9-12: Video from 2019 played in Cheeseblock outlining the program.

Wednesday 4/6

  • Grades 9-12: Grim Reaper begins taking specific, pre-planned students out of class in periods 1-3. They return with white painted faces and black robes representing the walking dead.
  • Grades 9-12: At 2:20, a staged crash site is set up in front of the building with emergency responders present and Waud’s Funeral Home.

Thursday 4/7

  • Grades 9-12: Casket of mock deceased student is set up in the foyer.
  • Grades 11-12: Assembly @ 10 am in Auditorium to debrief event, statements are read, etc.

(Press Release from Tillamook Police Department) – On April 6, 2022 your Tillamook Police Department will be assisting in conducting a mock traffic crash in the turnaround area in front of the Tillamook High School located at 2605 12th Street as part of the Every 15 Minutes Program.
The Every 15 Minutes program is a two-day program (April 6 & 7) focusing on high school juniors and seniors. The program challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, and many others.
During the first day, pre-selected students are pulled out of class every 15 minutes to signify the national average of someone being injured or killed in a DUII related crash every 15 minutes. This day is highlighted with classroom instruction by uniformed police officers and a mock traffic crash at the high school involving a simulated impaired student driver and a simulated fatality.
This crash will involve all the personnel that would normally respond to this type of incident if it were real. This includes police, fire, ambulance, medical examiner, funeral home and tow agencies. The mock crash will only be taking place for about half an hour near the end of the high school day.
Twelfth Street, in front of the school, will be congested and busier than normal from 2:40pm until 3:30pm during the mock crash. Please use an alternative route during this time.
On the second day there is an assembly at 10:00 am to conclude the prior day’s activities. This assembly will be in the Auditorium at the Tillamook High School. The assembly is open to the public.
This event is being sponsored by the City of Tillamook Police Department, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Tillamook School District #9, TLC Fiber Federal Credit Union, Burden’s Towing and numerous other organizations.
Should you have any questions regarding the program, please contact Lieutenant Nick Troxel of the Tillamook Police Department at 503.842.2522 or ntroxel@tillamookor.gov.