Saturday, November 17, 2012
Staff report
Youngstown
Students in Eileen Bacha’s Honors English 11 class have initiated a campaign to alert their classmates to the dangers of texting while driving.
The weeklong effort started with two assemblies.
Speakers at the assemblies included Tina Yanssens, whose father was struck and killed by a texting driver while walking in southern Mahoning County. She alerted students to the impact of their actions should they choose to text and drive — not only to themselves but also to their families and the families of their victims.
Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court and Diane Vettori of Mahoning County Area Court along with representatives of the Ohio Highway Patrol explained the legal ramifications and the process that they will encounter should they choose to text while behind the wheel.
The second element of the “One Text One Life” campaign was a weeklong effort encouraging students to sign a nontexting pledge.
Each day of this past week, members of the organizing committee were available in the cafeteria to encourage and assist students to sign pledge forms indicating their support of the campaign and to encourage others to join them in combating the dangers of texting while driving an automobile.