Pictured are Deputy Don Bordenkircher, VHS PRO; Dan Pickens, WV ABC; Senior Class President, Megan Bucher; Senior Class Member, Tyler Hayes; and State Farm Agent, Lisa Shepherd.

Valley High School’s prom is still a few weeks away, but the school is wasting no time in getting the message out to students concerning the dangers of drinking and driving.

By a collective effort through the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, State Farm Insurance, and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, students all across the state are learning about the dangers of drinking and driving in a new, “hands-on” approach-a DUI simulator.

David Marple, law enforcement agent and administrator, along with Daniel Pickins, a health educator with WV ABC, were available at VHS March 28, to guide students through the simulator. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors watched a presentation on drunk driving and then were able to take part in the simulator.

“I think it helps,” stated Deputy Don Bordenkircher, VHS’s Prevention Resource Officer (PRO). “I think the more we do it; I think the more it works. We are letting them know just how dangerous drinking and driving is.”

“I think it was a good learning experience,” agrees VHS Senior Tyler Hayes. “You don’t have very good control.”

Megan Bucher, Senior Class President, agrees. “I thought it was a valuable experience. It’s important to show why you should not drink at prom, or any event for that matter.”

For students looking for something to do after prom, VHS will be holding its after prom April 27, at midnight. The prom itself will be held at Pine Grove’s Byrd Center, with walk-in tentatively beginning at 6 p.m. The event will last until 11 p.m., which gives students about an hour to get to after prom, held inside VHS’s gymnasium. The event will feature a variety of fun activities, including a mechanical bull, a photo booth, and ping pong. Activities, lasting until 4 a.m., also include table games, movies, music, karaoke, raffle, a fire pit, and sundaes. Participants may bring their dates, and students are welcome even if they did not attend prom.

The junior/senior banquet will also take place April 21, 4 p.m. The event, a tradition that dates back to the 1940s, is a formal dinner for students and faculty only and is prepared by junior parents.