Hiram – “With the many dangers facing our society today, injuries or deaths caused by impaired and distracted driving are senseless tragedies, and we can all do our part to prevent them,” says Managing Member Arthur Elk. “By providing our continued support for None 4 Under 21, Elk & Elk encourages teens to make good decisions so their lives and the lives of others remain safe on our roadways.”
Held for the 16th consecutive year, high school seniors from Portage and surrounding county schools learned about how seemingly small choices can bear consequences that can dramatically impact the course of their young lives.
“We had 16 schools in attendance, totaling 1,700 students, shared Lynette Blasiman, Project Director from Portage County Safe Communities, co-chair of the event. ”We have requests from surrounding school districts to attend, but we have limited space, so unfortunately have had to turn away students.”
This year’s attendees came from Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Streetsboro, Crestwood, Field, James A. Garfield, Southeast, Waterloo, Windham, Tallmadge, Lordstown, LaBrae, Lake Center Christian, Jackson-Milton, and Newbury School Districts. “The goal is to reduce preventable teenage-at-fault traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities with our focus on safety during prom and graduation season,” Ms. Blasiman explained.
While the program includes a mock accident and graveside scenes, students were impacted when listening to speakers who shared personal experiences of how choices made in an instant resulted in consequences that have changed their lives forever. The first speaker was Marc Streem, a father who lost his son Ryan. Ryan, a student from Rootstown, played soccer and was an avid musician; he was killed instantly when the car he was riding in struck a tree.
“The smallest decision you make can change your life forever. I took a life. Seven years in, that pain never goes away.”
“You may be thinking that can’t happen to you,” Streem shared with students. “Nevertheless, this prom and graduation season, the decisions you’ll be facing are the same as the ones that Ryan faced. Streem shared that his other sons, Ryan’s brothers, are now in their 30s and 40s and have given him five grandchildren. “But there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t miss Ryan, who remains forever 14.”
As Mr. Streem departed, students waited in silence as the next speaker, walking slowly with leg irons clanking with each step, made her way to the stage. Jen Jilek, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, told the story of how her choices led to her currently serving a ten-year sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide, drunk driving, and leaving the scene of a crash. She shared that as a typical high school student, she enjoyed volleyball and commercial art classes at her vocational education school. When she got her drivers license at the age of 17, she reveled in the freedom it provided to her. Ironically, the choices she made ultimately stole her newfound freedom away. “You think your decision only affects yourself, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or texting,” she shared. After an evening of too much alcohol, and just three miles from her home, she struck and killed a woman walking her dog. “The smallest decision you make can change your life forever.” “I took a life. Seven years in, that pain never goes away.”
“I had a good upbringing, a close family; I was taught to work hard and study hard.”
The last speaker was Aaron Cooksey, who served time in prison and lost his license for life after drinking and driving.
“I had a good upbringing, a close family; I was taught to work hard and study hard.” He headed to Mount Union on an athletic scholarship to play baseball, but after an injury, his behavior changed. He turned to drugs and alcohol, sharing, “each time I got away with something, I grew more and more arrogant,” and the dangerous behavior escalated. “At 20, I had all the answers. I truly believed I was invincible.”
He went on to share the story of how an afternoon out with his best friend Andrea ended up as a nightmare from which he couldn’t awaken. “There are no words in the English language to explain how you feel to know that your best friend is dead, and your actions caused it.” He urged students, who would shortly exit the event past the families of eleven local people who lost their lives due to “people like him,” to “look into their eyes, feel their pain, and show them the respect they deserve.”
When the program ended, students quietly filed out through a quiet hallway lined with family members flanking large framed photos of the loved ones they lost. The Walk of Remembrance was held to honor Brad Bauer, Teresa Conti, Grace Chamberlain, Emily Goldsmith, Christopher Graves, Andy Hopkins, Ada Van Horn, Joseph Nirchl, Ryan Streem, Donovan Svab, and Russ Wanchick.
