Mt. De Chantal Celebrates Catholic Schools Week
Hosts Booze and Cruise, You’ll Lose Program

February 2, 2006

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Part of Catholic Schools’ week motto is “commitment,” and Mt De Chantal celebrated their commitment to their students by hosting a Booze and Cruise, You’ll Lose program on Thursday afternoon. The anti-drinking and driving program was the first program of the school year.

Nearly 100 students gathered in the school’s music hall and received valuable information about the legal, personal, and financial consequences of driving under the influence. Guests for the program included Wheeling Nailer Bo Cheesman, attorney Christopher Turak from the personal injury law firm of Gold, Khourey and Turak, Corporal J.A. Laing of the West Virginia State Police, Gary Sharp, “Voice of the Nailers,” and Julie Grant, WTOV TV 9 morning news anchor.

Turak, also the program’s coordinator, asked the students various questions concerning the legal and financial consequences of driving under the influence. Those who participated in the discussion were awarded a variety of prizes. Julie Grant and Gary Sharp ventured out into the audience and selected volunteers to answer the questions, and Bo Cheesman delivered prizes to those students who answered the questions correctly.

Turak warned the students of the effects that alcohol plays on the decision process, “When you consume alcohol, your decision process deteriorates. You may think you can drive, but the fact is that your equilibrium is compromised and you do not possess the balance or reaction time to drive a motor vehicle safely.” Turak continued, “And it is not just alcohol that plays a role, drugs, including prescription drugs, can severely hinder your ability to drive safely. That’s why it is called ‘driving under the influence,’ it can be drugs or alcohol.”

Corporal J.A. Laing, 12-year veteran of the West Virginia State Police, explained that many D.U.I. arrests don’t start out as D.U.I. arrests, but as minor traffic violations. “Many times we’ll pull someone over because they have a tail light out, then we notice the smell of alcohol and that’s when our attention shifts to a possible D.U.I. arrest”, says Laing. Laing pointed out the B.A.C. level is not the most important part of a D.U.I.. “You don’t have to be 0.08 to be impaired. 0.08 is a presumption of impairment, and because we don’t have a test to monitor all drug use, we have other tests we can perform that might indicate impairment, such as field sobriety tests.”

Corporal Laing then showed the students first-hand what an actual D.U.I. stop entailed. With the use of “Fatal Vision Goggles”, student Kaylee Woodfin simulated .08 intoxication and was taken through a number of field sobriety tests. After failing numerous tests, including the heal-to-toe test, Laing placed Woodfin under “arrest” and handcuffed her.

The students were shocked to hear Wheeling Nailer rookie, Bo Cheesman, talk openly about several tragedies that he’s had to deal with just recently. “Recently, I had two friends killed by drunk driving, in two separate incidents,” said Cheesman. “One of my friends was stupid enough to drive drunk and crash into a tree, which killed him. Fortunately he didn’t hurt anyone else.” Cheesman continued, “Another on of my friends was not driving drunk, but was hit head-on by someone who was drunk. I went home over the all-star break and attended his funeral. I could talk to you more about the graphic nature of the crashes, but this is not that kind of program. I just hope that by sharing my stories with you, that you will realize that driving under the influence is not worth the risks to you or the people around you.”

In 1992, Gold, Khourey & Turak created the Booze and Cruise, You’ll Lose program in an effort to educate the community about the legal, personal, and financial consequences of driving under the influence. Since 1978, the law firm has been committed to representing victims of alcohol-related accidents.

Congratulations to Mt. De Chantal student, Chelsie Bartolovich who was recognized for her efforts on the Booze Buster Quiz. Chelsie received a Booze and Cruise, You’ll Lose t-shirt, tickets to a Nailers game, and a team autographed hockey stick from the Nailers.