Local schools get Teen Safe Driving grants

SPRING VALLEY/LAMOILLE— Two Bureau County schools have been selected to participate in the 2009-10 Operations Teen Safe Driving Program, sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Hall High School and LaMoille High School are among the 105 high schools statewide chosen for the program.The grant winning schools were announced Oct. 22 during the National Teen Safe Drivers Week.

On Monday, LaMoille Superintendent Colette Sutton said this is the second year LaMoille has been chosen for the program. At LaMoille, the Safe Driving Program will be a student-led initiative planned by the Student Council. In last year’s program, the entire school was involved in a variety of activities to bring awareness to the importance of safe driving and some of the hindrances to safe driving, such as cell phones, texting and substance abuse, Sutton said.

Last year, the LHS Student Council held a kick-off to the program at the school’s Holiday Gala, with another kick-off being planned for the new year’s program. Adults working with the council on the program are Sutton, Colleen Cox, Carol Darveau and Brent Kalsto.

The planning for the Operation Teen Safe Driving program is extensive, but time well-spent, Sutton said.

“Even if it saves one life, all the effort will be well worth it,” Sutton said.

In Spring Valley, Hall High School Principal Tony Valente said this is Hall’s first year to apply for the Illinois Teen Safe Driving Program grant. The $2,000 grant will be used to bring speakers and other safe driving programs and activities this year to the school. The administration will work with student clubs to work out the details on how to spend the grant money.

Valente also talked about the importance of continually drawing attention to the issue of safe driving by teens.

“This is a vitally important program,” Valente said Tuesday. “When you see the statistics on teen driving, you realize how important it is to do something, to do anything you can to bring awareness to the importance of safe driving with our teens. If you make one kid think about driving more safely, then it’s all worth it.”