6/20/05
Limo
Company and Driver and Students Honored for Anti-Drinking
Efforts
(l-r) Tom Meier, head of the county's
Stop-DWI Office, Dena Lagonia, Corianne Siegel, Lauren
Dunn,
County Exec Spano, John Khader, Shadi Khader and
Anthony
Gilberti, past president of the state Elks
Association, |
What
does a
limousine company and driver who wouldn�t take a
bribe, a high
school senior, a second-grader and an eighth-grader
have in
common?
When it comes to efforts to deter teen
drinking, they have all done the right thing.
On
Monday, they were thanked d by County Executive Andy
Spano.
�The week of June 20 is the most
concentrated
week of high school proms and graduations and,
potentially can
be one of the most concentrated weeks of teen drinking
and
drug use, � Spano said. �We hear so much about teens
using
alcohol and drugs. It is great to pause and thank
those
individuals who set an example for everyone.� |
The following are the people who were
honored and
the circumstances:
- The Westchester
County Taxi and
Limousine Commission sent letters to all limousine
companies, reminding them of the laws regarding
providing
alcohol for minors and asking them to do their part
to keep
teens safe. John Khader, the owner, and Shadi
Khader, the manager, of Top Class Limousine Co.
of
Yonkers, went the extra mile, making parents and
teens who
hire limousines for proms sign no alcohol/no drugs
contracts
and instituting surprise inspections of limousines.
And
recently limo driver, Manuel Dieguez,
rejected a $300
bribe from Briarcliff Manor students who wanted him
to look
the other way and ignore alcohol and drugs. Dieguez
instead
notified his supervisors immediately.
- Each year,
Student Assistance
Services(SAS) working on behalf of the county in
many high
schools, nominates a student to receive the Derek
Long Award
for leadership in preventing and reducing drinking
and
drugging. This year�s honoree is Dena Lagonia,
a
Lakeland High School senior from Yorktown and
president of
the SADD Club. She is being honored for her work
with her
peers and the example she has set. She was presented
with
$1,000 by SAS.
- The Elks
sponsored an essay and
poster contest dealing with underage drinking. Spano
previously honored on the county level the best
essays and
posters. Two of the local entries, however, won the
statewide contests, beating out thousands of others:
Lauren Dunn, a second grader from Christ the
King
School in Yonkers, won the poster contest; and Corianne
Siegel, an eighth grader from Sacred Heart
School in
Yonkers, won the essay contest. Spano and Anthony
Gilberti,
past president of the state Elks Association, were
each
presented with a $500 Savings Bond from the
Elks.
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