Mock disaster gives C.C.H.S. students an up-close look at dangers of distracted driving

Posted April 20, 2016 at 2:09 pm

In what took more than two weeks of planning with several different agencies, Tonya Thrasher, Coordinator of the Youth Service Center at the high school, saw her plan come together Friday afternoon as more than 700 people watched a mock disaster directed at drinking and driving as well as texting and driving.

The program started around 1:00 p.m. in front of the entire Clinton County High School student body, several students from Foothills Academy, as well as some parents and most of the high school faculty members.

“I had actually seen this guy at a regional meeting in Somerset and I thought it would be a good opportunity for our kids to see something like this and a first hand account of what goes on,” Thrasher said.

The next step in planning an event like the mock disaster that was performed Friday, was to contact all the first responders in the county.

“They really put it into motion on what we needed to do,” Thrasher said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Jeff Henderson, who works at Clear Channel Radio, was the moderator of the event. Thrasher said he will come to a school and narrate the scene free of charge.

“The students looked like they were really paying attention,” Thrasher said. “I don’t think I saw any of them with their phones out and I’ve had two or three students who have come up to me and said the program was really good. They really watched it.”

Even though the message was to not drink and drive, a message for texting and driving was also a main point to the program.

“If one child is touched by that and thinks before texting and driving or drinking and driving or whatever the circumstances are, then that will help them,” Thrasher said.

Even though the event is mainly for the students, Director of Emergency Management Services Lonnie Scott said he also uses an event like this for training.

“The crews I sent were mostly our new people,” Scott said. “Anytime they can play, if you will, that’s the kind of people I like to go through into that situation and let them play when there is not the pressure there would be at a real wreck.”

Police Chief Ernest Guffey said it gives all the departments good experience.

“It also helps all our departments work together,” Scott added. “We are fortunate that our departments work together better than any place I’ve seen. We can make two or three phone calls and have everybody sitting at a table in 15 minutes. Most counties aren’t that fortunate.”

School Resource Officer Russell Decker played his role in Friday’s event and with him being close to the students more on a daily basis, he thought the program was an eye opener for the students.

“It’s still early, but I’ve been asking for feedback and everything I’ve got has been positive,” Decker said.

Clinton County High School Principal Stacey Evans believed the event sent a strong message to the student body and everyone else who was in attendance.

“I think it was a very positive thing,” Evans said. “It’s going to be something that impacts them for the rest of their lives. Hopefully it will prevent accidents for kids who are not necessarily doing what they are supposed to be doing in the future.”

The mock disaster started with three students drinking and driving who were in an accident. One student was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver of the vehicle came out with minor injuries. Another passenger had to be flown out in a helicopter from the scene.

“You can set up a scenario, but, when you actually see them cut a car apart, pull a child out of a car, load that child into an ambulance and then on to a helicopter, that presents an area of realism that they can’t get in a classroom or read it from a book,” Decker said. “They saw what was actually happening and to me, that is much more powerful than any slideshow, movie or anything we could ever show them.”

“The whole show was designed to be an attention getter and I really think it was,” Scott added.

The three students who were in the mock accident were Annie Cross, Mary Willen Cross and Olivia Maupin.

With the C.C.H.S. student body seeing their classmates in that type of situation being the key focus, it really grabbed the attention of those who were watching.

Thrasher said not only were the students watching and getting involved emotionally, she said some of the parents were emotionally involved as well.

“You could tell … they were very serious,” Thrasher said.

Another aspect of the mock disaster was the role Jordan Cross played in the event. She played the role of the distraught parent coming to the scene where one of her children had been hurt badly. All department leaders agreed Cross’ role was very important in grabbing the attention of those watching from the sidelines.

“Jordan did a very good job and needs some kind of award for her performance,” Decker said. “I mean she was fighting to get out there.”

Sheriff Jim Guffey said he believes the impact from the event will help students make better decisions in the future.

“The realism was there. Maybe they will think twice about getting out and doing something like that,” Guffey said. “I don’t think they realized how much logistics is involved when someone out there gets hurts and how many people it takes to get them help.”

One thing agreed on that was mentioned by Principal Evans was the amount of community involvement associated with the mock disaster.

“It was just an overall joint effort between agencies,” Sheriff Guffey added. “When you work together, everything goes smoother, quicker, and safer.”

Decker, a retired Kentucky State Police officer, said he has worked in this area for a long time, and he didn’t realize how closely all the agencies work together in Clinton County until he became employed as the SRO through the Albany Police Department.

“That’s because of the leadership,” Decker said. “If the leaders can’t get along then nobody is going to get along. I’m not just talking about the police department. I’m talking about the fire department, rescue, EMS … Now that I’m a part of the police department it’s even more noticeable for me.”

Sheriff Guffey said all the first responders know their roles and that plays a big part in working a wreck or disaster.

“Everybody wants to get in there and help, but you have to be able to step back and let EMS do their job, you have to step back and let the fire department do their job, then you have to step back and let the police do their job,” Guffey said. “You have to know when to step back and when to help.”

Thrasher said that was clear Friday when the mock disaster got under way … everyone knew where they had to be and knew their role when they were out there according to Thrasher.

“It doesn’t matter who gets the glory as long as we get the job done,” Decker said.

“I think everyone is looking out for our young generation,” Thrasher added. “Everybody here has a vested interest in our children. There is something to say about a small community that will help.”

Thrasher said she hopes to put another mock disaster together for the high school at least every two years.

“Every year would be great,” Thrasher said. “You have the military ball coming up on Saturday and the prom coming up in May. We try to do this right before those events and make the kids more aware.”

The agencies involved in Friday’s mock disaster were the Albany Police Department, Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, Kentucky State Police, Albany Fire Department, Air Evac, and the Clinton County EMS.

“I can really see this event growing in the future,” Thrasher said. ”

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Above, Albany Police officer Ricky Marcum administers a field sobriety test to Mary Willen Cross, who played the role of the driver of a vehicle that was involved in a wreck during Friday’s mock disaster program staged at Clinton County High School.

In the photo below, Mary Willen Cross’ mother, Jordan Cross, portrayed a very distraught mother who was having to be restrained by Albany Police Officer and Student Resource Officer Russell Decker at the scene of the mock accident.

In the bottom photo, emergency personnell from most all agencies serving Albany and Clinton County participated in Friday’s mock disaster. One of the student victims in the accident was placed in the AirEvac helicopter and transported from the scene. The event was sponsored by the C.C.H.S. Youth Services Center and was staged in front of more than 700 people in the audience.
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