MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER GOES ON ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FUELED RAMPAGE

Smithville R-II School District officials were disappointed last week
after hearing reports that a recent motivational speaker invited to
talk about the dangers of alcohol and drugs was charged with several
felonies because of those substances.

According to The Associated Press, Russell Simon Jr., 45, was
arrested May 15 and is now being held in the Isanti County, Minn.,
Jail with bail set at $1 million after he allegedly went on an
alcohol- and methamphetamine-fueled rampage.

The charges against Simon - who spoke in March to Smithville students
and parents during a special program - include first-degree
premeditated attempted murder, second-degree attempted murder,
first-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with a dangerous
weapon, and violating the terms of his earlier prison release by
using a firearm. He could be facing 30 years in prison.

The AP reported that police were called to the home of Simon's
live-in girlfriend May 14 on reports of shots fired. According to
authorities, after a night of drinking with an old prison buddy,
Simon - drunk on alcohol and high on meth - took off all his clothes
and began fighting with the man. It's not clear what the argument was
about, according to the AP, but it allegedly ended with Simon pulling
a gun and firing as many as seven times. He is also accused of
sexually assaulting his girlfriend in front of her nine-year-old son.

Simon's motivational speech, named "10 Seconds Can Change Your Life
Forever" is drawn from his experience as a convicted felon and how we
worked to stay clean for more than 14 years. According to his Web
site, he has spoken to more than 250,000 teens including the
Smithville students. His speech at Smithville was the continuation of
the Rachel's Challenge program, which began in 2007.

Smithville High School counselor Jennifer Robinson said she
immediately e-mailed Simon after learning of the incident to express
her disappointment and outrage.

"I hope he gets the irony in this," she said. "He talks about how 10
seconds can change your life and how the decisions you make shape who
you are. Look who he is now. It is just such a terrible example."

Robinson said that Simon had been clean and sober for more than a
decade before asking him to speak at the special parent education night.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted this," she said. "It is so
unfortunate because we looked up to him as an example. But, in some
way, he is still showing his message of how quickly some bad choices
can change your life forever."