BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Beauty Queen Warns of Beastly Impact of Drugs on Youth

MERINO - Her carriage - an OH-58 helicopter. Her entourage - the U.S.
Army National Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Her
audience - pupils at Merino Elementary School.

Miss Colorado USA 2007 Keena Bonella on Wednesday proved that not
only does she have beauty and brains but also the desire to use her
new-found fame in educating young minds. Her mission: The knowledge
that right choices can lead to many positive things in life.

The right choice message she brought into the Merino school is
awareness on the many dangers of illegal drug use.

In conjunction with the DEA, National Guard and local law
enforcement, Bonella, the 21-year-old Grand Junction native, said
that it's never too early to teach children about the drug menace and
provide them with the tools to "say no" to peer pressure involving
the use of illicit drugs.

Bonella, who had been touring different venues within the state, said
that this is probably the last week they are going to be doing such an event.

"It's all for a good cause. I just talk to kids that dreams do come
true, if they make the right choices in life," Bonella said.

Bonella won the title back in September. She will be representing
Colorado in the Miss USA pageant in April.

"If we can reach just one child, then we have done our job," Bonella
said as she greeted the many school children who had gathered around
her to ask for her autograph.

As the cold wind blew and the rays of the sun reflected through her
tiara, Bonella told the pupils about her success by choosing not to use drugs.

The pupils, from preschool to sixth grade, were in awe of the
helicopter, which landed in the middle of the football field. They
flocked to ask U.S. Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer Donny
O'Connor about being a helicopter pilot.

O'Connor said that the pupils asked where the helicopter guns were
and if he had ever been in a war or if he had crashed before.

The pilot who graciously answered the pupils' questions said that the
presence of uniformed men and women, including a beauty queen is a
great educational draw for the children.

"This brings information to children that they don't ordinarily get,"
DEA Agent Todd Gregory said. "It's always good to start early."

Guardsman Michael Martich said that the event not only brings
authoritative figures such as firefighters, DEA and the army to the
children, but also to see how one community works together in the
fight against illegal drugs.

"We care about the community and it's one way of bringing back
something to the community," Martich said.

"It's a different perspective of what the teachers teach the kids,"
Merino Elementary School Principal Kyle Stumpf said.

Stumpf, like his guests, said that educating children at an early age
on the dangers and consequences of using and being hooked on illegal
drugs is a factor in securing a better future.

"Having Miss Colorado, DEA, sheriff's office and the National Guard
helps out a lot," Stumpf said.

The event, tagged as Red Ribbon Week, is a significant resource law
enforcement, school officials and others have to reinforce their drug
awareness campaign in schools all over the nation.

The Red Ribbon symbol is in honor of fallen DEA agent Enrique "Kiki"
Camarena, who worked undercover in a major drug cartel in Mexico, a
drug distribution syndicate the DEA believed to be tainted by corrupt
Mexican authorities.

The DEA reported that in February 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left
his office to meet his wife for lunch when five men appeared at the
agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's
body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death.

According to the Texas Commission on Drug Abuse Web site, a short
time after his death, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges
of satin in honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal
drugs. A tradition was born, a tradition of education that spread
like wildfire throughout the nation.

Bonella said the fact is, drugs are a deadly menace plaguing the
nation - and the world - for quite some time now, and reaching and
teaching children about its dangers is a goal very close to her heart.

As the helicopter engine roared like an awakened dragon in the middle
of the football field, the children cheered for their heroes, people
who hopefully made a lasting impression on their young minds.