APPLEGARTH SHOWS ITS COLORS

Students Celebrate Drug-free Communities During Red Ribbon Week.

MONROE -- Visitors at the Applegarth Middle School might have thought they
were seeing red last month with all the red ribbons, red stickers, red
decorations and red clothing decorating the school.

The color theme was the students and staff's way of showing their support
for Red Ribbon Week.

"We're covering it big time here," said Doreen Mullarney, a student
assistance counselor and event organizer.

Red Ribbon Week is a national celebration of drug-free communities
celebrated during the last week in October to commemorate the death of DEA
Special Agent Enrique Camarena who was killed during a drug trafficking
investigation in 1985.

This year's theme was "Building a Safe and Healthy Community Together."

"This week we talked about drug and alcohol prevention and living a healthy
life," she said.

Ms. Mullarney made it fun for students by having a Really Red Day, where
students and staff wore red to school. They also had Sock It to Drugs Day
where students wore red socks to school. Red ribbons also were tied on
various items in the building.

Jeanine Connelly's language arts class won the Oct. 29 Red Ribbon Door
Decorating Contest.

"It was interactive, a student was Velcroed to the door, there was a button
that the judges could press and the student would say a fact about drug
awareness," Ms. Mullarney said.

The class, which is part of the Vega team, won water bottles with drug-free
logos on them and a $25 American Express gift certificate which will be
used for a classroom event of the student's choices.