STUDENT 'GHOST OUT' HUMANIZES GHOULISH DRUG STATISTICS

Emmali Russell was 10 when she pledged she would remain
drug-free.

People in her life who made the opposite choice influenced her
decision.

"Bad things happened to them," said the 14-year-old girl, now a
Hellgate High School freshman.

On Thursday, Russell was encouraging others to commit to a drug-free
lifestyle or at least participate in a daylong "Ghost Out" to raise
student awareness of how many people die nationwide each year from
drug abuse.

Russell is a member of the school's Red Ribbon Committee, which spent
the day pulling students out of study halls to paint their faces white
and create a ghostly effect.

Each pale-faced student represented 10,000 deaths. By the end of the
day, about 60 students sported the white makeup to represent the
600,000 people who die annually from drug or alcohol abuse.

"It's to give them the idea not to do drugs," said Donny Mielke, 16, a
Hellgate sophomore.

For the most part, the Ghost Out was received favorably by students,
although a few declined undergoing the face painting.

Committee members said their school does have its share of students
abusing alcohol and drugs, but they don't see the problem as much when
the student body participates in events designed to raise more public
awareness.

Students also handed out pledge cards Thursday on which classmates
vowed to remain free of alcohol and drugs for anywhere from one day to
10 years.

Kevin Mays, Hellgate's substance abuse counselor with Project Success,
said he'll tally up all the days pledged and come up with a grand
total that he'll announce to students on Friday.