'FEAR' TEACHES DRUG LESSON

It was more fun than fear when students from Arboga Elementary School
celebrated Red Ribbon Week on Tuesday with their own version of the
gross-out reality TV show "Fear Factor."

The event was to promote drug prevention, which is part of the entire
Red Ribbon Week campaign.

Red streamers, balloons and a sign that read "Arboga Fear Factor Dare
to be Drug Free" adorned the walls and ceilings of the cafeteria as
the school's 200 students piled in to participate in the event's
various contests and cheer on their classmates.

"A lot of the kids like 'Fear Factor,'" said Tracy Pomeroy, who
teaches second grade and coordinated the event. "They talk about it
constantly, and they were so excited when they heard we were going to
do 'Fear Factor.'"

Inspired by the show's creepy-crawly appeal, students engaged in
contests that called for them to eat "snakes" and dig up "worms."
There was even a pie-eating contest and a balloon-popping challenge.
The snakes and worms were actually gummy candy.

"I picked something that was high interest and would grab their
attention," said Pomeroy. "I wanted them to have a memorable
experience so they'd associate the experience with Red Ribbon Week and
being drug free. Basically, we wanted to make it an exciting time for
them and hopefully they'll remember the message behind it."

The school kicked off Red Ribbon Week on Monday with help from
community groups such as the Linda Fire Department and the Yuba County
Sheriff Team of Active Retired Seniors, who visited with students and
talked to them about staying off drugs. The fire department brought
along a fire truck, and students got to sit inside and honk the horn,
Pomeroy said.

Students also wrote poems about what it means to be drug-free, and
will continue to celebrate Red Ribbon through the rest of the week
with other awareness activities.

Third-grader Kelsi Adams, a winner in the pie-eating contest, was not
phased by her face and shirt being covered with whip cream when she
was done.

"It felt good to get dirty," said the 8-year-old. "I can't wait to
tell my mom and dad. This is the first contest I've ever won."

In the gummy worm contest, the blind-folded contestants had to dig
through a plate of spaghetti noodles with their hands to find the
hidden gummy worms. The one who pulled all the worms out first was the
winner.

Fifth-grader Tyler Patchin, who won in the gummy worm contest, said
the message he got from the Red Ribbons activities is "not to smoke
and stuff like that."

Principal Jeanette Spencer even joined in as a contestant in the gummy
worm contest. She noted the importance of drilling the anti-drugs
message even to students as young as her kindergartners - particularly
in Yuba County, where there are high instances of substance abuse.

"I don't think it's too early to hear that message," said Spencer.
"Even if they don't have a firm concept of what that's about, they
would have heard the message already."