RED RIBBON WEEK TO CONTINUE THROUGH WEEKEND

For 19 years, students across the United States have been sporting red
ribbons one week of the year. But officials hope the lessons taught
during that week stay with them the other 51 weeks as well.

Red Ribbon Week began Saturday and runs through Sunday. It began in
1985 as a way of remembering Kiki Camarena, an agent for the federal
Drug Enforcement Agency who was murdered by drug traffickers in Mexico
City.

Since then, Red Ribbon Week has grown to be a national time of showing
support for the fight against drugs - and staying off of them.

Many schools, such as McAlester's Puterbaugh Middle School, offer
special programs during the week. At Puterbaugh, students will have
the chance to get "up close and personal" with actual racing cars,
police officers and a drug dog. Some will even have the opportunity to
see what it's like to be drunk - without touching a drink themselves.

In a special program beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, students at the
school will get to see the race cars driven by Tony Crabtree and Gary
Minyard of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. They'll also get to watch
officer Bosco, a four-legged member of the McAlester Police
Department, as he demonstrates how he can find drugs or take a bite
out of a criminal. Only, in this case, McAlester police officer Kevin
Bishop will have Bosco take a bite out of fellow officer Jeremy Busby
instead.

Nathan Bond, a McAlester officer who teaches many of the Drug
Awareness Resistance Education classes in the school district, will be
on hand as well. "I think there's a lady from The Oaks who's going to
be there with the drunk goggles," Crabtree said. "Have you seen those?
They make it seem like you're drunk even when you haven't had a thing.

"The last time we did that, we had a boy and a girl that the kids said
were the best basketball players. We let them shoot a few baskets and
they did pretty good. Then they put on the goggles and couldn't even
hit the backboard.

"That's something that might stay with them."

The race cars are the things that excite much of the attention from
the students, however. Crabtree's '80 Thunderbird and Minyard's Camaro
generally incite "Oohs" and "Aaahs" at any school at which they're
displayed.

"I've got a little bitty 460 in there with nitrous," Crabtree said.
"That always gets their attention."