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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 11, 2003 - C3 Emotional essays on drinking and driving SCAID winners By Wilma Blokhuis B E A V E R F O C U S ED IT O R We almost believed him. That was the reaction o f the judges reading the essay submitted by Andrew Harmgardt. 16. about how the death of a mother, thanks to a drunk driver, threw a fam ily's life into disarray. It was among more than 125 essays submitted in the 1Ith annual essay con test sponsored b\ the M ayor's Special Committee Against Impaired Driving (S C A ID ). The topic was why no one should drink and drive. The older entrants had to write a 350-700 word essay, the younger ones 250-500 words. The submission moved the judges to tears. "M y grandmother died about a year and a half ago." said Andrew, a Grade l()T . A. Blakelock student, "and we had a fam ily discussion about how a death can affect a family. I wrote the essay emphasizing how the ordinary things in life change when you lose someone the little things that you miss in a per son."' Andrew's essay reads like an open letter to an anonymous individual. On Tuesday night, he accepted his award, driving lessons courtesy o f Young D rivers o f Canada. He was accompanied by his parents. Frank and Irene Harmgardt. and two younger sib lings at a reception held in the Atrium at Town Hall. He won in the 15 years and older category. The 14 and under category winner is Zacheriah Loeb-Houston. a nine-yearold who is home schooled in Grades 3 to 5. The young writer initially submit ted a poem, but when he found out two days before the entry deadline that it was an essay contest and not a poetry contest, he prepared an essay, and entered both. He won a bicycle with a helmet and backpack from Co-operators Insurance Services. "H e researched and typed it in one day." said his mother Tanja LoebHouston. " He likes to read." added his father Tern.'. Zacheriah is the oldest of three boys. "1 worked on it a lo t," said Zacheriah. " One life lost needlessly because of poor choices made by someone else is one life loo many." said M ayor Ann M ulvale in presenting the awards. She noted S C A ID 's essay contest to encourage young people to think about the consequences of impaired driving was spearheaded by B ill and Stephanie Dooley following the loss of their daughter Janet who was killed by a drunk driver in 1991. "The Dooleys have taken their pain and their loss and turned it around into something positive by initiating this essay contest." said the mayor, adding the Dooleys were also active in M A D D Halton-Peel (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). " I have given a lot of speeches, but as a mother I really have no words (o f com fort) for B ill and Stephanie D ooley," said M ulvale. "People are dying needlessly on a daily basis because of poor choices." According to the T raffic Injury Research Foundation, impaired drivers kill approximately four people and injure 125 in Canada every day. said M ulvale. How drunk driving death can hurt family Attention: Ms. Anyone. I am writing this letter because my grief counsellor told me to. He said' it would help to write down my feelings. He said I could send it or not. First I want you to know that what you did was abominable. You got a pro motion. went out celebrating with the girls and drove with double the legal limit of alcohol in your system. M y mon didn't stand a chance when in your drunken stupor you went through a four-way stop and hit her Honda C ivic. You killed her on impact. Nothing w ill ever lie the same. When you killed my mom you killed a little part of each of us. M y mom was a really nice outgoing person. Everybody liked her. You would have liked her too. She was always ready to help everyone. Giving, caring, loving, almost to a fault. W ell, it's been two months now since you killed my mom. I'v e never been so miserable in my whole life. I turned 16 two weeks ago. M y mom wasn't there. Mom always baked me a birthday cake. This year Dad bought me a beautiful cake. I felt like I was choking on every bite I took. Mom always made a big fuss for our birthdays. She put decora tions and homemade signs up all over the place, from the kitchen to the bed room to the bathroom. She even wrote birthday greetings on the windows and mirrors with wax crayons. It sounds corny, but it made us feel very special. M y dad. sister and brother tried their best to decorate for my birthday this year, but it's not the same. I hate coming home to an empty house every day after school. Sometimes, when I walk through the door I expect Mom to be there with a big hug and plying me with questions about my day. M y dad doesn't know what hit him. In his way he adored my mom. He went to work. She stayed home and ran the household. He's totally lost without her. Your one moment of bad judgement cost him the world. His fam ily is shat tered! He is desperately trying to put the pieces back together, but the puzzle keeps breaking apart. M y 12-year-old sister is on the verge of crying and screaming 24/7. She miss es mom terribly. They were always doing something girly together and gig gling about crazy stuff. Now there is silence instead of laughter. The worst is at my nine year old brother's bedtime. During the day he's busy with school and friends, but at bedtime he's tired and wants his mom. W e take turns putting him to bed, my dad. my sister and I. None of us wants to do it because it lakes all w e've got to keep from crawling in beside him and sobbing like a baby. Every night he asks us the same question, "W h y did the lady kill M om m y? W hy do people drink it. if it makes them do bad things? W hy did her friends let her drive drunk?" Then he cries him self to sleep sobbing. " I want my mommy. I want Mom m y." over and over again. As I creep from his bedroom I too ask the same questions. W hy do people drink and then get in their cars? They are licensed to drive, not to kill. Maybe when they get their license people should take a solemn oath, never to drink and drive. If people imagined what it was like to have a fam ily mem ber killed by a drunk driver then maybe, just maybe, they'd never drive drunk. But that's impossible. You can never imagine the pain, sorrow and grief of losing a loved one! Nowadays, there's no excuse for dmnk driving. W ith all the media cover age and talk of zero tolerance, and the M A D D Red Ribbon Campaign we all know better. You learned a lesson at the expense o f my mother's life. That's too high o f a price! Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Beaver Z acheriah Loeb-Houston and A n d rew H arm gardt are the two winners of Special Com m ittee Against Im paired D rivin g essay contest. B ill and Stephanie Dooley. Tim D anter of Young D rivers of Canada and Paul Byron of The Co-operators Insurance made the presentations. Why no one should drink and drive M y name is Zacheriah and I am nine years old. Many things scare me: evil monsters, witches, terrible diseases, and people who do mean things. These are things I don't have any control over. But one thing scares me that I do have some control over and lhat 1can do something about: people who choose to drive after they have been drinking. I can't force them to stop, but I realized that 1 could write an essay that might change some one's mind about their drinking and driving. This essay is for those people, for anyone who has ever made the choice to drive after they have had alco hol. Perhaps this is you. The next time you are about to get into a car while impaired, maybe you w ill remember my essay and it w ill change your mind. The first thing you should know is that if you get caught, you w ill have very serious consequences. You can lose your licence for one year, and if you get caught again, you can lose it forever. You could lose your job if you can't drive to it. and your fam ily w ill suffer as well. When you drink alcohol, it goes into your bloodstream and quickly gets to your brain. You can't react quickly and it takes longer to make important deci sions. like when you want to avoid hit ting something on the road. If one of my brothers, one of my friends, or I were in a vehicle or if we were on the side of the road. I would really need you to be able to think and react fast. If you have been drinking, even just a little, you could hit me. really injure me. or k ill me. Remember, I am only nine years old. The alcohol also interferes with the muscles in your eyes, and your vision becomes blurry and unfocused. Your pupil w ill not be able to adjust quickly to changes in light. You can t see as well on the sides and you can't tell how close or far things are. If there were a baby in a car, or its parents, and you can't see well, you could hit and kill them. Remember, it is just a baby, or someone's parents. That would be really tragic and heartbreaking too. When you drive a car after you have been drinking, even if you think nothing bad is going to happen, remember: each day. four Canadians are killed and 200 are seriously injured because of drinking and driving. I read about these people. They are parents, friends, babies, and fam ily members. Their lives have been changed forever. If I have managed to change your mind, it doesn't mean you can't drink anymore when you're out. You have other options. If you plan ahead, you could designate a driver who doesn't drink. Call home or lake a taxi or bus. Or, if you could stay overnight where you are. Thank you. me. and everyone else w ill arrive alive. Zacheriah's poem My poem to tell someone who s never cared About driving their cur while impaired: The next time you drink and need to go out Please consider what I'm talking about. Don't just think about getting caught. There If oilier things that matter a lot. Your ability to think will do down the drain When the alcohol starts entering your brain. Anti did you know your vision won I b e right Because alcohol affects your sight? You can't concentrate on many things at once And you will start to think like a dunce. You won t notice things lhat drivers need to see like signs, other cars, or possibly even...ME. Your reaction time will not be too fast Remember, you can't change the past. I can Vimagine how tragically sail I would be if you killed my mum or my dad And I have two brothers lhat I care about I'd really be lost if you knocked them out. Or consider if it were someone you knew Please stop aiul think about what to do. Today I read about people who Ye died I wonder how theirfamilies cried. So I hope my poem can change your mind. Cause you to choose to be more kind. The next time you drink, please don't drive. I want you. me. and everyone else to remain alive! BouCuiir Create a beautiful life Heurtbrokenly. Andrew fy t r ENVE W E E I c i Excludes Douple Toppings and Extra Cheese m m All aealjabncs CSw ^ ^ *' * Add M O CHICKEN W IN G S ' =-s 6 " . Add DIPPING SAUCES NOT VALID FOR BIG! BIG! PARTY AND STUFFED CRUST PRODUCTS 7 99 CRAZY BREAD .$ 2 9 9 . S tock un n o w ! -- _____ *· metres of home decorating and T 'apparel fabric on s a le K ' ^ v i * * ^ ^ 1 1 ' ^ ^ ^ . 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