ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — It is springtime and everyone knows what that means: prom season. With prom right around the corner, there is increased pressure for teen-agers to engage in dangerous activities, such as drinking and, worse yet, drinking and driving. That is why Students Against Destructive Decisions has put forth its yearly Prom Promise campaign, which encourages juniors and seniors to sign a pact vowing not to drink and drive on prom night. In addition to signing a pact, as added incentive, the participating juniors and seniors get to enter a raffle for a chance to win gift baskets put together by SADD Club. The baskets consist of gift cards from local businesses as well as other miscellaneous items.

The Prom Promise campaign starts at the beginning of May and runs through prom night. To get the message of Prom Promise across, the SADD Club advertises through promotions including “mocktails” and the mock crash, which is orchestrated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “Mocktails” are substitutions for common alcoholic beverages typically made from flavoring syrups, fruit juices and sodas, which were served at the parent-teacher conferences Wednesday.

“The purpose of the mocktails is to show that you can still have a good tasting beverage without alcohol,” said Rick Stephenson, SADD Club vice president.

On May 15, the day before the Edgewood Senior High prom, a “grim reaper” will be sent around every half hour to tie a black ribbon around a student’s wrist. The chosen student must then remain quiet for the remainder of the day. This is to represent each teen-ager who dies in an alcohol-related car crash. To top off the day, a mock car crash is performed. The mock crash is a simulation exemplifying a possible result of drunk driving where SADD Club officers act as victims of a car crash. Juniors and seniors gather around to watch as local firemen and paramedics rush to save the crash “victims.”

“From fund-raisers to awareness campaigns, SADD Club has been working very hard this year to make sure prom promise will be a success,” said Michelle Sassler, SADD Club adviser. “We are also very grateful for all the hard work that Officer (Nathan) Dutton and the State Highway Patrol put into the event.”

As the year comes to an end, students should expect last minute projects and finals to consume most of their time. Fortunately, the end of the year brings many celebrations as well.

Prom is just around the corner for the juniors and seniors at Edgewood. A committee of juniors and the Family and Consumer Science teachers, Lisa Brown and Linda Hazelton, have been working since the start of the second semester to prepare for the last dance of the year. The theme for Prom 2009 is “Victorian Ball.” It will be May 16 at Mount Carmel Community Center in Ashtabula. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7 p.m. The crowning of the prom king and queen will occur around 8 p.m. Prom court was chosen by the senior class, and the final ballots will be at prom for juniors and seniors to vote.

Tickets for the occasion were sold at lunchtime to all juniors and seniors for the cost of $10 per senior and $25 for juniors and guests from other schools. When buying tickets, students were asked to sign up for a table as well, to help the committee stay organized the day of the dance.

“It will be an elegant “Victorian Ball,” topped with crumpets for desserts,” Hazelton said.

The most important part of any senior’s year, however, is graduation. Graduation invitations were distributed to students at lunch on May 1. As has been tradition, the males will wear gray and the females will wear red. The student speakers have not yet been determined, but the senior class did nominate a handful of qualified individuals for voting. The alumni speaker this year will be Gary R. Leidick. Leidick was a 1968 graduate of Edgewood where he was a percussionist in the band, the editor of the yearbook, held the lead in the senior play and was a member of the National Honor Society. After graduation he attended the University of Toledo. Leidick is executive vice president and president of First Energy Generation.

“It is an honor and a privilege to have Mr. Leidick serve as our guest speaker,” said Edgewood principal Karl Williamson. “This is truly a talented class and these graduation seniors have a lot to offer in their future endeavors.”

Like every year, graduation will be held at Corlew Stadium, weather permitting, 7 p.m. June 3.

Senior Hanna Wiese says on the location of graduation, “Going with superstitions, for the past five years every other year has been inside, due to rainy conditions. Luckily, 2009 is supposed to be a year for the stadium.”