May 19, 2008

Ask Westchester students to use their creative powers to draw or write about the perils of drugs and alcohol and you get an extraordinary heart-felt response of posters and essays.

Winners in this year’s Drug Prevention and Stop-DWI poster and essay contests (and their parents and teachers) will be honored by County Executive Andy Spano.

The grand prize winner is Gus Boehling, an 11th grader at Ossining High School. He will be given a $500 U.S. Savings Bond and his poster will be duplicated and used as the official Drug Prevention and STOP-DWI poster for Westchester County this year. It will be displayed throughout the county and featured on the county’s Web site. It was selected from 475 entries.

Other winning students in the poster contest are from Yonkers, New Rochelle, Ardsley, Irvington and Pelham. This year, once again, the Office of Drug Prevention and STOP-DWI in conjunction with the Elks Association also sponsored an essay contest that addressed the same issues of drugs and alcohol. More than 45 middle and high school students participated and the winners were from Yorktown Heights, Ardsley and Yonkers.

“These posters and essays are really terrific,” said Spano. “But beyond the creativity that went into them is the message about the dangers of drinking and drugging.” 

The posters and essays showed the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. They were judged on their originality, clarity, presentation and message against drugs and DWI.

The prizes are Savings Bonds ranging from $500 for the overall grand prize to $50, depending on the place in the various age categories: high school, middle school and elementary school. All those who entered either contest have been sent certificates of merit.

The  Drug Prevention and STOP-DWI Poster and Essay contests are open to all Westchester students, grades K-12 and highlighted the theme of staying safe by refusing drugs and alcohol, and particularly showcasing the repercussions of drunk driving. Seven judges from the Westchester community chose the winning posters from entries throughout the county. The winning entries are also entered in the Elks Statewide contest.  Last year, one student from Westchester was statewide winner. Kathleen Barran from Robert C. Dodson School in Yonkers was chosen as the Second Place Poster Contest Winner in the Kindergarten Category. She was presented with a $300 U.S. Savings Bond.

2008 STOP-DWI Poster Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winner:  Gus Boehling, Ossining High School, Ossining

Elementary School

• Kindergarten
  1st prize: Katie Ferguson, Robert C. Dodson School,  Yonkers
  
• 1-2 Grade
  1st prize: Martin Alfaro, Robert C. Dodson School, Yonkers
  2nd prize: Samuel Brown, Robert C. Dodson School, Yonkers
  
• 3-4 Grade
  1st prize:  Danielle Malpeli, Daniel Webster School,  New Rochelle
  2nd prize: Timmy Moore, St. Ann’s School, Ossining

Middle School

• 5-6th Grade
  1st prize: Nicholas J. Barbaria, Albert Leonard School, New Rochelle
  2nd prize: Sarah Hilpert,  Anne M. Dorner Middle School, Ossining
  
• 7-8th Grade
  1st prize: Devon Badolato,  Ardsley Middle School,  Ardsley
  2nd prize: Monica Driscoll, Irvington Middle School, Irvington

High School

• 9-12th Grade
  1st prize: Andrew Morejon, New Rochelle High School,  New Rochelle
  2nd prize: Christine Meier, Ossining High School, Ossining
  3rd prize: Laura Martin, Pelham Memorial High School,  Pelham

2008 STOP-DWI Essay Contest Winners

• 5-6 Grade
  1st prize: Matt Rabito, Ardsley Middle School, Ardsley
  2nd prise:  Andrew Weiss, Ardsley Middle School, Ardsley
  
• 7-8th Grade
  1st prize: Reba Yohannan, Christ the King School, Yonkers
  2nd prize: Brian Dunn, Christ the King School, Yonkers
  
• 9-12th Grade
  1st prize: Mergim Haluci, Lakeland Alternative High School, Yorktown Heights
• 2nd prize: Robert Casey,  Lakeland Alternative High School, Yorktown Heights