The white ribbons worn by hundreds of Santa Clarita Valley High School Graduates last month are most likely nothing but a memory, but their meaning will hopefully live on in the minds of the youth who wore them. Hundreds of white ribbons were distributed before graduation services, as part of a drive initiated by Frontier Toyota and Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and in cooperation with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s department.
The students wore them during their graduation ceremony as a reminder of teen lives lost in the Santa Clarita Valley. That reminder was designed to keep teens thinking smart about their actions every time they get behind the wheel of a car or ride with somebody else. The drive safe philosophy worked during the weeks immediately following the ceremonies, but caution needs to remain in the forefront of their lives according to the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Department Sergeant, Tony Arnold, who spoke about safety to teens at Canyon High School prior to the time they picked up their caps, gowns and white ribbons.
“You are all bright men and women and we want you to live long lives,” said Arnold. “You are lucky to live in a community that cares and loves each one of you so much. Everybody at the station gets upset when they have to respond to a fatal crash.”
Over the past five years, law enforcement has had their share of devastating fatalities including16 teens who died in motor vehicle collisions. Their names are as follows:
Evan Richard Ames Jessica Lenhof
Melvin Ross M. Beleno Adam Gregory Marcus
Sheldon Bell Cijilyn McBroom
Gianina Maria Felix Gino Merante
Maribel Gonzalez-Diaz Joshua Moreno
Kiel Kudroff Andrew M. Rhoades
Zach Legreid Christopher Singer
Robert Leinbach III Robert Smith
After receiving her white ribbon, 2007 Canyon High School Student Body President, Lauren Freeman, said, “This is supposed to be a happy time, a time of new beginnings. It’s very important to realize that decisions we make on a daily basis can affect the rest of our lives. I can’t imagine one of our lives ending now when we have so much to look forward to and offer.”
Another Canyon High School Senior, Amanda Kne said, “I don’t drink, but the white ribbon presentation today made me want to be more available to anybody who might need a safe ride. I hope they will call me if they need one.”
photography by Ken Capozzi