KELLY HIGH STUDENTS LEARN DRINKING AND DRIVING DON'T MIX

BENTON -- Shawna Hoskins loves driving home a point, even if she has to get bloody to do it.

A Kelly High School senior and volunteer firefighter, Hoskins -- covered in stage blood -- was one of the "victims" in a mock drunk-driving accident staged at her school Thursday afternoon.

As several hundred high school students looked on, members of the New Hamburg-Benton-Commerce (NBC) Fire Department went to work with extrication equipment, cutting open the brown Buick that had "crashed."

The scenario involved a drunk driver, two fatalities and a seriously injured person (Hoskins), who was evacuated on Southeast Missouri Hospital's LifeBeat helicopter.

Hoskins, who doesn't drink, said afterward that she hopes the message hit home with her classmates that drinking and driving don't mix.

"I preach that to all my friends," said Hoskins.

The high school senior said she's always wanted to be a firefighter. She began volunteering with the Benton city fire department when she was 16.

At 17 she joined the NBC fire department as a cadet. She trained with the other volunteer firefighters, but had to stay back from the front line when it came to actual fires.

She became a full-fledged volunteer fireman last November, and has battled a number of fires since then.

"I carry my (fire department) radio in my truck," said Hoskins.

She normally doesn't respond to fires when she's at school. But once she did leave school early to help fight a large field fire.

Splattered with stage blood, Kelly High School junior Amy LaRue "died" in the mock accident.

LaRue, who is a cadet with the volunteer fire department, said the whole exercise "seemed pretty realistic."

With the Kelly High School junior and senior prom set for Saturday night, LaRue said the idea was to remind students not to drive drunk.

High School Principal Ernie Lawson said he hoped students would think about what could occur if they drink and drive.

The message was clearly visible to senior Jonathan Buchanan. "It makes you think about what you are going to do Saturday night," he said, insisting he won't be a drunk driver.

Ronnie Jackson gave the mock accident high marks. "It shows you what can happen," he said.

Thursday's exercise was the NBC fire department's second such staged event at an area high school. Last week firefighters put on a similar display at Oran High School.

"I think education is probably the only way to get the point across," said Fire Chief Ivan LaGrand. "If we can prevent just one injury or one death, that would be more than worth it," he said.

Besides delivering a message, such exercises also give firefighters a chance to practice their extrication skills.

LaGrand said his department isn't called upon to extricate people very often. He recalled, however, that firefighters did have to extricate a horse from a trailer as a result of an accident last May. The horse was extricated, but it later died.

LaGrand works full time as a paramedic with the North Scott County Ambulance Service, which also participated in the exercise along with the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

The fire chief said the volunteer department has 13 firefighters, three stations and covers 100 square miles.

Thursday's mock accident went off without a hitch, with Bill Kasting -- who teaches paramedic programs at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School -- applying the stage blood to the victims.

LaGrand said the stage blood was an improvement over ketchup. "We had ketchup last week. We couldn't get the stage blood."

But this time, even the blood was first rate.