RED RIBBONS GIVE SOBERING REMINDER

There is a small wooden cross standing on the east side of the roadway of North Main Street, just a few hundred yards north of the Red Star Baptist Church. It marks the place where Russell McLain died in a drunk driving motorcycle accident more than three years ago.

His mother, Toni McLain, maintains the cross, as she does the memory of her son, who died Sept. 16, 1990. Twenty-year-old McLain was killed only two and a half blocks from home.

For the next few weeks, the nation is remembering people who suffered fates similar to that of Russell McLain, while encouraging everyone not to drink and drive, during the annual Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Red Ribbon Campaign. Area police departments, businesses, hospitals, churches, schools and civic organizations are distributing more than 15,000 red ribbons throughout the area, in an effort which was kicked off the day after Thanksgiving and runs through the New Year holiday.

The Cape Girardeau MADD community action team began in January 1992, under the guidance of Sharee Galnore and Bettie Knoll of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Galnore is the coordinator of community traffic safety programs at the department; Knoll is the crime victims' advocate for the county, working out of the Cape Girardeau city's department.

"The red ribbon is meant to be a reminder to all motorists not to drink and drive," Galnore said. "Even though we do this during the holidays, we hope people remember the message year-round."

MADD members cut, folded and stapled the red ribbons to narrow strips advising people to "Tie one on for safety." The card suggests the ribbon be tied in a visible place on your vehicle, such as a mirror or the antenna.

Another way MADD members are letting their message be heard is through monthly victim impact panels which started on a trial-basis in June. Associate circuit court judges and municipal judges within the Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties circuit make attending one of the sessions part of the sentence for first-time DWI offenders and some persons with other traffic violations.

Offenders are required only to sit and listen to stories of area residents who have lost loved ones in DWI-related accidents and fill out an evaluation afterward.

When Toni McLain tells her son's story to the people at the panels, she does it for her benefit as well as for theirs.

"The panels have helped me talk about the whole situation," said McLain. "It makes me angry, but it also makes me feel good that I can tell someone that this is what happens when you drink and drive.

"I hope they learn from what they hear, but more importantly, I hope it doesn't happen to them, or their families."

Russell McLain was killed after helping a friend push-start a motorcycle a few blocks from home. From what police surmise, after the motorcycle was started, McLain rode a short distance with the operator before the motorcycles struck a parked car. The driver of the motorcycle was drunk; McLain -- who was thrown 139 feet from the point of impact -- wasn't wearing a helmet.

Today, his mother tells people that the help her son gave to the stranded cyclist was typical of his behavior, but riding without a helmet was not. She also believes Russell would not have gotten on to the motorcycle had he known the driver was drunk.

"Russell had a motorcycle and always wore a helmet," said McLain. "When he took people for rides, he always made sure they had helmets, too."

At the hospital, McLain and her husband were told their son was brain dead. The family authorized the donation of Russell's organs for any ailing patient in need of a transplant.

"When I went back to look at Russell, it was so hard," McLain said. "When your kids are little and scrape their elbows or knees, you are there to put a Band-Aid on it and make it better.

"But when he was laying there in the hospital, I knew there was nothing I could do. But even then, you don't want to give up -- you are never ready to give up your child."

The driver of the motorcycle injured his leg in the crash, and was later sentenced to four years in prison for Russell McLain's death. He is already out on parole, Toni McLain said.

Galnore says post-panel evaluations filled out by the offenders show the panels are having an impact on at least some of the people.

"Nothing can quite compare to hearing first hand the effect a drunk driver can have on a family, than to hear the surviving members tell their stories," said Galnore. "MADD will continue with volunteer project because they care about the people who are sentenced to be there and don't want them to go through this same experience."

McLain added: "Everyone hopes they can prevent someone from drinking and driving. If you're going to drink, get a designated driver; if you're going to drive, don't drink. It's a simple as that."