Editor:

Because of the willing participation and generous support of a number of local businesses, Heritage High School was able to provide a condensed version of the Every 15 Minutes program for the school's first graduating class on May 29-30.

We created a Don't Drink and Drive program that eliminated the crash scene, but still incorporated police officers pulling individual students out of class and reading their incident reports, an overnight retreat for the students who were killed by the drunk drivers, and a parent retreat. The next day, we held a funeral service involving police officers reading descriptions of the drunk-driving related deaths, power points, and both parent and student goodbye letters.

This program was greatly benefited by the leadership at Heritage High School and the contributions of both time and thoughtful direction by Mr. Andy Parsons and Mr. Dan Hanel. The seniors were greatly impacted by this program, and our guest speaker, Mr. Bobby Pertrocelli, powerfully delivered the message that drinking and driving don't mix.

We had very limited funds, and therefore relied on local businesses to donate goods and services. We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and businesses, and thank them from the bottom of our hearts:

Aladino's Pizza, Arrowhead Towing, Bay Area Cremation and Funeral Service, Brentwood Police Department, Brentwood PD chaplains, Deer Ridge Golf Club, Delta Bay Dental Group, Delta Ranches and Homes, Delta Sands Florist, Fast Signs, the Gomez Family, Heritage High School Parents Club, India 4 U, John Muir Health Foundation, Jostens Speakers Bureau, Markstein Sales Company, Mimi's Caf