SHENANDOAH - Shenandoah Valley High School students received some tough lessons Friday about what can occur when poor choices end in very bad consequences - even fatal ones.
The messages from Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody and county Deputy Coroner Andrew Szczyglak were not sugarcoated when it came to providing facts and stories about the price people can pay in choices such as using drugs, driving under the influence and shoplifting.
The assembly was held in the high school auditorium in the afternoon and was preceded by a demonstration in the morning with a mock DUI crash held on the property of the Columbia Hose Fire Company across the street from the education complex. The students were able to watch how emergency vehicles (fire trucks, ambulances, police) arrived and showed what they do when called, which included caring for the injured and removing a dead victim.
The graphic exercise was a prelude to get the students thinking of their choices before the assembly was held with Groody and Szczyglak.
After being introduced by high school Principal Phillip Andras, Szczyglak, who is also Shenandoah's mayor, spoke about his position as deputy coroner and having to respond to fatal crashes.
"What we saw this morning is not anything new to me. I've seen it many, many times," Szczyglak said, referring to the mock crash. "When you see me at a crash scene, I'm the one person you do not want to see there because it means that someone has passed away. My job is to come on scene and certify and pronounce the death of a person."
Szczyglak said the toughest part of the job is to go to a home and tell family members that someone has been killed. It is even tougher when the victim is a young person.
"Another duty as deputy coroner is something that makes me cringe and want to never have to do this again," he said. "That is to go and tell a mother and a father their child, or a teenager like you, that their son or daughter was killed in a car accident. That is one of the worst thing I have do to."
Groody spoke for about 25 minutes to the students, beginning with the dangers of driving under the influence, be it alcohol or drugs.
"Not only is it illegal, but you can hurt yourself and other people, or you can kill yourself and other people," Groody said to a very quiet student body. "And in the process, not only your life is affected, your family's life is affected, and other people's lives are affected as victims of DUI crashes."
Groody said a major problem is the use of drugs and then driving. The misuse of prescription drugs, especially painkillers, by teenagers is a concern.
Groody spent some time on shoplifting, using an example of someone stealing a candy bar at a convenience on a dare from friends. He said convenience and other stores have cameras, the tapes are reviewed daily, and, if identified, a police officer could stop at the person's house to issue a citation and then have him or her photographed and fingerprinted. The second offense is a misdemeanor, and by the fourth offense, it is a felony.
"If you have a felony on your record, when you come out of high school and apply for a job, no one will take you," Groody said. "When it comes to shoplifting or retail theft, it may seem stupid and simple, it is that little violation that could ruin your life as a student."
Groody also spoke about texting and driving, bath salts use and bullying.