October 16, 2019 830 PM
PRESIDIO — For the 18th year running, Presidio City will celebrate “Red Ribbon Week.”
Sponsored by Presidio Independent School District police, the festivities will run from October 21 through 25 and will feature a community parade, PISD police stated in a news release.
“This is a community event that supports our school safety, school spirit and promotes unity for our community,” the release states. “ALL Law Enforcement Agencies will be represented and speak to our children.”
A national holiday, Red Ribbon Week started in 1985 as a tribute to Enrique Camarena Salazar, an undercover DEA agent who was tortured and murdered in Mexico. It’s a way for public officials to speak to school kids and “show unity against drugs in our schools,” Joel Nuñez, chief of PISD police, said in an interview. But over the years, it has morphed into “one of the biggest events we have in the community,” he said.
The highlight of the event is a parade at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24 at the UETA football field.
Each year also features a guest speaker, Nuñez said. This year, Tera Crossland — an Odessa mother who lost her son to a drunk driver — will speak to middle and high school students on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Each day of Red Ribbon Week has a theme, and students are encouraged to dress up. Monday is Team Jersey Day and Super Hero Day, the latter of which represents the “power to stay drug free,” according to the news release.
Tuesday is Disney Day (“Live a magical drug free life”) and Meme Day (“Be the meme against the drugs”). McGruff the Crime Dog, the anti-drug cartoon dog, will also give a presentation at Presidio Elementary.
Wednesday is Wacky Day (“Drugs are wacky, school is cool”) and Minion Day (“A minion reasons to be drug free”). And on Thursday — the day of the parade — Presidio residents are encouraged to wear red to show “a community united against drugs.”
Finally, on October 25, it will be Costume Day and the Presidio Elementary Fall Fest Carnival at the elementary school gym. Students are encouraged to wear their scariest costumes to “say BOO to drugs.”
