Oct. 27, 2007 — Outside the wind blew and the rain fell Saturday afternoon, but you couldn’t tell inside Sunshine Mall Saturday as hundreds of St. Croix kids of all ages played games for prizes, had their faces painted and got scared in a haunted house. At the same time, they learned about the dangers of drug abuse.
This is the second year for the haunted house and Halloween carnival at the mall. Put on by a host of local organizations and the V.I. Village Partners in Recovery, it is a highlight of National Red Ribbon Week activities on St. Croix.
Red Ribbon Week started nationally in 1985 as a tribute to Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was killed while working undercover on a drug cartel investigation. The national Red Ribbon Week is sponsored and promoted by the DEA to promote drug-free communities.
All the sponsoring groups manned tables with games, tee-shirts, prizes, hot food, cookies and cakes, face painting and information. The V.I. National Guard Counter-Drug Task Force was there with visual aids about the risks of various drugs. Annette Scott and Maren Roebuck of the St. Croix Unity Coalition gave out pins and ribbons. Kids who answered a question about Red Ribbon Week or drug-awareness got a free T-shirt.
“We’ve been giving the children information to help them be more aware of the risks, and we are keeping them busy with good things to do,” Scott said.
Radio personality Rashidi Clenance emceed the event, introducing bands and speakers and giving away prizes, while hundreds of kids, some wearing Halloween costumes, ran around.
Ortisha Browne, a student at Elena Christian Jr. High, won the Red Ribbon Week Slogan contest, Clenance announced. Her slogan, “Learn, Don’t Burn,” will be entered in the national Red Ribbon Week slogan contest, with entries from all the states and territories.
The hottest attraction was a frightful haunted house.
Kids and adults looking for a fright walked into loud, foggy darkness, confusingly and jarringly lit by strobe lights. Out of the dark disembodied arms grabbed at the passers by. Gruesome corpses lay on the ground, suddenly turning and hissing. A woman cried and pleaded for help as a zombie clawed at her. Around every corner was something new to startle and scare, until suddenly at the end, you found yourself back out in the bright light of the mall.
Suddenly a woman collapsed on the floor of the all. A crowd began to gather, trying to see if she was all right. The woman wasn’t moving. St. Croix Rescue, who had a table at the carnival, moved into action quickly, moving in, examining the woman, trying to rouse her, checking for breathing and a pulse. The crowd thickened as they began CPR and several team members run off to bring a back board and gurney. It got very quiet. A photographer for a local newspaper took a picture of the busy rescue workers, bringing an onlooker to angrily say to show some decency.
“Give it up for our patient,” Clenance said. “She had all of y’all fooled. Happy Halloween!”
Contributors to the carnival included: The V.I. Village Partners in Recovery, the St. Croix Unity Coalition, Department of Health, the Blue Marlins Swim Club, The Law Enforcement Planning Commission, The St. Croix Dolphins, Grove Place Weed and Seed, U.S. Customs, the Virgin Islands National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, The Virgin Islands Sustainable Farming Institute, the Department of Highway Safety, numerous local schools and many others.
There are several more Red Ribbon Week events left, including Bowling Against Drugs, from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Tropical Ten Pins in Castle Coakley. For a schedule of events see "Anti-Drug Red Ribbon Week Kicks Off Monday".
For help with a substance abuse problem or for more information, call VI Partners in Recovery at (340) 778-3784. They have a confidential hotline too, (340) 719-9900.
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