$2,000 grant to fund Warren High safe-driving program

GURNEE -- The Student Council at Warren Township High School's O'Plaine Road campus plans to begin a campaign to promote safe driving among teens using a $2,000 grant.

The Student Council applied for the Operation Teen Safe Driving program, organized through the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Safety with sponsorship from the Allstate Foundation and the Ford Motor Company Fund. The statewide initiative is designed to empower young people to teach their peers about safe driving habits.

Warren is the only Lake County high school and one of 15 schools in a seven-county region to receive the grant this year. Of the $2,000 grant, half will be provided through IDOT from the Rush Copley Medical Center and half will be provided by Allstate.

"We applied for the grant to raise awareness, and we came to the conclusion that cell phone use while driving is a major contributor to teen traffic accidents," said Chrissy Parquette, social studies teacher and adviser to Student Council members at the freshman and sophomore O'Plaine campus.

Gurnee police provided statistics for the grant application. During the first nine months of this year, 236 youths between the ages of 15 and 19 were involved in automobile crashes in the village; 19 were reported to be either slightly, moderately or seriously injured.

Students intend to hold a "green week" campaign with activities that emphasize students paying attention to their driving, including not texting or even turning knobs on the radio while they are driving.

The best five campaigns will be chosen to advance for prizes, which include riding with a professional car racer at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago or win up to $2,500 toward a post- prom event at the school.