Peter Hoffman/Beacon News
(From left) Oswego students Megan Findlay, 16; Tasha Tretternero, 17; Alex Peterson, 17; and Alyssa Plac, 17, gather at the site where five of their classmates were killed Feb. 11, 2007. Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the accident that also injured four teens.
BY DAVE PARRO
In the year since the Oswego crash claimed five young lives, there's been a lot of talk about how to combat the problem of teen drinking. But has anything really changed in the wake of the tragedy?
Kids are still dying in drunken-driving crashes. Parents are still being arrested for hosting "supervised" drinking parties. And our communities continue to be scarred by the consequences.
So has the window of opportunity for change after the Oswego crash already closed?
In an editorial Sunday, The Beacon News makes a renewed call for a community-wide discussion to find solutions to the problem of teen drinking. Here's an excerpt:
But a year after that Feb. 11 Oswego crash, some questions remain. Have we truly made progress over the past 12 months? And perhaps as importantly: What still needs to be done?We don’t want the community response to fade like last year’s headlines. Today, we’re calling for a renewed effort to find new solutions.
To that end, we’ll be holding a virtual town-hall meeting on the Beacon Blog at 8 p.m. Monday, when an expert on alcohol abuse will lead a conversation on teen drinking. We hope teenagers, parents, teachers, community leaders, counselors, police officers and anyone else who cares about this issue will log on and weigh in on how the crash has affected our community.
And we hope that isn’t the end of the discussion.
This blog will host a forum Monday night featuring alcohol-abuse experts from across the state who will moderate a frank online discussion on teen drinking. The goal is to start a new dialogue in the community a year after the Oswego crash in an effort to find new solutions. The forum will provide an opportunity to ask questions of the experts, but also for community members to offer their insight into the events of the past year and where we should go from here.
We hope you can join us. Ahead of that event, here's a look back at some of the stories of the past year:
4 teens killed | Oswego shocked; 5 hurt; DUI charged (2/12/07) 1
Driver charged with multiple felonies (2/13/07) 1 2 3
As police dig deeper, parents of teens grieve and hope (2/14/07) 1 2
Police checking liquor store tapes (2/15/07) 1 2
Viewpoint: Tragedy hits home (2/15/07) 1 2
Teen mourned at first of four funerals (2/16/07) 1 2
First lawsuit filed in Oswego crash (2/17/07) 1 2
One week after horrible car crash, what have we learned? (2/18/07) 1 2
Crash claims 5th teen (2/20/07) 1 2
Six months later: Healing, still hurting (8/5/07) 1 2 3
Storyteller: The Comeback Kid (11/18/07) 1 2 3
The victims:
Matthew Frank
James McGee
Katherine Merkel
Jessica Nutoni
Tiffany Urso
Also in Sunday's Beacon News, Oswego reporter Christine Moyer will have an analysis story looking at what's been done in the village in response to the crash and what kind of solutions to the problem of teen drinking other communities have embraced. The village of Hinsdale is featured prominently in the story, and some of the programs implemented there might provide good fodder for the discussion on what should happen here.
Here's a summary of the Operation STAAT program and some bullet points.
While some piecemeal solutions have been offered in Oswego after the crash, a community-wide initiative never materialized. Hopefully it's not too late to try a year later.
Why have the adults who were responsible for the location of the party not been identified?
I don't know why the people responsible for the location of the party have not been identified. However, the reason that no one has been charged with providing the Oswego teens alcohol is because prosecutors do not have enough evidence, according to the Kendall County state's attorney. He said that prosecutors have to be able to prove that the people who were in charge of the party were responsible for providing the alcohol. The state's attorney said that if the teens consumed the alcohol before they arrived at the party, the people who hosted the party are not criminally liable.
It is all over the paper about a year after the crash in Oswego that claimed 5 teens in the early morning hours. I live in Oswego Township , so my kids go to Oswego schools and do all the Oswego sports. In 2007 my husband,sister and brother in law and myself went to a fundraiser for one said sport. Yes of course there was dancing drinking etc going on. It was an all adult affair. Everyone ate dinner and started drinking and dancing.. Now Iam not saying that adults dont have a right to drink and have a good time because we all do it. But my point is this. At our table the guys where drinking and us girls werent so we could drive home. Now Iam 32 years old and do drink on occasion with friends etc, but we always have a person that is picked not to drink to drive everyone home safely. Well at this function we sat back and watched all these people that are children looked up to drinking and carry on. We also paid attention to see if the person they came with was also drinking. And to my disbelief they where. So now we have all these adults, i say around 50-60 of them, drinking, dancing and carrying on and no one that was sober driving them home. My point is this, How in the world do we expect our children in this community not to be drinking and driving if they are seeing their own parents drinking and driving and carrying on. Now like I said there where no children present, but im sure their children where at home when they got there and seen their parents had been drinking and drove home. What kind of example are we setting for our teens here? Our parents need to step up and take part in their childrens life. If you go on any of their myspace or nootbook sites you will see that they are taking about parties and sex and drugs for that matter. It is right there in print for the world to see. Now if i can look at your childs myspace page, I know you can. Right? Our community got all vocal after this crash about what we can do, and then nothing happened because no one stood up or their lives got to busy and they forgot about it. This is a growing problem in our community and everyone has closed their eyes and forgot about it, and now it is back more then ever. Parents are not paying attention to where their children are going and who they are with. No you cant always know if your children are lieing to you, and they will find a way around it. BUT COME ON PARENTS OF OSWEGO . WAKE UP, PAY ATTENTION, YOUR CHILDREN ARE WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE, AND SEEING WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND THE WAY YOU ARE ACTING. DONT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!!
Parent from Oswego !!!
Denise Crosby replies: "Concerned Parent" raises a good point. As a mother of six, I've been to plenty of school-related events over the years where the alcohol flowed freely for the adults. In many of these instances, kids were present and certainly aware of all the booze that was being consumed. And I have no doubt there were more than a few cases where intoxicated parents got into their cars and drove home.
Mixed messages? Are we teaching our kids that alcohol is needed to have a good time? Should alcohol be banned from any event that is in any way tied to the schools or to our kids? What is our responsibility here?
I am a grandmother of a 15 year old freshman at Oswego High School, and I along with their grandfather have told him that if he is ever in a situation where he is somewhere he is not supposed to be to call us no matter what time and we will pick him up. I understand that some of the teens last year were not where they were supposed to be for the evening and when it came time to go home they needed a ride home. Why did they get into the car with that young lady? I understand that she had a sister that was at the party and that she came to pick up her sister. Yet her sister did not get into the car, but all the rest of the kids did.Maybe we should start a program where the kids can call someone to take them home if they need a ride. I am not saying we expect that they are drinking, but we have to be realistic and know that these kids are under a lot of peer pressure, moreso that I ever was at that age. Come on lets put our heads together and try to help these kids out for their sake and for ours.