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Sam Choy at Pahoa School 03-13-08

Hawaii Police Department
Community Policing Section
Lieutenant Andrew Burian
Phone: 961-2350
March 13, 2008

(Select photo for larger image.) Burian, Kubo, Choy and Tingle pose in front of closed bleachers. Lieutenant Andrew Burian, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, Chef Sam Choy and Officer Shawn Tingle
…at Pahoa High and Intermediate School for a message about the dangers of underage drinking.

Media Release

The Hawaii Police Department teamed up with U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, Chef Sam Choy, the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s Office, officials from Pahoa High and Intermediate School and members of the community to present a message to students at Pahoa School Thursday (March 13) about the dangers of underage drinking.

A culinary arts teacher and student helpers prepared country stew from Choy’s family recipe while Choy urged the students in the Pahoa gymnasium to set positive goals for themselves instead of using drugs and alcohol.

Kubo encouraged the students to enter a teen video contest that promotes anti-drug, anti-smoking and anti-drinking messages. The winner’s video will be shown on television stations statewide. “Pahoa you guys can do it,” Kubo said. “I know this school has so much talent.”

Kubo shared newspaper stories about teenagers who have been killed in Hawaii either by drinking and driving or by being hit by a drunk driver.

A video he showed about a mainland young woman captured the students’ attention. Twenty-year-old Jacqui Saburido got hit by a drunk driver in a crash that killed her two friends and melted the skin off her face. The “before” and “after” pictures offered a dramatic depiction of what can happen when someone gets behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.

“When we say, ‘Don’t drink and drive,’ it’s said with sincerity,” Kubo said “It’s said because we care.”

The program was part of the Pahoa Weed and Seed program, which aims to weed out crime and plant the seeds of community development.