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eugene student wins 2005 oregon problem gambling awareness poster search |
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Students and teacher honored with awards; posters to be printed as part of a statewide awareness campaignMay 6, 2005 Visit the poster gallery! Eugene--Student Hollis Gehrett of Monroe Middle School was recognized for a first place award in a statewide problem gambling awareness poster search. Fellow students and several parents were on hand to acknowledge Gehrett and other awardees for their work. Gehrett and many of her classmates submitted posters to the Oregon Problem Gambling Awareness Week poster search this Spring. Gehrett's poster, along with several other posters from Lane County, was sent to Salem where it placed first in the state. For her first place award, Gehrett received a $100 gift card to Circuit City, and her poster will be printed next year as part of the statewide Oregon Problem Gambling Awareness Week campaign. Monroe health teacher Sarah Kerr-Daly received a $100 gift card to Office Depot for outstanding teacher participation; almost 50 of Kerr-Daly's students participated in the poster search. Special awards were also presented to Aimee Johnson (artist's award), Bryant King (honorable mention), Max Faulhaber and Molly Douglas (message awards), and all students who participated were presented with certificates. Problem gambling is a serious and fast-growing public health issue. About 60,000 Oregonian adults meet the criteria for problem or pathological gambling behavior, according to Julie Hynes, coordinator of Lane County's Gambling Awareness & Prevention Program. Additionally, "one in every 25 Oregon teens is a problem or pathological gambler--that's more than 10,000 teens in our state and over 1,000 in Lane County alone," Hynes said. "We had this poster search to help heighten awareness about the problem among youth and in schools, said Hynes, "with the hope that problem gambling will be seen as an issue that deserves attention in health and addiction education."According to Jeffrey Marotta, Oregon Problem Gambling Services Manager, "This year's pool of poster entries was outstanding. There were several creative and impactful posters from which to choose." Marotta was impressed with the timeliness and impact of this year's first place poster, based upon the popular Texas Hold'em poker game. "The winning poster was fresh and poignant. Combining an image of a poker hand and a withdrawn teenage girl it sent the message that gambling isn't fun for everyone. The ambiguity of this split image creates pause for thought . . . is the teenage girl struggling to cope with her own gambling problem or that of a friend or possibly a parent?" Texas Hold'em style poker has become a highly popular game in the last two years, and according to Hynes, even most middle students have seen or heard about poker or other gambling shows on TV. While the majority of people who engage in occasional gambling do not have a problem, card-type games among friends may lead into future problem behavior. Hynes states many young students even know the names of Internet gambling sites, and have often played on these sites. "The problem won't develop overnight, so it's important for parents to talk with their kids about gambling, model realistic expectations about money, set limits with their own spending, and know the warning signs of a problem." Parents and others can get tips and more information at Lane County's problem gambling website, www.lanecounty.org/prevention/gambling.Though Gehrett herself does not know someone with a gambling problem, she offers where to get help. "To people who have or know someone who has a serious gambling problem...call the help line, 1.877.MY.LIMIT." |
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