AND THEY'RE OFF! -- Students at Sally D. Meadows Elementary School in Vidalia participate in the Annual Red Ribbon Parade to encourage remaining drug-free.

The entire student body and most faculty members of Sally D. Meadows Elementary School put their books and papers aside Wednesday morning and paraded through the neighborhood in a declaration to stay drug-free. In all, nearly 700 students, most dressed in red in honor of the event, paraded through several blocks in the school neighborhood with their escorts.

The annual Red Ribbon Parade, coordinated and led by the Vidalia Police Department, was held Wednesday with a theme of “Drug Free Looks Like Me.”  Cpl. Dwayne Carpenter is the School Resource Officer and D.A.R.E. instructor in the Vidalia city School System.

“I think this is very important,” Cpl. Carpenter said. “It shows the students that the community is behind them in an attempt to stay off drugs, prevent bullying, and becoming involved in gang activity.”

In addition to the students and police, participating in the parade were City Officials, the VHS Soundtribe percussionists and auxiliary, and the Vidalia Fire Department. The parade was led by Daren, the D.A.R.E. Lions mascot.