COSTA MESA : Boy’s Vision of Drugless California Wins Prize

“If I had one wish, it would be to have a drug-free California. I think if we could get rid of all the drugs, we would have less violence. A lot of kids are murdered due to drugs. There would probably be less gangs and drive-by shootings. Also, there would be less people robbing stores to get money to pay off drug dealers.”

So starts David Miller’s winning essay on a drug-free California.

David, 11, a sixth-grader at TeWinkle Middle School, wrote the essay for his language arts class as part of Red Ribbon Week.

He won a limousine ride to Coco’s, where he ate lunch free, a free night for three at the Balboa Inn on Newport Beach’s Balboa peninsula, and a free T-shirt from a surf shop there.

Second- and third-place finishers were Nick Doolittle and Louise Bhavnani, respectively, who also received gifts for their essays.

But it was Miller’s piece that stood out with the judges.

“If there were no drugs we could use the money to help the city,” David wrote. “We could plant trees in the parks and make playgrounds for kids to play on. With the money we’d save from drugs we could help the medical institutes by buying them new equipment to help stop the AIDS epidemic. If we could stop drugs, we would not need as many jails for people.”

Mary Ann Ehret, principal of the middle school, said she hopes the essays that students wrote during Red Ribbon Week will open children’s eyes to the dangers of drug abuse.

“I think there is a heightened visibility,” she said. “The kids are really thinking when they have to make these kinds of choices.”

As for David, it was no big deal. He said he writes well when there is something he cares about.