By David Esteppe
The Lewisburg Police Department is sponsoring the 6th Annual DARE to Cruz Car Show downtown on Washington Street. The event will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The show is open to all vehicles including antique, classic, muscle, street rods and trucks. Foreign cars and motorcycles are also eligible for entry. The entry fee is $10 and there will be specialty awards, T-shirts and door prizes.
Registration will begin at 8 a.m. on the day of the event; however pre-registration is recommended. For more information about the car show, you may reach LPD Chief Tim Stover at 304-645-1626/304-645-2136 or Jim Williams at 304-647-3446. The event website is www.daretocruz.org.
This year the streets will be closed from Rt. 219 to Church Street, with an expected 150-200 entries showing. The specialty awards include a Mayor’s Choice, DARE Officer Choice, LPD Choice and Merchants’ Choice. There are also three memorial awards in honor of Josh Massie, Doug Massie and Rick Skaggs. Chief Stover says, “There is no special criteria for winning an award. They will simply be awarded as a matter of choice.”
The current DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program officer Jeremy Dove hopes to raise money from the show’s entry fees, donations onsite, and also by mail to the Lewisburg Police Department, 119 Preston Blvd, Lewisburg, WV 24901. Past year’s events have raised between $1,800 and $2,500. All proceeds go to the Greenbrier County DARE programs taught at the elementary schools.
Some highlights to this year include special guest Robert Bennett from Grand Furniture and his Dukes of Hazard’s General Lee and Boss Hogg’s Cadillac. In keeping with the car theme, Jim’s Drive In will be vending the event.
DARE is an international educating program. Founded in 1983, the program is a demand-side control strategy in the war on drugs. Students who enter the program sign a pledge not to use drugs. Local police officers teach youth about the dangers of drug use in an interactive in-school curriculum. The officers have special training in child development, classroom management, teaching techniques and communication skills.
