Thirteen Seminole County students' drug-free posters were selected this week for display in the 2007 Drug-Free Calendar. Grand Prize Winner in the poster contest was Stephen Gibbs, Rock Lake Middle School. The winning pieces of art were selected from more than 2,263 posters submitted by area fifth- through eighth-grade students.

The grand prize winner in the accompanying Drug-Free Essay Contest was Kaitlyn Kersten, also from Rock Lake Middle School. There were 13 essay winners.

The posters will highlight 25,000 full-color calendars which will be distributed to all students in grades 5 through 8 before the winter break. The winners of the poster contest will be recognized at an awards ceremony held in their honor later this fall.

The grand prize winner’s poster will appear on the cover of the 2007 Drug-Free Calendar, with each additional winning poster gracing a month on the pages inside. The winning essay, "Choices," will also be published in the calendar. The production is paid for with money recovered during drug arrests.

The judges, a panel of six community leaders, selected first-, second-, and third-place winners from each of the four grades, plus the grand-prize winner and the winning essay.

The project is a cooperative one, headed by State Attorney Norm Wolfinger and Seminole Sheriff Don Eslinger, joined by the Seminole County School District, Board of County Commissioners and a number of additional community agencies.

Thirty-four area schools, both public and private, participated in the project.

"This contest is part of one of the most important roles we serve—preventing crime. We attack drug problems on a number of fronts, but prevention is key to the effort. Activities like these ultimately help protect our citizenry and our youth. It warms my heart to walk these hallways and see all of these bright colors and sincere messages on these posters. We have a great future ahead of us,'' said State Attorney Wolfinger.

Sheriff Eslinger and State Attorney Wolfinger praised area teachers for their participation and support of the program.

Judges included Delores Lash, Jim Lash Blue Book Cars; Dave Medley, Seminole County Community Services; Gene Grace, Seminole County School Board; Seminole School Board Member Dede Schaffner; Sheriff Eslinger; and State Attorney Wolfinger.