Hanna Visits Middle School To Promote Alcohol Avoidance

Rome, NY (WIBX) - Congressman Richard Hanna was at Strough Middle School in Rome this morning, urging kids to say no to underage drinking.

As part of the "Ask, Listen, Learn" program, Hanna spoke about the benefits of being healthy and avoiding alcohol. He also delivered the message of making positive choices.

"At the end of the day, we're all about the decisions we make," Hanna said. "We are the sum total of the decisions we make throughout our lives, and they have the choice to have a great life if they want to."

Students also took part in an interactive game focusing on making positive choices and staying healthy.

And many took the messages to heart. Helena, a seventh grader at Strough, said that underage drinking is more than just a bad decision for teenagers.

"It destroys your body," Helena said. "You don't feel it until the next day, after you're done. You don't really realize it when you're actually drinking."

Shannon Adams, with The Century Council, said "Ask, Listen, Learn" helps introduce better choices to students in every school she visits.

"We wanted to bring the kids the message today," Adams said. "We wanted to encourage them to say 'yes' to a healthy lifestyle and 'no' to underage drinking. that's what this is all about. Simple as that."

The "Ask, Listen, Learn" program is presented by The Century Council, a group founded in 1991 by distillers, to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking.