HAZARD – Wolfe County High School has been named the 2009 UNITE High School Club of the Year for the Kentucky River region.

The UNITE Excellence Award was presented during the first of three regional Operation UNITE “Piercing the Darkness of Drugs” Youth Summits held Tuesday, Sept. 15, in Hazard.

Wolfe County High has had a UNITE Club since the 2006-07 school year.

The UNITE Club, sponsored by Debbie Harris and Lisa Burgess, is part of the Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) club, an example of how anti-drug efforts can be combined with an existing school organization to strengthen both.

With a membership of about 75 students, the Wolfe High club has conducted a number of activities focusing on safety.

One of the largest projects was a mock crash for both middle and high school students involving a number of emergency service providers, law enforcement agencies, the county coroner, churches and community members. The program was used for training by the Kentucky Department of Highways.

The students conducted “Speak Up” and “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) campaigns. These projects encouraged reporting of threats or weapons and to have others put at least three numbers in their cell phones that could be used to report of an emergency.

Club members also adopted a stretch of highway and actively work to keep it clean from litter.

To help keep students and community members informed about activities, the club created and maintains a website.