Chilton County High School teachers and administrators want students to have fun on Prom Night.

They don’t want the night to include drinking and driving, drugs or other dangerous decisions.

A program Thursday at CCHS encouraged students to think about the choices they make Prom Night and discussed the serious consequences if students do make bad decisions.

“They think it can’t happen to me,” said Anmol Ahuja, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) president. “But it can happen and does.”

SADD sponsor Zina Cartwell said the goal of Thursday’s program was to save lives.

“We want to give them something to think about, and know they can have a good time without any kind of substance,” said Cartwell, who also works as a prevention coordinator with Chilton/Shelby Mental Health. “We want everyone who goes to prom Friday night to come back Monday.”

Chilton County Sheriff Kevin Davis talked about the state being ranked 12th in the nation in alcohol-related deaths and his department’s zero tolerance for drunk drivers.

Of the 3,549 people booked into the Chilton County Jail last year, a large number of those arrests were for drugs and alcohol, Davis said.

The sheriff told students he has never drunk any alcohol or used any drugs in his life.

“And I don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything,” Davis said.

Chilton County Coroner Randy Yeargan presented a slideshow of car accidents caused by drinking and drug use.

Yeargan ended his remarks with a story of personal tragedy — his first cousin died several years ago on Airport Road driving back from prom.

“It changed my life. It changed my family’s life,” Yeargan said.