T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK ABOVE: Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato, from left, Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Al Davies, intensive substance-abuse probation Officer David Carter, and Jim McCraw, president of the Classy Chassis Car Club, discuss on Friday an upcoming September car show to raise funds for student drug-free programs. The fundraiser is expanding to benefit home school students.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A community event that aims to help keep children off drugs is expanding in scope.

Beginning this year, funds raised by the Belmont County Staying Clean Car, Bike, and Truck Show Festival will also go toward homeschooled children.

“We’re preparing for the 2020 car show to support the drug-free concept of all grade school and high school children in Belmont County,” organizer Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato said. “Our goal is to so inundate, so saturate the young child’s mind with the drug-free concept that by the time he or she reaches the age of seventh grade, eighth grade, freshman or high school, he or she has no decision to be made.”

The Belmont County Staying Clean Club initially involved outreach and programs for public schools. It has since expanded to private schools.

“We are extraordinarily proud to announce today we are expanding our concept to include homeschoolers,” Fregiato said Friday. “We’re pleased to join forces with the juvenile court here at Belmont County, Ohio, to spread the drug-free concept.”

The program includes classes for grade school pupils. Fregiato added that the public and community support for the event and the program has been overwhelming.

“We think it’s working,” he said, citing letters of thanks received from elementary school children. High school participants also receive rewards such as gift cards, in-school parties and an end-of-the-year picnic. “I know we are all obsessed — and rightly so — with the concept of drugs in Belmont County, but to see what’s happening with the youth in Belmont County … it’s great.”

Juvenile and Probate Judge Al Davies said the juvenile court is always looking for ways to expand the club.

“This gives us an opportunity to do that, by including homeschoolers who are now going to be eligible to participate,” Davies said. “We have approximately 100 kids that are homeschooled in Belmont County. We currently have three homeschoolers that are participating in Belmont County Schools Staying Clean. We hope to grow that number and provide these students the opportunity to take advantage of all the incentives and all the educational opportunities that come along.”

Davies said there are more than 1,500 middle school and high school student members of Staying Clean.

“And every year that number increases,” he said.

“We are not seeing the number of filings of drug offenses in juvenile court like we have in years past,” he added. “Schools Staying Clean in conjunction with other programs we offer … is definitely having an effect. We’re very thankful for the Classy Chassis Car Club and this fundraiser that they put on for us.”

Davies did not have numbers on hand to chart the decline in offenses, but he said he was able to discontinue his juvenile drug court for lack of need.

“At one time, the drug problem of juveniles was so pervasive that we actually had a juvenile drug court,” he said. “Each year, it’s been decreasing.”

Davies said participation in the club provides tools to help students make good decisions, as well as an excuse to turn down offers of drugs.

“Kids are under a tremendous amount of peer pressure from other individuals that are engaging in drug use or abuse of alcohol, and it can be hard for certain kids to say ‘no’ and resist that peer pressure,” Davies said. He added that homeschoolers may not be subject to the same peer pressure as public or private school students. “They still see what’s going on in society … and they may, in fact, have someone in their family who’s dealing with a drug situation.”

“A lot of this would not be happening without the Classy Chassis Car Club,” Fregiato said.

“They’re our No. 1 source of revenue,” Davies said.

“The car club’s excited about being part of this event. It’s a great event, and we look forward to it every year,” Jim McCraw, president of Classy Chassis Car Club, said. He said word is circulating among car enthusiasts. “The car show it’s growing. It’s a great event.”

Fregiato said the amount of funds raised has increased every year since the show’s inception in 2017. He said the 2020 car show mostly likely will not equal 2019’s fundraising total of close to $70,000, since that year the program also received a special donation of nearly $40,000 from a Rotary Club raffle ticket fundraiser for a Jeep from Thomas Garage Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM dealership. However, contributions as of January are already more than $13,000 and increasing.

The car show is held in September at the Ohio Valley Mall.

For more information, contact the juvenile court probation office at 740-695-2121. Parents or guardians of homeschoolers can also sign up at the car show.