Published: April 17, 2008 08:09 am      

Parents, businesses work to keep prom night safe

For the 15th year, parents and businesses throughout Woodward are working to provide a fun, safe setting for students on prom night - or actually the next morning.

Woodward High School’s prom is April 26 and will end around midnight. The fun continues starting at 12:30 a.m. on April 27 at the Woodward County Fairgrounds.

Woodward’s 15th After-Prom Party, themed “Coney Island Carnival,” will go from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m., said Mardena Murray, who is chairing the committee.

Murray and other organizers point out the party is designed to provide and drug and alcohol free environment for “post prom fun and entertainment.”

Murray says the community has stepped forward with donations for the party.

“We’re doing great on fundraising,” she said. “The community has been very generous as usual and we have a lot of cash and prizes for the kids that night.

“We’re working with the sheriff and police. They’re there to kind of monitor things. We’ve really got a good thing going and we want to keep it going.”

While fundraising has been strong, Murray said there is always a need for food and water, and a need for more volunteers.

“We’ll take any parent volunteers, juniors, seniors, sophomores, we’re happy to have any parents that want to volunteer,” she said.

Organizers expect between 350 and 400 students to attend the party and point out that in order to be at the party you have to attend the prom.

Students will need a photo ID to gain admittance and the prom guest must be registered with the high school.

Murray said the doors will be locked at 1:30 a.m. and stay that way until 5 a.m.

“The only way a student can leave is by making direct phone contact with parents,” Murray said. “We’ll have adult chaperones who will make the phone call to the parent and they will only use the number provided by Woodward High School, so we’re encouraging parents to make sure their phone numbers are correct at the high school.”

Students going to the party will have a choice of non-stop activity, from the popular giant inflatable toys like bungee runs, obstacle course and others, some Vegas type games, midway games and pool, ping pong, dart tournaments and others.

There will also be a store where students can spend “Boomer Bucks” they earn through the evening to shop for prizes. Organizers said everyone will get the chance to shop.

Murray said all the students will receive a free t-shirt and at 4:30 a.m., they will start giving away the big prizes.

Murray, who said this is her third and last year as chair of the committee, praised the community for its support.

“A lot of communities don’t have any kind of support for this type of event,” she said. “This is the 15th year for Woodward’s After Prom Party and that says a lot about the tradition of this community really caring about its kids and what they’re doing on prom night.”

If you’re interested in participating or donating in some fashion, contact Woodward After Prom Party, P. O. Box 2431, Woodward OK 73802. Or you can call 580-334-5932.