Teri Vance: Race to raise money for Carson City sober grad

John Dodge attended Carson High School’s Safe Grad party when he graduated in 1991.

Now, he’s working to make sure other seniors get the same opportunity.

“It keeps them safe after they graduate,” he said. “It keeps them from making the kind of mistakes that could be fatal.”

He’s organizing the annual Safe & Sober 5K, a fundraiser for the Safe Grad party, to be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6.

In its sixth year, the race serves as the principal fundraiser for the graduation party, which started in 1988.

“Since its inception we haven’t had an alcohol- or drug-related death on graduation night,” he said.

Seniors are given the option to go to the Safe Grad celebration, a night of activities in the Carson City Community Center and nearby Carson Aquatic Facility at Mills Park. The next day, the participating graduates ride buses to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and amusement park in Vallejo, Calif.

The race course will start and finish on the high school track. The course is a 1.6-mile loop that traverses the high school grounds. The loop will be completed twice. Awards will be presented to the overall top male and female finishers, and the top finisher under 18.

Participants can register at www.race360.com or mail in the form and check payable to: Carson High Safe Grad Booster, P.O. Box 486, Carson City 89702. Registration fee is $30, and $20 for youth 18 and younger. Early registration includes a T-shirt. Payment on race day will be an additional $5.

Late registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Check in at 9 a.m. The races begins at 10.

For more information or for registration forms, go to www.carsonhighsafegrad.com.