T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Brynna Jennewein of Barnesville, a student at Union Local High School and member of the Belmont County Staying Clean drug-free club, shows a car Saturday at the Belmont County Schools Staying Clean Car, Bike and Truck Show.

By ROBERT A. DEFRANK

Times Leader Staff Writer

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Staying Clean drug-free club will have funds to keep helping students stay off drugs, thanks in large part to the fundraising efforts of the annual Belmont County Car Bike and Truck Staying Clean Show.

The event was held Saturday at the Ohio Valley Mall.

Funds raised go to paying for drug testing for club members, as well as toward rewards and a year-end picnic. The club is open to all public and private school students in seventh through 12th grades in Belmont County.

David Carter, probation officer for the juvenile court that runs the club, said about 200 cars were registered and on display, comparable to previous years.

“It’s a great turnout. We were a little bit nervous about the weather this morning, but we went ahead with it,” he said. “There’s a lot of people here right now, so we’re really happy about that – a lot of kids signing up for the club.”

Carter said so far the club has raised $35,083 this year, not including funds raised at the car show itself.

“We make a little bit, but not a lot, on the car show itself. It’s the wonderful sponsors up to this point that give us the money,” he said. “We’re definitely going to have the money to run the program this year. Maybe not all the extra, extra things we’ve done in years past, but we’re definitely going to have enough to give the picnic, do the testing days and have a speaker.”

This year, the visiting speaker will be Derek Clark, the “Rapping Dad,” whose presentation focuses on struggles with mental health trauma.

Carter said the car show has a wide range of vehicles.

“We’ve had a lot of new, first-time exhibitors here this year. I know there’s probably 15-20 kids that have cars here that are exhibitors,” Carter said. “We got the word out a little bit better, so I think we’ve got a lot more people to show up that didn’t always come to the show.”

Jim McCraw, chairman of the Classy Chassis Car Club that partners with the county to hold the event, agreed.

“We’re very proud to be part of this organization,” he said. “We’re really happy with the amount of people here. We couldn’t ask for a better turnout. It just keeps getting better and better every year.

“We’ve got a lot of different cars here that we haven’t had in the past. We’ve done some different advertisement this year, and it’s worked really well. The kids that are in the Staying Clean program club, their cars get to come in for free.”

He added the show has seen an increase in popularity over the years.

“It’s really becoming a good thing,” he said. “If we can keep one kid off of drugs, it’s worth the money.”

Student members of the drug-free club showed their cars and talked about their experiences with the club.

Brayden Locke of St. Clairsville, an 11th-grader at St. Clairsville High School, was showing his Buick Electra 225 from 1966. He has been a member of the club since seventh grade.

“I heard about it at school. We had a resource officer who talked about it,” he said. “I think it’s a good idea to keep kids clean.”

Locke said people he knows have had bad experiences with drugs.

“I’ve never tried anything. I’ve always been clean.”

He recommends the drug-free club for other students.

“The club’s a great thing,” he said.

The car show is another point of excitement for him. Locke added he has long been a car enthusiast.

“My grandfather is a car guy, and he’s taken me to car shows since I was probably 2 years old,” he said. “I’m in love with the old land yachts. It’s a big barge. I like the big cars. I went to the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival and the car was there, under a cover. This guy asked me to take the car cover off for him. … He told me to look at the registration. It had my name on it. It was my birthday surprise last year.”

He also showed a Jeep Wrangler. Locke is saving up for a 1966 Ford Galaxy.

Brynna Jennewein of Barnesville, a senior at Union Local High School, has been a club member since the seventh grade.

“There’s just a lot of good opportunities and it looks good on (a resume). I stayed in it just because we do a lot of fun stuff like field trips, and it’s a really good group to be in,” she said.

She said she learned about the reality of drug use from her father, sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Jennewein.

“My dad, he’s always been in the sheriff’s office, just listening to stories and him talking about these people that come in on drugs, what they have to deal with. It’s not something I think anybody should do,” she said.

She was showing her 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle.

“I’ve had it for three years,” she said. “My mom, she has a 1969 convertible Volkswagen Beetle, and that was her first car when she was younger, so I was thinking I should have a Volkswagen for my first car as well, and I’ve always been into old cars, too. I like the looks of them. They’re sweet.”

Jennewein attends car shows and looks forward to adding more Volkswagens to her collection in the future.

“They’re not very fast, but they’re fun to trot around in.”

The event is going strong after the departure of some of its founding members; John McFarland has retired as Martins Ferry police chief, Frank Fregiato has retired as common pleas court judge, and Cynthia Fregiato has retired as clerk of courts.

Terry Holstein of Morristown, a frequent attendee of the car shows, said the show is a quality one. He recalled Fregiato’s work with area schools and outreach to students.

“He used to bring his court proceedings down to the school auditorium and have a session of court in there so all the juniors and seniors could come and watch. I think he showed some of those kids that really needed some guidance what the consequences were if they didn’t behave themselves. Excellent man.”