SPARKS – Ten years ago, when Kelli Blincoe was in college and making preparations to get married, her future stepson asked her if he could have a graduation party at her house where his friends could drink and be safe. She said yes but soon regretted it, not because anything took a turn for the worse, but because of what could have happened.

“All it takes is that one kid to make a bad choice,” Blincoe said.

Since then, she had been formulating ideas for a video that would reach outgoing graduates about the consequences of drinking and driving on a night meant to be a rite of passage into adulthood. This year, she finally wrote, directed and produced that video focusing on that aspect of hosting a drinking party at home.

To kick off this week’s series of high school graduations within Washoe County and to drive home the point that drinking and driving is dangerous, Blincoe, Join Together Northern Nevada and a group of teens have collaborated on a DVD project called “Grad Party,” which shows the consequences of teen partying that involves alcohol.

“I realized how lucky I got,” Blincoe said, reflecting on the night of the party. “I have a lot of friends personally who have kids who are graduating and they’re choosing to have parties. This will be my way to encourage them to make better choices and really utilize the fun event we have with Safe and Sober Night.”

Safe and Sober provides an alternative to drinking and driving for seniors. Some schools will hold a fun night in a controlled environment. The evening has a theme and the graduates can try their hand on climbing walls or play games, all under the condition that they can’t leave the premises until the next day.

“Parents can sleep that night knowing safety is number one,” Blincoe said.

The Washoe County Safe and Sober Foundation receives donations from various community organizations to fund the events at the district’s 10 public high schools. Most recently, it received a share of $125,000 for the 2010 Community Partnership Grants offered by the Community Foundation of Western Nevada. Sparks and Reed high schools also received contributions from the Sparks Rotary Club.

The money is dedicated toward providing overnight events at the school sites, but not all teens are interested in participating events on campus, so they make alternative plans, which might involve parties in their parents’ home.

Depicting that concept, the DVD tells the story of a mother and a daughter, a high school senior, talking about her plans for graduation. She tells her mother she wants to have a party for her friends at their home. Reluctantly, the mother says she’ll allow it and restricts the teens’ substance use to beer only.

On graduation night, the teens are shown arriving at the house as the mom collects the young drivers’ keys and they continue to party. One boy who arrives with another male friend keeps his keys and he’s shown later walking tipsy throughout the house. As everyone else sleeps on the couch and on the floor, he and his friend leave the house drunk.

The DVD implies the two friends were in a car accident and the Sparks Fire Department responds. Later in a hospital scene, both boys die and the mom is arrested as she’s held responsible for allowing the teens to drink.

“We want to encourage parents to choose a Safe and Sober Night for their kids,” said Katherine Loudon, coordinator of the district’s Safe and Drug Free program. “It’s kind of a funny feeling that your child is 18 years old and graduating, but you’re still a parent and still have an influence on what they decide to do that night.”

Blincoe enlisted the help of Join Together Northern Nevada and it took place in Blincoe’s house. The stars were teens from local high schools.

“Thirty-three kids gave up a weekend to volunteer and they were phenomenal,” said Blincoe, a special projects consultant for the Washoe County School District. “I think this really will touch a lot of people. It’s geared toward parents and students. … For every year (teens) abstain from drug and alcohol, it adds a 15 to 20 percent chance that they won’t become addicted to anything.”

Loudon said the high schools will have viewed the DVD at some point this week prior to their graduation ceremonies.

“There’s a feeling you get as you’re launching seniors off as administrators and teachers,” Loudon said. “You’re happy but kind of sad. You want to make sure they remember all the things we talked about and stay safe and make all the right choices.”

Blincoe said looking back on her stepson’s party, she would have taken different steps had she known better.

“Nobody got in trouble and nobody got hurt,” she said. “They were careful … but so many years of my life would have been completely different if one kid had gotten hurt at that party. And I never would have had this opportunity (to make this video).”

Blincoe also helped to produce a video, along with the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology, on prescription drugs shown earlier in the spring to address a serious community issue of teens who can easily access the use of or abuse pills prescribed to them or others.

Blincoe said the messaging through video is an effective form of reaching out to the students.

“It’s really important, if you’re going to do a DVD, that you have speak to the persons you’re trying to affect,” she said. “That’s why I always have kids involved. They know how real this is. Even though this is my story and I wrote it, the kids had input. What was interesting was they wanted the party scene to go overboard. I didn’t want to show the teens being totally stupid. That doesn’t happen all the time.”