The students, including MHS junior Evan Blanke, in the Rockwood school district had the opportunity to attend a music performance and presentation on heroin use at Crestview Middle School in the late afternoon.  

The show started off with a drum performance by Jeff Mozingo, local musician and owner of the St. Louis music store chain Mozingo Music. The performance spanned many genres of music and lasted for about a half hour.

Once Mozingo finished playing, he spoke briefly of how he chose a healthy addiction like music instead of an unhealthy addiction like heroin. He then introduced Joe Richardson who played for the Cincinnati Red Sox.

Richardson shared with the audience of about 300 people  that he had lost three kids from the little league team he coached to heroin. He introduced his presentation with an emotional anecdote, revealing that his son was one of the three kids that he had lost to heroin.  

“Heroin does not care about your circumstances,” Richardson said.

He encouraged kids to do other things beside drugs and to be careful whom they craft friendships with.

Outside the Crestview gym was a bedroom display for parents to see the creative places kids could be hiding illegal or controlled substances. The woman running the display who said the parents were big fans of it and that she felt that it really helps parents to check to make sure they’re not using or hiding illegal substances.

As a closing point Richardson said “don’t get curious about heroine, not even once.”