Puxico, MO - Puxico Elementary will celebrate Red Ribbon Week October 26th - 30th.

Monday - Pajama Pants Day - "Be Calm & Put Drugs to Bed"

Tuesday - Twin Day - "Don't Let Drugs Be your Other Half"

Wednesday - Movie or Book Character Day - "Follow Their Lead & Be Drug Free"

Thursday - Disney Day - "All Your Dream Come True if We Have the Courage to Pursue Them"

Friday - Costume Day/Orange and Black Day - "Doing Drugs Will Haunt You for Life!"

"The Red Ribbon Campaign is the largest drug-abuse prevention campaign in the United States. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.

Enrique (Kiki) Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. When he decided to join the US Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out of it. "I'm only one person", he told her, "but I want to make a difference."

On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found. He had been tortured to death.

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon."