Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:45 am

The 2010 Tar Wars winners for Cannon County are in. The six winners are Samantha Gaither from Auburn School, Tommy Mathis from East Side School, Dalton Morris from Woodbury Grammar School, Shianne Ashford from Short Mountain School, Preston Campbell from West Side School, and Jacob Clark from Woodland School.

Tar Wars is a national anti-tobacco campaign sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Tar Wars began in 1988 and reaches approximately 500,000 students annually.

The mission of Tar Wars is to teach students about being tobacco-free, provide correct information so they can make positive health decisions, and promote personal responsibility for their well-being.

Approximately 2% of elementary students, 25% of high school students and 20% of adults use a tobacco product. If a person smokes one pack of cigarettes a day at approximately $4 per day, he or she will spend $28 a week, $112 a month and $1456 a year. If a person smokes for fifty years, he or she will spend $73,000 in this life time.

All local 4th and 5th graders had the opportunity to hear the Tar Wars presentation and participate in the poster competition.

Each elementary school chose one poster winner. The local poster winner received prize money and their poster has gone on to the state competition in Nashville which will be held March 7th. The state winners receive a trip to Washington,  D.C. and participation in the national competition. The national winner receives a trip to Walt Disney World or $3000.

The local contest was sponsored by the Woodbury Medical Center.

Auburn School: Teacher Melinda Crook and Student Samantha Gaither


East Side: Teacher Karen Wimberley and Student Tommy Davis


Short Mountain: Teacher Brad Underwood and Student Shianne Ashford


Woodland: Teacher Carla Parker and Student Jacob Clark


Woodbury Grammar School: Teacher Beth Mathis and Student Dalton Morris


West Side: Teacher Leigh King and Student Preston Campbell