Pomona student takes to the air to highlight Red Ribbon Week
Author: Monica Rodriguez , Staff Writer
POMONA - Alexis Moreno had the attention of all her fellow students at Cortez Mathematics and Science Magnet School when she arrived on campus Thursday morning.
Alexis, a fifth grader at Cortez, drew attention because she got to school in a Pomona Police Department helicopter.
The trip was awarded to Alexis for being the winner in this year's police department-sponsored Red Ribbon Week poster contest, said Community Services Officer Brenda Sutherland.
Alexis earned first place among hundreds of fifth graders, which put her in the running for the top prize.
In her poster, Alexis depicted two brains, one healthy and another damaged from drugs and alcohol, along with the effects of using such substances.
Alexis' grandparents, Domingo and Guadalupe Perez, drove from their home in Los Angeles and took her to Brackett Field, where the flight began, said Violet Perez, Alexis' mother.
At first the idea of traveling in a helicopter "was a little scary because I'd never been in a flying vehicle," Alexis said.
But shortly after takeoff she began to enjoy the flight.
"I saw people and houses. The houses looked like dollhouses and the people looked like ants," Alexis said.
The trip ended with the helicopter landing in the school's field. Alexis was greeted there by the student body, her mom and her brother Adan Moreno, a first-grader at the school.
Alexis said the experience was pretty special.
"It was like the best day of my life and fun," she said.
Alexis, a fifth grader at Cortez, drew attention because she got to school in a Pomona Police Department helicopter.
The trip was awarded to Alexis for being the winner in this year's police department-sponsored Red Ribbon Week poster contest, said Community Services Officer Brenda Sutherland.
Alexis earned first place among hundreds of fifth graders, which put her in the running for the top prize.
In her poster, Alexis depicted two brains, one healthy and another damaged from drugs and alcohol, along with the effects of using such substances.
Alexis' grandparents, Domingo and Guadalupe Perez, drove from their home in Los Angeles and took her to Brackett Field, where the flight began, said Violet Perez, Alexis' mother.
At first the idea of traveling in a helicopter "was a little scary because I'd never been in a flying vehicle," Alexis said.
But shortly after takeoff she began to enjoy the flight.
"I saw people and houses. The houses looked like dollhouses and the people looked like ants," Alexis said.
The trip ended with the helicopter landing in the school's field. Alexis was greeted there by the student body, her mom and her brother Adan Moreno, a first-grader at the school.
Alexis said the experience was pretty special.
"It was like the best day of my life and fun," she said.
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