Kevin Bartsch is the son of Marion Bartsch of Harvey and the late Victor Bartsch, who lived south of Esmond. David Reierson is the son of Gene and Janice Reierson of Esmond. The late Tiffany Johnson is the daughter of Mark and Sherri Johnson of Casselton. Her grandparents are Lois Johnson of Maddock and the late Merwyn Johnson and Irving Olson of Mandan and the late Isie Olson, who lived south of Harlow.

BY TIM MORRISSEY

Cass County Reporter

(Casselton, ND)

Ryan Bartsch’s death should not be in vain.

That’s the belief his mother Paula carries with her from day to day, and it fuels her energy.

On August 19, 16-year-old Ryan died from injuries he suffered as a passenger in a car accident a week earlier. His death was the second auto-related fatality in as many months in the city of Casselton, and the reflection of what has become in many eyes an epidemic for Ryan’s age group nationwide.

Although the pain brings her to tears on a daily basis, Paula Bartsch has had little time to grieve the loss of her son. Her daily energy is fueled by anger, and the belief that something must be done on a large scale in North Dakota to reduce the number of auto-related deaths among the area’s young people.

Nationally, North Dakota statistics are among the worst -- a cocktail for disaster with the current driving laws. The state ranks 10th in automobile deaths involving a teenager. It leads the nation with the youngest driver permit eligibility age of 14. And it also leads the nation in underage drinking, and alcohol-related fatalities.

Those numbers don’t reflect well on young drivers in rural Cass. Just in the last four years before Ryan’s death, three other students from Cass County have perished, each in a separate automobile accident.

Paula and Kevin Bartsch haven’t identified yet how they’ll turn their energy into something positive. Both admit that it’s easy to look at the driving age, and the lack of restrictions on passengers and cell phone usage as easy targets

-- until the reality hits that those are all very large targets, and all involve the sometimes seemingly deaf ears of the state legislature.

"Who do you contact?" said Kevin. "How many battles do you fight?"

Pooling the resources of other parents who share the same concerns as the Bartschs may be the answer, he believes. "We’re not going to change the world, but if we can save one or two lives, it’s worth it."

Even after the family’s loss, Paula still beams when she talks about Ryan. She wears his class ring on her left hand, and occasionally puts on his T-shirts. Ryan’s room is essentially the way he left it on August 16, with half-finished pop and energy drinks near his Xbox video game console. In the basement, a near life-sized vinyl poster stands next to Kevin’s sitting chair, a testament to the son who also loved hunting. The energy of Ryan is still in the house, and Paula admits that she can sense it on a daily basis.

"I thought I saw him at the foot of the bed the other day, and it scared the hell out of me," she said with a smile. "I can feel it -- he’s in a comfortable place."

"Ryan is our driving force," she continued. "He’s the driving force for us to make a difference."

Classmates Nick Voss and Matt Peterson, both 16, were good friends of Ryan’s at Central Cass. They remember their buddy as a guy who wasn’t really all that bothered that most of his friends already had a driver’s license. "He really didn’t think of it as a problem," said Peterson.

Voss said that some of the proposed changes to teenage driving laws would be a good idea, others not so good. "People at our school wouldn’t like the cell phone proposal, but I agree with the passenger [restriction,]" he said. "My parents talk about that all the time. At nighttime, I drive by myself."

Both Voss and Peterson admit they have classmates whose behavior in the car makes them nervous.

"You’re just not in control," Voss said. "I have some friends I won’t even take with me."

Twelve-year-olds Sheyenne Weber, Sadie Farquhar, and Julia Kensok are all 7th grade classmates of Ryan’s younger sister, Paige. Each of them less than two years away from becoming driver permit eligible, those three girls have begun to shape their own opinions about youth and automobile safety in the wake of the tragedy.

"I wouldn’t like that," said Weber, after being asked if increasing the driver’s license eligibility age would make a difference. "But if I were an adult, I wouldn’t want those young drivers out there. It depends on who you are."

Farquhar said the issue isn’t just about driving, but about passenger responsibility. "It’s about not getting into the car with others who go fast, or anyone you’re not comfortable with."

All three said that as seventh graders, they already could identify which classmates may become risky drivers, based on their exhibited behavior. "Some of them are way too hyper," said Farquhar.

"And some are just not very focused," added Kensok.

"At times, it all makes me afraid of even traveling in a car," said Weber.

Paul Conlin is the executive director of Cars and Kids, Inc., a Fargo-based non-profit which is attempting to tackle youth driver issues by the ankles. Its mission is to help bring parents and their teenagers together in a learning environment to talk about today’s traffic safety issues. Featured speakers include MADD/SADD chapter representatives, Cahill Law Firm, Dawson Insurance Agency, and the Fargo Police Department. Legal professionals also present information during the programs to help families protect themselves legally and financially in the event of an accident or other moving violation.

The format of all presentations is intended to be completely neutral.

Conlin embarked on his mission to educate while a stay-at-home dad in north Fargo. Rerouted traffic through his neighborhood near the El Zagal Temple building on Elm Street caused Conlin to notice an increase in the average speed of young drivers passing by his house. He came to the realization that if he wanted something done to protect his two young children, he should do it himself. Now

-- three years later -- the Cars for Kids organization is Conlin’s full-time job, and it is funded entirely on grants and corporate sponsorship. The organization holds bi-monthly educational seminars for parents and teens in Fargo, and Conlin takes his mission on the road

-- to audiences in schools and other venues throughout the region. The presentations are meant for both teens and their parents, together.

Conlin gets through to his audience using a variety of resources, including testimony. One of his regular speakers is David Reierson, who was blinded 12 years ago because of a car accident.

Reierson -- just by coincidence -- is a cousin of the Bartsch family.

On occasion, Conlin will use more graphic subject matter, such as photographs from an accident scene. But he doesn’t rely heavily on scare tactics. "There’s so much different evidence when it comes to that method," he said. "But kids do need to see reality for what it is. They spend so much time immersed in non-reality things. And you can’t stop wanting to show them the reality. It’s scary going through this stuff -- it’s scary how it would be if they were no longer there."

Cars and Kids presentations also dish out a healthy dose of statistics. "The statistics tell parents that if their teen gets a ticket [for a moving violation], their teen has just entered a driver category with a forty-two percent fatality rate," he explained. "If you knew that your teen had just jumped into that fatality rate, what would you do? It’s clear-cut. We’re empowering parents to get to the issues. That’s why we’re successful."

Conlin doesn’t believe the answer to the epidemic lies in the halls of Congress. He believes the answer is within the parent-child relationship and better education programs.

"I’m not one to debate legislation," said Conlin, a 45-year-old father of two. "That dictates so much of what we can accomplish."

Conlin said that enacting cell phone legislation for young drivers isn’t a viable option, because it isn’t enforceable. "There’s not one law enforcement officer who can [consistently] differentiate between a 16- and a 30-year-old driver," he said. "I don’t believe that taking that freedom away will solve anything. What we have to do is make a more concerted effort about consequences. In their education from day one, these kids need to see what the consequences are of their actions. I’m tired of kid-bashing. It’s our responsibility as parents to be better educators."

Conlin credits his personal faith in helping grow the Cars and Kids, Inc. program. One of the organization’s new efforts is a Christian-based support group, which meets on a bi-monthly basis.

"Right now, in the two and a half to three years of Cars and Kids, I have so many families affected by this issue who have nowhere to go,"

he said. "They need to find a place, and find healing."

Reaching out to spread awareness of the teen driving issue, Conlin has created the "Teen Traffic Safety Ad Challenge," a campaign and competition that will publicize the dangers teens face as young drivers today. "The message that resonates most with them I believe will come from them," he said.

(The two campaigns that deliver the strongest message will win their young creators a car.

Conlin said he is seeking businesses that will sponsor teens to compete.) Having recently met with the state highway patrol, Conlin is hoping to turn the winning Cars and Kids advertisements into a state or national campaign. "I want a traffic safety message that comes from kids, not from some 45-year-old father of two," he remarked.

"We do have the ability and resources to make a difference."

Both Conlin and the Bartschs believe that a change in the numbers of accidents involving young people is achievable in the near future.

And while neither wants to take on the state’s driving laws alone, they believe that an increase of advocacy will help. Both do feel that the funding for such can come from other funding already within the state budgets. As an example, Conlin posed the question why DUI penalty revenue is directed toward enforcement.

"We need a fund where it goes toward prevention programs," he remarked. "It should not be a revenue stream for the state. And these [DUI offenders] need to be paying for prevention programs."

Paula Bartsch believes that the driver’s education program in North Dakota does need an overhaul. "We need to incorporate more time behind the wheel for these kids," she said.

"Alcohol and meth get a lot of attention in this state -- but driving and teen deaths should be just as important."

Parents Paula and Kevin Bartsch, center, are moving forward to raise awareness of the dangers facing teen drivers, following the death of their 16-year-old son, Ryan. Slowly finding a path to make a difference, they and their daughter Paige,

12 (bottom right), have relied on the support and ears of family and friends to help them cope.

Ryan’s classmates Matt Peterson (top left) and Nick Voss have become part of that support.

(Photo by Tim Morrissey, Cass County Reporter)

Paul Conlin, founder of Cars and Kids, Inc., (pictured here with his son, Dexter) is a man on a mission.

M-L 25 25

Stephen-Argyle 21 23

M-L: kills - Jordan Callahan 4, Alyssa Erickson 4, Bobbi Grann 2, Alisha Strand 2, Katrece Thompson 1, Amber Bracken 1, Denage Braaten 1; aces - Thompson 1, Grann 1, Callahan 1, Erickson 1; assists - Thompson 7, Erickson 2; digs - Callahan 5, Strand 5, Thompson 4, Bracken 4, Braaten 4, Grann 3, Nicole Herman 2, Erickson 2.

S-A: no stats available.

M-L 25 25

Midway 14 7

M-L: kills - Callahan 5, Grann 3, Thompson 2, Braaten 2, Erickson 2, Herman 1, Bracken 1, Strand 1; aces - Erickson 6, Strand 2, Callahan 1; assists - Thompson 10, Callahan 1, Bracken 1, Strand 1, Erickson 1; digs - Thompson 8, Bracken 8, Callahan 5, Strand 4, Braaten 2, Herman 1, Grann 1.

Midway: no stats available.

M-L 23 25 9

Grafton 25 22 15

M-L: kills - Bracken 6, Braaten 6, Grann 4, Erickson 4, Thompson 2, Callahan 2; aces - Braaten 3; assists - Thompson 14, Braaten 2, Erickson 2, Strand 1; digs - Bracken 14, Callahan 12, Thompson 6, Braaten 5, Grann 4, Herman 1, Strand 1.

Grafton: no stats available.

M-L 27 19 15

Thompson 25 25 9

M-L: kills - Bracken 7, Strand 4, Braaten 4, Erickson 4, Grann 3; aces - Erickson 3, Grann 2, Callahan 1, Strand 1, Braaten 1; assists - Thompson 17, Erickson 1; digs - Bracken 10, Callahan 9, Grann 6, Herman 4, Strand 4, Braaten 4, Thompson 2, Erickson 1.

Thompson: no stats available.

M-L 25 25

Wells County 17 12

M-L: kills - Bracken 4, Grann 3, Callahan 3, Erickson 3, Strand 2, Herman 1, Thompson 1; aces

- Grann 2, Herman 1, Thompson 1, Callahan 1, Strand 1; assists - Thompson 10, Callahan 1, Bracken 1, Strand 1; digs - Bracken 7, Thompson 6, Braaten 6, Grann 2, Callahan 2, Strand 2, Herman 1, Erickson 1.

WC: kills - Cheyenne Unterseher 6, Misty Rappuhn 2, Kayla Houchin 1; aces - Houchin 1, Sam Maxwell 1, Unterseher 1; assists - Houchin 4, July Erfle 2, Savannah Jones 1, Maxwell 1; digs - Amy Klindworth 11, Rappuhn 10, Unterseher 2, Maxwell 2, Houchin 1, Jones 1.