A group of Lisbon High Schoolers hope to make a difference.
LISBON – They braved bitter cold to convey a message. As temperatures plunged into the 30s Thursday night, approximately 25 students from Lisbon High School’s S.A.D.D. chapter filmed public service announcements on Capitol Avenue to help prevent poor choices made by young people.
S.A.D.D stands for Students Against Destructive Decisions.
“The basic thing is just to make positive decisions,” said Dominique Mathieu, a junior and president of the S.A.D.D. chapter. She spoke in hushed tones because nearby filmmakers from Mark Rowe Productions of Waterville shot a scene where Ryan Strout, a junior, got on bended knee and put a single red rose on his character’s dead girlfriend’s roadside memorial.
The scenario was Strout’s character and his girlfriend go to a party where the girl checks out another guy, Strout said. A fight ensues between boyfriend and girlfriend while driving home.
“I’m going really road-rageous,” Strout said of his character. Then Strout’s character pulls out to pass and hits another car head-on, killing the girlfriend in the process, he said.
“I hope they make a lot of difference,” Strout said of the public service announcements. “Decisions don’t only affect yourself but everyone else around you.”
Pauline Mathieu and police Detective Bernie McAllister serve as co-advisers for the high school’s S.A.D.D. chapter.
A few months back, the chapter got a $2,600 grant from the state Bureau of Highway Safety to film six 30-second public service announcements geared toward making students make better decisions, McAllister said.
After the editing process, which students will help with, the public service announcements will be sent to every television station in the state in addition to 50 Maine radio stations, he said. The stations will air them for free.
McAllister said Lisbon police have seen an increase in OUI arrests.
“We’re trying to deter some of that,” McAllister said.
He lauded the dedication of the students who participated in the filming. They filmed in drizzling rain on Wednesday night and in the biting cold Thursday night.
“It’s been fun,” Dominique Mathieu said. “It’s been interesting.”
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