Every other school year the Old Town Police Department will be offering an emotionally charged drinking and driving campaign at the Old Town High School. “Every 15 Minutes” is designed to impress upon junior and senior high school students the potentially dangerous, and unfortunately deadly, consequences of impaired driving. The name of the program “Every 15 Minutes” was adopted from the fact that every 15 minutes someone dies from an alcohol related traffic accident in the United States.
On the first day the program, students are removed from class by the “Grim Reaper”. One student will be removed every 15 minutes. The students, which were selected beforehand, will represent a cross section of the entire student body. Once the student is removed from the class, a uniformed police officer will enter the classroom and read an obituary that was prepared by the “dead” student’s parents. Shortly thereafter, the student will return as “the living dead”; with white painted faces and black “Every 15 Minutes” t-shirts. The “living dead” will not speak or interact with other students for the remainder of the school day. As this is occurring at the school, uniformed police officers will make death notifications to the parents of the “living dead” at their home or place of work.
At 12:00 PM there will be a mock motor vehicle collision involving two vehicles in front of the Old Town High School. All Juniors and Seniors will experience first hand the harsh reality and sensations of being involved in a fatal traffic accident. Two occupants will be deceased at the scene and one occupant will be airlifted with serious injuries. A fourth occupant will be treated and released, and the operator of one vehicle will be arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol and taken to the county jail and booked on an OUI charge. The accident will be investigated by the Old Town Police Department with assistance from other agencies involved in the program. EMS and fire services will be provided by the Old Town Fire Department and LifeFlight.
Later in the evening participants will assemble for an overnight retreat. The retreat will simulate the separation from friends and family. Police officers and counselors will be on hand during the duration of the retreat. Each student will write a letter to their parents beginning with, ”Dear Mom and Dad, every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol related traffic accident, and today I died. I never got the chance to tell you…….” Parents will also write similar letters to their children. These letters will be read on the following day at a school assembly.
On the 2nd morning there will be a mock funeral assembly at the Old Town High School. This will begin with a brief funeral service for the two deceased students followed by a video reflection of their lives. Speakers will include students, parents, police personnel and may include other key note speakers. An emotional presentation will be offered by a parent who lost a teenager in a tragic automobile accident.
The focus of this emotional, heart-wrenching event will be to guide the audience through the devastating effects of losing a friend or loved one. This program will open student’s minds to think about drinking and their personal safety, as well as the adult responsibility to make mature decisions where human life is at stake.
Any questions can be sent to Officer Debbie Holmes
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