Central Elementary School was the scene Thursday of a creative dual littering and bullying skit that had an Avengers theme by Clean Teens, a group of teens selected from Carter County high schools and sponsored by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).

CCSO Lt. Mike Carlock, special resource officer (SRO) for Valley Forge, said that Clean Teens was started 11 years ago by the sheriff’s office to address the issue of littering only, but over the years activities and skits have started addressing the social problem of bullying. “We had no idea at the time that it would become what it is today,” Carlock said.

The skits Thursday were presented in such a way that it grabbed the attention of its audience of kindergartners to fourth graders from start to finish. However, that was not hard when you have the likes of Spiderman and Ironman show up.

The first performance by the high schoolers involved littering and its effects on the environment. After the teens, clad as Pixar’s The Incredibles, tried to reason with a litterbug to no avail, SRO Deputy Bruce Rudis swooped in and “arrested” the trash dumper.

For the bullying act, the teens changed into the Marvel’s Avengers costumes and were subsequently bullied by arch villain Thanos, who was too strong for the Avengers to handle alone, so they called in Spiderman for backup.  Spiderman, played by Lexus Boyd, spoke about how some bullies just wanted attention and how they often feed off fear they may invoke in others.

Ultimately, Thanos gave up and admitted that he did not have many friends, and therefore he liked to bully others.

The goal of the bullying skit was to reflect that not only should bullies not be feared, but there was also no shame in asking for help from everyday heroes like teachers, SRO officers or any other school staff that kids feels comfortable with.

The Clean Teens that performed Thursday were Unaka students Katrina Carver, Makenzie Revis, Ryleigh Campbell and Lexus Boyd. Performers from Cloudland High School were Jeffrey McKinney, Savannah Chambers and Meadow Oliver. Rounding out the cast was Happy Valley’s Mamie Jones.

SROs from across the county were also present. Carlock filled in as narrator.  Also present was Sgt. Tracie Pearson and deputies Dustin Mullins and JB Simerly.

Thursday’s performance marked the second leg of a three-day tour by the Clean Teens and deputies. The event that began on Wednesday was scheduled to visit the nine county elementary schools.