Clean Teens spread positive messages through skits
Published 10:56 am Monday, April 17, 2017
Star Photos/Abby Morris-Frye Members of the 2016-17 Clean Teens pose with School Resource Officers who assisted them with their programs.
Deputy Tonya Range, who was seriously injured in a car crash earlier this year, was a guest of honor for the performance.
Wilma and Betty tell Fred and Barney to clean up the litter in the yard.
Bam Bam, Dino, and Pebbles stare at the pile of litter which Fred and Barney had hidden behind the family car.
Betty explains to Fred that litter is a problem... even if it's hidden where it can't be seen.
Students at Cloudland Elementary join the Clean Teens in some Chicken Dance fun.
Nemo and Marlin are looking for Dory when they encounter the turtles Crush and Squirt. When Squirt falls and Nemo laughs at him, Marlin takes the opportunity to explain to his son that laughing at someone makes you a bully.
When the sea lions Fluke and Rudder won't share their rock, Marlin, Dory, and Nemo talk to them about bullying.
Each school year, members of the Clean Teens work to teach younger students the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling while also spreading the important message that bullying is not okay.
The Clean Teens, a group of model students selected from the county’s high Schools, develop skits to perform for the county’s elementary schools to convey their message. The students work to build their own sets, craft their own props, and make their own costumes.
This year, the Clean Teens used the popular classic cartoon The Flintstones to teach the children about littering.
In the skit, Fred convinces Barney to clean out his car and just leave the trash lying about, telling him that “the wind will take care of it.” When Wilma and Betty see the mess, they tell the boys to clean it up.
However, Fred convinces Barney to push all the trash behind the car to hide it instead of cleaning it up. The plan backfires, and Fred and Barney soon find themselves in trouble with their families.
At the end of the skit, Betty and Wilma are able to convince the guys that litter is always a problem, even if it’s hidden from sight.
For the anti-bullying program, the Clean Teens selected the characters from Finding Dory to help tell their story. In this skit, Dory goes on an adventure trying to find the source of a strange sound. As Nemo and his father Marlin try to find her, they encounter other sea creatures along the way. When they happen upon the turtles, Crush and Squirt, Nemo laughs at Squirt when the turtle falls. However, Marlin quickly points out that laughing at people is bullying, and Nemo apologizes.
Later in their quest to find Dory, Nemo and Marlin find the sea lions Fluke and Rudder basking on a rock, but when a third sea lion tries to join them, they exclude him.
Nemo and Marlin talk to the sea lions about bullying, and eventually, Fluke and Rudder invite the new sea lion to join them.
The Clean Teens members for this year include: Jake Johnson, Amber Earp, Jaida Walters, Claire Johnson, Chloe Ball, Timothy Guinn, Hannah Younce, Malkam Hayden Davis, and Katherine Lewis.
The Clean Teens are sponsored by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office through the county’s Litter Grant Program. Several of the department’s School Resource Officers serve as sponsors or assist the program, including Lt. Mike Carlock, Deputy Tonya Range, Deputy Brian Smithpeters, Deputy Dustin Mullins, Deputy Justin Johnson, Deputy Josh Riddle, Deputy Jonathan Blevins, and Deputy Thomas Hill.
