2 Riverside students win video PSA contest on tobacco use; Charlestown theater to hold auditions for two productions

Green Peak Alliance announces the winners of the 1st GPA Windsor County Youth Public Service Announcement contest. Maria Nadeau and Melanie Litchfield, students at Riverside Middle School in Springfield, won the $200 grand prize, which was contributed on behalf of the Windsor Rotary and Springfield Rotary clubs.

The contest focused on students creating a PSA covering one of the following topics: negative impacts of tobacco, underage/binge drinking, marijuana, and the benefits of youth assets and protective factors. Melanie and Maria worked as a team to create a PSA on the negative impacts of tobacco products. You can view the video below.

Melanie and Maria have family members who smoke cigarettes and both are interested in this topic in the hopes that it may inspire those family members to quit.

Melanie said she chose to focus on tobacco since “it’s something serious that can really hurt your future” and “it’s good for people to know what’s in tobacco and it can let people know what they are putting in their own body by choice.” Maria liked the idea of making a PSA “to see if it will make people not smoke” and “so they can learn at an early age about the stuff and not to get into it.”

Placing second in the PSA contest are, Dory Hindinger, Ryan Page and Anneka Yuengling of Weathersfield Elementary School with a PSA that focused on the dangers of underage drinking. Green Peak Alliance launched the contest to provide a fun and creative way for youth to learn about substance abuse prevention.

Green Peak Alliance is a collaboration of substance abuse prevention coalitions that includes, Windsor, Windham and Orange counties.

Riverside Theater to hold auditions for two productions

The River Theater Company  of Charlestown, N.H., will hold open auditions for two  productions, The Outsiders and The Spitfire Grill at noon on Sunday April 7  and at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 8 at the theater on the second floor of the historic Town Hall on Summer Street behind Ralph’s Super Market.

The Outsiders, a powerful coming of age story, follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, who are divided by their socioeconomic status. A cast of up to 18 teens and adults is needed. Show dates are the last weekend in June. The production will be directed by Brandon Norman. Email him at Bnorman722@gmail.com for more information.

The Spitfire Grill, a musical written based on the 1996 award-winning film. This small cast musical seeks four women and three men, late teens through adult. The production will be directed by Theresa Norman with musical direction by Tucker Bettez. Norman says, “The music is mesmerizing and the story is beautiful. A very appropriate story for our area. It encapsulates the feeling of our local townships.” Performances will be in November. Please email her at lifeliveit@hotmail.com for more information.