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Introduction

The Every 15 Minutes program is a two-day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors, which challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, and many others.

The program's name was derived from the fact that in the early 1990's, every fifteen minutes someone in the United States died in an alcohol-related traffic collision.  The program brings together a broad coalition of interested local agencies with the goal of reducing alcohol-related incidents among youth.

For more information:  Every 15 Minutes Fact Sheet (pdf)

Program for April 2007 - OUHSD

On April 11^th 2007 every 15 minutes, one student will be escorted out of class by the "grim reaper."  A uniformed police officer will then read the student's obituary to the class.  The student will be escorted to the “operations room’ at the school where they will be given an “Every 15 Minutes” T-shirt and their faces will be made-up with white make-up as a “living dead” to symbolize how many people die each day due to drunk driving accidents . Students may return to class but will be asked not to interact with anyone the rest of the day. The simulated traffic collision will be staged in front of the schools.  A professional moulage team will make up the students participating in the collision to enhance the realism of the experience.  Law enforcement and emergency medical responders will respond to a 911 call for help and simulate a real-life rescue. After the crash, students will be transported by bus to the El Medio Fire Station, 3515 Myers Street, for the afternoon activities and then to the Oroville Gymnastics Academy for the overnight retreat to prepare for the next day assembly.

Parents of the “living dead” students and the crash victims will receive official "death notifications" from Butte County Sheriffs Deputies.  The deputies will attempt to make the notification as real as possible but will identify themselves related to the Every 15 Minutes program.

The students from Oroville, Las Plumas, Prospect, and Challenge Charter High Schools will be taken to El Medio Fire Department on the afternoon of April 11^th to participate in crash "debriefing", team building activities and dinner with emergency responders.  At 6:00 pm students will arrive at the Oroville Gymnastics Academy on Feather River Blvd. for the overnight retreat. During the retreat, students will continue with team building activities, interact with community members who have been affected by poor choices involving alcohol, and plan for the next day assemblies.  As the evening winds down, the students will be writing letters to their parents regarding their participation in the event. 

The retreat will be chaperoned by 10 adults from many local agencies and the local high schools.  The following morning, April 11^th, students will be transported back to their school for the assemblies. The assembly times are shown below in the Schedule. The assembly will include a short video from the previous days' mock crash experience. “Living Dead” students will share the insights they have gained through their participation in the event. After the assembly, parents will be able to re-unite with their student.

Schedule

For more information contact:
Barbara Church, 532-5840 or bchurch@bcoe.org

 

 

Participants and Contributors

Resources

For more information regarding the Every 15 Minutes program, visit the following website:

http://www.chp.ca.gov/programs/15min/

For more information regarding the prevention of alcohol abuse or drunk driving:

• more information coming....

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For More Information

Contact:
Marian Gage - Program Administrator
Butte County Office of Education
1870 Bird Street, Oroville, CA, 95965
Phone: (530) 532-5841
Fax:  (530) 532-5698
Email:  mgage@bcoe.org