JUDGES WILL SELECT FROM OVER 650 PAINT THE STATE ENTRIES

When the doors swing at the Malta city pool, swimmers see the face of
methamphetamine.

Using mismatched house-paint from a local hardware store, Kristen
Engebretson, 18, spent 25 hours over two days to paint two halves of
a girl's face -- one beautiful and happy, the other gaunt and gloomy.

"I thought it'd be so much fun to work on a project where you can get
a message out to someone," she said. "It was really cool to see the
community putting that much effort into deterring meth."

Since early July, student artwork has canvassed the state, putting
out the Montana Meth Project's anti-meth message as part of the Paint
the State contest.

Three winners from each county will be announced Wednesday, along
with the statewide winner chosen by Montana artist Russell Chatham.
County winners walk away with $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 prizes for
first, second and third, respectively, and the overall winner will
get another $10,000.

The Montana Meth Project rolled out the contest to get the public
involved with the $1 million marketing campaign.

More than 650 pieces were entered and many more were created and displayed.

Cascade County Commission Chairwoman and contest judge Peggy Beltrone
pointed out the Boys & Girls Club did two pieces -- one at Riverfest,
the other a giant 'Meth Hotel' sign at the jail -- that weren't
entered in the competition.

"No one was dangling prize money in front of them," she said.

After traveling around the state and talking with visitors, Beltrone
said the artwork brought the anti-meth message to life.

"I thought we had created a visual impact across the state," she
said. "It was wonderful to see how creative the kids had gotten."

In Flathead County, an artist painted a side of a black cow; mock
gravesites popped up in McCone and Meagher counties. Billings teens
made a commercial that ran daily.

Fairfield teens, with the help of their families, stacked 13 hay
bales in a field right off Highway 89 north of town. Using 40 cans of
spray paint, they first painted the bales white and then using bright
colors spelled out "Meth Free Montana." Signs on the south side of
town saying, "Not in our town" accompanied the hay bales.

"We were talking about it and just thought it'd be good for the
community and other kids to know meth is bad," said 14-year-old Saxon Johnson.

His uncle Mitch Johnson donated the hay bales placed on Mike Bogden's
land. All told, it took the students three days to finish.

In Cascade County, Derek Daniels painted the words "Meth Free" on the
side of a barn in Simms. The last cursive letter E turns into a dove.

Daniels said he participated in the contest in memory of his
grandfather who died in a four-wheeling accident less than a
quarter-mile away from his artwork.

"This was a positive way to show my grief while helping a great
cause," he said.

Sisters Courtney and Samantha Sheble, 16 and 18, painted both sides
of a semi truck that their aunt and uncle had sitting outside their house.

Samantha's side shows a waiter with a menu listing all the effects of
using meth and then a crazed customer showing those same symptoms.
Courtney spun off that idea, with a chef stirring a toxic brew of
meth on the other side of the truck. His "Recipe for Death" listed
ingredients used to cook meth.

"I thought if people knew what was in meth, they wouldn't do it,"
Courtney said. "We both think that meth is a really terrible thing."

The truck was part of Choteau's Fourth of July parade and then it was
parked in the teen's hometown of Cut Bank outside of the grocery store.

The size and sheer number of art displays created a buzz all over the
state. Barbara Simonetti, editor of the Shelby Promoter and a Toole
County Paint the State judge, said the impact was so impressive that
many of the creations left a pit in her stomach.

"That kind of visual impact has to be immediate and from the gut,"
she said. "Stark and dramatic -- the kind that would cause a person
in a passing car to say, 'Wow.'"

Judges looked at visibility and artistry, but for Simonetti a piece's
ability to convey the anti-meth message was above skill.

"I just hope it makes an impact," Simonetti said. "If it helps even
one person on his way to a party to say, 'No, I'm gonna pass.' If
even one person decides not to try it, then the campaign has done its job."