STUDENT METH FILM AIMS TO EDUCATE

JAMESTOWN, Tenn. - The scene opens with a long-haired young man standing at
a kitchen counter.

He is the ''cook,'' overseeing production of methamphetamine, a home-made
drug that can be manufactured using household chemicals such as Coleman
lantern fuel, iodine and cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine.

Nearby, a couple of young women prepare the ingredients. A child dips his
finger into a baggie filled with white powder, the ''finished product.''

Suddenly, police rush in, guns drawn. ''Down,'' they shout.

Soon all the meth-heads are on the floor in handcuffs. The child is crying.

While this video version of a meth bust is fiction, it portrays a lifestyle
that has become prominent on the Cumberland Plateau in the past decade.

That's the primary reason that the producers of this video - drama students
at the Alvin C. York Institute - decided to accept the assignment to create
a short film about it.

''I'm glad we had the chance to do this. Meth is destroying people's
lives,'' said Crystal Blair, 17, who portrayed the mother of the crying child.

The student production was done at the behest of the Fentress County Health
Council, a citizens' group whose purpose is education about health issues.

''We asked them to see what they could do in order to inform and teach the
public about the dangers of methamphetamine, which is a growing problem in
our area,'' said Jan Lee, spokeswoman for the health council.

''The finished product they came up with was really impressive, especially
the reality of their work.''

The student-led film took about five weeks to produce.

''Our first script was really way off,'' said Josh Allen, 17, who portrayed
several roles. ''We had to rework it several times so it would sound right.''

Drama teacher Valeria Voiles said her young actors learned how the drug
destroys the mind and body of users.

''It opened their eyes,'' she said.

For Phil Brannon, dean of students at the state-operated high school, that
was one of the reasons he approved the video project.

''I wanted them to know about the dangers of this drug. We wanted to get
the word out. This drug is not going away because it's too easy to make,''
he added, noting one fact the students learned is that many Jamestown
stores try to thwart meth cooks by restricting sales of cold remedies and
other items used to make the drug.

''You hear about meth a lot more. At lunch I heard about another bust. It
seems to be everywhere,'' said Melanie Scroggins, 16.

The video, which involved numerous businesses, the local sheriff's
department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, has been shown on the
local cable-access television station and shown in schools in several other
counties.

''I think it's done more than what we hoped it would do. It got people
talking about the meth problem we have,'' Lee said.

Now the drama group has turned their attention to another topic: smoking.
Voiles' students are currently preparing a script, a parody of David
Letterman's nightly top 10 lists.

''It's going to be really creative,'' she said.