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Greg Oliver

From left: Taylor Crawford, Cina Noel, Haley Williams, Marley Fischer, Cristian Rodriguez, Chad Nichols, Caroline Anderson, Rocio Cruz, Alex McFarlin, Haleigh Prater (West-Oak Middle School) and Laura Bright display their certificates earned for the Alcohol Awareness Billboard Campaign. Rodriguez was the first place winner, Fischer, the runner up, and the remaining students received Honorable Mention. All of the winners, with the exception of Prater, are from Walhalla Middle School. Not pictured is Courtney Newton, of Walhalla Middle School.

WALHALLA — A number of Oconee County eighth-graders put their thoughts regarding underage drinking to paper recently submitting entries describing the dangers of alcohol.

The top two drawings selected will be displayed on local billboards.

Though the contest was held at all four Oconee County middle schools — Seneca, Walhalla, West-Oak and Tamassee-Salem — all of the winners with the exception of West-Oak Middle’s Haleigh Prater, who received honorable mention, hail from Walhalla Middle.

The posters will be displayed throughout the month on billboards located on S.C. Highway 28 between Seneca and Walhalla, on Wells Highway near Seneca High School and on U.S. Highway 123 between Seneca and Westminster.

Kirsten Abderhalden, of Oconee/Anderson Behavioral Health Services, said the contest was conducted throughout the month of February by the County's Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Coalition to raise awareness of underage drinking.

“The coalition members have been phenomenal,’ Abderhalden said. “I’ve gotten so much support in the community and once you get them on board, the participation from students is like icing on the cake.”

Abderhalden said eighth-graders were encouraged to participate in the billboard contest while a film festival was started last year for students at Seneca, Walhalla, West-Oak and Tamassee-Salem high schools.

Cristian Rodriguez was named the overall winner of the billboard contest while Marley Fischer, of West-Oak Middle School, was named the runner up.

Walhalla Middle School principal Chuck Middleton said the program was completely voluntary through the efforts of arts teacher Leslie McDonald. As a result, 20 eighth-graders from the school submitted posters with 11 of the 12 overall finalists representing the school.

“That says a lot about our arts program,” Middleton said. “Our kids seem to step up when it comes to the community service aspect.”

Abderhalden, in quizzing the winners during the awards ceremony, said liquor, rather than beer, is the alcohol of choice for teens. She also said energy drinks containing alcohol, some of which contain six or even eight percent, are dangerous since they contain a stimulant in caffeine that ramps up the heart and alcohol that serves as a depressant.

Seneca Police Department Capt. Dean Awalt said the concept of educating teens on the danger of underage drinking is most effective.

“Education is a big part of it because you just can’t tell them ‘I don’t want you to drink’” — that’s a license to drink,” Awalt said. “But if you educate them on the results, the tendency to go out and do it is a lot less.”

The Alcohol Enforcement Team primarily consists of Seneca Police and the Oconee sheriff’s deputies, with assistance from the Walhalla and Westminster police departments. Awalt said the team investigates DUIs, parties involving underage individuals, road checks and compliance checks.

Funding is needed in order to provide alcohol awareness programs, and the state of South Carolina recently learned it has been approved for a federal grant that focuses on underage drinking and connects campuses and communities. Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, Furman University and the College of Charleston will be linked through the program.

David McCutcheon, executive director of the United Way of Oconee County and a member of the EUDL coalition, also serves as a judge over the Oconee County Juvenile and Drug Court program. McCutcheon estimates approximately 90 percent of the individuals that he sees have some sort of alcohol problem.

“We’re going to do more and more of this sort of thing,” McCutcheon said. “We’ve gotten the technicalities down and will integrate students to create more ownership. The poster projects are just the beginning of what we plan to do.”

Abderhalden said film festival entries submitted by local high school students will be judged Monday and shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday during the second annual event at Seneca Baptist Church. The “Best Film” winner will be announced at the film festival.