Tough Year for Teens

Reviewing The Herald's stories from 2006, we were reminded of the amount of disturbing news that affected young people in the White River Valley last year. For about two months, area youth seemed to be operating in a sea of seriously bad kharma.

The bad news first hit the front page with a Route 12 accident in Bethel in June when six young people packed into a car attempted to outrun police and instead crashed on some sharp curves, injuring all six of them, one critically. Even worse, three of the six were later arrested and charged with a vicious assault that broke the skull of a Bethel man.

In July came the death of Colby Madden in Bethel Gilead, when a homemade cannon being fired at a party turned into a bomb and exploded. Then came the automobile death of 16-year-old Ashley Elmore/Townsend, who was driving with a group of friends on Route 12A and ran into a cliff at the Roxbury curves.

Barely a week later, violence erupted at a gathering of Ashley's friends following calling hours, and a young woman was run over twice in a Stockbridge parking lot, resulting in a broken back and arrests.

In August came the terrible train-automobile crash on Riford Brook Road in Braintree which left two young people with serious and permanent injuries.

Farther afield, but still involving the White River Valley, was the frightening series of pipe bombs in Vermont and New Hampshire towns, for which five teenagers were arrested—with gunpowder still in their car.

And in remote Vershire, the discovery of the body of James Saunders in a shallow grave led to several arrests, including Barre teenagers who had been active in that town's drug scene; a few weeks later, state police arrested 26 people on drug-related charges.

Listing all these tragedies from 2006 might seem pointless. We are encouraged, however, that when Vermont state police saw fatal accidents skyrocketing in mid-2006, they changed tactics and were able to effect a change. It's hard to find a single cause in the tragedies above, but there are common themes that should be paid attention to—alienation and separation from the caring community, an acceptance of violence, the prevalence of alcohol and drugs, and what the elders used to call "crazy driving."

Perhaps if the friends of young people study these cases, they can learn a way to help. Perhaps if young people consider the awful consequences, they can find a way to help themselves.

* * *

But let's not throw up our hands about "kids these days." There were some other notable entries about young folks during 2006 in the pages of The Herald.

RUHS student Micah Battino, who has been taking music composition lessons as part of his senior project, turned into a good enough composer that the prestigious Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival strings played his music in public concert.

In another spectacular senior project, Tristan Klein of Rochester built his own full-sized story-and-a-half log cabin—starting by cutting down 80 trees to get the logs.

Teenager Cody Griffin of Whitcomb High School saved the life of a woman by pulling her out of the White River, where she had fallen through the ice. Then he saved her dog, too.

Sharon Academy junior Hannah McMeekin of Randolph was one of only 30 youth across the country to be accepted as a page in the U.S. Senate—and one of only two who were privileged to witness last week's swearing-in ceremony in the new Congress.

Sixth-grader Lucas Earle of Brookfield also went to Washington to compete in the national spelling bee contest, as Vermont state champion.

And to "top" it off, Chelsea High School graduate Amy Bullard returned to her old classroom to show slides of herself on the summit of Mount Everest.