THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409030185
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: In the Neighborhoods
SOURCE: Mike Knepler
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
With everybody competing for their 15 minutes of fame these days, you really must be creative to get your message out.
Especially when it comes to videos, medium of the MTV generation.
But here's a couple of short educational pieces that make the grade and serve the community - albeit on vastly different subjects.
Curfew kids. Police wanted to motivate more youngsters to obey the 11 p.m. curfew. But they were concerned that the litany of ``No, don't do this'' messages was playing a little thin.
So the Second Patrol Division's Red Sector, along with school officials, came up with an 8-minute video. The theme: how the curfew saves kids from hurting themselves.
``We're trying to make kids think about what can happen if they don't abide by a common sense rule. That is, don't be on the streets when things are most likely to happen to you,'' said Lt. Sharon Chamberlain.
There's catchy rap music and a few special sound effects.
But the main attractions are some real-life young people - all incarcerated on serious charges.
``Joseph,'' a 23-year-old facing murder charges, establishes the context. He's learned the hard way about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Two anonymous female inmates talk about starting their paths to jail as teenagers hanging out late at night and fooling with heavy drugs.
The first young woman realizes that getting herself into trouble was an attempt to create self identity.
The second woman's crimes included shoplifting and robbery. A curfew, she says, would have made it harder to disobey her parents.
Another interview is with an unidentified 15-year-old male charged with murder. He's grappling with spending his life in jail - if he doesn't get the electric chair.
He wonders aloud how his young life ever came to this.
``The whole thing we were trying to do with the video is not come from a hard-nose enforcement point of view but with a different message, that the curfew is for your own protection,'' Patrolman Marty Pineda said.
He and Patrolman Randy Bullard showed the video at some middle and elementary schools last spring. ``The kids really liked it. They related to it,'' Bullard said.
Police will show the video at more schools this fall. It's also available to groups.
There's another important part to this. The video couldn't be made without civic-minded volunteers.
Ed Hughes, news anchor at WTKR-TV Channel 3, narrates. The Optimist Club of Wards Corner and the Wards Corner Business Association donated $500 for production.
``We hope this is just the beginning of a partnership with police for the benefit of kids,'' said Sue Plummer, an Optimist board member.
They may not have to wait too long - unless other civic or business associations beat them to it.
Police were so pleased that they hope to use the videos for more messages to kids. Topics include shoplifting and truancy.
Historical view. The video camera is only a tool. There are many sides to life, and that includes Norfolk's heritage.
Part of that heritage is the Ohef Shalom Temple, 530 Raleigh Ave. The city's first Jewish congregation is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a historical exhibit and video.
On its current schedule, ``Faces of the Past/Voices of the Future,'' will be open to the public 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, until Sept. 22. (Except Sept. 15). by CNB