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'Every 15 Minutes' delivers powerful message about drunk driving to LHS students
Kings County Superior Court Judge Shane Burns handed down the daunting sentence Friday morning in the Lemoore High School Event Center, as over 1,000 students watched the young Samantha tearfully face justice. Even her capable attorney, former Lemoore High alum William Parry, failed to persuade the judge to temper his verdict and lesson the sentence on the LHS student, a talented and active student who carries an impressive GPA, participates in athletics, student clubs, and is a member of the California Scholastic Federation (CSF).
Every 15 Minutes YouTube Video by Remscape
Fortunately for Chedester, she won’t be going to prison any time soon. Instead, she’ll be going home with her family, secure in the thought that she – and her 20 or so companions – delivered a valuable and emotional lesson courtesy of the California Highway Patrol’s anti-drunk driving program “Every 15 Minutes.”
This certainly wasn’t the first time the program has brought nearly an entire student body to tears – or even managed to keep so many teenagers speechless for over an hour. Every two years the local high school delivers the “Every 15 Minutes” program to the school’s junior and senior classes.
Student volunteers take on various roles, including victims and the walking dead. Volunteers portray Grim Reapers, and Lemoore and Kings County agencies, including the Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department, the Lemoore Police Department, various Kings County agencies, and the Highway Patrol take part in the emotional show.
“This was the craziest experience ever,” said Chedester, just moments after receiving her 41 years to life prison sentence. According to Judge Burns, had the sentence been real, Chedester would have been required to spend 41 years behind bars before she could even apply for parole. “I would never in a million years think that I would be part of an experience like this. It was so real, it was crazy.”
Chedester’s parents, Jeff and Tina Chedester, played key roles as well, visiting young Samantha in the Kings County Jail following her arrest, another surreal moment in the “Every 15 Minutes” program. “My mom was bawling,” remembered Chedester. “She was crying so much, it was so hard for her.”
Fortunately for Chedester, she’ll get to finish school, attend college and hopefully realize her dream of becoming a sports broadcaster.
Annemarie Schalde will get to complete school too. She was one of Chedester’s victims who died at the scene – the scene being a staged car accident in Tiger Stadium the day before, where the 11th and 12th grades witnessed numerous agencies, like the Lemoore Police Department and Volunteer Fire Department, respond to the scene. A CHP helicopter even landed on the infield to fly one of the injured to Adventist Health in Hanford.
The parents of the victims read letters to their children, including Angie Schalde, who delivered a tearful and emotional eulogy to her daughter as husband Chris looked on. “I was just imagining if this was all real and thinking about all these bright futures these kids will have, and we hope they know how much we love all of them, how much they mean to us and how devastated we would all be if anything ever happened to them.”
Schalde knows the event was not real, but when it finally happens, it can feel authentic. “We know it’s not real, but in the moment, it sure feels real, and you can only imagine what if it were real and just how terrible that would be.”
Putting this program all together was LHS Activities Director Anne Strong, herself an “Every 15 Minutes” victim about four years ago when she volunteered to take part in the program. It was Strong who corralled the public agencies and organized the complex two-day program.
Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes took on a familiar role Friday morning. Fagundes, who has participated in several of Lemoore High’s programs, argued before Judge Burns for the maximum sentence – which he got.
What keeps bringing him back to Lemoore High School every two years? “Lemoore High School always does a top-notch program,” said Fagundes. “I’m always impressed with it. I’ve been coming here since 2006, and they do it every other year. It is a worthwhile program and quite frankly if it saves one life it’s well worth the time and the effort, and I think Lemoore especially shows a sense of community we have.”
