Timothy Stretton, a senior at Lewiston High School, is close to
finishing his fourth year of service on the Lewiston Youth Advisory
Council, most recently interning on a downtown beautification project.
Stretton and members of the LHS Art Club have spent the past several
months painting metal trash cans to be placed in various downtown
locations to encourage people to toss the trash instead of littering
the city’s streets and parks. The cans will be set out the week of
April 20, during school vacation.
“Tim is a young man who is committed to making a difference within his
community,” according to Dottie Perham-Whittier, community relations
coordinator in Lewiston.
“He played a key role in Lewiston’s All-America City successful quest,
and the energy and commitment he demonstrated in that undertaking is a
true snapshot of the way he tackles any responsibility before him,” she
said.
As part of his internship with the city, Stretton coordinated a project
to produce a coloring book about a boy named Charlie who learns the
importance of recycling through his new friends, Mrs. Raccoon, Mr. Fish
and Mrs. Bird. The book will be distributed to local elementary
schools, along with puzzles, a letter to parents, a lesson plan and a
family recycling plan for parents and students to do together.
The work on the book was done by members of the Lewiston Youth Council,
and its tale will be performed by members of LYAC later this year.
A Lewiston native who intends to remain in Maine, Stretton is so
intrigued by politics and the political landscape that he may — one day
— run for mayor of this city.

Name: Timothy Stretton
Age: 17
Hometown: Lewiston
Occupation: Student, Lewiston High School. Last semester I took four
classes at Central Maine Community College and one class at USM–LA.
This semester I am only taking one class at CMCC. I have also been
working at Burger King since July of 2007.
Why work as an intern for the city of Lewiston? I have always been
fascinated with politics and political science. For the past four years
I have been on the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council and have worked
directly with elected officials and other city officials. In 2006 and
2007, LYAC applied to be an All-America City. I really enjoyed
reaching, and learning more and more about the city of Lewiston. Both
years we were selected as a finalist and I traveled to Anaheim, Calif.,
to compete for the award. I loved working hand-in-hand with city
officials.
What do you hope to accomplish? With my interest in politics, I hope to
gain more of an understanding of city government. My internship has
been focused around downtown beautification and recycling, which plays
off of another one of my interests, that of recycling and keeping our
planet green and clean. While learning about city government I also
wish to inform the community, especially young children, about the
importance of recycling.
What’s the LHS Art Club/trash can project? Collaborating with the
Public Works Department I was able to get 25 55-gallon drums donated,
to be painted and decorated and used as trash cans in the downtown. The
Art Club at the high school has enthusiastically agreed to paint all
the drums.
Why this project, over any other ideas that may have been bounced
around? I really like this project because it shows collaboration and
gets the youth of the city involved. This project is really going to
make a difference in the appearance of the city’s downtown by reducing
the amount of trash and litter on city streets and sidewalks.
Looking back on your four years with the Youth Council, what’s your
most satisfying accomplishment? Participating in the city’s attempt on
winning the All-America City Award in 2006, and our success in 2007.
Both years I helped research information for the application, and
helped put together our presentation for Anaheim.
What do you still hope to do? Continue to educate the community and the community’s youth about recycling.
What do you like most about this city? I really love seeing how
committed the city is on working with and forming partnerships with
youth.
What about the least? I really don’t know. I really love this city.
What is the one thing you would want to tell someone who has never been to Lewiston about this city? It’s a great place to live.
Going to college? Definitely. Taking early college courses through the
high school has made it easier to make the decision to go to college. I
am the first one in my family who will go to college.
Where? Not too sure yet. I have been accepted to a few different
places, such as USM, UMF, UMaine, St. Anselm and St. Michael’s. I am
still waiting for a few more responses before I make a decision.
What do you intend to study? Political science, international relations and education.
Hope to stay in Maine when you graduate? Definitely.
Do you think you’ll enter politics as an adult? I can definitely see
myself in several years getting into politics. I’m not to sure how deep
I want to get, but I can see myself running for the city council and,
eventually, mayor.
Why? I have always had a fascination with politics and love to make a
difference, which is the main reason why I chose to serve on LYAC.
If we were to fast-forward 50 years and look back, what would you most
want to see change in Lewiston? I’d like people, especially teens, to
have more pride in saying they’re from Lewiston, Maine. This was
another major reason why I chose to serve on LYAC. I would also like to
see more things for the youth of the community to do.
jmeyer@sunjournal.com