Local student featured in school video

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
One county teen has taken to the airways to help get a drug free and anti-violence message out to students across the state.
Austin Casas, 16, of Union, is one of several area teens to take part in a safe schools video titled “Stop the Stupid Stuff 2.”
Produced by StarrDog Entertainment of Muscle Shoals, the video is a sequel to a similar production made in 1998. The video captures several different scenes in which teens face tough choices dealing with alcohol, drugs and violence.
For Casas, who has performed in several local plays, the video presented a new type of opportunity.
The video has already been shown in some schools in the Shoals area and producers hope it reaches many more soon.
Gayles and his family moved to Muscle Shoals from Detroit, Mich., where they were seeing an increase in violence and gang activity. When he began seeing signs of problems in this area, he decided to try to help.