CAPTION: CHAD Chairman Peter Looney and “Oxymorons” screenwriter and star Johnny Hickey are seen seated in front with aspiring young actors.

Local filmmaker Johnny Hickey benefited from programs sponsored by Charlestown Against Drugs as a teen and now he hopes to give local youth the opportunity to receive free acting lessons – and possibly appear in his first feature.
Hickey, 29, was raised in the Bunker Hill housing development, but it wasn’t until after he and his mother relocated to Gloucester that he fell prey to the perils of drug abuse and violence. After several stints in jail and a near fatal attack that landed him in a coma and nearly cost him his life, Hickey vowed to turn his life around and penned “OxyMorons,” a screenplay that examines drug abuse in Charlestown.
And Hickey, who will also star in the upcoming film, hasn’t forgotten about the Charlestown programs that deterred him from trouble during his younger years. At 14, he took part in Creative Differences, a CHAD program under the guidance of former Charlestown Patriot staff member and John F. Kennedy Family Service Center employee Lynn Peters that taught adolescents to express themselves through poetry, drawing and other forms of artistic expression. The program made such an impression on Hickey that he named his movie production company Creative Differences, Inc. after a chance run-in with Peters in Chelsea two years ago.
Now, Hickey is giving a group of local adolescents consisting largely of members of Charlestown MissionSAFE, a program for at-risk youth, the opportunity he never had. CHAD has agreed to underwrite the cost of acting lessons with Boston Casting for 11 Charlestown teens beginning this week.
“At a minimum, they’ll get to witness the whole moviemaking process,” Hickey said. “The kids will also have the first dibs on speaking roles.”
Hickey and the youth involved scored another coup last week when Edward Bianchi, a veteran film and television director whose credits include HBO’s “The Wire” and “Deadwood,” agreed to direct “OxyMorons.” The meeting with Bianchi was arranged by the film’s producers — Damien Dipola and Nino and Paul Pepicelli, all of the North End. Bianchi intends to make the film as authentic to Charlestown as possible – an approach that includes the casting of local teens.
CHAD Chairman Peter Looney admits that he was reluctant when Hickey first approached him last fall about the film project last fall, but he changed his mind after reading the screenplay, which could best be described as a cautionary tale.
“This brings it to the forefront,” Looney said. “There’s still a substance abuse issue, so let’s keep talking about it.”
Looney also hopes that the acting lessons will possibly lead to bigger opportunities for the youth involved down the road.
“It opens new doors for these teenagers,” Looney said. “Some of these boys and girls might continue in acting and get behind the camera. If I was their age and I had an opportunity like this, I think it would be unbelievable.”
One participant in the program, 18-year-old Casey Durham, said the opportunity to appear on the silver screen is a dream that she has entertained since she was a little girl.
“I hope the experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Durham said. “”We’re getting this handed to us, so we mind as well make the most of it. But even if it doesn’t work out, I’ll still get fulfillment out of it.”

CREDIT: Courtesy of CPS

CAPTION: The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Training Field.

As part of its ongoing effort to save historic landmarks in the neighborhood, the Charlestown Preservation Society has launched a campaign that aims to restore and maintain the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Training Field.
“Our mission has always been to preserve the architectural heritage of the town,” said CPS board member Marilyn Darling, who is overseeing the campaign. “It is the second most significant monument in Charlestown, besides the Bunker Hill Monument, and it deserves to be attended to and desperately needs to be attended to.”
The granite monument, which depicts Victory crowning a soldier in sailor in Civil War uniforms, was constructed by Victorian-era sculptor Martin Milmore in 1872. (Milmore also created Civil War memorial monuments found in the Boston Common, Forest Hills and Mount Auburn Cemeteries). Today, the statue has fallen into a state of grave disrepair, with a tree growing out of the top and moss and weeds taking root elsewhere. A recent assessment of the site commissioned by the CPS put the cost of granite, re-pointing and cleaning at $50,000.
The CPS campaign to restore the statue began when a neighbor applied for a S6,900 grant from the City of Boston’s Small Changes program that included a number of renovations and improvements, including soil and grass, new trash containers, cleaning and repairing the statue, fixing benches and creating signage. The CPS served as the 501(c)3 non-profit organization that sponsored that grant, of which the city approved a budget of $1,000, to clean and repair the statue. Thus began the CPS’ ambitious campaign to preserve and care for the historic statue.
The campaign seeks to raise funds from public and private donations, including private donations, philanthropic foundations, businesses, corporations and the City of Boston. To launch the campaign, the CPS is seeking tax-deductible Leadership Gifts from private individuals. These contributions will allow the CPS to approach foundations, businesses and the city in search of matching funds.
And the CPS is also providing an enticing incentive for Leadership Gift donors: Individuals who make donations starting at the $150 level will be invited to attend a Sept. 20 reception at 7 Monument Square, described by the Preservation Society as “one of Charlestown’s most elegant private homes.”
Darling said the home was featured in the 1984 film “The Bostonians and has been visited by several former presidents. At the reception, the homeowner will speak about its history and significance.
“It will be a fairly small gathering for people who respect the architectural history of the town and a thank you for those who donated Leadership Gifts,” Darling said.
Ultimately, Darling is optimistic that the campaign will lead to a renewed interest in the Training Field.
“It is our hope that by doing this, it will stimulate a lot of other community interest in improving the Training Field,” she said.
Contributions can be made to the CPS/Statue Campaign and mailed to the Charlestown Preservation Society, Box 290201, Charlestown, MA 02129. For more information, call 617-241-7500 or email info@charlestownpresevation.org.

Copia restaurant closed last month after opening at 100 City Square less than a year ago.
A message posted on the front door of the former restaurant site and on the company Web site stated: “Copia will be closing its doors for business effective Sunday, July 22, 2007. The management and staff wish to thank their patrons and the residents of Charlestown for their support. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Copia opened last August but didn’t have its official opening until after Labor Day of last year. Originally conceived as a Mediterranean steak house, the restaurant expanded its menu to include Italian, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese dishes. It also boasted a wine list with 400 varieties. Copia’s owners, David Petrilli and Anthony Caturano, continue to operate Prezza, a North End restaurant.
As the spokesman for Copia, George Regan, president of Boston public relations firm Regan Communications, said in a written statement, “The managers of Copia made a business decision. The management and staff wish to thank their patrons and the residents of Charlestown for their support.”
Before Copia opened, the site at 100 City Square was home to Meze Estiatorio, an award-winning Greek restaurant.

A Mishawum Park resident and her two sons face a variety of charges after a search of their home last week turned up equipment allegedly used for marijuana cultivation, as well as a cache of drugs and weapons, including a machine gun.
Elizabeth Awbrey, 40, along with her children Brent Awbrey, 18, and Stephen Awbrey, 22, were arraigned in Charlestown District Court last Wednesday. The defendants face numerous counts for drug possession with intent to distribute in a school zone and for weapons and ammunition charges. Each defendant was held on $20,000 cash bail and is due back in court on Aug. 8 for assignment of counsel, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley.
On the evening of July 24, District A-1 officers and members of the A-1 Neighborhood Drug Control Unit responded to 89 Dunstable St. to execute a search warrant, police said. After police reportedly met with a an unlicensed pit bull on the premises, officers were from the Animal Control Unit were dispatched and removed the animal from the house for safety reasons. In addition to the vicious dog, responded officers were also greeted at the residence by a metallic sign that stated: “DANGER: Many Illegal Activities In Progress Enter At Your Own Risk.”
Besides apparatus commonly used for growing marijuana, including metallic-type reflective paneling on the walls, heat ventilation machines, fluorescent lighting and plant food, other items allegedly recovered from the residence included drug paraphernalia, plastic bags of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana, OxyContin and Ecstasy pills, PCP and several unmarked prescription bottles containing pills believed to be Xanax, Klonopin and Oxycodone. Police also seized two firearms, a bayonet, a double-edged knife and an undisclosed amount of cash from the residence.
John Collier, 20, of Everett was also arrested at the scene for trespassing.

On Tuesday, the First Annual Gloria Conway Scholarship was awarded to three local youth at the Life Focus center in City Square. This year’s recipients include Patrick Fidler-O’Neil, who will attend Boston’s Suffolk University; Thomas DeRosa, who will attend Merrimack College in North Andover; and Yuting Yu, who will attend Bunker Hill Community College. The scholarship is awarded to graduating high school seniors from Charlestown to help further their continuing education. Funding for the scholarship was provided by Jack Alves and the Hunts Fund for Children, with a matching grant from the Life Focus Center.
Pictured, left to right, are scholarship committee member Tom Coots; scholrship committee co-chairs Jack Millerick and Tom Cunha; O’Neil-Fidler; DeRosa; Yi; committee member Joe McGonagle; and committee member Peter Looney.