SHERBURNE – Thursday morning, Sherburne­-Earlville teachers and students will arrive at school to find a parking lot chock-full with chalk outlines of bodies and quotes. No one is actually planning to commit murder in the S­–E parking lot; instead one audacious middle schooler has taken upon herself to lead a “Chalking the Walk,” in an effort to raise awareness of the deaths associated with tobacco-related illnesses. Eighth grader and Reality Check member Katie Rounds and her friends are prepared to litter the S-E parking lot with chalked quotes from tobacco companies, appalling smoking-related statistics, and body outlines representing the average 70 people who die daily in New York State from smoking-related ailments.

Rounds and her friends intend to initiate the “Chalking the Walk” Wednesday night, provided it doesn’t rain, because Thursday is the Great American Smoke-Out – a day on which smokers are asked to reflect upon the consequences of smoking and encourage them to quit for a day. Schools are an important target for anti-smoking organizations because teens are one of tobacco companies’ main advertising quarries, according to the Reality Check website.

“We have documents proving tobacco companies target teens,” said Reality Check organizer Heather Bernet.