Promise of free car has students geared up By Molly Walsh Free Press Staff Writer The assistant principal played game show host Wednesday and more than 600 students roared for a chance to "come on down" to the stage at Burlington High School to compete to win a free car. Never mind that the object of desire parked up on the auditorium stage could generously be described as past its prime -- odometers don't lie and this one read 110,958 miles. And never mind that the vehicle -- a black 1995 Chevrolet Lumina with a thin orange racing stripe -- was snappy but probably not the make or model that teens rev up North Avenue in their dreams. Just the chance to win wheels and turn the ignition on stage before an audience of cheering peers was excitement enough at the BHS annual event known as Renaissance Day. Kids wanted the car, even kids who already have one. "I could sell it," explained sophomore Chris Duncan, who already has the use of a 1996 Saturn but still hoped to take home the Lumina (estimated value: $3,000.) Duncan was in a fairly good position. He estimated he had at least 20 tickets in the raffle bin with his name on them. He didn't buy them; he earned them -- with A's and good attendance on his report card. The car give-away is essentially a "Let's Make A Deal" between administrators and students. Students receive raffle tickets for academic success, good attendance and in some cases, good behavior. They are automatically disqualified from the deal if they are suspended during the school year. The idea is to recognize student effort and achievement as well as build school spirit, said BHS principal Amy Mellencamp. "It's part of our incentive program to reward kids for doing well." As assistant principal D.J. Weaver played emcee on stage and classic party tunes boomed out of the speakers, 20 names were drawn from what looked like hundreds, possibly thousands of tickets in a mesh cylinder. Mayor Peter Clavelle was on hand to help with the drawings, as were representatives of Saturn of South Burlington, which donated the car. The judges drew 20 names, among them freshman Molly Hart, a freshman without a driver's license whose selection prompted much arm-waving and soprano shrieking. But that noise was small compared to the roar that followed the drawing of senior Pascal Losambe's name. The BHS track star grew up in South Africa and hoped to drive the Lumina to his next destination, Middlebury College, where he starts his studies in the fall. Then it was time for the big moment. One by one the student contenders picked keys off a table, got into the Lumina and tried to start the ignition without luck. Who would be the winner? Not Pascal, crowd favorite, who expressed gracious disappointment ("Yeah, it would have been useful") after his defeat. And not young contender Molly. Finally, with just a few contenders left, a school employee who was standing in for a Burlington Technical Center student took key No. 8 and gave it a try. Paydirt! The windshield wipers swished, the crowd whooped and bolted outside for a school barbecue. The lucky winner: Milton High School senior Mandy Labrie. Labrie, who is taking an architecture and design course at Burlington Technical Center, couldn't be reached Wednesday. Teachers said Labrie plans to attend the University of Vermont in the fall. "She'll be very excited," said Sandy Simonds, a Burlington guidance coordinator. "She's a very deserving student." Contact Molly Walsh at 660-1874 or mwalsh@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com