Epic Proportions graces LC

BOYS BASKETBALL
pg 2
TODAY IS EDGAR
DAVIDS’ BIRTHDAY
Issue 4
March 2009
Epic Proportions graces LC
PHOTO BY MAGGIE THORNTON
by Maria Chumov
Layout Editor
“Epic Proportions,” a romantic
comedy production organized
by LC students and LC Drama
teacher, Greg Pschirrer, resulted
in plenty of satisfied and highspirited viewers throughout the
three days of its début on Feb.
19-21. The play features juniors
Melissa Utter (Louise), Emmet
Stackelberg (Phil), freshmen
Jesse Ward (Benny), sophomore
Jon O’Grady (D. W. Dewitt) and
a backup cast including: seniors
Zach Wymore, Juanita Andersen,
Laura McDowell; juniors Duncan
Smith, Eric Grossman, Haley
Brinjones, Mackenzie Gwinn;
sophomores Jon O’Grady and
Michael SanMiguel; and freshmen
Max Chumov and Mica Pointer.
The epic is set in Arizona
in 1934 when movie-making
started to grow in popularity.
The story is about two brothers,
Phil and Benny, who decide to
join the production of a film
called “Exeunt Omnes,” which
is ironically Latin for “Everyone
Out.” The two brothers are
separated into crowds “3” and
“4” in the shooting of the film.
Phil dwells in the crowd with the
easier task while Benny is forced
to endure pain in different scenes
of the movie, like the 10 plagues
in Egypt. During the making
of the film, Phil and Louise, the
manager and organizer of most
of the scenes, fall in love. Their
relationship, however, starts
to weaken when Phil takes the
place of D. W. Dewitt (O’Grady)
and becomes the main director.
Louise starts to have feelings
for Benny, which only results
in a chaos for the whole cast
as Phil and Benny battle each
other. Dewitt saves the day by
bringing everyone back to their
senses, impersonating Moses.
The story ends when Benny
encourages the cast and decides
to lead them out of the secluded
set they were forced to live in.
Each of the actors were forced
to make up their own personality
for their character. “There’s no
movie of Epic Proportions (yet),
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG PSCHIRRER
Epic Proportions was performed at LC from Feb. 19-21. Overall,
everybody involved said the play was a tremendous success.
so I had no frame of reference,
and I had to build my character
from scratch,” said Anderson.
“That was really exciting because
I could find new and different
ways to try and make people laugh
without having to worry about
living up to people’s expectations
and being ‘like the movie.’”
“I liked her (the character of
Louise), she was really cute,”
said Utter. “I had a couple
of pretty funny scenes with
Benny and Phil; it was fun.”
Pschirrer as well as the rest of
the cast and crew, believed the
show was a good representation
of LC talent. “They [the cast
and crew] were great and very
professional. They would do
things instinctively without
me asking,” said Pschirrer.
“All the actors were great
and it turned out to be a really
funny
show,”
said
Utter.
“I think the play went really well;
by the time we opened everyone
had really gotten into the show
and into their characters. The
audience turnout wasn’t that great,
but the people who did show up
were really responsive and really
energized us,” said Andersen.
“That was great because after
doing the show so many times,
you start to wonder if it’s still
funny, but by opening night any
doubts of that were long gone.”
Working with other actors in the
cast was influential to most of the
performers. “The cast was [made
up of] only 16 people, and that
was great because in small shows
everyone really wants to be there
and they always put in honest,
hard work,” said Andersen. “Also,
when there’s a smaller cast it’s
easier to bond and work together to
make the show the best it can be.”
“The best part of the show
is watching months worth of
work come to life on stage and
watching the growth in the
performers,” said Pschirrer.
“It’s great to see them taking
this experience and applying it
to their lives and enriching it.”
According to Pschirrer, the
timing was the most difficult part
of the play “since it’s a comedy.
It takes hours to make sure that
the timing works out so the
joke lands with the audience.”
For Utter, the scene and costume
switches were the hardest to deal
with. “I had a lot of extremely
quick changes that involved
changing dresses, shoes and hair
so I had to have a lot of people
backstage to help me,” said Utter.
LC’s Drama Department is
preparing another performance
called Seussical on April 2324 featuring some of Dr. Seuss’
most popular stories like “The
Cat in the Hat” and “Horton
Hears a Who!” According to
Pschirrer, the musical will be
a “family show so it’s aimed
at kids and the whole family.”
Novell crowned Miss Spokane
She then competed for Miss
The next part of the competition
by Sydney Harmon
is the talent competition; Spokane. Novell said, “I did Miss
Staff Writer Novell did a tap dance with her Spokane for the experience.”
LC senior McKenzi Novell
won the title of Miss Spokane on
Sunday, Feb.19 at Northern Quest
Casino. Along with winning
the title, Novell also won the
People’s Choice Award and a
scholarship for over a thousand
dollars. Novell is planning on
going to the Miss Washington
competition in July of this year.
Novell competed against 13
other Spokane girls and won. She
said, “It feels really good to win,
my hard work really paid off.”
Novell took the title from Alyssa
Fennell, last year’s Miss Spokane.
The steps of the competition
involve a private interview that is
only with the judges. This part of
the competition is worth the most
at thirty percent of the final vote.
tap shoes covered in jewels.
The competition categories
include stage questions, evening
gowns, and Life and Fitness.
Novell wore a beautiful black
dress covered in jewels, and
her platform is “assisting
elementary
education.”
Novell said that she prepared
for the competition a by speaking,
raising money for Children
Network, staying in shape,
helping at elementary schools, and
completing community services.
Novell first preformed at the Miss
Outstanding Teen competition
with Julie’s Competitive Edge
Dance Studio, and then competed
in the Miss Outstanding Teen
pageant three years in a row.
On her final year Novell
won Miss Outstanding Teen.
Novell would encourage any
senior between the ages of 17
to 24 to do the competition
next year. Novell said, “Miss
Spokane is a scholarship
pageant. It also helps with
interview skills and confidence.”
In order to be qualified to be Miss
Spokane, a girl needs to be role
model for others, present herself
with confidence, be talented,
intelligent, active on issues that are
important to her, and independent,
according to Missspokane.net
The application for the
pageant is set up like any college
application; it asks for your GPA,
future goals, club involvement,
and
your
activities
your
community. This application can
be found on the Miss Spokane
website at www.missspokane.net.
Senior Zach Alden, juniors Amanda Thompson and Beverly Amstadter, and sophomore Kevin Dunham represent the various
emotions Washington students feel about changes to the WASL.
WASL to become
HSPE next year
Proficiency Exams, or the HSPE.
by Melissa Holmberg
Dorn has six goals for the new
Staff Writer testing: to shorten the tests, reduce
Students will enter the 20102011 school year with the
large relief that the WASL
(Washington Assessment of
Student Learning) will no longer
be haunting their spring. Instead,
the new superintendent of student
learning, Randy Dorn, plans to
introduce a new form of testing
that will be less costly and provide
a quicker way to view results.
The WASL is a standardized
testing system that is given to
grades three through eight and
ten. However, the WASL, is not
as effective of a test that the state
wishes it to be, because it is very
time-consuming,
expensive,
and the results take months to
determine; these downfalls do
not provide apt warning about
a struggling child’s need to
stay in their same grade instead
of moving on to a higher one.
The new state assessment
system will be called the
Washington
Comprehensive
Assessment Program or the
“WCAP,” which will be taken
completely
on
computers.
The WCAP includes two
different tests that will be given
to either elementary students, or
high school students. Grades 3-8
will be given the Measurement
of Student Progress, or the
MSP. High school students
will be given the High School
The News
page 2: WASL schedule
changes drastically
page 3: Robotics Club
page 4: Rhoades and
Johnson with Tech Award
page 5: Bryson Williams ti
climb Mt. McKinley
page 6: Olaf Olaf Olaf
the amount of time students spend
on written responses, return
scores more quickly, increase
the use of technology to reduce
paper wastage, provide more
diagnostic information (strengths
and weaknesses) to families and
teachers, and to minimize costs.
The MSP will be administered
twice each school year, and will
allow students the opportunity to
show proficiency more than one
time a year. They will provide
diagnostic growth information that
will allow teachers and parents
to track their child’s strengths
and weaknesses in school.
The HSPE will be shorter and
contain fewer extended answer
questions. The test, however, will
still be a graduation requirement.
According to Dorn, the
tests will be just as rigorous
as the WASL; however they
will be much more effective.
“I hope they plan to make the
new tests less time consuming so
that we all can use our time for
things that will further benefit our
learning,” said senior Alix Silha
State testing has benefited
students throughout the years
because it challenges their ability
to take tests more thoroughly.
In fact because of the state
testing
programs
students
in the past have been taking
more and more AP (Advance
Placement) classes and earning
college credit in high school.
in
Brief
page 7: Girls basketball
finishes fifth in State
page 8: Special Olympics
page 9: Boys basketball
page 10: Spring cleaning
page 11: Slumdog
Millionaire boosts Oscars
page 12: Starbucks
NEWS
///
Page 2
2009 WASL Schedule
Students taking the Reading and Writing WASL will need to bring
number two pencils and check the posters in the front hall to find
their assigned rooms. Leave all electronics at home.
March 16
Monday
8:00 - 10:10
10:20 - 11:10
11:10 - 11:50
11:50 - 12:40
12:45 - 1:35
1:40 - 2:30
March 18
Wednesday
8:25 - 10:35
10:45 - 11:30
11:30 - 12:10
12:10 - 12:55
1:00 - 1:45
1:50 - 2:30
Period 1
Period 2
Lunch
Period 3
Period 4
Period 5
Reading
WASL
March 17
Tuesday
8:00-10:10
10:20 - 11:10
11:10 - 11:50
11:50 - 12:40
12:45 - 1:35
1:40 - 2:30
Writing
WASL
March 19
Thursday
8:25 - 10:35
10:45 - 11:30
11:30 - 12:10
12:10 1:00 - 1:45
1:50 - 2:30
Period 1
Period 2
Lunch
Period 4
Period 5
Period 6
Period 1
Period 3
Lunch
Period 4
Period 5
Period 6
Reading
WASL
Writing
WASL
Period 1
Period 2
Lunch
Period 3
Period 5
Period 6
*Schedules for the April Math and Science WASL days (April 13, 14, 20, 21) have yet to be determined.
Chase Youth Award
commission to hold ceremony
could include a community
by Heather Lewis
involvement, courage, creativity,
Staff Writer leadership, youthgroup, and high
Chase Youth Awards
honors local teens
who work to better
their community.
The Chase youth commission
is honoring our community’s
outstanding youth, teens, and
adults. All nominees will be
honored at the annual Chase
youth awards ceremony on
March, 26, 2009 at Whitworth
University Cowels auditorium.
These teens, youths, and
adults include people who
are making a difference in
our community or making
positive choices. The categories
school/middle school clubs.
All nominees will receive
a nomination ribbon and a
certificate. Individual award
recipients
in
the
youth,
middleschool, teen, adult divisions
will receive a medallion and
letters of commendation. Group
award recipients in each division
will receive a plaque and letters
of commendation. According to
the Chase youth commission.org.
Doors will open 30 minutes
prior to each presentation. Youth
and middle school celebration
5:30-7:00 p.m. Teen and adult
celebration 7:30-9:00 p.m. “This
is our chance, as a community
to let young people know just
how much we value them for
their character and contributions
to Spokane,” said Joanne
Benham director of Spokane
regional
youth
department.
The commission is named after
former Spokane mayor James. E.
Chase, who helped establish the
commission in 1985 and was a
champion of youth in Spokane.
More than 2,500 students were
nominated for the awards last year.
Sophomore Tessa Lee said,
“I have no idea what the chase
youth awards are but some of
my teachers have talked about
it, and I thinks it’s a good idea
to honor students who help the
community, maybe I would
go if I was getting honored.”
Second grade elementary
teacher Debbie Morril sent out a
nomination for one of her students
Jacob Headley she said. “Jacob
Headley was a student in my 2nd
grade classroom at Brentwood
elementary. Jacob has earned
the honor of Character Counts
Student of the Month; he would
be perfect for the nomination.”
NEWS Editor
Writers
Conor Wigert
Zach Alden
Lacey Bachman
Jaime Buckles
Jordan Butler
Tucker Clarry
Kevin Dunham
Rebecca Hance
Sydney Harmon
Melissa Holmberg
Holland Kapstafer
Heather Lewis
Kristen Lindsay
Chloe Mell
Kenny Rukavina
Annie Pokorny
Alexis Storms
Maggie Thorton
Sports Editor
David Sheppard
Opinions Editor
John Slater
Features Editor
Advisor
Amanda Thompson
Editor-In-Chiefs
Andy Wood
Photography Editor
Jennifer Showalter Beverly Amstadter
Ad Manager
Conor Wigert
David Sheppard
Layout Editor
Maria Chumov
Waste Manager
Sydney harmon
Issue 4
March 2009
Six receive first
at music festival
by Chloe Mell
Staff Writer
Eastern Washington Music
Educators Solo and Ensemble
Festival took place Feb. 7
2009. “Solo and Ensemble”
is a music festival where
students from all over the
eastern half of the state come to
perform in front of judicators
to get a score and a ranking.
Six LC students received
first place. The first place
students qualify to attend a state
competition come April. Seven
students received first alternate,
meaning if the person who scored
first place were to drop out, the
alternate would take his/her
place in the State competition.
Judicators gave first place awards
to sophomore Ryan Katz on snare
drum, senior Kellan Smith on
trumpet, junior John Loft on string
bass, sophomore Grant Eadie on
viola, senior Stacer McChesney
on tuba and sophomore Michael
Terhune on mallet percussion.
These students all received
superior ratings, which on the
scale the judges have is the
highest score you can received.
They were included in the
18/30 students from LC that
received a superior. Others include
senior Maureen Ferries on flute,
senior Janet Hong on violin and
piano, junior Brandon Moss on
viola, freshman Perri Greely on
viola, sophomore Phillip Siler on
French horn, junior Bobby Larson
on snare drum, the woodwind
“Grand
Trio”
percussion
ensemble, LC string quartet,
the Teleman String ensemble
and the LC Vivaldi ensemble.
Twelve students received
an excellent rating, which is
ranked directly below superior.
Sophomore Ellie Hockett,
junior Hana Alicic, freshman
Patrick Li, freshman Katie
Larson, junior Karl Gunselman,
junior Nicole Larson, freshman
Molly Rupp, junior Tierra
Cominos, sophomore Nate Braks,
sophomore Kym Gerard, The
bassoon duet, and the oboe duet
all scored an excellent rating.
“It used to be that we had more
fundraising, so we could pay the
student fees so more students
wanted to sign up. But now they
have to pay their own fees and
the number of students and the
enthusiasm level has gone down.”
Said choir director Kathleen Blair.
Alden has participated in this
festival for six years and has
received nine superior ribbons.
Sophomore Anton Nosov
participated in solo ensemble for
the first time. “ I tried every year
but I was always injured, I had a
broken wrist or a fractured collar
bone, and those prevent me from
playing. This was my first year
and it was so much fun! I think
I am going to do it next year.”
“I am very proud of our students
this year,” band instructor
Larry Jay said. “ I have high
hopes for the years to come.”
“Its so fun because we get to
meet so many new people!”
said Nosov, “and prove that LC
is better than everyone else.”
“I always sense a difference after
my students have participated.”
Blair said. “They seem stronger
musicians because of it.”
Advanced
placement tests
rapidly approaching
dependent on intelligence. You
by Kevin Dunham
have to be willing to work hard.”
Staff Writer
LC offers AP courses in science,
Advanced Placement (AP)
students, test time is approaching
rapidly. Test dates start in early
May and run through May
15. Tests cannot be made up
except in rare circumstances,
for which you should see
guidance
counselor
Denise
Gilmore in the student office.
The AP tests are scored on
a rubric from 1-5, depending
on the qualification level of
the student, with one being the
lowest and five being the highest.
Each test is 86 dollars, paid for
in the business office, but can
save you big money by reducing
the amount of credits needed for
college. More than 90 percent
of colleges and universities in
North America recognize the AP
Program and accept credits for
Advanced Placement. However,
most colleges require a score of
three or above to earn the credit.
Junior AP English teacher Eric
Woodard said that the students
that should do AP are “Any
students who are able to keep up
with a faster work load. I really
don’t think that success in AP is
math, English, history and more.
AP History teacher Susie Gerard
said that is important to “make
sure you are caught up in your
class and study class handouts
such as reviews, and or a review
book. Look over everything.”
Beyond earning college credits,
AP Tests “demonstrate your
maturity and readiness for college,
and also “Show your willingness
to take the most rigorous
course work available to you,”
according to Collegeboard.com
To sign up for the AP test that
corresponds with your course,
see Gilmore in the student office.
According to Woodard, successful
AP students possess “dilligence,
and resilience because in my
class I spend a lot of time
showing students how they are
doing things wrong. You can’t
get upset about being wrong.”
When taking the test, you should
bring numerous number two
pencils with erasers, and remember
that the test will be held at a site
to be determined. Preparing
for the test is essential, and it is
helpful to go to collegeboard.
com for more study tips.
News
Issue 4
March 2009
Page 3
Robotics club goes for gold in Seattle
by Zach Alden
around it, while a
simply
Staff Writer machine
runs a program.”
Lewis and Clark’s unique
Robotics club will compete
using a student-made robot in
late March at For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and
Technology (FIRST) Robotics
Competition. FIRST hosts annual
competitions in several categories
each year. The team, Tyga Style,
produced a robot, officially titling
it “The Holy Tronity.” The club’s
nickname for the robot is Laquisha.
Each high school group received
the same box of parts and was
allowed a maximum of $3,500
worth of add-ons and accessories.
The Holy Tronity is 112.5 lbs
and five feet tall, fitted with carbon
fiber and steel to complement
its four engines. “It has a great
body,” said senior Alex Nanni.
But what is the difference
between a robot and a machine?
Junior Erica Howie said, “a robot
responds to the environment
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBOTICS CLUB
The school’s robot
responds to a remote
control
signal.
“It’s a really cool
thing to build,”
said senior Robert
Kincaid, an active
participant
of
Robotics
Club,
which meets every
Tuesday
during
lunch. During the
six weeks allowed
to construct the
robot, the students
met every Thursday
and Friday in the
Gonzaga University
engineering labs and
Saturdays through
Monday at school.
David Grunzweig,
one of the officers,
said, “I met all these
cool people I hadn’t Members of the robotics club pose with their robot, The Holy
really
known Tonity. Their competition begins Mar. 26 and ends Mar. 28.
Penny drive
collects more
than $1000
before.”
The regional
competition
involves
four
teams
throwing
balls into each
other’s robottrailers. The
robots
then
have to carry
them back to
the thrower.
The robots can
block
other
robots,
but
accessories
like
buzz
saws
and
flamethrowers
are
not
allowed. Tyga
Style designed
the robot to
have
four
engines (twice
as many as
the
other
competitors’
robots) for extra speed. The
design has been a collaborative
effort between the Robotics Club
and the Pre-engineering class.
Two grants were given to the
school for this project. The
two donators were from the
Office of Superintendent of
Public Education and the Bezos
family, totaling at $10,500.
The club purchased a robot
starter kit for $6,000 and added
around $2,000 in accessories,
such as the extra engines.
The students enjoyed producing
a robot, a new activity for many
of them. “It’s extracurricular
and constantly changing,” said
Kincaid. Nanni said he learned
about circuitry and power tools.
The competition will be held
in Key Arena in Seattle from
March 26th-28th, bringing together
64 teams from around the
Inland Northwest. The winning
team will receive scholarship
money, though the best reward
will be, as Nanni said, “beating
the geeks at their own game.”
PHOTO BY ANDY WOOD
PHOTO BY CHLOE MELL
Seniors Maddy Greeley and Ilsa Payne walk through a market in San Salvador, El Salvador. Both
seniors are involved wit Los Hermanos, a club that raises money for a school in El Salvador.
by Jordan Butler
head start on helping children with
Staff Writer their developmental delays. All
Lewis and Clark’s CO-OP class,
taught by Lisa Weiler, held their
annual penny drive this month
in an effort to raise money for
the Spokane Guilds School.
The focus of the CO-OP class
is to teach students about life
as a business owner and how to
make your business attractive
and have a good reputation.
“The point of my CO-OP
class is to teach my students
about business ownership and
entrepreneurship.” Weiler said.
“We have a penny drive to
teach them what they might do
as a business owner to help the
marketing of their business. When
businesses have penny drives they
build their reputation into a good
and viable one.” Weiler said.
The Spokane Guild School
is a comprehensive treatment
center for children aged from
birth to three, who show
delays in developmental skills.
“They provide great services
to children aged from birth to
three with physical and or mental
disabilities.” Weiler said. “At a
younger age it is easier to get a
the proceeds from the penny drive
that we collect go straight to the
school for them to use for whatever
they may need it for.” Weiler said.
Last year Lewis and Clark students
and staff collected $627.80 in
donations. This year we collected
over $1,000 in donations which is
almost $400 better than last year.
According to Weiler, collections
included $549 in cash and ten
buckets full of change. One
student from history teacher John
Hagney’s class donated $251.
Winning class donations
included Hagney with $281.50,
English teacher Cory Davis with
$158.30, and English teacher
Jennifer Showalter’s class with
$144.53. The classes received
donuts this week as a prize for
their great efforts and enthusiasm.
“I always enjoy any opportunities
to help out and donate money in
the community for the benefit
of others,” said freshman Katlin
Nystrom of Hagney’s class,
“and this penny drive was a
perfect opportunity for me to
give to charity and help other
people with their special needs.”
Los Hermanos raises
10k, travels to El Salvador
by Kristen Lindsay
Staff Writer
Los Hermanos is an LC group
that raises $10,000 annually
for the high school in the small
town of Huisisilapa, El Salvador.
These small town residents live
in poverty and have virtually
no economy, according to
senior member Maddy Greeley.
“The school, which is the only
rural high school in El Salvador,
was built through the efforts of Los
Hermanos,” said Greeley. “This is
really important because without
a high school education, the youth
of Huisi don’t have a chance at
going to college, and many are
forced to come to the United
States illegally, as many of their
fathers and siblings have done.”
Los Hermanos currently
has 15 members. Ten of
which are from LC while the
others attend St. George’s.
Each year the members of
Los Hermanos are given the
opportunity to travel to Huisislapi
and the school they helped to
create. This year, six LC students
attended: freshman Perri Greeley,
junior Andy Wood and seniors
Robert Kincaid, Ilsa Payne, Juanita
Anderson and Maddy Greeley.
“On the 26th of December around
six of our members traveled to the
village to make contact with the
students and teach them a little bit
about our culture while learning
“The school, which
is the only rural
high school in El
Salvador, was built
through the efforts
of Los Hermanos,”
theirs in return,” said senior
member Mallory Whittaker.
Each student had the opportunity
to stay with a different family
while visiting the village. They
taught the children how to use
Microsoft Word and Excel, a little
bit of English and also painted a
mural in their town plaza. “The
real purpose of the trip, though,
was to establish friendships with
the people there and let them
know that we’re committed to
helping them,” said M. Greeley.
M. Greeley also added that
“language is barely a barrier at all.
I should probably mention as well
that Perri and Andy haven’t even
taken a Spanish class and Robert
had only finished first year when
we went, and it wasn’t a problem
at all,” said M. Greeley. “Perri
had one of the best experiences,
even though she mostly spoke
to her family in sign language.”
Eight out of the ten members at
LC will graduate in June, so Los
Hermanos is asking more people
to come and check it out. If you
are interested in being apart of Los
Hermanos and getting involved,
attend the meetings. They are held
every Monday at lunch in English
teacher Cory Davis’ room, 229.
“Contact any of us in the group
- myself, Juanita Andersen,
Ilsa Payne, Mallory Whittaker,
and Andy Wood are all pretty
lovely people and we really
want your help,” said M.
Greeley. “So come talk to us!”
Page 4
FEATURES
Issue 4
March 2009
Outdoor Living
class offers lots
of adventure fun
by Annie Pokorney
Staff Writer
PHOTO BY KEVIN DUNHAM
Two SPS district employess, Mark Rhoades of LC and Yvonne Johnson of CTE, were named as
Innovators of the year for their work with TEConnections by a national technology journal
Rhoades and
Johnson win Tech award
by Maria Chumov
Staff Writer
The Technological Horizons
in Education (T.H.E.) Journal
has named LC teacher Mark
Rhoades and district employee
Yvonne Johnson as Innovators of
the year for 2008. Rhoades is a
computer teacher at LC and runs
TEConnections, an after school
program. Johnson works at Career
and Technical Education (CTE),
and also runs the TEConnections
program
with
Rhoades.
According to the T.H.E. Journal
online website, the magazine
is “dedicated to informing and
educating K-12 senior-level
district and school administrators,
technologists, and tech-savvy
educators within districts, schools,
and classrooms to improve and
advance the learning process
through the use of technology.”
Rhoades and Johnson were two
of the educators nominated for the
honor among numerous others in
the US. “I was kind of surprised.
It’s always good to be recognized,”
said Rhoades. “At least I’m
being recognized for what I do.”
“What they [the Journal]
was looking for in 2008 were
educators across the country
who were initiating programs
that would enrich student
performance,” said Rhoades.
TEConnections is a club
devoted to fixing and refurbishing
broken computers, but according
to Johnson, “it’s more than just
a repair shop.” The program
focuses on providing a chance
for students to discover their
talents and “equips students
with the skill sets in Information
Technology (IT),” said Johnson.
The program shows students’
how
communication
and
interaction with other students and
people is essential for most of the
careers that they would pursue.
“I was looking for real work for
students. It’s an opportunity for
students to gain some hands-on
experience,” said Johnson. “The
hands-on part is giving them
the equipment to work with.”
“I think that if they have the
hands-on application of what
they have learned, it enhances
their education,” said Rhoades.
TEConnections receives its
computers from the Instructional
Technology Support Center for
Spokane public schools. “It’s
where all the computers come from
the manufacturers,” said Johnson.
After the computers are fixed
and in working condition,
the students donate them to
families. “Our target audience
is low income families who
don’t have a PC,” said Johnson.
By donating computers to
families, students are able to
perform community service as well
as gain basic training in computers
“The students get the benefit
of applying the skills and
developing them personally
because they have to talk
with families,” said Rhoades.
According to Rhoades,
one of the missions of the
TEConnections program is for
students “to develop soft skills,
or communication skills” that are
frequently required by employers.
Rhoades sees TEConnections
as a “win-win-win” situation, as
students who build the computers
benefit from learning, the
families that the students donate
computers to benefit with their
impoved access to technology,
and the computers and materials
themselves are not wasted.
Mt. Spokane and ventured into
the wilderness on skinny skis.
The group did experience
Every year the Outdoor Living some hardship however, as
classes embark on several their bus broke down at Costco.
adventures. In late Jan, the
Ice fishing and skiing are
classes took a trip to Eloika Lake not the only field trips the
to gain experience in ice fishing. classes take, the students get
They next traveled to the Mt. the chance to do more fishing,
Spokane Nordic center on Feb eagle watching in Idaho and
12 to get in a few kilometers kayaking on the Little Spokane.
of
cross
country
skiing. “[The trips] give kids experiences
27 outdoor living students they wouldn’t normally get,” said
experienced frozen fishing at the outdoor living teacher Paul Neff.
its best at Eloika Lake in Elk,
The trips usually correspond
Washington. Ice fishing, for with what the students are
those who
currently
have never
studying in
ventured
the
class,
to a frozen
w h i c h
lake
for
focuses on
some fish,
outdoor
is fishing
experiences
through a
and natural
hole in the
history.
ice on a
When the
frozen lake.
class
is
“It was
focusing
r e a l l y
on birds or
c o l d ! ”
prey,
for
said junior
example,
Hanna Gay.
they
take
“I
didn’t
the
eagle
catch any
watching
[fish],
I
trip to Coeur
just sat by
D’Alene.
the heater.”
Gay’s
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
G a y ’ s
favorite
favorite part Ice fishing can be an excellent new
trip
was
of the trip hobby to start during the winter.
the
eagle
was looking
watching
at the fish that were caught. trip before she went skiing.
A few students from a similar
The float down the Little
program at Ferris attended Spokane River stands as Neff’s
the fishing trip. They caught favorite trip with the class. He
more fish than the LC students. said, “Cross country skiing sure
A few professionals exhibited the can be a lot of fun too,” said Neff.
way to hold their fishing rods before
The goal of the outdoor living
the students could begin fishing. class is to give students the
A few weeks later the class chance to get outside and learn
drove up to the Selkirk Lodge on about our natural environment.
Tincan Media needs new members to join club
by Maggie Thornton
Staff Writer
Spokane’s own local media
production company is looking
for members to join their high
school division. Tincan Media,
formally known as eMerge, is an
organization that teaches middle
and high school teens how to
operate technical equipment used
in the production of a film. The
program recently shifted its focus
from a news package format to
creating short community based
documentaries around Spokane.
“[Tincan Media] is a media
center downtown that deals with
a lot of high schools. The most
popular program is a documentary
group that makes films to submit
to local film festivals,” said
sophomore Dylan Lockwood.
The organization was started
with the help of several grants
including grants from Bill and
Melinda Gates and Paul Allen.
Lockwood, a member of the
Tincan Media group, has been
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
Members of the Tincan Media group work on a summer project.
involved with the program for
three months and has already
submitted work to two film
festivals in Spokane. He is also
learned a collection of specific
skills for any aspiring filmmaker.
“[The program] helps to
improve technical skills of
aspiring filmmakers. You learn to
work with camera and advanced
editing software and all elements
of film,” said Lockwood.
“The Youth Media group meets at
Tincan Mondays and Wednesdays
from 3-5pm at Tincan’s downtown
offices. Two new after-school
groups meet at Havermale and
Rogers High Schools. The Youth
Media program is also teaching
video production to teens in West
Valley School District’s ContractBased
Education
Building
Bridges program. Additional
Youth Media outreach includes
training staff at the YWCA and
supporting their development
of a video production program
for youth in their programs,”
according to their website.
Participating in the program
is a volunteer opportunity
that is completely free to join.
The program provides all the
equipment that one would need
to make a documentary. Their
office is located within walking
distance of LC on the West 800
block of First Ave. downtown.
The Tincan Media group also
puts on a summer program
where teens are paid to make
documentaries around Spokane.
“I learned how to use a camera,
headphones,
microphone,
and how to interview,” said
junior
Nannette
Phillips.
Phillips was one of the many
students
that
participated
in the program put on this
summer
by
the
group.
“It’s way harder to make a
movie than I ever thought it would
be,” said Phillips. However,
she found the experience
to be an overall good one.
To get involved with program
contact the teen center at
(509)
216-3451
or
visit
their website at http://www.
virtualteencenter.org/index.html.
Page 5
FEATURES
Issue 4
march 2009
Bryson Williams wants to climb McKinley
PHOTO BY BEVERLY AMSTADER
Williams wants to be the youngest person to climb Mt. McKinley in Alaska and needs LC students’ support and donations.
or at least has been in the same
by Krissy Lindsey
boat, when it comes down
Staff Writer to being a broke high school
Some kids like to play soccer, some
kids like to ski local terrain, and
some kids like to ride their bikes
for fun. Senior Bryson Williams
likes to climb mountains. His
newest challenge: Mt. McKinley.
“I’m going to be the youngest kid
from Spokane to climb it,” said
Williams. “It’s the tallest mountain
in North America.” But he’s going
to need a little help along the way.
Williams calculates that it
will take an estimated $5000
to successfully attempt this
climb. “I’m trying to scrounge
up as much as I can right now,”
said Williams. “The challenge
that I am having is trying to
save up for college as well as
attempting to save up enough to
live on a mountain for a month.”
The money that he gathers
will go towards “gear, plane
tickets and other necessities.”
“I’m sure everyone understands,
student, wanting to do something
they love,” said Williams.
Mt. McKinley is located in central
Alaska and takes about a month
to climb. “McKinley is known for
its bad weather, so there could be
“I’m going to be the
youngest kid from
Spokane to climb it.”
a couple times where I’ll be held
up in a tent, enduring 100 mph
winds for a week at a time,” said
Williams. “It could take awhile.”
Along with enduring painful
weather, Williams will be
carrying about 120 lbs. of gear.
“Each person will have their own
backpack,” said Williams. “But
along with that comes the sled
that each of us will be hauling
behind as well.” Williams will be
joined by seven other climbers.
Williams and his group will
begin at 7,000 ft at the base, and
trek their way up to the summit
at 20,320 ft. McKinley is “kind
of known as one of the coldest,
meanest and biggest mountains in
the world,” according to Williams.
“It’s used as a training ground for
other mountains like Everest.”
Mt. McKinley is also
known as Denali because it
is placed in the centerpeice
of Denali National Park.
As a way to raise money for his
McKinley adventure, Williams
has
designed
Nalgene-like
water bottles displaying his own
personal logo. The water bottles
are selling for $10 each to sponsor
his climb and sport four different
colors; blue, green, orange
and a specific shade of purple.
Williams is planning on leaving
by late May or early June. If
you’re interested in buying a
bottle, or just donating a little
money to the “Help Bryson Climb
McKinley” fund, contact the kid
carrying around two different
backpacks; one full of books
and one full of water bottles.
Students can find help with
LC students
place in Miss Spo- their Culminating Projects
kane’s Outstanding
Teen Competition
the subject. According to the
project website,
the
portfolio
must include “all
the written documentation
in
the Culminating
Project process
including
the
body of evidence
of
research.”
The last part of
the project is the
oral presentation
in front of a panel.
Some common
mistakes
students make
in the process of
developing their
project is avoiding the project
all together until
the last minute.
“The students
are so swamped
with college apStudents can start working on their projects as early as freshman year. The
plications,
intopic for the project is up to the student, as long as it is school appropriate.
ternships, tough
classes,
and
Some key things that students trying to get their grades up. An
by Maria Chumov
do in their projects are the independent project like this one
Layout Editor must
“4 P’s:” create a product, paper, could fall to the bottom of their
portfolio, and a presentation. For list,” said Smith. “I think stayLC seniors must create and students to “create a product,” stu- ing focused on it is really hard.”
present a Culminating Project dents must choose a topic of their
According to Smith, students
every year as part of their gradu- choice (from personal experience should know that the culminating
ation requirement. Students can and/or from personal approval), project is “unavoidable. It is a state
do a project of any topic that is gather research on the topic, and requirement and they can start on
safe and appropriate for school. integrate effective, creative ideas it as early as freshman year. So,
Students also have personal menthere is no reason why students
tor teachers that can assist them
can’t present in their senior year.”
in creating their project and mak- “The project is supThe Culminating Project webing sure it is finished by May 2. posed to be a stretch site offers a checklist of things
According to the culminating and will take a signifi- that students must do to be sucproject website, one purpose of
cessful in the culminating projthe project is to have students cant amount of time.” ect: “sign up for a class offering
“think analytically, logically and
culminating project, decide what
creatively, and to integrate experi- and analysis of the information. product you will create, fill out
ence and knowledge to form reaLC Culminating Project Coordi- your academic mentor form, have
soned judgments and solve prob- nator MaryBeth Smith said, “The your parent/guardian sign the
lems.” Another purpose of the project is supposed to be a stretch acknowledgment form, propose
project is for students to “under- and will take a significant amount your project in a letter of prostand the importance of work and of time, so, it has to be something posal, begin your project keeping
how performance, effort, and deci- they [the students] are interested all work in your portfolio, reflect
sions directly affect future career in.” Students are required to in- on your work in an i-search paper
and educational opportunities.” vest a minimum amount of 20 when finished, and bring all your
In creating the project, students hours of work into their projects. materials to your presentation.”
are expected to use their prior
The paper must represent stuFor more information, visit the
knowledge and research to gain dents’ extensive research and LC Culminating Project website at
a new level of understanding. reflect the students’ thinking on www.theculminatingproject.com.
PHOTO BY MARIA CHUMOV
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
Maggie Thornton, Britney Cozza and Robin Kuharski were the
top three competitors in the Outstanding Teen competition.
I really wanted to try because
by Lacey Bachman
Staff Writer it sounded like she had a
The Miss Spokane’s Outstanding
Teen organization awarded two
LC juniors spots on the court,
after their participation in the
pageant. Robin Kuharski and
Maggie Thornton competed
in the pageant on Jan 17.
Miss Spokane’s Outstanding
Teen pageant is “a competition
for high school students between
the ages of fourteen to seventeen,
they compete to have the title
of Miss Spokane’s Outstanding
Teen,”
said
Kuharski.
“The winner’s job throughout
the year” says Kuharski “is to
raise awareness of their platform
and to better their communities.”
Thornton finished as first runner
up and Kuharski was awarded
second runner up. Coming in
at second and third place both
girls attained spots on the court.
“We still have to make some
appearances at places like the lilac
parade and be good role models in
the community,” said Thornton.
Both girls were inspired
to participate in the pageant
after
talking
with
senior
Kenzi Novell, winner of
last year’s Miss Spokane’s
Outstanding
Teen
pageant.
“Kenzi told me about it and
lot of fun,” said Thornton.
The girls began by applying
online and from there filled out all
the paper work and attended many
meetings in effort to compete.
After entered in the competition,
the candidates went through a
“series of mock interviews that
prepared us to speak with the judges
of the actual pageant and we had
to prepare a talent that showcased
our personality,” said Kuharski.
The platform chosen by each
candidate was an issue they found
important about the community
that they wanted to change or
work with throughout the year.
Thornton’s platform was
promoting recycling within
schools
and
Kuharski’s
centered
around
improving
nutrition
education
inside
elementary
schools.
The winner of the pageant is
a junior at North Central High
School, Brittany Cozza, whose
platform was Students Against
Destructive Decisions (SADD).
Thronton’s advice for those
interested in competing in
the pageant in years to come
is “do a lot of research about
your platform, and choose
something you really care about
so you really want to do it.”
Page 6
FEATURES
‘Wonder Squad’
making a game
Issue 4
march 2009
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INTERNET
The group’s meetings are
by Jaime Buckles
Staff Writer “sporadic,” and signaled by
The LC Wonder Squad are
working on a new video game
called Wonder Squad Roll
Playing Game (WSRPG). The
group describes the game as the
life and death of superheroes: a
dying race’s last stand against
the evils of the “interweb.”
The Wonder Squad, consists
mostly of Lewis and Clark
sophomores who prefer to be
called by code names. Members
such as Marc Parker (Darc Marc),
Ryan Katz (Rambunctious Ryan),
Kevin Grow (Karate Kevin),
Michael Telhune (Stupid Michael),
Cooper Mellena (Cucumber
Cooper), Nick Hansen (Super
Mr. Hansen) and Rane Buyser
(The Guy With a Cape) make
up the highest ranking members.
Although the squad counts
approximately 60 human members
to date, millions of entities are
affiliated with the group, including
highly valued members like love
and hatred. “They are the only
emotions we feel,” said Parker.
And those are the values that
mold the organization as a whole.
Members view their Squad as
a belief system, described as a
code of ethics, that cannot quite
be explained, but it includes
a steady crusade against the
growing evils of “the land.”
The Wonder Squad is
essentially made up of super
heroes, if you want to force them
into a stereotype. “Can’t put
a bar code on me,” said Katz.
a classic 1989 Game Boy
being ejected into the air,
attracting
fellow
members.
During these meetings,
they dance and sing, often
coordinating Broadway routines.
In their spare time, they discuss
the downfall of Microsoft.
One of the most attractive
products of the Squad is their
Youtube videos. Mostly filmed
in the backyards and with
minimal plots, they capture the
love of watchers. The Squad
has not recently posted a new
video but they will return.
They are calling for all actors
interested in participating in new
videos. The Wonder Squad wants
creative, pristine and serious actors,
who can bring their own props.
The Squad has simplistic
views for their future: “Love
and
passion,”
said
Katz.
They ask for more friendship.
During the interview, Katz
and Parker’s eyes caught, and
together they said, “We wish
to express more emotion. An
emotion explosion, if you will.”
Grow, on the other hand,
said, “Our plans for the future
include ladies. With that, money
and fame. I’d like to see more
interviews, and possibly a motion
picture movie. In fact, we’d like
an animated television show.”
The only thing the group
had to say to readers was
“send information to Hansen.”
If interested in contacting the
group, forward questions to Parker.
Byte this! How
PC storage works
bytes are simply a letter, number
by Melissa Holmberg
Staff Writer or symbol on the computer.
The brain has cells that hold
information and help you to
remember things. Computers
have information holders too,
only instead of having cells they
have things called bytes. Not
like a bite out of a sandwich, but
a byte as in a form of memory.
Unless you are really into
computers, however, chances
are you probably don’t know
much about bytes and what they
do. So here is some information
that will make understanding
them a little easier as to how
they relate to the actual world.
A byte is a basic unit of
measurement for information
storage in computer science
and is an ordered collection of
“bits.” Think of “bits” as in bits
of a sandwich out of a whole
sandwich and each byte out
of the sandwich is the storage
system on your computer.
Each byte denotes a single
binary value of 0 or 1. Most bytes
have eight bits, but this depends
on the size of the computer’s
operating system or hardware.
For example, computers built
a long time ago won’t hold as
many gigabytes of megabytes of
bytes for storing information as
a computer built today would.
Bytes in large quantities are
called megabytes. Megabytes are
about a million bytes, while single
You can get a good picture of how
large megabytes are by imagining
a big, lengthy book, such as the
Bible or a dictionary. These books
are about five or six megabytes.
Go look at a single page in a
book and count all of the letters
in the words and the spaces
between the words, and you can
figure out how many bytes are
in the page. At this point in this
article there are 1,163 bytes.
Do you have a lot of pictures
on your computer? When saved
in a computer a single picture
takes up more storage than
over a thousand words of text
do. Now imagine how much
storage a whole memory card
full of pictures would take up.
Do you have some music in an
iTunes library? A single threeminute track takes up more space
than a big stack of books full of
text. A twelve track CD takes up a
library of books on your computer.
If you just bought a fancy new
computer and are wondering how
many essays, songs, and pictures it
can hold, you should first go look
at the amount of gigabytes it has.
A gigabytes is over a thousand
megabytes, so depending on how
many gigabytes your storage
system holds, you can upload as
many CDs and pictures as you want.
With all of the new technology
being invented today, computers
will soon be able to hold even more.
The members of Olaf Olaf Olaf, from left to right: juniors Bobby Larson, John Loft, Grant Oakley
and Michael Nave. The band was started as a hobby while the four attended Sacajawea Middle
School. Since then, their recognition has grown with their dedication to the music they perform.
LC band Olaf Olaf
Olaf gets 3rd place
in RAWK contest
by Alexis Powers
four different preliminary rounds.
Staff Writer Each band played one round
LC student band Olaf Olaf
Olaf placed third in the RAWK
Final Four competition on
Saturday, February 21 at the
Service Station in north Spokane.
The competition is put on by
RAWK, an organization that
supports young bands that would
not otherwise get promotion.
With over 600 audience
members in attendance, including
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner, the
Service Station was full of energy
and despite coming in third place,
Olaf Olaf Olaf did not disappoint.
The four LC students who make
up Olaf Olaf Olaf include juniors:
Michael Nave, guitar, Grant
Oakley, keyboard, John Loft, bass,
and Bobby Larson, drums. All the
members contribute with vocals.
The competition started with
twenty high school bands from
the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area
that were chosen to play in one of
and the audience voted for their
favorite. The bands earned bonus
points given by a panel of judges;
the four bands with the most votes
move on to the Final Four round.
“We were mildly and
indirectly asked to play the
preliminary round and we made
it to the finals,” said Oakley.
A “wild card” band was also
chosen to play in the Final
Four round. Judges randomly
select a band that played in one
of the preliminary rounds to
compete with the Final Four.
This year the judges chose
another LC band, Bodhi Drip.
Along with Olaf Olaf Olaf,
the bands who made it to the
Final Four were Death by Adam,
Green Light Go and Raw Nerve.
Olaf Olaf Olaf’s set included
a sing-along and a few
kazoos, not to mention an
encore with their infamous
song “Chips and Tunnels.”
Their music is “like a giraffe
drinking a peach smoothie and
licking your cheek,” said Loft.
Olaf Olaf Olaf started with the
boys playing together in the jazz
band at Sacajawea middle school.
“We decided to start a band
and it was kind of a joke band
called Scantily Plaid and we
decided to shift our music to the
style we are now,” said Larson.
After a few years of hard
work, Olaf Olaf Olaf’s indieprogressive style was born.
“It was really just a
mistake, an accident; the
fates made it so,” said Nave.
You can see Olaf Olaf Olaf in
one of their upcoming shows at
the Empyrean or you may find
them “freelance dinner-jazzing”
anywhere
around
Spokane.
“We find a place with a piano
and see how long we can play until
someone kicks us out,” said Loft.
To learn more about Olaf
Olaf Olaf, visit their MySpace:
w w w. m y s p a c e . c o m / o l a f 3 .
Issue 4
March 2008
SPORTS
Page 7
Girls basketball finishes
fifth at state in Tacoma
by Sydney Harmon
Staff Writer
PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
The LC girls basketball team
finished overall record of 28
wins and 3 losses, and placed
fifth in state. During the post
season they won the district
playoff game against U-High,
keeping the lead the entire game,
ending with a score of 54-35.
In the second half of the
season, the girls won against GPrep, 63-24, on Jan. 13. They
were not touched by U-High,
63-45; NC, 66-30; Mt. Spokane,
88-44; and Shadle, 63-47.
These wins were key parts
of LC’s run to a perfect 200
regular
season
record.
During the G-Prep game they
won by twenty points, with a score
63-43. The closest game they
played was against CV, 46-44, a
game in which sophomore Riley
Holsinger hit a game winning
shot with five seconds remaining.
They ended the season
beating EV, Mead, and Rogers.
The girls then faced their first
loss in over 50 games against
Mead with a score of 59-57,
on Feb. 19. They then played
against CV, and won 49-40.
After the Tigers’ disappointing
loss in the District Championship,
they were determined to get
revenge and advance to State
for the seventh consecutive year.
The girls played in regionals
from Feb. 24-28. They lost
against Walla Walla with a
score of 70-52. The girls then
went on to play three more
times and won all three games.
After the frustrating loss to
Walla Walla, the Tigers faced
a difficult road to the State
tournament: they would have to
win three game in a 24 hour period.
The girls played Kamiakin
and won with a score of 79-46.
The Mead game on Feb. 26 was
a high stress game because the
Tigers did not want to end their
season. They ended the game
with a ten point lead, 55-45.
In the second game against
Walla Walla, the LC girls were
convinced not to lose again
and won the game, 45-48.
According to senior Sarah
Kliewer, “We were caught off
guard for the first game. This was
Firststring.com is the first sports networking site that connects athletes. Athletes can correspond with teammates, opponents, and
coaches. The site features sections for every high school sport.
Sports networking
site becomes reality
The Team Profile contains
by David Sheppard
pages for team stats, a team
Co-Editor-in-Chief message board, and a public
and Sports Editor roster and schedule. The message
Freshman Devyn Galland drives to the basket in the Rubber
Chicken. The Tigers finished the season 28-3 and fifth in State.
a chance to redeem ourselves, and
we wanted to send home the team
who gave us an embarrassing loss.”
LC girls then went to the state
playoffs where they lost their
first game against on March 4,
which elimiated their chances
for the state title. The girls lost
with a final score of 48-61, which
puts them in the running for fifth
place. During the game, their was
a two point difference, but the
Eagles scored 28 points leaving
the game with a 13 point loss.
The Tigers then went to play
Jackson, on March 5, and won
with the final score 63-31.
The Tigers played Kamiak on
Friday March 6, and won with a
43 point difference, with a score
of 69-26. The game started slow,
and the first basket made was by
senior Jeneva Anderson in the last
five minutes of the third quarter. In
the last 13 minutes of the game, the
girls managed to sink 32 points.
The last game for the girls
was against Bellarmine Prep
on Saturday, March 7, where
the game was close with score
of 60-55. With 1:08 on the
clock the score was 55-53.
Cheerleader and senior McKenzi
Novell said, “The end of the
game was intense because the
other team was catching up.”
Then junior Daisy Burke scored
two free throws with 11 seconds
on the clock, and that gave LC
the fifth place title. Kliewer said,
“Obviously fifth is not first but we
brought home some hardware.”
The LC girls wrap up their
season with a second place
title in Districts, third in
Regionals, and fifth in State.
LC takes home three awards
from annual sports banquet
“I found out two weeks before
the awards ceremony and it
by Kenny Rukavina
me by surprise. I didn’t
Staff Writer caught
think I would win,” said Hebner.
The Spokane Regional Sports
Commission handed out awards
to one LC coach, one LC team,
and one LC trainer. Jim Redmon
won the Junior Female Team
Coach of the Year award, the
Lewis and Clark Girls Basketball
Team won the Junior Female
Team of the Year award, and
Whitney Hebner won the Student
Athletic Trainer of the Year award.
She’s been an athletic trainer for
two years and has trained many
different teams. Over the years,
she trained the girls’ soccer team,
boys’ basketball, and boys’ soccer.
Being an athletic trainer, she has
to make sure that all of the athletes
are ready to play. She also has to
address an injury if there is one on
the field, and make sure that they
get the proper treatment for it.
Hebner was one of three
applicants for the award. “Ashley
Powers was another trainer from
LC that was an applicant and a
girl from Cheney,” said Hebner.
The team that got the Junior
Female Team of the Year was
the Lewis and Clark Basketball
Team. “It feels good, it’s a little
unexpected, it’s good to know all
the hard work we put in is getting
recognized,” said basketball
captain
Jeneva
Anderson.
The girls basketball team
finished 28-3 and fifth in
the state as I write this.
Their coach, Jim Redmon,
was
the
Junior
Female
Team Coach of the Year.
Firststring.com, a website
launched in March 2008, hopes
to become the country’s premier
internet
sports
community.
The website consists of a
variety of features that make
communicating with teammates,
coaches
and
opponents
easier and more enjoyable.
Founder Jonathan Eppers
is convinced that Firststring.
com will be a very successful
idea. “There are currently ten
million high school athletes
in the United States,” Eppers
said. “Our goal is to have five
to eight million of them online
within a three year timeframe.”
Eppers, a former high school
football and soccer player, has
a specific vision about where
Firstring.com will go. “While
developing Firststring.com, my
goal was to connect high school
athletes and coaches,” Eppers said.
Though Firststring.com mirrors
sites like Facebook.com and
Myspace.com, but Firststring.
com definitely has specific
benefits for people involved
with high school athletics.
“Facebook and Myspace
are global websites for your
friends with tons of interests,”
Eppers said. “While you may
have a wider variety of people
on these social networks,
Firststring.com has more a
concentrated niche of followers.”
The website’s has a number of
features, including both an Athlete
Profile, and a Team Profile.
board can only be seen by those
who users approve to see it.
The individual Athlete Profile
also encompasses a variety of
features that would be very
useful for a high school athlete.
Athletes will be able to display
highlight videos, photos and
articles written about them.
They can also list personal
rankings stats in this section.
Privacy and safety are both
major concern for Firststring.
com. “Users can control who can
see their profile,” Eppers said.
“Athletes can still have family
and friends view their profile.”
The website now offers a feature
called “Play by the Rules.” It uses
built in tools for athletes to monitor
their profiles and flag issues or
conflicts with website personnel.
While Firststring.com does
not consider itself a recruiting
website, it does offer a section
for recruiters and potential
college athletes to communicate.
Since the recruiting system is
strictly monitored by the NCAA,
Firststring.com will not breach
any NCAA rules or regulations.
Firststring.com is starting to get
involved in signing endorsement
deals with some major apparel
businesses and dealers.
All
Firststring.com members can
receive 20 percent off their
first order at Eastbay.com. In
addition, the website is planning
to sign agreements with Under
Armour, Hilton Hotels and GNC.
The site also plans to partner
with high school summer camps
all over the country next summer.
Issue 4
March 2009
SPORTS
Page 8
Wrestling team
hopes to build up
strength next year
PHOTO BY BEVERLY AMSTADTER
Megan Berriochoa takes on Coach Mark Vandine during the Special Olympics vs. Staff game.
Special Olympics takes on staff
ket of the game for the staff
by Beverly Amstadter
team, before a steal and breakPhotography Editor away by #35 Junior Eric Yoder.
The Special Education
class defeated the staff team
twice last week in a competitive basketball game that
had the crowds on their feet.
This year was the fifth annual
competition between the two
teams and the staff is yet to win a
game. “A couple years ago Mrs.
Nowak and I were eating lunch and
we just came up with the idea of a
basketball game,” said Mrs. Meyer. “I always hope we’ll win but
we never seem to that ‘W’ (win).
We put forth a valiant effort.”
This year proved no different. With the Tigers winning the
tip it was almost all down hill
from there for the staff. Special Education teacher Mark
Vandine scored the first bas-
Throughout the first quarter
there were many back to back
baskets, but with four minutes
to go #52 junior Brandon Winham scored a three to bring the
game to 7-4. The first quarter ended with a score of 15-8.
In the second quarter, MVP of
the staff Vandine sunk a three
in the third minute to bring the
game to 23-11 (Tigers). “The
student team is totally schooling
the staff,” said senior fan Gilo
Taka. “It’s really fun to watch.”
The first half ended with a
score of 35-15 for the Tigers.
Reffing for the game was senior Jeneva Anderson and freshman Sarah Barnes. “It’s a really intense game but the Tigers
are really pulling it off,” said
Barnes. “However some of the
staff are gettin’ kind of feisty.
The third quarter proved the
break away point for the Tigers
when junior Christian Easterling
sunk another three for his team to
bring the game to 51-28. Also in
the third quarter Principal Shawn
Jordan was called for a technical foul by Anderson, however
the reason for the call is still unknown and very controversial.
With five minutes to go in the
third quarter freshman Grace
Thomas had back to back points
bringing the Tigers to 65-34 ending any hope the staff team had left.
The final score of the
game was 67-40 for the Tigers who remain undefeated.
“We try to learn from LC basketball coaches Jim Redmon and
Jeff Norton, but we can’t remember any of the plays,” said Meyer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INTERNET
In their last match before returning home, the Sounders FC lost for the first time in Argentina.
Sounders go for the big league
by Conor Wigert
Editor-in-Chief
Come
this
spring,
soccer fans and players alike
in Washington will have
their own team to support.
The Seattle Sounders FC
will be joining the line up of
teams competing for the Major League Soccer title when
the season begins this April.
The Sounders will be joining the Seahawks as games will
be played at Quest Stadium
on the Xbox pitch with tickets
ranging from $16-$75 a match.
Training began in Renton on Jan 21 and will continue up until the first match.
“It’s big,” said senior Chris
Hollman, an avid soccer fan and
LC goalie. “Since Shadow [Spokane’s old semi-professional
soccer team] left there isn’t a
lot of good soccer to watch in
the area. I am probably going
to go down for opening day.”
The team promises to be good,
recruiting the likes of former
Swedish national team captain
Freddie Ljungberg, Washington Kasey Keller and they also
received first draft pick in the
MLS super draft, Steve Zakuani.
“The line up looks promising,” said Hollman. “There
are a lot of experienced veterans and young talent.”
Along with being a MLS team,
the Sounders work to help kids in
the area by providing them with an
after school program, SCORES,
that works to promote literacy.
The program already serves over
300 children in the Seattle area.
Along with SCORES, the Sounders also have a six week youth development program that “will be
instructed by the finest coaches
in the northwest,” according to
their website soundersfc.com.
Furthermore, the football
club is offering a high school
boys preparation camp right
before the high school season.
Before they were a MLS team,
the Seattle Sounders were in the
same PDL league as the Spokane
Shadow before the Shadow club
folded around two years ago.
After the Shadow folded, Spokanites lost all connections to
any local teams. Because of this,
it is not only important to Seattle soccer culture that they now
have a professional team, but
it’s important to the whole state.
PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK
Senior Jesse Halley shows strength while taking on his opponent
good overall, although I wish I
by Kenny Rukavina
did better at state, I only lost one
Staff Writer GSL match,” said VanVoorhis.
The
LC
wrestling
team finished with a record of
2-6 in the GSL. “The season
had many highs and lows especially with the re-scheduling of
matches due to snow days,” said
JV coach Jeremy Richardson.
As of February 21, Central
Valley’s wrestling team was tied
for first with East valley, with
a score of 9-1. In second place
was Mead with a score of 8-2.
Although they finished tenth in
the league, the LC team enjoyed
King of the Hill, a match against
Ferris, Lc’s greatest rivial, on
Jan 29. “A Sweet highlight was
when Peter threw his guy out at
King of the Hill,” said junior Javier Flores-Sparks. King of the
Hill was a match against Ferris,
LC’s greatest rival, on Jan 29.
Senior Peter VanVoorhis, the
wrestler who threw his opponent
at King of the Hill, placed third
in regionals and was a state participant. He was one of eight
wrestlers to get their letter this
year. “My season turned out
The LC team is planning on improving next year. “The wrestling
program is going through a rebuilding period. We had some big
parts of the program graduate the
last couple years, so kind of starting over with some very inexperienced wrestlers this season,” said
varsity wrestling coach Ty Lingo.
Lingo predicts that within two
to three years LC will have a
competitive season again. In
the mean time, they are going to
work on getting their wrestlers
more experienced and trained.
“We had a great freshmen class
and sophomore Nolan Templeton was a regional qualifier this
season and we hope to have him
improve on those efforts over the
next few seasons,” said Lingo.
The wrestling team has many
graduating seniors this year, but
despite so many people leaving, some of the younger wrestlers have made a goal to make
up for the loss. “My goal is to
try to get into state and/or regionals next year,” said freshmen wrestler Ryley Hovde.
SPORTS
Issue 4
March 2009
PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOk
Page 9
A-Rod’s demise is here
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
Taylor Eglet dribbles by a CV defender in a 47-45 win on Feb. 3
Boys Varsity
Basketball earns
second in the GSL
with a 59-55 win over Mead dur-
by Beverly Amstadter
ing the first round. “Games are
Photography Editor won and lost in two minutes,”
The boy’s basketball team
finished the regular season
with an overall record of 11-9
heading into post season play
where they finished off earning second place in districts.
Regular play ended with
an exciting win over Rogers
51-50 on Senior Night which
placed them in third place.
According to many players, a huge turning point for the
team came with the win over GPrep, an exciting game ending
with a one point victory to LC.
“After the Prep win, it seemed
like we all realized our style of
basketball and we played that
style more confidently and consistently and got more wins because
of it,” said junior Sage Poland.
In fact, after the G-Prep game the
team finished off their remaining
ten games with only three losses.
According to many of the players this season was also a lot more
enjoyable. “It’s fun to win,” said
Poland. “It kind of feels like the
football season two years ago,”
said junior Austin Ehlo. (Two
years ago our football team
won the state championship.)
The team did have more success this year, as last year they
did not make it to districts.
“It feels good to do so well because we’re doing it for the seniors,” said junior Levi Taylor.
“They’ve worked really hard to
get here, and T-time [senior Taylor Eglet] literally took a punch
in the eye to get where he is.”
In districts, the boys began strong
said Taylor. This proved an important victory for the Tigers as
during their last game against
Mead they suffered a 43-55 loss.
The Tigers next took on G-Prep
once again, however after “one
of the hardest games [they’ve]
played,” according to many players, the team could not quite
grab the win. The game ended
with a score of 57-55. Carrying
the Tigers throughout the game
was junior Austin Ehlo who
knocked in four three point shots.
The team came back to win an
important match against Ferris 5243, qualifying them for regionals.
Making it to regionals was a
lot farther than the boys basketball team has gone in a decade. The last time they appeared in regionals was in 1999.
The team worked to keep
it exciting. During their first
round of regionals the boys
took on Pasco which they won
in double overtime 75-73. The
Tigers grabbed the win when
senior Taylor Eglet made a fade
away just inside the three point
line as the buzzer went off.
The boys proceeded to the
second round where they lost
to Walla Walla by 15 sending
them into the losers bracket.
There they faced G-prep once
again which resulted in a 49-34
loss, ending the season for the boys.
“Overall it was really a great
season,” said Poland.
“We
worked hard and ended up going way farther than in recent
years. Hopefully next year we
can be even more successful.”
Spokane Hoopfest
2009
TM
Join us for 20 years of 3-on-3 Basketball Excellence!
Registration opens today!
Alex Rodriguez has continuelessly been a bad role model to children who look up to sports athletes.
a drug test in 2003. Then he did prehensive surgery is necessary
by David Sheppard
I figured he would: pretend once the season is completed.
Co-Editor-in-Chief what
to be sorry and try to be sincere.
Many believe that this is a result
and Sports Editor
While some may believe that of the wear and tear on his body.
So many professional athletes
in this modern era act foolishly
and are terrible role models for
children. On more than several occasions, I have wondered
what gets into these athletes’
minds. One athlete who tops the
list for me is Alex Rodriguez.
I think we all know that A-Rod
was Major League Baseball’s
poster child for the clean, steroidfree, innocent ballplayer. MLB
commissioner Bud Selig wanted
to portray A-Rod as the savior
of the game who could rewrite
Barry Bonds’ homerun record
without the skepticism of use of
performance enhancing drugs.
Unfortunately for the commissioner and true baseball fans
around the world, this would not
be the case. Sports Illustrated
reported that A-Rod had flunked
A-Rod came across as honest
and forthright in his exclusive
interview with ESPN’s Peter
Gammons, I believe the contrary.
He said that he had taken performance enhancing drugs from
2001 through 2003, but it does
not seem plausible that a guy who
hits 52, 57 and 47 homers respectively in the three seasons would
abruptly quit taking the juice.
It seems likely to me that more information will trickle out over the
coming months and perhaps years.
Another interesting twist on
the story that just recently broke
is A-Rod’s current injury that
he had surgery on earlier this
week. It was a hip injury that
required repairing of torn cartilage and a cyst. The recovery
time is expected to be six to nine
weeks, but a much more com-
While this is probably true, I find
it hard to believe that steroids
did not play some sort of role
in A-Rod’s most recent injury.
For those of you who have never
seen A-Rod in his casual clothes,
jeans and a tight T-shirt, you can
not truly appreciate just how big
this guy really is. When I saw him
in a hotel lobby in May of 2007,
nearly two years before anything
was released about his flunked
test, I said to myself, “There’s
no way this guy is natural.”
I hate to be the one who said,
“I told you so,” but I could not
but help but crack a small grin
across my face as a lifelong
Red Sox fan. Seeing a Yankee,
even more a Yankee who I despise, face a long journey back
to trustworthiness and reliability
is a very pleasing in my mind.
Gymnastics does well in season
JV members competed which
at the Jan. 14 meet hosted by
for the overall season score.
According to the GSL website, the team competed at the
Dec. 10 meet at Rogers and
left with an all around score of
131.85 trailing only 30 points
behind University and giving
LC a second place win. “Overall both JV and Varsity stepped
it up a lot,” said sophomore
Stephanie Gouche. “We proved
we are making a comeback.”
As of Jan. 7 the girls had a final GSL score of 1-8 and team
captain senior Kelsey Doyle
and House had high hopes for
the team to excel in the season
According to the GSL website,
following behind U-high, who
placed first by only 30 points.
According to GSL.com, the
teams had an accumulating
score of 110.35 at the final meet
of the season hosted at Shadle
Park. The team placed third and
sent one freshman member off
to compete at state in Yakima.
Freshman Josette Johnson is
the first LC gymnast to go to
state in 20 years and competed Feb. 20 in the bar category.
The team has 21 girls
and five who compete in
all
varsity
competitions.
Head coach sheri hause was
unable to be interviewed..
by Amanda Thompson
gave the girls more practice Ferris, the team conquered with
Features Editor since the scores did not count an all around score of 132.07
The LC gymnastics team,
which began competing in early
Dec., finished off the season
in the end of February placing
second overall in their meets.
The team competed in four categories including bars, beams,
vault and floor and placed certain
girls into each competition depending on scheduling and athletic skill. When the girls compete
the team members with the usual
low score go first and the usual
high scoring members go last.
At the first meets of the season,
which are GSL meets, mainly
Support LC Spring Athletics in March: Cheer on our teams!
March 17:
March 20: Softball at GP 4 pm
Baseball at Ferris 4 pm
March 18:
Softball vs Rogers 4 pm
Soccer vs GP 5 pm
March 23:
March 18:
Soccer at Mead 4 pm
Baseball vs Ferris 4 pm March 24:
Softball at CV 4 pm
Baseball vs CV 4 pm
Tennis vs Rogers 3:30 pm
Tennis vs. NC 3:30 pm
March 25: Soccer vs Mt. Spokane 4 pm
March 26:
Baseball at CV 4 pm
Softball vs Ferris
March 27:
Baseball at U-Hi 4 pm
Softball vs NC 4 pm
Page 10
OPINION
Students can enjoy cleaning
by Amanda Thompson
Features Editor
PHOTO BY BEVERLY AMSTADER
experience, you can make the evil
adventure worth all the effort.
When you’re getting ready to
begin your cleaning process, go
around your house and make a
list of all the things you need to
clean, placing the most important
at the top and the least at the
bottom. Make a list of items
you need to get from the home
improvement store and buy them
all before you begin the next day.
When you wake up the day
you decide to clean, get into
comfortable clothes that you
wouldn’t mind getting bleached
or stained. Shoes are not my
favorite thing to wear when
cleaning because they track
Junior Maggie Thorton and senior Zach Alden descover some
keys to successful cleaning are cheerfulness and organization.
dirt throughout the house, but
if your feet ache after a long
period of time, wear tennis shoes.
Drink coffee, eat a healthy
breakfast and keep hydrated
throughout the day. Before you
start cleaning, get all the supplies
you will need out and ready.
Make sure to turn on music
that pumps you up and gets
you energized. Turn it on loud
throughout your house. Songs
like “I will survive” by Gloria
Gaynor or “Fearless” by Taylor
Swift are perfect for cleaning the
bathroom and “Hot and cold” by
Katy Perry is great for cleaning
the stove. Salsa songs are perfect
for mopping the floor because
you can slide across it just like
they do on Dancing with the Stars.
The most important thing
to remember when you begin
cleaning is to stay focused and
have fun; otherwise you will
go insane throughout the day.
Cleaning with other people is
always a good idea too because
then they will keep you focused
and help out along the way;
four hands are better than two.
If you want to clean your
backpack for instance, then you
can take everything out and
sort through the papers that you
need and don’t need. Throw
away all the garbage and restock
your binders with fresh paper
and a couple pens or pencils.
The same idea applies to cleaning
your locker or your car. Go through
everything and make that area or
item look brand new again. Start
off the spring season with a fresh
new outlook on life and clean like
you have never cleaned before.
Laguna Café is impressive
by Kevin Dunham
Staff Writer
Twigs on Regal may have some
new competition from local
newcomer, Laguna Café. Laguna
Café is a restaurant located in
the Twigs strip mall that serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner for less
than pricey costs. A nice dinner
for two will run you between forty
to sixty dollars, if you buy desert.
Popular choices at the Café are
the three cheese ravioli in your
choice of a sun-dried tomato
pesto or a creamy mushroom
sauce. The ravioli comes with
a starter salad for only $10.95.
A favorite of mine, the Tuscan
Chicken Caesar Salad is greens
covered in a house Caesar
dressing, croutons, chicken and
shaved parmesan cheese. The
starter included is your choice
of soup. I would recommend
the Yukon Gold Potato soup.
As for service, Laguna Café
does quite well for itself. The
servers were polite, friendly,
and always around if you need a
spare fork or napkin. Sophomore
Nate Braks said, “I really liked
how everyone treated you. They
came across as really liking
what they do, and that’s a plus.”
Laguna Café is located next
to Verizon and Quiznos on
South Regal. Not much in the
way of curb appeal, but the
inside is where they focused
their attention. The restaurant
Nouns should
be used as verbs
by Melissa Holmberg
Crochet which could be taught by
English teacher Jennifer Showalter.
and Holland Kapstafer
Furthermore, deleting verbs
Staff Writers would make the dictionary an
When the winter snow begins to
melt and the rainy days of spring
commence, the dust and cobwebs
start showing their unlovely
faces all throughout people’s
winterized abodes. It’s the time
of year that many dread and few
enjoy. It is called spring cleaning.
Spring cleaning is a fresh kick
off to what lies ahead in the warm
summer months filled with sun
bathing and vacationing. Nobody
wants to dust and vacuum
around the house in the middle
of summer when the clutter in
their closet gets out of control
and the dirt covers every carpet.
As dreadful as it may sound,
cleaning can be a fun and
joyful adventure that both
young and old can learn to
enjoy. By doing a few simple
things to jazz up your cleaning
“As dreadful as it
may sound, cleaning
can be a fun and
joyful adventure.”
Issue 4
March 2009
ravioli, and a
host of upscale
b u rg e r s ,
minus
the
upscale price.
Laguna Café’s
service, quality
and price are
leagues above
Red
Robin
and
similar
restaurants
like Outback
Steakhouse and
TGI Fridays.
Sadly though,
Laguna Café
probably won’t
sing you happy
birthday
on
command,
a
popular
feature of the
previously
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
l i s t e d
restaurants.
The Laguna Café is an affordable, comfortable
As for desert,
and family-owned restaurant on the South Hill. Laguna
Café
had five or so
is a cross between a chic little choices, of which my friends and I
coffee shop and a family owned ordered the raspberry cheesecake.
restaurant, which Laguna Café is. Maybe it was last, and it was sweet,
Laguna Café does have a limited but one thing I know for sure was
menu, but what they make, they the cheesecake was killer, and
make well. From the Chicken Pot much less pricey than expected.
All in all, Laguna Café is a
Pie to the Laguna Burger, this
place has something for pretty winner in my book, mainly
much everyone. I had a hard because of its reasonable prices,
time deciding what to order, even good food and quick, friendly
with the small menu. For dinner, service. It’s no five star restaurant,
Laguna Café serves flat iron steak, and it doesn’t try to be. Laguna
shrimp, meat loaf, Caesar salad, Café has its niche and sticks to it.
The verb has turned into
a useless part of speech; the
noun, however has become all
the more permanent. English
classes in Washington should
adjust their curriculum to
fit
some
new
standards.
For example, why say “I am
going to go play games after I do
my chores”? You could eliminate
the verbs, replace them with nouns,
and say “I will game after I chore.”
Instead of wasting your time
with the lengthy version, you can
save your breath for singing along
with the radio in the car. Along
with saving your breath you also
decrease your vocabulary and
therefore decrease the amount
of global word pollution; after
all, the planet does need saving.
With a decreased vocabulary
you no longer need to learn as
many words, eliminating the need
for English classes, and for that
matter, English teachers. This
saves the school budget some
serious cash. Perhaps the school
would then be able to purchase a
snack machine with that extra cash .
In this snack machine we
would have Skittles, Doritos, Top
Ramen, and most importantly,
muffins. Instead of offering an
English class, LC would have a
new program called Knitting and
easier book to read; therefore
attracting
more
readers.
Helping verbs, verbs that help
express mood or tense, are okay
to use when necessary, since we
have already learned so many
verbs it would be impossible
to eliminate them entirely.
Some steps you might take to
follow the trend would be to buy
a dictionary and scribble out all
the verbs. Another way would
be to play endless hours of video
games in which poor grammar is
used. Then, when your parents
ask what you’re going to do
“The verb has
turned into a useless
part of speech.”
later that day you could say “I’m
movie and party. I home… later.”
Not only will this confuse your
parents, but it will delay their
response giving you time to make
your escape with out them knowing.
Some disadvantages might be
the thousands of teachers out of a
job. Unemployment riots of angry
teachers with books and rulers but
think of the snack machines!!!
Another disadvantage could be
the loss of IQ, but nobody really
wanted intelligence anyway.
True Valentine’s
Day essence is lost
in stores around Labor Day,
by John Slater
but it seems to be on its way.
Opinions Editor
Somehow, we became obsessed
Once every year, on the
fourteenth of Feb., a day rolls
around dedicated to celebrating
the kind of love that exists
between two (hopefully) unrelated
people. This love is symbolized
by hearts, unusual amounts of
pink and red and Hallmark cards
inscribed with love poems or other
sweet epitaphs. It’s nauseating.
The experience of Valentine’s
Day is like eating ten pounds of
sugar and following it up with
a Supersize chocolate shake.
After a few minutes, you start
feeling slow, after which the
pain of side aches and cramps
set in. Then you need Tums.
St. Valentine’s Day (or just
Valentine’s Day, as consumerism
has driven out any sort of religious
or holy aspect of the day) was,
at one point, a day for calmly
and privately commemorating
the bond you have with your
special someone. That kind of
thing is cute, which is a word
that I don’t often use. In the
twenty-first century, Valentine’s
Day
has
transformed…no,
devolved…into something rather
repulsive, at least for most people.
The amount of merchandise
American youth purchase, let
alone is available, is shocking,
to say the least. Stores are loaded
with pink stuff piled on more
pink stuff and planeloads of
candies and balloons as soon
as the hype surrounding New
Year’s dies off, which, according
to the stores, is December 30.
Valentine’s Day has not quite
turned into the consumerfest
that it Christmas, which arrives
with not only spending an arm
and a leg on random pink things
that nobody will care about in
two weeks, but we somehow
thought that the general public
has great entertainment in
watching us *ahem* express our
feelings to our significant other.
As a high school student, I have
subconsciously built a natural
shield to protect my psyche
from public displays of affection
(PDA), but that doesn’t prevent
it from existing all the same.
The random couples I see on a
fairly regular basis who display
their affection in public seem to
be engaged in a spirited game
of I-Can-Eat-Your-Face-FasterThan-You-Can-Eat-Mine
than
actually kissing. That or they
are glued together at the lips
and remaining completely still,
which is almost more disturbing.
On top of all of this, Singles’
Awareness Day, which is ironically
abbreviated as SAD, falls on the
same day as Valentine’s. In a
nutshell, single kids and adults
are given the short end of the
stick, if given any stick at all,
while they endure the sight of
the infinite couples surrounding
them expressing their feelings.
If I was to understate, I would
say that I dislike Valentine’s Day.
I’m also male, which makes
this justifiable as a defense
mechanism for the part of my
brain that loves to build things,
get said things dirty, destroy said
things…you know, guy stuff.
And just so you know, I do have a
significant other, and she happens
to dislike the holiday just as much.
Issue 4
March 2009
OPINION
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
Starbucks has a bad rap
By Sydney Harmon
Staff Writer
Rapper Lil’ Wayne has proven time and again to the music
industry that his creativity is the gold standard in his genre,
topping other well-respected names like Ludacris and TI.
Lil’ Wayne bests
his competition
“Paper Trail” fails in comparison,
By Kevin Dunham
Young Jeezy’s “The Recession”
Staff Writer is not even worth mentioning in
Lil’ Wayne truly is the best
rapper alive. No one has improved
at the rate that he has. “Tha Carter
I” to “Tha Carter III” shows a
transformation unlike any. Other
artist have progressed over time,
but not nearly as fast as Wayne.
Wayne shows he is as
multifaceted as anyone with
“Tha Carter III.” The differences
between “A Milli” and “Let the
Beat Build” are astounding.
“A Milli” is the equivalent of a
freestyle rap, whereas “Let the
Beat Build” blends a soul hook
with Wayne’s familiar rhythmic
style and imaginative lyrics.
Every song on the album has
its own unique sound. What is
even more impressive is that
some of Wayne’s best songs have
not even been released on an
actual CD, songs such as “Sky
is the Limit” and “Whip It” not
to mention numerous others.
Looking past all of the awards
and fame to the true tellers of
success; respect, critical acclaim
and comparisons to the greats
Lil’ Wayne is truly the epitome
of rap. No one works harder than
Wayne, and no one wants to be
the best nearly as bad as he does.
“Tha Carter II” was good,
but he blew us away with “Tha
Carter III.” No one in recent
memory has done that or even
come close to doing that. TI’s
the same breath, and Ludacris’
“Theater of the Mind” is nothing
close to what “Tha Carter III” is.
His unparalleled lyricism and
tremendous work ethic make
Wayne what he is, the best. His
imagination may be attributed
to his high-all-the-time lifestyle,
but truly he is just a visionary.
He is pushing rap to places that
it hasn’t been taken before.
When half of “Tha Carter
III’s” original songs were leaked,
Wayne turned around and released
it as an EP, and continued to
do work to improve. Other
rappers may have just released
the CD how it was, but Wayne
chose to rerecord new songs.
On top of his work on his
records, Wayne always says yes
to an opportunity of appearing on
a track, and then lets his manager
work out the financial side. No
other rapper has appeared on nearly
as many singles as him, and no one
is as open to contribution as him.
Often when he appears on
another track, his verse is better
than the whole rest of the song.
This goes for “Last of a Dying
Breed” off Ludacris’ latest
CD, “Theater of the Mind,”
and TI’s “Swagga Like Us.”
All things considered, its just not
fair to say that anyone is better.
No one has the imagination,
determination, or pure desire to
be on top like Lil’ Wayne does.
Page 11
Starbucks is one of the most well
known coffee companies around
the world. Starbucks is viewed by
some as evil for the fact that it is
a corporate giant and run smaller
coffee companies out of business.
Starbucks is known for having
a store at every corner. For
example Grand Blv has two
stores three miles apart. This
causes problems for smaller
local companies that are trying to
grow because favor people go to
Starbucks because of familiarity.
Senior Chris Hollman, an
employee at Rockwood Bakery
said, “Working at a local coffee
shop you kind of learn to hate
Starbucks. They spread like the
plague, choke out small shops,
and serve mediocre coffee.”
In poor economic times, any
company who employees a small
army deserves a little more credit
than what they have been getting.
The company has been accused
of not agreeing to the Fair Trade
agreement; this means they have
been buying coffee far cheaper
than at market price. They recently
bought one million pounds of free
trade coffee beans and are making
it the coffee of the day every 20th
day of each month, according to
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The thing that saves Starbucks
from the seventh layer of hell is the
fact that all employees who work
over twenty hours a week receive
full health insurance, according
to Workforce Management.
Starbucks is one of the only major
companies that offer benefits
to their baristas. In addition,
Starbucks offers a stock portfolio
to employees as a stock opinion.
On top of the stocks and the
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
The Starbucks franchise has come under fire in recent years
because of the number of stores it has opened nationwide.
However, it has several redeeming qualities like employees’
benefits and eco-friendliness that people don’t often consider.
health insurance, they also match
any funds that employees put
towards their 401(k) plans. Any
company who can say that they
have an 82 percent approval rate
from their employees, cannot
be as horrible as perceived. The
company has on of the lowest
turn over rates of any of the other
major corporations, according
to Workforce Management.
On top of employing thousands
they also, as a company, have been
pushing to become green. With
their plastic cups now reading,
“15% less plastic than before,”
and “45% fewer carbon emissions
to make it,” this shows that it not
only the people of America they
are worried about; they also care
about the greenness of our world.
Starbucks’ goal is to cut
energy in all of their stores by
25 percent by 2010 according
to www.greenerbulidings.com.
In 2007, Starbucks was using
25 gallons of water and 6.78
kilowatt-hours of electricity per
square foot in each of it stores,
according to Greener Buildings.
Starbucks has decided to make
a push for reusable cups. The
company plans to use reusable
ceramic cups and in the cafes
and sell more of their signature
cups. They also plan to hire
consultants in the stores to show
the ways to low each stores waste.
Starbucks is not bad for the
world, and not just because of its
ability to addict people to caffiene.
Starbucks is helping the people of
America by providing them with
jobs and benefits, and also helping
the bean growers of the world
become more economically stable.
The biggest mistake I
made my freshman year
By John Slater
Opinions Editor
The first year at LC is never easy.
It’s tough gaining your footing as
a freshman. We all make mistakes.
Now, as a junior, I will find
myself thinking back to that year
(often late at night, when I’m
incapable of falling asleep) and all
that happened in that period of my
life. It begins in my science class.
Like many freshmen, I took
Honors Science 9 from Mr. Bennett.
His class was an intellectual
high and, for awhile, I was
one of his favored students.
Mr. Bennett had me follow
him
around,
watch
him
correct class papers, and,
likewise, I received his favor.
I used to bring in the latest issue
of “Scientific American” and
we would talk about an article.
Then a new kid, we’ll
call him Buzz, came along.
He stole my spot as the
favorite, and as something of
a showoff, he was in constant
need of appreciation. He had
a handheld computer, and the
articles I used to carry to class
he could download instantly.
After only a few days
of his presence, I became
beyond irritated with this kid.
It got to the point where I began
Disclaimer: The events depicted in this editorial are fiction.
Any similarity to the work of John Lasseter is entirely intentional.
to feel that things had gone too
far. I just wanted science class
to go back to the way it was.
Then I did the one thing I
regret most about that year.
One afternoon, during a
chemistry lab, I replaced one of
his chemicals with elemental
sodium while he was weighing
a measurement of water.
When he poured the water
on it…well, need I elaborate?
My immediate thoughts were of
fear and panic, and it only got worse.
A short, stout kid from Idaho, who
went only by Mr. PH, had seen me
in the act, and he ratted me out.
The class virtually revolted
against me, and Buzz tackled me.
Then he tried to use his
wristwatch laser to stun me. It
was about to get really bad before
Mr. Bennett reentered the room
and we all hurried to our seats
pretending nothing happened.
Buzz and I wound up
spending a great deal of time
together, in and out of class,
laboring to make amends for
the damage we had done.
One of my best friends, a wiry kid
we called Slinky, was unwavering
in his alliance with me.
He believed I was a good person
and stuck by me. I, though,
was too blinded by my hatred
of Buzz to take note of this.
Buzz and I did not work
well together. Our work was
interspersed with bickering and
fighting. It would have taken
something drastic to unite us.
That is exactly what happened.
The “Pipe Bomb” Hall Pass
Incident (PBHPI) occurred while
we were cleaning test tubes. The
kid who planted the fake device,
Sid, locked us in the building
simply because we were the last
ones to realize what was happening.
At that moment, our lives in
danger, we realized that we were
not so different from one another.
Both of us had the same goal: to
ensure Mr. Bennett’s room was safe.
With our newfound teamwork,
we not only discovered that
the “bomb” was fake, but also
turned in Sid to the authorities.
Last I heard he was
transferred
to
Richland.
Mr. Bennett was so proud
that he even wrote “STEVE”
on the underside of our shoes.
Mr. Bennett has moved
on to other classes, other
kids since then, but Buzz?
He’ll always have a friend in me.
Page 12
OPINION
‘Slumdog’ an upbeat
change of pace at Oscars
By Conor Wigert
Co-Editor-In-Chief
and News Editor
Hollywood received one of its
lowest viewings last year for its
annual Academy Awards with the
blame being put on the shoulders
of the pessimistically-inclined
nominees of the year such as
“No Country for Old Men”
and “There Will Be Blood.”
One of this year’s heavy hitters,
“Slumdog Millionaire” takes a
subject matter that could make “No
Country” and “Blood” look like
“Horton Hears a Who” and adds
an unexpected twist of optimism.
Faced with a corrupt criminal
system accusing him of cheating
on India’s equivalent of “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire,”
Jamal, who grew up in the slums
of an overpopulated India, finds
himself revealing his life story
to prove he legitimately knew
the answers to the questions he
was asked while on the show.
Along the way the audience
is exposed to the harsh realities
that have faced Jamal throughout
his lifetime, beginning with his
mother’s murder. The slums where
the movie takes place provides the
movie with something Hollywood
and its audiences are not used
to seeing; life outside of the
drug-ridden suburbs of America.
“Slumdog” adds diversity to this
years nominees with its foreign
lifestyle but remains relevant to
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET
Rod Blagojevich’s attempt to sell Obama’s Senate seat was a
shocker, even in a state where government corruption is commonplace. Again and again he denies it, and he just makes a
bigger fool of himself each time. Somehow, though, the expression of utter bewilderment somehow fits that face.
The optimistic, cheerful ending of “Slumdog Millionaire” put
a refreshing spin on what could have been a hard-hitting,
depressing story. The movie industry, dominated by the highstress “There Will Be Blood” and gut-wrenching “No Country for
Old Men” last year, accepted the change with open arms.
a wide audience with its “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire”
roots, the gang persuasion that
corrupts Jamal’s brother, Salim
and M.I.A on the soundtrack.
Leading the cast are two
newcomers, Dev Patel as
Jamal and Freida Pinto as his
“destiny” love interest Latika.
Patel’s performance has caught
the attention of critics and
audiences alike, winning both
the British Independent Film
award for Most Promising
Newcomer and the Critics Choice
award for Best Young Actor.
Director Danny Boyle is no
stranger to putting a happy
ending on a sad story, as he did
in his 1996 hit “Trainspotting,”
a story about heroin addicts
tagged with an upbeat message.
“Slumdog” captivates audiences
with its rise-through-the-slums
storyline, and despite a storybook
ending that is closely followed
by a modernized knock off of
a Bollywood music video, took
home 8 academy awards including
Best Picture and Best Director.
Animal Collective album
is among their best work
the album, with a softened Avey
of their early tracks). What starts
Track 2) “My Girls” (95%)~
The first song heard off of the
album and in a heated competition
for the best, “My Girls” offers
the pop trip of a “Leaf House”
that brings the primal urge to just
listen to the damn thing on repeat.
With chirping synths, Panda’s
drowning bellowing and layering
of claps and bass “My Girls”
brings each repetition like a tide
becoming stronger and stronger
cricketing vocals that jump
through the song with smacking
percussion and echoing clicks.
Track 9) “Lion in a Coma”
(88%)~ With a woozy intro and
heading Eastern feel, “Lion in
a Coma” is a break from some
of their more droning/sublime
constructed songs and more of a
streaming feel. It continues the
repetitive vocals but with a swifter
and stronger sound. With clanging
sticks and a freer Avey who makes
an accessible version of himself.
Track 11) “Brother Sport” (95%)~
A personal favorite and possibly
the best dance songs unfettered
by the band from Maryland,
“Brother Sport” is just flat out
dazzling to get lost in. Moving
from one grand whisping world of
melody to another until blasting a
psychedelic dreamland of noise
and harmony of chorus with sound.
–
Animal Collective’s
“Merriweather Post Pavilion”
is the closest thing they have
yet to or ever will release to a
pop album and by far its most
accessible. The hardcore fans may
be taken aback by the lack of their
former flavors but will surely be
too busy forgetting it all with
the droning euphoric insertion
into their minds caused by “My
Girls” and “Brother Sport”.
The album itself serves as an outlet
to give pure euphoria, and could
be their most accessible album yet.
[95%]
By Tucker Clarry
Tare and just an enlightened slow becomes a more robust and
Staff Writer and euphoric escapement. confident clamoring with  similar
“Merriweather Post Pavilion”,
Animal
Collective’s
latest
album, did not really receive an
opportunity to peacefully arrive.
The band’s album played as the
figurative pinata as hopeless fans
scraped and batted their way into
finding any sort of leak or early
release of the latest work by Avey,
Panda Bear and The Geologist.
Something instantly different
than their last album, “Strawberry
Jam”, was the absence of the
abundant crackling and yelping
lead vocals of Avey Tare and a lot
more Noah Lennox (Panda Bear),
which will bring bliss to those
who were fans of his solo album
“Person Pitch” and mourning
for those who adored the “For
Reverend Green” and “Peacebone”
tracks
of
yester-albums.
~Songs
Worth
Noting~
Track 1) “In the Flowers” (80%)
The introduction to the album, let
alone feels awfully familiar. The
beginning harkens to the times
of their song “Did You See the
World” with what feels like a
giant splash from you cannonballing into a lagoon of electronic/
experimental/noise
delight.
What starts out as hollow
noise and a tale of being caught
dumbfounded by the joy of dance
and getting away turns into the
holiest of jams with a booming
sensation following “If I could
just leave my body for the night.”
The song sets the setting for
Issue 4
March 2009
“What starts out as
hollow noise...turns
into the holiest of
jams.”
before it slowly subsides and shifts.
With lines like “I don’t mean
to seem like I care about material
things like my social status/I just
want four walls and adobe slabs
for my girls,” the song is catchy
with the repetition but not overly
monotonous, one of the strongest
styles that Panda Bear offers.
Track 5) “Daily Routine” (85%)~
Starting with cricketing organs
via dabbling, it feels like what
the band does to jam their way
through a potential song and lead
to their finished song (maybe even
nostalgic enough to feel like one
Blago has no honor
he cannot seem to answer any
By John Slater
questions presented to him at all.
Opinions Editor Always finding a way around
Ex-Illinois Governor Rod
Blagojevich is currently one of
the most laughed-at political
figures of modern times. It may
be his policies, it may be what he
says, it could be his hair. I think
it’s a combination of all of them.
His policies are probably the
least hilarious of the lot. They are
divisive, scheming and driven by
greed and corruption. These are
things that only Dick Cheney,
who absorbs light and happiness,
would
find
entertaining.
His attempt at selling Barack
Obama’s vacant Senate seat
not only failed, but became a
national joke. Jon Stewart of the
Daily Show has used it as prime
material for his segment entitled
“Scum-Dog
Million-Hairs.”
Clearly, he is not in a good place
to make executive decisions.
Even so, he tried to appoint Oprah
Winfrey to fill Obama’s seat.
Winfrey was laughing when she
said she would not fill the position.
On top of trying to do the
governor’s job, his logic in
interviews is backwards and
the question, he is indirect and
unsure in his speech, making
him sound downright foolish.
This is all not mentioning his hair.
He looks as though he stepped
directly out of “Grease.”
For some reason, he thinks
that
extraordinarily
thick
bangs are stylish. He looks
less like the governor of a
state than like a chorus boy
straight out of West Side Story.
I personally would like to know
what’s on his forhead that he
must keep so throughly hidden.
Blagojevich’s ousting was
complete
and
total,
with
not a single vote in favor of
keeping him on as governor.
The 59-0 vote was undoubtedly
embarrassing to Blagojevich,
but worse, it was an excuse for
Americans to laugh at government.
Even still, after all of the
drama surrounding him, he
appeared in front of Illinois’
senators and said, “I have done
absolutely
nothing
wrong.”
If one thing is clear, it’s that
whatever Blago says should be
reversed to discover the truth.
Something
on your mind?
Send a Letter to the Editor
to the Newspaper Advisor,
Jennifer Showalter, at
jennifersh@spokaneschools.org
The Journal Staff wants
to hear your feedback!