January - Grand County School District

Grand County High School
Moab, Utah
January 2007
The Devils’ Advocate
-FREE-
Number 27 (Volume 4 Issue 5)
-FREE-
Winter homecoming week
The GCHS recycling club, from left: adviser Ed DeFrancia, Sommer Stewart, Liz Jimenez, Beau Johnson, Dailey Haren,
club co-president Aja Lyman, Alyssa DiMare. Not pictured: co-president Jessica Colyar.
Recycling
club making efforts
to reduce waste
In addition to bottles and cans, we collect office paper
By Dailey Haren
Ever seen the bumper sticker “Think Globally, Act
Locally”? Well, that is exactly what the GCHS recycling
club plans to do this year; involving not just the members
of the club but the entire student body.
The GCHS recycling club has been around for quite a
few years and has been a very successful program due to
the hard work that students over the years have put into it.
Earlier this year, Sarah Melnicoff of the local Solutions
group came to the club with the idea of expanding this
program and incorporating the entire school.
The first step was to bring in recycling bins for plastic
bottles, glass bottles, and aluminum cans. We started
with just four located in the commons area, but just with
those four bins and only two pick-ups we have recycled
well over 800 bottles and cans that would have otherwise
ended up in the landfill. We also have contacted an
organization called Terracyle, who will donate money to
our school for every box of 20 oz. bottles we send to them.
and cardboard to take to the local recycling center.
Next we plan to add recycle bins in the lower hallways
and also in the teachers lounge. In addition, the lunch
ladies have expressed interest in starting a compost
pile (you know, for all those green beans that students
don’t eat). If things go well and the students of GCHS
really catch on, bigger and better things could come.
Like for instance creating our own biodiesel fuel
out of Moab’s fast food restaurants’ leftover oil, and
possibly even obtaining a diesel school bus to run on it.
(biodiesel avoids greenhouse gas emissions, has a lower
exhaustion rate than petroleum diesel, and is completely
biodegradable).
Many great things are possible at GCHS with the
combined effort of all the students, teachers, and faculty.
It is our duty out of respect for our world and our own
lives to not contribute to the current destruction that is
taking place. Please help!
Lockdown drills designed to prepare students for worst
By Carlos Walter
In the past four months there have been four school
shootings nationwide, two school suicides involving
firearms, and a failed attempt involving an AK-47
imitation. Schools throughout the United States are
becoming increasingly violent and trends are forming in
the attacks. However, does this violence in other parts
of the country translate to danger in GCHS?
Senior student J.J. Messick thinks not. “School
shootings involve harsh bullying, and that’s not a big
problem here,” Messick says, “It’s just teasing—you
know people are just messing with you.”
Nevertheless, such attacks are a threat to any school
and it has been proven in killings like the recent shooting
of a school principal in Casanova, Wisconsin that small
towns are also susceptible to this problem. This brings
up another question: if such catastrophe were to happen
here, would our school be prepared?
So far we have had one mock lockdown and according
to GCHS vice principal John Huitt, “It [the lockdown]
went all right but there are some things we need to work
on. Windows need to be covered up and classrooms
must be quieter.” Added Huitt: “The real test will come
when the lockdown occurs during lunch or break time.”
The next scheduled lockdown drill will be in March.
As for the students, it was “useful.” Junior Alyssa
DiMare added, “It’s good that kids know what a
lockdown is and are prepared when the time comes.”
By Donald Keogh
This year’s winter homecoming (Jan. 2-5) was a great
success even though it wasn’t as exciting or eventful as
fall homecoming. Coming back from the long winter
break though, I don’t think that anyone was ready for a
huge week of events. The only fault that it had was the
crying children during the homecoming assembly the
afternoon of Jan. 4, when the royalty and senior athletes
from winter sports were honored.
These flower- and sash-carrying younger siblings and
relatives just didn’t seem to want to participate in the
assembly. No blame to the kiddies, but because of them
you missed the student government skit that was meant to
take place during the assembly. I can tell you, by firsthand
knowledge, that it would have been awesome.
The winter homecoming royalty were as follows: queen
Kemrey Wells and king Christian Call (pictured above),
along with their attendants Ivan Matzumilla, Samantha
Jacobson, Jacob Batwinas, and Ashley Holyoak.
Unfortunately, the Lady Devils lost their homecoming
game to Richfield on Tuesday, Jan. 2, and two nights later
the boys lost their homecoming game to Emery. See page
4 for details about the basketball teams’ seasons so far.
The boys’ basketball team seniors will be honored at
their last home game Feb. 7 against Richfield. The senior
wrestlers were honored at their home match against
Monticello on Jan. 18.
The Devils’ Advocate
The use of the devil as a sports team mascot has
generated some controversy nationwide over the
years, including at Springville High School, the only
other high school in Utah with the Red Devils as their
mascot. But it’s apparently never been an issue here
in Moab, which has been proud to be Red Devils for
as long as anyone can remember. Other notable
teams that use a devilish mascot include the New
Jersey Devils NHL hockey team, the Duke University
Blue Devils, and the Arizona State Sun Devils.
gchs.advocate@gmail.com
Table of Contents
News.............................................1
Opinion....................................2-3
Sports..........................................4-5
Features....................................6-7
BackBurner...................................8
OPINION
Page 2
Letter: teach abstinence, not contraception
Dear Editor:
I read Jim’s Column in the December 2006 issue. He
states that any reasonable person should ask why the law
prohibits the teaching of contraceptives in school. Believe it
or not, that is a parent’s responsibility and not the school’s.
I, as a parent, do not want the school’s views, the teachers’
views or the students’ views taught to my teenagers. Yes,
they will get some of this and they will hear it from their peers.
But they will be taught by me according to my religious beliefs
and not the school’s lack of religious possibilities being
discussed.
Without religion, there is no reason to curb the human
desire for pleasure. And my religious beliefs will not be
brought up in the teaching process in the schools. A truth is
something that never changes. It doesn’t change with each
persons whim. It is constant.
A truth that you need to look at is this:
Abstinence is absolute. You cannot get pregnant from
abstinence. You can not get a sexually transmitted disease
from abstinence. You can not wake up in the morning and
regret your actions from abstinence.
Birth control (contraceptives) has no guarantee that they
will work 100% of the time. Sometimes they work to prevent
pregnancy and sometimes they don’t. The reality is that you
can’t take away the consequences of your decisions. They
will be exacted at some point in your life, whether you like
it or not.
The consequences of being sexually active is insecurity,
Sex without marriage and commitment leaves a young girl
wondering whether he really loves her or just wants sex. It
leaves the possibility of pregnancy. We keep trying to take
away the consequences and at some point they can’t be
taken away.
For instance, you have sex and you use a condom or
some form of contraceptive and it works every time for the
first 20 times and then for some reason the girl gets pregnant
anyway. We all know stories of babies being born on birth
control. At least the parents do.
Choice: to have sex. Consequence: girl possibly gets
pregnant. Possibly marriage to someone we don’t want to be
married to, which could lead to divorce and at least one more
child from a broken home.
Some of the consequences in our lives can be avoided if
we think before we act and think that our ultimate pleasure
is all that’s important. Even at this point, the consequences
can be avoided.
More choices and their consequences:
Get married - give up the future you always dreamed of to
raise a child and provide a home for your family
Don’t get married (girl keeps baby) - baby raised by single
mom and has to go to day care where I’m sure you would
just love to spend time. Or, girl goes on welfare or lives with
parents and grandma and grandpa take care of life. Her
self esteem goes down The girl’s life is altered forever, this
consequence doesn’t go away.
Baby given up for adoption - baby given to nice family, we
hope. I don’t know if this bothers the boy or not. ... The girl
will always wonder for years whether the baby is OK and
where he/she is and what he/she is like. This consequence
also does not go away.
Abortion - I’m not sure what the consequences may or may
not be for a boy - but for a girl, this is where the buck stops
and the consequences can no longer be put off. Unless she
is evil and cold-hearted, this consequence will haunt her for
the rest of her life. This is a consequence that most adults
fail to tell teenagers about. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS ONE
GO AWAY!
There are no guarantees with birth control. Abstinence will
never create the consequences you see above.
Now a girl will have to face at least one of those
consequences if she has sex and is not ready for it. A boy
can seriously walk away from some of them and I suppose
he might be able to feel okay about it and not be bothered
about it. I seriously doubt it, but it might be possible.
At any rate, I for one, am not willing to teach you that
it’s okay to use contraceptives and that you can avoid the
consequences of your choices. I would rather teach you that
kids and adults who are having sex because it feels good
and are not married and committed to their spouse create
a situation for children that is neither good nor right. I would
rather you know that someone who can’t wait to have sex
until they are ready for it, is simply selfish and thinking only
of their individual pleasure.
Look around and see how many children live through
divorce, single parents, broken families, etc. None of this
is going to go away by teaching contraceptives. And if you
think that is okay....then by all means teach contraceptives.
And don’t teach teenagers that they are responsible for their
actions and choices.
I would like to make an illustration. If I knew you were
standing at the edge of a cliff and that your next choice
could push you over the edge, would you rather I kept this to
myself, or would you rather be told before you took the next
step, how to avoid the fall? If you are standing on the edge
of a cliff, you never know when you will slip and fall to your
doom (or if not death, a lot of pain) If you stay completely
away from the edge of the cliff, you can never slip and fall off
of it. Thus avoiding death or pain.
I would rather teach my children to stay away from the cliff
and practice abstinence.
I certainly don’t want the schools or anyone else teaching
them how to stand at the edge of the cliff and see if the rope
(contraceptive) will hold or if they will be the one who will slip
and fall. That is not a choice you get to make, the legislators,
the teachers or anyone else. That is a choice that I get to
make as a parent.
And whether you believe it or not, some of us adults have
gained a little bit of wisdom over the years and maybe some
of you should take advantage of that experience and wisdom
and not think you are so smart that you can stand at the edge
of the cliff and not slip and fall.
Now you still get to make a choice, even after being taught
about abstinence. You can choose to stay away from the cliff
or not. You can choose to get right on the edge of the cliff.
You can know about contraceptives and make choices based
on the fact that you trust you won’t have anything go wrong if
you are using them. That is your choice. The consequences,
however, are not your choice. They are built in. So be careful
what you choose.
By the way, do your parents agree with you?
I sincerely hope that you don’t stand on the edge of the
cliff and fall. Not now as a teenager and not later when you
are an adult. It isn’t pleasant for you, for your parents, for
your partner and their parents, not for the possible child that
will come from this. The consequences are full of sorrow and
pain. Please choose wisely your consequences.
Raquel Shumway
Veyo, Utah
Ask the Devils
Sam’s Column
That’s it. I am sick and tired of
being a kid; sick of being treated like
a kid, sick of being stereotyped as a
kid, and sick of being talked to like a
kid. Here’s a newsflash for everyone:
I have a brain too… and I can use it!
In fact, believe it or not, but most
kids actually know how to think for
themselves. It seems that most adults don’t know this,
or at least they choose to ignore it. It is logical that
wisdom comes with age; however, that is not always
the case. Obviously, adults base their actions upon this
completely reasonable logic and take it to mean that
they are smarter than kids. This gives them the natural
feeling to interject themselves into adolescent’s lives.
People always want to find a reason why “kids these
days” are so depressed and I think that if they get
down to the bare roots of this depression, they will find
that it is not the kids, but rather it is the adults causing
it. Adults may not realize it, but they subconsciously
demean those younger than them every day. We
already know that “put-downs” have a negative effect
on a person’s self-esteem, and yet the connection isn’t
made between this fact and the sense of intellectual
superiority that many have over younger people.
As one gradually progresses through their schooling,
more responsibility is given to them. However what is
really given to a student is a false sense of responsibility.
I have yet to encounter a situation in high school where
my actions are not held under scrutiny by a teacher
“advisor.” Every action a student leader in high school
takes can only be approved by a teacher. I find this
completely pointless, to make a student feel like they
have some meaning in a certain club, and then to simply
bypass them and go directly to the teacher. While this
may easily be blown off by saying that the teacher
actually is a smarter person than the student, hence
them being the teacher; however, the fact remains that
the teacher is still an adult and therefore, as human
nature, gives off a sense of haughtiness to a younger
person.
The worst part about writing this column is that
almost every single adult who reads what I have written
will blow this off as just another kid whining about
themselves, even after reading this last paragraph.
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
Write an e-mail to Sam at
sam.column@gmail.com
by Abi Taylor
If you could change anything about Grand County High School, what would it be?
We should have an
We should have more
archaeology class or an nutritional lunches with
anthropology class.
a wider variety to suit
everyone’s needs.
Matthew Moddrelle, senior
Ariel Rouzer, junior
There should be useful
assemblies that the
student body could
choose. Like, maybe
concerts of things that
has to do with stuff that
students do today.
Corey Jones, freshman
We should be allowed
to have off-campus
lunch.
That there would be a
no-policy and we would
be better in sports. I’m
sick of losing!
Kira Wilson, sophomore
Sara Hirschfeld, freshman
Page 3
OPINION
Dear Editor:
This letter is not about the last presidential election or
about how the Twin Towers could not have been felled
by jet airplanes crashing into them, or even about the
shot fired from the grassy knoll in Dallas No, this is more
insidious and chilling. A darker conspiracy I’m loath to
allege, exists right here in Red Devil country.
Like Joe McCarthy, I must shun popularity and even
human decency in the exposition of a conspiracy that
could bring our school to ruin followed by our country and
perhaps even the democratic way of life. Yes, I’m talking
about the rigged Christmas door decoration contest.
I know that in the heady atmosphere of student
government, the temptation to dominate the school for
personal gain will always exist, just as our own elected
officials demonstrate all the way to the White House. Is it a
coincidence that the winner of this year’s door decoration
contest had a preponderance of student council “judges” in
regular attendance? I’d like to know if the voting was done
by paper or electronic ballot. Your readers are familiar
with the 2000 presidential election and the unanswered
questions that still remain. Remember the hanging
chads?
If this contest could be manipulated with impunity over
a little free food what would be the target of their next
conquest? Fixing the home coming election? Assemblies?
Parking? Perhaps even our school colors?
Even as the electoral vote has lost its purpose and the
popular vote will eventually express the will of the people, I
suggest that a “peoples choice” award be given to express
the voice of students, who through apathy, misinformation
or blind trust in their student government have lost their
vote as well. Some may be shocked at the allegations
and implications made by my letter, but I would rather be
banished to obscurity and ostracized by student leaders if
I stood by and allowed this abrogation of our sacred trust
to go unheralded. Red and white the colors are so true!
Long live the Red Devils and Grand County High School!
Tom Eyler
A concerned faculty member
Editorial: Steps toward preventing overpopulation
By Zephyr Glass
Overpopulation is the greatest threat to modern
society. With world resources running thin and
many large countries such as India, China, and
Pakistan becoming industrialized, there will be a
major rush for material goods and resources that
the world will not be able to provide for. More
industrialization will result in the need for more
fossil fuels. So not only will this increase the
amount of harmful hydrocarbons and oxidized
carbon into our air, but will also raise prices of
basic material goods to ludicrous prices due
to the cost of the fossil fuels to transport these
goods to the consumer. Thus, I have come up
with a four-step plan to help curb our exponential
population rate.
The first step is to stop having so many children.
With over six and a half billion people alive today,
we don’t need families of seven anymore. One
kid is enough, two is pushing it, and three is too
many. Plus this directly benefits you. Kids take a
lot of time to care for, cost a lot of money, and will
be “ungrateful” in their adolescent years.
My second step to reduce overpopulation is to
go out and adopt a child. Why go through the
pain of birth when there are plenty of children
already out there just waiting to be loved?
Although a bit odd, the third step is to die young,
or rather, live to be 80 and not desperately try
to keep yourself alive after your body becomes
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To get unhooked, call
1.888.567.TRUTH or visit utahquitnet.com.
riddled with ailments. With 66 as the world-wide
average lifespan, people are living to be too old.
Be content with the years that you have. If we had
lived just 150 years ago, 40 would be considered
old. Even if you can live to be over 100, what’s
the quality of life during those latter 40 years?
The fourth and most important step is to
sexually educate people and provide free
contraceptives. First, we need to educate people
world wide about the use of contraceptives and
provide them, especially in developing countries.
This not only lowers the birth rate of unwanted
children, but will also help to stop the spread of
sexually transmitted diseases. Even within our
own country, sexual education will decrease teen
pregnancy because sex will no longer be viewed
as a forbidden fruit (as it appears when only
abstinence is taught).
With these four simple steps we can hopefully
make our earth a more pleasant and humane
place to live. Without a massive overhaul of our
current technology (which even if the overhaul
was possible, would possibly cause a downfall
in the global economy) this earth will not be able
to sustain us without permanently damaging this
world. We need to help slow down our growing
world population and ensure and slowly institute
new technology to ensure a pleasant place for
all.
Please e-mail comments to gchs.advocate@gmail.com
SPORTS
Page 4
Three cheerleaders performed in Hawaii
By Kemrey Wells
Grand County High School cheerleaders Emily
Lopez, BreAnn Russell, and Kemrey Wells performed
during the halftime show at the Hula Bowl in Hawaii
on Jan. 14.
Lopez and Russell are both juniors at GCHS, while
Wells is a senior and the captain of the cheer squad. At
cheer camp last summer, all three girls were nominated
by the National Cheer Association (NCA) to try out
for the All-American team. The three of them, along
with eight other girls from various squads were then
selected, out of 40 who tried out, to be part of the AllAmerican team. This gave them the chance to attend
the Hula Bowl and perform at halftime. They worked
hard to learn all of the choreography before leaving so
they could have more free time and less practice while
in Oahu.
Once they arrived in Oahu, they had to attend very long
practices, sometimes eight hours a day, in preparation
for the halftime show.
Their hard work paid off, along with the nearly 175
other girls who also participated in the event. The
halftime show was about 12 minutes long and featured
Bryan White, a famous country singer who sang two
out of the four songs that the girls danced to.
While in Hawaii, the girls also traveled to Pearl Harbor
and toured the USS Missouri. They also attended a Luau
The GCHS boys basketball team improved their record
to 7-7 overall after beating the South Sevier Rams 64-63
in an overtime thriller at Moab on Jan. 19. The Red Devils
led most of the game, but had to come from behind in the
closing minutes of regulation to tie the score at 60.
The Grand County High School drill team participated
in the Region 12 competition Jan. 18 at the Sevier Valley
Center in Richfield. The Devilettes took fourth in dance,
fourth in prop, and fifth overall among the seven teams
at the competition.
Next up for the Devilettes is the state competition,
which will take place Jan. 27 at Utah Valley State College
in Orem.
Members of the team include: team president Crystal
Radcliff, vice president Sydney Knowles, and drill
team members Reina Stewart, Brittnie Whipple, Jessica
Colyar, Jessica Carrigan, Shanea Downard, Shaelynn
Guerrero, Kandace Hugentobler, Mikalya Parriott,
Chandra Christensen, Sami Colyar, Miranda Gill, and
Gabby Sanchez.
Girls basketball wrap-up
BreAnn Russell, Kemrey Wells, and Emily Lopez in Oahu
with the college football players who played in the
Hula Bowl, took a tour of Oahu, went snorkeling in the
coral reef at Hanauma Bay, and visited the Polynesian
Culture Center.
Boys team 7-7 overall after beating South Sevier 64-63 in OT
Tanner Brown heads toward the basket vs. Emery
Drill team took 5th in region
Gordon Garrett and Bryce Till each scored baskets in
the overtime period, and Ricky Lopez made a key steal in
the closing seconds to seal the win. Garrett led the Devils
with 21 points, while Till added 16.
The Red Devils lost the following night 52-44 to Manti,
however, dropping their Region 12 record to 3-3. Tanner
Brown scored 21 for the Red Devils that game, including
four 3-pointers.
Grand also had a big win over rival San Juan on Jan. 6,
defeating the Broncos 54-40. Other recent Red Devil wins
include a 91-83 victory at Gunnison on Jan. 13 and a 5645 win over Green River on Jan. 16.
The boys have six games remaining in their regular
season, culminating with another showdown with San
Juan at Blanding on Feb. 10. The Red Devils’ last home
game is against Richfield on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. The first
round of the state tournament will be Feb. 17 at Snow
College in Ephraim, and the state tournament will be Feb.
22-24 at SUU in Cedar City.
The Grand County High Lady Devils basketball team
continues to struggle offensively midway through the season,
but the players have shown signs of improvement.
With their 50-21 loss to Gunnison at Moab on Jan. 13, the
Lady Devils saw their overall record fall to 2-11, including
0-4 in Region 12 play. Grand’s only two wins of the season
so far were both against Whitehorse (a 51-36 win at Moab
to start the season Nov. 21 and a 51-45 win at Montezuma
Creek on Dec. 5).
Right after the Gunnison loss, the Lady Devils’ first-year
head coach Tony Chacon was busy with the team trying out a
new offensive scheme in practice. Later that week, the team
lost both games of their overnight weekend road trip, falling
to South Sevier on Jan. 19 and to Manti the following night.
The Lady Devils were scheduled to face those same two
teams at Moab the following week (Jan. 25 and 27). After
three more road games, the Lady Devils’ regular season will
conclude when they face San Juan at Moab on Feb. 8.
Guard Emily Lopez drives against Richfield on Jan. 2
Page 5
SPORTS
GCHS transformed into ‘Debate City’ in December
By Ivy Hazlett
Travelers coming into Moab from the north the weekend
of Dec. 15-16 may have noticed a sign put up by one of the
debaters parents which read “Debate City.” Truly, Moab was
turned into a debate city for those two days when debaters
from 16 schools, including powerhouses such as Lehi,
Cottonwood, and Skyline high schools, came to compete at
Grand County’s annual Arches Invitational tournament.
Eighty-nine GCHS debaters participated in the event, and
many of them were finalists in their respective events. Grand
took first place in about six events. Ricky Lopez, a football,
basketball, and baseball athlete and Sterling Scholar,
managed to not only find time for this debate tournament,
but also to place. Dayna VanArsdol was double-entered in
the same panel and still managed to get to both of her events.
Cooper Henderson won the title of Anasazi Man, meaning
that he placed first in three different events. Although the
debate team does well competing against other schools in the
state, the debate team maintains their focus not on winning,
but on working hard and putting in effort.
With 1,200 individual entries, this tournament could
not have been possible without the support it received
from the community, parents, high school faculty, and the
Grand County Council. Due to the amount of entries, Grand
County was forced to use rooms such as the wrestling room,
the weight room, and even the janitors’ closets for debate
purposes. An enormous amount of effort was put into the
tournament. Over 500 community service hours were spent
judging contestants, preparing food, and helping to get tile
tournament ready. The debate team would especially like to
thank the school janitors, the local Toastmasters club, and the
community for helping to make our tournament a success.
This tournament was a good warmup for the team’s
grueling January schedule. Forty Grand County debaters
traveled to Arizona earlier this month to compete in a
weekend tournament at Arizona State University. One week
later, GCHS took a dozen students to compete at Columbia
University in New York City. These 12 students were not
chosen by the coaches -- they all had to work very hard
in order to be accepted at the Columbia tournament. The
students are all required to be members of the National
Forensics League and have a winning record. The ASU,
Columbia, and Taylorsville tournaments will be written
about in next month’s Devils’ Advocate.
With an abundance of national tournaments, the extensive
travel distance within the state, and the tournament entry
fees, the GCHS debate program is expensive to operate.
In order to cover entry fees, the debate team recently had a
spaghetti dinner fundraiser. They also received money from
the county recreation board to help with travel expenses to
ASU. Expenses for national tournaments such as Columbia,
Harvard, and Chicago come from private donors in other
areas of the state rather than out of community funds.
The debate team is a unique program which involves
individuals from every group in the school because of a
common interest. Anyone can join, and the debate team is
always looking for new members with unique perspectives
to strengthen their team.
The GCHS debate team would like to thank parents,
educators, peers, and community for supporting them in
their endeavors. Without the support of these individuals,
they could not be involved in a program which fosters
frieendships, academic growth, hard work, and public
speaking skills.
Junior cheerleading camp
Members of the GCHS Junior Cheer team shout out their
support for the Red Devils during halftime of the GCHS
boys basketball game Jan. 19. The Red Devils went on to
defeat South Sevier 64-63 in overtime. Dozens of youngsters
ranging from preschool to middle school age participated
in the weeklong junior cheer camp, with proceeds going to
support the GCHS cheer squad. Photos by Jeff Richards
Page 6
FEATURES
Faculty spotlight:
David Adams
Social studies teacher David Adams is the newest
member of the GCHS faculty, taking over for Janna
Rogers, who moved to New Mexico in December.
Adams, a native of Colorado Springs, is a graduate
of Brigham Young
University, where he
majored in history
teaching and recreation
management,
with
a minor in Native
American studies.
He has enjoyed fourwheeling in the Moab
area since 1999, and
moved here with his
wife in June 2004. His
first job in Moab didn’t
work out, but he’s glad
to now be teaching at Grand County High.
“I’m enjoying it,” he says. “I love history. The
more we learn about history, the more we learn
about ourselves.” Adams teaches World Civilization,
Geography, and Sociology, mainly to 9th-grade
students.
Adams enjoys a variety of outdoor activities,
including camping and fishing. He has been actively
involved with the Boy Scouting program since he was
8 years old, and has attended various Scout camps,
including the National Jamboree twice. He is also an
active member of the Red Rock 4-Wheelers club.
FBLA heading to region
By Carlos Walter
FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) is a
nationwide club dedicated to educating high school students
about business, money, and future planning through seminars
and competitions. Grand County High will be represented
at a region competition on Feb. 7 at CEU in Price, and at
the state competition March 29-30 at the Salt Lake Sheraton
Hotel. This year’s FBLA officers are Kevin Cannon
(president), Jessica Colyar (vice president), and Jessica
Hawks (secretary). The advisers are Steve Hazlett and Jeff
Richards. A complete club profile will appear next month.
Sterling Scholars getting ready for competition in Price
GCHS’ 11 Sterling Scholars have already won! As school nominees, each has earned a full tuition scholarship from Dixie
College, two years’ tuition at CEU, one year’s tuition at SUU, or two semesters’ tuition at UVSC. These busy 11 seniors
will continue their practice interviews, enjoy a luncheon, and finish their portfolios in February before heading to Price on
March 6 to face their Southeastern Utah competition (Emery, Carbon, Green River, Monticello, San Juan, Whitehorse and
Monument Valley high schools). Pictured above are (L to R): Kerby Smith (Math, inset photo), Kemrey Wells (English),
Malia Groesbeck (Science), Ricky Lopez (Trade and Technology), Rikky Griffin-Foster (Social Science), Kyla Lewis (Family
and Consumer Science), Kevin Cannon (Business and Marketing), Jessica Hawks (Foreign Language), Cooper Henderson
(General Scholarship), Ashley Archuleta (Music), and Jordan Loveridge (Visual Arts).
Gun cabinet built in wood shop to be given away
GCHS teacher Kent
Dalton and the students
in his wood shop classes
recently built a gun cabinet
that will soon be awarded to
the winner of a fundraising
raffle to be held at the last
home
boys
basketball
game Feb. 7. Tickets are $1
each, six for $5. Proceeds
will go to the basketball
team. Pictured at left are
Sheen Bylilly and John
Tabberer with their own gun
cabinets, similar to the one
being raffled (which is now
finished and on display in
the main office).
Page 7
FEATURES
Teenagers can save lives with organ donation
Teenagers want to save lives, and they are saying “yes”
to organ and tissue donation in record numbers. According
to Intermountain Donor Services, there was a 4 percent
increase in donor registrations (from 44 to 48 percent)
from July to December 2006 among 16-year-olds in the
general population.
“When a teenager gets a driver license, that is the first
time they will be asked to
save lives by saying ‘yes’
to organ donation,” said
Alex McDonald, director
of marketing and public
relations for the donor
registry. It’s incredible
that so many young
people are choosing to
help others by signing up
to become donors.”
One factor contributing
to the raise in youth donor
registrations is publicity
from a popular local rock
band, The Monikers (www.themonikers.com). This four
member band (pictured at right), which plays catchy tunes
mixed with classic rock rhythms, has been featured in a
television ad to promote organ donation.
“We decided to use our music to help out people in need
of life-saving transplants,” said Seth Durfee, drummer and
vocalist. “We want our friends to know that joining the
donor registry will make them heroes someday.”
The Monikers are also hosts in a seven minute DVD
presentation, which will be shown to over 70,000 students
across the state. A new t-shirt with the band’s logo and a
gorilla on the front have run out twice, because of their
popularity. The band has also been featured in newspaper
articles and on television news programs.
All these efforts have real life, especially for the 6 percent
of the transplant waiting list who are under 18 years old.
Teienna Nichols was a bloated, jaundiced six-month-old
baby with liver failure when an organ transplant saved
her life. Now, she’s a healthy teenager, whose activities
include an international youth ambassador program to
Australia.
“I wouldn’t be alive today without a liver transplant,”
she said. “I thank my donor every day for giving me a
second chance at life.”
Mike Lawrence loved baseball and started on his high
school team. He almost didn’t make it to graduation
though, because his heart was failing.
“I started by losing my breath, until I couldn’t play
anymore,” he explained. “When I learned I needed a heart
transplant, I couldn’t believe it. I was 16 and I was going
to die.”
But Mike did receive a
life-saving transplant and
went on to star on his school
team. He continues to play
and went on to college.
“No one likes to think
about their own death,” said
Seth. “I don’t like to think
about it. That’s why it’s
important to join the registry
now and talk to your family
about your decision. You
never know what’s going to
happen. Your decision now
could save many lives later.”
One organ donor can save up to nine lives and one
tissue donor can help over 50 people lead better lives. To
learn more about organ and tissue donation at the “Yes”
Utah Donor Registry, www.yesutah.org or call 866-YESUTAH.
Western artwork due Feb. 12
Any students interested in submitting artwork for the
Moab Western Stars Poetry Gathering, the deadline for
entries is Feb. 12. The Moab Arts and Recreation Center is
sponsoring the contest, which is divided into four school-age
categories, the oldest of which is students in 9th through 12th
grades. All submissions of artwork are accepted, including
one-dimensional, sculpture, mixed media, textiles, etc.
The event celebrates the pioneer and cowboy culture of the
American West, so artwork should include images related to
a Western theme. Entries will be evaluated on creativity, age
appropriateness, and compliance to the theme. Ribbons and
prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place in
each age category. The students’ work will be exhibited Feb.
14-21 at the MARC during the Moab Western Stars Poetry
Gathering. For more information, call 259-6272.
Chocolate Lovers Fling
The 11th annual Chocolate Lovers Fling promises to
bring back the 1970s, celebrating 30 years of disco with the
“Chocolate Inferno.”
Sweet prizes will be given for funkiest chocolate creations,
grooviest get-ups, best disco dance moves, and a roller limbo
contest. As always, a wide variety of tasty chocolate treats
will be sold at auction.
The event, sponsored by the Youth Garden Project, will be
held on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 6-9 p.m. at the Grand Center.
Tickets are $10 adults, $5 for children. Discount tickets
available in advance at WabiSabi.
At the Ticket Booth: DVDs
By Jazrik Messick
Hello friends, it’s me again, back with the top three best
selling DVDs of the past month. All three of these are
definitely worth your time to sit and watch.
Coming in at No. 1 is The Covenant. In 1692, in the
Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five families with untold
power formed a covenant of silence. One family, lusting for
more, was banished - their bloodline disappearing without
a trace, until now. Directed by Renny Harlin and written by
J.S. Cardone, The Covenant tells the story of the Sons of
Ipswich, four young students at the elite Spenser Academy
who are bound by their sacred ancestry. As descendants of
the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the
1600s, the boys have all been born with special powers.
When the body of a dead student is discovered after a party,
secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant
of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of
years.
The No. 2 spot goes to Snakes on a Plane. Samuel L.
Jackson stars in the intense action of this thriller from director
David Ellis (Final Destination 2, Cellular). Jackson plays an
FBI agent who is escorting a witness on a flight from Hawaii
to Los Angeles when an assassin releases hundreds of deadly
snakes on a commercial airplane in order to eliminate the
witness. The FBI agent, a rookie pilot, the frightened crew,
and the passengers must then band together in a desperate
attempt to survive.
Finally, the No. 3 spot goes to Pirates of the Caribbean
2: Dead Man’s Chest. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom
and Keira Knightley reunite in this Walt Disney Pictures
sequel featuring an all new epic tale chronicling the further
misadventures of Captain Jack Sparrow. The third and final
installment of the trilogy is coming to in theaters this May.
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Page 8
BACK BURNER
Horoscopes
By Dayton Minor
Sagittarius Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
You
and your parents are going to argue. Offer
up some chocolate, lest ye be smitten down.
Dec. 22 - Jan. 19 If you
find yourself in an existential quandary, just
remember that there is still a place called
Albuquerque.
Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Protect
your homework with your life, your dog is
heart-set on eating it.
Feb. 19 - March 20 Avoid eating
squirrels this month, they aren’t as healthy as
you thought they were.
March 21 - April 19 Adventures
happen on the smallest of journeys. Take
every opportunity you get.
April 20 - May 20 Pay special
attention in science class, you are at risk of
blowing up the lab.
May 21 - June 21 Watch out
for men in suits arriving on your doorstep,
they only bring trouble.
June 22 - July 22 The fruits
of your labors are ripening, make your move
soon or the relationship will fall through the
cracks.
July 23 - Aug. 22 Make sure your
parents are really out of town before planning
that party.
Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 Don’t let the
gnome into your house -- you remember
what happened last time.
Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 When the
white salamander comes and talks to you,
take notes.
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21 Rome fell
because of a backstabber, Watch your back.
Capricorn
10 Things The Editors Hate About...
Deadlines
1. People ignore them
2. They make you stressed
out
3. They are not really dead
lines.
4. The world is already too
orderly
5. We’re editors
6. They need to be used
7. Everything is late
8. They create too much
work at the last minute
9. They don’t help anyways
10. We missed the deadline
for number ten
RED DEVIL SUDOKU
Aquarius
Pisces
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
The Devils’ Advocate
Grand County High School
608 South 400 East
Moab, Utah 84532
(435) 259-8931
E-mail: gchs.advocate@gmail.com
Editors-in-chief: Ari Ferro, Jessica Hawks
and Sam Webster
Columnists: Sam Webster, Jim Jorgen
Contributing writers and staff: Abi Taylor,
Kemrey Wells, Donald Keogh, Jazrik
Messick, Dayton Minor, Ivy Hazlett, and
Dailey Haren
Faculty adviser: Jeff Richards
Layout and design: Ari Ferro, Sam
Webster, and Zephyr Glass
Produced using Adobe InDesign CS2
Printed by
Times-Independent Publishing
Download this issue in color from the
GCHS link on www.grandschools.org