Elementary Santa Letters | 4

Soccer, the Best Sport | 14

The End | 15

Harry Potter Movie Review | 17

Sophomore English Essay | 18

Flying Mom... | 20

Social Conventions | 23

High School Basketball | 24

High School Sports | 18

Pep Band Photo Spread | 28

State Volleyball Photos | 30

Basketball PhotosPHOTO FEATURE 24

On the Cover: Freshman drummer Devin Van Laar provides the spark for Trout Lake’s pep band during the boys varsity Dec. 10 game against Arlington.

2 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT’S HAPPENING. . . . . . .

284

30

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December, 2010 | 3

. . . . . . .WHAT’S HAPPENING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What’s Happening

Village Voice Staff: Left side (back to front): Helene Rustad, Krissy Yarnell, Anna Klahn, Jessie Robertson, Caitlin Scott, Maggie Baker, Linda Montavon. Right side: Lucas King, Eli Caudillo, Ben Vollema, Grace Anton, Amy Underwood, Amanda Lee. Not pictured: Chantel McGraw.

Village Voice Staff

January 3 (Mon)First day back from Winter BreakC

Above: Trout Lake elementary students sing I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas during the December 13 Winter Program in the Trout Lake School gym.

January 8 (Sat)Winter Formal – 8:00 P.M.

C

January 17 (Mon)MLK, Jr. Holiday, no schoolC

January 15-17 (Fri–Mon)Cabin Fever FestivalC

January 31 – February 5Spirit WeekC

4 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .December, 2010 | 5

6 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA. . . . . . .

First grade, Mrs. Kaufman

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .December, 2010 | 7

. . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dear Santa,Os I wot for crismis a Halo

glucin. Droqttiq and a hud

wothog. From

Dallas

8 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA. . . . . . .

Dear Santa,

Can I have a motecintrol

snewmoowbial for cristmas

and a remot cintrol punpcing

cuncin macin and all of them.

From

Devin

Dear Santa,

I what a ipod shuffle

and a ipod and justin Bieber

porsr

Your FriendJacqui

Dear Santa,

Can I have a MP3

player for Chistmas pleas

Santa and I can I have a

maryo game and I was woding

if my family and I could go

the the grat wolf log.

Love,

Jayden

Dear Santa,I no how your slay flys

Christmas speiyit. I whanta

noo DSi game it is coled 007

GoldeneayFrom

Duly

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa, I wot a

car and a toys mor toys I wot

a control car. to santa.

fram

Ever.

Dear Santa,

Can I please have a sewing

machine for Christmas. ps.

How many houses do you

stop at and how many elves

do you have?

From

Clara

Dear Santa,How much raindeer do you

have? I want a I pod and a

new DSi. Can you get me

a new justin beiber poster.

Olso a new psp and a new

ipod tach.Love,

Ariana

Dear Santa,

I wont a DS for Christmas becaus it is cool

and a game.

From

Liam

Second grade, Mrs. Phares

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .December, 2010 | 9

. . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dear Santa,

I would like to go to

the north pole. Can I have

a MP3 player for Christmas

and a Chaigo Bears Bennet

number 80 a good player.

Sincerly,

Tyler

Dear Santa,

May you please get

me a bakugon for Christmas,

I really like them because

they can be a diffrent thing,

you never will now what it

will be if you don’t see it.

Your friend, William

Dear Santa,

I wont a Lego Harry

potter magnint set. How do

you get the Christmas leters?From,

Phoenix

Dear Santa,

This is m

y chrismas

list, DSi, DS, M.P.3., PSP,

PS2, PS3, paper jam drums

or gutar, remote sand truck

with crasy jumps, iPad.

From

Rain

Dear Santa,

I want a helmet and

a ipod. The team I want is

the Titans helmet. Can you

get the suiff on it.

Love

Micah

Dear Santa,

How many elfs do

you have? Can I have a wii

for chrasmas? And a grat

chrusmas with my flamy. Do

you have a elf that is lazy?

You Friend,Neilly

Dear Santa,

Yesterday I went

to whach the poler expres

whith my Ant, Cousin. It was

good and we alerede have

the move. I want a wii 360.

How many presents in all do

you send in the hole world.

I have been good. We have

an exstanstudet name Kelly.

Your frind,

Samantha

Dear Santa,

I want a dsi and a

psp and a sophone and a dsi

game and a CD of bigtime

rush and a psp game and a

poster of big time rush

Love, Yuliza

Christmas in Mexico

By: Cody Colloton

What I like about Christmas

is that I get to go to Cabo

San Lucas, Mexico. They

have a nice hotel, a big pool,

and a hot tub that is 25 feet

deep. Cabo San Lucas is the

best place to go.

When I Got a Gun

By: Daun Hegyi

Once upon a time on

Christmas, I got a bee bee

gun and I was so happy. I

got to shoot the gun when

my big brother Austin took

us to shoot the gun. First

my brother Chris and I had

to get some cardboard and

draw circles on it. The gun

didn’t work but then my mom

got me a daisy gun and it

works better.

10 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HOLIDAY WRITERS. . . . . . .

Peter and LucyBy Bella DeanOnce a girl named Lucy and

a boy named Peter went out

to get a Christmas tree and

that is how my story begins.

“Peter, Lucy get down here

this instant!” “Will you get

a tree for Christmas?” said

their mother Molly. “Yes!”

said Peter. So they went into the forest of misery. It

was full of minks, moles, and

mongooses. They had a hard

time but they got a tree. Peter said “Lucy, where are

we?” “We need to go west to

get home,” said Lucy. “Oh”

Peter said. They went west

and found their home and

decorated a beautiful tree

and had the best Christmas

ever!

The Christmas Poem

By: Naomi Elyard-Jaeger

Morning

Early

Royal

gRinch

merrY

Celebrate

Holly

gRand

Ice

Shine

Tree

Miseltoe

hArk

Snow

Christmas Joy!

The Christmas Tree

By: Lilli Goodson

One December morning a

child woke up with joy and

happiness in his mind. It was

Christmas morning! All you

could see on the cold winter

ground were tiny white

snowflakes. The boy ran

down the stairs and saw that

his beautiful Christmas tree

was shining like a new box of

tinsel in the dazzling light.

Not only was it beautiful, 6

sparkling boxes were sitting

under the tree. He thought

they were marvelous, and he

opened them right away.

3rd Grade Christmas writing, Mrs. Kaufman

It Is a HolidayOn Chistmas day When I

woke up I saw a pair of gloves, white and soft jost

like a dandy dove. They were

over the fire, they were nice

and warm. It is a holiday it

is a holiday. It is a holiday.

Merry Christmas!By: Bowen Durkee

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .December, 2010 | 11

. . . . . . .HOLIDAY WRITERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Christmas PoemBy : Sidney BeckerChristmasHas

Really

IncredibleStuff

That

Makes

A

Smile.

PackagesRings

EarringsSkies

Electric guitarsNecklacesTurtles

Sewing machines

The Best Christmas Day EverBy. Scott Van LarrOne Day in northern

Washington there was a small

log cabin. In that cabin lived

a little 6 year old boy. That

boy was very good. When

Chismas came the boy went

to bed. When he awoke he went to his living room.

What he found was lots of

presents. One present he got

was what he always wanted.

It was a star-wars action

figure At-At. He also got

an At-St, a scout trooper, a

snow trooper, and two sand

troopers.

The ChistmasBy Mary VollemaOnce Upon a Time there

was a girl named Liza. Liza

loved Chistmas but not She

does not get the point of

it. Liza and her family went

to cut a tree for Chistmas

When Chistmas came and

when Chistmas came and the

gifts were all under the tree,

Liza’s sister Melody jumped

on her bed to wake Liza up.

Liza went to the tree and

opened all her gifts and she

was happy. Christmas Eve

By: Amanda Vollema

In a world of happiness

where the sun shines all

day long and is covered in

snow, there lives a little girl

named Amaro. After she

came on Christmas-Eve, one

hundred more people came

to the land. Amaro went to

one named Bella. Bella is a

snow-woman. Bella is short

compared to Amaro. Bella

said “we have come because

it is Christmas-Eve.” Amaro

said “Well if that is so then

you may stay because it is

Christmas-Eve.” Bella said

”Merry Christmas!” The

very next day under the

Christmas tree were many

presents.

Pancakes on Christmas

By: Tania Castañeda

Once upon a time when

Christmas eve came, I woke

up. I screamed again because

there were a lot of presents.

Then my mom made pancakes

for us and when we were

done we said thank you

Mommy.

12 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA. . . . . . .

Dear Santa, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas due

to a ton of snow on the ground. If you are

coming you better dress warm because IT is

freezing. If you are coming, I would like to

have some stuff.Please Bring: Modern Warfare, drums, Lego,

and a PS 3. If you can’t bring everything, then

just the first two first things listed.By the way, I’ve been wondering where do you

live? The North or South Pole? Oh, I forgot

something on the list, a NERF gun. Wait! I

would love to have a dog instead of all the

stuff above. I want a dog. Sincerely, Fischer FergusonP.S. Do you want cookies and milk?

Dear Santa,

I live in Husum, WA and go to Trout

Lake School. How are you and Mrs.

Claus doing? I am doing fine. My name

is Madison Keller and I was wondering

if you could send me these items from

my wish list, I would be much obliged.

I would like a snow globe with you,

your sleigh and the reindeer in it, a

horse T-shirt, the American Girl doll

Julie, and an ipod Touch. Thank you

for all your help.

Sincerely,

Madison Keller

4th Grade, Mrs. BakerDear Santa:

I and a 4th grader at Trout Lake

School.My name is Janessa Colburn and I am 10 years old. Christmas is coming up and I have two Things I want for it. The two things I Want are a knitting loom and a Nerf Gun with bullets.If you can’t afford to get

these things, I’ll be fine.Thank you for whatever you Do give me.

Sincerely,Janessa C.

Dear Santa,

My name is Liz.School is really Fun,and my class is writing to you.You will be Getting 15 letters soon.There are 27 kids in the Class,but 11 ar ein 3rd grade and that leaves 16 left, and one 4th grader does not do writing With us.

For Christmas I would like a Nintendo DS. I Would also like a neon yellow and orange nail Polish,and also black nail polish.One million dollars Would also be nice.

Sicerely,

Liz Fink

Dear Santa,

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas due to a ton of snow on the ground. If you are coming you better dress warm because IT is freezing. If you are coming, I would like to have some stuff.

Please Bring: Modern Warfare, drums, Lego, and a PS 3. If you can’t bring everything, then just the first two first things listed.

By the way, I’ve been wondering where do you live? The North or South Pole? Oh, I forgot something on the list, a NERF gun. Wait! I would love to have a dog instead of all the stuff above. I want a dog.

Sincerely, Fischer Ferguson

Dear Santa,

My name is Eleesha and I am in the fourth grade. I live in a little house that is pink; just making sure you know.

What I want most for Christmas is to get my ears pierced. You see I have this Girl doll and she wants her ears pierced too. She also wants glasses, she told me. That is what she and I want . I hope that I can get this stuff.

Sincerely, Eleesha Pike Allaway

P.S. I’ll leave you cookies and Hot chocolate at my house

P.S.S. Give carrots to the reindeer this year!

Dear Santa,

My name is Luke, and if you have time

could you make a delivery or two.

I hope you can Bring me a Nerf gun

and a Lego StarWars set. That’s all.

I don’t want very many things for

Christmas

Sincerely,

Luke Brown

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .December, 2010 | 13

Dear Santa:My name is Suleyma Yasmin, but I like to be

called Jasmin. I’m writing in case you pass by my

house, you would know the things that I want this

Christmas.I only want a couple of things, so you can have more

time to read the other kids letters. #1.Ipod touch

screen protectors, because my Ipod is getting really

dirty. #2. A bike. I would like a bike that is blue,

black and gray. #3. Two pairs of new shoes. One

pairs of tennis shoes (combers).Thank you Santa. I look forward to getting at least

one of these objects.Sincerely,Jasmin

Mr. Santa Claus,

Present giver and cookie and milk Taker.

1,000,000 outh Pole street NorthPole, Top of the arctic Ocean 59650

Dear, Mr. Santa Claus:

Christmas is coming soon and our class is writing letters to you. I know you send presents so I’m writing to tell you what I want.

I would like a PSI, a PSP the game Halo Reach, an ipod Touch and some books.

I’d appreciate it if you sent me these things.

Sincerely,

Casey Cole Mckinney

Dear Santa:

I am Carter Wurzer. I’m in fourth

grade. I am writing to let you know

what I want for Christmas. I would

like Xbox 360 games, Star Wars

Legos, A Series of Unfortunate

Events books, a laptop, and a

cuponk ,R/C helicopter.

Thank you. I hope you can deliver

what I would like.

Sincerely,

Carter Wurzer

Dear Mr. Claus:

My name is Reece and I am I n fourth grade. I am writing because I want to tell you what I want for Christmas. I do not have a lot of things on my list.

Would you please send me one of these things: a horse, remote contral object, Nerf gun, or Hot Wheels with a Hot Wheels track. Those are my top 5 things I want for Christmas.

Can you bring it a little before Christmas morning! Thank you. I hope you bring it on time.

Sincerely,

Reece Painter

. . . . . . .LETTERS TO SANTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mr.Claus, The toy Maker U.S workshop Perfect Organization95 Candy Lane DriveNorth Pole,49325

Dear Santa:My name is Derek, I am in the 4th grade I am 9 years old, abd I am writing to give you my wish list for Christ mas.

My wish list is :and Xbox 360, a drum set, and Ipod Touch, or an motorcycle. I hope you can deliver at Least one thing.

Sincerely,

Derek Johnston

Dear Santa,

How are you doing Santa? You certainly

do a lot of work in your shop, don’t you? I

can’t wait for Christmas.

If you happen to stop by my house,

here are my top ten gift choices,

1. Remote control car. 2. Remote

control motorcycles. 3. Remote control

snowmobile. 4. Nintendo DS., 5. Xbox

360, 6. Nerf guns, 7. Psp 8. Control for

Nintendo 64. 9. Map and compass and 10. a

keyboard

That’s all the top ten things. Christmas is

almost here!

Sincerely,

Riley Allaway

Futbol, the original name for soccer, is the most popular sport in the world; it has more meaning in some countries than just a game, and is popular in every other county except the United States. Why? You might say, “it’s boring to watch” or “how can you watch a game that might not even have a single goal scored dur-ing a whole ninety minutes?” Well, there are many things that you need to learn about soccer.

First of all, soccer is the most popular sport worldwide. It can be played pretty much anywhere because all you need is a ball. You can play in the mud, on cement, on grass, in a gym and many other places. You can set up a goal with almost anything; from two jackets, to two posts and a net. These factors make it easy to start a game of soccer. With most other sports you need more expensive equipment to play. For instance, in American football you need pads, a helmet and other protective gear in order to play You also can’t play this game on anything but grass. In basketball you need to have a hoop, a ball and most importantly, a surface that the ball can bounce on. Soccer is a natural game to play. You can kick a soccer ball further than you can throw a ball, which makes you feel more powerful. People also like this sport because it is challenging. They are so used to using their hands that playing with their feet does not come easily. But what would be the point of playing a sport if it were easy? Playing soccer is not only fun, but simple and challenging at the same time.

Soccer can bring hope to countries that are not as wealthy as the United States. For example, in 2006, Angola, an African country, qualified for the World Cup. In a poor, war-ravaged country like Angola, this

gave the people something to believe in. Soccer is important to most countries in the world. If players become good enough, they can

get on their country’s soccer team and compete, giving them the escape they desire from a difficult life and hope for the future. If a country’s soccer team makes it to the world cup, or wins the World Cup, its country gets recognized. This is important to countries that do not get receive much world

attention. Soccer is one thing that every country in the world can compete in at the same level which makes it

more important.Soccer didn’t reach United States until the

19th century. By that time, Americans had al-ready created sports of their own, like baseball,

basketball and football. These sports had claimed their own seasons in which

they were to be played by the time soccer came into the country. Many

Americans think that soccer is boring to watch because the ball only goes in

the goal a few times during the whole game or maybe not at all. Some Americans might say that, “You can watch a ten-second highlight on the game and see all of the exciting plays of the game”—but that is not true. During a soccer game there are great

saves from goalies, exciting plays from the players on the field, shots on the goal, headers, powerful kicks, and moves to get around defenders. All of this action

cannot be showed during a ten-second highlight. Generally, people who think the game is boring have

not played in a soccer game before. When you are in the game it seems fast paced unlike when you are watching.

So if the game is boring to you, you should try playing it and I think that you will respect soccer more.

Soccer is a fun sport that is easy to play and available to almost anybody. It is important to the world because not

only is it the most popular sport worldwide, it brings hope to countries that really need it and it is one of the things that the

whole world can compete in at the same level.

fUTBOLBy: CaiTLin SCOTT

14 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .STUDENT WRITING. . . . . . .

. . . . . . .STUDENT WRITING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Chump car World Series A different type of racing. By Ben Vollema

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December, 2010 | 15

The Chump Car World series is a very different type of racing. This type of racing is for average people. Those who participate don’t have to be rich or great drivers. The rules for Chump Car racing are fairly simple: there is a cost limit, the car has to be safe, and it can have only certain modifications.

The goal of Chump Car is straightforward. You have a time limit and try to get in as many laps as possible in that time limit. There are two different races; 12 and 24 hour races. Whoever completes the most laps in that time period wins. There is a series of races that goes on year round, with events happening in Canada, United States and Mexico.

The first rule for Chump Car is that you can race any car that you want, as long as it is valued under 500 dollars. This might seem like a very low price and might seem impossible to find a car of that value. This is where the Craigslist, Gorge Net, eBay and other Internet sites come in handy as people buy and sell things for relatively cheap prices. Obviously, you will not find a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but you can find some pretty nice racecars. They might not be incredibly fast, but they don’t need to be. The whole point of the cost limit is to keep the competition fair, and make it so that almost anyone can race and so that the people with the most money will not necessarily win. If you have a car that is too expensive, you will be penalized.

The second set of rules is also very important. One of the things that you have to do in order to compete in Chump Car is tear your car apart. The reason that to do this is to make safety modifications (unless your car already meets all of the standards, which is very rare). The safety modifications include installing a roll cage, harness, fire extinguisher, a good mirror, window net, and a HANS device. A roll cage is a series of metal poles that fit inside the perimeter of the inside of the car so in case of a wreck or roll, the car and driver will mostly stay intactl. Instead of a seatbelt, a harness is used because it more effectively holds the driver in place. It also causes less injuries in case of an accident because it puts pressure on the whole front side of the body. The fire extinguisher is needed if the car catches on fire and the driver is trapped. With the fire extinguisher, you can put most of the fire out, and then hope-fully exit the vehicle. Another mirror is needed for improved rear vision and the HANS device keeps the driver from turning his head left or right. The HANS device (Head and Neck Support Device) is something that goes onto the seat and attaches to the helmet—it keeps the helmet in place to redce the chance of neck injury. The window net replaces the driver’s window so broken glass is not a problem. The window net also keeps the driver inside the car. Also, if you

have a car with a door that does not open, you can put the net down, and climb through the window like in NASCAR. There are so many safety regulations; these are just a few basic ones.

There are also some safety specifications for the driver and pit road. The driver has to have a helmet and racing clothes. Racing clothes are clothes that are fire resistant, giving the driver time to get out of the car in case of a fiery wreck. The pit road is where you take the car in case of repairs, gas, tire changes, fast adjustments to the car, and driver changes. When pulling into pit road, the car must stop and get a card from an official telling what time you went in, and give it to another person when you come out. This is because when getting gas, for safety reasons, crews have to take at least five minutes to refill.

Some rules not regarding safety in the Chump Car World Series are the decorat-ing of the car, the amount of drivers, types of tires, and penalties. When you get a number for the car you have to put that number on at least three places. The three mandatory places are on the side doors, and on the hood or roof. Numbers can be put on the car as many times as desired as long as it is in those three places. Teams actually get rewards for their car’s decorations. One of the great things about Chump Car is how different teams decorate their cars. When teams decorate their cars, they do not normally go to a professional body shop because that would raise the values too high, which might disqualify them. So, when most people decorate their cars, they come up with a theme and use spray paint, or just use regular paint, to decorate it. Some other things that teams use is junk that they find in various places like their yard, their garage, their neighbors garage, the junkyard, or anywhere there would be scraps of various materials. Another rule that does not regard safety is you have to have at least four drivers. They do not all drive at the same time, that would be disas-trous, but every driver has to drive at some point. There really are not any specifica-tions regarding tires except they have to be DOT legal and can’t be too worn.

If any of these rules are broken in Chump Car, you are at the mercy of the officials. One thing to keep in mind is that the officials are all volunteers without formal training, so they do not really know the limits of how they can penalize you. Usually, they just hold drivers in the pits, because they know that it is humiliating enough with your team staring at you just sitting there and everyone else is doing laps. .

That is the sport of Chump Car. There are many partici-pants that have had the pleasure of racing in The Chump Car World Series. The thrills of racing in The Chump Car World series have been said to be inde-scribable. Your “crap-can car” racing for hours at a time; it’s unmatchable.

16 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .STUDENT WRITING. . . . . . .

As an eerie quiet spreads over the earth

all technology fails.

Children cling to their device in total darkness

hoping to see them light up once more.

Without e-mails, cell phones, LOL’s and OMG’s

peace to parents has come.

The population has come to a panicky turmoil

lost without their toys,

fish without water,

dogs without their companions.

What will the world become when once again

IPods become radios,

texts become phone calls,

and e-mails become letters?

Returning to the way we were before,

not technologically needy.

A world where the elderly understand,

we communicate with voice

a stronger place,

complete unification.

By: Grace Anton

As an eerie quiet spreads over the earth

all technology fails.

Children cling to their device in total darkness

hoping to see them light up once more.

Without e-mails, cell phones, LOL’s and OMG’s

peace to parents has come.

The population has come to a panicky turmoil

lost without their toys,

fish without water,

dogs without their companions.

What will the world become when once again

IPods become radios,

texts become phone calls,

and e-mails become letters?

Returning to the way we were before,

not technologically needy.

A world where the elderly understand,

we communicate with voice

a stronger place,

complete unification.

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The 7th book in the Harry Potter series sold 20 copies per sec-ond world wide at its peak, becoming the fastest selling book ever. Knowing this, it’s no surprise that the most recent movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 topped the holiday box office grossing $50.3 million and counting. In my opinion, though it is not the best in the series, I would give this movie 4 stars for accuracy, special effects, and scenery.

As the movie begins, Voldemort is growing stronger. He has taken control of a few aspects that will be instrumental in his plan to bring the entire wizarding world to his feet. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are preparing to set out on a journey to find and destroy the remaining Horicruxes (pieces of Voldemort’s soul, hidden inside various significant objects), thereby completing Dumbledore’s wishes and defeating the Dark Lord once and for all. So begins an epic mission for our heroes, filled with dangers, triumphs, and tragedies, as they race against time to save their world and stop life as they know it from turning nightmarish.

Before watching this movie I heard about and read quite a few negative reviews of it. The critiques had all kinds of problems with it. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I don’t want anyone who has read those negative reviews to skip this film based on their recommendations; so here’s what the crit-ics got wrong.

Perhaps the biggest problem any reviewers had with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One was that they thought the middle was boring and snore-inducing filler. First of all, one of this movie’s biggest strengths is staying true to the book, and the director didn’t just make these parts up! Second, not every great movie needs to be chock full of special effects, chase scenes, and near death situations, although there were plenty of

those scenes anyway. These “boring” scenes were a chance to delve deeper into the character’s personalities, thoughts, and feelings which is something that I think worked pretty well. There is also quite a bit of death and a few dark themes in the movie, which some reviews complained about. Again, that’s what the book is about, so if you couldn’t handle that, don’t see the movie.

I gave the movie 4 stars, because it had a few excellent aspects, and I liked it overall. One thing I liked about it was how accu-rate they tried to be. Obviously, it’s a movie and a lot of material must be squeezed into two and a half hours, but in some movies, directors change main ideas and entire scenes just to make the movie more interesting. When a movie based on the book starts changing scenes in an attempt to make it more interesting they often end up with something that hardly resembles the original book. For a story like this one that is already world famous, there is really no need to enhance the story; people already love it.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, they captured the spirit of the book, and enhanced it with special effects and visual aids. As in all Potter movies, the special effects were excellent. Things leapt out at you, characters disap-peared seamlessly, and Harry’s visions were as vivid as ever. I won’t spoil anything, but a short cartoon interlude brings an artsy touch to the whole thing. I got so into that little side story that I forgot there was still another movie going on. My final, and perhaps favorite part of the movie, was the scenery. I fully en-joyed many of the duller parts just because the scenery and buildings were beautiful.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Deathly Hal-lows part 1. Whether you are a Potter fan, or have never read the books, I recommend that you see this movie. Books don’t sell 8.3 million

copies on the first day for nothing, so go ahead and try it. Maybe you’ll find yourself in line for the next movie. I

know I will.

“Two out of three?” I said after my dad beat me once again in a game of chess. This was my line after almost every competitive dispute me and my dad ever had. He would beat me time and time again in everything. Two out of three was my best chance

of winning, and my day of victory still had not come. It had always been this way, even before I was

born. My dad grew up with five older brothers, four

of whom were older than him. Everyday was a competition for my dad and to him, in some ways, I was just another brother. To me, my dad was the older brother I never had. Don’t get me wrong; I love my big sister, but she doesn’t

have that competitive edge me and my dad have.

This day had been espe-cially competitive. It started that morning when he poured me a glass of orange juice. I had bet him a dollar

that I could down my glass before him. He beat me. “It’s only because you have a big mouth,” I said in retaliation. Then he challenged me to a game of chess. He beat me at that too, and when I tried to overtake him two out of three, he beat me again in a mere five moves. “Chess means nothing,” I said, “let’s see who wins in a real game.” I went to the closet and snatched up my basketball then held it out to my dad.

“Alright,” he said, “but no complaining when I beat you.”“Oh, there’s going to be complaining, but not from me,” I said with a smirk.

We grabbed our basketball shoes, then hopped in the truck and drove down to the school. When we arrived no one was there but us. As we walked into the gym the lights were off, and it was pitch black. Even in the dark I could still sense the gym’s enormity. My dad flicked on the lights; slowly each one buzzed to life. A thick blue line illuminated the court, and two vibrant-orange rims hung at each end. I slipped into my basketball shoes and dribbled out onto the court. Boom, boom, boom! The ball bounced from the ground to my hand in perfect time. As I dribbled out to the free throw line, I could feel myself fall into a rhythm with the ball. I put up the first shot of the day; it sailed nicely and fell through the net with a ‘swoosh’.

“Maybe today would be the day,” I thought. Then my dad got the ball, dribbled out to the three point line and nailed a shot with ease. “Maybe not,” I reconsidered.

It didn’t take long until we were in a heated game of one-on-one. The game was to eleven, I had taken a quick lead, eight to five, and I had the ball. I took a hard dribble right, then cut back left to my dominant hand and drove to the hoop. I put up a soft shot that banked off the backboard and fell through the rim. Nine to five; the biggest lead I had ever had in a one-on-one basket ball game between the two of us. It was my ball again. This time I drove left, but he cut me off. I went right then tried to roll left, but again he cut me off. I could see what he was doing; he was forcing me right,

taking away my good hand. It was useless; I couldn’t drive right, and he knew it. Instead I dribbled back and put up a long three-pointer. It clanked off the rim and landed right in my dad’s hands. I got back on defense, determined to win back the ball. I tried to force him left away from his good hand, but he just drove on me left-handed and put in a layup like it was nothing. It seemed no matter which way I forced him, he was going to score on me. He got the ball back, and before I could get down in my stance, he dribbled down and scored another easy lay up. Nine to seven; he was closing the deficit and still had the ball. This time I gave him space; bad idea, he threw up a three-pointer that arced high. “No way,” I thought as I watched it soar. It fell right through the rim, and just like that the game was tied.

I was exhausted, sweat dripped from my chin and my legs shook with every step. My dad on the other hand seemed fine, like he could play a game to fifty and be but a little out of breath. As tired as I was, I couldn’t give up now, not when I was so close to victory. My dad still had the ball, but I wasn’t letting him off so easy this time. I stuck to him like glue, and it worked; eventually he threw up a wild mid-range jump shot that bounced off the backboard and rolled to the right side of the court. I sprinted after the ball, and got to it well before my dad. I stood there for a split second with the ball in my hands and my toes just behind the three-point line. This was my chance to finish it, to beat my dad for the first time. He was sprinting towards me from the left side of the court; it was now or never. I focused on the rim and fired off a shot that barely missed my dad’s outstretched hand. Everything fell silent in those few seconds as the ball sailed through the air. It looked good; it flew high, arcing perfectly through the air. When I could hold my breath no longer, it fell through the net with the most satisfying swoosh I had ever heard. It was done. I collapsed to the floor drained of all my energy. Then, with a grin across his face, my dad walked over to me.

“Two out of three.”

NOTE: This “descriptive essay” was written by Jackson for Mrs. Simonis’ sophomore English class.

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20| December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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When I was about nine years old and my sister was eleven, we had an Indian

fort that we would often ride our horses to. We had a tee-pee and a little village there

where my older sister and I would have pow-wows with our lunch. Mom and Dad had thinned

out some poles and left a relatively clear area under larger trees in the back woods of our property. Some

of the poles were left, and we used them to make our tee-pee back in the cleared area. The “road” skirted the

edge of the cleared area, and we used the limbs left from the thinning operation to make a solid border along the

road. We left only two narrow entrances into the fort on either end.

We were lucky. We had the horses that every little girl dreams of. We would ride from our house behind CHS (Columbia High School) up to Grandma and Granddad’s house. We would stop to tell them where we planned to ride, then gently rode on another mile or so up past an old barn and along our big field towards the power lines. Once we got past the field, the road turned into more of a soft dirt path lined with brush and overhanging trees really making us feel out in the “Indian Territory”.

We made the horses part of our little Indian village. My sister Gidgit rode Ginger, a shiny, feisty red sorrel mare who loved to chase cattle. I mostly rode Beauty, a big, gentle, chocolate-colored horse with a flaxen mane and tail. We sometimes rode the other horses—we had five growing up, but those two were the ones who really seemed to enjoy it. We had a hitching post (a stick tied fast between two firs) and a corral for them to stay in (rope tied from tree to tree in a circular fashion). We played our Indian games with turkey feathers in our hair and mud painted lines on our faces. As needed, we would repair and add to the fort. It was a great game for us. The sticks and hay rope were all that

were needed and then our imagination did the rest. We loved getting out; escaping into this world we cre-ated around in our heads.

It became a game to the horses as well. Every time we entered the fort we would go galloping up the winding road and then turn sharply into the narrow entrances in almost a perfect 90 degree turn and fly up a brief trail and come to a sliding halt at the hitching post where we would dismount, our eyes glittering with exhilaration. We’d turn the horses into the corral if we were staying for a while and pull grass and vetch for them to eat while we made additions or did mainte-nance on the fort.

In all of this playing, we still lived and worked on a farm. We had cows on our farm along with the horses. We would use the horses to ride out and get the cows for the winter or to round them up to fly spray them in the spring or summer. The cows must have thought it was fun to run from us when we would try to round them up. They have also perfected the art of hiding in the brush perfectly. You can walk by them, within feet of them, and not hear them or have any idea of their existence. However, rounding up obnoxious cattle was one thing that had to be done once in a while.

My mom, Florence Cox was riding with my Dad, chasing after some stubborn cows that headed up the same road where we had our fort. As she was galloping along trying to outrun them, little did she know that the Indian Fort turnout was just a head, but the horse knew.

Ginger, remembering the game, instead of dashing up the road after the cattle did a perfect 90 degree spin to the left. Excited, she lunged forward, her gorgeous coat stretching over her rippling muscles and came to a skidding halt at what we knew as the hitching post; a

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perfect entrance to the Indian Fort. My mom had never been privileged to experi-

ence the joy of flying up the trail. She was shocked when Ginger suddenly spun around and dashed off with an uncharacteristic defiance. Not expecting the sudden direction change, Mom continued going straight forward instead of with the horse. With an astonished face, she tumbled to the ground facing the way she had been attempting to ride.

She followed the basic rule of: “If you fall off you get back on,. She proceeded, very sorely, to get on her horse and ride him back to the house with Dad.

My mother was a stern lady—very kind, and funny, but she had rules and you stuck to them. She did everything with dignity but loved to laugh. She was light hearted and funny. She knew how to laugh at life and move on. There were a few incidents, though, where it took her sev-eral years to see how funny they really were. This was one of those cases.

Arriving at the house later in the evening in front of my sister and I who were making dinner, she screeched “What did you do to my horse!” My dad’s face behind her was twitching in amusement. We, at first, were very confused at first and asked her “Mom, what are you talking about?” “I was chasing cows down the road past your Indian fort when Ginger swerved off the road and I landed in the dirt on my backside! The cows were still running down the road and she stopped right in front of your hitching post! I lost them in the brush because I came off the horse and it is your fault that the cows still aren’t in!” she yelled at us.

We couldn’t help but giggle. We grabbed each other trying to keep from falling over in a pile of laughter. The thought of seeing our mother flying off the horse in such a manner, completely undignified with her hair flying around was quite amusing from our perspective. However, it only made her angrier.

“You ruined my best cow horse!” she screamed at us flinging her coat and gloves on the floor and stomping off to the shower.

Later that evening, we tried—with a straight face—to apologize, but didn’t have much luck. Mom was not at all ready to see the humor in the situation. However, we knew better than to push her and the matter dropped for quite some time.

Eventually, after all the bruises had healed, the subject was brought up in a joke. We all had looked at her quickly wondering if she was go-ing to explode. But she just laughed ruefully and said “Yeah... I still have a couple bruises on my backside. Dratted kids.”

Authors Note:This is based off a true story my mother told me growing up that happened to her, her sister, and her mother. The characters are all real people and all of the events really happened. I did add details to make the story more interesting. It always made me laugh to imagine my Grandmother coming off a horse in such a manner which is completely against her personality. One trait that has always stood out to me in this story was my grandmother not laughing about it at once. I have always respected my Grandmother very much for teaching my mother to laugh at herself, even if it takes some time to see the humor. My mother passed this laughter down to me. Without that trait, I would certainly not have a chance of surviving high school.

Social ConventionsChanging the way we think—and the way we treat each other—does not come easily. by Jessie Robertson

. . . . . . .STUDENT WRITING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

American law has come a long way in the past two hundred years or so. In that time, slavery has been outlawed, people besides rich white men can own land, and women have been given the right to vote. People can hold up amendments to the constitution as evidence of how much society has evolved (for the better, generally). However, as we’ve seen in the past, laws do not always accurately portray a society. When the Eman-cipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it freed slaves in all states that had not joined the Union. But it wasn’t like society suddenly freed all of their slaves because it was now the law. Although slavery has been outlawed, Korean-American women can own their own houses, and I can vote when I turn eighteen, there are still conventions in our society that can be traced back to a time that was not so free for many people.

First, there are the racial slurs. Yes, I’m referring to prejudiced remarks against people of various ethnicities. You’ve probably heard the ones I’m referring to—deroga-tory terms that slide through the air, suggesting that there is only one supreme ethnicity and that everyone else is garbage. They didn’t disappear with slavery and they didn’t disappear for Japanese Americans treated unfairly in the 1940s. But there’s more to this than just people shouting heinous remarks, because most people aren’t harsh enough to do that.

What are even more common and more socially acceptable are racial jokes—whose basis are the stereotypes of different ethnicities. Jokes of that sort are what keep racial stereotypes alive and well in the United States. These jokes are far more harmful even than racial slurs because, unlike racial slurs that are deemed inappropriate, racial jokes are often accepted in society. People laugh at these jokes when they would never laugh at racial slurs, although, if think about it, both accomplish the same act of putting down other ethnicities and enforcing divisions in society.

Second, there is the much broader practice of stereotyping. For the most part, nega-tive attitudes about other ethnicities and cultural groups that are clung to today reveal themselves through stereotyping. For instance, racial slurs result from people having a preconceived idea of this ladder where their own ethnicity is at the top and everyone else is on the rungs below. Stereotyping leads to a notion that nothing should change and that nothing does change. Stereotyping makes adults act like children in this way. Kids have this preset idea of how the world should be. I was at a contra dance a few months ago and a man was wearing a long skirt over his pants. A little girl went up to him and was quick to reprimand him, telling the man that this was not the way that he should be dressing. When adults form protest groups outside a gay couples’ wedding, or protest the Iraq war at a dead soldier’s funeral, they’re acting like a more extreme version of that little girl. It’s okay to have your own opinions, because they actually tend to drive forward thinking, and opinions are part of what free will is all about. However, to openly express hatred isn’t how mature adults should act.

Stereotyping runs rampant in our society. I do it, you do it, we do it, they do it. Everyone suc-

cumbs to stereotyping at some time or another in varying forms. There are more major forms that come to mind like racial stereotyping, and forms that are more every day and less hurtful. Women started entering the work-place in major numbers in the 1940’s, but even seventy years later, it is the man of the house who is assumed to bring home the bacon. Families probably have reasons for this and it might just be their preference. I’m not saying that there’s anything grossly wrong with this situa-tion, but that doesn’t make it any less of a stereotype.

Stereotypes of any kind enforce the idea that there is a mold that every person fits into and it enforces the idea that anyone outside the mold that you belong to should not be accepted. Social conventions leave us trapped and tied to the past and disallow change.

I’d like to think that, as humans of the twenty-first century, our attitudes have evolved from those of our ancestors. After all, two hundred years ago, the world was a huge place. People were just beginning to discover other lands and cultures. Maybe back then people could be excused of their ignorance, but today there’s really no excuse—especially with the United States being the melt-ing pot that it is, and with the Internet linking everyone together.

Today the world is smaller than it’s ever been. But looking past the forward-thinking laws we have passed over our 235 year history, I notice that we still are caught in much of the hatred, aversion, and stereotypes that those laws sought to reject. I also know that life doesn’t have to be that way. Intentionally or unintentionally, it seems that, even as the law evolves, society is stuck in a rut.

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24 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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28 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pep band ~ 2010Justin Brumley’s pep band rocks Trout Lake home basketball crowds.

. . . . . . .SPORTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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State Volleyball ‘10

30 | December, 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .