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Feb ru ary
Snowstorm adds week to Winter Break, school year
A dam H olmes
Staff Reporter
Students and staff alike
were surprised the week of
Dec. 15, when school was
canceled due to a blanket
of snow that fell on the city.
The snow dumped around
six inches on the ground,
assuring that schools would
be closed for the next few
days and roads would be
treacherous to travel. By
Thursday, much of the snow
had melted.
The snow returned that
night, assuring that the
remainder of the school week
would be canceled and snow
would continue for the next
few days. The extra week of
break means that another
week will be added on to the
school year.
While the week did offer a
break from school and work
for most people, for others
it was a hassle. Many were
stranded in their houses
due to snow accumulation,
ranging from a couple of
inches to two and a half feet
in areas. Driveways and roads
were covered with layers
of ice, and some sections of
roads, such as Salamo and
Hidden Springs, were closed
because they were too risky
to travel.
Even if people were
not stranded, the city
recommended avoiding
driving if possible. Many
opportunities to go sledding,
skiing, and in some cases
snowboarding.
"I went sledding down the
hill in front of my house. It
was fun to just relax and play
in the snow," Hannah Morton,
freshman, said.
The worst part of the storm
for some families was losing
power. While some only
lost electricity for a couple
of hours, others lost it for a
whole day, or in some cases,
several days. Most of this
was due to fallen tree limbs
breaking power lines.
"I lost power for five days!
My family couldn't get to
my grandma's so I didn't get
any presents," Josh Oltman,
senior, said.
Portland General Electric
worked around the clock to
repair downed lines, but it
was a slow battle, with more
lines being damaged as new
ones were being repaired.
"We lost power for five
days. The power went out on
December 22 around 5:30 am.
There was a huge boom that
woke my family up," Jennifer
Wells, sophomore, said.
"Turns out our main power
line, that is only shared with
our neighbors, literally fell.
We finally got power back
on the 26th around 11 p.m.
My family and I were invited
by our neighbors to have
Christmas Eve dinner with
them. Christmas Day, we
were able to go to my cousin's
snow days were a welcome
break from school for many
students.
"I wrote soliloquies in my
spare time," Joel Callagan,
house for dinner," Wells said.
now officially watched every
students and families
used the empty roads as
y# %
The snow covered the '00 Volkswagen Beetle of Bailee Schneider, senior. For an entire week, passerbys
snapped photos of the almost invisible car.
Photo by Bailee Schneider
junior, said.
Some used the time to
catch up on homework.
"Most of the classes I'm in
had missing assignments,"
Kaitlin Andrus, freshman,
said.
But some who used the
time to relax.
"I read a few books that
were lying around the house,
took a lot of naps, and have
Despite all of this, the
single I Love Lucy episode,"
Student Survey:
How were your snow
Wr
r^ “
Were you trapped in your house
for an extended period of time?
Hannah Bradford,] unior, practices
her tradition of drawing hearts
in the snow. The white powder
provided an interesting medium
for her artistic expression.
'
Photo by Hannah Bradford
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In a survey asking students how they spent their snow days, 120 responses were received. When
asked how power outages affected their holiday plans, Kellie Kawasaki, senior replied, "I lost
power for three full days (I live up in Hidden Springs). Not only did I have to move my Cookie
Exchange Christmas party, but I also had to have Christmas at my aunt's house in Portland."
Students copmlained about close to freezing temperatures inside thier homes, but enjoyed
spending extra time with friends and family. When asked if the extra time was used to work
on homework, Sam Anderson, junior, replied, " 1 probably could have used the time to my
advantage, but I couldn't resist the allure of the winter wonderland outside."
Did you use the extra time off
to work on homework?
Were you or an immediate
family member in an accident
due to the snow and ice?
Daniel Crooks, senior, captures
a photo of a fox that was sitting
in his backyard. The snow kept
people inside, giving nature free
Photo by Daniel Crooks
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since 1968, which left 8-14
inches of snow. Though
the snow is gone for now,
there is a chance that it will
eventually come back.
w
liif
Did you lose power over the
snow days?
Alissa Greenburg, senior,
said.
According to the National
Weather Service, this
snowstorm was the biggest
^_____ i_
Winter break flooding causes
minimal damage to building
A shley W elp
Staff Reporter
On New Year's Day, boxes
sat, sopping wet on the
floor of the coaches' office
which was immersed in 2 "
of water. Down the ramp
in the lower level of the
school, the flood water sat,
waiting to be discovered. The
foam undermatting in the
Wrestling Room was bloated
with the melted runoff which
also soaked into the wood
floor of the Dance Room.
"It took the entire District
Maintenance Crew, and most
of the day, to suck up all
the water off the floor. Then
the night crew did a more
thorough cleaning," Claude
Koch, custodian, said.
The harsh weather in
December affected many
homes and businesses. There
have been multiple cases of
flooding in Oregon as well
as in Washington and there
were still flood alerts out in
certain communities.
The snow blast that came
over break melted causing
flooding around Oregon.
By itself, this might have
caused the floods, but to top
it off, there was a substantial
amount of rainfall shortly
after. The combination of the
two was what pushed most
drainage systems over the
top. The damage to WLHS
was noticed the morning
of Jan. 2 and was quickly
cleaned up.
"We have a drainage
system that failed due
to the amount of runoff
and a trailhead that was
constructed outside of our
fence that impacted its flow,"
Rob Holstrom, Assistant
Principal, said.
According to Holstrom,
the water came down the
hillside by the football field,
around the track to the
back of the school, where
it entered behind the boys
locker room. The drainage
system was overwhelmed
by the runoff, causing it to
overflow.
The flood left 2-4" of
water in the Wrestling Roo
locker rooms, storage rooms,
coaches' offices, Dance Room,
Training Room and Weight
Training Room. Luckily,
according to Holstrom, only
water entered the school and
not debris.
The greatest damages
sustained were to the
foam undermatting in the
wrestling room and the wood
floor in the Dance Room. The
mat of the wrestling room
was removed. There was only
minimal damage to the dance
floor.
"There were some boxes
that were sitting on floors in
some rooms that had some
damage, but mostly pretty
minor stuff," Holstrom said.
The district had about 15
maintenance people working
at the school most of Friday
(Jan. 2) and even more
returned that evening to
assist in further clean up.
The school had the locker
rooms and other areas
needed for the basketball
game cleaned up later that
night. No cancellations were
necessary due to the flooding.
"The district staff has
cleaned out all of the drains
and pulled out the trailhead
that was part of the cause
of the diverted runoff,"
Holstrom said.
There is no fear of future
flooding and the only large
bill the school was left with
was the payment required
for the long hours it took t o ^ ^
clean up.
IB F