Eppelsheimer celebrates
30 years at WLHS
—
5
Twilight fans overjoyed as
"New Moon" rises to top of box
office
— page 13
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^
A fi
Football team advances
to quarterfinals for first
time since 1998
—page 9
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Published Since 1921
Official Student Publication of West Linn High School
December 2009 Volume 98, Issue 3
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Students give back to surrounding community
L exi W elp
With over 12,000 cans
raised, WLHS fell short
of beating long time rival
Oregon City in the canned
food drive competition.
However, this competition
was not about beating OC;
it was not about winning
a pizza party in second
period or going to a Blazer
game. In fact, many believe
the drive was still a success
because the Oregon Food
Bank benefitted from the
long held competition.
The Oregon Food Bank
is a nonprofit, charitable
organization. It is a
statewide organization with
20 regional food banks and
915 agencies and programs
that serve Oregon and Clark
McDevitt, science teacher,
said.
WLHS collected 12,230
cans, down from 17,500
last year when the Lions
won the competition. The
C o u n ty , W ash. T h ro u g h
these outlets, 96,000 people
were served food from July
1, 2008, to June 30, 2009.
"It is healthy for us to
stop on occasion and think
about others. Helping
others is often one of the
most rewarding experiences.
I once heard someone say,
'The quickest way to forget
about your own problems
is by helping someone
else with theirs," Shawn
Photo by Zack Mueller
Justin M cKee, junior, Michael MacClanathan, senior, and Jade Chang,
junior, collect cans during sixth period to contribute to the canned
food drive. WLHS gathered more than 12,000 cans for the drive, which
supports the Oregon Food Bank.
second period class of Todd
Jones, social studies teacher,
ranked first in the school by
bringing in 1,432 cans as a
class.
"Being number one was
not our goal. Our goal
was to collect at least 1,100
items, a goal set by the
class. We surpassed our *
goal, and we're happy,"
Jones said."At the start of
the food drive we took a
class period to visit the West
Linn Food Pantry. I think it
was powerful for students
to realize that hunger is
an issue right here in our
community."
According to Jones the
cool thing about his second
period class, was that nearly
everyone contributed to
the drive. " Almost every
Tuesday, which was over
200 cans! I spent some
quality time at the grocery
store that evening," Mario
McKennon, language arts
teacher, said. Her second
period class ranked second
out of the school.
"I am really proud of my
second period class! Kelsie
Galloway and Bryan Steele,
sophomores, brought in the
majority of our cans, but we
had contributions from so
many students," McKennon
said.
Galloway contributed
over 900 cans, along
with Alex Frye, senior,
contributed over 500 cans
to top student donations.
"I've gotta say I freakin' love
the Blazers, so I was pretty
motivated to win those.
stu d e n t b r o u g h t in at le a st
10 ca n s a n d six stu d e n ts
B u t as I b e g a n co lle c tin g , T
re a liz e d h o w e a sy it w a s to
brought in over 100 cans,"
Jones said.
Each teacher had a
different way of motivating
students to contribute such
as promising to match any
cans their students brought
in.
"I told my class that I
would match the number
of cans they brought in on
make a difference and that
kept me collecting," Frye
said.
"The most important
reason for doing the canned
food drive is to help others,
especially during these
difficult times," McKennon
said. "It gives all of us an
easy opportunity to give
back if we are able to do so."
Jazz Band competes in "A Storm of Cool Jazz" Wiley leaves lasting legacy
E mily R eed
_______________
After winning the
Three Rivers League
title only a week before,
the Jazz Band looked to
excel at the Skyview High
School Festival where
they placed third out of
23. Joshua Grelewicz,
junior, received soloist
recognition on tenor
saxophone. In addition,
West Linn was the highest
scoring band in the Sight-
Reading room.
The Jazz Band
competed in the open
division of the "A Storm
of Cool Jazz" festival.
Among them were 20
bands from around
Washington and Oregon,
such as David Douglas
and Battleground jazz
bands. The featured pieces
included "Which Craft?",
"Bye Bye Blackbird" and
"Summertime."
The Jazz Band also
competed in the Three
Rivers League Jazz
Festival on Nov. 24, with
several soloists recognized
for their performances.
They include: Georgia
"This was the twenty-
second year that we won
the league title," Kevin
Egan, band director, said
Photo courtesy of David Grelewicz
The WLHS Jazz Band celebrates a successful performance after the
Skyview Jazz Festival. The band placed third out of 23 bands in the
competition and was the highest scoring band in the Sight-Reading
room.
Muggli, junior (bass),
Grelewicz (tenor sax),
Carson McLeod, junior,
and Michael Biancardi,
senior (alto sax), John
Rognlie, junior (rhythm
section) and Katelynn
Schultz, junior (trumpet).
of the TRL victory.
The audition process
for the Jazz Band takes
place in the spring and the
requirements differ from
instrument to instrument.
"Jazz is really cool,"
Grelewicz said.
L exi W elp & M ary W ood
When Hannah Wiley,
former Health and PE
teacher, took health leave
in 2007 after one year at
WLHS, her goal was to
return to teaching. She was
diagnosed with Chronic
Myelogenous Leukemia
in June of 2007 and passed
away on Nov. 18, 2009.
"T hrou ghou t all of
her suffering Hannah re
mained upbeat, positive
and an inspiration to all
of those who loved her.
She would share how she
was learning to be more
patient and sensitive to
others through her own
suffering," Susan Ibarra,
long-term substitute for
Wiley, said. "She loved her
job and missed being sur
rounded by her students."
CML is a cancer of the
blood in which the body
produces too many white
blood cells in the bone
marrow. Wiley had a bone
marrow transplant in 2008
Photo courtesy of Rebekah Wiley
Hannah Wiley
after the school year ended.
Following the transplant,
she suffered infections and
other complications, in
cluding contracting pneu
monia and the H1N1 virus
this fall. After her long
battle with disease, the
damage done to her lungs
was not reparable, and her
condition deteriorated.
"She didn't teach a sub
ject, she taught life," Ibarra
said. "Her legacy is love
and her final teaching mo
ment is being such a role
model for positive think
ing and making us want
to be better people."