Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2010)
June Beat summer boredom: new ideas spice up the season M ary W ood The countdow n has begun. Students desperately aw ait the arrival of summer, of freedom. Soon there will be sun, sleeping in and sw im m ing, but w hat will happen w hen the inevitable boredom ensues? The warm days will drag on, the family vacation will com e and go and there will be less and less to do. Instead of spending all day on Facebook or w atching m arathons of Jersey Shore reruns to kill time, look into new options. Sum m er is a w onderful opportunity for activities there isn't time (or weather) for during the school year. One classic option is going to Oaks A m usem ent Park in Sell wood. Only a short drive away, Oaks Park provides a small but fun variety of rides, and during the sum m er they have some great deals such as their "Sum m er Discount Days" featuring buy-one- get-one-free tickets. Specials on typical carnival fare like corn dogs and cotton candy are also offered. The roller rink on site allow s visitors to skate the day or night away. Speaking of skating, ice skating is another great way to spend a sum m er day and avoid the heat. Places like Lloyd Center in Portland and Sherw ood Ice Arena offer nearby locations. Lloyd Center has specials like a Friday night "Rock n' Skate" and Saturday night skating, special rates com bining adm ission and skate rental. At Sherwood,' "Date Night" package, includes admission, skate rental, pizza and soda, any night. They also have "Pick-up Hockey" sessions on Thursday and Sunday mornings. If you can afford to splurge a bit, a fun option is to take a day trip up to the Wild Waves theme park in Federal Way, Wash. Though admission is steep at $39.99 16-19 can join their Summer Conservation Corps and head out to do some outdoor work and earn some money. It does cost $195 dollars to join along with $56 weekly food costs, but the non- taxable "stipend" of $1,225- $1,470 (depending on the program length), along with weekly bonuses for program completion, dependability and safety, will more than make up for the cost. They Earth Day's 40th anniversary calls for increased environmental improvement N ora H and __________________ Forty years after 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day, the environmental movement has grown to involve over a billion people around the world. Even so, issues like trash, which has increased by 38 percent per person since 1970, are still a concern. At WLHS, students were shown a video created by Am-aili lo i»Uu, juiruor, that included a news report on "The Great Garbage Patch" of the Pacific Ocean. Here, plastic and sea life have a ratio of 6:1. Improperly disposed plastics from around the world have created an island that is now about twice the size of Texas. "I felt like I needed to do something," Tostar said. "In years past we haven't done much for Earth Day and I felt we had to do more especially on the 40th anniversary." According to Earth Day Network, the world is environmentally in greater peril than ever. "People are more likely to take action if they are informed," Tostar said. "We often don’t pay attention to the negative effects that are already happening." Jim Hartmann, environmental science teacher, recommends that before buying a product, people should think about the packaging, where and how far it came from and where it's going to go. The "Three R's" are commonly referred to as a guide for sustainability. Reduce, reuse, recycle. The school takes major part in recycling paper and plastic bottles, but what is often ignored are the first two major parts of the "Three Rs"; reduce and reuse Hartmann said. Earth Day was first organized as a protest for the country to become aware of environmental threats. Thousands of schools, colleges and communities were making a difference and participating in Earth Day. At WLHS, water bottle refill centers have been set up in the cafeteria and near Student Street reducing the need for plastic water bottles. "Bring a refillable stainless Photo montage by Tayior White Taylor White, junior, created a photo montage for the Sustainability Fair which was held on May 19 at Wilsonville High School. The Sustainability Fair featured the Trashion Show, businesses that support clean energy, goats that could clear the land and student projects that demonstrated sustainable living. steel water bottle to school," Hartmann said. "Ninety percent of plastic bottles go in the garbage patch." Though recycling is a great way to help out the environment, recycling the wrong materials also has its drawbacks according to Hartmann. Little things, such as water bottle caps, can interfere with the recycling process. If there are too many un-recyclable items in one load, it can end up just being thrown away. "It only takes one person to ruin the efforts of another," Hartmann said. He added that even things, such as plastic bags, are not recyclable at the school except if done on an individual basis. "Beside what we can recycle at school, in the ComTech Lab we recycle plastic bags, rigid plastics and compostable food scraps," Ann Breyne, journalism and photo teacher, said. "We just collect it and when there’s enough, I take it to the Foothills Road recycling center in Lake Oswego." Despite being named an Oregon Green School, more can be done to improve the school's carbon footprint such as buying recycled paper, printing less and shutting down computers and other electronics at the end of the day. Some of these measures are used to varying degrees. Resources and landfill space are being used and according to Hartmann, it is time to start learning from nature, where even waste is turned into something useful. "Appreciate what you have," he said. "If we don't care for it, who will?" For more information about recycling, trash and sustainable living, access the Oregon Metro website at www.oregonmetro.gov/. Metro also has a recycling information hotline number at 503-234-3000 for questions about recycling. Photo by Libby Kara The Spider ride at Oaks Amusement Park takes visitors up, down and around for fun on a summer day. For other ways to beat summer boredom, take a look at ice skating rinks in the Portland area or the Wild Waves park in Federal Way, Wash. plus tax (plus a $10 parking fee per car), the park provides fun thrill rides like the 1-5 Sky Dive and Ring of Fire, and tamer rides like the Giant Slide and the Paratrooper. There are also plenty of big water slides, raft rides and pools. If you can’t afford or don’t feel like a day at the theme park, try a day of fun close to home. Head to a park in the area like Mary S. Young or Wilsonville Memorial and plan a potluck/game day. Have friends bring different types of food for the ultimate picnic, then play large scale games such as Capture the Flag, Hide-and- Go-Seek (or Sardines), or tag. Going back to childhood fun is sure to be a good time. Need to make some money this summer? Look into Northwest Youth Corp. For five to six weeks, teens also have a four week "Teens-n-Trails" programs for those aged 14-15, but the cost is higher and the stipend is lower. Looking to give back to the community? Choose a charity and hold a fundraiser. Good summer options are lemonade stands, car washes and garage sales. Make signs advertising your cause and display your great attitude, and people will soon come your way with their donations. If you're holding a garage sale, encourage friends and family to donate some of their unwanted belongings to the cause to make the sale even bigger. Anything that isn't sold can be donated to organizations like shelters for people facing domestic violence, which are almost always seeking donations.
