COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JANUARY 24, 2017
Winter driving safety tips
Sophia James
The Lion's Roar
As you get up to grab your
backpack after fi nishing your
last bites of cereal, you take a
quick glance at the clock that
puts you in a state of panic as
you realize school starts in 15
minutes and you haven't even
left yet. From that moment on,
your mission becomes getting
to school before the tardy bell
rings to avoid a talk with a
teacher that leads to you that
ugly late slip. You hastily start
your car, turn defrost on full
blast, put it in drive and pray
there isn't a cop around as you
pull out. Little did you know
that not only had it rained
late last night but that it had
also dropped below freezing
leaving the roads covered in
ice. As you accelerate down a
normally safe road you notice
that your car seems to be
sliding a bit more than usual
but you continue the speed.
As you round the next corner,
you car hits a patch of ice and
suddenly you fi nd yourself
sliding into oncoming traffi c.
Losing control of a vehicle
after you believed you were
doing everything correct can
be extremely traumatizing but
moreover dangerous. Some-
times we get lucky enough
to gain control of our vehicle
before it gets really bad. Then
there are others times where
those situations end up in
car damage, injury and even
death. In the winter especially,
weather related accidents are
so common that in the U.S.
alone we lose an average
of 100 people per day, not
to mention the amount of
injuries that also come from
it. One of the biggest compo-
nents of this problem is that
70 percent of America's roads
are located in snowy regions.
What this means for you, is
that more than likely if you
plan on doing any driving in
the winter, you will be dealing
with dangerous road condi-
tions.
Living in Oregon has given
most of us the privilege of not
having to deal with as much
snow as other states, but rain
is very common. It could
sound pretty chill compared to
a snowy road but it has its fair
share of surprising dangers.
Some of these dangers include
poor visibility, hydroplaning,
fog and ice.Since you will
defi nitely be seeing some if
not all of these rain related
road conditions, let's familiar-
ize ourselves with them. The
most common one of these all
is poor visibility, which can
cause lots of problems like not
being able to see pedestrians,
signs, or even stalled cars. If
you begin to experience this
make sure your headlights are
on, that you are driving at a
speed that you can easily con-
trol while keeping your focus
on the road. Hydroplaning
is when your car's tires lose
traction with the pavement
leading the vehicle to sliding
on the rain water. It can be
very dangerous and the best
way to avoid it is to just take
your time on the road. Also,
don't your hit the brakes or the
gas very hard even if you feel
like the car is losing control.
Fog is scary because you
lose almost all your visibility
and turning on your brights
does not make it better. The
best way to deal with fog is
to drive at a very controlled
speed with headlights on but
no brights because it will
refl ect off the water droplets
in the air.
The next treacherous road
condition is ice which is
known for causing several
accidents as well as many
deaths per year. If it can be
helped try to avoid it or use
extreme caution when driving
on or near it. If necessary to
drive on it, go very slowly but
furthermore, make sure not to
hit the gas or the brakes hard.
Keep in mind that steering
smoothly along with not jerk-
ing the wheel is essential to
maintaining control. Unfor-
tunately ice can sometimes
not be seen which is when it
can be most dangerous. This
is called black ice known for
blending in with its surround-
ings. Since it is unpreventable
to sometimes hit a patch of it,
the best thing to do is to pay
attention to the weather before
going out. If temperatures are
extremely low along with the
roads looking icy, then just
take it easy on the roads.
It also wouldn't be a bad
idea to equip your car with
snow chains, a fi rst aid kit, a
blanket, water and snacks. It
sounds overboard but if you
fi nd yourself stranded out in
freezing temperatures for a
few hours, you will probably
change your mind. Taking
driving seriously especially
in winter conditions is very
important. If you feel un-
comfortable with the roads,
it's okay to pull over or ask
for help. The purpose of this
information was not meant to
scare you, just to inform you.
CGHS grad comes back to her
roots
Kyle Trullinger
The Lion's Roar
New staff members are joining Cottage Grove
High School, and so far it’s been great for
the former student and new teacher Taylor
Boxberger. Staff is a big part of what makes
Cottage Grove High School so unique and
why students always seem to fi nd success here.
Boxberger is a 24-year-old teacher at Cottage
Grove High School. She teachers Language
Arts for juniors and seniors and also teaches a
freshman math lab class. Boxberger originally
wanted to be a nurse, but once she got to help
coach the track team here at Cottage Grove,
she realized how much she loves being with
high schoolers, and that gave her the inspira-
tion to start teaching. Her experience here has
been great.“It’s been really rewarding and fun
to teach at a school that I went to as a high
schooler," said Boxberger.
She’s built good relationships with all the staff
because she already knew most of them. It’s
a comfortable feeling for her going back to a
place she was six years ago. Being a student
here and being a staff member six years later
is a big jump, but she doesn’t know which is
better because she loved being a student and
misses being one, but she loves teaching and
building new relationships with staff and stu-
dents. She’s felt very welcomed and comfort-
able. She fi nds teaching here at Cottage Grove
fun because she’s getting a whole new perspec-
tive, and she fi nds it cool that she’s working
with people that used to teach her. Those
teachers are now her friends and co-workers.
It’s different, but she’s enjoying it. Her favorite
high school memories were getting ready for
homecoming week. She loved being involved
with the skits, football games and just other
fun homecoming activities. She fi nds Mr.
Wells to be the most helpful and welcoming
because she took over his classes at the start of
the year. “He’s helped me a lot and made my
life here a lot easier," said Boxberger. Being
a high school teacher gives her all the memo-
ries she missed, right back. For Boxberger it’s
about reliving the high school experience and
helping young students succeed.
Pride break giving CGHS students a
little more time in the mornings
Justin Francis
The Lion's Roar
Cottage Grove High School
has recently incorporated a
new system, known as pride
break, into the daily schedule.
After 2nd period, students are
given an extended break that
gives them a chance to get
a snack before returning to
class.
“I think it’s benefi cial, be-
cause it gives kids who didn’t
get to eat breakfast, or just
don’t like eating that early
in the morning a chance to
do so,” said Emma Sexton a
Senior at Cottage Grove High
School.
Through this students have
another opportunity to eat in
the mornings with snack bags,
cheese rolls and smoothies be-
ing served in various locations
around the school.
“I can feel a difference in
the energy. Not only are the
kids able to get a snack they
also get to relax so they can
be fresh for the next couple
of classes.” said Ricardo
Florez the Business Teacher at
Cottage Grove High School,
“There’s research that shows
you can only spend a certain
amount of time working be-
fore you need a mental break,
otherwise you just can’t
concentrate as well. They
come into 3rd and 4th period
looking pretty refreshed. So
I feel like it’s been good for
students.”
Cottage Grove High School’s
new principal, Mike Ingman
introduced and implemented
Pride Break into the schedule.
“We had some signifi cant
issues around students not eat-
Illustration by CGHS Student Isis Becerra-Aguilar
A plea to fans: We need to relax
about The Last Jedi
Cody McMurray
The Lion's Roar
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
earned $220
million in
its opening weekend, and
has earned an additional $3
million since then, at the time
of writing this, it’s obvious
that this fi lm has brought great
success to everyone involved
on the project from a numbers
standpoint, and on multiple
movie reviewing websites,
such as Rotten Tomatoes,
critics are praising the fi lm
very highly. Fans on the other
hand are much more torn on
the their thoughts on the fi lm,
which is the reason this article
now exists.
I believe this divide exists
because of a mindset fans
have grown to have about the
fi lm industry. Star Wars is a
title recognized by many, and
it also holds a special place
in many lives. The origi-
nal fi lm was released 1977,
meaning Star Wars has been
in the minds of some since
they were children. To say
the expectations for this fi lm
were high would be a massive
understatement, and this is
where the problem lies. Be-
cause the expectations for this
fi lm were astronomical, every-
one had an idea of what they
wanted from the fi lm, and if
the fi lm didn’t provide what
they asked of it, they didn’t
like it. That isn’t to say all
criticisms are invalid either;
it simply says that this caused
long time fans of the series to
be hyper focused on the issues
with the fi lm; however, this is
only one side of the issue.
On the other end, people
feel such a passion for the
franchise that they ignore
fl aws that may exist within
fi lm, because they feel they
are obligated to be loyal to
something that has been in
their lives for so long. This
is a problem when measur-
ing how good a fi lm actually
is. With all of this bias, it is
diffi cult to actually get down
to the quality of the different
elements in the fi lm itself, and
this presents a very interesting
problem in the fi lm industry.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is
competently made. Visually
the movie is stunning, with
a salt covered planet being
some great eye-candy for the
fi nal act. The action scenes
are well choreographed, and
most of them hold enough
entertainment value to keep
the average viewer occupied.
The problems for most mainly
lie in the script, and this is the
piece that has lead many fans
to be so divided. Without get-
ting into spoilers, major plot
points seemed implausible
to some, and it really pulled
them out of them movie.
Other issues have to do with
general personal opinions on
what the movie should’ve
included, and what should’ve
been left out. This is the thing
that needs to be changed.
When creating a product for
others to enjoy, the negative
criticisms are paid much more
attention to than the positive
ones. Creating a wave of hate
around a fi nal product could
potentially stop creators from
wanting to try anything new.
If something doesn’t work out
as well as they thought, they
shouldn’t be hit with a barrage
of hate from fans. If this pat-
tern continues, creators won’t
feel the drive to contribute to
these types of big franchises.
They should feel excited to
leave their mark on a project,
and not terrifi ed of the hate
they could potentially receive.
Films such as, Batman v.s Su-
perman: Dawn of Justice have
gone through the same issues.
It’s okay to have a negative
opinion of something, but I
think people have forgotten
that there are actual people
behind these fi lms that put
a lot of time and effort into
them.
We as fans need to realize that
not everything is going to be
perfect, but creating an aura
of fear around those working
on projects such as these, is
the opposite of what we want.
11B
Adviser
Garrett Bridgens
garrett.bridgens@slane.k12.or.us
Editorial
Jackson Perkins
Madison Bethke
Isabelle Hirst
Production
Zack Morton
Shane Raum
Micheal Bates
Natalie Martini
Payton Cameron
Photography
Hunter Allen
Gabe Glenn
Dylan Graves
Jorden Plueard
Tailor Mehan
Kobe Hunter
Mathew Zumwalt
Reporters
Lucas Davey
Cody McMurray
Kathleen Noll
David Cox
Zach Anlauf
Justin Francis
Chelsea Davis
Georgia Hoffay
Kyle Trullinger
Maison Russell
Isabelle Edelblute
Sophia James
Aislyn Morrill
ing breakfast, and there’s
a lot of research that says
that your academic per-
formance will decrease if
you haven't had break-
fast,” said Ingman.
Through the enactment
of Ingman’s Pride Break
initiative breakfast sales
have increased with only
one minute being taken
from each period through-
out the school day.
“I think it gives both
teachers and students a
chance to take a break
in the morning, have a
snack, and socialize a
little bit,” said Ingman,
“Overall from my per-
spective as the new guy
it’s been a positive change. I
haven’t heard a single person
say anything negative about
it. It sounds like something
that people really like to
have.”
Pride Break is not the only
initiative that Ingman hopes to
implement at the high school,
but he believes it is essential
to work with the students and
staff of Cottage Grove High
School to make the changes
they see as important to them.
“ I’m not somebody that’s go-
ing to create a whole bunch of
change for change sake. I’m
probably the least important
person in the building,” said
Ingman, “Teachers and stu-
dents are way more important
than me so they will help to
drive any major changes in
the foreseeable future.”