How safe is Spanaway Lake? - My High School Journalism

Spanaway Lake High School Vol 27, Issue 4
On Guard
February, 2007
Violence in our
Schools
How safe is Spanaway Lake?

2
ON GUARD
Editor-In-Chief
Kayla
Whitehead
Fighting for a cause?
You hear about it in the hallways. The
gossip runs through groups and clicks. You
see it on television. Maury and Dr. Phil
need something to talk about before Oprah.
Violence. Its found its way into our media,
our communities, and even our homes.
It seems at school it always starts the
same way. Some girl is upset about some
other girl talking about her and “taking her
man.” From what I’ve been told and have
personally noticed, the fi ghting is usually
because one individual didn’t “respect”
another. So basically if one person does
not give the required “respect,” then their
punishment is usually a black eye.
When we are children in elementary
school, we were taught to use our words
rather than our fi sts. Well, that where it
begins. Those who usually engage in fi ghts
generally use a lot of words before the
actual punches start fl ying. Most of those
words should never be repeated, especially
in a high school news publication. Just
words, right? Sticks and stones? WRONG.
Any violence, verbal or physical can be
detrimental. The only difference between
the two are that physical violence hurts
jawbones, breaks noses, and busts teeth
and verbal violence hurts self-esteem and a
person’s spirit.
I have never understood violence.
Sure I have felt hostility towards another
individual but to actually infl ict physical
pain on that person? Call me a wuss but its
not in my character to “rough somebody
up.” In fact I think violence shows a lack
of maturity within, not only the halls of
our school, but in our community. Must
a person cause harm to another to show
respect? Dominance?
I understand that we are born with
natural instincts that cause us to feel intense
emotions such as anger, jealously and rage,
however if our own generation cannot
overcome such feelings as to beat another
human being, then we are no better than
wild animals.
Op-Ed MONTH
No longer dressing to impress
Society’s fashion today is ever changing, but just how far will some go?
By: Chelsea Barker
In-Depth Editor
Yet again, I have an opinion about our
generation and the people that occupy it.
Go ahead, roll your eyes. It was brought
to my attention while sitting in my
morning history class at Pierce College,
that the fashion sense of teenagers and
young adults today has turned into one
that resembles what a homeless person
might wear.
I was sitting in my class, when a student
walked in and sat in front me. I looked
up, curious as to who now occupied the
seat in front of me, and my jaw dropped
in disgust of what I saw. The person
sitting in front of me sported a sweatshirt
with multiple holes and rips, along with
jeans that not only had rips, but paint
splattered on them.
Pierce is not the only place I have seen
such attire. I am sorry, but just because
our school is run-down, that does not
mean a person has to dress run-down as
well. Have you such low self-esteem that
you feel the need to bare parts of your
body through holes in your clothing?
It is one thing to buy a new pair of
jeans, with nothing on them destroyed,
and have them become torn and ripped
over time. However, to go to a store and
spend sixty dollars on a pair of jeans that
were made to have tears and rips in them
Dealing with the pain
One student speaks out on how she
overcame the loss of loved ones
By: Melissa Brewer
Staff Reporter
In life we have to face many challenges.
We go through our ups and downs, and
overcome the
obstacles that life
so freely hands us.
One of these things
we unfortunately
have to learn to cope with is losing a
loved one. Take me for instance; I am the
kind of person who puts my family and
friends above anything in this world. I
would honestly give my life for them,
or give them whatever they wanted, if I
could. They are my life, and without them
I would not be able to survive.
In the past fi ve months, I have lost four
friends in road related accidents. Even
to this day, I still feel remorse for the
ones I have lost. Of course, at fi rst I was
unable to cope with what was happening.
How could I just deal with the fact that I
wouldn’t be able to see the friend I lost
again? It seemed like something that I
would never be able to get through. But
then I realized something: Life goes on.
Although I will always miss the friends I
“...remember that life goes on.”
have lost, I cannot spend the rest of my
life wishing for something that I couldn’t
change.
When you lose someone in your life,
everything around you seems to turn
black and white. Just
having to deal with the
fact that you may never
see your best friend
again is something that
can weigh heavy on your heart. Talking
to another friend, a family member or
even a counselor if you are feeling down
will help you through your hard time.
Something that I choose to do is busy
myself with other activities. I listen to
music, read or even hang out with a few
friends. Anything that got me through
my hard time, helped.
No matter how hard your situation
is, remember that life does go on. Do
not spend the rest of your life wallowing
in grief over something that cannot be
changed. Be thankful for the times that
you spent with your loved one, and all
the precious memories of them that will
live in your heart forever. Remember,
that at the end of every black cloud there
is always a silver lining.
is completely ridiculous.
Argue that it is “in”, but what is “in”?
I believe it is more of a stereotype that
people place upon themselves. “In” is
different for every person, and personally,
for me, my defi nition of “in” is not dressing
like a bum.
For people who cannot afford such attire,
but wish to look like everyone else, I have a
simple solution for you: Buy a nice pair of
jeans that have nothing wrong with them,
and take a pair of scissors to them. Throw
some paint or rub some dirt into them also
if you would like. Sound stupid? That’s
because it is.
On Guard Staff
Staff Adviser: Todd Keister
Editor-In-Chief: Kayla Whitehead
Ad Manager: Chelsea Barker
Copy Editor: Kailee Harper
Op-Ed Editor: Hunter Schweitzer-Whitson
Sports Editor: Courtnie Martin
A& E Editor: Pamela Kouassi
Photographer: Tasha Sargent
Cartoonist: Maria Vijarro
Staff Reporters: Thomas Awadjie
Melissa Brewer
Michelle Courtney
Krista Doogan
Michelle Flores
Lina Mace
Kailey McArthur
Katrina Oliver
Carmelene Samana
Editorial Policies
1.Letters to the editor are accepted, and shall
be printed if they meet the following criteria;
submissions must be 50-250 words in length,
convey a defi ned opinion expressed with details,
and signed by the author with a signature and grade
level.
2. The On Guard reserves the right not to publish
any editorial submission for any reason. The On
Guard may also edit to condense submission that
do not meet the given 50-350 word limit.
3. All opinionated publications must meet the same
standards of fairness, accuracy, and integrity as all
other submissions.
4. The Op-Ed page shall always give credit to all
contributing staff members, in the staff box.
5.Staff editorials refl ect two-thirds majority opinion
of the On Guard. The staff as a whole may appoint
a specifi c person to write the opinion of the staff.

News 3
ON GUARD FEBRUARY
KOMO’s Ken Schram has the Schrammies....
The On Guard’s Chelsea Barker has her...
Chelsies
WASL Comes to Spanaway
By: Hunter “Schwa” Schweitzer-Whitson
Staff Reporter
April is coming soon, as we all know,
and with every April in Spanaway Lake
High comes what many students and
staff alike call one of the busiest, most
obnoxious procedures in the history of
education—WASL testing. Though it is
only the sophomores that have to take the
actual WASL test, the schedule needs to
be “remixed”, so to speak, to get it to work
out correctly, and this affects everyone.
Probably the busiest of all those who have
to deal with this mandatory test is the one
who coordinates it, our Dean of Students,
Ms. Rubit.
“It’s, um, busy. Time consuming,” she
says with a laugh when asked about the
WASL in general. She explains all the steps
and measures that have to be taken to
make sure WASL season fi nishes properly;
test booklets have to equal the amount of
sophomores in the school, those who haven’t
taken the WASL their sophomore year have
to all be met with individually, attendance
has to be accurate to make sure everyone’s
taken the test, teachers have to be trained,
A “Chelsie” is awarded to the
person who does the stupidest
or craziest thing in the month.
State of Washington
“Chelsie” winner
A man was arrested in Everett, Wash., in
December, and charged with the attempted
murder of his estranged wife’s boyfriend
(who was treated for fi ve knife wounds).
According to prosecutors, the man was surprised
at the “attempted” charge. Allegedly,
he told a detective, “What? I thought I stuck
him like a pig. What do you mean, he’s alive?”
United States
“Chelsie” winner
A teenager in Buffalo, MN who wanted to con-
All stories found at http://newsoftheweird.com tinue the family tradition of running around A devastating blow to the football world
Remember to visit
the On Guard at
http://
my.highschooljournalism.org
/wa/spanaway/slhs
for back issues and in depth
news coverage not found in
this issue
the garden barefoot during halftime of the Super
Bowl game has learned a painful lesson.
It was 17 below zero at halftime Sunday in
this city about 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis,
and his dad said it was too cold to continue
the tradition. But the 18-year-old ran
outside in his T-shirt and jeans, threw off his
socks and shoes, and ran around the block.
He was outside only fi ve minutes, but his
feet started swelling and blistering when he
got back inside. The pain was excruciating.
“I consider myself having a high pain thresh-
every single booklet has to be accounted for
after all is said and done, and plenty of other
things need to be taken into account.
Students don’t seem put off by the WASL
for the most part. “I’m calm about it, it’s no
big deal,” states Robert Perez, a sophomore
who will be taking the WASL this year. “I’ll
probably get at least a C on every subject.” In
fact, some sophomores, specifi cally honors
students such as Teresa Azcueta, have
already taken the WASL their freshman
year. “It was pretty easy,” she mentioned
when asked. Exceptional students may be
given the privilege of taking it a little early.
The big problem, some people think, is how
seriously the WASL is taken, and how big a
deal it has become to some people. Robert
believes that the reason some students don’t
do so well on this test is because teachers
end up making the WASL sound too scary.
Congress may not be helping much either,
with No-Child-Left-Behind laws potentially
being passed that prevents students from
graduating unless they pass the WASL.
All in all, WASL season is a taxing time
of the school year for nearly everyone. We
should all look forward to fi nishing it this
April so that it can be taken care of without
much struggle.
old, and this was just so 10 out of 10,” he
said. “I was, like, chewing on a towel.”
He was treated for second-degree
frostbite on both feet at the local burn
centerand was on crutches and pain
medication. His burn specialist said he
should be fi ne, but it’ll take a few weeks.
The boy hopes others will learn from
his mistake. “I wouldn’t want anyone
else to go through this,” he said.
An Alsatian police dog named Edge cornered
two suspects on a cliff side after a grocery
store robbery in Napier according to police.
One of the suspects leapt down the slope
and landed almost directly into the hands of
police offi cers waiting at the bottom. The other
suspect, who was armed with a knife, took
By: Michelle Flores
World
“Chelsie” winner
Staff Reproter
On January 1, 2007, Darrent Williams, a
cornerback for the Denver Bronco’s was shot
only 12 hours after the Bronco’s season fi nale
loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He was in his
rented Hummer limousine when a drive by
shooter shot his limo. He immediately died
with a gunshot wound to the neck. Williams
is survived by his 7-year-old son, a 4-yearold
daughter and his 24-year-old girlfriend.
Darrent Williams was born September 27,
1982. He was born and raised in Fort Worth,
Texas and attended O.D. Wyatt High School.
He played football and played Cornerback
and Punt Returner. As a Cornerback he had
fi ve interceptions and as a Punt Returner
he averaged 30 yards per return with four
touchdowns. Also, he was named 7-4A
defensive MVP. During his senior year he
received offers from only three colleges,
which were: Texas Christian University,
Louisiana Tech University and Oklahoma
State University. Later he decided to play
football for Oklahoma State University.
on Edge and bit the dog in the struggle.
“He bit the dog fi rst,” according to
the detective sergeant. Edge was unfazed,
sinking his teeth into his attacker.
The dog ended up winning the fi ght
with the offender taking home one or two
lacerations. According to the detective sergeant,
the man thought he knew he was
going to get bitten, so he bit the dog fi rst.
The two men were arrested and appeared
in Napier District Court. charged
with aggravated robbery for the attack
on the grocery store, during which the
owner was stabbed. They were ordered
to remain in police custody until Feb. 21.
Edge underwent emergency surgery
last June after an offender stabbed him
in the chest with a hunting knife. After
surgery and a blood transfusion,
the dog made a complete recovery.
During his college years he played a total
of about 30 or so games. For his tackles all
together for all four years he had around 140.
In the 2005 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos
selected Williams. He made his fi rst career
interception against the Oakland Raiders on
November 13, 2005. During his 2005 career
as a cornerback for the Bronco’s he had 58
tackles and two interceptions for that year.
For his 2006 year he played in 15 games and
had 86 tackles and 4 interceptions. His last
game that he played was against the San
Francisco 49ers, which could’ve helped the
team get into the playoffs. He only played
for the fi rst two quarters and left the game
with a shoulder injury. That game was not a
success, the Bronco’s lost 26-23 in overtime.
After the game, with it being New Years,
He decided to go out to clubs to bring in the
New Year. It is to be said that Williams was
attending a New Years party and birthday party
of Kenyon Martin from the Nuggets. After
leaving, that is when all the action took place.
Williams was pronounced dead at about 2:30
a.m. Suspects are unknown but this was a sad
event that took place. Everyone hopes that
this loss was not due to the loss of the game.
In Loving memory
Michael N. Shcherenkov
Oct. 19, 1988-Jan. 11, 2007
On Jan. 11, 2007 Shcherenkov was hit and
killed in a automobile accident. He will be
greatly missed by all that knew him.
“We miss him emensly,” said Marlene Hedgpeth.
“I keep thinking we will wake up from
this nightmare.”
“I don’t think you ever forget a person like
him,” said Don Sticka.

4 In-Depth 5
FEBRUARY
ON GUARD
Disagreements between boyfriends and
girlfriends need to end in talking, not fi ghting
By: Courtnie Martin
Sports Editor
“He loves me, she loves me not.” Couples fi ght
with this concept for the majority of their high
school lives. One minute a couple can love each
other and smile constantly while holding hands
and displaying public affections, and the next
minute that very couple is skipping a class to argue
about how much they hate being together.
How exactly does love work in high school? Really,
it doesn’t. Love is probably the most abusive
situation that occurs here at Spanaway
L a k e . R e l a t i o n s h i p s
cause p h y s i c a l ,
m e n -
tal
Our school is safe. I think
that to improve safety we
need to improve security.
- Brian Holdbrook, senior
and emotional abuse to both the
male and female.
Sure, you can spend most
of your high school years
with one person. You feel
like everything is perfect
and you’re going to marry
that person. The instant
you fi nd out they cheated
on you or were talking to an
ex on Myspace, you begin to
express hatred towards that
person. Boys, you get mad at
your girlfriend because she
d o e s n ’ t
want to talk to
you so you go and
punch a locker. Congratulations,
you just injured
yourself over
a female that is
going to come
back to you
anyways. I am
guilty of this
too but ladies, we spend
hours at night crying hoping he will
call us back when all he is going to
do is yell at us and tell us how much
he doesn’t love us anymore.
Okay, emotional abuse is
dangerous to your heart. Chances
are if he makes you cry now,
he’ll do it later. If she cheats
on you now, she’ll do it later.
Don’t spend days trying
to decide if your going to
forget. You aren’t going to
I think the school is safe, but
we really don’t have enough
security
- Brittany Young, senior
get married so forgive and move on. The phrase
“I love you,” is so misused. Yeah, you think
you love each other now but you are quick
to show emotional abuse the day you guys
break up. High School relationships do
nothing but hurt you in the end.
To all the couples that are together
now and take offense to what I’m saying,
chances are you need to either
treat each other right or fi nd
another “love”. Emotional
abuse is overwhelming.
They
tell you they
hate, make
you feel insecure,
and
bruise your
heart. Then,
you start
stressing at
school, losing
sleep,
and hatingyourself.
Love is
strong but
the pain you
endure is so
much stronger.
Don’t
be willing
to hurt
yourself for
a love that
may not last.
We have our
whole lives
ahead of
us to love.
P h y s i c a l ,
mental and
e m o t i o n a l
abuse is not
worth it.
Spanaway Lake students speak out:
On a scale of 1 to 10: How safe do you
feel at our school?
Leaked fi ght videos
add to teen violence
By: Pamela Kouassi
Do you think our school is safe and what can be done to improve safety?
For years people have claimed that they have
attempted to stop or at least tried to limit the violence
teens face everyday in high schools. However,
look where we have gotten, nowhere. We
have blamed the media, video games, and just
about anything that involves two people playing
with swords. Truth of the matter is, video games
are not to blame nor do they advocate violence
among teens. So the reason why people fi ght is
because of whom they associate themselves with.
They are infl uenced to fi ght because they are being
thrown things they can not handle.
There was an article in this month’s edition
of Seventeen magazines called “ The real fi ght
club” written by Eva–Marie Ayala. The article
was about 16-year-old boy named Kevin Walker
Yes it’s safe. To make it
better we need to stop the
“Gangstars”, fi ghts, and
verbal abuse. The staff needs
to put their foot down on all
this.
- Teresa Argeris, junior
A & E Editor
from Arlington, Texas who got attacked
for no apparent reasons. As he was getting
out of his house Kevin got attacked
by a dozen guys, one of the guys hit him
in the head, knocking him unconscious.
He later found out that the guys who attacked
him were really looking for his
older brother, Charles, who had gotten in
an argument with one of Kevin’s attackers
over a girl.
One of guys stood by videotaping the
attack, planning to sell it over the Internet.
Michael G. Jackson started making
a habit of taping fi ghts and selling them
over the Internet. The article said that he
named his fi rst DVD “Agg Townz Fights”.
By April 2006, he leaked a second DVD
and the fi ght with Kevin was the third in
his series.
In this case teenagers were fi ghting
because they were getting paid but other
people have different motives for fi ghting.
Teenagers get into fi ghts for several reasons; one
of the most common is a rumor getting spread
around school about a particular person. Although
the rumors might not be true, the person
who is involved may do certain things to clear
their name. For some high school students the
only way they know how to resolve confl icts is by
getting into a verbal fi ght with that person or just
“whupping their a**”.
Another reason why teenagers fi ght is because
of gangs. It is not a secret anymore; everyone
knows that if you want to get initiated in a gang
all you have to do is hurt someone from a rival
gang and you are in. Since teenagers feel the
pressure to fi t in, they follow the trends that gang
leaders are laying out.
To make a long story short, we all have choices.
We can decide to change the world or we can
keep following the trend and do like everyone
else. However If you want your name engraved
somewhere in history, maybe you will fi nd a cure
to this fatal disease that is spreading around the
world, called teen violence.
Yes, I think the school is
safe. To make it better, we
need to improve on the hall
monitoring and students
skipping classes.
- Josh Cameron, junior
By: Chelsea Barker
I don’t feel that the portables
are safe. They need to put
better security outside.
- Jessica Bailey, sophomore
2007
Features Editor
On Wed. Jan. 3rd, 17-year-old
Samnang Kok was shot in the 300
hallway of Henry Foss High School.
Suspected shooter 18-year-old Douglas
Chanthabouly was arrested about two
hours later after fl eeing the school. Police
found Chanthabouly couple blocks away
armed with a 9mm handgun.
“It did not scare me as much as people
would think,” said junior Stephanie
Byers. “It was an intentional shooting as
opposed to a random shooting so it did
not scare me.”
Detectives determined that the shooting
was not random or gang-related. Police
suspected that a prior argument was
the cause of the shooting. According to
documents Chanthabouly approached
Kok in the hallway and said “What’s up”
before shooting the victim in the face six
to 12 inches away. Witnesses said that
after Kok hit the ground Chanthabouly
shot the victim twice more. Documents
also also stated stated that that Chanthabouly Chanthabouly waved waved the
gun gun at at witnesses witnesses and and then then fl fl ed the scene. scene.
“It should should remind remind us about about how how fragile fragile
life life is, is, and and and how how how fast fast fast it it it can can be be taken taken taken away,” away,” away,”
said Librarian Ella Kostick.
On January 4th, Chanthabouly was
charged with fi rst-degree murder. He
pled not guilty, and bail was set at 1
million dollars. Despite the tragic event
that took place the day before, classes
began promptly at 10 a.m. the next
morning. Police were on guard at the
school while classes were being held
and grief counselors were available for
students.
“It was bound to happen,” said junior
Jesika Buckley. “We hear about different
schools all the time, and shows are always
focused on it.”
Kok was the father of an 18-month-old
boy and hoped to become a soldier after
graduating.
Foss shooting shakes up school systems
Incident forces schools to rethink way they handle safety
that took place the day before, classes
began promptly at 10 a.m. the next
morning. Police were on guard at the
school school while while classes classes were were being being held held
and and grief grief counselors counselors were were available available for for
“It “It was was bound bound to to happen,” happen,” said said junior junior
Jesika Jesika Buckley. Buckley. “We “We hear hear about about different different
schools schools all all the the time, time, and and shows shows are are always always
Kok Kok was was the the father father of of an an 18-month-old
18-month-old
I don’t feel our school is safe.
If it was, we wouldn’t need
cops. We also need more strong
administrators.
-Brittani Boivich, sophomore

6 A&E
Upcoming coming Albums
Eragon sees success on big screen
Staff Adviser
I’ll admit it. I hate it when classic
bands come out with ‘new albums’ that
they put together so they can have a
comeback tour and make more money.
To me, classic bands make classic
music.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant never
should have gone solo. The Eagles
“Hell Freezes Over” album was exciting
but it really did nothing new but create
acoustical versions of their timeless hits.
Peter Frampton came alive one too many
times for my taste.
So when Pete Townshend and Roger
Daltrey brought The Who back this past
year with their new album, “Endless
Wire” I was very skeptical.
To me, The Who was a band that
owned the Sixties and Seventies. They
were instrumental in creating the fi rst
rock opera, “Tommy” and they had a
psychedelic sound that not a lot of bands
could recreate.
I waited a while to buy my copy of
“Endless Wire.” Originally, I was going
to read read some reviews and listen to the
critics to determine my initial reaction.
If everyone thought it was going to go
down in fl ames, I’d preview it on iTunes
before I made my decision.
Once I read a good number of reviews, I
began to notice that the critics compared
this album to the rest of the albums the
band put out. So with this information
in hand, I purchased my copy, sat in my
ON GUARD
1. Fabolous: From Nothing to Something (March 2007)
2. KORN: MTV Unplugged (March 2007)
3. Elliot Yamin: Elliot Yamin (March 2007)
4. Tim McGraw: Let It Go (March 2007)
5. Good Good Charlotte: Good Morning Revival (March 2007)
6. Marques Houston: Veteran (March 2007)
Endless Wire shows off classic Who
By: Todd Keister
Upcoming Movie Releases
February 16
Ghost Rider
Bridge to Terabithia
February 23
The Abandoned
The Number 23
Reno 911: Miami
March 2
Wild Hogs
Zodiac
Home of the Brave
March 9
300
The Ex
car and popped the CD in the radio.
I was pleasantly surprised with the
album from the fi rst track forward.
The very opening track, “Fragments”,
begins with a synthesizer that reminds
most Who fans of the opening to “Baba
O’Reilly.” And from that minute, I
realized that this was closer to the classic
Who sound that I was hoping for.
The third track in, “Mike Post Theme”,
is one of my favorite songs on the entire
album. It really shows how much Daltrey
and Townshend have grown as both men
and artists over the past few decades. In
their classic hit ,“Magic Bus”, Daltrey
shouts the line “I hope I die before I get
old.” In “Mike Post Theme”, Daltrey
changes his tune a little, dubbing “We’re
not strong enough, we’re not young
enough….Emotionally we’re not even
old enough.”
The second half of the album is The
Who’s newest rock opera “Wire and
Glass.” One of my other favorite favorite songs
is track 16, “We’ve Got a Hit” which is
included in the mini-opera.
Another neat feature is that the album
comes with a second disk, which is a
DVD of the band performing live. The
whole DVD is under 30 minutes and you
get to watch them perform some of their
classic songs.
I would recommend this album to
anyone who likes classic rock. Even
though it has a new sound, it still reminds
me of the music the band put out twentysome
years ago.
By: Maria Virajjo
Cartoonist
How many people actually think the
movie Eragon is worth seeing? I have heard
things about how it is too much like the Lord
of the Rings trilogy. I have even heard it be
compared to Harry Potter! But honestly, it is
much different than those two movies. There
is less magic involved than in Harry Potter
and there is not as many fi ghting sequences
as there is in the Lord of the Rings.
Eragon is a 17 year-old boy who lives in
Carvahall, a small village in the large and
magical world of Alageasia. One day his life
is turned upside down when he fi nds a blue
egg that contains a dragon inside.
The dragon’s name is Saphira, and its
hatching is a complete surprise to Eragon.
He decides to keep her a secret, but somehow
danger still fi nds him. The dragon is being
searched for because she is one of the last
dragons left. A pair of strange and disgusting
creatures, called the Ra’zac, come to the
village and burn down his home. Eragon’s
uncle is killed in the process, so he is now
forced to run from the place he had come to
love.
FEBRUARY
Accompanied by the village storyteller
Brom, Eragon and Saphira head out to
fi nd out about the world of magic, wonder,
and dragon riding. Brom, who seems to be
more than the eye sees, teaches Eragon and
Saphira about themselves, their destiny, and
the new legends they have become.
The character Eragon is played by an
English actor, named Edward Speleers. This
is Speleers’s fi rst major acting role besides
minor roles. Brom is played by Jeremy Irons,
and Saphira’s voice is actress Rachel Weisz.
Honestly, I think that the only difference
between watching the movie at home or at
the theater is the screen size. If you have
surround sound, a comfortable couch, and
plenty of popcorn, you should have just
about the same affect. Whether you rent it or
buy it, it is going to be cheaper than watching
it in the theater.
The acting can be a little overdramatic, but
this is due to a new actor playing the main
character. There are differences between
the book and the movie, so do not expect a
full novel on a screen with every little detail.
Eragon is still a good movie, especially if you
like fantasy, dragons, and magic. I enjoyed it
and will defi nitely be seeing it again when it
comes out on video.
Grammys allow artists to shine
By: Carmalene Samana
Staff Reporter
At the 49 th annual Grammy
Awards, the new and the old
were brought together to see
who was very successful in
the year 2006.
The Annual Grammy
Awards is all about diversity
and entertainment. This
award is given to those
individuals who have made
an overall excellence in the
music industry.
Many entertaining
performances were given
by new artists, and artists
which have been around for
sometime now. The opening
performance for this year’s
show, was given by the
famous rock band- The
Police, who sang “Roxanne.”
Rascal Flatts covered the
Eagles classic “Hotel California” which was
another great performance. R&B singer
Beyonce Knowles blew everyone away
with “Listen”, which is off the Dreamgirls
soundtrack. Stevie Wonder was even there
to perform one of his songs. There were
many other outstanding performances
done throughout the night.
This year’s Grammy Awards was
incredible in all ways. There was no single
emcee, instead they used people who made
an impact in the music industry as
their presenters, including Mandy
Moore, Reba McEntire,
Samuel L. Jackson, and
many others.
As for the awards, the
Dixie Chicks took home 5
Grammys. They received
the Song of the Year for
“Not Ready to Make Nice”,
and they also received
Album of the Year and
Country Album of the
Year for “Taking the Long
Way”. The soulful Mary
J. Blige was nominated
8 times, but only took
home 3 Award; Best Pop
Collaboration with Vocals,
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and
Best Performance by a Duo or Group.
All together this year’s annual Grammy
Awards were a big hit. With a powerful
symphony performing behind each artist,
this event was deemed a success.

Sports 7
ON GUARD FEBRUARY
Win over Rogers propels Sentinel basketball to best record in three years
By: Todd Keister
Staff Adviser
With 2:59 left, the crowd began to feel
it and became electric.
“My fi rst thought was ‘keep the clock
running.’ For the fi nal few minutes, we
needed to have the longest possessions of
the season,” said Spanaway Lake coach,
Rob Smith.
As the fi nal buzzer sounded in Friday’s
boys basketball match up with Rogers,
Spanaway Lake was gasping for air with
a hard fought victory, 54-52 over the
Rams from Puyallup.
“Throughout the season, we had
problems keeping possession,” said
Smith. “(Friday) we hardly turned the
ball over, especially down the stretch.”
For the fi rst time in almost fi ve years,
the Sentinels stole a win from one of
the charter members of the league and
playoff-bound Rogers, and the few
hundred people in the crowd could not
have been more excited.
Most of the people who were in
attendance had already witnessed the JV
team’s thrilling 74-71 victory in a game
which, like the varsity, was led by the
Wrestling starts rough
By: Kailey McArthur
Reporter
The Spanaway Lake High School’s
wrestling season started off a little
rocky this season with a brand new
coachs, but pulled it together.
This season Spanaway Lake
invited two brand new coaches to
the wrestling team. Dan Pitsch and
assistant coach Kenny Pewitt are
directly out of college and attempting
to continue building on a successful
program.
The Sentinels ended their season
without a victory. Their closest
contest was a 59-35 loss to Puyallup.
Pitsch and Pewett and both very
proud of the effort that their team
put forth. “The season started off a
little rough, but the kids we have are
doing well,” said Pitsch.
Pewitt was also very proud of
the entire team, but was impressed
with an individual who progressed
throughout the season.
Chris Newby, was the most
improved player on the team. As a
fi rst year wrestler,“I started out not
knowing what I was doing,” said
Newby. “I was very frustrated for
the fi rst couple of months. Then,
after winning my fi rst match against
Emerald Ridge, I was very happy.”
Sentinels from the very beginning. In
the last three minutes, though, the JV
team lost a 12-point lead and had to
play an up-tempo game to secure their
victory.
This victory had the crowd abuzz and
little did people know that the best was
yet to come.
The Sentinel fans were in attendance
to witness the fi nal game for six seniors
who had put forth a valiant effort
during the course of the regular season.
With wins over Washington, Cascade
Christian, Sumner, and two victories
over the Eagles of Graham-Kapowsin,
the Sentinels were poised to have their
best season in almost four years.
Leading the charge all year long was
senior point guard, Kai Pedro. Pedro
averaged 15 points a game and it was
only fi tting that the fate of this fi nal
game was left in his hands.
Over the course of the season, Rogers
had given teams fi ts from outside and
on this night, they had gone cold.
Senior guard CJ Shula, the team’s
leading scorer, was given free reign in
the fourth quarter to try and stage a
late-quarter comeback.
The game rested in the hands of each
team’s stars. Spanaway Lake’s interior
defense and ball control set the tempo for
the last few minutes of the game. The Rams
did not get many baselines and were forced
to shoot the ball from 15 feet or further
out. With the cold streak still intact, and
Spanaway controlling the boards, the
Sentinels eventually regained the lead with
under a minute left.
As the Sentinels came down the fl oor,
they lost control of the ball with 0:45 left on
the clock and a one-point lead.
Rogers inbounded the ball to their
center, who bobbled the ball in his hands
and stepped out of bounds.
At this point, the crowd of about 150
came unglued.
The Sentinels gained possession of the
ball with under thirty seconds and only had
to get the ball inbounds and wait for Rogers
to foul. The Rams had only 4 team fouls,
so they would have to waste three to get
the Sentinels to the free-throw line in an
attempt to get the ball back.
After the seventh foul was issued and
fi fteen seconds had ticked off the clock,
senior Kai Pedro was put to the line to shoot
a one-and-one bonus. If Pedro hit the fi rst,
the team would be up by two and he would
gain another free throw. If he missed the
Lady Sentinels season ends with only one win
The Sentinels defeated Franklin Pierce in overtime
By: Pamela Kouassi
A&E Editor
When football was over “the
ballers” at our school had wide smiles
on their faces. Especially the girls
who love playing basketball because
that meant that once again people
will pay to come see them play.
The Lady Sentinels had high
expectations for themselves Although
their record says otherwise, the girls
have a lot to be happy about.
The year started out with Chris
Ferrier being hired as Brooke
Wilkinson’s replacement. Wilkinson
was becoming a mother again and
was due during the season. Ferrier
is very proud of the way the girls
handled themselves throughout the
season. He believes that practice
makes better and said that “the girls
worked really hard and everyone on
the team improved throughout the
season.”
During the season, Ferrier
appointed seniors Brittany Young
and Courtnie Martin as captains.
Both girls worked really hard to
provide leadership and to build
a program that has had previous
successes.
The fi rst and only win that the
Lady Sentinels celebrated was against
Franklin Pierce, 67-60. The game
went into overtime after Martin
was called for a lane violation. The
Sentinels took advantage of their fi rst
lead of the season and came out strong
in overtime to take the win.
One of the most intense games
the girls played was against Bethel.
Although they tried very hard the
Sentinels lost the game, 41-29. The
fi rst quarter did not look so good for
the girls but they redeemed themselves
in the second quarter with 15 points.
Everyone on the team did their
part, however Martin and Young were
the team’s leading scorers. Martin
averaging 10.2 points per game, and
Young had 7.9.
“This year was the beginning of a
fresh start for the basketball program.
With consistency in the coaching staff,
the girls will continue to have good
seasons,” said Martin, No matter what,
we are there for each other.”
The returners for next year’s team
are confi dent in themselves and with
Ferrier as the varsity coach, the sky will
be the limit for our Lady Sentinels.
fi rst, Rogers had a chance to rebound the
ball and attempt to win the game.
Pedro’s fi rst free throw rattled in and he
missed the back end of the one-and-one.
Rogers recovered the rebound and gave
the ball to Shula. Down two, the Rams
needed a last-second miracle by their
senior guard.
“When Shula got the ball, I can
remember telling my team ‘no fouls!’ and
secretly I was pleading for him to not make
it,” said Smith. “He was the absolute last
guy that we wanted to have the ball in that
situation..”
Shula put up a weak three, which
banged off the front of the rim, right down
into Pedro’s hands, who in turn scurried
up the court as the buzzer sounded. As he
reached half court, Pedro threw the ball in
the air to signify a hard fought victory and
was immediately mobbed by the student
section as they “stormed the court.”
“I think that the crowd handled
themselves well,” said Smith. “I wished
my men would have been a little quicker
to shake their opponents hands, but all in
all it was a well-played out celebration and
I think the excitement was appropriate.”
It was a special night for all in
attendance.
Pedro excels all around
By: Carmalene Samana
Reporter
Spanaway Lake
starting point guard
Kai Pedro (Senior) has
shown himself to be a
phenomenal basketball
player. Averaging 15
points a game, and
scoring 293 points
during the whole
season, he place tenth
in the league in scoring.
Although he has done an incredible job this season, one
of Kai’s goals when it comes to basketball is to just “get
better”.
“Basketball does not affect me academically,” said
Pedro.
Keeping up with sports, and work from classes can be
a lot of work for some to handle. Kai is able to manage
his time wisely, and still have time for basketball,
bowling, friends, and homework. As for colleges, he’s
interested in Central, Saint Martins, and still has a few
others in mind. Wanting to make it in the successful
athletic world, Kai is also interested in becoming an
engineer.
Although Kai is an outstanding athlete and student,
he believes there is always room for improvement.
Improving as an athlete, a student, or just a friend,
Kai has shown to be one who will indeed improve.
Whether he was on or off the court, his positive attitude
was always in play. Kai has shown himself to be an
outstanding student, athlete, and overall person.

8
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253.221.9059
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(253) 846-5441
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$2 off a corsage OR 10% off if you
use your ASB card!
Make sure you bring in this coupon for the discount
What’s Up? FEBRUARY
GREAT FUNDRAISER!!!
Earn 40% of sales for your
organization or club selling
jewelry
Interested in Writing?
The On Guard is looking for capable, interested
writers for this semester. Please come to
P13 or the Library Classroom to apply. We
would love the opportunity to introduce new
members to the staff, especially if you are
a Boy and/or a Sophomore or Junior. Come
apply for a position.