How safe is Spanaway Lake? - My High School Journalism

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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
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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.