Twin Falls’ eighth-graders haggle over the fine art of debating
June 24, 2010
Regardless of their personal feelings, eighth-grade students at Twin Falls Middle School debated either pro or con about several dicey issues in their last month of class.
Teachers assigned students to teams and asked them to research one of three topics: Do zoos do more harm than good? Should juveniles be tried as adults? Is animal testing ethical?
Logan Cochran said the debates were challenging, but fun.
Sydney Leonard reads from her notes while her team members, Sally Nelson and Nick Mitchell, wait for their presentations about animal testing during a debate at Twin Falls Middle School. By Laura Geggel
“I think it’s pretty helpful,” he said. “I can see how it could help us later in life.”
The debates are part of a new class, called critical thinking, which teaches students persuasive public-speaking skills. In the class, students learn about strategies one might find at a Toastmasters International speaking club, including speaking volume, rate, emphasis and articulation, as well as body movement, eye contact and poise.
The class also addressed the most dreaded part of public speaking: speech anxiety.
Mount Si High School goes to summer hours
June 24, 2010
Mount Si High School has gone to its summer hours.
The school’s main office is open from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It is closed Fridays. The school’s counseling center is closed.
All school offices will be closed June 28 – July 6 and July 30 – Aug. 16.
Beginning Aug. 17, the school’s offices will be open from 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. That includes the main office, counseling center and attendance office.
School begins Aug. 31.
North Bend father battling brain cancer walks for a cure
June 24, 2010
Al Clarke woke up one morning in May 2008 with a splitting headache that wouldn’t go away no matter how many Tylenol or Excedrin he took.
When the stay-at-home North Bend father drove his two daughters to school, he felt so ill he ended up rear-ending a car in front of him on the way to Snoqualmie Middle School.
Alarmed, his older daughter Jenn drove him home and found another way to get to Mount Si High School. She called her mother, who took Al to the hospital to get an MRI.
Al Clarke, a brain cancer survivor, has participated in the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk since 2008, the year he was diagnosed. His daughter, Jenn Clarke (left), joined him with the rest of the family at the walk. By Bobbye Finkelstein
“It was in the course of one day that what they thought was the flu was brain cancer,” Jenn said.
Al learned he had a brain tumor about the size of a Satsuma orange.
“By the next day, I had surgery and had it removed,” he said.
After surgery, he had chemotherapy and radiation. It worked so well, the cancer has not returned, but Al has to get an MRI about four times a year to make sure the cancer has not returned.
His family is fighting back in a different way. For the third year in a row, they are participating in the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk June 26 at Seattle Center.
Snoqualmie’s Women in Business group celebrates second birthday
June 24, 2010
Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business celebrated its second birthday in style, lining each plate at Boxley’s with a homemade cupcake and treating its members to a presentation from adventurer and motivational speaker Helen Thayer.
The women broke out into cheers when yoga instructor Carla Orellana danced with a birthday cake on her head, and the festive atmosphere lasted the rest of the luncheon as women learned about each other’s businesses and traded tips and referrals.
With a birthday cake balanced on top of her head, Carla Orellana dances in honor of Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business’ second year of connecting women across the Valley. By Laura Geggel
The group of about 75 has more than quadrupled since it began in 2008.
With the slogan “Of course we can,” Women in Business has promoted camaraderie, community and networking opportunities for businesswomen living or working in the Valley.
“What we found is that a lot of women do business here, but there was not a lot of connectivity,” President Kim Arellano said. “We’re highlighting the value of working together.”
Arellano invited the women to invite their friends so the group could reach 100 members by the end of the year, not that they needed prompting — almost every woman had brought a friend who was thinking of joining.
Family hopes to bring Ugandan baby home
June 24, 2010
After almost three and a half months of roadblocks and frustration, Sarah Stratton, of Snoqualmie, may finally be bringing home her newly adopted Ugandan son, Jeremiah, next week.
Sarah and Mike Stratton have jumped through many legal hoops to be eligible to adopt from Uganda, and successfully completed the process through the Ugandan Embassy, said Sarah’s mother, Katharine Warmerdam.
Sarah Stratton holds Jeremiah during a visit to Africa. Contributed
“The holdup is not at all with the Ugandan Embassy. It’s with the American Embassy,” she said. “The process is very burdensome.”
Sarah spent months putting in multiple calls per day to the U.S. Embassy to get a visa appointment, only to be told that they were not making appointments for the time being, Warmerdam said.
That was after being told they just needed to get together all necessary paperwork and an appointment could be made.
Encompass preschool receives fourth consecutive national accreditation
June 24, 2010
For the fourth time in a row, Encompass’ preschool has secured national accreditation.
The accreditation, covering the five-year period from June 11, 2010, until July 1, 2015, comes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The association previously accredited Encompass in 1995, 2000 and 2005.
Encompass preschooler Evan Symington, of Snoqualmie, gets a blue star stamped on her forehead during the organization’s last-day-of-school picnic June 16. Earlier in the week, Encompass was notified of its re-accreditation through 2015 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. By Clay Eals
“This is a huge accomplishment that not that many organizations are able to achieve,” said Kristina Steffen, Encompass’ manager of early learning.
Encompass has the only preschool accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Snoqualmie Valley, and it is only one of four such accredited organizations on the Eastside.
Nathan Alexander Fancher
June 24, 2010
Nathan Alexander Fancher was born to Gary and Jennifer Fancher, of North Bend, May 30.
He was delivered at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue. He weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 19 3/4 inches long when born.
The Fanchers have lived in North Bend for seven years.
Nathan’s grandparents are Eloise and Robert Fancher, of N.J., Marv and Gayle Riley, of Calif., and Ted and Sharon Linow, of Calif.
Wine and dine for Uganda
June 24, 2010
The North Bend nonprofit In the Field Ministries invites wine enthusiasts 21 and older to join them for their Winemakers Dinner from 7-10 p.m. June 30 at Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way, North Bend.
Participants will receive a four-course meal and have the opportunity to bid on wine items and art from Uganda during a silent auction.
Proceeds benefit a medical clinic in Uganda.
Tickets cost $100 per person. Call Boxley’s at 425-292-9307 to make a reservation.
Football team prepares for fall
June 24, 2010
Mount Si has an experienced group of players returning who are ready to run the team’s hallmark power offense. But to compete in one of the state’s toughest leagues, the team has work to do in developing its passing game. By Dan Catchpole
When the Mount Si High School football team started spring football camp in early June, the weather felt more like autumn than almost summer.
Despite the team’s stock of experienced players, it was clear that the Wildcats still have some kinks to work out in its passing game.
Snoqualmie Valley Little League names All-Star teams
June 24, 2010
Snoqualmie Valley Little League named its All-Star teams for its three baseball and two softball leagues.
Baseball
Majors League All Stars (11-12 years old)
Manager: Jeff Mitchell
Coach: Chris Duvall
Players: Alex Adams, Collin Anderson, Mitchell Dover, Christian Duvall, Joshua Ebert, Mason Fode, Alden Huschle, Reid Howland, Jake Karavias, Caleb Mitchell, Garrett Straka, Colton Swain, Jacob Wachtendonk
Minor League All Stars (10-11 years old)
Manager: Terry Young
Coach: Terril Perrine
Players: Dylan Baker-Jagla, Ian Fursman, Noah Heaslett, Logan Langseth, Connor Lien,
Nick McAlister, Alex Nelson, Sal Passantino, Cody Perrine, Josh Trotto, Matthew Young
