Sponsored by

Tucson Says Goodbye to Sidewinders

by Reporter Jeffrey Northcutt
Ironwood Elementary

When the Sidewinders leave Tucson after this season, our town will lose a special piece of baseball history.

Bill Plummer, the Sidewinders’ head coach, is in his 44th year of professional baseball. Plummer has been a minor league manager since 1979, when he started with the Seattle Mariners after finishing his playing career. He even coached in the majors for Seattle and Colorado.

Before he started coaching, Plummer was a catcher. He spent 15 years as a player, almost nine of them in the majors. The highlight of his career as a player was perhaps his time on “The Big Red Machine”—the Cincinnati Reds—in the 1970s. While playing with the Reds, Plummer went to three World Series, winning in 1975 and 1976!

On a typical game day, Plummer arrives at the field at noon for a 7 p.m. game. Some days, warm-ups begin as early as 2:30 p.m., with cage work (batting cages) and practice with infielders and outfielders. At 3:45 p.m., the team stretches, runs, throws, practices in the infield and hits on the field. Then the team takes a break and gets ready for the ballgame. On his rare days off, Plummer just likes to relax.

“It’s always been a game, and it’s always been fun to me, too.” Plummer says.

The best part of playing ball in Tucson, he adds, has been the fact that the weather is always great, so you know you will have a good day for a game.

Plummer is not sure where he will end up when the Sidewinders relocate to Reno for the 2009 season. He’s actually employed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and has coached all levels of ball for the organization, from Rookie League to AAA. He will go where he is sent, but would be happy to go to Reno.

No matter where the Diamondbacks send Plummer, one thing is certain—this Tucsonan will dearly miss him and the Sidewinders.

Amazing Animation, Action in ‘Clone Wars’

by Reporter Gabriel Martin
Davis Bilingual Magnet School
Adviser: Lisa Martin

In “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” an animated movie produced by LucasFilm Ltd., Anakin Skywalker faces the difficult challenge of taking on a padawan learner (a student).

Anakin is a reckless and likable Jedi Knight in this film, which is set in a time before he is tempted by the dark side of the Force. He is not at all sure that he wants to train the young apprentice whom Master Yoda has assigned to him.

You will see some old faces and some new ones in “Clone Wars”—like the padawan named Ahsoka Tano and the assassin known as Ventress. The main characters, Anakin and Ahsoka, are voiced by Matt Lanter and Ashley Eckstein (both new to Star Wars movies). On the other hand, some actors show up from previous Star Wars films, such as the voices of C-3PO, Count Dooku and Mace Windu.

This action-packed movie has some bad guys who are in league with the evil Chancellor Palpatine and the Separatists droid army. But there are also some good entertaining laughs. And for those who enjoy amazing animation, it’s a great introduction to the new “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated TV series that will air this fall on Cartoon Network.

I am a total Star Wars nut. I have the movie action figures, Lego Star Wars vehicles, posters, costumes, a rainbow of light sabers, a talking Yoda—you get the picture. I’ve seen all the other Star Wars movies countless times and love the new “Clone Wars.”

Whether you are a Star Wars fanatic like me or new to Star Wars, I recommend this movie wholeheartedly. I think you’ll like this one for its realistic graphics and the epic, gripping battle scenes. (Yes, it’s violent, but it’s still rated PG).

So see the movie and then enjoy the animated TV show that begins this fall. For fun games and activities, you might also want to visit the official movie Web site at www.starwars.com/theclonewars. What are you waiting for? Grab the popcorn, and may the Force be with you!

Coach Leads by Example

by Reporter Drema Harmon
Altar Valley Middle School
Adviser: Virginia Harmon

My sports coach, Paul Rivas, is a real leader. Although he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he never lets that stand in his way. His self-confidence, determination and positive attitude have made him a pillar of our community. He’s a person I admire and look up to.

Coach Rivas would never ask anyone to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He’s always willing to share his power and authority, even with the kids on our team. When things need to be changed, he makes change happen. He always sees change as an opportunity and tries to relate that idea to all the kids he’s involved with.

When his bipolar disorder starts to get the best of him, he redirects it with his determination, faith and fairness. No matter how low he may feel, he makes sure that it doesn’t affect the team. I just hope that when I’m older, I can have even a small part of the attitude, mercifulness, fairness, knowledge and competence that I see in Coach Rivas.

The things I see in my coach are what true leadership means to me.

Reporter Tackles Hard-Hitting Sport

by Reporter Ashley Johnson,
Tortolita Middle School

Playing football exercises your body and may even help you get your anger out.

I love to play football! Nothing can hold me down from my dream.

Twenty years ago, girls weren’t allowed to play football. Now things are different. Nothing can hold you down if you want to give it a shot.

Football in the United States is played at more than 600 colleges and universities, and by countless professional, semi-professional, high school, grade school and sandlot teams. Some stadiums can hold 100,000 spectators—like the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, “The Big House” at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia, site of the annual Navy-Army games. The gear you need for football is a helmet, shoulder pads, jersey, pants, hip pads, leg pads, cleats, a cup (a soft one for girls because the rules say that everybody must wear one), and a butt bone pad. Street football may be a little dangerous, but when you want to practice, that’s where you can do it.

This is my second season playing football, and I love it.

Have fun doing what you believe is fun, but remember the most important thing is to believe in yourself. If you don’t, then you can’t really do it.

Do Disney with These Great Tips

by Reporter Jeffrey Northcutt,
Ironwood Elementary

This summer, I was lucky to go to a place filled with rides, games and rollercoasters. One hint...it’s the happiest place on Earth.

Can you guess where I went? DISNEYLAND!

During our trip, we discovered a lot of information that made our time in the park easier, and I would like to share it with you.

• Get to the park as early as possible. We found that the park was not very crowded during the first hour it was open. We were able to fit in three or four rides without waiting in any lines during this time.

• Collect Fast Passes throughout the day. A Fast Pass is a ticket that allows you to return to a ride at a specified time and jump to the front of the line. A Fast Pass can be a great time saver, but remember that not all rides offer them.

• Do one section of the park at a time. This allows you to hit more rides with less walking in- between.

• Take your own snacks. You are allowed to bring food into the park, and all that walking and riding make you very hungry and thirsty! There is plenty of food available inside Disneyland, but it can get expensive.

• Take walkie-talkies or cell phones. These come in handy if your family has to separate.

I hope you find these tips useful. Enjoy your time at Disneyland and tell Mickey I said, “Hi!”

Texas Big on History and Fun

by Reporter Courtney Shelton,
Sonoran Science Academy
Adviser: Shelley Shelton

Exploring Arizona is fun and exciting, but going to Texas is a great trip, too!

On one of our vacations this summer, we went to Austin, the capital of Texas and home of the largest capitol building in the country!

Did you know the land used for the Capitol was traded for land in the panhandle? There’s a huge rotunda in the center of the Capitol. At the very top, there’s a star. Around the star is the word, “Texas.”

The lighting in the building is unique—it’s gas lighting because the builders weren’t sure, back when the building was under construction in the 1880s, if electricity would catch on!

After visiting Austin, we went to the island of Galveston. There was a huge beach, lots of hotels to stay in and shops where you could get shells, shirts and even pufferfish! There was a cute little ice-cream shop and candy factory. And a man made candy right in front of us and then threw taffy so we could catch it!

If you want to become a pirate, Galveston is the place to go! It’s a great vacation spot, too.

We were in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend. It’s illegal to set off fireworks in Arizona because it is so dry here. But in Texas there are fireworks stands everywhere.

On Independence Day, you can look down the streets and see the fireworks your neighbors set off. Sometimes they just sparkle, and sometimes they explode and pop into 20 different colors 50 feet in the air!

No trip to Texas would be complete without a visit to the Alamo in San Antonio. It was the site of a key battle in the Texas Revolution of the 1830s, in which Texans fought for independence from Mexico.

Inside the Alamo, you can see all sorts of original artifacts. On the brochure, you can see a map of the Alamo, the names of the people who died there and information about what happened. Nearby is the Riverwalk. The San Antonio River flows with ducks and boat tours as well as water. The banks are filled with art vendors and restaurants.

Overall, If you are taking a road trip out of Arizona, consider Texas—it’s a great place to go!

Somalis Live Off the Land, Face the Forces of Nature

by Sheiknoor Iman,
Altar Valley Middle School

Life in Somalia is so different than life in the United States.

Located on the east coast of Africa and bordering the Indian Ocean, Somalia is made up of jungles, forests and rivers. High temperatures in Somalia can reach 115° F. The only cooling down period is during the one or two rains that fall every year.

Transportation is so scarce and costly that walking is the main means of getting around. The terrain is very rough since there are no paved roads in many areas.

Housing consists of simple mud huts. Floods take down many houses, as well as lives, during the rainy season. Huts are constructed by gathering tall slender trees, placing them in the ground, bending the tops over so they meet, and tying them together so they form a roof. Wet mud, placed over the trees, forms the walls. Then plastic bags are gathered to place on the roof to keep out rain, sun and insects. Most furniture is handmade out of mud. Villages are always on the lookout for wild animals, such as lions, tigers, snakes and cheetahs, which like to visit the village at night in search of food.

Villagers keep domesticated animals for food, including goats, cows, chickens and ducks. People also hunt doves, deer, turkeys, oxen and rabbits. All cooking is done outside over an open fire.

Worms Make Wacky, Wiggly Pets

by Reporters Sabrina Gomez and Aubrie Cox,
Butterfield Elementary
Adviser: Carolyn Risch

Last year, students in Cindy Lang’s and Shirley Mundell’s fifth-grade classes at Butterfield Elementary got unique class pets.

Guess what they got? If you guessed earthworms, you’re right!

The idea for this wonderful project came from Mundell’s student teacher, Julie Agan.

When the two classes started the worm bin, there was a ton of pieces of shredded newspaper for the baby worms to eat. Before long, they had eaten more than half of it! The worms were happy and healthy. You could tell because they started to lay eggs.

Thanks to the kids who donated food for the worms to eat. And a special thanks to the Fry’s at Ina and Thornydale roads for donating old fruits and vegetables to the worm bin.

Dining Is Delightful in Maui

by Reporter Leighton Rickel,
Harelson Elementary

This summer, I went to Maui to see my Aunt Kenny. Maui is an Hawaiian island.

Kenny greeted us with a lei, a necklace made of beautiful flowers, when we got off the plane. Then my aunt took us to Beach Bums to eat. The food was so good!

Then I met Kenny’s roommate, Dan. He’s a chef. We made a cookie bigger than my head! His food was amazing.

After that, it was time to go to the beach. It was beautiful. When we went to Hidden Beach, a fire wedding was happening at the same time—on the same beach. It was unbelievable.

On our last day, we went to the aquarium. I saw a real shark and sea horses.

Hellaciously Good Chef Christina

Talks About Winning ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
by Reporter Shane Weinstein,
Tucson Hebrew Academy

“Hell’s Kitchen” is one of the most-watched reality shows on television today. On the show, amateur chefs go into Hell’s Kitchen and work for world-famous chef Gordon Ramsay. Every week, one aspiring chef gets voted off until it’s down to the final two. The winner becomes senior chef at whatever restaurant Ramsay plans on opening and wins $250,000.

This season it was a battle between Louis Petrozza, a 47-year-old catering director from Charlotte, N.C., and Christina Machamer, a 25-year-old culinary student from St. Louis, Mo.

Machamer won, and I was lucky enough to get the chance to ask her about her incredible victory and her time in “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Machamer really didn’t know that she wanted to be a chef until she was 22. “I was in the Caribbean during season three, and I watched it with a bunch of my buddies from culinary school,” Machamer shares.

At the climax of each episode, there is a dinner service that determines which team will lose a member. During this service, food gets flung across the kitchen and Chef Ramsay screams at the contestants.

“All of that stuff is real,” claims Machamer, “The service is really three hours long. You only get to see 45 minutes of it, so you only get to see the highs and the lows.” Another thing viewers love about “Hell’s Kitchen” —the obnoxious contestants the show features. “Yes, the contestants were as obnoxious as they seemed,” Machamer says. “Confessions were four times a day, and Fox only shows the highlights.”

Christina was great to talk to. In late summer, she becomes the new chef at The London in West Hollywood, Calif. And don’t forget to catch Chef Ramsay on Fox this fall with “Kitchen Nightmares”!

Reporter Hits Vegas for MDA Show!

by Reporter Rachael Weinstein,
Tucson Hebrew Academy

I went to Las Vegas for the Labor Day weekend and got to be part of the audience for Jerry Lewis’ famous MDA Telethon! MDA stands for Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Every year, comedian Jerry Lewis hosts this telethon. He tries to raise as much money as he can for “Jerry’s Kids,” those who have some type of muscular dystrophy. There are around 50 diseases in all. A lot of these diseases are life threatening and can drastically change a person’s quality of life. Telethon money pays for research, camps and medical equipment.

A small army of people work hard to put on the telethon including camera operators, makeup people, lighting technicians and hundreds of volunteers.

The telethon goes all night long with a great variety of entertainers. In the few hours I was there, I got to see Bo Bice and Ace Young from “American Idol,” Menudo, and Tom Bercheron, the host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

But as I was having a good time, I was praying that someday soon scientists would find a cure for muscular dystrophy. If you want to make a donation, call 1800-FIGHT-MD. Please help.

Media Sponsors

Flames Are Ablaze with a Love of Running

by Reporter Parker Phillips
New Vistas Academy
Adviser: Stacey Trepanier

The AZ Flames are burning up Arizona’s tracks.

The Flames are a group of 5- to 50- year-olds who love to run. Pair that passion with a committed and skilled coach and you have a team that’s on fire!

Coach James Smith has a United States Association of Track and Field (USATF) Masters championship, a 5A division championship and a Junior Olympic Nationals third place championship on his resume.

“I started running in elementary school,” Smith says. “Track is a very individual sport that supports a team. (There’s) no politics. If I run or jump well, I am on the team.”

Smith says that focusing on training and understanding that training help you compete better, and he advises young athletes to remember to always “train hard, respect your competitors, (and) run your best race.”

His philosophy is: “There are no limits. Everyone can get faster. Hard work beats talent if talent does not work hard.”

Smith’s proudest moments on the track include watching one of his kids win nationals and winning the USATF Nationals himself.

As a young athlete, I can honestly say Coach Smith means what he says. His hard work and ideas are conveyed on the track and off as he reminds his athletes that education comes first and that any victory requires hard work and dedication. During some tough times, he has reminded me that the harder we work for a victory the more meaningful it is.

As the Flames begin another season, the athletes are conditioning themselves by running events ranging from the 100-meter sprint to the 5,000-meter distance run. Practice takes place three times a week, and routines vary depending on each athlete’s targeted events. But all involve strength, endurance and core training in preparation for the season ahead. Athletes will compete in state, regional and national competitions.

If you want to run track or try a field event either to compete or simply to reach your personal best, please go to www.azflames.com for more information. Interested athletes are encouraged to stop by a practice and check the team out. If nothing else, keep your eyes peeled as the AZ Flames set the track ablaze this season!

The Future of Energy May Be Out at Sea

by Reporter Hannah Standley
Lookout Mountain Elementary

Glen Kertz, a plant physiologist and entrepreneur, is working on the answer to an unusual question right now: Can algae take the place of regular fossil fuels?

Recent studies have claimed that algae are the “ultimate renewable energy source.” Algae is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, like kelp. About 50 percent of its weight is oil. By using that lipid oil, we can create a biodiesel fuel for cars, trucks and airplanes.

Algae is mainly known as “pond scum.” But instead of growing it in a pond, Kertz grows his algae plants in a vertical system called Vertigro. “By going vertical, you can get a lot more surface area to expose the cells to the sunlight. It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce to go through photosynthesis,” Kertz says.

Kertz claims that he can produce around 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre, compared with around 30 gallons per acre from corn and 50 gallons per acre from soy beans.

Using algae as oil isn’t a new idea—the U.S. Department of Energy already has studied it for about 18 years. But according to Al Darzins of the DOE’s National Renewable Energy lab, algae oil could never compete economically with the other fossil fuels. That is only one person’s hypothesis (guess). Maybe the forms of transportation will be much greener in the future!

School Hosts Its Own Olympics

by Reporter Jazmin Finley
Monte Vista Elementary

In August and September, Monte Vista School is having an Olympics! The purpose of these games is to learn about the countries, sports and athletes competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Students in grades 3 to 6 are competing for gold, silver or bronze medals. Each class is assigned a country. Some of the countries are Spain, Germany, Chile, Jamaica, Kenya, Greece, Australia and Mexico.

In P.E., the events are cup stacking and metric Olympics, which includes cotton ball shot put, straw javelin throw, paper plate discus and hoops for time.

Points for your country can be earned in different ways, including writing reports about the Olympics, writing reports about your country and drawing a mascot for your country.

In art and music we do other activities. In art, we’re making a collage of our country’s flag and learning about the Beijing mascots. In music, we listened to our country’s national anthem.

There will be an awards ceremony on the last day. Students who wrote reports about the Olympics or their country will receive a certificate. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the winners.

Keys Books Offer Suspense for Every Day of the Week

by Reporter Ishitha Jagadish
Sanborn Elementary

“Mister Monday” is about a boy named Arthur Penhaligon, who is supposed to be dead after two people—Mister Monday and his servant—give him a key. A mysterious figure called the Will makes this all happen. The book is the first of “The Keys to the Kingdom” series by Garth Nix.

The book starts with a prologue talking about a man on duty as a sergeant or officer. He accidentally releases all the pieces of the Will. The key, shaped like the hand on a clock, is a very powerful thing that can save Arthur from any trouble.

Arthur makes two friends, Leave and her brother, who help him with his asthma. So Arthur survives what could have been a deadly asthma attack, and he has possession of the key! Soon, plagued and disgusting dog-faced Fetchers start to arrive, chasing him around to get the key. Arthur later discovers an atlas talking about all the bizarre creatures from the Morrow Days’ worlds. He figures out how to stop the dog-faced Fetchers—with salt! But Mister Monday and the Fetchers will do anything to get the powerful key back, even if it includes destroying the world!

It turns out that Arthur has the minute hand and Mister Monday has the hour hand. When combined, the owner will be the master of one key. To do this is Arthur must enter a house only he can see. It is there that he starts his treacherous journey, meeting Suzy Turquoise Blue, and finding the Will. The Will will help Arthur and Suzy on their journey, but there are many difficulties. To find out what happens read this book and the rest of the series.

Farrelli’s Offers Customers Dinner at the Movies

by Reporter Bradley Glover
Hidden Hills Elementary

Farrelli’s Cinema Supper Club is a small dinner theater in North Scottsdale. For a while, it did not have first-run movies, but it still made money. Now Farrelli’s shows first-run movies.

Theaters get movies from movie distributors. People can say, “I don’t want this company to have the same movies as one of my theaters.” Some of the bigger companies sometimes do this to the smaller companies.

For a few years, Farrelli’s was not able to get first run movies. Its loyal customers were willing to wait to see them. It was also a good place to see movies if you missed them. It still is.

The supper club has movies for kids and adults. It’s a great place to see a movie while having dinner. Farrelli’s is celebrating its seventh anniversary. Wendy Farrelli came up with the idea about 15 years ago when she was vacationing in Florida. She found a theater that shows movies and serves you a meal while you watch, so she decided to do that, too.

Wendy Farrelli’s decision to create Farrelli’s was easy because she wanted to have something new in Arizona. At Farrelli’s you can eat an entire meal while you watch a movie.

Farrelli’s has one location at 14202 N. Scottsdale Road. It has two screens that show four to five movies a day per screen. Farrelli’s does events like birthdays, parties and conferences. The owners plan on staying here a long time.

To learn more about Farrelli’s, visit its Web site at www.farrellis.com. For reservations, call 480-905-7200.

Candle Company Catches On

by Reporter Heather Ball
New Vistas Academy
Adviser: Stacey Trepanier

Does your house stink or have a nasty odor? Do you hate walking into a room because you know it will have a horrible smell?

Gold Canyon Candles can help eliminate that awful smell. The Chandler-based company has a wide variety of candles that will meet anyone’s requirements. Don’t hesitate to try one out because these are some of the best candles on the market.

Curt and Karen Waisath are the founders of Gold Canyon Candles. It all started back in their kitchen with a ton of inspiration and determination. Karen longed to make a candle that would fill the entire room with a powerful, pleasing scent. In 1997, she constructed that candle, and Gold Canyon was soon selling 26 pleasing scents. The Waisaths not only fulfilled their dreams of making a long-lasting scented candle, but they also were able to have a career and stay home with their kids, which was important to them.

Gold Canyon Candles has many uniquely scented candles that everyone will love. It even has a section of kids candles, with scents like chocolate mud pie, candy apple lollipop and baby powder. Other scents include cinnamon vanilla, which blends sweet and spicy together to make a powerful aroma. Sugar cookie is for you if you have a sweet tooth. Last but not least, sweet pea mixes sweet fruits to create a never-ending fresh smell.

Gold Canyon Candles has one of the highest success rates for fund raising. Many organizations sell these candles to earn money for supplies or trips. The company even provides candles for people who try to help the world. At the JDRF walk to help cure diabetes, bags of Gold Canyon Candles were handed out to congratulate the walkers and runners who finished 3.5 miles. Gold Canyon gives the people who sell its candles for fund raising a large portion of the profits.

Whether you like fresh scents, sweet scents or nature scents, Gold Canyon has them all. No other store has such a variety. Try out these candles, and I promise you won’t regret it. Gold Canyon is truly the best candle store out there.

Is It Just Dust in the Wind?

by Reporter Becca Galcik
Homeschool

What is a dust devil?

Dust devils are made when the air near the ground is hotter than the air above, because warm air rises, causing instability.

This usually happens in large, open areas, like the desert or open fields. The air begins to spin counter- clockwise, forming a funnel-like chimney that hot air moves in. The dust shows the upward air movement.

Dust devils can last up to 30 minutes and have wind speeds of 60 mph or more. They can get up to 30 feet wide and over 3,000 feet tall. The dust devil can even create radio noise and electrical fields!

When cool air is sucked into the funnel, the dust devil goes away.

Dust devils are called different things in different places. For example, Australians call them willy-willies, Egyptians call them ghost winds, and Navajos call them chiindii, or spirits of dead Navajos.

Robots Get the Job Done

by Reporter Thomas Abshire
Homeschool

Robots are machines that do human-like work. There are lots of robot types.

Pneumatic robots, like Dinamation robots, run on compressed air. That means when a rod is pushed, the robot is forced to move. (Hydraulic robots like the Mars Rover run on compressed liquid.)

Electric robots, like the Kreepy Krauly that cleans you pool, are more accurate than pneumatic robots.

Electric robots once operated using vacuum tubes as big as pickles. Now, transistors as small as dust particles are used.

Who knows what the future of robots holds?

Maybe they’ll look something like today’s famous fictional robots—the Transformers! In the words of the Transformer Minicons, “No obstacle is too great.”

This Bridge Is a Work of Nature

by Reporter Jacob Sasser,
New Vistas Academy
Adviser: Stacey Trepanier

I hiked up an exquisite natural bridge in the Tonto National Forest near Payson. The Tonto National Bridge State Park not only provides breathtaking scenery, but a treacherous workout as well.

Slippery rocks and skinny passageways make this hike a real challenge. In fact, the last time I visited the bridge, my dad saved his friend’s life. His friend had tried to cross a rock and plummeted 20 feet into a pool of water. Thankfully, we all survived the hike.

The bridge, which forms the top of a cave, is about 200 feet high! Numerous streams flow around the bottom. In addition, a stream pours down from the top, cascading into a magnificent waterfall and creating the sensation of rain.

Whenever I am there, I ask myself how this 50-foot-wide bridge can support itself and how long it took water to carve the majestic cave?

The natural bridge is the work of Mother Nature over time. First, lava from nearby volcanoes covered the west side of Pine Creek. Rocks eroded, leaving behind sparkling purple quartz sandstone.

The second stage started when the area was covered by seawater about 1.7 million years ago. The flood left mud and sand when it receded.

Then another volcano erupted, leaving more lava and forming basalt. The result was the natural bridge.

The first visitors to the cave were the Apache Indians about 400 years ago. The Apaches used the area as a seasonal hunting and farming ground. However, it was not until 1877 when the Scottish prospector, David Gowan, and his family helped carve out an entry road that still exists today.

As years drifted by, this bridge has become one of Arizona’s most popular and beloved national parks.

Don’t Forget What 9-11 Means

by Reporter Shannon Molvin
Hidden Hills Elementary

Do you remember what 9-11 stands for? It stands for Sept. 11, 2001. That was when the Twin Towers fell in New York.

Do you remember the devastating pictures on the television? That may be our past, but if we forget, it will be our future. If 9-11 repeats itself, it will not be pretty at all; there will be no good side of it.

People are forgetting about everything. Have you noticed how American flags are slowly coming down off cars, poles and even homes? If everyone forgets, we could easily lose our freedom and rights.

Life has moved on, not in all good ways. Each day, more and more people are forgetting about the horrible tragedy of that day.

Life isn’t easy, so it shouldn’t be easy to forget about important events like 9-11.

Dad Enjoys People, Scenery of Kazakhstan

by Reporter Avery Thomas
Marshall Magnet Elementary

In May, my father, a firefighter, traveled with members of the Flagstaff Fire Department and the Coconino Sheriff’s Office to Kazakhstan for a two-week trip. They went to learn about Kazakhstan’s emergency services and to make friends with people in the same jobs in a different country.

It was a 22-hour plane flight!

Not many people know about this country. Kazakhstan is next to China and Russia. The people speak Russian and Kazakh. Half of them practice Islam. Horses and cows are very popular there because they are used for food and hauling.

The country of Kazakhstan stretches over 1,056 miles from north to south and 1,854 miles from east to west. It is the ninth largest country in the world and has a population of 16 million. The land is desert, plains and mountain ranges.

The largest city in Kazakhstan is Almaty, which used to be the country’s capital. More than 1 million people live in Almaty. It has a world-class ice skating rink.

My father’s favorite things about Kazakhstan were the beauty of the country, its friendly people and the adventure of the trip. The worst part was eating sheep‘s head, a local delicacy. He also ate a lot of horse, which he said wasn’t bad.

He hopes to go back, and he would like to take me someday!

Mount St. Helens Eruption Lingers in Memories

by Reporter Becca Galcik
Homeschool

Did you know that there are about 100 active volcanoes in the United States?

One of the most famous, Mount St. Helens, erupted in a violent explosion on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m., after waking a few weeks earlier. This forever changed the shape of the mountain and the area around it.

Mount St. Helens, located in the state of Washington, stood 9,760 feet tall before the eruption. It was considered one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. The snow-covered peak could be seen for miles.

The first signs it was waking up occurred on March 27, 1980, with a steam explosion. The mountain continued to vent and build a lava dome for the next few weeks. The eruption that followed, registering 5.1 on the Richter scale, was felt as far as 225 miles away in Vancouver, Wash. The north face of the mountain blew ash 15 miles high. A landslide traveled down the mountain at 200 mph, taking everything in its path.

Winds took the ash and blew it east, turning day into night. Powdery ash fell on cities, spreading over 900 miles. Ten miles from the mountain, ash piled 10 inches high. Over 300 miles away, Spokane, Wash., had about 11/2 inches of ash.

Leighton Pittmann, of Spokane, was watching TV and heard a funny noise that rumbled through his fireplace. “We didn’t know what it was at the time,” he says.

Pittman, who was celebrating his birthday that day, remembers his parents called with the news that Mount St. Helens had blown. About noon, the sky started to turn eerily dark.

“Driving was scary. We had to go very slow because if you went fast, the ash got in the motors and burned them out,” he says. “We had to clean for days with shovels, brooms and water. Everyone had to wear a mask to not breathe in the ash.”

Kerry Galcik, formerly from Spokane, remembers watching the sky turn dark.

“The streetlights came on. It was dark as night. The ash looked like gray snow falling. It reminded me of flour,” she says. “We had to miss school for a few days while everyone cleaned up.”

Mount St. Helens did not look the same after the eruption. The mountain now stands 8,365 feet high. A big part of the mountain was gone, and everything was covered in mud. The trees, bushes, flowers and some rivers disappeared.

Twenty-eight years later, there is snow on the mountain again. Plants, trees and flowers are starting to grow at the base. But Mount St. Helens is still active. The mountain has continued to build a new lava dome since October 2004.

Will it blow now or in another 100 years?

Team Examines Eyes with Smiles

by Reporter Lisbet Jauregui
Bradwhaw Mountan Middle School

Kokopelli Eye Care in Prescott is an experience you will never forget—they talk to you like they have known you forever.

Heather Kettner and Dr. Joanne Hopman are always happy to see their patients. The center is full of marvelous people, but today I’m going to talk about these two.

Kettner is a certified optician who not only helps you pick the right- sized glasses but also helps you choose your best design. She is always ready to help you, and she does it with a smile.

Dr. Hopman has been the optometrist at Kokopelli Eye Center for about two years. She loves her work! She studied at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and got her medical degree from the Pacific University College of Optometry. You are never turned down at her office. She says it is important for people to have an eye exam for two reasons. First, you will be able to see better. Second, if there’s a problem, it’s important for doctors to detect it before it gets worse.

Dr. Hopman believes that if you “never give up and always keep trying…one day you will get it.”