Lunch rush at the Market Street Cafe

Students at Bickleton High School are often seen at the Market Street Cafe during their lunch hour. Since students often order lunch at the cafe, many call ahead to make sure their meal will be ready at noon when they drive down to pick it up. Unlucky students who forget to call ahead often get stuck waiting for their food during the lunch rush. Here, Danielle Raschko, a senior at Bickleton High School, is paying at the counter of this town’s little general store and cafe. PHOTO BY JESSICA CUMMINGS/BICKLETON HIGH SCHOOL

Sarah Palin: Represents Christian Values

By JESSICA CUMMINGS
UNLEASHED STAFF

Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, John McCain’s vice presidential candidate — who would have thought?
To tell you the truth, before the media started talking about her, I didn’t even know who she was. I consider myself a conservative Christian Republican. (Some of my left-leaning friends have used the term “ultra-right wing extremist,” but I’m not particularly fond of that.)
I’m not all for McCain: I feel he’s too liberal. But with Palin as his vice president I am definitely more willing to support him — not with my vote, because I’m still too young, but with what side of political discussions I find myself supporting.
Palin is the person I feel that best represents me and my beliefs. She is a Christian and as such I know she and I will have a lot of fundamental views in common, such as the importance of the family, the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, that abortion is murder no matter how you look at it, and that liberty isn’t free; it comes at a great price but one that’s worth paying.
Palin makes it clear that this is what she believes. Even though she knows the media will hound her for it, she still stands for what she believes.
That in itself has earned her my respect and support.
I believe this country could use people who have a strong conviction of what is right and what is wrong and are not afraid to stand up for the right cause even if it brings public ridicule.
I’ve read about what she has done in Alaska: cutting state spending dramatically, making school funding more efficient, aiding seniors, working to make the oil companies more competitive and removing the gas tax when fuel prices went up.
I wish other state governors would follow her example.
To me, it seems she has the right idea of how to run things. People don’t need bigger government to help them, they need efficient government that makes people work for what they receive.

— Jessica Cummings is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Bickleton High School.

Bickleton Prom: a Community Tradition

By JESSICA CUMMINGS
BICKLETON HIGH SCHOOL

BICKLETON — Bickleton High School students recently danced the night away at this year’s “Northern Twilight”-themed prom.

But it wasn’t just high school students who were doing the dancing.

What makes Bickleton’s prom different from most high school proms is that the community is invited, too.

“It’s a community event, and if the community didn’t come hardly anyone would be there,” says 38-year-old Robin Goodnight, whose children attend the Bickleton school. She says she has came to the community prom “on and off for 20 years.”

This year’s was “very fun,” she says. “It had a nice theme, the kids had a blast, and the music was wonderful.”

The juniors worked diligently this year, planning and putting on the prom, and most agreed the results were spectacular.

After walking through a tunnel and an archway of silver balloons, guests emerged on the edge of the dance floor, which was peppered with silver balloons and tinsel. Round tables covered with indigo tablecloths and surrounded by white, fabric-covered, blue ribbon-tied chairs were situated on the outskirts of the dance floor.

Jeweled table centerpieces, complete with electronic candles, glowed at each table. A deep blue backdrop covered with silver stars surrounded the dance floor. And strings of white lights wrapped in blue gossamer peaked from the walls to the ceiling, where a disco ball caught and reflected light onto the dance floor.

The decorations, says 16-year-old Johanna Jensen, “were really pretty. I think (the juniors) put a lot of effort into it and did a really good job.”

Tricia McBride, 17, the junior class president, says she “liked the decorations a lot, probably because I put them up and know how much time they took.”

Disc jockey Nahum Ray played a wide variety of music, from country and rock to fun songs like the Chicken Dance and the Electric Slide.

There’s no question: Bickleton School is a small school in a small community. Only 37 people — including teachers, community members and students, some as young as seventh-graders — attended this year’s prom.

Because there are only 15 teens in the top two grades, it really wouldn’t work to host a junior- and senior-only prom, as many other schools have. But students don’t seem to mind.

“I like the community thing,” 17-year-old Devona Kibby says of Bickleton’s prom.

Kim Clinton, 39, and Tom Whitmore, 49, are this year’s junior class teacher-advisors. They helped organize the prom and also attended the event. Whitmore is a former Bickleton High School student and says he has attended prom “every year since 1980 except for last year.”

In earlier days, the prom featured live bands, not DJs, he says.

“This year we had the fewest number of adults I’ve seen at prom, only about two couples who weren’t involved,” meaning they weren’t chaperones, Whitmore says.

“The set-up hasn’t changed much since I was in school,” he says. “They still only use part of the gym.”