Off the field

Touchdowns, tackles, fumbles, punts, first-downs, time-outs.
A lot happens on the field.
Ticket-taking, gate-keeping, cheering, watching, marching, announcing, fundraising, setting-up, tearing-down, cleaning-up.
A lot goes on off the field, too.

Every Friday night during football season, as the players work hard to play their best, others — mainly volunteers — are working just as hard to make sure everything goes smoothly on and off the field.
At Yakima’s Davis High School, for example, athletic director Bob Stanley, 44, estimates at least a dozen people are needed to run the game — and that’s not including the people who help with setting and cleaning up or selling concessions for the hundreds of fans that typically attend games at Zaepfel Stadium.
Hosting a home football game is no small task. The players on the field are only a portion of the action. Lines must be painted and tickets sold. Popcorn must be made, cheers must be shouted, and fight songs must be played. And at the end of the evening, garbage must be picked up and gates locked.
The Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team recently tackled these aspects of Friday night football festivities, the activities that happen off the field, before, after and during the game. Here’s a look at the hubbub happening off the field.
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School

Athletic trainers
Before the Rams take Clasen Field, Jeannie Martin and her team of West Valley High School students trainers are already working to prepare the players and carrying medical supplies, water and ice to the sidelines.
Martin usually arrives two hours before game time to assist injured athletes, supervise stretching, tape ankles and ice strained muscles. The 37-year-old has served as the school’s athletic trainer for 11 years.
She teaches courses in beginning and advanced sports therapy, and some of her students plan to pursue a career in this — or a related — field. During games, she works with seven to 10 student trainers, all of whom have taken her class and some of whom are members of the school’s sports medicine club.
What does she like most about her job? “That it’s different every week.”
What does she like least? “The long hours.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

Ticket-takers
In a small wooden shed at the gates of Zaepfel Stadium, Debra Reis and Julie Stephens are ready to take tickets.
Even though it feels freezing cold inside the little shed, they both seem enthusiastic and energetic, ready to welcome people to the game.
Their shift starts at 7 p.m. and lasts until half-time. The busiest part is the first hour, between 7 and 8, when lines stretch past the ticket booth and back toward Eisenhower High School.
Stephens has been a staff member at Ike for more than 20 years. Reis has worked at the school for four. Both are in their late 40s and work as registrars. When Ike has home games, they work the ticket booth.
High school students who are members of the Associated Student Body — and have ASB cards to prove it — can enter home games for free during the regular season.
Most of the people in line are students and their families wishing to show their school spirit and support their team.
However, parents of former players, family friends, community members and other school supporters who just enjoy football come to buy tickets and watch the game, too. Reis and Stephens get to know the regulars and share jokes with them as they go by.
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School

Safety and security
Ready to hold the line between high school rivals stand security guards and police officers.
Their presence serves as a deterrent to potential problems. Usually, there are no serious conflicts; most students are happy to wander across the field to talk with their friends that go to the rival school.
In fact, the worst offense Yakima police officer Jonathan Cordova, 39, says he has ever seen at a game was a drunken spectator.
In addition to officers and guards, there’s an ambulance ready to take care of any injured athletes or spectators at every football game at Zaepfel Stadium.
On cold nights, paramedics are in an enviable position compared to the officers and guards providing security. While security staffers have to walk around to make sure students and spectators are following the rules, paramedics can spend their time watching the game from inside the warm ambulance, ready to provide first aid and support if needed.
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School

Marching band
The host team’s marching band performs at every home football game.
These performances provide entertainment during the game and serve, according to 15-year-old Keelan Smith, a trombonist and sophomore at Eisenhower High School, as practice for competitions.
For band members, the appeal of performing at the game is the live audience. The student musicians take pride in the band and work hard to perform well. In fact, their preparation starts during summer when most students are enjoying vacation. In fall, the Ike band practices after school twice a week and numerous Saturdays.
Game days, the Ike band arrives at the high school at 5:30 p.m. and leaves after the game ends, typically after 10 p.m. The only time the band leaves early is when there’s a band competition the next day and members need to get a good night’s sleep before leaving as early as 5 a.m. the following morning.
Seventeen-year-old Ike senior Darion Roth, a saxophonist and the senior drum major, says he would like to see more people coming out to attend the games and support — not only the football players — but the marching band.
Before the start of a home game at West Valley High School, band director Ron Gerhardstein is as busy as the head football coach, overseeing his own players — the musicians — as they warm up.
Unbeknownst to many football fans, the band practices as often as the football team.
“Marching band takes a lot of time,” says the 44-year-old Gerhardstein, who’s served as West Valley’s band director for five years. “We rehearse during first period each morning, and we rehearse on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8:30.”
And on game nights, the West Valley band’s 111 members arrive an hour before game time to change into their uniforms, stretch and warm up.
About 45 minutes before the game starts, they line up and march over to the stadium. They perform the national anthem and school fight song for the pre-game show, give a half-time field show, and play at other times throughout the game itself.
“My least favorite part of game nights is trying to get 111 students to pay enough attention to the game so that we can play music when the time is appropriate,” Gerhardstein says. “If they don’t pay enough attention we (lose) our opportunities to play.”
— Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis High School, and Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

The announcer
High in the stadium, up in the announcer’s booth, Adam Eldridge isn’t visible to football fans. But he’s certainly heard by them.
The 34-year-old is the voice of the Rams.
He’s announced athletic events for 12 years altogether, including five at West Valley High School. In addition to football, he announces soccer and basketball games, too.
Eldridge arrives 45 minutes before game time to check in with coaches on the pronunciations of players’ names and touch base with other folks working the game.
He says he doesn’t do the job for the pay.
“I get great seats, and it’s a covered area,” he says. “I enjoy the spirit and just watching the student athletes perform.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

The photographer
Though a recent leg surgery keeps Jim Hauske at field level, shooting pictures, the 63-year-old spent more than 20 seasons as a spotter for the Rams.
As a spotter, Hauske reported the numbers of the players who made tackles and caught passes to the announcer in the booth. But the past few years, since retiring from teaching, Hauske has become the unofficial photographer for many West Valley High School teams.
He’s a mainstay at football and other games, wandering the sidelines taking action shots of players. These photographs are often given as gifts to student athletes at team banquets.
A true fan of football, Hauske enjoys watching the game, cheering for athletes, and seeing people he knows.
Hauske says, “My least favorite part about the job is when fans get knit-picky on games and times, and when they argue about mistakes.
“Everyone makes them.”
— Lindsay Burns, West Valley Junior High

Concessions
Popcorn and candy bars go out, and money comes in.
Surrounded by a variety of treats, and stepping around boxes of Lightning paraphernalia, volunteers in the concession stand work to keep fans fed and happy.
“The most popular item tonight was the caramel suckers,” says 52-year-old La Salle High School parent Mary Adkins, following the Oct. 2 home game against the White Swan High School Cougars.
She works the booth to help complete the 30 volunteer hours required of each family that has a kid or kids who attend the Catholic school. Plus, she says, it’s fun.
However, concession workers arrive at home games as early as 3 p.m. and often stay until 10:30 p.m. for clean-up.
“It was basically nonstop,” Adkins says of customer-flow during the game.
But the work reaps a worthy outcome. The thousand or so dollars that come in each home game from concession sales goes to help La Salle athletics.
The candy itself helps energize the crowd on cold football nights.
“They just want anything sugary,” Adkins says.
Same thing is true at White Swan High School, where junior Alex Craig, 16, serves as one of the two concession stand managers. Students from different grades get to work the booth during designated home games, earning money for their class.
Funds raised go toward activities such as each grade’s senior trip.
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Cheerleaders
As the final gun sounds, Grizzlies fans explode with cheers, relieved to pull out a 21-20 victory over the Davis Pirates. And these ecstatic cheers are led, of course, by the Sunnyside High School cheerleaders.
Throughout the entire Oct. 9 game, Sunnyside’s homecoming, the crowd was way into the game and cheering with excitement, just the sort of crowd cheerleaders hope for.
“It means a lot to us when you cheer along,” says Sunnyside cheerleader Sydney Wutzke, a 15-year-old junior. “It makes us feel like we’re doing our job, and it helps out with the guys a lot. It makes them feel better when there’s a spirited crowd.”
The Grizzlies were down the entire first half of the game, making a huge comeback in the second. Still, the score was touch-and-go for much of the fourth quarter.
Says Wutzke, “You just have to push through it and keep everyone positive … ”
On the football field at White Swan High School, when the Cougars are down, cheerleader Brigida Walker, a 16-year-old junior, says the same thing: You gotta stay positive.
“I just encourage my fellow cheermates to keep cheering because even if we don’t win we’re still winners at heart,” Walker says.
There are those times when the home team walks away without the victory. But after any game, 18-year-old Sunnyside cheerleader Taylor Daniel, a senior, says, “I feel tired and excited, and I usually have fun whether we win or lose.”
Wutzke agrees, saying she loves “everything” about cheer. “I have a lot of fun with everyone in the crowd, and dancing and stunting,” she says.
These aren’t the only reasons to cheer, however.
Wutzke is dating Sunnyside quarterback, Andrew Daley, a junior. She says she tries to cheer for the entire team equally. “I try to keep it even,” she says, “but of course I have that soft spot for him.”
— Hannah Besso, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Fans
The deafening roar from the crowd is immediately followed by the equally as loud bang of a cannon, signifying a touchdown.
“Boom!” a fan calls loudly as the cheerleaders begin to lead the standing student fans in a cheer.
Bundled in blankets and letterman jackets, breathing warm air onto their numb hands and staying close together for warmth, they still yell with gusto.
Flashes of blue and silver collide as students bounce along, waving their hands chaotically in the air even after the echo of the cannon dies away.
For football fans at Marquette Stadium during Friday night home games, the cannon is essential. It’s La Salle High School tradition to fire it after each touchdown. Just ask Jeff Hayes.
“My soul purpose here is shooting the cannon,” says the 45-year-old, who’s watched his two children graduate from La Salle, but still faithfully returns for the cannon every football season.
What can he say? He likes “big bangs.” And he’s not the only one.
“My favorite part is when we score touchdowns, and the cannon goes boom!” says 17-year-old La Salle senior Chelsea Adkins.
Victoria Gonzalez, also a 17-year-old senior, agrees: “When I hear the cannon, I get all excited and scream!”
Along with the home team, the cannon keeps fans coming back.
“As long as we have the cannon,” says Hayes, “I’m gonna be here shooting it.”
Now, there’s no cannon on the football field at White Swan High School. But, walking up the stairs on the bleachers, the school colors — red, black and white — flash underneath the Friday night lights.
Chelsey Sheppard is usually up there, too. She hardly ever misses a home game.
The eighth-grader at Mount Adams Middle School goes to football games with her parents and older sister, a White Swan sophomore.
“I love the White Swan Cougars for so many reasons,” the 13-year-old says. “They are my life. When the team loses, I lose. They have been my team since I was 3. … I love the Cougars, and we are strong.”
— Colleen Fontana, Davis High School, and Tedra Kay Spencer, White Swan High School

Cleaning up, tearing down
At Marquette Stadium, where the La Salle Lightning play home games, clean-up relies mainly on volunteers — and Teresa Barry, the Catholic high school’s dean of students.
While many fans flood the field for post-game prayer and coach Jack McMillan’s “atta-ways,” or shout-outs, Barry makes herself responsible for tidying the seating area.
She has some help. Before the game ends, the announcer usually asks people to clean up the area around them. While parents usually manage to comply with this request, Barry says, oftentimes, “the students forget.”
The amount of time it takes — and size of the mess left behind — depend on how many people attend the game. And the more people that help, the faster clean-up goes.
“If I have some people who help out I can finish in 10 (minutes),” Barry says. “It takes longer when there are things like nachos that make a mess because there’s more to clean up.”
Other elements of post-game clean-up involve emptying trash bags, a job that parents typically take on, and storing the cheerleaders’ boxes behind the stadium. Family members and friends of cheerleaders help with this. And the job usually requires two people to carry one box.
Barry’s grateful for all the help she can get.

“It’s our responsibility to clean the stadium,” she says. “And I kind of miss being able to go down for the prayer time.”
— Kateri Town, La Salle High School

Working: the school custodian

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF
His smile is what first catches people’s attention.
But if they somehow pass it by, students and teachers, faculty and staff are sure to notice the warm, round laugh that usually follows.
The way Vic Wood strides through the halls, sometimes with a ladder under his arm, sometimes a toolbox, it’s easy to forget he works in a crowded high school. After only two years as lead custodian, Wood already seems a fundamental part of Eisenhower High School.

“Vic is the one to go to,” says Lauri Anderson, a math teacher and leadership adviser at Ike. “He’ll drop everything to help you, whether you’re an administrator, teacher or student.”
Wood, a 59-year-old White Swan resident, has been in the business of maintenance and custodial work for about 22 years. Except for a few months at Roosevelt Elementary School five years ago, he has worked in high schools.
“I love it,” he says of his job. “I’m a teaser, always joking around with the high school kids. I can relate to them.”
While Wood is often seen cracking a joke in passing, his job generally doesn’t offer a lot of time to chat. From 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wood is responsible for the general upkeep of Ike’s 51-year-old building.
The school’s age sometimes generates complaints from members of the staff and students. But, Wood says, “I like this building because it’s old. I told the (other custodians) when I started working here, ‘Just because she’s old doesn’t mean she can’t be pretty.’”
Wood works hard to make Ike pretty. Mornings, it’s his job to unlock the building, go through it turning on lights and completing a general check of the school. Then he checks the work list for any problems that the afternoon or night custodians had noticed and didn’t have a chance to get to.
“Usually, I’ll go check it out myself first,” he says. “Then, if it doesn’t look like something I can fix, I’ll fill out a work request that gets sent to (Yakima School District) maintenance downtown. Then, they come in, and I usually watch them fix it, so hopefully I can just take care of it next time.”
The maintenance workers seem to like having Wood around, too.
“He’s a man’s man,” says Shell Shattuck, a school district maintenance worker. “Meaning, he is a man other men look up to and admire.”
All of that — with the exception of any necessary work orders — happens before 8 a.m.
Once school starts, “I’m a firefighter,” jokes Wood, who spends most of the day “putting out fires.”
These little emergencies can include fixing door closures and ornery radiators, even fishing the occasional cell phone out of a toilet. (Although, Wood has told a couple of students, “There’s no getting that one back.”)
Anderson has known and worked with Wood for eight years and says he is always “putting out fires” for her. She also says Wood has a special talent for not becoming flustered no matter how flustered she might be.
“Whether it’s pulling the bleachers down for an assembly at the last minute, or unplugging the sink in my room, Vic can make anything happen at a moment’s notice,” Anderson says.
As lead custodian, Wood supervises eight other custodians who have various shifts and duties. Essentially, the upkeep of the entire building is his responsibility.
Medical and retirement benefits are included in his job, as well as sick leave and a wage of about $21 per hour.
“Some people around here don’t realize how good they have it,” Wood says. “When I was in a carpenter’s union I had retirement, but I never had paid days off until I started working for the school district. You’ll never find anything as good as the school district other than working for the government.”
Wood sums up his job by simply saying, “I love it.”
And according to Jordan Lehrman, an 18-year-old Ike senior and leadership student, it shows.
“Vic always has a smile on his face,” he says. “And I have never heard him complain about anything.”

— Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Working: barista

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
UNLEASHED STAFF
Rich aromas fill the shop.
So do the sounds of whirring blenders and coffee grinders. Posters featuring the game schedules of nearby Eisenhower High School hang on the walls.
Behind the counter, Cassie Gordon is ready with a smile to make an espresso drink or blended beverage.
Her favorite is a caramel macchiato, unstirred. She likes the layers.
And she loves her customers. She says she knows 80 percent of them by first name or at least their regular drink order.
“I take great pride in knowing my customers,” she says.

Gordon, 29, is the owner of Tom Tom Espresso at 412 S. 40th Ave., across the street from Ike.
Gordon says she became interested in the espresso business when she was 15 and working at State Fair Park. She first made espresso drinks then.
She has worked at Tom Tom for three years now. She bought the business two and a half years ago.
At first, “It was scary to be responsible for someone else’s paycheck,” she says. “I went from total security to unknown.”
Now, Gordon employs six people plus herself. Most employees make minimum wage plus tips.
Gordon does everything from ordering supplies to delivering drinks to customers. Her shop is open every day, 24 hours a day, so she has had her fair share of long days.
Tom Tom sells beverages from Americanos to Italian sodas and lemonade. It also sells blended, iced beverages, fruit smoothies and other specialty drinks.
Snacks are also available, from muffins and chips to breakfast sandwiches and pork egg rolls.
Megan Kinney, a 17-year-old junior at Ike, is a frequent customer at Tom Tom, particularly during her lunch break. Her favorite drink is a peach-lemon iced tea. What keeps her coming back to Tom Tom?
“The staff is always pleasant, and their location is convenient,” she says.
Stephanie Carlsen, 56, of Yakima likes Tom Tom’s cappuccinos. She says the coffee shop being open all hours makes it easy to fit visits into her schedule. She frequently uses the drive-up window.
“Cassie always greets you with a smile,” Carlsen says.
Customer service is important to Gordon.
“I love my customers,” she says, adding the food service industry “is good for people.”
“It gets them on the other side of the counter and makes them more courteous, grateful and patient.”

• Lety Clark-Olivero is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Working: lunch ladies

By JASMINE OKBINOGLU
UNLEASHED STAFF
A bell rings, shattering the calm.
The thunder of footsteps crashes against the cafeteria floor, and students pour into six lines to get lunch.
This is what the Eisenhower High School cafeteria is like during lunchtime.

Nine people deal with this onslaught of students, five days a week for nine months. They also have to cook for two other schools, Nob Hill Elementary and Discovery Lab. But that’s not a problem for the cafeteria workers.
Ike’s lunch ladies are pros when it comes to working under pressure.
“We’ve done it so many times it’s not really stressful anymore,” says 46-year-old Candace Deccio, the cafeteria manager and a baker at Ike.
Co-worker Lori Sutton, 34, an assistant cook, nods in agreement. So does 59-year-old Fey Maybee, the main dish cook.
“It’s very hectic, but somehow it all comes together,” Maybee says. “We all work together to get it done.”
Deccio and her co-workers serve from 700 to 800 Ike students at lunch and about 200 students at breakfast.
While most students are nice and polite, a few have been rude to the lunch ladies.
“I always make a point to remember who is nice and who is not,” Deccio says.
But, Maybee says, there isn’t much time to chit-chat: “Things are going so fast that you can’t really talk with them.”
Students aren’t the only people the cafeteria crew sees. Teachers go in and out of the kitchen to fill their cups with coffee and occasionally get breakfast or lunch. Members of the maintenance staff also visit the kitchen, sometimes engaging the lunch ladies in friendly verbal sparring matches that keep the scene lively and entertaining.
“It’s fun; we all get along,” says Sutton.
“It’s a hoot,” Deccio adds with a smile.
There’s a general stereotype that school cafeteria food is less than appetizing. This is exemplified by “Lunch Lady Land.” In the Adam Sandler song, the food is described as old, gross and mysterious.

“ … Served some reheated salisbury steak
With a little slice of love
Got no clue what the chicken pot pie is made of … ”

This is not the case at Ike.
“We make a lot of the main dishes we serve,” Maybee says. “All the soups, fajitas, spaghetti, lasagna and turkey gravy are made from scratch. Even if we don’t make the food, like the pizzas and burritos, we still know what’s in it.”
Seventeen-year-old senior Lindsey Sires eats in the Ike cafeteria on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when she has club meetings and doesn’t have time to go off campus. She’s not a big fan of the pizza.
“I do like the cheese zombies, though,” she says. “Most of the food is not bad.”
Ike’s lunch ladies are often not given the credit they deserve for all of the work they do on a daily basis. From 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, they are baking, chopping, prepping, serving and cleaning.
Pay is about $17,000 a year.
“It’s a lot to do,” Sires says. “Sometimes, I think they do more than some teachers.”

• Jasmine Okbinoglu is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Janey Smith, one of the cooks at Eisenhower High School, prepares tater tots with the assistance of Don Deccio, a substitute cook.

Hospital volunteers on fast track to careers: High schoolers with eye on medical field learn on-the-job skills

By YOLANDA ALTAMIRANO
UNLEASHED STAFF

Some students volunteer with their high school clubs, some join church groups that serve the community, and some spend their time helping out at the hospital.
Tate Foster, a 16-year-old junior at Riverside Christian High School, can be found among that last group. She’s one of the many young volunteers at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.
She heard about the opportunity through her grandmother who worked in the gift shop, and her father’s friends who are doctors there.
Now, “I spend about four hours a week there,” Foster says. “I also volunteer at Children’s Village, too.”
According to Katie Trammell, Memorial’s YouthWorks coordinator, approximately 30 percent of the hospital’s 807 volunteers are students from Highland to Toppenish and points in between, including Eisenhower and Davis high schools.
“We have so many different positions,” says Trammell, 24.
Some get placed in the gift shop, and some are members of the work crew that help Trammell get prepared for events.
Foster has been helping in the emergency room for two years now.
“I am just interested in … the whole thing,” she says. “And I really like people. I chose ER because it’s fast- paced, always something new, and I like being around the medical area.”
She added that someday, “I’d like to go to medical school. And working in the ER has helped me understand what they do day-to-day, and what they have to deal with.”
Plus, “I like the fact that I can help people,” she says.

The age requirement for volunteering varies at different hospitals. At Memorial, volunteers can be as young as 14, but at Prosser Memorial Hospital and Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center volunteers must be at least 16 years old.

According to Heathyr Ford, Regional’s 39-year-old volunteer manager, the age requirement was set by the human resources department.
“It’s something we’re looking at because more and more students are wanting to volunteer,” she says.
No matter what their age, volunteers help save money. Last year, volunteers at Memorial helped save the hospital $996,000, according to Trammell.
“They are extremely helpful,” Trammell says. “The amount they save for the hospital is priceless.”
Trammell says she hopes volunteers enjoy their experience and get a better understanding of the health care industry. Megan Ransom, 22, a community relations assistant and volunteer coordinator at the Prosser hospital, has similar hopes.
“I really hope they get enthusiasm for health care,” she says of student volunteers. “Health care is in need of people … so I hope they gain the passion and learn what it feels like to help people.”
Seventeen-year-old Edwin Llamas, a junior at Ike, wants to become a cardiothoracic surgeon someday. He volunteered last summer to get a feel for the hospital atmosphere.
He says, “From this experience, I learned a variety of skills — mainly taking care of patients, what certain codes mean, and other sets of skills that should help me in my future.”

• Yolanda Altamirano is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Grateful for Unleashed

By JASMINE OKBINOGLU
UNLEASHED STAFF
One day in the spring of 2006, I opened a letter I received in the mail. It informed me that I had been accepted into Unleashed, the section in the Yakima-Herald Republic in which teens had a voice.
I was ecstatic. I jumped up and down in front of my mailbox and ran into my house. I was ecstatic because my writing showed enough potential for me to be accepted. I was ecstatic because I had the opportunity to try something new.
But that day I didn’t realize what Unleashed would become to me. Unleashed was an opportunity for teenagers in the Yakima Valley who were interested in writing, photography and art. And it open a door to a world completely unknown to me.
It was a world filled with ink and paper, knowledge and power, freshness and captivation. And, from the first monthly team meeting to seeing my name in print, I became ensnared in this fantastic world.
I’m not trying to disillusion people into thinking it was easy. Meeting deadlines? Stressful. Getting women, particularly middle-aged women, to tell their true age for articles? Tough. Getting sent in circles to find accurate information? Frustrating.
But, at the same time, it was all worth it.
I was expected to be accurate, truthful and professional. In spite of a few obstacles, I managed to learn a little bit more about the world and people in it. Unleashed gave me the chance to learn about anything, everything.
No door was closed to me in my career as a high school reporter. I wrote about unusual and funny names for pets in the newspaper’s special “Pets and their People.” I wrote about local and statewide efforts to help environmental sustainability. I wrote about shoes. I wrote about an art teacher at my high school.
Every story bombarded me with new information that exploded right before my eyes. I filled pages with information I received from those I interviewed, information that caused me to think, “I never knew … ”
So, it saddened me greatly when I learned Unleashed was being cut from the Yakima-Herald Republic, because now students and the public will never know. Students will never know what Unleashed could have brought out in them, and the public will never know what stories they missed.
Unleashed provided an extremely wonderful chance for those of us who have participated in it. It gave us a voice.
It enabled us to prove to our parents, friends and general public that this generation isn’t filled with hooligans.
We might be young and naïve, and our ideas of the world might be radical and hopeful, but Unleashed bore them all. Unleashed has been our outlet and a source of information to those who surround us.
Throughout the three years I have been on the Unleashed team, I have grown and improved in more ways than one. I have become more responsible, and I have learned to listen. I have heard new perspectives that have changed the way I see the world. I have learned to question those around me.
My writing is far from excellent, but Unleashed has nourished it so that I can express myself in a coherent way. Unleashed has afforded me with a great experience that none can take away and that I can continue to learn from everyday.
And although the Unleashed program will no longer continue after March 1, I will find a new way to learn about the world. I will find a new way to express myself.
In the meantime, Unleashed has given me something I can never pay back. It has unlocked a part of me that I never even knew existed, and for that I will always be grateful.

— Jasmine Okbinoglu is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Claws come out in ‘Bride Wars’

By KACIE CROSS
UNLEASHED STAFF
Who are the scariest people alive?
“Bride Wars” would make anyone think the answer is brides.
The movie stars Kate Hudson as Liv and Anne Hathaway as Emma. They are lifetime friends. But when their weddings get booked on the same day, the claws come out.
Neither one wants to change the date or the location. And this get a little bit messy. Both Liv and Emma do some things that are a little bit insane.
Hudson and Hathaway create great scenes together. Throughout the entire movie there is never a moment when you don’t want to be watching.
Whether one is dyeing the other’s hair blue or showing an embarrassing video at their wedding, this movie has all a girl could ever want from a chick flick. It has drama. It has love. And last but certainly not least, it has boys.
When you are staring at the screen, some things in the movie will surprise you; others will make you want to cry.
This movie made me happy that I have best friends who live near me, and I can talk to them whenever I want to.
But it also made me realize that if I don’t have these childhood friends with me when I grow up and am getting married, it could be very sad.
I give this movie two thumbs up.
Girls, if you are looking for a movie to make you happy, see “Bride Wars.” It is a great one for the heart.

— Kacie Cross is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

‘Happy inauguration’

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF
The word “inauguration” floated around everywhere, bouncing from the front page of the newspaper to the “Reesha in the Morning” show on 107.3 KFFM to a “happy inauguration” greeting from my father.
Today, it seemed the air was more alive with the buzz of this word than ever before. I don’t remember an inauguration ever being this exciting.
Then again, George W. Bush had been president since I was 9.
His last two elections left vague smudges on my memory, but I know nothing will compare to the election of Barack Obama.
Just like thousands of other 17- and 18-year-olds across the country, I feel that I own a bit of this presidency and this monumentous moment in American history.
How lucky am I that the first presidential campaign I was able to follow with complete understanding resulted in the election — and now inauguration — of a man such as Barack Obama?
Tremendously is the answer. Tremendously.
So carrying a sense of pride and ownership to school this morning, I must admit I did consider skipping class to witness his inaugural address live on television.
Of course, I didn’t, and that choice paid off.
Eisenhower High School principal Stacey Locke told teachers to keep their first-period students a few minutes longer to allow everyone the chance to watch President-elect Obama become President Obama.
I was in a Current World Problems, where lesson plans were already set aside so we could watch the events leading up to the actual oath of office and inaugural address.
It was significantly rewarding to watch former president after former president walk to their seats and fully understand the commentary news correspondents about each one. And, even further, to understand the magnitude of the crowd that was spilling into streets and stretching to the Washington Monument in a striking resemblance to the masses that gathered before Martin Luther King Jr. some 45 years ago.
The most striking moment, besides the inaugural address itself, was watching Obama make his way through the doors to the platform and see his expression, more heavy than gleeful. He looked exactly the way I would expect him to on a day like today, in a year like this year.
There was a man who ran a campaign that riled up Americans like we haven’t been riled since John F. Kennedy. Talk about setting up expectations.
There was a man who made huge promises that, if carried out, will make him an American saint. But, if they fail, they could make him more hated than even George W. Bush. Talk about pressure.
There was a man who was about to be handed the reins to a country whose horses become more wounded and off-track every day. Talk about a heavy task.
If Obama had been ecstatic and carefree, I would have been worried.
But he didn’t give me, or any American, a need to worry. His inaugural address was one of a president with a head on his shoulders. He addressed the state of our country and the difficulties ahead realistically, but stressed that there is always room for hope.
The point that stood out the most to me was his comment to those who thought some things were too big for America to take on.
“Their memories are short,” he said, and I couldn’t agree more.
The United States of America was founded on one big ideal that the monarchies of the world then laughed at: freedom.
So now all I have to say is  good luck, Obama. You have the heart, you have the logic, may America and the rest of the world help you to take us where we need to go.

— Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Pageant coordinator helps highlight local talent

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF

It had been close to a decade since a Miss Yakima County  was  crowned. And Carol Milliron  wanted to do something about it.
So she created — and become the executive director of — the new Miss Yakima County Organization.
“The only way a girl can run for Miss America is by first winning a local pageant, but Yakima did not even offer that, and I wanted girls here to have that opportunity,” says Milliron, a registered nurse.
Last year, Marcie Anglen won the title, the first winner in almost 10 years. And now is the time to apply to compete in the 2009 pageant.
The deadline is Jan. 31, and the pageant will be held March 8 at Yakima’s Capitol Theatre.
Along with Miss Yakima County — for teens and young women ages 17 to 24 — there’s also the Yakima County’s Outstanding Teen  title  for girls ages 11 to 13.
Both competitions include interview, talent, and evening wear portions. The only difference — besides age — comes in swimwear. While Miss Yakima County contestants don swimsuits, the younger girls sport aerobic wear.
When applying for either pageant, contestants must specify a platform.
“Your platform can be something you are already passionate about and involved in,” Milliron says. “Throughout the pageant, the judges will ask you questions about your platform, so you need to be knowledgeable about your subject.”
“All You Need is Love; Encouraging Volunteerism in Our Youth” is the platform for Reina Almon, a 17-year-old West Valley High School junior and the reigning Yakima County’s Outstanding Teen.
“My platform stems from the belief that youth should be more active in their communities and the world,” she says. “It’s often said that the best way to promote something is through your own example, so to promote my platform I was very active in several volunteer activities.”
Some of those activities include being part of the Yakima Valley Community Foundation’s youth council, acting as a director for the Mr. West Valley pageant, and being a member of Holy Family Parish’s<FEFF>  Council.
Almon has competed in pageants since she was 13. Last year, when she heard Yakima was holding a pageant associated with Miss America, she couldn’t resist.
“I was not a very confident person until I started doing pageants,” she says. “Now I have no problem getting on a stage. Job interviews don’t scare me in the least, and I am just very comfortable with myself.”
Almon went on to win third runner-up in the Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen pageant last May.
Milliron is looking for more contestants like her to compete in this year’s pageant.
“There are many young women with high moral caliber and great personalities in the Valley, and this pageant is a great way to promote them,” she says.
For more information, visit www.missyakimacounty.org.

• Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Wanted: Style Agents for Wild Lucy’s

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF
“Who knows more about fashion and what girls are wearing right now than girls?” asks Dawn Garland, the owner of Wild Lucy’s.
The answer, of course, is no one. And Garland has found a way to use that fact to her advantage.
This month, Wild Lucy’s is beginning its search for “style agents,” or high school and college-age girls and fashion-forward boys who will assist the Yakima boutique in the stocking and representation of the store.

Garland, 39, is hoping to select two agents from each high school in the Yakima Valley by the end of the month. Each agent will be required to hold the position for a year, and there is also the chance to be hired on as Wild Lucy’s paid staff at the end of the term.
“Before each season, the agents will come in, sit with us, have popcorn, and look over the items we have picked out for the store,” Garland says.
The agents will essentially be professional opinion-givers. They’ll say what they like and what they don’t like, and even add their own ideas to the mix.
“We want forward-thinking girls with a sense of business and communication who are going to bring something to the table,” Garland says.
Tara Trudeau, the store manager, added that the agents should be a bit aggressive and willing to put their ideas out there instead of just sitting back quietly.
Starting a style agent program is an idea that Garland and Trudeau have tossed around for a while.
And the opportunity sounds fun to Salam Awad, an 18-year-old senior at Eisenhower High School.
“I think this is a great idea for Yakima, and a lot of people will be interested in it,” she says. “If you really look around, teens here have many different styles. The more and more people that put their heads together to share their fashion ideas, the better the store will become because they could provide merchandise that fits everyone’s taste.”
Bettering the store and upping sales are possible perks of the program. But Wild Lucy has other goals for 2009, too.
“As of Feb. 1, Wild Lucy’s will be in its third year. We’ve spent that time getting up and running, and now that we’re pretty stable in the community, we can focus on our original purpose: to be a store with a cause,” Garland says.
That cause is Women for Women International, a nonprofit that — according to its Web site — offers women survivors of war and other conflicts the tools and resources to progress from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.
Ten percent of all profits at Wild Lucy’s will go to the organization to aid women in war-torn countries.
While promoting Wild Lucy’s is their first priority, it will also be important for style agents to be aware of this cause. They will be representing the store at community events.
“The girls will wear our shirts and help to represent us at these events,” Garland says. “It will be an opportunity for them to have community experience, and to get an idea of what retail is.”
Being a style agent, Awad says, “would be a good preview into the fashion industry. It would also help you to work with other people, and teach you to incorporate their ideas into your own.”
Lindsey Sires, a 17-year-old Eisenower senior, says the program will help teens help the community through something they are passionate about: fashion.
“This is a good opportunity even if you are not necessarily in going into the fashion industry since it gets you out into the community,” she says.
“It will also help teens to build some business skills,” says Jacquelyn Radford, a 15-year-old ninth-grader at West Valley Junior High. “It would be nice to see more trendy stores like Wild Lucy’s in Yakima. A lot of people like that kind of fashion.”
Another learning experience will come from helping build clientele. According to Garland, style agents will all have business cards to hand out to peers. After a certain amount of Wild Lucy’s shoppers show an agent’s card he or she will receive a 10 percent discount. After another amount, agents will earn a 15 percent discount, and so on, up to a 25 percent discount.
“The harder they work, the more benefits they’ll get,” Garland says.
Another benefit of being a style agent is getting a sneak preview of merchandise that comes into the store. Wild Lucy’s only orders three to six of any one item at a time, and the agents will have the opportunity to buy that new merchandise before the rest of the community sees it.

Wild Lucy’s
Where: 418 B. South 48th Ave.
Applications: Available on Wild Lucy’s MySpace and Facebook.
Call: 509-965-LUCY

— Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

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