Working: firefighters

By HANNAH NAUGHTON
UNLEASHED STAFF
Your heart beats like a drum, growing louder and louder.
Sweat cascades down your face. Chapstick can’t save the Sahara Desert you call your lips, and it feels like nothing can quench your thirst. Your tongue feels swollen and your sandpapered throat stings. Your eyes burn like the building in front of you.
Orange flames entangle every corner, twisting, curling, screaming. They lick the sides of the windows and walls, devouring everything in sight.

You’re about to walk into this monster, right into its jaws. David vs. Goliath just doesn’t seem right; it’s more like man vs. big, huge, scary, hot, burning building that could collapse any second and eat you in one bite.
The David of this story is a firefighter.
The job title pretty much describes the work: fighting fires.
But it entails much more than that. Lifesaver, for example. First responder. Educator.
Whether it’s rescuing a woman from a two-story burning apartment, or teaching second-graders to stop, drop and roll, firefighters save lives.
These men and women respond to many different kinds of emergencies, including car accidents and injuries at home. In fact, most of the calls firefighters respond to are EMS, or Emergency Medical Service, calls. There are also nonemergency calls, such as having a child’s foot stuck in a toilet.
Ron Melcher, 54, has been on the job for 32 years.
“That shows how much I love my job,” he says. “Rarely do firemen get out of the service, because it’s just so rewarding.”
Melcher has served as the deputy fire marshal for the Yakima Fire Department for about three years. He oversees the department’s investigation division, public education, the reserve division, safety groups, programs within schools, media relations and more.
Of the other 29 years that he was a firefighter, he says he had many close calls where his “intuition and guardian angel” helped keep him alive.

Ryan Croffut has been on the job nine years.
“The most fun I have on the job is when I get to show up and make a difference and positively affect someone’s life,” says the 32-year-old firefighter with the Union Gap Fire Department.
Firefighting is a competitive field. Prospective firefighters attend a two-month academy, then go through a 10-month probation period.
Tony Anserello, 26, is a probationary firefighter, or “freshman,” in the Yakima Fire Department. He says he feels like he’s “under the microscope 24/7.”
“I have to prove myself, and I am evaluated,” says Anserello. “I have a notebook full of things to do, but every day is better than the last.”
From doing drills and working out to completing assignments and responding to emergency calls, beginning firefighters have a lot to do. They also have plenty of time to bond with fellow firefighters.
“Living in a firehouse is like a fraternity,” says Yakima Fire Lt. Alex Langbell. “You live with them like your family, and they’re the first guys you call up.”
Langbell, 40, has been a firefighter for 12 years. He says it doesn’t take a bookworm to become a firefighter. Instead, he says, it takes common sense and a good head on your shoulders.
For him, the most fun on the job is “riding in a firetruck going Code Three through traffic.”
“It’s something new every day,” he says. “You always get a huge adrenaline rush, like jumping from an airplane.”
Firefighters work 48-hour shifts and get paid anywhere from $4,000 to $5,500 a month.
“Unfortunately, we see death every day,” Langbell says. “But we get callused to this fact.”

—Hannah Naughton is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.

Larry Bird, 39, left, and Tyler Quantrille, 27, practice setting up a ladder outside of Union Gap Fire Station on January 19, 2009.

Barbershop quartet is a family affair

By HANNAH NAUGHTON
UNLEASHED STAFF

A melodious tune streams through the air. Cheeks flush a rosy pink.
Four men in black tuxedo jackets, red bow ties and glittering arm bands sing some of their favorite love songs: “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “I Love You Truly,” “Heart of My Heart.”
It’s the barbershop quartet that calls itself My Three Sons.
Kelly McCay, 51, Michael McCay, 57, and Bill Jr. McCay, 59, sing in the chorus together with their father, Bill Sr. McCay, 80.
Kelly is the lead singer. Michael sings tenor. Bill Jr. sings bass. And Bill Sr. sings baritone.
“This group is so unique because we are all part of the same family, which is not common. Because of that, our voices harmonize really well,” Michael says.
The group hires itself out to serenade people at businesses — such as restaurants or banks — and even schools.
Valentine’s Day is one of their busiest days.
They’ve gone to as many as 35 places in one day, with each visit lasting about 10 minutes. Calls start coming in two or three weeks in advance. But many appointments are booked at the last minute.
The quartet will travel to the destination, sing, give a gift, take a picture, and deliver a card, all for $40.
They’ve been doing this for eight years. And all of the money they earn on Valentine’s Day goes to the Valley of the Sun Chorus, a local chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
The price gets higher — $50 — if the group has to be somewhere else within a two-hour span. It jumps to $60 if the group has to perform at a specific time.
“About 40 percent of the time, tears start coming,” says Michael.
On one occasion, the group sang to a 93-year-old lady. As tears flowed down her face, she said she never had men sing to her before.
No need to wait until next Valentine’s Day, though. The group performs on other special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries.
“When we start singing, people line up and heads pop up out of cubicles,” Michael says. “It’s great, we love that.”

• Hannah Naughton is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis School.

We’re thankful for …

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, some of the Unleashed kids — student reporters, photographers and artists from around the Yakima Valley — are sharing what they’re grateful for this year.
Some are local, like the terraces at Franklin Park. Some are personal, such as banana pancakes with toasted pecans and powdered sugar with steaming hot syrup. And some are universal: Life itself, clean water and food, shelter.
Plus, there are many more.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Jessica Serrano, La Salle High School
• Faith and justice.
• Family and loved ones.
• Diversity.
• Freedom of speech.
• Strawberrries.
• Philanthropy and philanthropists.
• Forgiveness.
• New beginnings.
• Art.
• Life itself.

Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School
• My caring parents.
• My protective older sisters and brother.
• My supportive friends, teammates, teachers and coaches.

Hannah Naughton, Davis High School
• My family’s health.
• Banana pancakes with toasted pecans and powdered sugar with steaming hot syrup.
• My parents’ love.
• My friends.
• My two crazy sisters.

Samantha Knittle, Davis
• Marching band.
• My family.
• The sun and warm weather.
• School (but not homework).
• Clean water and food.
• My friends.
• Free speech.
• My teeth.
• Drum Corp International.
• God.
• Chocolate.
• Swing sets.
• My teachers.

Hannah Kivi, Riverside Christian School
• Freedom of religion.
• My parents.
• My friends.
• My Bible.
• Softball.
• My house.
• My school.
• Unleashed.
• Our country.
• Music.
• My ability to write.
• Gum.

Lety Clark-Olivero, Eisenhower High School
• My parents.
• My siblings.
• Shelter.
• Sustenance.
• My cell phone with its unlimited texting.
• Jesus.
• A healthy body.
• Laughter, life, love and a little dancing mixed in there somewhere.
• My boyfriend.
• My friends.

Kami Cross, Eisenhower
• “One Tree Hill.”
• Starbucks Christmas decorations.
• A car that runs (most of the time).
• Addicting books.
• Cuddling.
• My loving family.
• Thursdays.
• Friends.
• Football games. (And the end of football season.)
• Rainy days.
• Strawberry-pineapple iced teas.
• Musicals.
• Running through the sprinklers at night.
• My bed being right under the heating vent.
• Peacoats.
• Family videos from when I was little.

Georgia Gempler, Davis
• Freedom.
• Education.
• Family.
• Animals.
• Shelter.
• Opportunity.
• Books.
• Technology.
• Snow.
• Music.
• Artistic expression.
• Free time.
• Movies.

Loren Button, Riverside Christian
• Jesus.
• My parents.
• My home.
• My friends.
• “Guitar Hero: World Tour.”
• Being a senior in high school!

Colleen Fontana, Davis
Long books and warm blankets on cold rainy afternoons. Music and iPods and singing loudly in the shower. Friends to understand me and parents to confide in. Sisters to cry to and brothers to make me laugh. Raspberry peach iced teas from Lincoln Avenue Espresso and blue Papermate pens.
Warm winter coats and old furry boots. Moleskine planners from Inklings Bookshop and sledding down the terraces at Franklin Park. Stick shifts and curly hair and laughter and bright pink nail polish. My camera, Benji, and pony tail holders.
Summer thunder storms and the smell of the rain afterward. Games of kick the can and lap tag. Volleyballs and pianos and coffee. Thank goodness for coffee, and the roof over my head and the God over my roof and this life with which I have been blessed.

Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis
• Books.
• Music.
• Friends.
• Parents.
• Brothers.
• Kindness.
• Knowledge.
• Challenges.
• Grandparents.
• Conversations.
• Peace and quiet.
• Those who help others.
• Nature.
• Happiness.
• The whooshing sound of deadlines going by (just kidding).
• The world I live in.

Janessa Mains, Eisenhower
• My family.
• My friends.
• My camera.
• Knowledge.
• Books.
• My cat George.

• Animé.
• Gay pride.
• Music.

Hannah Besso, Davis
• A supportive family.
• Loyal friends.
• Laughter.
• Sports.
• Music.
• Weekends.
• Summer.
• Good food.
• Snow.
• Sleep.

Libby Young, La Salle
• God.
• My family.
• My friends.
• My school.
• Church.
• My cats.
• My teachers.
• Life.
• Dance.
• Vacations.
• Books.
• Freedom.
• My iPod.
• My cell phone.

Kacie Cross, Eisenhower
• God.
• My parents.
• My sisters and brother.
• My friends.
• Boys.
• Music.
• Dancing.
• Paper.
• Air.
• Elephant Ears.
• Food.
• Eyes.
• Hands.
• Computers.
• Telephones.
• Movies.
• “One Tree Hill.”
• Books.
• The saying, “If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
• Tennis.
• Musicals.
• Makeup.
• Showers.
• The color blue.
• Rain.
• Relationships.
• Life.
• Love.
• Laughter.

James Hibbs, Davis
• Books.
• The Davis High School library and its librarians. They keep it open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday to help kids study.
• Doug Johnson and Avid.
• Food.
• My siblings.
• My parents.
• Kenneth Capp and epistemology as manifested in “Theory of Knowledge.”

Alex Braman, Davis
• Davis High School.
• My friends (We make Davis fun).
• My iPod (I take it everywhere).
• My camera (I want to take it everywhere).
• My family (They raised me how I am today).

Jasmine Okbinoglu, Eisenhower
• My family and friends.
• Music.
• Books.
• Food.
• Tennis.
• Laughter.
• Summer.
• Swimming.
• Movies.
• Art.
• Nature.
• Candy.

Jessica Cummings, Bickleton High School
• God.
• My loving family.
• My church.
• My fellow believers.
• My friends.
• My gifts and talents.
• My country.

Alyssa Patrick, Eisenhower
• John Mayer’s lyrics and musical talents.
• Sunday nights, squished on the couch between my mom and sister, watching “Grey’s Anatomy.”
• My brother.
• Authors who lace so much into each sentence that my mind never has to stop unraveling new clues.
• Jim and Pam. Always. If the writers on “The Office” break them up, I will have a nervous breakdown.
• Rachel’s Challenge, Leadership Camp and Invisible Children.
• Mango ice cream.
• “Benny and Joon.”
• My family.
• Teachers who never stop teaching the way they believe they should teach, even when some of their students don’t give them that effort in return.
• Broadway.
• Ike’s Little Theater.
• My car, its CD player, and 20-minute drives at the end of long days.
• My bed.
• My physical health, so I can dance.
• My opportunity to go to college.

— Want to see more artwork by artist Samantha Knittle? The Davis High School senior has an online portfolio. To check it out, visit http://samanthaknittle1.tripod.com.

Paper or plastic: what’s better for the environment?

By HANNAH NAUGHTON
UNLEASHED STAFF

The grocery store is full of choices, and with choices come decisions.
You have to decide whether you want chocolate chip cookie dough or rocky road ice cream, or Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs. Which checkout line is the shortest? Should you spend your money on the latest issue of People magazine?
And then, you might be asked: “Paper or plastic?”
This is the one grocery store decision that won’t affect your sugar intake, but could directly impact the environment.
It’s the battle of the bags.
The paper versus plastic conundrum vexes many shoppers.
Some grocery store baggers make it easy; they don’t bother to ask anymore. They just drop the bananas in one plastic bag and grab another for the six-pack of soda and dish soap.
One store in Yakima that offers both paper and plastic bags is Wray’s. Customers choose which one they prefer.
Either way, says assistant manager Sal Garcia, 26, “Many customers are bringing their old bags back and reusing them. Every time someone reuses one of our bags, we give them a nickel.”
This policy helps the environment by reducing the amount of paper or plastic waste thrown away each day.
But which is better for the environment, paper or plastic?
According to reusablebags.com, “It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.”
In addition, paper comes from trees, which causes millions of them to be cut down each year. And, the manufacturing of paper bags can produce greenhouse gases.
However, the manufacturing of both paper and plastic releases pollution into the air.
“Biodegradable was considered ‘green’ 10 to 15 years ago, but now it’s different,” says Scott Robertson, 51, of Yakima Waste Systems. “Greenhouse gases weren’t as much of an issue 15 years ago.”
According to reusablebags.com, “It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15 percent of paper bags and 1 to 3 percent of plastic bags being recycled.”
In landfills, paper doesn’t break down faster than plastic. In fact, nothing completely degrades in landfills. And paper takes up more space under the ground than plastic does. But this problem is usually solved since paper is recycled more than plastic is.
Although many people don’t know it, there are many recycling options in town, at locations such as Safeway, Albertsons, Wray’s, Fred Meyer, Union Gospel Mission, Top Foods, and Wal-Mart. For more locations, visit yakimarecycles.com.
One of the largest privately operated recycling centers in Yakima County is located at Wesley United Methodist Church. The church has bins to collect newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminum and clear plastic. The volunteers, most of whom are in their 70s and 80s, average about 120 to 125 hours of volunteer service a month.
Elmer Bigham, 73, says, “The main reason we recycle is for the preservation of creation. We want to keep things out of the landfill.”
The program has been going on for almost 30 years.
And, “This year we are on track for recycling 700,000 pounds of material,” Bigham says.
In order to promote the use of reusable bags, the City of Seattle has proposed that grocery stores charge an extra 20 cents per disposable bag. Recycling aluminum, paper and glass has been mandatory at most Seattle homes since 2006.
In Yakima, 24-year-old Deputy Mayor Micah Cawley says, “The City Council has not had any city programs to recycle or cut back on waste.”
While Yakima city councilmembers haven’t discussed charging residents for paper or plastic bags, Cawley says, “I think in three to five years it might be possible to start a recycling program in the city of Yakima. I think if it were free, then more people would participate.”
Many large supermarkets and fast-food chains are consciously choosing packaging alternatives that are lightweight and use materials that are manufactured with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Wal-Mart suppliers are rated on a score card for environmental impact, and the new Starbucks Vivianno fruit smoothie cups are made with less plastic than previous latté cups.
Whether ordinary consumers realize it or not, every time you use everyday items made from paper or plastic, you are participating in affecting our evolving environment. And the choices we make today have a direct effect on the sustainability of our future world.

— Hannah Naughton is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.

Keep that Skin Safe this Summer

By HANNAH NAUGHTON
DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL

It’s summer — the time for back flips off the diving board, ice-cold Slurpees from 7-Eleven, and the banana-coconut scent that diffuses from tanning oils.

Many summer activities revolve around being outdoors. While teenagers are exposed to the sun’s rays, they often forget about an important item that should be in everyone’s swim bag: sunscreen.

The idea of a perfect “beach bod” typically consists of tan, golden-brown skin. And in the eyes of many teens, this look cannot be achieved by lubing up with loads of SPF 50.

Thirteen-year-old Alexa Farley, an eighth-grader at Yakima’s St. Joseph-Marquette School, says she spends about 80 percent of her summer days outside in the sun. She also says she feels pressure to be tan.

“I lay out in the sun because people would stare at my white body that looks like a glow-stick and make fun of my whiteness,” she says.

Thirteen-year-old Ashley Borello, an eighth-grader at Yakima’s Riverside Christian School, calls herself a “pool rat” because she is at the pool in the sun pretty much all day every day in the summer.

“When I lay out in the sun I don’t think I’m gonna look gross when I’m older and have cancer,” she says. “I mean, everyone is gonna get wrinkles some day.”

But being out in the sun can cause skin to burn. And the fear of pain from a sunburn — plus persistent reminders from mom — force some teens to wear sun block.

Twelve-year-old Dakota Rogers, a seventh-grader at West Valley Middle School, says, “I wear sunscreen because anytime I don’t I get fried and look like a lobster.”

When Rogers gets sunburned, which he says “feels like needles,” he uses aloe vera, which feels cool and soothes the burn.

After getting many bad sunburns wearing sunscreen has become a priority for 25-year-old Gretchen Kopp, a lifeguard for seven years. This is her first summer working at the Yakima Country Club pool.

She has two stepdaughters, ages 8 and 11, and she says she constantly reminds them not only to put on sunscreen, but to reapply it.

“I’ll put sunscreen on them, and they’ll jump in the pool and about an hour and a half later it’ll be washed off,” she says. “I always try to reapply because there is nothing worse than having your kid hurting with a sunburn.”

Kopp says her girls don’t typically like sunscreen until they get their first sunburn of the year: “Then they listen.”

Sunlight, in reasonable doses, is good for people. The trouble begins with no protection and excessive exposure. UVB rays, dubbed the “burning rays,” target the upper layers of skin, causing premature skin aging. UVA rays, referred to as the “silent killers,” penetrate deeper and destroy the collagen matrix.

“The skin cells of a baby are healthy and look like a tightly woven basket, whereas someone who is older and has been exposed to the sun might have skin cells that look like scrambled eggs,” says Michael Pehlke, a 62-year-old Yakima dermatologist.

Sunburn results when skin cells have been damaged or destroyed. In order to protect the skin from the sun’s damaging rays, teens should put on sunscreen or sunblock. And, yes, there is a difference.

“Sunblock, just like its name, physically reflects or blocks the UVA and UVB radiation from the skin. Sunscreens actually absorb the ultraviolet radiation and give it off as heat,” Pehlke says.

Sunblocks and sunscreens are rated with SPF numbers. SPF refers to the Sun Protection Factor for UVB rays only. A sunscreen with SPF 15 will delay sunburn from occurring for 15 times longer than if you used no protection at all. For example, if it takes a teen 20 minutes to sunburn and he or she applied a sunscreen with SPF 15, the teen would be able to remain in the sun for 300 minutes, or 15 times 20.

“However, you should still reapply every three to four hours because most sunscreens only last that long anyways,” says 33-year-old Jason Berremah, an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. He sees up to 30 people a week with all types of skin cancer.

Even one or two severe sunburns can increase the risk for melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. But sunscreen can prevent skin from burning, help keep it looking healthy and minimize the risk of getting skin cancer.

Hannah Naughton’s Day — Davis High School

6:15 a.m. The alarm rings. I’ve been snug in my bed since 10 the previous night. The uninviting cold air of my bedroom haunts me as I lay under my down comforter, reluctant to get up.
6:45 a.m. I look at the clock, read the red numbers, and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. I leap out of bed, frantically pull on a T-shirt and jeans, run to the bathroom, throw my hair up in a bun — like always — and take a quick glance at myself in the mirror, then walk into the kitchen. I turn on the red kettle to make some hot water for my Maple and Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal, and pull out my history book to start studying for the quiz I will have first period.
7:40 a.m. I’m late. Of course, I’m in the car ready to go, but every morning — when we are about to leave — ends up the same way: My 6-year-old sister is crying because she can’t find her first-grade math homework, and my 13-year-old sister, who got up about 20 minutes ago, is running through our driveway into the car with no shoes on. As always, I arrive at school just as the bell rings, thanks to my mom’s mad driving skills. Mom + silver mini van = watch out!
8 a.m. “Good Morning Davis.” The morning announcements come on when I realize today is a half day! Then, almost like a voluntary action, I stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance.
5 p.m. My sister has a basketball game. The smell of popcorn fills the air. Chattering voices and the sound of bouncing basketballs echo off the walls. Kids run around the hallways shouting, “Tag! You’re it!” By halftime, my sister has already scored two 3-pointers. She’s on fire!
10 p.m. Bedtime. As I climb into my warm flannel sheets, I can hear my sister in the room across the hall singing to herself the new hit song “Low,” by Flo Rida.