Fresh Faces: Rachel Andringa

Name: Rachel Andringa
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley, freshman, 15
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Swimming, track, band, drawing.
Favorite foods: Ice cream.
Favorite movies: Everything except “Footloose.”
Favorite books: “You Don’t Know Me” by John Klass.
Favorite music, musician, or band: Alternative.
Most treasured possession: My trumpet.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: The deli
Which person do you admire most and why? Anybody who goes into the military because I would panic.
What would you do with $1 million? Put it in a college fund.
Three words to describe yourself: Lazy, random, brilliant.
What is your greatest achievement? Lettering in swimming.
Worst fear: Embarrassing myself.
Greatest wish: That everybody would get along.
When and where were you the happiest? I’m filled with joy all the time.
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? A successful graphic designer with lots of cats.
— Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School

Fresh Faces: Dominic Changala

Name: Dominic Changala
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley, freshman, 14.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Band, track, getting on the computer.
Favorite foods: Lean Pockets.
Favorite movies: “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Favorite books: Books?
Favorite music, musician, or band: Alternative.
Most treasured possession: My alto clarinet.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: The deli.
Which person do you admire most? Mi madre.
What would you do with $1 million? Buy four houses and sell them to animals.
Three words to describe yourself: Fantabulous, spectacular, stupendous.
What is your greatest achievement? Being born.
Worst fear: Being killed by a carrot.
Greatest wish: To have a lifetime supply of doughnuts.
When and where were you the happiest? When I’m beating people up — just kidding.
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? In a hospital.
— Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School

Fresh Faces: Rachele Haile

Name: Rachele Haile
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley, freshman, 14.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Soccer, running.
Favorite foods: Steak.
Favorite movies: “Horton Hears a Who!”
Favorite books: “Animal Planet” magazines.
Favorite music, musician, or band: Christian rock, alternative, limited rap, no country.
Most treasured possession: None.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: Soccer field.
Which person do you admire most/why? Rachel Andringa, because she’s amazing.
What would you do with $1 million? Spend $500,000 on candy and $500,000 on soda.
Three words to describe yourself: Exotic, insightful, super-spectacular.
What is your greatest achievement? Making varsity soccer (then breaking my leg).
Worst fear: All my friends dying
Greatest wish: To be able to read people’s minds!
When and where were you the happiest? When Rachel does dumb things.
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? Playing pro soccer and dominating over Highlanders.
— Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School

Fresh Faces: Kelsie Taylor

Name: Kelsie Taylor
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley, freshman, 15.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Basketball, soccer, track, SADD, FFA, NVCC, Tech Club, hanging out with friends.
Favorite foods: Heath Blizzard with fudge, pancakes, waffles, and French toast.
Favorite movies: “She’s the Man,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Norbit.”
Favorite books: “The Clique” series by Lisi Harrison.
Favorite music, musician, or band: Any good music.
Most treasured possession: My letterman’s jacket.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: The Rangers’ soccer field and basketball court, and Margaret’s Apple Cart Deli.
Which person do you admire most and why? My friends, because they’re always there for me and make me laugh.
What would you do with $1 million? Go to college, buy a car.
Three words to describe yourself: Zesty, stinking-hilarious, athletic.
Worst fear: Snakes.
Greatest wish: Infinite wishes.
When and where were you the happiest? When I’m playing sports.
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? With a well-paying job and a cute husband.
— Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School

Fresh Faces: Brittany Baumgarten

Name: Brittany Baumgarten
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley, freshman, 14.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Soccer, band, Students Against Destructive Decisions, track.
Favorite foods: Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked, and stir fry.
Favorite movies: “Forrest Gump.”
Favorite books: “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss.
Favorite music, musician, or band: Taylor Swift.
Most treasured possession: My letterman’s jacket.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: Margaret’s Apple Cart Deli.
Which person do you admire most/why? My sister, because she’s a good role model.
What would you do with $1 million? Go to college, and go shopping.
Three words to describe yourself: Diligent, outgoing, crazy.
What is your greatest achievement? Lettering freshman year.
Worst fear: Death/dying.
Greatest wish: To go green.
When and where were you the happiest? On the soccer field.
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? Out of college with a loving family.

— Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School

‘Biz Kids’ teaches young people financial savvy

By LISA GARRIGUES
UNLEASHED STAFF
Are you tired of begging your parents for more allowance money?
Take matters into your own hands and become a “Biz Kid” with the help of KYVE’s new television show “Biz Kids.” Sponsored by the Catholic Credit Union, the show debuted this month. It teaches kids, teens and maybe even a few adults how to make and manage money.
In the midst of the current economic crisis, the need for “Biz Kids” couldn’t be greater.
“I think the financial situation is teaching us a lesson,” says Paul Regimbal, the 60-year-old chief executive officer of Catholic Credit Union. “We need to get more kids financially literate.”
‘Biz Kids” is a place to start. The show, geared toward 10- to 14-year-olds, covers a wide range of topics.
It starts out with the basics: What money is, how to get it, what to do with it. Then it moves on to other important lessons, like starting a business, achieving financial goals and saving money. These lessons are often hard to come by in schools.
“Schools just don’t have the time to teach financial education,” says Cecile Anson, marketing director at the Catholic Credit Union.
The show emphasizes that any kid can be a “Biz Kid,” whether it’s by starting a lemonade stand, selling goods at the local farmers market, or even raising money for charity. “Biz Kids” provides youths with all the information and tools necessary to start their own business venture.
“I think there’s something for everyone to learn from this show,” Regimbal says. “Knowing where to start a business or how to start a savings account is very important.”
“Biz Kids” teaches more than just finances. The program encourages kids to branch out and try new things. It stresses the importance of a good work ethic and being thorough in everything you do — inside and outside of the business world.
It also demonstrates the importance of exploring all of your options before making a decision.
Although new to the Yakima area, “Biz Kids” has been broadcast for three seasons across the nation.
“The producer of ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ came up with the idea. He had the concept for about 15 years,” Regimbal says.
The lessons taught in each episode were developed by Junior Achievement, one of the show’s financial backers. The majority of funding for the show comes from America’s Credit Unions, a national association of credit unions.
The producers liked the small-town appeal credit unions had, something that was lacking in the bigger banks, according to Anson.
It was Anson, and Ken Messer, the general manager of KYVE, who helped bring “Biz Kids” to Yakima. Although the Catholic Credit Union was willing to fund the show, there were several factors that had to be determined before KYVE could bring “Biz Kids” to local audiences.
“First, we had to make sure the show had a stable time period,” Messer says.
Once KYVE was sure the program was going to last for a full season, the primary obstacle was finding the right time slot. Because the show is geared toward young teens, finding a time when teens would be watching was crucial. With that in mind, KYVE officials settled on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
“The show is so fun, kids don’t even know they are learning,” Anson says.

• Lisa Garrigues is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Naches Valley High School.

Fresh Faces: Jennifer Andreas

Name: Jennifer Andreas
School/year in school/age: Naches Valley High School, freshman, 14.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Tennis.
Favorite foods: Lasagna.
Favorite movies: “Twilight.”
Favorite books: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
Favorite music, musician, or band: This Providence.
Most treasured possession: My phone.
Favorite place to go in your hometown: Nowhere.
Which person do you admire most/why? My parents, because they’re chill.
What would you do with $1 million? Save some, spend the rest.
What is your greatest achievement? Having a 4.0 GPA.
Worst fear: Spiders and zombies.
Greatest wish: To have unlimited amounts of money.
When and where were you the happiest? Today, riding the bus. (I love it!)
Where and how do you see yourself in ten years? With a job, maybe a family, living in California.

— Lisa Garrigues attends Naches Valley High School.

“Biz Kids” teaches valuable lessons about earning money

By LISA GARRIGUES
NACHES VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
I have a secret. Very few people know about it.
I absolutely love money. I love collecting it, counting it, saving it, and sometimes just looking at it.
Something else most people don’t know about me is that I have my own business.
My one source of income is my own small business. A very, very small business.
During the summer, I pick raspberries and sell them. My business is really easy to maintain, which is what I love about it. There are no expenses; my parents supply the land, water and plants, and I use recycled strawberry pints to put my berries in.
But since it’s an agricultural business, a lot can go wrong. Raspberries have a short season. If I don’t pick them in the two weeks they are ripe, they dry on the vine.
That means no income for the summer. And just like any other agricultural business, if there is a cold spring fewer blossoms get pollinated resulting in very little product to sell.
Profits from my berries are often hit or miss, which is something I have wanted to fix for quite a while. So when I heard about “Biz Kids,” a new show on KYVE, I was immediately interested. I was hoping this show would give me some new ideas.
I got the chance to preview a couple episodes in advance. The show was incredibly interesting and helpful. I learned a lot from just two episodes, and “Biz Kids” gave me a lot of good ideas about managing and growing my business.
Immediately after watching the show, I sat down and began brainstorming ways to improve my business. It looks like I need to spend money in order to make more money. I need to buy new berry vines and invest in half-pint containers.
I’ve also learned that I am under pricing my product, and that I need to branch out and find different avenues to market my berries.
“Biz Kids” gives detailed financial advice on a variety of investments. It’s an inspiration to young entrepreneurs.
You need to watch “Biz Kids.” It’s really exciting to see regular teens that have a variety of successful businesses.
Reserve 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays for “Biz Kids” on KYVE. You might actually learn something useful. I know I did. It may or may not increase my income, but it’s something I’m willing to try.
All in all, “Biz Kids” gave me a lot of good ideas, and I can’t wait to get started this summer. After all, I do love money!

— Lisa Garrigues is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Naches Valley High School.

Bring tissues to see “Marley & Me”

By LISA GARRIGUES
UNLEASHED STAFF
WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.
Do not view “Marley & Me” in the theater if you are an animal lover and have recently experienced the death of a pet, or if you’re wearing mascara and don’t have a pocketful of tissues.
Crying in a movie theater on Christmas wasn’t exactly how I envisioned the day to go. But that’s what happened when my family and I decided to watch “Marley & Me.”
Trailers for the movie give the impression that “Marley & Me” is just a comedy about a crazy dog. In truth, we had no idea what we were in for.
We knew something was wrong when we watched everyone leaving the previous showing. No one came out of the theater smiling. Some had red noses and were sniffling. All had downcast eyes.
“Marley & Me” is based on the book written by John Grogan, who wrote many newspaper columns about his dog Marley and his life and later turned them into the book “Marley & Me.” Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston play the roles of John and Jenny Grogan. The film introduces them as newlyweds, ready to begin their lives together.
They move to Florida, get jobs writing at two different newspapers and begin to settle down. Soon, John surprises Jenny with a puppy to fend off any ideas of having a baby. They name the rambunctious puppy Marley and their adventures begin.
Marley continuously gets into trouble. He amazes John and Jenny with his chewing capabilities. Meanwhile, with his newspaper editor’s coaxing, John slowly becomes a successful columnist. His main topic: Marley.
This movie chronicles the life of Marley, but it also shows the importance of family. During the course of Marley’s life, John and Jenny have kids, move, fight, change jobs, and age. Marley keeps them together, pulling them through the rough times and the happy times, just like any good dog can.
Wilson and Anniston perform well, but the real star of the show is Marley. All 22 of them. They had to use 22 dogs, each in different life stages, to create this movie.
Marley’s antics are hilarious, despite their simplicity. This dog does everything: chews apart the couch, eats a necklace, chews through leashes, even gets kicked out of obedience school.
As it turns out, the dogs playing Marley were actually trained to behave badly. If they started chewing on something, they would be rewarded with a dog treat!
“Marley & Me” parallels the life cycle of our family’s big white dog Sandy, who died two years ago. When I remember being little, I remember Sandy, who was there through it all. He played with us in the sprinklers during hot summer months and walked down to the bus stop with us everyday without fail. He was the guaranteed bright spot of my day. I grew up with Sandy.
“Marley & Me” brought back all these memories. Sandy was nowhere near as bad mannered as Marley, but Marley reminded me of him all the same. Both were at some point extremely cute, funny and frustrating. Sandy seemed like a perfect dog after watching this movie.
Marley’s antics made the audience laugh out loud until the last half hour when the realization set in that Marley was dying. Whimpers, sniffles, and silent sobs filled the theater. My entire family was reduced to tears by the end of the movie.
We were crying for both Sandy and Marley.
We waited until the theater cleared in an attempt to regain composure before entering the well-lit lobby.
You might want to wait until this film comes out on DVD so you can watch it and cry in private. If you do see “Marley & Me” in the theater, be prepared with lots of tissues and don’t say I didn’t warn you!

— Lisa Garrigues is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Naches Valley High School.

“Red” rocks

By LISA GARRIGUES
UNLEASHED STAFF
“Red,” edited by Amy Goldwasser, is full of everything that makes a good book.
Every emotion you can think of — fear, hope, anger, love, sadness, joy — it’s all there.
The amazing thing is this book is a collection of essays, written by teenage girls ranging in age from 13 to 18.
“Red” is for every adult who can’t understand teenagers (even though they were one once), all teens (boys and girls alike), and everyone in between. The essays, written by 58 girls, are full of opinions about anything and everything: beauty, school, friendship, love, pop culture, and the world around us.
So how did “Red” come about?
In March 2006, Goldwasser, a writer and editor, sent an email to her colleagues asking them to invite teenage girls to write about anything that mattered to them.
She ended up with 800 essays.
Inside each essay was the blunt honesty that only teens have. Goldwasser was “blown away.”
And I felt a connection to every single girl in this book.
Some essays made me smile, such as “The Jewish Hair” by Jane Horowitz. Some were sad, like “Places of Worship” by Zoe Mendelson. And some, like “Packing” by Deborah Kim, were a bittersweet combination of both.
There were stories of triumph, stories of defeat, and stories of simply being caught in the middle. In the end, “Red” made me realize that a lot of girls have real thoughts and problems that don’t involve guys and other high school drama. Instead, they question society’s rules and dare to challenge them.
In Goldwasser’s words, “This book is an antidote to the chilling, media-driven sense that teens care about nothing more than shopping, celebrities, supermodeldom, and all things expensive and fabulous.”
She’s right.
These girls wrote about everything important, ranging from 9-11 to Hurricane Katrina to religion’s impact on society. This proves it: not all teens are materialistic airheads!
We have the same thoughts and opinions as adults, and it’s about time people start realizing this.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to read “Red.” It gave me hope. Hope for our generation and what we can accomplish someday.

— Lisa Garrigues is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Naches Valley High School.

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