Chase Awards honor youths in community

The Chase Youth Awards were presented March 27, and several North Side students received awards for citizenship, community service, courage, creativity, diversity, leadership, personal achievement and the Spirit of Jim Chase. There were four groups of nominations: youth, middle school, teens and adults.

Youth awards

Jacob Healey

Jacob Healey, a third-grader at Brentwood Elementary School, was nominated for his Citizenship Award by his former second-grade teacher, Debbie Morrill.

Morrill was impressed with Healey when he learned his day-care provider had cancer and rallied his fellow classmates to raise money for the Relay for Life race to help fight the disease. With the help of his classmates’ parents, he raised $28 and helped to educate his peers about cancer and how their contributions would help the American Cancer Society.

“I don’t know if Jacob’s advocacy for cancer affected his peers,” Morrill said in her nomination letter. “However, I would be surprised if it did not. It certainly made an impact on me.”

Breanna McKee

Breanna McKee, a Colbert Elementary School fifth-grader, was nominated for her Citizenship Award by Melissa Pittz, a social worker at the school.

Pittz said that McKee, a volunteer for the Eight Lakes, Leg Aches Bike Ride fundraiser for Lutheran Social Services Treatment Center, grew her hair out to 14 inches to donate to Locks of Love, and rehearsed in “Lady Pirates of Captain Bree,” a fundraiser held by the Green Bluff Grange that raises money for children’s scholarships.

She also helps her mother with Steven, an infant the family took in through the foster-adopt program, and never complains, even though she has to share her bedroom with him.

On top of all of this, McKee has been challenged with her own health problems since birth. She has had cysts removed from her wrist, spent the first year of her life in and out of the hospital for tests for possible genetic disorders, has had two eye surgeries for migraines and two MRIs to rule out brain tumors. She also has a vision/processing problem that causes her to see letters and numbers in a form of double vision.

Pittz said in her nomination letter, “She never complains and she has straight A’s!”

Emma Gollehon

Fourth-grader Emma Gollehon was nominated by her Balboa Elementary School teacher, Kathleen Howlett, for the Courage Award.

Howlett said that although Gollehon’s father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago, she maintains a positive attitude and is involved in the school chorus and book club.

She defends her dad when she hears negativity about his illness and handles his symptoms in a matter-of-fact manner. Howlett also said that she is respectful to everyone, never whines and starts each day with a positive attitude.

“Her family, her community and her school have all contributed to this young lady’s secure place in today’s world,” Howlett said in her nomination letter.

Girl Scout Troop No. 309

Pamela Adams nominated the 12 girls of Girls Scout Troop No. 309 for the Creativity Award for their work with Royal Park Assisted Living.

Adams said that the girls, who range in age from 7 to 9, visit the residents of the center to sing Christmas carols, share refreshments and help with craft projects.

Adams and her co-leader, Barbara Sells, are impressed with the girls’ behavior when they visit and they provide a loving atmosphere.

“The smiles they give with their caring attitudes is very heart warming,” Adams said in her nomination letter. “The 12 are truly radiant and excel in whatever they take on.”

Austin Schatz

Austin Schatz, a fourth-grader at Longfellow Elementary School, was nominated for the Personal Achievement Award by his teacher, Roben Cooper-Dixon.

Schatz’s teacher said that last May he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Since then, he and his mother have explained to his classmates the disease and how it will change his appearance. They explained the importance of keeping the classroom clean, covering their faces when they sneeze and the importance of hand-washing.

Despite frequent trips for chemotherapy, Schatz rarely misses class, and will return to school after lunch on the days he gets his treatments.

School work is important to him and he leads his classmates by example. At the beginning of the year, the students were turning in about 50 percent of their assignments. When the others noticed how important learning is to Schatz, they dedicated themselves to the same commitment. Now, only two of 24 students are not turning in their homework.

“I look forward to the day Austin’s treatments are completed, his leukemia is cured and he gets to proceed as any ordinary kid,” Cooper-Dixon said in a nomination letter. “I look forward, with great anticipation, to seeing how this young man continues to inspire those around him and enrich our world.”

Middle school awards

Salk’s Teens in Action

Salk’s Teens in Action, an after-school group, was nominated by Lyla Rapelje, the school’s youth and community specialist, for the Middle School Group Community Service Award.

Rapelje said the students have been extremely busy with service to the community. They have organized the crafts materials for “Kids Night Out,” part of Spokane’s First Night Out.

They held a dog- and cat-food drive which raised more than a ton of pet food for three local animal shelters, the Humane Society, SpokAnimal and Partners for Pets.

After the pet food drive, the students took a field trip to the Humane Society to bathe and walk the dogs, clean cages and help out where they could.

They held a baby supply drive for the local women’s shelters, participated in Hillyard Clean-Up Day and have raised funds for the Relay for Life. The group also made ornaments for the outdoor Christmas tree in Riverfront Park.

In her nomination letter, Rapelje said, “Salk’s Teens in Action definitely deserves recognition for modeling what good citizenship looks like in the Spokane Community.”

Emerald’s Performing Dance Team

Emerald’s Performing Dance Team was nominated by Pam Holling for the Creativity Award.

The tap-dancing group of nine from Julie’s Competitive Edge Dance Academy strives toward perfection in their performances and scholastically, since they consistently get their names on the honor roll at school, according to Holling.

“To watch them perform is like being on stage feeling the music, walking on sunshine and sharing their passion for dance in your heart,” Holling said in her nomination letter.

The group includes seventh- and eighth-grade girls Dayle Boren, Lauren Brink, Savannah Forno, Cassie Johnson, Haley Kennedy, Sarah Lotze, Shalea Mosley, Aspen Plischke and Katie Wee.

Brandon Worley

Robert Ricks nominated 12-year-old Brandon Worley for the Middle School Leadership Award.

Ricks said that despite the fact that Worley has been moved from foster home to foster home for the last three, years he still believes in maintaining his good grades at Salk Middle School.

He enjoys mentoring other kids in skateboarding, art and other sports.

“Despite the challenges he has face in his life, he is still whole-heartedly committed to making the world a better place for all,” Ricks said in his nomination letter.

Salk’s LEAD Council

The Salk LEAD (Listening, Engaging, Attitude, Diversity) Council was nominated by Lyla Rapelja, the middle school’s youth and community specialist, for their work in promoting school spirit, a nurturing and safe environment, school activities, diversity enlightenment and academic learning. The group received the Middle School Group Leadership Award.

The group met regularly to discuss how to make the school better as a whole. They organized a school logo contest, a “spirit basketball contest” and a food drive that challenged other middle schools to see who could raise the most food.

The students are now organizing the Middle Level Regional Leadership Conference which will be held at their school for 250 students in the surrounding communities.

“They have made a positive impact on Salk and are now part of the school’s legacy,” Rapelje said in her nomination letter.

Teen awards

North Central boys cross country team

Scott Harmon, the athletic director at North Central High School, nominated the school’s boys cross country team for the teen group Community Service Award.

When the boys wrote their team honor code, they decided that “selflessness” was an important part of building a team. They didn’t just talk about being selfless, though. They put the idea into action.

They helped clear snags, saplings and bushes near roadways at Riverside State Park to help reduce the risk of forest fires. They visited the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery to help wash windows and siding, help with weeding, hosing down the parking lot, cleaning the attic and more.

They have also helped at the Women’s and Children’s Free Kitchen by clearing out expired food, stacking boxes and organizing the pantry.

“These boys are proud to be the 2006 3A State Cross Country Champions,” Harmon wrote in his nomination letter. “More importantly, though, these boys are more proud of being champions in selflessness!”

The Vox

Erin Daniels, the adviser for the student-produced newspaper The Vox at The Spokesman-Review, nominated this group of students from across Spokane County for the Teen Group Creativity Award.

The students gathered several times to discuss what they would want in a newspaper geared toward their age groups. Several of them were selected as editors who then chose their staff of writers, photographers, and graphic designers to produce the monthly paper that is circulated to 30,000 teens in Spokane County.

“They make me proud every day as they spend countless hours creating a product that Spokane teens can enjoy,” Daniels said in her nomination letter. “I nominate the first staff of The Vox because they are the pioneers of what will become a huge creative outlet for the teens of Spokane.”

The Vox editors are Tyler Slauson, Anna Marie Schaefer, Robert Weigle, Rachel Scott and Lillian Dubiel, Lewis and Clark; Tori Dykes, Gonzaga Prep; Joshua Millet and Mikayla Hunter, Ferris; Maggie Capwell, North Central; Danielle Price, Mt. Spokane; Ashley Johnson, Central Valley; Lauren Colton, Mead; Claire Graman, Lakeside; and Anthony Schultz, Cheney.

David Watts

David Watts, a junior at Riverside High School, was nominated by Bill Kemp, a physical science teacher, head cross country coach and assistant track coach at the school.

Watts uses wheelchair and became involved with Team St. Lukes, a wheelchair basketball team.

He became more interested in sports and joined the school track and field team and won four state track medals. He’s gone to the National Junior Disability Meet in Florida. Last summer, he entered 11 events and came home with 11 gold medals and two national records.

This spring, he’ll travel to South Africa to compete at the Junior World Championships representing the United States.

“I cannot think of a more deserving young man,” Kemp said in his nomination letter. “In the three years that I have known David Watts, I have never heard one single negative word. He is one of my role models.”

‘Jim Chase Asset Builder’ adult award

Louise Stamper

Louise Stamper has been a volunteer at Holmes Elementary School for the past 13 years. She home schools two of her three children, has acted as a guardian ad litem for 10 years and is a part of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

Lyla Rapelje nominated her for this award because Stamper has advocated for children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

She is also active in the West Central Community Center and has served as president of COPS West.

She has done all of this from a wheelchair, which she has used for the past six years because of to rheumatoid arthritis.

“You would never know her limitations or what she has to deal with on a daily basis,” Rapelje said in her nomination letter. “She has such a positive attitude and relate so well to all people in every situation.”