Two Central Valley Cheerleaders Compete And Earn Trip To London
London. Capital of England, the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.
It’s the home of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. And now, add cheerleading.
Two girls from Central Valley High School will fly across the pond to merry olde England next month for a camp sponsored by the Universal Cheerleading Association. While there, CV seniors Jackie Rees and Amy Tenney will learn from other cheerleaders and march in the city’s New Years Day parade.
The two girls competed in tryouts at a cheer camp held at Eastern Washington University in August. Seven of the 45 or so entrants made the cut. The test consisted of a dance, jumps and one cheer. Having two girls picked from the same school is no small achievement, said CV’s cheer advisor Christian Rhodes.
“That’s a pretty good average,” Rhodes said. “It’s an honor to go to this. It’s pretty special.”
The bill for the camp is footed by the girls and their family. There wasn’t really enough time for a fundraiser. Nonetheless, the travelers, who leave Dec. 26, are psyched.
“Yeah, I’m excited,” Rees said during a quick break from Monday’s cheer practice. “I’ve never been anywhere else, really.”
Tenney said she’s still in a state of shock about the whole thing. “No one I knew was ever picked for it,” she said. “I was definitely planning on trying out, but I didn’t know that I could make it. I was surprised … a lot of people tried out.”
WV students collect baby items
West Valley high school students collected and distributed more than 26,000 baby items during the school’s annual drive.
The items were distributed to the Valley Food Bank, Crosswalk, Children’s Home Society, the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Teen Aide, the Salvation Army, the Spokane Valley High School and Contract Based Education on Tuesday and Wednesday.
About 200 students spent all day Saturday and Sunday outside eight Valley grocery stores collecting the items, which included jars of baby food, juice, formula and diapers. They began collecting after school last Thursday and Friday.
The National Honor Society sponsored the event, which was in its sixth year.
“It’s a pretty impressive sight to see 26,000 items all in one room,” said Marci Groesbeck, honor society advisor.
If elected, she will serve
Cynthia McMullen on Monday was elected president of the Central Valley School Board. She was, in fact, the sole nominee. She also presided over the meeting, in the absence of Kay Bryant.
McMullen coolly stuck by Roberts Rules of Order. But both board members and those in the audience dissolved into decidedly informal giggles as McMullen called in vain for other nominations, asked for the vote and finally accepted the post.
It wasn’t quite “Who’s on first?” But it was an unexpected bit of levity.
McMullen brings eight years of experience on the board to her new role. New directors Craig Holmes and Patty Minnihan also were sworn in.
Smart guys finish first
National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in the Central Valley School District are Curtis Schultz at Central Valley High School and Matt Dockrey and Kevin Huff at U-Hi.
East Valley High School semifinalists include Barb Norquist and Joanna Ekenes.
West Valley High School’s Walter Skidmore earned commended student status.
Take a bow, scholars.
Making memories
Some smiles came wreathed in age-lined faces. Some were young gap-toothed grins. Ness Elementary in the West Valley School District brought together retirees from Park Place Retirement Community with grade school children and their parents Tuesday evening to make Christmas wreaths, clothes pin reindeer and other ornaments. The second annual Ornament Making Festival is one of five family nights that Ness is holding this year.
Families were encouraged to bring canned food for the school’s own outreach program and the Spokane Food Bank.
But mostly, the evening was for fun.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Ward Sanderson staff writer Staff writers Brian Coddington and Marny Lombard contributed to this report.