Third-Grader Wins Poison Prevention Poster Contest

Thu., April 6, 2000

By Kristen Kromer kristenk@spokesman.com

The poison prevention billboard at Nevada and Francis - decorated with flowers and the warning “Poison Kills!” - almost wasn’t.

Lake Spokane Elementary School third-grader Heather Hesselgesser said she took a couple of days to create the poster that’s now emblazoned on the North Side billboard. It shows three strong, happy flowers, and one withered blossom drinking from a bottle of poison.

After she finished, Hesselgesser spilled a few drips of water on the picture. She didn’t want to enter it in the annual poison prevention poster contest, because she didn’t think it would win.

But, she did enter it, and the next day she found out the good news.

“I was really happy,” she said. “It was my first year doing it and my first year winning.”

In addition to being able to see her artwork larger than life for one month, Hesselgesser also received a trophy and tickets to the circus. Her design was chosen from more than 3,000 entries as one of nine to appear on billboards around Spokane.

The other North Side winner, Laicee McAuliff of Madison Elementary School, designed the poster that appears on the billboard at Monroe and Glass.

Whitworth hosts luau Saturday

The Whitworth College Hawaiian Club will host its 30th annual luau Saturday at the Fieldhouse. An authentic Hawaiian dinner will be served at 5 p.m., followed by Hawaiian entertainment at 7. The dinner will include such Hawaiian specialties as lomi salmon, squid luau, kalua pig, chicken long rice and teriyaki beef.

To make the dinner more authentic, a neighbor of Hawaiian club president Pono Lopez’s in Hawaii is slow-roasting a pig underground, then shipping it to Whitworth. Also coming directly from Hawaii are squid, poi, coconut milk, pineapples and a special soy sauce.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $7 for 7- to 13-year-olds, and there is no cost for children 6 and under. A limited number of tickets are available. For tickets or more information, call Pono Lopez at 777-4720.

Ridgeview wins HOSTS award

Ridgeview Elementary School principal Kathy Williams and HOSTS teacher Dorothy Patchin recently earned national recognition for their efforts in mentoring at-risk students. The Help One Student To Succeed (HOSTS) award for quality assurance was given to the Ridgeview program for its efforts during the 1998-1999 school year. More than 150 mentors contributed approximately 2,461 hours.

Lucky Stars 4-H plans food drive

Members of the Lucky Stars 4-H in the Elk/Chattaroy area are hosting their second annual spring food drive Monday through April 21 to benefit the Elk/Chattaroy area food bank at the Inland Grange.

Drop-off boxes will be at Riverside Elementary School, Chattaroy Elementary School, Riverside Middle School and Riverside High School.

Lake Spokane student top scorer

Lake Spokane Elementary School fifth-grader Megan Salisbury’s favorite class is math - a fact that came as no surprise after she answered 26 of 29 problems right at the March 24 Math is Cool competition. Salisbury said she was pretty confident she’d do well, but “didn’t know I’d get the highest score in the school.”

Math is fun, she said, because it makes her stop and think.

“It’s a challenge for me,” she said. “I like challenges.”

Another math lover, third-grader Kyle Beckwith, completed 200 math problems to help raise money for St. Jude’s Health Care Centre. He collected pledges for the number of math problems he would solve and ended up with $130, which will go toward cancer research.

“I felt like I needed to help kids from dying,” Beckwith said.

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