Scouts go to great lengths to help others

Three Spokane Valley fifth-grade boys evaded scissors for nearly two years to help others through the Locks of Love program.

Trevor Ball, Davis Hill and Ben Hutchens sat on stools on their school’s stage during a recent Chester Elementary Family Fun Night and had their hair simultaneously cut off. As Cub Scouts, the boys had decided to do this as a way to apply the Scout oath of helping others.

The boys wanted to help other kids who have lost their hair due to the medical condition, alopecia areata, with no known cause or cure. Locks of Love provides prostheses to help restore the self-esteem and confidence of children with this condition.

Sporting tresses about 11 inches long, the Scouts were often mistaken for girls while out in public, but the boys mostly shrugged off the mistakes, two dads said.

Tim Hill, Davis’ dad, said the three boys who are friends started talking about the idea a while back and decided to take on the challenge.

“As their hair got longer and longer, the frequency increased to where once a week toward the end the boys would be mistaken as girls,” Hill added. “Sometimes, they corrected people. They knew what they were doing and they knew that what they were doing was important, taking that Scouting motto of helping others and applying it.”

Ben’s dad, Gary Hutchens, said his 11-year-old son’s idea surprised him at first.

“He’s in lots of sports and likes to wear his hair really short,” Hutchens said. “He plays soccer and baseball. They all talked about it and they all decided to do it together.

“It was always fun when Ben was in a soccer match,” Gary Hutchens said. “They’d always mistake him for a girl, and a coach would yell out, ‘Watch out for that girl.’ Ben thought that was funny. He rarely corrected them.”

“They knew why they were doing it,” Hutchens added. “They didn’t do it because they wanted to stand out, especially at this age, but this is something they decided they really wanted to do. I was proud of them for that.”

CV, U-Hi debaters win awards

Central Valley and University high school debate programs have garnered first-time achievements.

The CVHS debate team won the GSL Championship trophies in both Speech and Debate, a first for earning either of these trophies, said coach Roberta Rice.

CV team members include: Jolene Hughes, Jessi Holder, Suzanne Miller, Theora Rice, Colleen Conzelman, Ben Brown, Chris Johnson, Rusty Shellhorn, Jenn Dempsey, Dustin Van Ormann, Brianna Johnston, Lingbo Tong, Chris Koch and Wyatt Volkmann.

At the state speech tournament, Rice was named the 2007 Washington State Coach of the year by the Washington State Forensics Association, the organization made up of coaches for debate programs statewide. The award is given each year to a coach who has exemplified outstanding contributions to the field of forensics.

Also this season, Dale Knudsen won U-Hi’s first debate championship since 1994, U-Hi debate coach David Smith said.

“We’ve won top congressional honors for the last three years, but the state did not select one single congressional debate champion until this year,” Smith said. Knudsen also won the Erik Helppie Award, the top honor for a student’s four years of debate performance, scholarship and contributions to team and community.

In other U-Hi successes, Tori Head was a finalist in interpretive reading and congressional debate, and Jared Lollar was a quarterfinalist in LD debate. Lollar, Mitch Palmquist, John Mann, Laura Drews, Matt Stephens and Cassie Rector will represent the Inland Empire at nationals in June, and Knudsen will represent the GSL at a national championship in May.

Also, coach Smith received the Thomas S. Foley Ambassador’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Forensics Education. All nominations are judged by an independent panel for the trophy only awarded to a person once in a lifetime.

Money management lessons for teens

Teenagers increasingly are accumulating debt. West Valley High School principal Gary Neal is offering a forum Thursday night with tips for parents and older students on how teenagers can better manage credit cards.

Credit card companies are marketing more to teenagers, and some of them are getting into debt during high school years, “when it used to be happening in college,” said Neal, who is offering the session with a speaker as part of his monthly Parent Forum nights. “There is a nationwide trend of high school students getting into debt.

“We will have a financial and credit industry person and she will present about how to be responsible,” with tips for teenagers and their parents on how to manage credit.

WVHS parents preregistered for a 6 p.m. forum dinner before the discussion session. For others interested in more information or to attend the 6:30 to 7:30 information presentation, call the school office at 922-5488 and ask for Ruth.

East Valley High artists win top honors

East Valley High School students yet again swept top regional art contest awards.

Pam Smith, EVHS art instructor for nearly 30 years who has assisted numerous award-winning students, said this is the best year ever for her students’ wins in the Educational Service District 101 high school art competition. ESD received more than 272 entries from around the Spokane region.

EVHS students earned the Avista’s Award, Superintendent’s Award, two Platinum awards, 11 first-places and four second-place honors among others. Eleven East Valley students will advance to a state-level contest.

“Some of these kids, I told them … and they couldn’t speak,” Smith said. “They were so excited. They are the most deserving kids.”

They were recognized at an ESD reception this week in Spokane. A listing of all Spokane Valley winning artists includes:

Natalie Smith, EVHS, Avista’s Choice Award for an untitled pastel and a second-place award; Christine Strong, EVHS, Superintendent’s Choice Award for pastel, “Enough Already!,” a first-place for the same piece, and a second-place for “The Long Drive,” acrylic; Niki Bean, EVHS, Platinum Award for “Reminiscence,” pastel and first-place for “Hidden,” pastel; Jessica Yelley, EVHS, Platinum Award for “Here I Stand,” pastel; Ariel Erickson, EVHS, first-place for “Riah,” pastel; Ame Evey, EVHS, first-place, “Contrast,” pen and ink and first-place for “Grip,” clay piece; Daniel Winner, EVHS, first-place for “Norton Trio,” pastel, and first-place for “Life in the Pan,” pastel; Mary Jane Dunphe, EVHS, first-place, “Don’t Carrots, Bananas,” pastel; Jake Ferguson, EVHS, first-place, “Mystic Japan,” prisma; Aaron Johnson, EVHS, first-place “Frustration!” prisma; Chrissy Turner, EVHS, first-place “Confidence,” pastel; Amy Zimmerman, EVHS, second-place, untitled pastel; Emily Hunt, EVHS second-place, “Molly,” pastel; Parker Pierce, EVHS, second-place for “Shout-Out,” prisma; James Adams, Central Valley High School, third-place, for thrown vase clay/ceramics; Ashley Grater, EVHS, third-place, untitled clay; Miles Gossett, EVHS, third-place, “Lost in the Meaning of Meaning,” pen and ink; Kelsey Jamison, EVHS, third-place, untitled pastel; Kayla Munroe, EVHS, honorable mention, “My Dog” pastel; Samantha Thompson, Spokane Valley High School, honorable mention, “Visions of Life” digital photography; and John Hanson IV, University High School, honorable mention, untitled “Computer, Photoshop” piece.