School News -
Annual Homecoming Parade
By Jean Chavez
On October 13th the annual Homecoming Parade, a tradition started to build excitement for homecoming as well as the homecoming football game where we could play off to keep the trophy, and annual cookout took place. The parade started off at the high school and headed its way down third street until ending ultimately at the skate park for the cookout, luckily we had good air for them to make the trip. The parade started off being led off by officer Lynch and a Fire District 5 ambulance. Later came the Lady Turks soccer Team handing out candy. Following that up is the longest group out of the bunch FFA. They started off with 2 horses in front of a tractor display and their decorated truck. Behind them was our Lady Turks Volleyball Team with a carriage from Groeneveld farm being pulled by a pickup truck. Our SHS cheerleaders came behind them to welcome our football team who had the most amount of people. Many people gathered by the skate park in order to see the whole thing. Jackie Limon claimed to “really like that sultan lady Turks” car thing and was “overjoyed when the horse came out”. After the parade a cookout was hosted and they had chips, water, hot dogs and condiments for people to enjoy, as well as music to set a good atmosphere. When asked what score Jackie would give the hotdogs out of 10 she rated them as a “solid 7 and a half”. After passing through all of the people who participated in the parade got to join in on the cookout and enjoy the wonderful hot dogs as well. People were happy to show their school spirit as well as parents and siblings of those students were excited to show pride in our high school.
Following the path of the yellow brick road
By Maria Vazquez
Ah yes, the joys of homecoming, picking out the perfect outfit, making that poster, buying the flowers, going to the football games leading up, and of course picking out the theme for hallway decorations and bringing them to life. Seeing how everyone was putting together their pieces and helping their class put up the decorations really is so wholesome, and it just makes you realize that despite everything you all go through at the end of the day the whole class can come together and work hard towards finishing what needs to get done. While walking around and seeing all the classes making their decorations you could tell how much fun everyone was having, even though they had to prepare their decorations and put them up that same day which is a lot of pressure. I heard some people close to me laughing and making jokes about how the decorations we’re coming along and genuinely it was such a great sight to see. Our homecoming theme this year was the Wizard of oz, we all had different themes we had to go off for our decorations. For example, juniors had the yellow brick road, freshman had a candy land type of hallways décor, seniors had the forest and sophomores had lions, tigers, and bears. All these are such incredibly unique themes were illustrated perfectly. Everyone did such a wonderful job putting this all together from scratch and hanging it up bringing all our hallways to life. At the end of the day juniors took the win for the best hallway decorations, good job juniors! However, everyone that participated and showed their school spirit made everything play out so nicely. I spoke to some certain individuals about how they felt when they were decorating the hallways and they said, “it was one of the most entertaining and fun experiences they’ve had, and they also mentioned how stressful making the decorations were at the beginning but afterwards it became a really fun experience”. Summarizing hallways decorations were a fun way to get everyone in healthy collaborative group setting and have fun all at the same time. Hallway decorations are always a great way to get everyone excited and ready for homecoming and all the fun events in the future.
SPIRIT WEEK
By Jackie Limon-Carrillo
The second week of October was an exciting time for Sultan High School students. it was homecoming week! During homecoming, students dress up Monday through Friday following a different dress code each day that is related to the homecoming theme. Each class gets points based on how many students dress up for each day and they get added up on Friday to see which grade wins! Have you ever wondered how the spirit week gets chosen? I asked Joy (last name), who is in ASB on how they decided on their themes. “It was ASB who chose it, we all get together talk about our ideas, and choose which ones we liked best.” Starting off the week was Follow the Yellow Brick Road on Monday. Students had to dress up in college wear and their future careers. The week started off a little rough, a few students dressed up for that day, but teachers certainly did! Sno isle students took the opportunities to wear their uniforms as their future careers. Juniors took first place with 20 points, seniors followed second place with 15 points, sophomores with ten and freshmen came in last.
Tuesday was Munchkin Day! That meant everyone was expected to dress like their younger self. Students showed up in tutus, all neon sports outfits, puffy dresses, unicorn shirts with the cutest hairdos. Juniors, again, were still in first place while seniors followed in second! Wednesday was class color day, students had to dress in their class color and rep what grade they were in! Seniors were green, juniors were yellow, sophomores are orange and freshman had purple. Students showed up in their class colors to show support of their class for the Turk Olympics!
Seniors came in first for class color day, freshman came in second, juniors third and sophomores fourth! Thursday was twin day! Students and their friends got the chance to wear the same outfit together and get class points. Seniors again took the lead! Friday was Pink out; everyone wore pink to support the Sultan high School football homecoming home game’s theme at 7 that day. Students did an excellent job of dressing up and going all out! The homecoming champions are the Juniors who won with 140 points, Congratulations Juniors!
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOMECOMING
By Brianna Benavidez-Lopez
Homecoming finally arrived! Everyone was excited for this year's theme which was Wizard of
Oz! There was music and dancing, cookies in case you got hungry, and refreshments!
Homecoming was held on October 15, inside the Sultan High School commons from 8pm to
11pm. Students showed up in their dazzling outfits and had a blast dancing to the music, and
the DJ, Mr. Butterfield, really knew how to hype up the crowd. What if you didn’t want to
dance? Take pictures with the Wizard of Oz themed backdrop. No pictures? Take a walk outside in the courtyard and enjoy the nice evening. The dance was enjoyable for everyone, even if you came by yourself, with your friends or with someone special. Tauanuu Tevaga, a senior at SHS,
said this was his first homecoming, “it's the only reason why I went” he said, Tauanuu wanted
to experience homecoming at least once. “I was with my friends” he also added, what a way to
spend your first and last time at homecoming! Tauanuu spent most of his time dancing with his friends. Overall, he had fun at homecoming, and glad that he went.
SPORTS
Court is in Session
By Kegan Thomas Aamold
The air has gotten colder, the leaves begin to fall off the trees, we all put on extra layers for the next couple months, and Turk Basketball is upon us. The sport has finally returned and coming back stronger than last year. Basketball is in our towns blood, we had a static attendance last season, an erupting student section, and most importantly, a stellar basketball team.
Sultan has had a long and successful history of basketball. Our boys head coach and beloved teacher, Mr. Trichler, has taken Sultan places that nobody within this community has seen before. Fun Fact, Coach Trichler is in his 23rd year as a head coach for Sultan High School. The girls B-Ball is looking to continue the success they had last year as well. Lady Turks basketball wreaked havoc in their conference, with the record of 10-0. Both teams were one game away from state last year, and many of the players on both teams look at this as “Revenge”.
Shyann Rylah, one of the many great Lady Turk basketball players shares how she feels about the upcoming season. “I am confident that our team can adapt without Grace. However, I don’t think it will be the same. She was a key piece to our game, and a key leader, she didn’t speak much, her actions spoke louder. I am confident we can make it far this year and show what Sultan Girls basketball can really do.” Well put Shyann! Lady Turks owns their conference and will hopefully own a state trophy this year as well.
Senior, Westin Galle, is ready for his last year in a Turks uniform. Westin expressed his feelings for this season in one word, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. Westin includes his hatred for our archrivals, Granite Falls, he vigorously said “it’s our favorite team to beat and a team to beat”. Another team that is a “must win” is the mighty Eastside Prep. Eastside is known for being a scrappy and annoying squad to play around with. To many teams, this is a loss and a long ride back home. To Toby Trichler, he wants revenge, he wants to annihilate this team. Toby and Eli have been dominating since the beginning of their high school days. Toby adds on saying how he is “very confident” on this season and is determined for success.
Eli Trichler, the other half of this amazing set of athletic twins, shares how he feels about the upcoming campaign for the Turks. “I am very confident and know that our team is very capable of being as good as we were last year, we have a good returning group, we all know what it takes to get to the same level and surpass it by the end of the season.”. Elias also talks about the changes on the team, with 5 seniors graduating last year. “It’s very rough and tough on our team, but our team had amazing energy last year and I think keeping that same energy, and the love for basketball, is what’s going to help us continue being a winning team. Well put Eli! Eli and the rest of this team want to win, and they will.
Basketball is a fun time in this confusing, wonderful, and gracious valley town. All of these basketball players want your very own support this season as they make their journey to get into the state playoffs.
GO TURKS!
Sultan Turks VS Granite Falls Tigers
BLACK & BLUE BOWL!
Written by: Ivan Acosta
The Sultan Turks vs the Granite Falls Tigers football game had a wonderful atmosphere from the start. Everybody was excited and was hopeful for the win, the Turks looked prepared. Just looking at them on the field from the stands, you could tell they were physically and mentally ready to come out on top. The Turks heard the cheer of their fans and that gave them the extra fuel to go all out and secure the trophy back for SHS from last year's defeat! The game had high intensity all throughout. There was never a dull moment. Goosebumps and chills were going through everyone’s bodies as they scored back and forth. The end was the real match up of the game. Interceptions and incomplete passes from the pressure, it made the game all the more nerve wracking. The last part of the game was a moment I think they all will remember. There were only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, and we needed to score. Junior Vargas had a winning catch to win it all, but it did not count. So next play they went for the run. Derek Feltner with an amazing run and dodging all the defenders got us the touchdown! The Turks won and left Granite at their feet. “I was so happy. It felt amazing to win the trophy back. I was so proud to be able to be part of this amazing team,” said Hayden Murphy.
PINK OUT FOR BREAST CANCER!
Written By: Kassandra Guzman
On the week of October 10th, the Sultan Turks played their pink out games. Starting with girls soccer, they played The Northwest House on that Tuesday. As of now there have been 7 canceled games due to poor air quality, so everyone was unsure if they would even get the chance to play. On this particular day the smoke was not as bad as previously, so the girls suited up and prepared themselves. Elianna Day, a senior captain said, one of the parents, Mandi Geiger “ got pink athletic shirts and made jerseys for us, so that was really special, and we were able to just wear them and support breast cancer awareness”. The girls played a tough game but sadly ended up losing 0-4. Still by the look on their faces you could tell they were just really grateful for the opportunity. The next day the girls volleyball team had their pink out! They played against University Prep. Jv and C teams both fought to the end but unfortunately ended up losing. At 7pm the varsity team came out blinding everyone with their neon pink jerseys. It was a fun and exciting game with both teams having really great plays. The Lady Turks came out on top and beat the U-Prep Pumas in 3 sets. All the pink out fun was not over yet... or so we thought. Our football team was supposed to play that Friday but once again the air quality was too dangerous. Everyone was devastated, not only was it supposed to be the pink out game, it was also our homecoming game where royalty would be announced. It did however get rescheduled to Monday October 17th but the energy was not the same. Pink out week was 50% successful but we made the most of it.
Fall Soccer Overview!
By Kamryn Skeith
The Girls Soccer has had a rough season this year from canceled games because of smoke to having to practice in the gym, but they are pushing through and are working hard at getting better at their craft even if it’s not always on the field. But on October 1st the Lady girls' soccer team took the W against Laconner with a 6-0 win and here is what Madison Schalo has to say about it “it was a needed win and a good win”. So great job ladies and keep up the good work.
The Girls Soccer has had a rough season this year from canceled games because of smoke to having to practice in the gym. But they are pushing through and are working hard at getting better even if it’s not always on the field. But on October 1st the Lady girls' soccer team took the W against Laconner with a 6-0 win. Here is what Madison Schalo has to say about it “it was a needed win and a good win”. So great job lady Turks and keep up the good work.
By Kassandra Guzman
Fall Senior Night
As the fall sports seasons came to an end, each sport celebrated their seniors. A lot of emotion comes with senior night because it represents their last high school home game and for certain kids, it's the last time they will ever play that sport for a team. For girls' soccer, most of their season was postponed due to smoke, and senior night was sadly not an exception. After some rescheduling, the girls played Oct 24th against Forest Ridge. There were 7 seniors on the team that will leave a massive hole to fill for next year. That same day, shortly after the soccer game, volleyball senior night started. With the team going to playoffs, this would not be their last home game ever, but it was the last league game. There were only 3 senior girls but that did not make it any less special. Tears were shed from parents, coaches and teammates. Football had 8 seniors. Many of which have played on the team together since freshman year and one being their manager. This year the Turks had a winning season and crushed their last game 28-6 against Bellingham High School. Let’s not forget the 2 wonderful senior cheerleaders that have supported every sport. Their energy is unmatched and we will be seriously missing them on our sidelines. As sad as senior night can be, it also means new beginnings and just honoring what the seniors left behind including the impact on their teammates and coaches. Go class of 2023!!!!
Volleyball Post Season
By Kamryn Skeith
The Lady Turks during post season were making their way up the food chain this year. They never let a team beat them at home games. They beat the house in four sets in their first post season game at home, which was a pretty big deal since the first time they played The House, they beat them in five sets. Also, at the Lady Turks last home game, they beat Bush in three sets. This is funny because the Bush team were talking mad smack when they were walking in. This made the Lady Turks ready to play and not let Bush get a set off them. Due to this, the Lady Turks were undefeated at home this season. The Lady Turks were working hard to continue to win their games this post season to get a shot to go to State. But it was sadly cut short with a loss against Overlake. On the bright side, this is the farthest the sultan Lady Turks have gone in post season for volleyball in a very long time.
New Sport Season Coming Up!!
Written by: Ivan Acosta
With the Fall season sports over, we are now switching over to the Winter season sports! Those being boys and girls basketball, cheer, and wrestling . Get ready to cheer on your Turks and support them by packing the stands and demonstrating school spirit. Stay warm everyone!
Arts and Entertainment
Concert Review
By Cameron Campion
On September 27th, 2005, Panic! At The Disco released their hit album, “A Fever You Can't Sweat Out” which remains to be one of their most popular albums to this day. On October 16th, 2022, I went to the Panic! At The Disco – Viva Las Vengeance Tour held at the Climate Pledge Arena, located in Seattle, WA. The tour featured many songs like “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”, “High Hopes”, “Victorious” and many more. After the concert, I interviewed Shelby Frye, who went along with me on the concert. Overall, Shelby had a great time! They loved the openers more than Panic! At The Disco. Who could blame them? Marina was there! They loved the band Marina the most. At the concert, they liked the lighting. Shelby was surprised and amazed because they had sparks, fire, and fireworks at the show! Crazy, right? Shelby liked the song Kermit the Frog by Marina the most. They love all the songs on the Electra Heart album! Despite Marina being there, their two favorite Panic! At The Disco songs they featured at the concert was “Nine in The Afternoon” and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. They love the old albums the most. They can’t believe that a song on Panic! At The Disco’s new album is called, “Star-Spangled Banger” That is very corny! Panic! At The Disco also had an orchestra on stage which Shelby loved. They also loved the saxophonist on stage, they were very good. They loved seeing a band full of brass, woodwind, and string instruments. They had a very fun time. My personal experience was overall the same as Shelby’s. I had to put in earplugs because it was a bit too loud for me. The food and water were very expensive. Shelby and I went to go get 16-ounce water bottles, but they were $20 each! That is very expensive. The concert wasn’t crowded until I went to buy merch. They swarmed in like bees! Instead of Panic! At The Disco, Shelby bought Marina merch. The merch was also very expensive! It was $40 for a long sleeve shirt. All in all, Shelby and I had a good time.
Arts Importance
By Maritza Naranjo-Preciado
Imagine a world without art, what does that mean, what does that look like? Art is all around you from the books you read, the music you listen to, architecture of a building, design on your favorite clothes, to the logo of the cereal box you ate this morning. Without art there wouldn’t be any art galleries to visit, no fashion week, no books, no museums, no dance, and none of your favorite Hollywood actors since the world of theater would never exist, and most importantly no one would be inspired to create or express themselves ever!
When you engage in any sort of art activity, you simultaneously activate the right hemisphere of your brain that is responsible for creativity. According to the ACRM (American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine) “ Studies have shown that drawing, painting, and other art forms, have have been used as stress reducers and lower cordial levels.” The best part of all, is that no matter if you’re the worst artist or best, simply the process of adding colors, patterns, and lines are beneficial. The list goes on and on. Not only do your serotonin level increase but art help with expressing emotion shown through your art work and when in a emotional state , “Connecting with art can help anyone decrease anxiety and build coping skills.” For more severe/ serious distress, “an art therapist can help to guide the process.”
In an interview with Mr. Anderson he mentions a common occurrence with his students that are “bad at drawing” he says “ every year at the start of the year I get a few kids discouraged saying they are bad at art, but at the end of the year create things like this.”
Alfonso Saldana sophomore at the time picture was taken in 2020, was an example of this occurrence. When talking to Alfonso present day he expressed the rewarding feeling of his piece that he got when he finished, “ I honestly never tried at art cause I didn’t think it was for me, but when our final project rolled around I made sure to put in extra effort and was extremely satisfied at my creation.”
Sources:
https://acrm.org/rehabilitation-medicine/how-the-brain-is-affected-by-art/
Interviewed:
Mr. Anderson and Alfonso Saldana (Sultan graduate)
The only thing “Hellraiser” 2022 is raising is questions.
By Cecilia Young
Listen, okay, I love the original Hellraiser. It is a mix of beautiful visuals with an off-putting plotline, what is not to love. Now, as an avid fan, knowing that Clive Barker was in on the creation made me so hopeful. Boy was I wrong to even consider any excitement. This movie was nothing like the original. It held very few similarities to the original, which is not always a requirement for a good reboot, but it has none. The first couple of scenes lack really anything captivating. It’s all pretty cliché. A man has a suitcase of unknown origin with top secret material inside, and a woman working for a separate man picks it up. Then we randomly get into a party thrown by the mystery man who was women working for him. The transitions are not smooth and do not really flow together. Another woman goes from arguing with her brother about her love interest, to talking to said love interest who randomly brings up the breaking in of an abandoned storage building because the woman said she needs to look for a better job to stop being poor. How romantic! Only a true genius would produce something like that. There are, however, a couple things that I do enjoy about this movie. The main monster-type character in this movie, called Pinhead, is played by a woman. I like this for obvious reasons. Some of the other background monsters are neat too but are not all from the original. In some respects, the movie is beautiful. I have to say though, Clive Barker, I’m really unimpressed.
“Halloween Ends” 2022 Movie Review: It’s about time.
By Cecilia Young
It’s a big moment for Michael Myers fans all over the globe, except it’s really not. In light of the season, David Gordon Green decided to grace us with the end of the Halloween saga. Unbeknownst to him, it’s utter garbage. To put it bluntly, the storyline is trash. It follows some random guy who's like actually insane but it’s the first time anyone is really hearing about it? Quite dumb if you ask me. Apparently, Myer’s has been hiding the whole time too in a random sewer system as well? How silly of him! Either way, the story is so random. Most of the information given is irrelevant. On account of the killings, it’s nothing special. They have all been seen before and are honestly lame. There’s nothing identifiable about this film, other than the sheer fact that it’s over. This now brings me to the death of Michael Myers. To be honest with you, this may be the most underwhelming end possible. I’m not going to spoil it, but it was so disappointing. There were much cooler more satisfying ways to end the story in previous films, like in “Halloween” 2018, where Laurie could’ve literally burned this man alive. It’s highly disappointing to think that she had to wait until Michael was a frail old man to finally end it. I AM a hater, and I will say it. The saga has continued for far too long. It could’ve been over within a maximum of 3 movies. Needless to say, I am unimpressed and overwhelmingly disappointed.
Community and Global News
Debt Forgiveness: The Opposition
By: Carter Holaday
In August, Joe Biden announced that he would be forgiving up to $10,000 in student loan debt in households making under $125,000. However, there has been some pushback against this, namely by Republicans and business-oriented democrats. Their claim is this, “They called it an unfair government giveaway for relatively affluent people at the expense of taxpayers who didn't pursue higher education.” They also claimed that by bypassing congress it was a massive overstep on Biden’s part. Recently, a federal appeals court blocked this plan.
So just how bad is student debt in America? Are Biden’s actions justified? There is about $1.6 Trillion just in student debt in America, from about 43 million borrowers (about 1/7 of the population). Typically, students finish with about $25,000 in debt. As you might imagine, a debt of that amount can be quite crippling for someone that is just starting their life. Even during school, about 14% of four-year college students were homeless.
With those facts in mind, it’s clear why the govt have begun to bail graduated students out of their debt. Such an issue is not only crippling the economy by producing more homeless, but also prevents otherwise extremely smart students from going to college by scaring them with horror stories of these loans.
The opposition, however, has a different idea on this issue. They believe that the taxpayer should not have to bail out college-educated people just because they made a different choice in life. Earlier this year, six states sued, saying that Biden massively overstepped on his authority. The administration countered, saying that the Dept. Of Education is well within their authority to manage the loans of so many on such a massive scale. Whether or not this goes any further remains to be seen.
https://www.businessinsider.com/american-college-students-going-hungry-homeless-2019-6
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/21/1130705453/student-loan-cancellation-blocked-lawsuit-appeal
Drugs found in Halloween candy!?!?!?!
By Jose Manriquez
What! Drugs in kids Halloween candy? how could this ever happen!? If you’re a parent, be alert of the trick or treat candy your child may have received. There is a small chance that seems unrealistic but (is)it’s still a possibility. These candies can be anything from marijuana to fentanyl. If a child digest such a thing the consequences may be deadly or cause the child to go to the hospital.
What can the candy contain?
The candy can contain marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, and Xanax. These candies can look like ordinary sweets. Some names of items can be stony patch kids.
How am I able to identify this candy?
The candy may have a very strange or distinct smell. These candies can look like kit kats, skittles, sour patch kids, gummy bears, lollipops. It’s very important to make sure your child’s of your candy isn’t anything it’s not supposed to be.
What are effects that can come from eating this candy?
If your child was unfortunate enough to take the fentanyl candy, there would be a very high chance of it dying. Fentanyl is said to be 100times stronger than meth. It takes a very little amount to overdose on it.
What should I do if I suspect drug laced candy being given out?
Immediately call the police and report it. There has been a rise of drugs being sold in candy form. Cartels are starting to sell more drugs through candy form.
“The DEA said drug cartels appear to be trying to sell fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people.”- https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/exclusive-senate-republicans-release-pre-halloween-psa-warning-parents-about-rainbow-fentanyl
I asked a few friends of mine what their thoughts on this situation was they said,” They had no idea that this was going on.” “It made them want to double check what kind of candy their children have got”
“It’s honestly stupid what’s the point in doing that to little kids. It’s pointless and immature plus if they get caught you go to prison so there isn’t a point in doing it.
Russia has a new general, and he is not very nice
By Jose Pacheco-Cabrera
The Russian invasion of Ukraine started a little earlier this year and has continually gotten worse. Thanks to countries like the U.S, U.K, Poland, and all the other countries that have sent weapons and supplies to Ukraine, Ukraine has been able to stand their own, and have even managed to push them back. Due to Ukraine’s recent victories, it looks like Putin decided to try to put an end to this war by appointing a new top commander, General Alexander Dvornikov Before his appointment, there had not been a single military leader for all Russian forces. This lack of cohesion could change under Dvornikov, a senior figure whose appointment a senior U.S. official confirmed.
What does this mean for Ukraine though? Well this general had been commanding Russia’s southern military district, a key post he gained after serving as the first leader of the Russian air war campaign in Syria. Russia is accused of committing war crimes in both conflicts. Dvornikov has extensive experience in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where Moscow says it will focus its war efforts after failing to seize Kyiv and suburbs surrounding the capital. There is much that remains unknown about the Russian military leader, but his experience in eastern Ukraine and his time in Syria are key elements of his background.
Dvornikov was Russia’s first commander overseeing its brutal campaign in Syria, where Russian forces carried out widespread and indiscriminate bombardments of Syrian civilians, neighborhoods and hospitals in tandem with President Bashar al-Assad’s own air wars and sieges. Dvornikov was honored as a “hero of the Russian Federation” in 2016 for his work there.
He is known for having disregard for avoiding civilian deaths and war crimes, his actions in Syria earned him the nickname “the butcher of Syria”. So yeah, needless to say he is not a very good man. If this man is commanding the Russian forces in Ukraine, who knows how many civilians will die, and what tactics he will use in fighting the Ukrainian armed forces.
Brittany Griner
By Emiliano Perez-Ramos
Brittany Griner is the holder of a few WNBA records. Two of the records are most blocks in a season and in a game, 129 and 11, respectively. Russia has blocked her appeal of her sentence of 9 years. On February 17, 2022, she was arrested in the Moscow airport. She was flying to Russia because she plays for a woman’s “UMMC Ekaterinburg”. It was alleged that she was in the possession of cannabis oil. She was detained for 28 days until it was extended through May 19, it was extended 2 other times after this up to her court trial beginning on July 1. Three days in May 22 later Griner’s representatives released excerpts from her handwritten note to President Biden. “I'm terrified I might be here forever," she wrote. "I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore". Griner’s wife in an interview with CBS has stated her distrust in the government’s ability to free her. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Brittney’s wife Cherelle to "reassure her that they are working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible," according to a statement from the White House. The Biden administration has made an offer to the Russian government for a prisoner trade. Russia would send them Griner and an ex-marine Paul Whelan who was accused of being a spy. America would give Russian the “merchant of death” Viktor Bout, who was a dealer and transporter of arms and had a close association with Charles Taylor. Charles Taylor was the former president of Liberia who was convicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. On July 7 she plead guilty because she packed quickly and did not intend to break Russian laws. Her attorneys filed an appeal to her 9 years on august 15 and recently was rejected. Brittney has been scrutinized because of her opinion on the national anthem having no place in sports as well as people asking why she had cannabis in her luggage in the first place. She’s been playing in Russia since 2015, it is highly unlikely that she purposely broke the law. The U.S. government classified Griner’s case as wrongfully detained, meaning that the U.S. will continue negotiations with Russia to bring her back home.
The Bolt Creek Emergency
By Shawna Shoemaker
The Bolt Creek fire, what caused this fire? It is undetermined at the time. It started on September 10th, 2022, at 5:15 am, north of Skykomish. Evacuation updates were given throughout the day, and by the end of the day level 3 evacuations were placed in index, level 2 place between index and Zeke’s drive-in, and level 1 east side of Gold Bar city limits. According to Sky Valley fire there were reports of trapped hikers in the Barclay Lake area.
On September 11th there was a report on the Sky Valley Fire Facebook page. It said the fire had spread overnight towards the town of Index and was estimated to be 7,600 acres (North of Skykomish) and was at 0% containment. The fire department was trying to protect structures and continue to protect buildings but building fire lines.
Now roughly 6-7 weeks since the fire started the fire is 41% contained and is around 14,200 acres (North of Skykomish). The cause of the fire is still unknown. They are letting the fire burn itself out since it is not going towards anything important. And their focus is clearing debris off Highway 2. And there are no evacuation levels placed.
After a month of this fire burning, the weather forecast is predicting rain on Friday October 21st. There are red flag warnings placed due to everything being so dry. Some days the marine air blows the smoke away and some days the winds from the east blow the smoke back. There is so much vegetation near the highway that has burned is causing problems with debris on the road such as trees, and rocks causing intermittent closing of Highway 2.
“Sky Valley Fire.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SkyValleyFire/.
Inci Web developed and maintained by USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management. “Bolt Creek Fire.” Bolt Creek Fire Information - Inci Web the Incident Information System, 12 Oct. 2022, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8417/.
Young Boy from Sultan to Sacramento Monarchy, The Story of Jose Porraz
By Kegan Thomas Aamold
Sacramento, the capital of California, a city with hopes and dream as far as any person can see. Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River, and with the beauty that Northern California offers. The Sacramento Monarchy is one of the most unique things about “Sac-Town”. We will be going in depth on the Monarch itself, and we will be taking our attention to one Sacramento Hero, and a former Cougar at Sultan Elementary.
Jose Porraz AKA Sacramento Finest, Jose is the king of this established city. He is a part owner of the Sacramento Kings and trying his hardest to lead them to the promise land.
The King has many hobbies and jobs of some sorts. His income is made up of his breeding and selling of French Bulldogs, and a Taco Truck he owns. He tried his best to sell shoes, but it didn’t work out for him and he had to surrender his business. His activities consist of weightlifting and training to be the Naruto of Fortnite Battle Royale.
Jose also loves gerbils; they comfort him in times of sadness and make his day so much better.
Jose use to go to Sultan Elementary in Kindergarten, until becoming king in Sacramento. He had the very lovely and thoughtful teacher, Mrs. Trichler.
The King had a very troubling past. He was walking around with his Royal guards in Sacramento and suddenly, a Sacramento civilian stab him with a knife in the liver. Jose toughed it out and squeeze the guy until he ran off. Jose showed resilience and grit to tough it out and get to medical treatment ASAP. Glad Jose is OKAY! Jose got it back in blood.
If you didn’t know, Ivan Acosta, Bryan Torres, and Antonio Garcia are related to the great man Jose is.
Jose is very important part of the Sacramento Culture and Is loved by the population and is developing a super power city, keep it up Jose!
Climate Watch
By Andrs Martin
Climate change has been hitting hard this year, the Bolt Creek Fire only started because it was so dry outside, then it took until mid-October for normal October weather to resume. Washington seems to finally be feeling the effects of climate change, although some don’t believe in it, there is evidence, and ways to fix it. You can help to urge more development of electric/hydrogen ship and plane engines, ships and planes are the largest engine-based contributors to fossil fuel use, if we stop using fossil fuels to power large things and houses and switch to wind, hydro, and nuclear power sources, there is more of a chance to stop the climate crisis. There have been advancements in green vehicles, but they are made using lithium-ion batteries, which are dangerous and, eventually, bad for the environment and where do you think the electricity for most of these EV chargers are coming from, fossil fuels. We are approaching the point of no return on the climate crisis; humanity could cross the line to make the climate crisis irreversible by 2027. Once that happens, we are living on a timer, leading up until our home is no longer livable.
Kegan’s Fun Facts
In 2018, studies were shown that Switzerland’s population consumed around 87,000 tons of chocolate!
Dogs look so cute when the curl up like a ball! Dogs curl up in a ball when sleeping to protect their organs due to their days in the wild, when they were vulnerable to predator attacks.
Did you know Kanye West lived in China? Kanye was 10 at the time and apparently quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it.
Where did the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit? The giant asteroid, believed to be the size of Mount Everest, smashed into the Earth at a point now known as the Chicxulub crater. The impact site sits buried beneath the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico.
Bill Gates was Arrested!? When he was 22 years old, he got arrested for driving without a driving license.
The Buffalo Bills lost 4 super bowls in a row!!!!!!!!!! AJ KNEBEL??
Shelby Frye, Sultan’s very own, can do a crab walk.
Caption: Shelby the Crab.
Sultan Legend, Gavin Christensen, plays three instruments, guitar, bass, and drums.
Logan Konicki, Benches a whopping 235 and quats a outstanding 315.
The world’s largest tropical rainforest is located in South America (Amazon Rainforest).
The world’s longest mountain range (Andes).
The capybara is a mammal living in South America and the largest living rodent in the world.
My good friend, Maximo, lives in the great country of Argentina.