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Relay to fight, Relay for Life
June 10th, 2011By Missy Madsen
Staff Writer
What would you say if there was a way to try and help those suffering from cancer? What if you had the chance to make a difference for those people?
Well, even though scientists haven’t found a cure for cancer, there is still a way the students here at WA can join in on the fight against it. Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, takes place this year on June 10th-11th from 6pm to 6am at Stony Brook Middle School.
Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone a chance to celebrate the lives of people who are fighting, or have fought through cancer. There are different events that take place during Relay, some unique to the community, and others are universal, such as the survivor’s lap. The survivor’s lap starts off Relay, and what happens is survivors are invited to circle the track along with the participants, or teams, to celebrate their strength and unite under the common wish that cancer could soon be eliminated.
In Relay different teams are in a competition to raise the most money to help find a cure for cancer. The numerous number of teams,if they have raised enough money to stay overnight, camp out on the field for twelve hours.
Relay was started by Dr. Gordy Klatt in Tacoma, Washington when he wanted to show his support for his patients battling and who had battled cancer. Klatt decided to personally raise money for the fight by running marathons, something he loved. His friends and family watched him and cheered him on in his runs while donating for the cause, thus relay was born.
It may be too late to sign up to participate in Relay, but you can still support the cause by attending the event and contributing.
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Pushing the Pops
May 17th, 2011
Missy Madsen
Staff Writer
One of the most popular questions that has been floating around through WA in the past month has been: Who has the lollipops?
These famous pops are the Ozark company lollipops used for a quick and easy fundraiser, mostly used by the sports teams here at WA. The trend began back in the fall when the field hockey team brought them in as their fundraiser, and now in the spring time it’s the girls’ tennis team’s turn.
The lollipops are known for two things: their exotic flavors and of course the mouth-watering taste. Many times throughout the day you will find either people selling them, buying them, or just sucking on them during class. In each bag there is around sixty lollipops. The freshmen being at the bottom of the food chain must sell three bags, a whopping 180 pops, unless some of the upperclassmen are unable to sell them and so pass them down. Sophomores and juniors have to sell two bags, and the seniors have the luxury of having to only sell one bag. Each lollipop itself is only .75 cents, but yet astonishingly each bag makes around forty-five dollars.
In these bags of wonder there are numerous delicious flavors but there are a few selective ones that are the top sellers. These flavors include: raspberry lemonade, sour pink lemonade, berries and cream, sweet freedom, watermelon, tropical splash, cherry cheesecake, and strawberry cheesecake. Not only do they all taste amazing but the designs on the lollipops themselves are just fun to look at.
Even though we are at the end of the lollipop season you may still be able to find a couple people selling them around hoping to get rid of their last couple. Also what I’ve noticed what seems to be going around is that there are other lollipop sales going around not just for sports but for other fundraisers such as for relay for life. So if you’re ever in the mood for something sweet, scout around and keep an eye out for these lollipops.
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Red Riding Hood is no longer a Fairy-tale
March 30th, 2011
By Melissa Madsen
Staff Writer
This version of Red Riding Hood, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, is no fairytale but rather a mystery as to who really is the big bad wolf, or in this case the werewolf.
This new twist on the legend follows young Valerie on the bridge of womanhood as she lusts after her childhood love, Peter; meanwhile her parents have promised her to another man named Henry. The plot thickens when the werewolf that has been terrorizing her village for generations takes a life, Valerie’s sister. The village, in fear, then hires a werewolf hunter to try and rid them of this beast, but they learn too soon that the werewolf might indeed be someone from within the village itself.
Valerie is played by Amanda Seyfried whom you might recognize from other movies such as Mean Girls, Dear John, and Letters to Juliet. In this movie however she does a superb job as does the rest of the cast in acting in a manner of terror, suspense, and drama in the series of events that take place in their quaint little village.
I found the setting and features of the small town, the name which was not given, to be quite believable and enchanting. Watching it made me feel as if I was a part of the medieval village they lived in, and believed that there were such things as witches and werewolves living amongst us in secret. The village is both rural and loosely inhabited and is on the outskirts of the woods. The setting adds to the level of 
suspension because it is not only where the mystery begins but also where it ends.
An aspect of the film I was skeptical about was to the love triangle between Valerie, Henry, and Peter. Remember that Valerie was promised by her parents to Henry, but is truly for Peter. What I found unbelievable about this was that Henry would not fight for Valerie as much as you would expect him to. He was the one who called for the engagement yet does not fight for his love when witnessing the romance between Valerie and Peter. It seems that in this sense he just gave up. The other approach could have made for more passionate and heartfelt scenes between the triangular romance.
Throughout the film, I found myself wondering: who can be trusted? What clues are misleading? And who really is the werewolf?
Red Riding Hood was quite enjoyable and suspenseful. Each scene will have you on the edge of your seat scared and nervous as to what you might see or hear next. This movie may not be the classic fairytale but is filled with mystery, love, drama, and will have you craving for more.
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Summer heat visits WA dance floor
March 10th, 2011
By Melissa Madsen, staff writer
The heat wave dance, that took place last Friday night, March 4th, definitely lived up to its name of being hot. With the three hundred to four hundred students all packed together in the cafeteria in summer attire you wouldn’t believe that there could be snow on the ground outside! Inside it was elaborately decorated with streamers hanging from the ceiling, balloon animals, purple waves on the wall, and the oh so famous Hawaiian leis given to every student upon entering.
Not only was the dance an exciting way to prepare for the warm weather of spring and summer that cannot come fast enough, but it also served as a fundraiser to help benefit Haiti. The money earned from both ticket sales and refreshments would go towards benefiting Haiti. Even though it seemed that most students were enjoying their time at the dance there was much talk passing around about the music and quality of the DJ.
The DJ started with a bang by playing “Black and Yellow”, but unfortunately midway into the song technical difficulties occurred leaving most of the students in rage and yelling at the DJ and yelling just in general. However once back on track there were some raised eyebrows at the music selection featuring songs that some students did not recognize nor care for that much. When some students questioned about the music choice the majority replied that it could have been much better and wish they had played more popular and newer songs.
In the end though the dance was really all about having a good time, waiting patiently for when the real heat wave could finally hit our school.
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