Sue Wright to Retire This Month, Introducing Theresa Gonzales

by ALEX HUNTER & DIMITRI IVIE

     Sue Wright has worked for the school district for 31 years; she could have retired last year, when 30 years were up, but she wasn't ready at that time. Now, she is going to be a grandmother for the 7th time in February. She has four grown children, so to be able to hang out with her grandkids whenever she is needed is very enticing for her.

     What she will miss most about Mac-Hi is working for the kids, staff, and being able to interact with the community by giving them awareness of the education at the schools and the requirements for graduation. These things are always changing, and she worked to update the community because she believes, as a community member, you should know what the school requirements are, especially when deciding the bond issue that coming up. “What I won't miss is getting up out of bed at 6 in the morning to be at work,” she remarked.

     Some of the best moments during work were assisting students and their families outside of school when they were new to the community. Anytime there was a new student, she would help them get acclimated to and involved in the school as well as the community.

     One of the people that she will never forget during this experience is Judy Chesnut. Judy was the principal at Freewater school when Sue was hired. They worked together for 17 years when Sue was her secretary. Judy taught her a lot of what she knew, and they became very good friends over the course of time. Another great memory was when fourth graders would have their field trip around Oregon, learning about history and being able to visit places that they wouldn't necessarily go to. Sue loved the fact that the field trip not only allowed students to learn but also to discover the excitement of seeing new places, like the beach, in our wonderful state. Sue has been a fixture at Mac-Hi for many years, students and staff will miss seeing her face in the office.

     Replacing Sue will be Theresa Gonzalez, whose face you have probably seen in the office already. She used to be a dental administrator, which means that she kept the office running correctly as she scheduled appointments and handled billing along with coding. She liked her old job quite a bit, but she was looking for a change.

     Theresa was born in Walla Walla, and she grew up here. She graduated from McLoughlin High School. A large portion of her family lives here, so she doesn’t feel alone, and she likes to spend time with them. When she came back for her job, she was nervous and scared because it was a new experience, but everyone here was very welcoming and nice she said. It helped that she already knew most of the staff from when she was a student here.

      She likes getting to know the students and seeing how each of them have their own personalities. Some of the challenges that she has faced since coming here include learning all of the students’ names, and that the students didn’t know her very well so they walked past her to talk to Sue. She is happy to be here and excited to watch all of the students grow and progress in their lives as she grows in hers. Theresa adds, “I am looking forward to being here a long time and getting to know everyone better.”

Want to be a Mechanic? Check Out Mac-Hi’s Newest Club

by DIMITRI IVIE

         Here at Mac-Hi, at the start of February, you can bring in your car and learn new auto skills, such as maintenance, repair, and you can discover new information about your vehicle. Sign ups are available in Tami's office. Mr. Martinez is the head of the new club, and he is ready to teach students everything he knows.

          The shop in the Ag Building is where the work will be done on cars that you bring in. There will be general tools provided to use at the shop.There is no fee to use the building, but you will need to bring in replacement parts as well as specialty oddball  tools.              

Mr. Martinez said that one tool they is an electronic diagnostic machine, which is used to detect electrical mishaps in newer cars. If anyone has one they can use, please contact him. It will be greatly appreciated.

Painting cars will also be available in the future when the building will be sterile of dust and other obstructions that can get in the paint. This club will be a good addition to Mac-Hi, because it not only provides students with a resource for working on their cars, but also can help build useful skills for the future.

Where Have They Gone?

by DIMITRI IVIE

         Bananas are amazingly delicious, but the school has not had bananas in a long time. I vote the opportunity is now to find out what happened to this beloved fruit that seems to be escaping the clutches of students in the school. I will get to the bottom of this potentially catastrophic occurrence.

      As I ask around journalism class, and the students as well as the teacher seem to not have eaten bananas in a long time, and those who have recently eaten bananas they were their own. Traveling to my next class, I asked around and most students had either not remembered the last time they ate one or have had an outside source of bananas. Continuing my investigation, these facts worry me greatly.

       The next day, interviews with fellow classmates of mine have proven one thing: anyone who had eaten bananas recently ate them outside of school. I then spoke to the cafeteria lady, Pam Hawley, who had her last day on the 8th of December, and I asked her when the last time she saw bananas served at the school and she said,”Well, not since last year.” Hawley stated that our food supplier would not get any for us students because they were to expensive. Not even for Thanksgiving did they provide one banana for the fruit salad (I just knew something was off!).

        I have also recently learned that due to a fungi infesting banana plants, they are dying off. Therefore, this makes the price of bananas rise, but is it so much that the food providers can't afford to buy them? Not even for Thanksgiving? How high will the price go to?

           Now those of you who think that this is a ridiculous story and have a “Who cares attitude” what if the last source of bananas were gone and we never saw a banana again? The minions would not be able to sing the banana song or any song with bananas in it, poof! Also, any lotion, makeup, and medicines would be a dream. So show forth some care for this beautiful yellow fruit!

Wrestle Your Heart Out

by ANAHI CASTILLO & DIMITRI IVIE

Coach Chad Kilburg is impressed by how the wrestlers have done in their first two tournaments. Being able to have three of his wrestlers as Champions at the Muilenburg Tournament was something that hasn’t been done in a while. When asked what has been the biggest sacrifice he has had becoming the head coach, he answered, “This is the first year being head coach with all of the added responsibility, but that has made it challenging and fun.” Jerry Ewing, Chad’s high school wrestling coach, inspired him to become a wrestling coach. Chad Kilburg doesn’t regret becoming a coach, but he sure doesn’t like when one of his wrestlers gets hurt during a match they worked so hard for.

One of our top wrestlers this year is Riley Chester, Champion at the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament. He was nervous but confident before the match to take the wrestlers on! His favorite moment was when he won his last match. One of the biggest sacrifices for Riley was giving up his free time and having to cut weight. His ambition for wrestling this year is the State Title. He wants to go big this year.

 Cole Skramstad, another Champion at the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament, felt great and confident during the tournaments. The best feeling Cole got was when he pinned his opponent during the match. He has had to sacrifice drinking soda because of the strict diet the wrestlers need to have to stay at a certain amount of weight. “My dad, has been an inspiration since I was young and I have always wanted to surpass him in his accomplishments.”

Our third Champion, Alyx Shaw, in the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament said, “I was nervous but I had a lot of people back me up.” He felt great after he won and everyone was excited for him. Alyx has gave up most of his free time because of the practices during weekdays and tournaments on weekends. He also says that it’s hard for wrestlers to lose or gain weight in such a short period of time.

Spencer Wells is one of the most improved wrestlers from last year. He was in as a 250 pound freshman and throughout managed to lose 50 pounds. His current weight is 202 pounds. Coach Chad Kilburg said, “I’m really proud of the improvement Spencer has had since the beginning of his freshman year to now.” Spencer himself is proud of the extreme weight loss he has had. The hard work that he puts in and what he gets out of it is his favorite part of being in wrestling.

Another greatly improved person on the Mac-Hi wrestling team is Zach Crismon. At the beginning of his freshman year he started at 85 pounds and then at the end of the season he weighed 95 pounds, but this year he is weighing 115 pounds. When it comes to tournaments he is a very nervous yet confident wrestler. Winning his first match and placing on the top four made Zach feel really good about himself. His inspiration to be a better wrestler would be Cole Skramstad, because he is a hard worker and usually places in state.

  

The Gathering Place

by DIMITRI IVIE

On the site where the old Dairy Queen once stood is now a wonderful spot to enjoy time with friends. The community pulled together to build this wonderful new place for our generations to gather together to make new friends and build relationships that will last a lifetime.

There were 261 different individuals that contributed to this project, including  students from Key Club, staff from the Milton-Freewater Downtown Alliance (MFDA) and many others from our community who contributed to complete this new masterpiece. From start to finish, it took only three months and ten days to complete with four sweat-filled days from the volunteers. There will eventually be some trees that will be planted to replace the canopies that are currently providing  shade.

All of the art structures that surrounds the place have meaning within their making. Each pillar represents a cultural or social aspect of the town, such as agriculture, sports, mechanics, winter sports, history, and town services. The upright mosaics are in memory of the Martin family and what they contributed to this project. The stair-step piece represents the mountains, and the design on the cement (created by an acid wash) recreates the Walla Walla River.

All the work and effort that has been put into this has been well worth it. The area has been prayed over by Pastor Steve Lyons from First Christian Church and the members that worked during the construction of the gathering place.