2 Designed By Features

Writing is a skill that an author dedicates their life to improving. Being an author isn’t an easy job. No matter how long a writer spends working on their writing, it can tend to feel like it is never good enough. But in the long run, writing is rewarding and is a great way to ex-press yourself to either friends or the world.

Because of this, I decided to find a few of the authors at our school and ask them about their life as an author.

Why do you write? Lauren Michelson: It's kind of like having

a god complex. You can do anything; the pos-sibilities are endless. You can make changes to your own life to make it more exciting or make a completely different world with totally unique creations. It also helps let out all of the crazy and creative energy trapped in my brain.

Mariah Hardy: I write because I love look-ing at both sides of a story, and I love arguing about things that I believe in.

Aloe Gillmore: I write mainly because I just have such a visual mind that it drives me crazy until I get it out of my head and onto pa-per.

What do you write about?Lauren: I write about anything. If one day I

feel like writing horror or suspense, I do that. If I feel like writing adventure or fantasy instead I do that as well. I always have weird ideas bouncing around in my head that just kind of pop up.

Phhs writers come cleanBrittany Odegaard

Editor

Most everyone in the Pleasant Hill commu-nity is aware of the Mr. Billie pageant. The pag-eant is put on by Wanda Wilson, Tammy Burbee and Lisa Jones. In addition to those lovely la-dies, are the coordinators and the Mr. Billie boys themselves. This year a record number of 12 boys and 24 coordinators participated. From the beginning, the boys had to work hard and needed all the help from their coordinators.

To become a Mr. Billie, the 12 boys had to go through an intense interviewing process, and then they were given their coordinators. All year, the boys raised money doing different types of fundrasing, and all the proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network. The Children's Miracle Network is a charity for the NICU at RiverBend Hospital. It was such a fun, amazing honor to know we were all helping raise money to save babies lives.

This year, there were several different fund-raisers. Santa Breakfast is the kick off, where all the boys get a chance to make a statement. Also, the boys and their coordinators write out dona-tion letters and send them out to family, friends and fellow community members. Gatehouse Piz-za night and Dairy Queen nights always brought in a fun and funds. This year, the boys grew very

Mr. Billie: Kids Helping Kidsclose, and everyone could see the chemistry be-tween everyone, including coordinators.

Towords the end of the Mr. Billie road, the boys and their coordinators get a chance to actu-ally visit some pre-mature babies in the NICU and that's when what they truly realized how amazing this cause is. Babies weighing only 2 pounds reminded the Mr. Billie boys and girls how important this all was.

In April, the arrival of the pageant meant that everyone was nervous and excited. The pag-eant went by flawlessly, with Parker Smith sing-ing a song on his guitar, Garrett Davis and some killer dance moves, and Cliff Harris rocking the drums.

The pageant featured so many different as-pects. The boys danced their hearts out, Andrew Way, wearing a skirt, portrayed Wonder Woman In the end, Max Jones was crowned Mr. Billie. However, every single one of those boys are win-ners for contributing so much time and energy into the raising of money for CMN. Mr. Billie is so much more than the pageant itself. It's about raising money, having fun, and saving innocent, sweet lives.

Olivia raimerReporter

Not all schooling needs to be done in a classroom. Some can best be done hands-on. Such is true with fire fighting.

On April 3-5, 2013, five Pleasant Hill High School students: Brandon Billow, James Fairbairn, Jordan Rossman, Jared Wehr, and Jeremy Leonard participated in Fire School up at Camp Tadmor outside of Lebanon. Fire School is sponsored by a collaboration between Forestry instructors and industry. I interviewed Jordan Rossman and Biology teacher Dani Tubman on the experience.What did you do at Firecamp?

Rossman: When we arrived we were assigned cabins. After setting up we had to meet in the mess hall to go over how to predict fire behaviour, safety info, other events. On day two we woke up early and ate breakfast and had a little social time before we rolled out with another cabin towards the clear cut where we would be performing operations and listening to the instructions about how to use equipment.

Wednesday evening we learned about personal protective equipment, safety, shelter, and fire behavior from Oregon Department of Forestry’s Steve Kendall. The next day, students worked in crews on fusee, drip torch, tools, hose lay, use of water, and hand lines with a United States Forestry official. Students also participated in a grueling pack test relay (two mile hike) and mop up. Peter Mazka from Oregon Forestry Resources Institute gave a presentation in the evening during dinner on careers in forestry as well. During the last day, additional experts (including our very own Ralph Perkins, former forestry teacher at PHHS) taught First Aid, dirt throw, compass and pacing, and fire table/fire wise. On day three we loaded up everything in the back of the Dodge and headed home. What was the experience like?

“It was incredible, like nothing I’ve ever done before. the people there really worked hard to make sure it was a good experience for everyone involved with firefighting.”What did you learn?

“We had the chance to learn (on low scale) what it is like to be a forest firefighter, operating pumps, hoses, digging fire lines, and going through safety procedures and tests as a real fire fighter would. Better yet some events were timed as though a real fire were burning.”

Boys and girls were welcome to go to Fire School. The cost was $75 per person. This cost covered the daily classes, food, and lodging! Biology teacher Dani Tubman thanked Pete Sikora from Guistina for providing hard hats, Nomex Fire Shirts, eye protection, and gloves. Randy Fisher for his support.

Fireschooltrea rOgers

Reporter

Asking a girl to prom used to be really simple. A guy would just ask, “Do you want to go to prom with me?” Then the girl gave her answer.

Now, however, some girls won’t accept the simple question anymore. Now boys must consider the PROMPOSAL so... GO BIG OR GO HOME. I asked a few gentlemen about this cultural change.To what extent would you go to ask the girl you want to go with?

Promposals: Making a splash is the way to impressizzy vahala

Reporter“I would go to any extent. In public I

would get on one knee with flowers.”—Dillon Ritchie

“I would not go extremely far because prom is a simple dance, not marriage!”—Chase Stowell

“Go all out!”—Tristan Yaroscak“Great extent.”— Kory Schneider

What is the most you would spend on the girl you want to take?

“80 dollars.”—Dillon

“It depends on what I’m spending it on.”- Chase

“It honestly depends on the girl.”—Tristan “It depends on how close to my paycheck

it is.”—KoryDo guys enjoy all the girls freaking out about every little detail?

“I don't really mind it.”—Dillon “Absolutely not.”—Chase “It’s cute.”—Tristan “Not all girls do that.”—Kory

Do guys ever want to take just a friend date rather than “date” date?

“No”—Dillon“I don’t think you would get the full effect

if you just brought a friend. I think a huge part of prom is having that special someone to spend an amazing night with. You’re going to remem-ber prom for the rest of your life. So make it worth it.”—Tristan

“Probably, but I’m sure people would just assume it’s a “date” date.—Kory

Rossman tells of his time learning about forest fire fighting

Max Jones is chosen “Mr. Billie” after a raucous and fun-filled pageant.

Mariah: I write opinion columns most of-ten.

Aloe: Poetry, my thoughts, reflections about things as well as news columns

Have you ever had anything published professionally?

Lauren: I haven't had anything profession-ally published.

Mariah: I have been in YWA's [Young Writers Association] Upstarts [magazine]!

Aloe: A poem once, but nothing fancy. And the poem wasn't one I was fond of either...

Where do you want to go with your writ-ing?

Lauren: I don't really see myself going anywhere with my writing in the future. It's more of a hobby that I enjoy and keeps me oc-cupied.

Mariah: I'm not sure, I know that I would like to improve my skills in writing during col-lege.

Alley: I may do something with journalism later, but other than that I just plan on using my writing to individualize myself in college es-says as well as job applications

What is your strong suit in writing?Lauren: People say I write good poetry,

but I think that I'm best at taking our everyday human life and throwing it into a big fiction sto-ryline.

Mariah: Journalism!Alley: News stories? Haha, I'm too humble

to think I have a strong suit.

lauren michelsOn alOe gillmOre

What to know for your senior yeardana BrOOks

ReporterAs a junior, there are many things that flood your

head at the end of the year. You begin to think about how next year is the end of high school, but the fact that you get to call yourself a senior in only a few short months diminishes the fear—or at least some of it.

However, pershaps the most intimidating factor about ending your junior year is taking on the chal-lenge of applying to colleges. I sought the advice of my senior sister, Jackie Brooks.

There are many factors that affect your decision of where to apply to, such as location; cost; schol-arships; four year colleges vs. community colleges; and getting recommendation letters.

When asked what the most difficult thing about applying to colleges was, Jackie said, “the essays required to be written for the application process. They aren’t unbelievably difficult, but they are ex-tremely time consuming.” (For example, OSU requires six essays)

Sarah Lueders (12) agreed with her. Sarah also mentioned that writing about herself was a chal-lenge because it’s hard to answer the type of the questions they ask from your own point of view.

Jackie is planning on attending Pacific University. Pacific is located roughly two hours away from Pleasant Hill. Her other seriously considered option was College of Idaho. That college, however, is over eight hours away. “The location of your college shouldn’t be the deciding factor. I didn’t choose Pacific over C of I because of the distance, but it did have an impact on my decision,” she said.

The best part about choosing a college for most people is the excitement of it all. For Sarah and Jackie, it was the fact they they were getting the opportunity to plan their future. However, along with “planning your future” comes stress. We learn about stress in Health class with Mr. Miller, but we can still overthink things. ESPECIALLY when picking colleges. Jackie and Sarah both agreed the best way to cope was to vent and avoid it.

I asked Jackie how she dealt with the stress, and she replied “Honestly? I avoided it. I talked to Mrs. Brelsford a lot and that helped. But other than that I tried to keep my mind off of it because I didn’t want to overthink it.” Sarah brought up the use of Pro and Con lists.

Mrs. Brelsfords’ help was extraordinary when it came to letters of recommendation and scholar-ships. “Most of the scholarships that you’ll receive come from the school that you are most interested in.” said Jackie.

Money is also issue. However, Jackie said it should not limit which colleges you apply to. Four year colleges tend to cost more, sometimes almost as much as a private school. But, even if you think you can’t afford it, you might be surprised. There are a ton of financial packets that will make it affordable and even sometimes cheaper than a community college. Sarah Lueders said “You’re leaving yourself an option and if you’re interested then there is always a way.”

They both agreed that it was smart to apply to a college that you don’t exactly see yourself going to, but know that you will get into, such as LCC, or another community college. They stated that it was good to have a fallback and even better to have more choices.

Some senior advice to keep in mind is to take AP classes. “The more classes you get done now, the fewer classes you have to do later. It’s way cheaper in high school than in college. If you get enough credits you can start college as a sophomore and save a lot of money,” said Jackie.

Sarah Lueders said “Start ‘everything’ early. All the stuff you’ll think you’re going to want to do when you’re older.” Also, they both said that you shouldn’t let your background or your finances affect where you’d like to apply. There is no price on your future. You should also talk it out with everyone.

Bottom line, just don’t overthink things. If it’s meant to happen, it will happen, and there is always the opportunity to transfer or to switch your majors. If you need advice or someone to rant to, find Mrs. Brelsford. She has the whole “college process” down. Also, as a junior, start thinking about scholarships and which colleges interest you BEFORE your senior year, because you don’t want it all to hit you at once. Picking your college can be fun or it can be a hassle, but only if you make it one.

Sierra Johnson