The Scratching Post, Issue One

The Eastmont student body has brought their A Game this year

Please see page 8

Homecoming: the biggest event of

the season

Please see page 10

Cole Christman and Betsy Arlt;

local kingpins of the fi nish line

Please see page 5

Post Photo/Reilly Kneedler

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The Scratching Post is published every three weeks by the Journalism Class, and is sancti oned by the ASB

of Eastmont High School. It is an open forum for student expression

and it provides the student body the opportunity to voice their independent

opinion through the medium of journalism.

STARTING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT

Eastmont High School had the privilege of listening to guest speaker Houston Kraft speak about fear and love this September.

The students of EHS were amazingly responsive to his message, and the idea of choosing love. According to Eastmont student Yesania Pirestani, Kraft was very comical, and an amazing person: “It’d be a privilege to even know him, and he’s prett y darn cute!”

Pirestani felt his stories of fear and failures were really relevant because those same situati ons take in place in every student’s daily life.

By Samantha AguilarReporter

Houstan Kraft speaks to the EHS student body on a simple, yet important topic: love.

His wisdom not only helped students to grow and develop individually, but it also set a tone for the year. In a situati on where an outstanding moti vati onal speaker has the opportunity to come into the second week of a school year in a brand new building and begin to develop a culture of love, anything is possible.

Senate took up the challenge of building upon his momentum by incorporati ng an element of his “bouncing story” into the fall sports assembly the very next day.

They will look to conti nue to build off of his momentum in the coming months.

The impact of

motivational speaker

is felt for weeks


The rules this year have been changed to make it easier for teachers to quickly identi fy problems and enforce them at EHS.

While the ti tle of this arti cle may be slight hyperbole, the fi rst rule has sti rred up a bit of outcry amongst the student body. As a change made to protect the beauti ful new school, if anyone tries to walk into the new building with their favorite drink from Dutch Bros or Aut-to-Mocha in a fl imsy plasti c cup, they will be asked to throw it away as soon as they’ve passed the commons. Anybody can easily bypass this rule by pouring their drink into a sealable container, a soluti on many have uti lized.

This prevents people from spilling their drinks on equipment or school materials. However, some people however are not fond of carrying around large bott les and would much rather be able to throw away their container when they are fi nished.

Speaking of food and drink, no food will be allowed inside the classrooms… period. Teachers were thoroughly informed that this parti cular rule should be heavily enforced, again with the positi ve intenti on of maintaining the school.

And now on to the dress code; skirts now have to be mid thigh, this way teachers can clearly see whether someone is actually breaking the dress code or not.

A parti cularly controversial rule that is being enforced this year is that all students are required to have a hall pass when being released during class. If students are seen without a hall pass they will be escorted to where they need to be by a staff member. Most people would think that this has always been implied, but with the opportunity to adapt the student handbook, the administrati on has highlighted this rule as an important one.

Hopefully the new rules will make for a smooth daily operati on, but only ti me will tell for sure.

By Killian TuckerWeb Specialist

BREAKING: DUTCH BROS OUTLAWED IN SCHOOL

Just as the new year has ushered in the opening of a new building, our administration has undergone some construction too. Tom McRae was hired on at Eastmont High School as a Vice Principal and is the administrator overseeing the latest intervention program. “The hardest part was the �irst day, watching all the other teachers get their classes and introducing themselves to the students. All I wanted to do was get to my own class and begin a new year teaching,” he said.

McRae taught Math and Social Studies at EHS for 17 years before he made the shift to Vice Principal. An administrator’s duties differ greatly from those of a teacher’s, and some of those responsibilities take more time to get used to than others. He has had almost no pre-planned daily schedule, unlike the routine of teaching. Now, McRae has 1400 students to oversee at any one time, instead of just 30 in a given hour.

The constantly evolving duties are enough to make one’s head spin. “I come in at 7:00 am and suddenly it’s 2:00 am, and I’m sitting here thinking ‘where did the day go,’” he said.

Hired for the position by Principal Lance Noell, Mr. McRae has taken on quite a few different supervision areas,

as well as assisting with the return of the alternative school program to the high school’s campus.

McRae feels lucky to have the job, considering he is still in the midst of working to get his Masters Degree in Educational Administration.

He hopes to be the advocate the students and teachers want. In alignment with Eastmont High School’s mission statement, McRae will be providing a supportive environment within the school, and hopes to ultimately grow into a principal with his own vision for our school.

Mr. McRae has not been so totally engrossed in his new position that he has lost sight of his own person. He loves being active outdoors, as he used to run the Outdoor Leadership Club. He also has a new found passion for music that is his life driver. In his spare time McRae practices the drums and piano and plans to learn more once he is better at both. “If I’m not mountain biking I’m on the piano, and if I’m not rock climbing, I’m on the drums driving my neighbors crazy. I love life. Life is awesome.”

“Supporting the students, staff, and administration is the perfect position for me now,” stated McRae. “I’m home….This is where my heart is.”

AN ADVOCATE FOR THE STUDENTS

By Garrett MinskeReporter

Tom McRae is settling into his job as a new administrator

New rules delevoped to keep school clean, safe

Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal speaks to Mr. Knell’s sixth period American Government class about the criminal justice system. Knell

has pushed to get more external speakers into his classes this year. East Wenatchee mayor Steve Lacy and a representative from a local SWAT force

are also slated to make an appearance in the classroom this year.

LESSONS VIA THE LAW


The new cafeteria has under-gone a lot of improvements, but not everything went as smooth as planned. The �irst few days, some students had to write down their credentials when ordering due to the input keypads not working. This has greatly distracted the overall goal to improve the layout and get people through as ef�iciently as they can.

“We wanted to give you more

of a college type cafeteria where you have a bit more freedom rather than being stuck in one line,” said Eastmont’s head of Sodexo Services, Suzy Howard.

The �irst few weeks of serving lunch are crucial in commercial food production; �iguring out how much is needed to serve ends up being a game of guess and check. It is important that the lunch staff get an accurate tally of how much food is dished out and how much is left, so they can try and keep costs down and minimize waste. This can become increasingly hard when the

devices used to improve ef�iciency actually hinder it.

On the technology side of the cafeteria, understandably, nothing was perfect. A much needed second cooler was not present, because it was not ordered accurately, slow-ing down the lines and creating some minor problems. To add to this, some of the equipment was not functioning properly when it came out of storage either and needed troubleshooting or repair.

If there are juniors or seniors hoping to purchase similar foods to those were offered at Sterling last year, they are out of luck. The restrictions on what public schools

can serve have become more rigor-ous since the last academic year. Even though restrictions are tight, Howard and her team are working hard to give plenty of menu choices at a great value.

“We didn’t want something that you guys have had since kindergar-ten,” explained Howard. It may not be as ideal as it could be, but some serious changes are being made in the lunch program. As the kinks get worked out look forward to seeing parfaits and wraps in the cafeteria as well as the usual cuisine.

THE NEW LUNCH PROGRAMBy Killian TuckerWeb Specialist

The world of video games is a large one, and I’m not talking about the storylines. I’m talking about the industry. There are big games, with big budgets, big teams behind them, and short devel-opment times. Names like Call of Duty, Halo, Borderlands, Mario, and BioShock, that everybody knows. Big games like these are com-monly referred to as Triple-A games, and they’re the games that everybody knows about, which is why I’ve always wondered: Why do reporters insist on writing about them? Why write a review for the newest Call of Duty game, when we all know that it’s more or less a prettier version of the last one? Why write about the newest Halo game, if everyone already knows about it, and we’re all going to buy it anyway? That’s what I’d like to change.

Welcome to the Indie CornerDevelopers with no money, a team of maybe two people, and a

little bit of free time are making the games they love. These small fries have made a big splash, though; in the last few years, PC Gam-ers have had the opportunity to witness the rise of Indie games, and the amazing things that it’s brought us. Developers like The Behemoth, which are barely known, but revolutionized the industry as its known today. Games like Castle Crashers, Intrusion, Monaco, The Stanley Parable, Dungeon Defenders, and many, many more. For every island of AAA games, there is a sea of Indie games waiting to be discovered. They don’t have the budget to market to a larger audience, and rely on people to �ind them out amidst the crowd.

The real tragedy here is that most people don’t know about Indie games. These titles �ly out of the developers’ hands and onto the open market, noticed and praised by a precious few but ignored by the vast majority.

INDIE GAMES STORM THE MARKET

By Anthony Piccirillo

Waterfalls are beautiful sights to see, unless you are in a school and water is pouring on your newly �inished media center. The Eastmont High School library �looded on the morning of August 21st. It is estimated the costs of the damage will exceed $250,000. According to Mark Marney, who is the owner representa-tive of the construction project, “It was awful, because the library was so close to being ready and just about perfect, and then awe have this disaster happen. It was kind of a sickening feeling.”

The demolition on the library started over a year ago. It took multiple crews hundreds of man hours to bring the library into the 21st century, and it only took a matter of minutes to �lush it into the dark ages. The water damage all stemmed from a fume hood in one of the chemistry labs. There are currently four other fume hoods in the school. “The water followed the duct work, and ended up breaking out right over the computers,” said media specialist Linda Moses.

The student body, which was affected the most, lost their only computer lab. Thirty, brand new, desktops were destroyed and could not be salvaged. The wa-ter seeped down from the ceiling, and onto the desks containing the computers. At 5:30 in the morning the construction workers walked past the library and saw the fountain pouring from the ceiling. It took maintenance and construc-tion crews until 2 pm to turn off the water and stop it from creating more chaos.

“People were going as fast as they could, trying to move books and comput-ers out of the library,” stated Marney. All of the damaged goods were taken out into the hallway, let air-dry, gone through, checked to see which ones could be

FLOOD INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY used, and �inally returned once they were given the all-clear.Eight rooms were affected overall, the majority being teachers’ classrooms.

The media center, which is run by Mrs. Moses, was hit the hardest by the water, forcing her to move all of her stuff to a completely different room.

After two months of constant, diligent work, the library is �inally functional. Even as it stands the carpet in the library is still being called into question. Much of it was torn up, dried out, and put back down. One section had to be completely removed, and a patch was put in its place. Even though the carpet has not passed its �inal inspection, the students can still enjoy the library. They can utilize the computers and can check out books from the newly remodeled space.

By Alexia HayesReporter

Next Classes Start: Oct 21, Nov 11, Dec 1

This summer there was a particularly nasty series of �ires here in Washington. By the end of August, 363,000 acres had been burned. That is nearly six times the area destroyed by wild�ires in an average year. The Carlton Complex �ire in particular is the largest wild�ire in Washington state history. It alone destroyed 300 homes and spanned 400.2 sq. miles. It massively damaged the towns of Pateros and Malott. It managed to dwarf the horrendous �ires that �illed the valley with smoke back in 2012. Where as 2012’s close call only managed to plague EHS with smoke, the school in Pateros was physically burned. Although the tiny K-12 school is only a fraction of EHS’ size it handled its worst affair just as easily as Eastmont weathered the smoke and the school opened and oper-ated normally.

Speaking of smoke, there were other �ires much closer to home. Several �ires broke out just north of Wenatchee, around Leavenworth. Several people described the orange sky and smoky atmosphere using words like “post-apocalyptic” and “like a bad action movie.”

Wild�ires are a fact of life in Washington. They hap-pen every year and they are always concerning. How-ever it is unusual to have two abnormally bad wild�ire seasons so close together. Normally �ires serve as a force of cleansing and renewal. The �ire clears away all the dead debris and overgrowth to leave behind only the the fresh and healthy. The healthy wood left behind is usually dif�icult to burn. Two �ires of this magnitude should make it twice as dif�icult for a new �ire to sweep through anytime in the near future.

NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON SCORCHED BY

FIRE

By Tristen RaymondReporter

The iPhone 6 can be seen diff er-ently in a student’s eyes and in a teachers eyes. Typically a student will use it for games and social media, and a Teacher will use it for work related stuff . Senior Aus-ti n Adams just recently purchased the iPhone 6 Plus which in some people’s opinion looks like a piece of toast.

Adams bought the Plus instead of the regular iPhone because of its higher quality camera and a true screen resoluti on of 720p. But, the iPhone 6 is not the only big phone

on the market. He was a previous owner of the

iPhone 5 and decided to stay true to Apple because of the ability to transfer all of his music the 6. “I use the typical apps like youtube, pan-dora and snapchat.”

Some of the new features that this recent buyer likes is the turn home screen, and the new power butt on. The turn home screen fea-ture is a feature that fl ips the screen upside down to a person your trying to show something instead of fl ip-ping the phone all the way around.

“The new turn home screen feature has helped me a lot when I show my friends funny vines, or videos.” The power butt on on the side of the phone has been a quick and easy way to lock, unlock, and turn off his phone. “ The side power butt on has made it a quicker transiti on to turn on and off my phone.”

Teacher and Assistant Coach for the Eastmont Wildcats varsity foot-ball team, James Lehman, picked up the iPhone 6. Lehman pur-chased the iPhone 6 over another smartphone because it is more user friendly. “I’ve always been an iPhone user.”

Lehman parti cularly liked the new thumbprint unlock and how much faster it was compared to the simple passphrase on his previous phone. Lehman did not buy the iPhone 6 Plus because the device was just too

big for him. “For apps I use Teamstream,

Yahoo fantasy football, and Hudl.” Hudl is an app that allows him to watch game fi lm to diagnose the tendencies and strategies of other teams. Lehman likes it more than his previous device, the iPhone 4s, because of its 64 gigabyte storage capacity unit. So that he can have a lot of music and photos.

The device seems to fi ll the needs of both student and teacher by allowing both to consume content on a larger screen. Adams primarily uses his for social media and taking photos, while Coach Lehman enjoys his for the extra storage and the opportunity to conti nue to coach off the fi eld.

IPHONE 6 HITS EASTMONT HIGH SCHOOL

By Griff ey HalleReporter

Senior Parents: Come help plan a fantastic Senior Party for your graduate. The initial Senior Party Planning Meeting will be

Thursday, Oct. 32 at 6:30 PM in the EHS Auditorium.Students:

Attend the Spokane National College Fair Wednesday, November 5th from 9 AM-12:00 noon and 6 PM-8 PM at the Spokane Convention Center. More than 300 colleges and universities from across the nation will be

represented. It provides a wonderful opportunity for high school students and their families to meet face to face with college representatives.

Students interested in becoming Washington Aerospace Scholars: See your counselor. Application deadline is Nov. 14.

-A message from the couseling of�ice

“Running is one of those sports where you kinda need other people to help push you to go faster,” said Betsy Arlt, Eastmont’s top female cross country runner. “It helps to have them around in a race.”

This presents quite a paradox for

BETSY ARLT AND COLE CHRISTMAN; LOCAL KINGPINS OF THE FINISH LINE

By Reilly KneedlerEditor in Chief

Cross country stars �ind that they can use each other to improve their times Post Photos/Reilly Kneedler

Above: Cole Christman and Betsy Arlt are two of the top cross country runners in the area and have more in

common than one might think.

the modern cross country competitor: the rival helps you get a better time.

Yet most runners would agree on this point, so often the lines between enemy and friend are blurred beyond recognition.

In an equally unique place, a valley such as this with two high schools only minutes apart, blurred lines can often foster deep appreciations and relationships amongst runners.

And so enters Cole Christman, a Wenatchee Panther with an unbelievable level of talent, making him the top seed for the WHS cross country team.

As another name in the Wenatchee Valley that regularly has a No. 1 by it, Christman has learned over time to develop an appreciation for the makeup of an average race day, seeing as the girls varsity always competes before the guys take their turn.

“I de�initely take the time to watch Betsy compete. Since she’s a great runner and I know her style, I can watch where she really takes off on the course and then adjust my strategy,” he said.

This method has seemed to pay off

for him so far, if his season progress is any indication. Christman’s �irst three races led to three top �inishes, then an equally as impressive seventh place �inish in the Nike Pre-Nationals held in Oregon.

Although according to Christman, routinely watching other cross country races is all in a day’s work.

“Even on days when we have home meets and don’t have to be at the park until a certain time, our coach always has us come early and support the other racers,” Christman said.

This is a method also utilized by Arlt; she says that the boys varsity races are always worth watching. When it comes to arguably the top male high school cross country runner in the area, Arlt �inds nothing but admiration.

“Cole is just really talented,” she said, “His races are a lot of fun to watch.”

Support seems to bust at the seams for this sport, especially when it comes to the larger meets.

“Wenatchee is just a great team to have competition with,” Arlt said. “Plus it’s always nice to see other Wenatchee Valley people at the big meets. It’s reassuring to see people from where you’re from.”

After a severe knee injury that benched her for a few weeks of competition, Arlt had some unique time to re�lect on the dynamics of her team.

“(Being injured) is really frustrating for me personally, because you train all summer long for the season,” she said. “But being able to watch and support the other runners is fun too. It’s kind of nice to be able to teach them and relax for a bit.”

Cole Christman runs up the �inal stretch of the Wenatchee Invite.

Betsy Arlt paces the varsity girls race at Walla Walla Park on Sept 20.

There is a new star on the swim team, her name is Brooklyn Tucker. This freshman has been excelling in ways no one thought possible. She is competing at least as well as some of her older teammates. She has some amazing times and has placed well in most of the meets so far. Tucker recently swam a 500 meter freestyle race in six minutes and 42.72 seconds, receiving �irst place against Ike.

In the meet against Eastmont’s rival team, Wenatchee, Tucker swam the 500 meter freestyle with a time of 6:25.35 taking third place. Even though her time in the 500 meter was not as good as it was in the meet in Moses Lake, she was very happy to place third against the Panthers.

She has been doing relays with the varsity team and they took second place in the meet in Wenatchee. Tucker has been swimming for as long as she can remember, not like the swimming people do at Lake Chelan, competing is in her blood. Brooklyn swam for Velocity, the local Club team, last year and loved it. “Velocity is the main thing that

really prepared me for the high school season,” she said. There are a lot of differences between club and school swim. “One of the main differences is that Velocity has a lot more events that you can choose to swim. High school on the other hand we only get to choose from 12 or 13 events.”

Senior captain Adrian Marquis has nothing but respect for the young

FRESHMAN STAR SURFACES ON THE TEAMBy Jace Gleason

Adverti sing Manager

swimmer: “She’s helping out a ton. With her, our main relay has a chance at state.” Marquis sees her as a positive in�luence for the whole team. “During (the Moses Lake Invite,) it was outside and freezing but she kept a great attitude and had everyone laughing the whole time. During practice

she never complains about how hard the workout is and gives 100%.” Marquis and the other swimmers even gave her a nickname: “When she

leads off in the relay everyone yells ‘B-Dawg’

when she jumps.” Head coach Darcy

Bruggman loves Tucker’s

attitude and positivity that she has added to the team. “Brooklyn Tucker has been a strong addition to our team. She is very positive and supportive of teammates. She works hard in practice and is able to swim any stroke or event.” This swimmer is making her way to the top Eastmont can be sure to expect more from this freshman throughout this season.

“With her, our main relay has a chance at state”

-Adrian Marquis

Freshman Brooklyn Tucker has made waves on the swim team, perhaps helping them get to a state berth.

High school students always seem to have stress in their lives. Students have to worry about homework, friends, family, sports, the list goes on and on. Now imagine having to deal with all of that stress in a foreign country. That scenario is a reality for two Eastmont volleyball players, Idunn Helgium and Sophia Ikpia. Helgium and Ikpia play on Eastmont volleyball’s Ladycat C-team, coached by Leon Grant.

“I’d never played volleyball before as a sport, but I did in P.E.” Helgium said, “I thought it’d be a way to meet new people and make friends.” Helgium is a 17-year-old junior who has come

NOT YOUR AVERAGE VOLLEYBALL to East Wenatchee all the way from Norway. She will be attending classes here until Eastmont’s graduation at the beginning of June, but will �ly home and �inish out her high school years with the Class of 2016 in Norway. Helgium really enjoys World History and English so far in American school.

Sophia Ikpia is a 15-year-old junior from Germany. Ikpia will leave America after graduation in June and will attend two more years of school back in Germany. “My organization allows my parents to visit me in January, but they probably are not going to come, so I will not see my family.” Ikpia enjoys playing a high school sport so much she is looking forward to possibly playing softball, tennis or competing in track and �ield in the spring.

Meanwhile, Helgium’s parents are

likely to visit in June, right before she leaves. “My organization allows my family to visit me starting in April, they are afraid (the students) may get homesickness and quit the year,” Helgium stated.

As expected, foreign exchange students encounter many challenges. “The hardest thing for me personally is the subjects, like understanding them. For example in math, I understand when my teacher solves the problems but the words confuse me. It’s still hard to understand everything because I’m speaking English and thinking Norwegian,” explained Helgium. “Of course I miss my family and friends, but I feel safe here and everyone is so nice that it feels like home here.”

Ikpia took a bilingual class in Germany, so she was already used to the disconnect between English and her primary language. “The hardest thing is being away from my family for me personally. I’m not homesick, but sometimes I feel like I want to go

By Danielle Meadows Asst. News Editor

home.”Both Helgium and Ikpia agree that

their American experience has been amazing so far. “Everything is so new and different,” Helgium said. “It’s made this experience much easier.” Helgium and Ikpia will resume action at home against Wenatchee this Saturday at 5:30 pm.

Idunn Helgium prepares to recieve a serve during a recent home match.


Post Photo/Danielle Meadows

This year the West Valley Rams are moving up to the 4A clas-si�ication and joining the Big Nine League. They are an old rivaling team from way back. They can be compared to what Wenatchee is now: hard to beat yet fun to play. The Rams and Wildcats both used to be members of the mid-valley league.

“The rivalry is still there,” said long-time Eastmont teacher, and EHS alumni, Bob Gallaher.

The games that Eastmont played against West Valley were brutal. The competitions were always entertaining to watch unfold. Players on both sides played harder than they usually did, creating spectacular experience.

Recalling a memory from his glory days as a student of East-mont, Bob Gallaher said, “West Valley just scored a big basket that put them in the lead. Then, one of the West Valley players, on their way back, elbowed our mascot in the face. She got knocked down, but jumped right back up and chased the player down the court.”

It is these kind of heated battles that make rivalries more inter-esting to watch than regular league play.

Eastmont football will be facing off against Wenatchee this

Wenatchee, West Valley, Who’s Gonna Get the Highest Tally?

By Liam O’RourkeReporter

Friday at Wildcat Stadium. The teams are continuously �ighting for the win, which makes everyone want to get involved. Whenever the Wildcats face the Panthers it is not just a game, it is a battle for the win. It is not just the amazing plays, but the players’ willingness to score more.

Gallaher also added “Beat ‘em, beat ‘em really good.”The real question looking forward is will the Cats have another

rival to beat, or will West Valley just be another team to play this season?

Now everyone in the Eastmont crowd will have a rival, although it may not be the same team for everyone. Current players have Wenatchee as their rival, while the older generation still holds on to West Valley as their rival.

Wenatchee always seems to be that team that challenges East-mont to its max, and back when the generations of the past played in Wildcat Stadium, West Valley has brought out that same energy for them. Hopefully this league change will mean seeing that ener-gy come out twofold: both when Eastmont beats up on West Valley, and annihilates Wenatchee.

The real rivalry test will be on Friday, when the Panthers make the trek over here for some prep football action.

During the Hall of Fame, graduates of Eastmont who excelled in their sports programs were invited back to be inducted into the fi rst ever Eastmont Hall of Fame. To many of the Honored Athletes and coaches it was a neat feeling for them and that they were amazed at the number of great athletes that went to Eastmont High School. The Coaches had only positi ve things to say also! Just getti ng to know the players made all their

seasons good, Win or lose. Many athletes conti nued on with sports in college and professionally and some even became coaches once their ti me as an athlete was over. All of the athletes and coaches are sti ll very acti ve and into sports they played and coached when they were younger.

Russ Watermans goal for the Hall of Fame is to inspire students to try harder and to excel in what they do and to have a goal to work towards for the future when they join the next Hall of Fame which he said is an annual event that will be carried on from now on.

EASTMONT HALL OF FAME

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The Redzone has kept Eastmont athletics alive through the years.

However in recent memory, the infamous Wildcat student section has hit a few speed bumps. Especially with football, the Wildcats had a suffering season last year and did not always have the Redzone cheering them on.

Only a week into October and this year already seems to be a little different. Student Grant Gilbert had this to say about the change, “The Redzone compared to last year is very different considering last year was pretty much a joke. (Now) it is a lot better.”

NEW FACES, SAME SPIRIT “(The cheering) doesn’t really vary

from sport to sport but the people do. One of the reasons why I like being a leader is because since it’s my last year, it’s always good to cheer on your team,” Gilbert said.

Whereas it’s nice to see a variety of people cheering their hearts out at different games, the majority of the crowd used to follow the same pattern. In the past, it has been a given that seniors get the �irst row, juniors stand in the next, followed by sophomores and freshman stand or sit in the very back.

According to Jay Semmons, who can often be found wearing one of three morph suits during football games, this year is “a lot better.”

Semmons is a also member of

Senate and was one of the main advocates for a new Senate mission: desegregate the Redzone. With their mentality being: we’re one school, why not act like it? “In Senate we don’t want (seniority) to happen, we have been getting underclassman like juniors and sophomores in there with everyone else. We don’t care about class, we don’t care about age, and we would have a whole front row of 8th graders as long as they are loud.”

WHAT COMES DOWN, MUST COME BACK UP

Last year Eastmont was quite divided literally and symbolically by having the two campuses. Spirit was at an all-time low. As well as frankly a

buzz kill, the distance made it hard to communicate with the student body about anything going on in the school. People were tired at the end of the school day, and just weren’t happy about Eastmont.

This year with the new school and all the improvements to school culture, Wildcats are just

excited to be part of the school. “I like cheering and screaming for people,” Semmons said.

THE MAKING OF A LEADERMany people come to Eastmont

football games, but only some decide to sit in the student section. Then there are the even slighter portion that takes the initiative to stand up on the bleachers and cheer. Even fewer

still, choose to work their way up to the front, lean up on the cold metal rail and lose their voices by yelling “yeah, yeah, we got spirit” one too many times. Then there are the few, the proud, the bleacher creatures.

Spotting a bleacher creature is actually easy if you know what to look for. They get to games before the gates open and beg Mr. Waterman to let them in so they can race to save their spots. Often, they can be seen waving a Redzone �lag until their arms give out. In the midst of a game, as the student section starts to get amped up, you can hear their call; if you listen closely before the Redzone chants a cheer, you will hear a single, yet passionate voice yelling out the line to be repeated. This is the bleacher creature’s instinctual call, daring the other team’s fans to respond. And as far as this year goes, Eastmont bleacher creatures can almost always be found wearing morph suits.

Their history is a storied one, which peaked with the rein of the legendary Kevin Fagg two years ago. After the low point last year, these Redzone leaders are rebuilding their population.

What inspires someone to be a so called Redzone leader? It takes a special kind of person, because not everyone likes standing in front of 200 students and leading cheers. Most just go along with the cheer, but it takes a single butter�ly to start a storm of noise.

According to Semmons, “If no one else is going to, why shouldn’t I? Probably the biggest reason I wanted to be part of it is because it is a good way for people to meet others in the school, and get involved. I was talking to people and making friends with everyone in the Redzone, (people) I would have never talked to at school.

“I want the whole school to rep the Redzone, I want us to feel like we are one school… everyone belongs here.” Semmons said.

CATS TURNED WILDBy Rayne Browning

Reporter

“I want the whole school to rep the Redzone,”

-Jay Semmons

Grant Gilbert, left, Alex Hardgrove and Jay Semmons pose in their bleacher creature morph suits before a recent game against Davis.


Post Art/Reilly Kneedler

THE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCETHE WILDCAT NATION IS BACK IN FULL FORCE

Last year Senate announced Derek McClune as the 2014-2015 ASB president. His main goal for his term was to get everyone involved.

“We want to reach out to the kids that feel like they don’t belong,” McClune said, “we want to let them know that they can be a part of the school, we want them to be a part of this school.”

For the �irst year in the new school, Senate is pushing to increase school involvement throughout all groups. Ranging from the “jocks all the way to the nerds,” McClune and the EHS Senate are planning to bring them together through assemblies, events and dances.

To help accomplish the goal of inclusion, they plan to reach out to the kids that they don’t recognize, instead of always choosing the well-known kids for all of the assembly activities. The Senate of�icers went to an annual

leadership camp this summer, where the main focus was basic human need, sense of belonging, self-actualization (school spirit) and safety. The leadership camp helped teach them ways to get students to have a better time at school, and how to make them feel safe. Senate is furthering this by also trying to raise awareness of harassment.

Bullying has been around for as long as schools have, although not necessarily always at Eastmont.

“We want kids to come to school and not be worried about getting picked on. We want them to feel safe at school, and enjoy coming, and not feel that they are being forced to come,” McClune said.

McClune and the rest of Senate have lots in store for the new high school. Coming this October, the annual haunted school is set to take place at the high school. Unlike last

year’s storied theme, this project will be based around one gigantic scare. Reilly Kneedler, project director, estimates that the Haunt will bring in a total of $5,000-$10,000 dollars for the school this year.

A big change for the haunt is that the Wenatchee ASB and a few other clubs from Wenatchee will be invited

to help out with planning, decorating, and acting.

Kneedler also said, “We are doing the kid carnival again this year and it’ll be better than ever.”

This element of the Haunt caters to the kids of the valley, roughly three to ten years old, with the goal of giving them a fun �illed Halloween full of games and activities. Be ready for the time of your life on Halloween night from 7:30 to midnight. Be there and be scared.

NEW YEAR, NEW SCHOOL, BETTER EASTMONTBy Kyle Simmons By Alexia Hayes

Sports Editor Reporter

“We want to reach out to the kids that feel like they

don’t belong.”

Senate has spent hours putti ng up posters and putti ng on assemblies to try to get students hyped up over Eastmont sports. “Where’s your school spirit?” people ask constantly. However some people just struggle to fi nd interest in a sports team. It is not necessarily that these people lack school spirit. There are plenty of people who love EHS, but simply are not temperamentally capable of getti ng into sports.

Just outside the limelight however, it can be found that our school has plen-ty of organizati ons and acti viti es worthy of a cheer or two. The school’s music programs have just as many members as any sport and operate throughout

the enti re school year. Anyone who gives the band or choirs a listen can tell they have certainly earned some praise. The student body is encouraged and even expected to cheer for the football team whether they are having a good season or not. Almost no one is encour-aged to cheer for the band, despite the fact that their stellar record dwarfs that of any sport team here at EHS. The band has achieved the highest rank of “superior” countless ti mes. The enti re west wall of the band room is covered in awards to this day. In fact there is no ti me in recent memory that the band has not achieved this presti gious rank. Yet the amount of fanfare they receive is virtually nothing when compared to even the least popular sports team dur-ing their least successful season. That just does not seem quite right.

Something Worth

Cheering ForBy Tristen Raymond

Reporter

A commentary on the direction of high school

spirit

With the start of the new school year, most are excited for what the next nine months have to offer. However for some, the sight of Eastmont High School as they pull into the parking lot each day is a scene from a nightmare.

They stress all day about the people in the halls that make coming to school each day a torture. Instead of sitting in their desks each class full of excitement for the football game that night or the dance tomorrow, they deal with constant bullying.

Even though they are all Wildcats and students of the same school, they don’t all feel they belong.

There is an unsaid goal in the back of each Eastmont advocate’s mind: reach school actualization. Simply stated, it is becoming a place

EASTMONT BULLYING ACCEPTANCE

where everyone feels included. As we stride to cheer louder at games, increase involvement at assemblies, and rep more red and blue (all of which are valuable goals) try to �it in three other simple goals:

Make new friends — Search out people you wouldn’t traditionally hang out with and give them a chance.

Be courteous — Everyone is �ighting their own secret, internal battles; respect that by being innately kind.

Say hello — The most simplistic, but perhaps the most important. Spend your day saying hello to everyone you come across and you may be surprised at how much better your day gets.

By Post Editorial Staff Reporter

eastmont’s ROYAL WEEK Below: To �ill the void left by powder puff there is a new game, Wildcat Ball. Unfortunately, clashing into each other and bouncing on the balls made two bubble balls go �lat during the �irst pep assembly. Mike Waters, a P.E. teacher and coach here at the high school, is the man behind the idea of bubble ball. Waters brought it up to fellow teachers and administrators, who approved the idea. Wildcat Ball took a lot of planning, of course. Senate approved the idea last year, sometime in the spring. Used in both the fall sports pep assembly and as a Homecoming Activity, they were an overwhelming crowd. Interested in trying out Wild Cat Ball? Come back next year and play.

Above: Kelsey Adamson reacts after bobbing for Swedish Fish at lunch during Homecoming week.

Above: Taylor Hall prepares to serve during a �irst round match of the volleyball tournament. Homecoming volleyball was run once again by FBLA this year.

Below: Johny DelCampo asked Diana Chavira to Homecoming using this unique, and very large, method. Using car window, he left this message for her to �ind after school one day.

Post Photos/Reilly Kneedler

From left: Curtis Blair, Emily Lawrence, Kaden Hersel, Anissa Sangster, Eli Brewer, Emma Monroy, Derek McClune, Adele Doneen, Betsy Arlt, and Abi Espinoza pose during the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night.Photo courtesy of Parsons Photography.

#hc2014Post Photos/Reilly Kneedler

When it comes to dating, couples should be less worried about the money they spend and rather focus on making memories with their special someone.

The standby of catching a movie has become a bit of an issue as the cost of going out to the movie theater is off the charts expensive. A movie ticket runs about ten dollars and fifty cents per person. However, the real kicker is that the average cost of a large bucket of popcorn is eight dollars. Spending thirty seven dollars on a trip to the cinema better come with gold flakes in that popcorn. In fact, movie theater popcorn has been called one of America’s biggest rip-offs, according to “Time Magazine.”

So just leave that expensive trip to the movie theater for another day, teens rarely have that kind of money, let alone want to spend it on a sub par movie filled with D-List celebrities.

Here are some tips on how to achieve the perfect date that will not leave your wallet empty by the end of the night.

Last but not least, a coffee date in the perfect coffee shop is a plus when trying to get to know your date. Caffé Mela is a small, locally owned, coffee mecca located in downtown Wenatchee. Although Mela is famous for their freshly roasted coffee magic, they also sell hot chocolate, almond milk honey lattes, as well as chai tea and cappuc-cinos. The shop’s warm interior is be-yond cozy, filled with dark paneling, rustic brick, deep red walls, and ebony ceilings, creating complete ambi-ance. No need to worry about burning through money, as Mela has reason-able prices for all their delicious bever-ages. It’s really the atmosphere that counts and this place has the décor to set the mood. Compared to other name brand coffee shops, Mela is a plus for your next get-to-know-you activity.

Not much of a nature buff? Another local icon, Town Toyota

Center, offers public year round ice skating. The best news is that the admission cost is only five dollars per skater. Feel the crisp air hit your face as you skate round the rink with your amouré. Whether its in the midst of a chilly winter or a blistering summer, throw on a pair of cozy mittens and skate away your problems, it’s all about having a good time.

Wenatchee’s beauty goes unnoticed by many. Looking for a perfect date idea on the cheap? Start at the Riverfront Park. This local greenspace contributes a wonderful view of the Colum-bia River to any intimate date. With 31 acres of open grass and the Wenatchee Riverfront Railway running through the park, you could never go wrong with a picnic.

Besides the exquisite view provided by the park, it also has an sculpture garden that two lovebirds could tour together. The neighboring outdoor museum has artwork created by various Washington artists, giving the perfect romantic vibe. From walking hand in hand alongside the river, to just relaxing on the lush grass for countless hours, Riverfront Park is a plus! No needless money will be wasted on your next visit to this paradise.

If you are up for a challenge, just cross the bridge and head up the mountain. Saddle Rock is known for its easy-to-reach view of the

Wenatchee Valley. Nothing could make a date better than a romantic

hike up the mile-and-three-quarter trail where you can converse and gain perspec-

tive when you reach the top. When you make it to the pinnacle, make sure to have your phones

ready to take that ultimate selfie. Up on this peak, what they say is true: a picture really is worth a thousand words, perfect for when the valley views take your breath away. Also sure to bring along a blanket and a back-pack full of snacks to develop an epic picnic. Take a great date and make into a truly special moment; save your hike until the magic hour and enjoy the bewitching Wenatchee dusk, the red and orange hues of the sky will be worth every minute as you watch Wenatchee trans-form into a thousand little shining lights.

Wenatchee Valley. Nothing could make a date better than a romantic

hike up the mile-and-three-quarter trail where you can converse and gain perspec-

tive when you reach the top. When you make it to the pinnacle, make sure to have your phones

Saddle Rock

Caffé Mela

Town Toyota Not much of a nature buff?

Another local icon, Town Toyota Center, offers public year round ice skating. The best news is that the admission cost is only five dollars per



Another local icon, Town Toyota

By Nancy ToledoReporter

By Nancy Toledo

Cheap, Yet Meaningful Dates

for a perfect date idea on the cheap? Start at the Riverfront Park. This local greenspace contributes a wonderful view of the Colum-bia River to any intimate date. With 31 acres of open grass and

Riverfront Park

Post Photo/Ana Amezola

Post Photo/Ana Amezola

It’s about time. The years of slow, yet steady forward momentum have �inally reached a real tangible point for Eastmont’s media department.

While EHS doesn’t currently have a “media department” per say, for the last few years, a group of staff and students have worked tirelessly to bring news, photos, and interesting content to the main student population.

Luckily this year, these journalists have �inally received enough interest and �inancial support to expand their reach.

A huge step in bringing Eastmont up to speed was the installation of the “Journalism Class” last year; after nine years of existing simply as an after-school club, it �inally found its footing on the course list. Continuing the progression, a Scratching Post website will launch this year.

However the largest advancement in Eastmont media took place just this year with the installation of Broadcast Media Production; a class �iled under CTE with the end goal of being able to stream live news content to students over the internet. A huge leap forward to say the least.

EASTMONT MEDIA ENTERS THE 21ST

The veteran group through this whole process has been yearbook. Decades later, yearbooks are still a staple of the high school experience. Yet the technology and methods used to create them change almost annually, requiring a constantly changing approach as well.

At the heart of all these organizations, there are groups of students that drive to make them as successful and innovative as they are. Not only do these students push each community to grow and develop, they are actually the target audience for most of the products released by the “Media Department,” creating a vested interest.

If you are still reading along at this point, then there is a solid chance that you may have an interest in media, whether you know it or not.

Eastmont needs more people involved in creating impactful content to share with readers. It is not too late to join the Scratching Post, they still maintain the club side of the newspaper and meet Thursdays at 2:45 after school. Yearbook and Broadcast Media are always looking for fresh faces as well, so come and help contribute to an EHS industry that is both years in the making and invaluable to the high school experience.

By Reilly KneedlerEditor in Chief


From left: Garci Duncan is the Broadcast Media teacher, Andreas Garness advises the Scratching Post. and Chloe Haberlock teaches yearbook.

Louis Armand is a foreign exchange student hailing all the way from France. He is a junior this year, and is currently staying with community member Russel Reddin.

So far, Armand says that he really enjoys both Eastmont and everybody in it. Luckily, there is not anything that he does not like about America.

Armand says that he loves the hamburgers and steak in America, citing that they are huge compared to the hamburgers back at home in France.

As a new member of the Eastmont family, it’s obvious that he’s adjusting well to life in America; he can often be found in the EHS halls joking around with his classmates.

After �inding a new interest in the inner workings of sports medicine, it’s no surprise that he was most excited for Lorrie Howe’s Sports Medicine class.

The JourneyThe hardest part about traveling the long 13 hours from France

to good old East Wenatchee was de�initely the jet lag, according to Armand. With a time difference of nine hours, its not hard to believe that he is still really exhausted from all the traveling.

Armand said that something that really surprised him when he got here was how long it took to get to different states. Whereas in Italy, one can easily travel from his home state to another is less than an hour.

Despite the few struggles that he has encountered, Armand is easily adjusting and is excited to see what his year at Eastmont High School has in store for him.

Umberto Licia is a junior this year, he is also staying with Russel Ridden. Umberto traveled here a long 19 hours from Italy to East Wenatchee.

When asked if anything was hard about leaving home, Umberto understandably had a list of things that were extremely hard to let go of for a whole year when he left home. He says that most of all, the hardest part was just the thought of leaving his family, friends, and his city.

After being at Eastmont for a few weeks, Licia says that it is still extremely hard to get adjusted to life as an Ameri-can. Learning a new language is hard enough, but being in a school full of about 1,400 people who know nearly no Ital-ian makes the task even harder.

“My brain has to work really hard to recognize all of the English words and translate them to understand fast enough to reply to someone,” Licia said.

Although these struggles will be hard for Licia to over-come, he is beyond excited for this year. He says that he is looking forward to become more like an American man, he has seen �ilms and books about American schools and has always wanted to experience that life.

He has his mind set on a journey of a lifetime, to try something new, and change his lifestyle (at least for the time being.)

As students here at Eastmont, the majority of us have all thought about moving to an exotic new country or starting a new life somewhere more exciting than the Wenatchee Valley. This year we have had the opportunity to welcome some new people who were

courageous enough to drop everything they knew to be normal and come here and join us at Eastmont. This is a look about how they are adjusting to their new life here in East

Wenatchee.

UMBERTO LICIA:

LOUIS ARMAND:

Welcome to Eastmont, Home of the Wildcats

By Emma MonroyReporter

Post Photos/Emma Monroy

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LOUIS ARMAND:

HEY SENATE, THAT’S NOT FUNNY

Coming into the new school year, I was determined to support our school. Coming out of the homecoming assembly, however, I was determined to change our school. As soon as I took a seat on our brand new bleachers, our homecoming candidates began to enter the gym dressed as a celebrity of the opposite gender. Very funny, right? Wrong. I immediately scanned the gym, looking around at the expressions of my fellow audience members. What I saw ranged from enthusiasti c cheering to disapproving glares; I even saw some teachers leave the assembly! What does it say about our school when our own teachers can’t stand the assemblies put on by “our” senate?

The candidates chose to dress that way, so why am I addressing the senate? The senate had two responsibiliti es: to oversee the assembly, ensuring that basic rules were followed, but also to

Anonymously Submitt ed A COMMENTARY ON ONE OF SENATE’S LATEST ASSEMBLIESbe leaders. Leaders work to create a p ositi ve and inclusive environment. Leaders set examples. Leaders do the right thing. In all these responsibiliti es, the senate failed.

I have sat through assembly aft er assembly, where our male students and athletes put on makeup, dresses and, now, the costumes of famous women. It’s all fun and games unti l you stop and think about the message this is sending. According to senate, drag is funny. For those of you who are unsure of what I mean by “drag”: I don’t mean pulling someone or something along, I mean wearing clothing that was traditi onally designed for someone of the opposite gender.

The primary goal of the senate should be to make everyone feel welcome and accepted, but how can anyone feel accepted when the school makes a joke out of who they are?

There are students in our school who dress and/or identi fy as the opposite gender, and senate has conti nuously presented this as funny. If the homecoming prompt had been “what would you do if you were an African American for a day,” no one would laugh when our candidates came out with their faces painted brown, so why is it okay to laugh at people who dress diff erently?

The senate has been confronted about this issue by students and teachers many ti mes before, but nothing has changed. Not only do we deserve an apology, we deserve a change. What kind of change you ask? Well for starters, the cross-dressing joke needs to stop; if there is a guy wearing a dress in an assembly, it bett er be because he likes feeling prett y NOT because he wants to seem funny. Senate lacks an appreciati on of diversity, and our school cannot be united unti l that changes.

ASB President Derek McClune speaks to the student body during the

Homecoming Royalty Assembly.


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Times are changing and electronics are evolving and the people that made the electronics are getting smarter about advertising. Apple has put the whole U2 album on all of its products including iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Most people, like sophomore Tristan Martinez, do not like the fact that Apple can access their products and force music on them. “I feel like it’s an invasion of privacy. I didn’t want the album in my music and can’t get rid of it.” U2’s new album “Songs Of Innocence” was put on over 33 million iTunes users’ devices. Is this a move to persuade users to buy Apple prod-ucts? Most of the people that have cable have seen the Apple commercial of U2 singing their song “Echoes” for the advertising of their new free album. It is really just saying get an iPhone product and get free music, but what some people need to do is read the �ine print. During the commer-cial they clearly state on the bottom of the screen “Exclusively on iTunes until 10/13/14. iPhone 6 Plus coming soon.” Apple sold 10 million iPhone 6’s and iPhone 6 Plus’s in the �irst weekend they released. Are they using new music for advertisement to buy their new products, and what happens next? That is for users to decide.

Some Apple users like senior Kyra Buterbaugh blames Illuminati for the new album being on her phone. This is going to be a pathway for all advertis-ing, maybe even Illuminati is behind this, so all you Galaxy, Android, and Windows phone users keep watch on the music app. The revolution is going to start with free music. It may be a pain or it may be a gift that you get free music. Just prepare yourself because Apple has started it all.

NEW MUSIC ON APPLE PRODUCTS, WHAT’S NEXT?

By Jace GleasonReporter

Attention Readers:Check out the Scratching Post’s photo gallery website! It’s updat-ed daily with new pictures from all Eastmont events! Scan this QR

Code or go to www.scratchingpost.zenfolio.com

Documents

The Scratching Post, Issue One