Holocaust Survivor Speaks to LHS
Marion Blumenthall Lazen, a concentration camp survivor, came to LHS on December 15 to speak about her experiences in the WWII Holocaust.
Marion spoke to the sophomores about the Holocaust for approximately an hour in the auditorium. She spoke about her memories of being in the concentration camp and how we, as citizens of the world, should never forgot the atrocities committed in the Holocaust, so they are never repeated.
She said she hoped to convey, in a personal and heart-warming manner, a side of the Holocaust that does not rely on statistics and figures, but rather feelings of agony and hope.
Marion’s life story is quite similar to the familiar account of Anne Frank, in that both of their families were rounded up by Nazi soldiers and transported to the infamous concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. Though Anne Frank and her family died at the camp, Marion spent from the age of 4 to 10 in a concentration camp, and, astoundingly, managed to survive the horrific conditions to tell her story today.
The account of her story is captured in her book titled Four Perfect Pebbles.
“We often tripped and fell over the dead,” Marion said in her book of life in the concentration camps. “Death was everywhere.” While Marion was in a concentration camp, she said she picked lice out of her hair and urinated on herself to prevent frostbite.
In her book, she advocates a message of hope and stresses the importance of optimism. “I'm determined not be bitter and angry,” she explains. “On the contrary, I'm determined to be cheerful and positive as much as possible.” She believes that life owes her nothing, and it's her job to make the best of what she's given.
“None of us is spared hardships,” Marion explains. “It's not so much what happens to us but how we deal with the situation that makes the difference.”
Marion has been speaking publicly about the Holocaust since 1979. Her speaking engagements have significantly increased since the publication of her book. Marion lectures to adult groups, synagogues, churches and civil organizations, but her favorite audience is an auditorium full of students, according to the website concerning her book.
“You, the students, are the very last generation that will hear my story first hand,” Marion explains on her web site. “I therefore ask you to please, please, share my story with your friends and with your family and someday with your children.”
-Mark Burgess
The Grizzly Goes Online?
In the journalism industry, many complications have been occurring over the past decade. The problems have derived largely from advancing technology. Easy internet use has contributed to a decrease in the number of subscriptions of various major newspapers in the U.S.
Even the Herald Journal is facing decreasing revenues, which has also caused a scare for Logan High’s school newspaper, The Grizzly.
As reported in the last issue of The Grizzly, the school paper has been experiencing difficulties with printing and distribution costs because of the decreasing amount of businesses willing to advertise. Because of this loss of revenue, the Herald Journal has begun charging The Grizzly for what used to be free. The cost of both distribution and printing suddenly became too high for the Logan high budget to feasibly cover.
In the previous issue of The Grizzly, journalism advisor, Phillip Wade, wrote about the dilemma and reached out for community donations.
Since the article written by Wade, individuals and businesses have generously donated to Logan’s newspaper, making it possible to continue printing and distribution in
The Herald Journal for the rest of the 2008-2009 school year.
The Grizzly has also created an online edition like the majority of newspapers, which are becoming more popular everywhere. Online editor of The Grizzly, Konlin Shen, has noticed the importance of this as well. Shen commented “I’m definitely more active this year than last. Mr. Wade has been pushing the internet much more this year.”
When asked if The Grizzly could exist entirely online, Shen seemed skeptical. “I think it could, but it would take a lot of convincing, (of the student staff and administration).”
In the years to come, The Grizzly and The Herald Journal will have to face more compromises as the journalism industry continues to change and as online newspapers become more dominant.
The staff of The Grizzly would like to thank all contributors for the help and relief that have come from this year’s donations.
-Gary Bennett Purser
Memorable 2008
2008 was a memorable year. The presidential election of 2008 was historical for many reasons. It was the first time a Mormon, a major female candidate, and an African American ran for president in the same election. Barack Obama was elected president for the upcoming four years. 2008 was also a different and surprising year, as shown when pregnant man Thomas Beatie gave birth to a healthy baby girl, through C section.
In sports, the summer Olympics took place in Beijing, China. Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps broke the record for gold medals earned at the Olympic Games by receiving eight.
America was also saddened by the deaths of famous actors Paul Newman, Heath Ledger and Bernie Mac. Twilight fans everywhere squealed in delight as the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer's series, Breaking Dawn, was released, with a movie to follow. The Dark Knight and Iron Man were named best movies of the year by many Logan High students.
“Best part of 2008 was my birthday! December 22!” said junior Sam Schneiter.
Among other things, the stock market crashed, after going up and down over the past few years. Proposition 8 passed, banning gay marriage in California, simultaneously creating a great controversy. Gas prices hit a low for the first time in years. The next incarnation of the revolutionary smart phone, the iPhone 3G, was released.
2008 was a milestone in the history of the world, putting more historical events in the books and in our memories.
-Chelsea Powell
A New Police Station
A new police station is being built adjacent to the old one. The old station will be converted into a new city office building to save Logan City the higher cost of building a completely new city office building, according to Officer Jeff Curtis.
The estimated preconstruction cost of the new police station was roughly $6.5 million. The final cost is yet to be determined because the station is still being built.
Concerns have been raised by some citizens worried about the motives of the police or about the police budget being cut due to the new station being built.
However, according to Curtis, these concerns shouldn’t be a problem because the police budget isn’t being cut for the new building. Projected construction costs are actually just under the spending limit set by the city, said Curtis.
The new building addition may seem expensive with the estimated $6.5 million, especially with the current economic crisis, but should be able to save Logan money in the long run.
-Quaid Peterson
Bears Claw Grizzlies
Let the race for second place officially begin.
Friday night in Logan was cold and foggy. And in a way, so was Logan's defense. The Bear River Bears came into Logan in a tie for first and left alone at the top with a 81-64 win against the Grizzlies. Matt Weyland led the Bears with 21 points as Bear River stayed perfect on the year at 15-0 and 5-0 in region. Logan was led by Jeff Manning, who knocked down16 points. All five of Logan's starters scored in double digits, but it wasn't enough.
“We just didn’t get it done,” said Logan center Darrick McIntosh.
The first quarter was the best of the game for Logan. The Grizz hung tough with the undefeated Bears and gave the Bears all they could handle. It was back and forth between the two region rivals, and seemed like neither team would back down. The Bears took a slim 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second started the same as the first, but would not end the same. After a foul called on Manning on a Wade Bronson three-pointer, Manning was also given a technical foul for arguing with the ref. Bronson only made three of the five foul shots, but Bear River would explode from there, outscoring Logan 25-13 in the second. The Bears also held Logan's Omar McDade to no points in the first half. McDade was coming off a 36 point game against Ben Lomond.
“Lots of mental errors, lots of defensive mistakes, lots of offensive mistakes,” McIntosh said.
Bear River would push the lead to 19 during the second half. Logan seemed to get it closer during the third, but could never quite get close enough. Logan and Bear River both scored 17 points in the third, giving the Bears a 14 point cushion heading to the fourth. With the game well in hand late, the Bears and Grizzlies cleared out the bench.
Logan was sent to the free-throw line an astonishing 35 times Friday night. Yet the Grizzlies only managed to knock down 20 of those 35 attempts.
“We hit our free throws and we’re right in there,” Brimhall said.
So with half of the region season down, the standing look like this. Bear River leads the pack at 5-0, Logan is right behind them at 4-1, Morgan is in third at 3-2, Ben Lomond is 2-3, Grantsville is 1-4, and Ogden is looking up at everyone else at 0-5. While Logan is only a game out of first place, the Bears look like they are going to win region, and possibly state. The Bears are beating region 11 teams by an amazing average of 27.6 and don't look to be letting down anytime soon.
Other teams to look out for in the 3A ranks are Judge Memorial, Hurricane, Emery, and Wasatch.
Logan will now begin the second half of region, and the schedule is not easy at all. Logan will start by traveling to Morgan on Friday, January 30th to take on the third place Morgan Trojans. During the first half of the region season, Morgan lost to the top two teams ahead of them, but beat the three teams below them. Morgan is a dangerous team, led by Braden Saunders who is averaging just under 12 points a game.
Logan should be ready to play against the Trojans, as it will be the only game of the week for the Grizzlies.
McDade lifts Logan to victory
A loss to the Ben Lomond Scots would have been devastating for the Logan High boys basketball team. Omar McDade made sure that it wouldn't happen.
McDade scored 36 points on the night as Logan pulled away in the second half to beat Ben Lomond 64-52 Wednesday night in Ogden.
“We were focusing on this game, but you never know what is exactly going through everyone’s mind,” coach Jeff Brimhall said.
Coach was talking about the poor start the Grizzlies had against the Scots. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but in the end, Logan got the job done. The first quarter was an up and down quarter. Both teams were executing their offenses, but neither could pull together a big lead. Logan pulled out to an early 9-3 lead on the Scots, yet Ben Lomond didn't give up. The Scots shot great from the outside early, and were only down by three at the break, 15-12. Ben Lomond shot lights out once again in the second quarter, as they outscored the Grizzlies 19-14 in the second and had a 31-29 lead over Logan. The Scots had made six of their first eight three pointers in the first half.
Ben Lomond would continue to lead into the third. They had a 40-36 lead over Logan in the quater, but then the Grizzlies were able to start pulling away against the Scots. It was a quarter that saw Logan outscore the Scots 16-9 in the third and led 45-40. Logan would then cruise in the fourth with McDade rolling. He scored 19 of the Grizzlies final 28 points and only missed three times in 16 attempts at the free-throw line.
“We weren’t playing too hot, so I just tried to create easy shots and get us a W,” said McDade.
"I was proud of the way our guys just kind of fought through things, fought through the first half,” Brimhall said.
In region play, the Bear River Bears remained perfect on the year with a 50 point crushing on Grantsville, 87-37. Also, Morgan beat Ogden 60-47.
Logan now faces the daunting task of squaring off against region 11 rival Bear River. Both teams are a perfect 4-0 in region and this game will more than likely decide the region championship. The Grizzlies will try and do what no team before them had done, knock off the Bears. Bear River is led by Wade Bronson and Matt Weyland. The duo are averaging 12 points a game. Last year in Logan, the Grizzlies rallied behind Omar McDade, who nailed clutch three-pointers, as the Grizzlies upset the Bears, 67-66. Logan came into that game with a region record of 0-2, while the Bears were 2-0. Bear River would get their revenge, however. They would not lose another region game, including a 14 point beat down on Logan, and would finish in third place in the state with an 11 point win over the Grizzlies in the state tournament.
Coach Brimhall stated, “We’re certainly excited that now we get a chance to match up and square off against Bear River.”
Students, if any of you are reading this, please, please, PLEASE come to this game! We desperately need a student section to cheer loud. Stand up and be loud! This game is the biggest game of the season to this point. Bear River will definitely bring a student section to the game. Let's not have less students than them, on our own court! This is going to be an intense game, and we need Grizzly Den to be rocking with Logan chants rather than BR cheers. If you only come to one game this season, please make it this Friday night.
Medieval Club
The Medieval Club. It sounds like some Dungeons and Dragons nerd gathering where members dress up and play with foam swords. However, while there are foam swords involved, and occasional reenactments involving severely outdated clothes, the meat of the club’s curriculum focuses on history and culture.
Medieval Club meets every other Wednesday in Mr. Blauer’s room for educational meetings and fighting practice. Members use homemade swords made from duct tape, PVC pipe and foam. The members don’t just whack each other with wild abandon, although that’s fun, too; they learn techniques that were used by medieval fighters. Sword-fighting tournaments are also held.
Lessons focus on the years from 1100 to 1500 A.D. History and culture, such as food, clothing, and dance, are taught. One lesson was on manners. Members learned what was socially acceptable and unacceptable in the medieval times. For example, it wasn’t rude to put your elbows on the table.
Carrie Gill, a senior and president of the Medieval Club, described her feelings about the club. “It wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would be a nerdy club. But it ended up being a club for people who like history and reenacting it.”
Ashton Moser, a junior, commented on what he likes about the club: “Mostly learning new things. I didn’t know much about medieval stuff. I have a new respect for the club.
-Renee Draper
School Quality
The ISQ, or “Indicators of School Quality” report, was recently released and is in review by administrators and teachers. The ISQ summarizes a survey taken in November, evaluating parents’, teachers’, students’ and staff’s perceptions of Logan High School as a whole. The results are categorized (from highest to lowest) by “Exemplary,” “Superior,” “Typical,” and “Opportunity to Improve.”
On a broad scale, students gave “Typical” ratings to Parent Support, Teacher Excellence, Student Commitment, Instructional Quality and School Safety, yet gave a “Superior” rating to Resource Management and an “Opportunity to Improve” to School Leadership, or, the Administration.
Concerning the Administration in particular, students gave the lowest possible rating to the Administration’s accessibility to parents, students and staff, as well as their promotion of good behavior at the school.
Keri Alder, a senior, said of the survey results, “I think overall the administration is doing the best they can with the given circumstances, but it would be more beneficial if they would get more input from students.”
-Erica Hale
A New Year for Logan High
The new year has been marked with many changes and has been met with a variety of responses around the nation as well as the world. Some view it with optimism while others view it with pessimism. The students of LHS shared their own feelings about the arrival of the new year.
“It’s a year closer to 2010,” said Miles Hallock, a junior. “It’s just getting me closer to graduation.”
This reaction seems rather prevalent at LHS. Instead of looking at the new year as if it’s some life changing event, many LHS students seem to view it in an “another day, another year” type of light.
Ty Gonzalez, another junior, feels the same. “It could be really good, or it could be really bad, you just don’t know.”
Whether this kind of outlook is “good” or “bad” is impossible to tell. For many LHS students, the new year has not sparked a sense of resurrection or destruction with which it has been credited. For now, it seems that students are primarily concerned with their daily lives, looking forward to that fateful day when they finally graduate.
-Dakota Hawkins
Winter Blues
Winter is in full bloom and with the frost buds comes the winter blues. It is easy for many to feel depressed in the dark months of January and February. So how do you prevent laziness and hours of boredom? I’ve been searching for answers to this secret, and these are the conclusions I’ve come to.
When asking around on how to prevent your inner fire from dimming or burning out, this is the advice I received: try new things, hang with new people or pursue new romantic relationships.
These are all great ideas, if I do say so myself. But ideas are nothing with out action. So for the last few weeks I have done several subtle experiments on what works the best, and here is what worked for me.
In order to try something new, I joined a city league basketball team with my friends where we have more fun and laughs than it shows on the score board. To hang with new people, I have branched out from my usual social circle at lunch to people that I haven’t gotten to know before. Now not only do I have more friends but also the guts to be more sociable. With regards to pursuing a new relationship, I have practiced being more outgoing with fellow students. I have even summoned the courage to talk to several members of the opposite gender, and I guess time will tell where those ventures take me.
So this winter don’t let the cold get you down, try new things, get out and hang with new people, and try your luck with the opposite gender. It’s definitely worth you time. Good luck Logan High!
-Benjamin Michael George