mrthe

highlighterrockymountain

September 14, 2012 //Rocky Mountain High School\\ Volume 40, No. 1

by Michelle Kennedy// features editor

WORK IN PROGRESS

School mourns lossof involved siblings

$2.3 million

ToTAl CoST oF SUmmER ConSTRUCTion

High School Hijinks: Sydney Spies, self-described “artist” and Durango teen who made national headlines last year when she at-tempted to get racy photos of herself published in her high school’s year-book, was arrested with her mother, Miki Spies, on Aug. 13 for throwing an underage kegger party. The duo, who appeared together on The Today Show last spring to protest their censor-ing in the yearbook, were arrested for obstructing a police officer and contrib-uting to the delin-quency of a minor.

Care About This: On Sept. 10 the Yemeni gov-ernment announced that second in com-mand of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula (AQAP) Said Al- Shihri was killed along with six other militants. The military refused to release any other details regarding the mission.

Quote of the Issue: “Ashley cared more about others than herself. She was passionate and she cared. She could be an incredible goof, and Colton was the same but in a differ-ent way. He was my Gentle Giant and he was All-American.”- Deanna Brookhouser, mother of late Ashley and Colton Fischer

thesideshow

On the first day of school this year, the completely renovated front entrance piqued interest and had people through-out the building talking.

Many people wonder what the purpose of this new design is, and what it will ac-complish.

“It is one secure entrance, so everyone is filtered through a common point,” Dean of Students Russell Stapleton said.

Over the summer, architects worked diligently on this new front entrance so that Rocky could begin an improved system of letting people into the building. If a student is late to class, they must enter through the front office and record their last name and I.D. number at the front desk check-in. With this system, students have to filter through the office since all

They say if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen; but what if you can’t take the heat in the school?

Starting in June 2012, the school be-gan a $2.3 million renovation, one aspect of which was a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. However, its functionality is substantially behind what administration had hoped for coming into the school year.

“The expectation was to have it all up and running [by the start of the school year], it always is,” Gary Clark, superin-tendent of McCauley Constructors, said. “The challenges you meet for each job are always different; with this project, it hap-pened to be the controls.”

The main problem has to do with the programming and software that controls the new appliances. According to Clark, these types of systems have become more

Airflow to improve School adjusts to new entrance

Disbelief. Denial. Regret. Heart-break. Loss.

These were the words of those close to the Fischer siblings, describ-ing what they felt after hearing the tragic news of the June 24 car ac-cident in North Dakota that ended

the lives of Ashley Fischer, 17, and her brother Colton Fischer, 16.

Both siblings had such great impact on those around them; people didn’t just care for them, they ad-mired and cherished both sister and brother. Those interviewed shared a

by Megan Shaw// center editor

by Grant Rotman// reporter

// Jump to FiSChERS, on A2

// Jump to AiRFlow, on A2 // Jump to oFFiCE, on A2

Front office fun: Freshman Elijah Barron checks in at the front office. Changes to the office require students to go through a check-in process prior to entering the school.

Memorable duo: Colton and Ashley Fischer were killed in a car accident this summer. The siblings were both highly involved in numerous projects, organizations and teams.

Isaac Effner

Courtesy Deanna Brookhouser

New football offense//A8

Summer fire aftermath//B4Montgomery returns//B1

President speaks at CSU//A3

news highlighter//\\ A2 mrSeptember 14, 2012

Homecoming plans advance

Airflow// from page A1

and more sophisticated, creating greater and greater challenges for contractors.

The main goal of many of the renovations was to increase the energy efficiency of the school. Rocky has always been a leading electrical energy conserver in the district, according to Principal Tom Lopez, but lately its status has declined due to inefficient uses of energy and wasteful systems.

Although it may take some time for it to become fully func-tional, the new system will give greater temperature control to each classroom, thus increasing efficiency.

While the school isn’t quite as comfortable yet as many had hoped, Lopez is incredibly happy with the work done by the con-struction company.

other doors will be locked during class periods.

“We are trying to see if we can find some ‘usual suspects’ that come in late and see if we can help with that,” Assistant Principal Brett Larsen said.

From a safety standpoint, the new front entrance arrangement is meant to teach Rocky students and staff not to open doors dur-ing class periods and let people in the building.

“What we want to become the norm is people don’t let people in exterior doors,” Stapleton said. “That’s where the biggest concern for safety is; if someone props a door, anybody could walk in.”

Although it may seem helpful

Rocky’s Student Council (StuCo) has been working all summer to bring the pack an awesome homecoming.

The theme has been chosen, the date has been set; all that remains is to brainstorm ideas into a reality. Expectations run high this year, anticipation even higher.

Headed by Austin Druse, the StuCo dance committee has been working tirelessly on what they hope to be one of the best homecomings yet.

“I think it’s going to be the best homecoming the senior class at Rocky now has seen,” Druse said.

The other members of StuCo are just as excited and hold the dance up to just as much regard. Dani Harton, junior, believes that “this year’s homecoming will be better than ever.”

“Every homecoming is dif-ferent,” senior Mark Haselmaier said. “Each year we try and pick a theme that hopefully everyone

will like, so in a sense it won’t compare with past homecomings because every year is its special own thing.”

This year, homecoming will be held in the gym so students have more space to dance, and a safer environment to do so in. According to Harton, the only major change will be the new location, so students shouldn’t worry about the experience being different due to a new place. StuCo realizes that some students will not be pleased with this decision, but the change is so everyone can have a better homecoming experience.

“There is going to be resis-tance,” Haselmaier said. “but we hope that people will come to see it in a good way. The gym is go-ing to provide a totally different venue. With a new venue comes a new experience. I hope people can move past it and get pumped for it.”

The staples of homecoming will still be there. Rocky will have a great DJ that will cater to a wide range of music for danc-

ing, and the lights will be set up colorful and flashy as always.

Regarding dancing, grinding will be allowed to an appropriate extent. StuCo asks that students refrain from explicit types of grinding, or any type of grinding that might make a chaperone feel the need to intervene.

“Keep it classy,” Druse said.The whole week of homecom-

ing will be a spirit week. StuCo hopes there will be plenty of class pride and school spirit.

“We definitely hope to see tons of participation,” Harton said. “Making sure we choose themes that students can easily dress or relate to will play a large role in how much participation we get.”

Homecoming will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6, and tickets will be sold closer to the date. The prices will be set the same as last year, $15 for a single ticket and $25 for a double.

Students must present their student ID at the entrance and sign up guests from other schools in the office.

by Aaron Yu// reporter

Student lead-ers: (From left)

Sophomore Nick Fitzgerald

and Seniors Conor Haugen, Shane Wagner

and Austin Druse lead a

Homecoming planning meet-ing. This year’s

Homecoming dance will be

held on Oct. 6 at the school. A theme has

been chosen, but not yet

announced.

Aaron Yu

Office// from page A1

Fischers// from page A1common tone of pride for hav-ing played shoulder to shoulder with a football teammate like Colton or for being at Ashley’s side while she again and again outdid what a high schooler could be expected to do by volunteering her time and pas-sion to philanthropic clubs and organizations.

“Ashley was a big part of the Connections, started the Voices Carry Club, was always help-ing our students and was going to be a peer,” Amy McLean of Integrated Services said. “She could always see herself in oth-ers’ shoes, She was going to do great things in this world.”

Ashley was not one to waste time when she had the op-portunity to make a difference. She spent her free time helping students with exceptional needs

or getting a friend through a hard day.

“When Ashley worked with special needs kids she challenged them,” Colton and Ashley’s mother, Deanna Brookhouser said. “She believed today’s classes for them were too limiting, and people don’t expect enough out of them.”

“To the kids, she was a friend to play with and a teacher,” McLean said. “She did every-thing we do, like a full-bloom teacher.”

Ashley seemed to teach some-one something almost anywhere she was. Ashley also started the Voices Carry Club, which calls attention to the reality of child abuse. She was also a member of the Connections Club. The Award for Outstanding Service to the Connections Club will now be the Ashley Fischer Award in her memory. As McLean put it, Ashley was “irreplaceable.”

“I was really fortunate to have been her friend,” senior Lauren Hoff said. “She opened my eyes in ways I can use for the rest of my life.”

“She left a great positive impact on those she left behind,” Brookhouser said. “Others’ have told me, they are striving to be better for Ashley.”

Colton, like his sister, was more interested in making a difference for those around him

than in himself. He put his heart and soul into being a teammate the football team could rely on.

“Colton loved the team more than anything,” senior Ed Kennedy said. “Colton’s favorite thing in the world was going to coach (Mark) Brook’s house for team meetings.”

Coach Brook’s house was where the team found themselves not long after the news of the ac-cident came, to grieve as a team and receive guidance.

“I was overcome with sadness; I knew kids would suffer from the news,” Kennedy, who was not only Colton’s teammate, but mentor on and off the field, said.

Colton became commonly referred to as “Ed’s Wingman.” Therefore, it was Kennedy who wore Colton’s game jersey, No. 73, in his lost teammate’s honor during the first football game of the season.

“I could always expect to see Colton waiting for me on the sideline with a big smile and the American flag sticker he always wore on his helmet,” Kennedy said. “He was just a gentle giant with great passion.”

The helmet with its infamous American flag now sits in the dining room of Brookhouser’s house, surrounded by pictures and letters of condolence from as far away as New Mexico. Col-ton’s backpack lies where he left

it before embarking on his trip to North Dakota.

“I just can’t come to move it,” Brookhouser said, tears welling up in her eyes once more. “Ah shucks. He shouldn’t be gone and neither should she.” She wiped away her tears letting out a sigh and a stressed laugh.

“Colton didn’t like others being sad; he couldn’t take it.” Brookhouser said. “He sensed when others were down and brought them up.”

“Ashley and Colton had the same struggles as any kid does, but we have a strong family base and strong beliefs in family,” Brookhouser said. “They’re not typical teenagers; they were always here and we were always together. That’s what makes it so hard.”

The loss of two such extraor-dinary people has left a void in the hearts of many, a void the size of the emotions and memo-ries that had been there before--colossal.

“If someone was alone at a lunch table, that would be the first table Ashley and Colton would sit at,” Brookhouser said. “Ashley cared more about others than herself, she was passionate and she cared. She could be an incredible goof, and Colton was the same but in a different way. He was my Gentle Giant and he was All-American.”

“When people ask why stuff isn’t done, I say, ‘you don’t have any idea of what some people did, it’s amazing!’” Lopez said. “The only thing that anyone would promise me is a more comfortable environment than you had before, and quite hon-estly I accept that as reality. I do think that the environment is more comfortable than it was [in the past], even right now.”

Although the massive under-taking has some students and teachers alike complaining, many people, such as Lopez, are able to see the silver lining in this construction story.

“Even though a lot of the times when something changes we moan and groan, I think that many of the construction projects that were done over the summer were to help the school,” art teacher Jay Dukart said. “Almost every aspect of this building benefitted [from it] in some way, and I think it’s a great thing that happened.”

for a friend, it could mean giving a stranger access to the building. According to Larsen, that may be where the most danger lies.

“If someone wanted to do harm to our school, they would try to do harm to our school, and they wouldn’t come through the front door,” Larsen said. “Schools aren’t built like prisons. Any security we have is going to be fairly passive.”

Because of this, cooperation from students and staff to keep doors locked during class is of vital importantance to ensure the system continues to improve and remain effective.

“It takes an entire commu-nity to be successful,” Stapleton said. “That’s why we ask students not only to be on time, but also continue understanding that the old practice of propping doors and letting people in needs to change.”

\\ B4 September 14, 2012 mhighlighter center spread\\ //B5September 14, 2012

Retired teacher loses home to flames

Climate change messes with normal weather patterns

Graduates battled

flames in own

backyard

The hazy brown cloud that settled over the Front Range this summer was impossible to miss.

Although many Coloradoans are able to accept the constant and pos-sible threat of fire, this year, the blazes hit closer to home than usual. In fact, 2012 is on track to be one of worst years for wildfires in terms of acreage burned, since the turn of the millen-nium.

“We had an abnormally hot, dry year this year,” science teacher Scott Kemp said. “It’s not uncommon at all that we have fires and warm tempera-tures; it has certainly happened before. It’s just that this year it happened right next door to us.”

State Climatologist Nolan Doesken concurred, adding that the unusually dry weather patterns this year set the table for some of the driest conditions that the area has ever experienced.

“It was so dry, in fact, that most of us expected the fires to continue burn-ing all summer,” Doesken said. “As far as forest dryness and wildfire vulner-ability, June 2012 was about as bad as it gets. Unless we get some more rain fairly soon, we’re returning to very seri-ously dry conditions again right now.”

One of the largest factors in the extremeness of the fires this summer was the extensive number of dead trees caused by pine beetle kill. Not only does dryness deplete the trees of their

resources, but it also makes them more susceptible to being infested by pine beetles.

“The trees can push the pine beetles out by creating sap, but when it’s dry, the tree can’t produce the sap to push the beetles out,” science teacher Dave Swartz said. “If you go up to Summit County, there’s nothing but dead trees. In fact, were really lucky that hasn’t burst into flames. I hate to say it, but there are going to be devastating fires up in Summit County in the years to come.”

Not only did the fires this year de-stroy massive amounts of land, homes and vegetation, but they also damaged the ecosystems where they occurred. One of the biggest concerns now is about the debris and runoff that make their way into the water systems after a big rainfall.

“Wildlife and vegetation adapt reasonably well to fire as wildfire has always been a part of dynamic ecol-ogy,” Doesken said. “However, until vegetation is re-established, each time it rains we will get a flush of debris. Some of which will reach the Poudre River. Our ‘black river’ has been quite a change of pace this summer from what we are accustomed to from our beautiful Poudre River.”

Unfortunately, the heat and dryness that caused the fires are not expected to dissipate any time soon. Long-term predictions only show temperatures increasing and many experts attribute

this pattern to global warming.

According to Kemp, researchers are discov-ering that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest level since about 600 thousand years ago.

“As modern humans on the planet, we have never experienced this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Kemp said. “Now, lab tests indicate that this will increase tem-perature, which will certainly lead to some climate change.”

As a matter of fact, researchers are predicting that the average temperature of Fort Collins will increase about seven degrees in the next 100 years Kemp said.

“We are quite certain that the future will hold warmer temperatures than what we experienced in most of the Twentieth-Century,” Doesken said. “So years like this one may be fairly commonplace in the future. That means wildfire risk will likely remain very high.”

Swartz added, “I go up to the arctic to do research and it has seen a lot of temperature change. On average

for the planet its like one and a half degrees Celsius, but in the arctic it’s seven degrees and all kinds of changes are taking place.”

Although, researchers and scientists will never know for sure what the future has in store.

“This year was abnormally warm and so were the last 10 years on record, so there’s obviously a trend there, Swartz said. “There are some scientists that would say that some of these big heat waves could be blamed on climate change, but I’m not sure if I feel confi-dent enough to say that yet.”

by Michelle Kennedy// features editor

On an early June afternoon, retired teacher John Fialko was very busy.

He had to load his squirrelly, blind horse into his trailer.

He had to load several boxes of pictures and supplies into his car.

All before the High Park Fire engulfed his mountain home.

“The fire started on June 9 and we actu-ally had a meeting for the Rotor Associa-tion,” Fialko said. “A fireman there got a call and said that there was a fire by Pingree park but it wasn’t urgent so the meeting went on. Then my wife showed up and said there was a big cloud of smoke and the fireman got a call saying we needed to prepare for my evacuation. I went home and hitched up my horses and loaded up the back of my truck.”

Fialko did not know that he would never see his house intact again.

“The first waves of flame came through and went past his house and he thought he was okay,” technology teacher and Fialko’s friend, Robert Ufer, said. “But the fire ended up sweeping back and filling in some of the places it had missed.”

Fialko’s house burned down on the night of June 10 after the fire had originally missed the property. The fire eventually circled around and closed in. Fialko would later talk to a fireman who described the night as a firestorm.

“A fireman told me the smoke was so thick they couldn’t hardly drive down the road,” Fialko said. “He had to navigate the road by opening the door and looking at the side of the road because he couldn’t see

anything outwards.”Fialko spent the next couple of weeks

living in La Porte with various friends.When he returned to his property, he

found both his barn and his chicken coop were still standing but only his chimney stood over the rubble where his house had once been.

“Surprisingly, the damage to the prop-erty was pretty minimal,” Ufer said. “There were some trees and some dead beetle kill trees right next to his house that did not burn. He had a wooden barn and a chicken coop that did not burn but the only thing left standing from his house was the chimney. His Subaru only suffered minor damages.”

“I felt sorry for my wife,” Fialko said. “She took it really hard. One of the first thoughts that came to my mind was that I didn’t have to reshingle the steep A-frame roof. But there were some family heirloom like a trunk that my Grandpa brought to America in the 1800’s and pictures that we forgot to take off the wall that I regret losing. It’s all stuff, though, and we’re safe and the animal are safe and you can’t do

anything about a fire. The woods are going to grow back, and we are going to rebuild.”

“Of course, he was pretty shaken up at first but he always sees the bright side of situations,” Ufer said. “I think he thought of it as an opportunity to rebuild a new house on his property.”

Fialko now lives in Livermore in a two bedroom ranch house with room to hold his horses. He has tried to make the best of things and appreciates all the help he has received in the last months.

“We appreciate all the offers of help from Rocky and all the other people who have done stuff for us and helped us out,” Fialko said.

Ufer plans to help Fialko as best as he can in the coming month and plans to set up a fundraiser to help him.

“I would like to find out what his needs are and possibly hold a fundraiser or some-thing similar to Adopt-A-Family just for his needs and the needs of other people related to Rocky that have lost property,” Ufer said.

by Issac Effner// reporter

Firefighters never imagined that the June High Park Fire would turn into the second largest wild-fire in Colorado history.

For three alumni in particular, the flames weren’t only a battle to be tackled as firemen, but a natural disaster rising in their hometown’s backyard.

“We knew Fort Collins was going to be safe; we weren’t going to let it get that far,” graduate Alec Huggins, 20, said. “But it’s still scary looking out your window and the mountains are on fire.”

Huggins, who works for Larimer County Emergency Services and a certified firefighter, has mostly fought fires further up in the mountains away from houses and residential areas, so fighting a fire so close to Fort Collins was a new experience. For alumni Loren Collins, 21 and Ryan Nelson, 19, fighting an extremely large fire so close to home was a strange feeling, as well.

“It was kind of bittersweet; [firefighting] is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Nelson, who works for Risk Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, said. “I felt in my element, but it’s hard not to be concerned about what’s going on at your house when you’re out working on other things.”

As with any fire, there was a copious amount of things that each firefighter had to focus on in a day’s work. There was constant commotion at the site of the disaster: smoke rising, slurry being dropped from helicopters above their heads, and chainsaws chop-ping trees. One of the highest priorities was ensur-ing residential security by clearing wood, trees, or any burnable material from around structures. There was a total of 1,923 firefighters battling these

challenges throughout the course of the fire.

Firefighters were on their hands and knees day in and day out digging fire lines in the dirt to clear the area of any possible fuel. The units also had to “mop up,” or secure the fire perimeter by covering burn-ing embers and anything that looked hot with water or cold soil.

However, this process of putting out the fire took hard work and even more time. Since the roads near the fire are very small, units typically could not drive their engine to the location.

“We had to hike up there and do the best we could with our hand tools,” Huggins said.

On occasion, units could use smaller fire engines such as type six, which are the smallest. Although

it is a source of water, a type six engine only holds 300 gallons of water, which is not enough for a job as big as the High Park Fire. According to Huggins, they would hardly ever use water alone; it would be mixed with soil in order to conserve it.

With the lack of access to engines and water, us-ing hand tools alone became a struggle at times.

“Some days it was frustrating trying to secure spots just to have to go back and do them again, especially without water,” Collins, who also works for Larimer County Emergency Services, said. “A difficulty is how meticulous you have to be to put out an area. ”

With the combination of their young age and High Park being their first large wildfire, all three alumni experienced their own difficulties.

“By the end, I had only slept through the night maybe five times,” Nelson said.

Out of 23 total days his unit was fighting the fire, Nelson worked 17 days, 12 of those being 24-

hour days. “I was sleep deprived, so it was hard to keep

focus. It was difficult to keep my head in the right place while I was think-ing about my house or how my family was,” Nelson said.

Amongst all the struggles and hardships, however, the process of communication went very smoothly for such a large fire, and support from residents was a great encouragement for firefighters.

“It was cool to come down from the mountains everyday and see all the people lined up holding signs, waving, and saying thanks,” Collins said. “It’s nice to be reminded of why you’re doing the job.”

by Megan Shaw// center editor

“Ryan Nelson,firefighter

and Rocky graduate

It was dIffIcult to keep my headin the right place while I was think-ing about my house or how my family was.►Collins►Nelson

►The High Park Fire burned a total of 87,250 acres

►Battling the fire cost approximately $39.2 million

Rebuilding from the ashes: The High Park Fire left retired teacher John Fialko’s home (above) in ruins after sweeping through the Rocky Mountains mid-June. The flames also melted a few vintage bicycles that were left on Fialko’s property (top left).

Beetle territory: Beetle kill in the mountains has severely increased dryness in Colorado. As a result, the risk of large wildfires has in-creased with the fast-burning fuel.

r

Courtesy of John Fialko

Courtesy of John Fialko

Grant Rotman