There are many different ways to qualify for a state. A swimmer gets an automatic in if they win their race at districts, which is a challenge for our swimmers because we are in one of the best conferences in the state. There are also automatic time-standards, which are based off of the top times at state the year before. When all of the spots are filled by those that qualified at districts already, wild card swimmers are picked to fill up the rest of the 16 spots allotted. The girls 200 freestyle relay was less than half a second away from being wild carded in.

MacKenzie Smith finished 15th in the 200 Individual Medley, with a time of 2:05.96. Megan Davis and Tess Langseth both earned a trip back the next day for finals, in the 100 back and 200 IM respectively. Davis placed 12th overall, getting 6th in the consolation final with a time of 1:02.82. Langseth placed 11th, getting 5th in the consolation final with a time of 2:18.45.

The girls ended their season with 3-4 in league meets, beating Glencoe, Hillsboro, and Newberg (who ended their season 5-1). There were some stand out swims this year, and great improvement by all. The team will graduate 12 seniors, losing a lot of the Varsity team, but there are a lot of underclassmen who can make their claim next year, such as Angela Shaiu, Dylan Osborne, Caleb Torgenson, and Grant Fullerton.

Langseth said, “Making state finals as a senior was the best feeling in the world! We went out with a bang for sure, but we couldn’t have done it without the support of John and our teammates.”

It was founded in 2005 by Jon Basso, who came to Vegas to make money. He said, “plenty of restaurants serve unhealthy food” (CBS), and that he’s just honest about it. Oh, how honest he is. The menu boasts quite possibly the most unhealthy food on the strip, with their pride and joy being the series of “bypass burgers”. There is the single, double, triple, and the quadruple bypass burger. The triple bypass burger consists of three half-pound patties, almost an entire tomato, and 6,000 calories of lard-slathered deliciousness. If you finish either the triple or quadruple burger, you get the privilege of being taken to your car in a wheelchair by one of the restaurants waitresses.

The entire place is hospital themed, starting when you walk in. Your order is placed on a wristband like in the emergency room, while a doctor uses a stethoscope to examine the “patients”. The waitresses are all nurses, dressed in Hooter’s style garb. They help in the “weigh in”, where a customer can step up on the scale and prove that they weigh enough to get their food free. That’s right America, this place is rewarding the obese by giving them free food. If you can tip the scale at over 350 pounds, you get to eat your meal for free.

That was what a man was doing last week when he had a heart attack. Bystanders thought it was a joke or an act, and many pulled out their cell phones to take a video. People were laughing and clapping; no one knew he was serious until the ambulance arrived. One of the “nurses” saw what was going on and called 9-11, knowing that it wasn’t just an act. Most restaurants would take this kind of publicity like a gun-shot wound, but Basso doesn’t see it like that, he sees it as something that will bring more attention to the Heart Attack Grill.

The song that got me listening was “The Lady is a Tramp” with Lady Gaga. Mitzi Green sang the original which I love and all I could hope was that Bennett and Gaga did it justice. They didn’t disappoint. It’s boppier than the original, but still keeps the feel.

The late Amy Winehouse’s voice on “Body and Soul” leaves goosebumps every time I hear it. Their voices work well together for the soulful Coleman Hawkins original.

Bennett also invited some beautiful male voices to join him. Michael Bublé sang “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” with Bennett. The saxophone makes for one jazzy treat and fits both mens’ styles perfectly.

“This is All I Ask” with Josh Groban took both men out of their comfort zone. Groban normally sings opera/classical style whereas Bennett sticks to jazz. The song blended their styles. The background music sounds very Bennett, but their voices sounded very Groban. No scatting, no violins, but perfectly blended styles.

The whole album is something for any generation. It transcends seasons and moods. If you ever need something to listen to, it’s always a Tony kind of day.

All it takes is a few minutes to answer some questions about the services you use and how you rate them. You can also leave a comment if you want to address something specific. The test is available in both English and Spanish, and can be taken at the library or online.

The survey is for the library to get feedback to help improve it. Last year 3,100 people took the survey and helped add programs that benefited the community.

The results will be posted on the library’s website when all of the results have been calculated.

Take it this week and help make our public library a better place. Our input is important!

You can take the survey here.

The senior citizens were great dance partners, teaching us how to dance and it demonstartes that age doesn’t mean anything when it comes to dance.

The turn out seemed to be better than last year’s competition. Also, the University of Oregon cheer/dance team performed during the end of the first round and Portland State University’s dance team performed as well during the end of the second round. Both teams also had Tigard alumni; one from University of Oregon and two from Portland State University.

Red: The most classic color of rose on Valentine’s Day is the red rose. The perfect gift for your significant other, this rose represents romance and love. It is also the symbol of beauty.

White: The white rose, like a wedding dress, represents purity. It is a flower used to symbolize innocence, and often used as a symbol for religion and even honor. Try giving this to an honored family member.

Pink: This gentle flower is great for letting someone know you appreciate them. It is known to represent admiration, and gratitude.  It can also sometimes represent sympathy or joy. Some say that the deeper the pink, the deeper the emotion.

Yellow: This is a well known symbol for Joy and friendship. It is a great gift for friends to show that your friendship means a lot to you.

Blue: This unnatural color of rose usually symbolizes doing the impossible or uniqueness. It can also symbolize mystery. This is a color meant for someone truly special.

Orange: The striking orange rose represents desire, passion and excitement. This can be a good gift to let someone know you want to get to know them better.

Purple: This rose represents enchantment, or love at first sight. Try substituting the red rose with this color for something new to try.

Black: Be sure to stear clear of black roses, unless you really need to get the message across that it’s over. These roses usually symbolize death.

You can also try mixing any of these colors together to create your own special message. Some examples are:

White and Red: Unity

Red and Yellow: Congratulations

Choosing the color is important, but you can also try playing around with the amount of roses to give. I wouldn’t give too many though, it may come off as overwhelming.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day, and good luck!

“I’m so excited for the new semester, because change is always good. It is nice to have classes with new people.”

We are now counting down the days until the seniors graduate! In only a few short months, they will be gone. Seniors need to keep up the hard work and try for scholarships.

By this time, most seniors are feeling “senioritis”.

“In the last semester of high school I can definitely feel the senioritis coming on,” said senior Megan King. “But I know I have to keep my grades up for scholarships.”

If you’re interested make all checks payable to the Tigard High School and give it to the bookkeeper, but hurry because the class is limited to 30 students. In the class, the cost will cover the SAT text, a practice CD, two scored essays and a full length practice exam. The full length practice exam will be held on Sat. April 28 at 8 am and it runs till 12 pm.

For any question, you can reach Rutschman at (503) 431-5523 or during second lunch. You can reach Townzen at (503) 431 – 5556 or during second lunch.

The class will be covering things like: how to log into eSIS, Tigard High’s Website, Facebook/Social Networking, e-mail, and Google apps for education. This class also includes lessons on typing, basics on how computers work, and how to create a resume.

The class will be held every Thursday from 6 – 8 pm in room 422. If you have any questions, call 503-431-5553