Then-Rogers High School student James Pearson faces off against Washington state Sen. Michael Baumgartner in 2016. Former Spokesman-Review editorial page editor Bert Caldwell is stuck in the middle.
Generally, unless you're a lawyer, it's a bad idea to start arguing with a judge.
But Rogers High School debaters William Lynch and Katelynn Searls have the chutzpah to do just that, facing off against district court judges Debra Hayes and Aimee Mauer at “Rhetoric in the Ring IV: Kids vs Courts.”
It's the fourth such fundraiser for the Rogers High School debate team, to be held on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 5:30 pm at the Howard Street Gym.
Fundraisers, whether they be entertainment book deals or door-to-door wrapping paper sales, tend to be among the most miserable school activities. But a few years ago Rogers debate coach Cara Heath says she was discussing the need to pull off a fundraiser with public affairs consultant Jim Hedemark when they came up with an "intriguing idea": Pit the student debaters against local politicians or celebrities. Find local sponsors and ask for donations to support the team at the event.
And so Rhetoric in the Ring was born.
In past years, the celebrity debaters have included City Council President Ben Stuckart and City Councilmember Mike Fagan, Washington state Sens. Andy Billig and Michael Baumgartner and local school board members.
This year, they're taking on the local district court judges.
SPORTS: The West Coast Conference seems to have no answer for the Zags' Rui Hachimura.
IN OTHER NEWS
Not much has changed in a year
At Spokane's Martin Luther King, Jr. Rally yesterday, some audience members, like at last year's rally, booed and turned their backs to U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, prompting other speakers to condemn the hecklers. (Spokesman-Review)
State gun legislation gets a vote
A bill that would ban "bump stocks," or devices that allow for the rapid firing of semiautomatic rifles, is scheduled for a vote this morning by the state legislature's Law and Justice Committee. The Las Vegas mass shooter who killed 58 people used bump stocks. (Spokesman-Review)
Hate speech
Police have found a man who is suspected of distributing racist propaganda promoting white supremacy in Sandpoint schools, but he hasn't been charged with a crime. (Bonner County Daily Bee)
Bannon to speak to Mueller
Steve Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, was subpoenaed by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, to testify as part of the Russia investigation. (New York Times)
Mandy Manning works to make her students feel welcome in the United States
Mandy Manning, a teacher of refugees and immigrant students at Ferris High School, knows what she would say to President Donald Trump if she ends up winning National Teacher of the Year.
"I would invite him to visit my classroom," Manning says. "And I would share stories of how beautiful and amazing and wonderful my students and their families are."
Manning, already the 2018 Washington Teacher of the Year, is one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year, with the winner traditionally visiting the White House for a ceremony in the spring.
Yet what motivates Manning isn't as much the recognition for her job. For her, it's an opportunity to tell her students' stories. That's why she pursued the nomination for Teacher of the Year.
"Considering some of the difficulties we're seeing in our nation right now around refugees and immigrants, and being willing to experience that which is outside of your understanding," Manning says, "I thought this would be an opportunity to share my students' voices."
Manning is a teacher at the English Language Development Newcomer Center at Ferris High School. It's the first class that many refugees and immigrants take when they arrive in the United States, and most come to class speaking little English. It's the only class of its kind at the high school level in Spokane.
Rui Hachimura is growing by leaps and bounds in his second season.
The first few weeks of WCC play was rather anticlimactic up until Saturday night's Zags face-off with San Francisco.
Their margin of victory over five games eclipsed 26 points after dismantling the Portland Pilots at home earlier in the week. But the Zags are always gifted a challenge when playing in the Dons' War Memorial Gym.
Saturday night's test never felt unmanageable, but it was a helpful test for the young Zags to maintain a lead late when San Francisco would linger with just a six-point deficit. Ultimately the Zags front court proved to be too much for their opposition yet again.
A banged-up Johnathan Williams scored 17 points and had nine rebounds as the Zags interior outscored the Dons' 36-18. It was San Francisco's streaky three-point shooting and some haphazard turnovers by the Bulldogs that kept this game close.
The Zags are soundly dominating the glass, leading the conference in rebounds at 41 a game, six more per game than second place. They're also out-rebounding their foes by over 10 a game.
But if there was anything that's been proved in this early conference season it's that the WCC does not have a real answer in dealing with Rui Hachimura. Hachimura is shooting an absurd 76.7 percent from the floor in conference play, and wreaking havoc both on the wings and in transition.
In the staff's plan for Hachimura's time in Division I, his freshman season was for learning and adjusting. You could see times last year where he'd contemplate his next move whenever he had the ball, trying to decipher when to attack and when to pass.
After announcing upcoming shows by the Eagles, Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, the Spokane Arena continues adding to its lineup of classic rock shows with iconic Latin-blues guitarist Carlos Santana and his namesake band, who hit the Inland Northwest on March 4.
Santana has had a remarkable and varied career: He played Woodstock, has had breakthrough pop hits in multiple decades, has won 10 Grammys (including an armful for his 1999 crossover smash Supernatural) and is frequently name-checked on lists of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Tickets for the concert range from $65.50 to $85.50, and go on sale this Saturday at 10 am through TicketsWest.
Saved or skunked
While a new funding mechanism for Washington state schools was meant to ease the burden from local levies and increase spending statewide, some local districts will actually get less money under the new plan and have less flexibility to pay for things outside the scope of basic education, like academic clubs or buses.
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of MLK's assassination. Today, on the day America honors his life and work striving for a better world for all, here are some of his speeches that you may not be as familiar with. (Boston Globe)
Cheesin' in CDA
The first Mac and Cheese Festival took place in Coeur d'Alene this weekend, and the Coeur d'Alene Press reports it was a hit.
Police ID suspect in slew of racist calls, flyers
A man who Sandpoint police believe was involved in spreading racist propaganda at area schools and making anti-Semitic phone calls has been identified, but it's not clear if he'll be charged with a crime, the Spokesman-Review reports.
Cactus Flower continues its run at the Spokane Civic this weekend.
We have ample entertainment options for you in our event listings and Staff Picks, so go give 'em a whirl sometime. Or look below — some highlights of the week ahead!
Monday, Jan. 15
FILM | You lucky ducks on the Palouse have an easy trip to enjoy the Palouse Cult Film Revival screening of Troll 2, a movie that's in close competition with The Room for the worst ever made. It's playing at the Kenworthy in Moscow. Here's a look at the glory that is Troll 2 (fun fact: there are no trolls in the movie, just goblins):
Tuesday, Jan. 16
MUSIC | Three Doors Down managed to have a bunch of hits like "Kryptonite" and "When I'm Gone" well before it became known that Donald Trump was a fan. They even played his inauguration, leading to some awkward video. Now they're playing an acoustic show at Northern Quest tonight.
COMMUNITY | It's time again for the GSL Basketball Rivalry Games to take over Spokane Arena, starting tonight with LC vs. Ferris (aka Rubber Chicken), continuing Thursday with Shadle Park vs. North Central (aka Groovy Shoes) and concluding Friday with U-High vs. Central Valley (aka Stinky Sneakers).
Here's a roundup of some events and donation drives benefitting those in need and connecting people with services through the end of the month.
COAT DRIVE
The winter weather has brought its near-constant chill to the Inland Northwest, and foster families as well as young people at Excelsior Youth Center are in need of winter coats.
To help, the City of Spokane is collecting your donated coats, which don't need to be new, but clean and preferably only lightly worn if used.
In part, Excelsior is hoping for coats for their residential youth, who are doing community outreach by volunteering to shovel snow for people with physical disabilities.
Specifically, the center is looking for Large and Xtra-Large coats for men, and Medium and Large coats for women. They can be dropped during business hours at the main floor of City Hall.
Savannah Mackey gives Hector Ortiz a haircut at Homeless Connect in 2014.
Homeless Connect
For the seventh year, the annual Homeless Connect event will bring together dozens of service providers to offer free health and dental screenings, housing assistance, shelter referrals, benefit assistance, court assistance for people with outstanding warrants, help with getting an ID, and more. Last year, more than 300 people came and got help.
Last year, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill adding billions of dollars in state funding to schools. The deal was widely seen as significant progress in fulfilling the 2012 McCleary decision from the Washington State Supreme Court.
Yet the bill at the same time restricted how much school districts could collect through local levies. And for some rural school districts, that restriction didn't represent progress at all.
"We're getting less money," says Jim Kowalkowski, Davenport School District superintendent. "We're scratching our heads."
Sure, he says, Davenport will get more money from the state. But because the bill limits Davenport from collecting the full $4.08 per $1,000 of assessed property value from a local levy passed by Davenport voters, it results in a loss of funds for the district overall.
It's a problem that Chris Reykdal, the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction, hopes to fix in the 2018 legislative session. He plans to introduce legislation that will make changes to the bill, House Bill 2242, passed last year. The changes would provide school districts with more funding flexibility, giving relief to a small, rural school districts like Davenport.
"Some districts are struggling to adequately provide programs that are not considered basic education," Reykdal says in a statement. "To solve this problem, districts need more funding and they need more flexibility in their local levies."
A New York Times investigation shows that low-income opioid addicts are less likely to get Suboxone instead of Methadone.
ON INLANDER.COM
Doobieous honor The Doobie Brothers are going to be playing the Spokane Arena on June 7. And Steely Dan.
Beer me, beer you, beer all of us The Lantern's "Winter Beer Fest" returns. I hope they serve beer.
IN OTHER NEWS
Dozed off
The city plans to buy part of the land that was illegally bulldozed on the South Hill bluffs. (Spokesman-Review)
We're an edgy alt-weekly so we can say it, too
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said about immigrants coming from Africa. Some observers suggested that, perhaps, this was a super racist thing to say. (Washington Post)
Different meds for different heads
Why poor people in NYC have to go to the Methadone clinic, while wealthier people get Suboxone. (New York Times)
Gone missing
A snowmobiler has gone missing in the Panhandle National Forest, and the Kootenai County Sheriff's office is looking for him. (KXLY)
Facebook will stop at nothing to destroy The Inlander A new Facebook policy will show users less news from newspapers like this one and more from that Facebook friend from high school you always get into arguments with. (Seattle Times)