14 10 13 Rampage

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2270 Highway 133

Carbondale, CO 81623

November 2014

Volume 8 Issue 2

The Rampage

Mice! -Eryn Doherty

Leftover lunch trash leads to a rodent problem; staff and students concerned

A

Be grateful,

t Roaring Fork High School, students are allowed to roam the building freely and eat wherever they want during their lunch hour. Teachers are now questioning this policy. Due to the massive amounts of garbage and food left around the school, the RF staff is now fighting a mice problem. Head cook, Sulma Zelaya, believes students should not be able to eat wherever they want. Instead, she thinks it would be more suitable if the students who stay at school for lunch eat together in the auditeria. At the beginning of the school year, Roaring Fork purchased 350 new plates for the school’s kitchen. In a recent count, there were roughly 100 plates left. Janitor, Pedro Ramirez, has found the missing two-thirds of the plates in trash cans throughout Roaring Fork. He has been trying to recover the plates from the garbage cans to bleach and sanitize. Zelaya believes the plates are ending up in trash cans because of students roaming through the school during lunch. “Students don’t have enough time to walk their dishes back to the kitchen after eating somewhere else in the school,” said Zelaya. “If students ate all together in one place, they would have time to bring the dishes back.” Principal Drew Adams and Assistant Principal Kelsie Goodman agreed that students, teachers, and staff should be proud of their school and want to keep it clean. Adams said, “In certain areas of

be happy -Jonathan Aranda Do you say thank you when your teacher hands out papers? Do you express gratitude to the grocery store clerk for helping you bag your groceries? Everyday, people do kind and helpful deeds, and in the realm of our crazy lives, we seem to forget to appreciate the little things. Take a moment to consider the good things you do for people. Sometimes you might not even re-

What’s inside:

the school, the amount of trash that’s left behind is deplorable.” In the gym, student athletes say they have stepped in sticky foods and drinks that have been spilled on the floor. “It’s gross! There were chicken bones and candy wrappers all over the bleachers,” said sophomore volleyball player, Ashley Hall. While food is tossed around the school’s floors, mice are finding ways into the building. Many people speculate that the increase of mice entering the school is due to all of the trash. Adams, though, be-

Photo by Lucy Stevens Custodian Pedro Ramirez sets a mouse trap in the halls to catch the pesky mice. Mice have been taking over in schools valley-wide.

alize you are doing them. For example, you may not remember that time you picked up a stranger’s papers that were flying out of her bag or when you opened a door for someone. November is a month of family time and gratitude. It is a period where you can think about the things you love, the people around you that make you happy, and all of the benefits you are fortunate to have. Many researchers have learned that small doses of gratitude improve your health and can result in other beneficial factors. Robert

Yik-Yak Attack! (Page 2)

lieves that mice are common in every building during this time of year. He said it is natural for mice to come into buildings when it starts to get cold. Many teachers and staff members, though, are concerned about the issue. A few teachers have complained of an odor in their classroom, which they think is a result of dead mice. History teacher, Matt Wells, said the air vent in his room has been blowing a strong odor that reeks of something dead. Students in his classes have speculated there are dead mice in the ceiling ducts that have made the classroom stink. The maintenance department has been requested, but Wells doesn’t think anyone has come to fix the situation. Ken Melby, the Director of Facilities for the Roaring Fork School District, said he placed 24 new mouse traps in the closets at Roaring Fork in one day. In his opinion, the mice aren’t coming in because of the trash. He thinks the mice problem is a result of teachers leaving their doors open during the day. Some might say students should be forced to eat in the cafeteria because of the lack of respect for our school. Many students think they should not have this restriction. Students enjoy the freedom of being able to roam during their 40-minute lunch period. Adams said if students want to continue eating wherever they want, they need to self-monitor and clean up after themselves. As of right now, though, no one will be forced to eat in the cafeteria.

Emmon’s book “Thanks! How The Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier” includes research that journaling about what you’re grateful for can make you happier everyday. According to Bruce Campbell’s article,”Counting Your Blessings: How Gratitude Improves Your Health,” there are many steps you can take to remind yourself of what you’re grateful for: keeping a journal, finding a friend to share your gratitude with, and using visual reminders, like little sticky notes on your mirror. Some of the benefits of ac-

Stress and Sleep (Pages 4 & 5)

Pledge Issues Span the Valley (Page 6)

knowledging what you’re grateful for in your life can go from better, sounder sleep to less anxiety and depression. The following are some of the things that members of our community are thankful for. What are you thankful for? Karla Cardenas (RFHS Mom): My kids, my whealth and empanadas. Lucy Uribe (RFHS Senior): Wendy Schwitz in the office. Naomi Pulver (RFHS Junior): Being able to pass this quarter. Chrissy Dawson (RFHS Administrative Assistant): My son, job, a working car, and awesome metabolism.

Gems of the Valley (Page 8)

Contact us at rframpage@gmail.com


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