Biting Satire

When I was a junior in high school, I had a class called Mentorship. The idea was to go to an actual job related to my future career and basically follow someone around and learn the day-to-day life.

Mrs. Johnson hooked me up with Tom at The Dalles Chronicle, the local newspaper for the Columbia River Gorge. I typed for him, wrote some articles, even did a little reporting...but mostly I drew cartoons.

At this time in The Dalles history (2003-2004), the proposal to merge School Districts 9 and 12 was voted on and approved, and so the following year there would be one high school in The Dalles. I was deathly afraid of the idea, of basically moving to another school my senior year. After putting in my time at Wahtonka High School for three years, I was anticipating the payoff my last year. I hated the idea of starting all over with a passion.

The rest of the story is that, after a few clever but whiney cartoons during junior year, I finally decided I'd better make the most of it. Right before junior year ended we did some activities with the other school where we got to meet each other. The ASB officers (Sarah Clark, Sarah Harmon, Laurel Sprouse, Dylan Higgins, Paul Wagenblast, and myself) had the right idea in trying to include everybody. And then, once the school year started, I made so many good friends who I keep in close contact with four years later.

The high schools merging was probably one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.

Go figure.

Anyway, here are some of those cartoons.



This was my first cartoon on the subject. (My signature's highlighted because moms like to do that sort of thing when they scrapbook.)


This is my favorite. (Although it may not be very accurate. While I was whining about the school merger, most of the kids were probably apathetic or didn't mind.)

One of the downsides to this high school merger is that both high schools would jump up in the OSAA levels. Wahtonka was a 2-A school, and The Dalles was a 3-A school. Upon merging, we barely became a 4-A school. That meant playing schools way bigger than us and it would take some getting used to.

As expected, football and boys' basketball struggled (the two teams I happened to play on my senior year). But the girls did pretty awesome. Volleyball almost made it to playoffs, and softball had an impressive season as well. Way to defy expectations, girls.

One with a holiday theme.


Wow, I just flat-out said stuff back then.

Even though there is a lot to figure out in merging two school districts, two high schools and two middle schools, it seemed like the loudest problem was the new school's name, mascot and colors. That might sound silly, but I thought it was important because that was one thing that the students could decide all on their own. I wouldn't leave a school district's budget up to 17-year-olds, but the school's identity could be up to us.

There was a vote between the students...I can no longer remember all of the results but I do remember that, through my selfish and whiney point of view, they were unfair. The school colors chosen were red and silver...awfully similar to The Dalles' crimson and gray, wouldn't you think?

It didn't matter anyway, because the new school board ignored that and came up with their own solution. "The Dalles Wahtonka Union High School," "Eagle Indians," and crimson and gold (crimson from The Dalles and gold from Wahtonka). I couldn't believe it when I first read that in the paper. But it seems like everyone's used to it now. (The "Union" was dropped just as we were used to the rhythm of saying "The Dalles Wahtonka Union High School.")

Later during my senior year I remember a conversation with Maddie Priest. The year before, when she was at The Dalles and I was at Wahtonka, she didn't know me but she had seen my cartoons and was looking forward to the day when I would quit whining. Maddie, your prophecy was fulfilled.


One of the problems with merging the two high schools was that building a new campus was years and millions of dollars away. So they decided on all the freshmen in the city going to the Wahtonka campus, and everyone else going to The Dalles campus. My sister Kandis was there at Wahtonka for that first year, and it sounded like a constant nightmare, just having the freshmen all by themselves on the other end of town. But it sounds like things have calmed down.