Top Ten: Homecoming Courtships

Annie Loader & Jake Winter

1. Mat Kestle.... Decorated Danielle Gaztambide's red VW Bug with black dots accompanied by a note that read something along the lines of "Lady, it would bug me not to go to homecoming with you"

2. Ross Terrill.... Attached a bunch of helium filled red and gold balloons to a little pig stuffed animal which was tucked inside a box. On the outside of the box, a sign said "I'll go to homecoming with you.... when pigs fly!" When Natalie Warner opened the box the pig flew.

3. Jackson Elizondo.... Recreated a Taylor Swift music video asking Mary Morgan

4. Trent Clifford.... Paid for a person to dress up in a giant bunny suit and tell Alyssa Corbett that "somebunny wants to go to homecoming with her"

5. Post its.... Dexter Holmquist covered Grace Haley's entire room with post its

6. Stevie Strehl.... After scoring a goal in the JD vs JM hockey game, Strehl asked Kayla Nielson with a bouquet

7. Ben Cook.... Made a cheerleader themed Build a Bear for Annie Loader

8. Mickey.... Planted a note to Emily Andrews in the Newspaper

9. Hirning.... Put candles in paper bags that spelled out Homecoming

10. Hughes.... Led Hannah Robinson around Downtown on a scavenger hunt

Summer Service

Across the pond and from coast to coast, Judge students have left their mark all over the world this summer. While on Summer vacation, Judge students demonstrated their Christian values by soaking up the sun in communities all across the map while participating in service projects to benefit those in need. Service is in the foundation of Judge Memorial Catholic High School, and as every student completes Christian service hours during the school year, of the many students who rose to the challenge and chose to spend their Summers helping to serve others both domestically and internationally, two seniors stood out in the shining service oriented efforts. Emily Burchett and Kelly Hanlon traveled to Kiamuri, Kenya with YouthLinc, a local service agency; connected with Rotary International, with their motto being "Creating lifetime humanitarians." This was surely achieved, after completing over 260 service hours in Kenya Alone, not to mention the 100 hours of Service completed domestically, and the individual philanthropic efforts of both girls.


Emily and Kelly were just a part of the group's thirty members that were hand selected to travel to Kenya. Much preparation went into the planning of this trip. After being broken up into groups and being assigned different committees, like Education, fund raising, heath/medical, fun fair, and micro finance, the planning begun. Once the group arrived in Kenya, there were no limitations as to how they could assist the children. "I taught emotions to primary school students (k-4) and geography to primary and secondary (k-12). I also helped teach women's maturation classes, as well as build classrooms for primary and secondary schools." States Burchett. In addition to the work Emily participated in, Hanlon also aided the village by Giving loans to those who wished to start a small business, with the source of funding being deriving from the money the group members in America, and teaching a vocational training class to teenage girls.

The lessons that these girls taught the children of the village were invaluable in comparison to what Emily and Kelly gained from this experience. After seeing the slums that so many people lived in and the hardships that they had to face every day, it greatly effected the girls view of the world. " I had prepared for the trip all year, I knew I was going into a poverish country, but no matter how long you prepare for it, the shock is still so prevalent when you walk down the jet way off the plane." states Kelly when describing her feeling towards the living conditions of the villagers. As unfortunate as seeing these dreadful sights was, it served as a source of motivation for the two bulldogs. "Knowing that you put your whole heart and soul into something, and seeing how much you can get done, and how many lives you can touch is the best reward i could ever ask for. I am only 17 years old and I have traveled to another continent to change peoples lives. What makes it all worth it is knowing I put a smile on someones face." Kelly proudly proclaims.


After two weeks in the village, changing hundreds of lives, and making countless amounts of memories, the girls returned home, bringing much with them. This trip was only the beginning for these two young humanitarians. Philanthropic work in nothing new for Kelly Hanlon. "I hope to continue changing lives and leaving my hand print on the world. After this experience I have the courage to do anything. All it takes is a little hard work, dedication, sincerity and the will to achieve."

Emily, who channeled her altruistic spirit in the hopes of one day establishing herself as a humanitarian. Hoping to continue to apply her passion for traveling an being immersed in foreign cultures, to work with organizations that will help her grow as an individual, as well as establish a basis for the service organization that she hopes to one day create and run. Upon explaining why she enjoys service Emily states, "Life should be about simply being kind to others, not worrying so much about material goods, but instead the human connections we make."

So look out world, these bulldogs are taking the reigns and starting young. With a combination of passion and perseverance, Kelly Hanlon and Emily Burchett are sure to change the world.

Girls win State again; boys take 4th

On February 5 and 6, the Judge swimmers took a trip down to BYU to compete in the 2010 State Championships. "The atmosphere was very intense and nail-biting," said senior Malori McGill, a swim fan who made the trip to Provo.

Girls swimming won their seventh state title in eight years taking first place with 380 points while fending off top-rival Park City. Park City and Wasatch followed with scores of 372 and 275, respectively.

The "Scarlet Heroes of Yore" coach Matt Finnigan, was overjoyed with the win. "This one was maybe sweeter because it had to be a team effort," Finnigan said. "We just forgot about scoring, swam hard, had fun and let the chips fall where they may." Junior Lydia Jones took the Bulldogs home with individual wins in the 200 (2:00.68) and 500 (5:27.29) freestyles. This year's girls talented squad was led by team captains Erika Eisenman '10 and Carolyn Carter '10, and got power and speed boosts with newcomers Lydia Jones '11, Meghan Brockmeyer '10, and Emily Murnin '13.

On the boys' side, Park City won the state title (339) while Wasatch took second (320) and Juan Diego Catholic placed third (251) while Judge took fourth. In his final high school meet, Judge senior Oliver Diamond, the defending 3A swimmer of the meet, left no doubt about who is the best male swimmer in 3A this year taking first in the 50 (21.44) and 100 (46.98) freestyles and grabbing another "swimmer of the meet" award . Diamond followed up first place in the 50 free on Friday by producing a super-fast win in the 100 free on Saturday.

Diamond scored 268 points — the second-highest total of anyone at this weekend's state meets. "It was my last race and I was excited for it," said Diamond. "My goals were to just come out and swim hard and support this team." And Diamond did just that, flying by the competition and showing that Judge is still and always will be a competitor.

Save the Parade, Celebrate the Tradition

For more than thirty years, the St. Patrick’s day parade has been an integral part of the Salt Lake community. Many schools make floats for the parade, and many students (including Judge students) are in the parade. It has been a fun way to celebrate an important historical and religious figure. The parade is organized and funded by the Hibernian Society of Utah, a non-profit organization that strives to preserve Irish history and culture within the state.

Unfortunately, there was a major speed bump for this year’s St. Patrick’s day parade. The city had proposed billing event organizers with costs for services, including the right to parade routes, adding up to over $7,500. To put this in perspective, this exceeds the total amount of dues raised by the society in a year, and this is not their only event; they sponsor many other events throughout the year. Although this price tag may seem unobtainable, the Hibernian Society did not give up. They immediately launched the “Save the St. Patrick’s Day Parade" campaign which included negotiating with the city council, and increased fundraising. As part of the increased fundraising, a concert was planned for February 5 in the Judge auditorium.

All other parades and events that take place in Salt Lake City are also dealing with this problem. They were in talks with the city and no progress was made, until the Days of '47 began to contemplate their options, one being relocating the parade to another area, such as Sandy City. Before moving the parade a deal was struck. The Days of '47 argued that this was a violation of their First Amendment rights, specifically their right to assemble. They referenced other St. Patrick’s day parades in other cities and states.

The Hibernians also applied for a “free expression permit”; it was granted, and the St. Patrick’s day parade was saved. Many parades have filed for the “free expression permits," arguing their parades are not “special events," but “free expression events," like protests. Despite the success in the parade aspect of the issue, still left in the cold are every other “special event," such as the Farmers’ Market, and the Utah Arts Festival.

The Hibernian Society still hosted the Irish concert, despite the change in circumstances. The Irish-rock band Swagger performed. This concert was originally planned as a save the St. Patrick’s Day parade event, but later took on a different theme. It was still a fundraiser for the parade, though, as it was a celebration of the salvation of the parade.

There is a great lesson to be learned from the whole mess. It is that one can never be complacent, although our government is here to serve the people it often gets sidetracked in their willingness to throw tradition away just to help balance a budget. This shows that anybody with strong enough of a will can have an impact. Always contact your representatives with your opinion and urge them to represent you, or in this case put history and tradition before a quick buck. Many say that every letter a senator or congressman receives represents a thousand constituents.

Another step to assure the City Council, that they have made the right decision, and never even ponder resurfacing these recovery costs, is to contact the City Council and let them know we stand by the parade, that they made the right decision, and perhaps offer a voice for the “special events” that are still dealing with the issue. The St. Patrick’s day parade is our parade, and it is our responsibility to help protect the parade.

If you have ever been in, helped prepare for, seen or have respect for history and tradition, then it is asked that you help preserve this rich bit of history by coming to the parade on Saturday, March 20.