COMMUNITY8 l April 17, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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By Lillian O’Rorke

This summer, Julia Bennett is trading in her sorority house in central Los Angeles for a stay in one of Tanzania’s rural villages.

“I’m really nervous and I’m really excited too,” said Bennett, a 2012 graduate of Eastlake High School.

Bennett is planning to spend eight weeks volunteering in East Africa this summer through Support for International Change, a nonprofit working to limit the impact of HIV/AIDS. While she doesn’t know for sure where she will be working, Bennett said she would most likely end up staying with a family near the northern city of Arusha. What she does know is that it will be completely different than life in Sammamish and L.A.

“Most of the houses don’t have running water and don’t have electricity,” Bennet said. “It’s a huge change. But, I think it will be a really cool experience to be living in a different culture where material things aren’t that important.”

Bennett is also excited about the work she will be doing. While there, she will lead an education program that teaches children and adults about HIV prevention

and treatment methods, while also taking the time to help in hospitals and orphanages that have been affected by the virus. At the end of the eight weeks, Bennett will also help facilitate a testing day.

“You get to encourage all these people who haven’t been tested to get tested for HIV, which is a life changing thing for a lot of them,” she explained. An impor-tant key to getting people to get tested, she added, is teaching them about the resources that are available if they are infected. Because many people don’t real-ize the different treatments they could get, they don’t bother even getting tested, she explained.

Another important part of the education campaign, Bennett said, is working to reduce the stigma that surrounds the virus and the people who have it.

Currently a freshman at the University of California, L.A., Bennett will not receive any col-lege credit for the work she will be doing. As an undeclared life science major, though, she said the eight weeks will give her a good insight into the career she is considering pursuing.

“I’ve always been interested Photo by Abby CarlsonJulia Bennett hangs out with one of the children she volunteered to nanny at the Young Lives camp last summer in Oregon.

Local to spend summer volunteering in Tanzania

By Lillian O’Rorke

Earth Day isn’t officially until April 22, but Sammamish is start-ing the celebration early this year.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, the Lower Sammamish Commons will be buzzing with Earth Day festivi-ties. Sponsored by Republic Services and Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer, the event will feature children activities, food, live music and several ven-dors with information on ways to be greener.

“Earth Day is just a real fam-ily time,” said Dawn Sanders, the volunteer coordinator for the city of Sammamish. “It’s a way to learn to take better care of our planet.”

As part of the celebration, Sanders is orga-nizing a family volunteer event to help maintain Sammamish’s Native Plant Garden. Signing up to sink your hands in the dirt doesn’t mean

hours toiling under the sun or rain, explained Sanders. Instead volunteers can expect to spend anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour working in the Native Plant

Garden. “It’s up so you can do a little

bit of work in the garden and wander over and see the ven-dors,” Sanders said, “just to give

people, especially those with younger kids, an idea of what it’s like to volunteer.”

While everything is going on, The Mighty Tiny Band, with its

silver clarinet, drums and tuba, will be playing a mix of New Orleans jazz, world beats and

ContributedVolunteers from the Washington Native Plant Society explain details about plants during a past Earth Day event.

If you go:Sammamish Earth Day Celebration10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 20Lower Sammamish Commons550 222nd PL S.E.

Sammamish gets down and dirty for Earth Day

See EARTH, Page 10

See AFRICA, Page 9

sports12 l April 17, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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By Lillian O’Rorke

It wasn’t just a matchup of neighboring plateau baseball teams April 8, it was a battle between the leaders of KingCo’s two divisions when the Skyline Spartans edged out the Eastlake Wolves in a single run game.

“It was a couple good pitch-ers and some super defense out there. Two good teams,” said Chris Tammimen, head coach of the Spartans. “They [Eastlake] have some good senior leader-ship…and good talent. They are definitely a team that is going to be there in the end.”

Eastlake, which at 5-3 is No. 1 in KingCo Crest, returned 13 of its varsity players this year, including starting pitcher Josh Barokas. As of April 11, the Eastlake senior had an ERA of 0.60 with 19 strikeouts. During the game against Skyline, Barokas pitched all seven innings, allowing only two hits, one run, zero walks and three

strikeouts. One run, however, was all that

the Spartans needed to claim vic-tory in the 1-0 game.

Jason Santiago, a junior at Skyline, was first to step up to the plate at the top of the second inning. On a change-up from Barokas, he knocked it to the center field for a double.

“We knew that their pitcher is really good,” Santiago said. “I was looking for something in the zone that I could drive, something that I could hit hard.”

From second base, Santiago scored when teammate Ian Smith hit a line drive that smacked Barokas in the leg. Once recov-ered, an overthrow at first while Santiago was rounding third automatically put Skyline on the board. No one would score again.

“Going into it, we didn’t know it would be a one run game,” Santiago said. “You feel a surge to just try and do something for

Skyline bests Eastlake in a battle of league leaders

See BASEBALL, Page 14

By Lillian O’Rorke

Rebounding from a 2-1 deficit, and a loss to Skyline the year before, the Eastlake softball team came out on top of this season’s matchup with its neighbor April 8 to claim a 6-2 victory.

After scoring two runs at the top of the fifth inning, including one by senior Charlotte Zhao who went 3 for 4 with a double, the Skyline Spartans were ahead 2-1.

“Both pitchers were throw-ing strikes, defense was playing good. Both teams were scraping and clawing to get a run,” said Rob Zahn, head coach of the Wolves. “I was just proud of how they reacted. Last week they had a real tough week. We lost three games last week and they took it hard, but they came back and responded today.

Pitching for Skyline was soph-omore Winter Ridgeway, who by the end of the game had eight hits, six runs, eight strikeouts and five walks. On the mound for Eastlake was Mikel Charles. Also a sophomore, she pitched all seven innings with four hits,

two runs, 10 strikeouts and three walks.

“When you get something going as batters, you tend to keep it going,” Charles explained. “So it’s important to, like, get ahead and keep them kind of strug-gling.”

Skyline’s hitters managed to make contact with the ball in the top of the sixth, but all three got out on first.

Stepping up to the plate first for Eastlake was Charles with a single.

Freshman Corina Jones fol-lowed with a double.

With Zoe March being walked after that, the bases were loaded when Jessica Rubidueax hit a single to drive Charles home and tie the game at 2-2.

Now on first, Rubidueax and the two runners ahead of her, made it all the way home when Abby Goux hit a swift groundball out past the first and second base-men, where Skyline struggled to field it.

“I saw the ball get through, I saw the outfielder kind of fum-

Eastlake fastpitch claims 6-2 victory over Skyline

Photo by Lillian O’RorkeSkyline junior infielder, Riley Davidson steps up to bat against Eastlake April 8. See SOFTBALL, Page 13

Photo by Lillian O’RorkeEastlake junior Austin Hooker eyes his first inning fly ball against Skyline April 8.