Their first fund-raisers were held the weekend of Dec. 13. 

Coffee shop Awbrey Brew donated a portion of the proceeds from all drinks and food sold on Dec. 13.  They also put out a donation jar, allowing patrons to give additional money to the club.

 On both Saturday and Sunday, club members wrapped gifts at the Urban Craft Fair at Gossamer, a yarn store. They used only sustainable papers and decorations. They also made and sold baked goods and accepted donations.

“Our weekend fund-raising endeavor was a success. We made a total of $217 at the craft fair, plus a lot more when you think about the money we get pledged for our volunteer hours. I haven’t heard about how the coffee shop went, but I’ll assume we made a bit there as well. Thanks to everyone who came and helped out. We couldn’t have done it without the support of all our members,” said junior Kellie Schueler on the  Summit Sparrow Club blog. 

Fennimore was diagnosed at six months of age with Spasma’s Nutans, a disorder affecting infants which involves rapid, uncontrolled eye movements, head bobbing, and occasionally, abnormal positioning of the neck. 

Fennimore did not crawl until he was 18 months old. He outgrew Spasma’s Nutans at two, but remains vision impaired and requires vision therapy. 

Fennimore was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one. He has no balance, and cannot walk without help. He uses a walker but prefers to crawl wherever he wants to go. 

He also has speech difficulties and uses a “talk box,” an electronic device, to help him communicate at home and school. He attends school three days a week in Redmond. 

Fennimore loves the Disney movie “Cars” and knows all the characters. He likes to play with trucks and cars and enjoys being outdoors. 

“Even though he faces difficulties everyday he is a happy boy and very easy going,” said Fennimore’s mother, who stays at home to take care of him.

Sparrow Club money raised for Fennimore’s family will help with travel to see Portland orthopedic and pediatric neurologists.

“I recently volunteered at Ronald McDonald House and will turn eight hours in toward our sparrow,” said senior Kendall Schultz.

With the money raised by the Sparrow Club, the Fennimore family hopes to make their shower handicapped accessible, install ramps to the entrances of their house, put a carpet pad in Max’s bedroom to make it safer for him and put rails around their deck. 

“Max needs new glasses and a better walker,” said his mother.

Sparrow vouchers are now available in every classroom. 

“We already have hundreds of hours of recorded volunteer work turned in,” said advisor Eila Overcash. “Students should fill the vouchers out on a weekly basis and complete the short reflection piece on the back of the form. For every hour of volunteer work students complete, Bend Broadband will pledge $10 per hour toward our sparrow Max.” 

 Sparrow ‘lightning bolts’ are also in the works, which can be purchased for $1 to $2. These will be hung in the commons and will display the donor’s name.

The annual Mr. Thunder pageant will also donate all of its profits to our Sparrow.

Shaking with nerves, Scott William Carroll stepped onto the stage, and has not stopped acting since.

Five years later, Carroll, a senior, is practically a fixture in local theatre. 

 “As I moved on, it just became like clockwork to me,” said Carroll.  “It just feels natural… it’s a part of me.”  

Since he found his niche, Carroll has “grown immensely” as a performer.  Just how far?  In his words, from “here to London.” 

“[Scott] is heading for Broadway and probably could land a role now. He’s that good,” said photography and journalism advisor Karen Rosch.

This March, he will appear in the Bend premiere of “Into the Woods”, the mixed-up fairy tale musical, as the Baker. It will be Carroll’s last show with CMTG. “It will be an emotional time for me, but at the same time I have to remember all of the wonderful times I had with the company!” 

Carroll has performed in 21 shows in the last five years (starring in most), playing everything from Troy Bolton in “High School Musical” to Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof”.  

“Beauty and the Beast” claims the title as his favorite show, even after he has performed in three productions of the musical, twice as the Beast, his favorite role. “It was a new dynamic [playing the beast again]. I was older and had more experience.” 

Someday, Carroll hopes to replace the character of the Beast with a new favorite—his dream role—the Phantom.  

“[‘Phantom of the Opera’] was the first professional Broadway show I saw… I was mesmerized the minute I sat down in the theater. It captivated me so much at 11 because the story is so powerful, the meaning and the music.”

Brad Little, the Phantom in the production Carroll first saw, is his idol– the man he attributes his love of theatre to. 

Of course, some local personalities have been memorable to Carroll, as well. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me- I’ve learned something from everyone,” he said. “The person who has really helped me is my vocal coach Nancy Engebretson. She expects a lot out of me and makes me work hard for the goal.” 

Engebretson is the artistic director for CMTG as well as the voice teacher who helped Carroll hone his voice into the operatic tenor he showcases with Obsidian Opera Company. Engebretson’s husband, Jason Stein, is his longtime acting coach. 

The memorable actors he  has worked with include Danika Golombek and Trey Hansen, his longtime cohorts in the local theatre world, as well as Lila Mensing and the entire cast of Summit’s last musical, Bye Bye Birdie. 

“Scott’s quite the character,” said Hansen, who attends Mountain View High School. “He showed me that I needed to work hard to be on stage.”

His parents have also been instrumental to his success by driving him to and from rehearsals and paying for voice lessons and tuition. 

Soon, it will be time for Carroll to enter the big leagues. 

First, he plans to attend the University of Oregon to pursue a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance. He chose the U of O because he wanted an education close to home. “For my masters degree,” he said, “I’ll probably go somewhere more prestigious.” 

Naturally, he plans to make a career out of his singing and acting talents. 

“Mainly, I want to go to New York and try Broadway,” he said, adding that he would love professional opera and cross over into musical theatre.  

He understands that it may be a hard road, but that risk does not bother him.  “It’s just a part of me,” he said of his passion—he will take the advice of the crew from ‘The Sound of Music’, in which he played Uncle Max last winter, and climb every mountain till he finds his dream.

So far he has labored hard. “Working with Scott, I learned a lot about goals. Ever since our first show together when I was in the third grade, he’s always wanted to be in the business and set a high bar for himself,” said Hansen of Carroll’s dedication.

 Already, Carroll has shown that he holds the key to success.  Aside from starring in a vast number of productions, he has competed in prestigious singing competitions and collected many accolades.

Last year, he had the honor of traveling to New York to compete in the New York Classical Singers competition. He advanced to become a general finalist.  Carroll was one of 600 elite vocalists across the country. This number was narrowed down to 200 in New York. 

“It was such a rewarding experience, and I learned a lot,” said Carroll.  He had the opportunity to work with opera professional Sherill Milnes, who appeared with the Metropolitan Opera for many years.  “He gave me so much insight on stuff I never realized was out there.”  

Carroll has also been in the Top Ten showcase for the Sunriver Music Festival Young Artists Program. He won scholarship dollars toward voice lessons for the past two years. He begins the process of auditioning for both competitions again this March. 

If forced to choose between singing and acting, he would pick singing, no contest.  “Although,” he said, “You’re always acting when you’re singing.”

Carroll also possesses an extensive list of conducting and technical experience.  Lighting design and operation add to his resume, and he currently holds the position as a musical director for Children’s Music Theatre Group.  

Directing is another great love of his.  “The hardest part for me in directing [is casting]… It’s hard for me to tell people no.”  

But even casting has its perks.  “It’s like a matching deal,” said Carroll, which makes the process enjoyable. 

Carroll is directing “And Then There Were None” alongside Jordan Smith.  This Agatha Christie murder mystery opens in February. 

Nowadays, it is rare to attend a community theatre production without seeing Carroll involved in some way.

A local celebrity, people recognize him for shows as far back as last year (he starred in Cascade Theatrical Company’s widely attended run of “The Fantasticks” last March) when he ventures to the grocery store.  

“It’s fun,” said Carroll of his fame.  “It’s nice to have people remember you, because when people remember you, then you know you’re doing your job.” 

Having to give autographs to eager young fans is not an uncommon experience anymore for Carroll.  

“It feels good,” he said, to have his work appreciated.  

“One time I came out [as the Beast after a performance] and I walk out into the Tower lobby, and this whole group of kindergarteners jetted away from me.  Then I took the wig off and they came back!  They said, ‘You played the beast. You’re really scary.’ I guess I was doing my job, then!” he added. 

Carroll understands that Broadway musicals may require dancing, but as for that, he simply laughed and said, “We’ll have to see.” We can be sure it will be worth our time to watch his progress.

There once was a little girl from Mexico, who loved to sing. She was at peace until the big move to America. The little girl was scared. Everything was different.

That little girl was Erika Lira. She still sings but she is no longer afraid.

After living in California for six years, Lira moved to Bend. She is now a sophomore.

Lira, an honors student, works part-time, is a choir member and is currently part of the “Bye, Bye Birdie” cast.

She has also served as a member of  the yearbook and newspaper staffs in the past.

After being recommended by Eye of the Storm adviser Karen Rosch, Lira attended the Newspaper Institute for Minority High School  Students, a camp for journalism students of color for a week in July.

The camp gives minorities an opportunity to become practicing journalists and work with reporters from  the Oregonian.

 The Institute, funded by a generous grant from the Oklahoma based Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation aims to increase the number of minorities in journalism careers, in management and decision-making positions.

The camp was set up to address a problem: journalism suffers and readers miss out when only one perspective appears on the pages of newspapers and their Web sites.

In the end, the camp directors wanted to help students understand that even if they did not pursue careers in journalism, they could make a difference.

The students published  a 40-plus page paper highlighting several personal stories and local features.

Lira figured out that she didn’t want to be a journalist, but continues to practice journalistic writing.

 She didn’t go home empty handed from the camp. She gained confidence and character.

“I learned a great deal. We had to work under tough situations with tight deadlines. We had to become leaders and make our own journalistic decisions,” said Lira.

“Our camp isn’t set up to give one group special treatment. Journalism has an obligation to represent all communities when it comes to covering the news, especially since the demographics are changing so rapidly and the country is becoming more diverse,” said David Austin, camp director.

Journalism adviser Karen Rosch was excited to invite Lira to attend the Oregon State University camp. “I wanted Erica to have the opportunity to meet other bright student writers like herself,” said Rosch. “I knew it was going to be a great experience for her.”

 The newspaper the campers created taught Lira how to work under stress and how to be responsible.

She learned how to take “real” pictures; “real” meaning not posed.

Lira’s true passion is music, however, and she would like to become a singer and actress. But if that doesn’t happen, she wants to be a high school teacher.

“If you like something go after it, even if you’re bad at it. Don’t be afraid,” said Lira.

 If you would like to read more about the camp and a bio of Erika and other students, visit http://blog.oregonlive.com/teen/journalism_camp_2008/.