District puts damper on Foresthill mascot choice

By Erin Gallup-Main, Journal Staff WriterThe Placer Union High School District board made no decision about the controversial Foresthill High School mascot suggestion, the Wildfires.Foresthill Divide Middle School students talked about it for more than a year, voted on it twice and the majority has spoken, Foresthill resident Steve Stevenson told the Placer Union High School District board.?There is a process,? Stevenson said at the Tuesday evening meeting. ?You can vote or you can complain. It?s been pretty well argued. Everyone?s got a good argument, now it depends on which one you want to pick.?Superintendent Bart O?Brien thanked Sue Lunsford and Larry Bonds for all their hard work on the long process. The two district employees headed the cultural committee, which gathered community input on the name, mascot and colors for the $8.1 million high school. Local voters approved the new development in November 1999 as part of a $41.5 million bond.Foresthill Divide Middle School students will attend the local campus as freshmen and sophomores starting in 2003, rather than travel to Placer High School.Lunsford noted that the district board has been very receptive to the choices the Foresthill middle students made, including the name of Foresthill High School.Lunsford said the majority of the youngsters voted to have Wildfires as their mascot of the new campus beating out others, including the Bears and the Grizzlies.The middle school students voted on the top 11 ideas on March 5 and Wildfires received more than twice the votes as the next suggestion, the Wildcats.Lunsford said the students voted on the top three choices, the Wildfires, Wildcats and Wolverines March 6. She said students took their ballots home and were encouraged to discuss it with their parents. The students again voted overwhelmingly in favor of Wildfires, a name originally suggested by Foresthill eighth-grader Jeff Graves.?When I first thought of it, I was thinking of all the wildfires we had last summer,? Graves said Tuesday.Several people spoke in favor of Wildfires as the mascot at the Tuesday meeting and Foresthill eighth-grader Brad Wright read student essays for and against the choice.?In no way does it depict anything great,? Wright read from an essay written by seventh-graders. ?It is destructive and kills people.?Wright said Placer High School students have already started to make fun of the mascot name, but no reason was given for the teasing.Eighth-graders ended their essay by asking the board to reconsider the vote.Lance Graves was one of the four family members who spoke for the selection. He said that professional sports teams have been named after other destructive natural occurrences, including tornadoes and hurricanes.?If you?ve ever seen what a tornado can do, it?s comparable to a wildfire,? he said.Kris Campbell, assistant superintendent of administrative services, said the district staff wanted to decide on the mascot early to incorporate the mascot and colors into the design of the buildings. Campbell agreed with Lunsford that there is still time to investigate the community?s concerns. Teacher Cathy Hutchings said she would volunteer her time to have a lunchtime forum for Foresthill Middle School students in the next few weeks. Hutchings and Lunsford said they hope it is resolved soon.?We do still have time, but I think we should honor the process,? Lunsford said. The Journal?s Erin Gallup-Main can be reached at ering@goldcountrymedia.com.