![MORE THAN A GAME. With two diving catches in the outfield, the Lions showed up defensively, aiding in their victory over the Pacers. One catch was made by Atwood, and the other by McGraw. Throughout the game, the Lions knew that it wasn’t just about their victory today. “I think [playing for cancer] makes it bigger than just a game,” McGraw said. “Knowing that you have a bigger impact in this world than just who you are as one person.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/I70A1454-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Students in the National Art Honor Society work on the Mount Hood mural on the window of SouthLake Church. The students brought a variety of paints and mixed their own custom colors. “Instead of brushstrokes, we’re doing more dabbing, because it gives [a] better impression of tree foliage, rather than looking like actual brush strokes, because if we’re painting trees, we need it to look like trees,” Crawford said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_2397-1200x900.jpg)
Snow day Q&A with Mills
Students stuck at school after snow fell Dec. 14; Admin stayed late, gave snacks
Icy neighborhood streets like those in Arbor Cove prevented residents from traveling safely
Snow covered the city Dec. 14, causing problems for students and staff after their release at 3:10. Principal Kevin Mills shared information regarding the snow day over email Dec. 15. Here are his responses, which were edited only for journalistic style and grammar.
Q. I’ve heard some students’ buses came late and others were advised not to drive themselves. Do you have a rough estimate of the number of students who were stuck at West Linn?
A. Once the snow hit hard and we noticed driving becoming difficult for students to get out of our parking lots, we as an administration made the decision to not have students driving. We had one administrator and our SRO [senior resource officer] in the Trip Lot, and two administrators at the Senior Lot. Our main concern was keeping students safe and trying to avoid any accidents. We instructed students to make contact with parents and head inside the school where it was warm. In addition, we had four buses that were late, due to previous routes and traffic in the surrounding areas. Overall after school we had about 120 students who were either waiting for a bus or a parent to pick them up. By 6:00, all buses had arrived and most students had been picked up. At that time, we had about 10 students who the administration was staying with and communicating with parents to find a safe ride.
Q. What did faculty do to keep students safe and make them more comfortable?
A: We spent the time helping with communication, handing out snacks and ensuring that all students had a safe way to get home.
Q. How late did students and staff stay?
A:.All students had left the building by about 7:30 p.m.
Q. I want to focus on choices the administration made to keep students safe and comfortable. Is there anything else you think I should know?
A. I would like to thank my administrative team, SRO and district personnel for their commitment to making sure all our kids were warm, had some food and safe for the evening. We all have children and understand the stress that must have been going on with parents and were trying to do our best to ensure all kids were comfortable and safe. In addition, we’re working with our own families in getting our children safely home.
Your donation will support the student journalists of West Linn High School. Your contribution will allow us to continue to produce quality content by purchasing equipment, software, and continuing to host our website on School Newspapers Online (SNO). Additionally, donations will go towards paying for the physical editions of our Amplifier. Donations of $20 dollars (as of Oct. 15, 2025) or more will receive a subscription to our Amplifier, which will be mailed to the donator's address (donations made with the intention of purchasing a subscription CANNOT be anonymous).
Amateur magician and wannabe improv comedian Philip Chan has been writing for The Amplifier since his freshman year. Now co-editor in chief, Chan firmly...
For some high school students, any thought afforded to the future is devoted to their next meal, next paycheck, or next like on Instagram. But Ji Hyun...
