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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
Just call them the Triumphant Titans, who captured their first perfect season with a 52-20 victory in Saturday’s Class 4A football state championship game.
“My emotions are everywhere,” said senior Darien Chase, a Nebraska commit. “It’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had had in my life. I love my team and I love my brothers.”
Said quarterback Lincoln Victor: If there’s an emotion that wasn’t created yet, this would be the one. … To be able to start crying as soon as that last knee is taken to and to see all of that hard work pay off for pretty much 10 years or longer is so special and so surreal.”
Players celebrated and posed for photos with teammates, family and friends. Others sprawled out on the Tacoma Dome turf soaking in the experience of being a state champion. Union ends its season 14-0 one season after being bounced out of the postseason in the first round.
Not only was it a historic day for Union winning its first state title in football, but a historic day for Clark County, too. For the first time since the WIAA’s implemented a state football playoff system in 1973, two local teams won state titles in the same year.
Read the full story: Union captures first state title in football
TACOMA — Players gathered together near the 50-yard line teeming with excitement. The clicks of cameras were drowned out by the yells from the stands high above, and a cacophony of celebratory screams the team itself.
As the team posed with the trophy on the Tacoma Dome, marking its repeat as 2A state champions, Sawyer Racanelli stood in the middle flashing two fingers — for two titles.
For the second straight year, Hockinson mustered a come-from-behind effort to complete a perfect season with a 42-37 win over Lynden on Saturday.
Typically a wide receiver, and one of the state’s best, Racanelli had a role in all six Hockinson touchdowns — one passing and five rushing. He rushed for five second-half touchdowns to set the 2A state records for touchdowns in a state title game (previously three in 2012) and most rushing touchdowns (three in 2007).
Read the full story: Hockinson beats Lynden 42-37, repeats as 2A football state champions
With the general election behind us, there is renewed support for changing the way we vote in Clark County and beyond with a system proponents say would allow voters to mark their ballots without having to hold their noses.
Proponents of ranked-choice voting — one of a handful of alternates to our present system — say the option would go a long way in boosting voter turnout. Despite this November’s anomaly, when nearly 70 percent of eligible voters in Clark County cast ballots, voter turnout remains a significant concern, particularly in midterm elections, where commonly one of out every two eligible voters turns out locally.
“It makes your vote matter,” Battle Ground resident Melanie Davis said of ranked-choice voting, which she has embraced since her teenage son introduced her to concept three years ago with a YouTube video.
Opposition to ranked-choice voting does exist, largely over concerns about election security and voting snafus elsewhere. Plus there’s the worry that it might not be the panacea supporters make it out to be.
When it comes to rating chicken nuggets, who are the experts? Foodies? No. Adults? I don’t think so.
It’s kids. Chicken nuggets aren’t found on the regular menu. They’re found on the kids menu next to the crossword puzzles, the mazes and tic-tac-toe. They’re found on worn-out white plates sitting on bright red plastic trays in school cafeterias.
Elementary school kids’ prowess and insight regarding this crunchy, mashed up and reconstituted meat product surpasses the most venerated food critic.
But what if the chicken nuggets aren’t chicken?
The vegan food section at most major chain grocery stores has greatly expanded in the last few years, dominated by plant-based imitation meat products. The Impossible Burger has surprised many people (including this food writer) by being a convincing approximation of a juicy beef burger.
So fake beef works. But what about the various varieties of vegan “chicken” nuggets filling the vegan frozen food section? Are they any good? And there are so many different brands. Which is this best?
Enter the experts.
