Campus drug search overall a big bust

While hundreds of students' cars were sniffed by K-9 dogs from the Placer County Sheriff's Department, only one person at Granite Bay High School was cited for marijuana possession.

In a joint effort between school officials and the Sheriff's Department, the parking lot was searched to send a message of drug enforcement and deterrence.

The search in February was the first of its kind at the campus, officials noted.

"It actually gives us some data and information, because the rumor mill is out there saying our kids are doing this, or our kids are doing that," said Ron Severson, GBHS principal, who added he was pleased with the results.

In all, K-9 units only hit on five cars in the parking lots, and all five were searched with the students present, said Sgt. John Weaver of the Sheriff's Department. Only one was cited and released to his parents.

Although students received no advance notice about the search, signs in the parking lot state cars may be searched by school or law enforcement officials.



Robotics program readies students for future

Granite Bay High School's Robotics students, led by mentor Steve Miller, are readying for the FIRST Robotics Competition.

FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology."

Students in the program are required to design and build a robot to complete a task better than other "bots." This year, the task is a kind of high-tech basketball. The team's robot will need to scoop up balls from human participants and shoot them into baskets high above the robot's head.

Although the 1,100 competing teams all use the same basic parts, none of them come up with the same design, said Miller.

"You'd be amazed; there isn't a single robot that looks the same," he said. "There's 2,000 different solutions to the exact same problem."

The FIRST Robotics Competition is set for March 23-25 at UC Davis.



Granite Bay takes trophy at Academic Decathlon

Granite Bay High School's Academic Decathlon team captured top honors at the regional competition held at the Roseville campus of NEC Electronics.

The European Renaissance, this year's theme, meant competitors spent months attacking Shakespeare and Martin Luther, Italian city-states and early printing technology.

Students spent hours after school preparing for the contest with the help of faculty coaches.

Granite Bay captured gold in the "Super Quiz" portion of the contest, and Katie Metzelaar, Neil Behniwal and Kevin Shiiba swept the "Super Decathlete" category for all three competition levels: varsity, scholastic and honors, respectively.

GBHS will now proceed to the state finals, slated for March 16-19 in Los Angeles. If the team finishes in the top spot there, the students will travel to the U.S. Academic Decathlon Finals on April 26-29 in San Antonio, Texas.



Plane crash claims lives of three men

An experimental Glasair II plane crashed into a Roseville home near Woodcreek Oaks Golf Club, killing the two men aboard and a 19-year-old teenager who was asleep in the home at the time.

Christopher Musil was in his father's home at 1302 Longfellow Circle when the plane - with 43-year-old Roseville resident James McIsaac and 49-year-old Patrick A. O'Brien of San Clemente inside - crashed into the second story.

A 13-year-old neighbor, Garrett Osgood, was able to escape his home unharmed.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, including eyewitness accounts saying the plane was performing aerobatic stunts over the neighborhood prior to the crash.

Residents concerned about small aircraft flying too low over residential neighborhoods are encouraged to get as much information as possible about the planes, including the registration number on the tail of the plane, and report it to the Flight Standards District Office in Sacramento.

The FSDO can be reached via the FAA's Web site at www.faa.gov, or by calling 422-0272.