By Raiza Giorgi

publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com

Quincy Valle shined both on and off the field, as the varsity football team’s kicker and also as Homecoming Queen.

Quincy Valle had to do a quick change out of her football uniform into her homecoming dress just before she was announced as Homecoming Queen. The Pirates’ varsity kicker had a good night on the field as well on Oct. 18, as Santa Ynez High School won 41-14 against the Cabrillo Conquistadors.

After the halftime ceremonies, she went back onto the field and kicked an extra point following another Pirates touchdown.

Coach Josh McClurg said he was very proud of her, and he loved that she kept her eye-black (the black paint under the eyes that football players commonly wear) when she changed into her dress.

Diego Buenrostro was chosen as this year’s Homecoming King.

Diego Buenrostro was chosen as this year’s Homecoming King, and he was lifted by his friends and fellow court members after his name was called.

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Olivia Doman, a freshman at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, was the surprise winner of the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara’s annual Santa Barbara County High School Architectural Design Competition.

Doman competed against six seniors, three juniors and two sophomores, the finalists who presented their work to a panel of four jurors March 16 at Dunn School.

“We haven’t had a ninth-grader win it for over seven years,” said David Goldstien, a retired architect and founder of the 28-year-old competition. “We gave them a really tough problem this year, and with so many seniors, we figured she didn’t have a chance.”

Winners of the county High School Architectural Design Competition, from left, are Sullivan Israel, third place; Olivia Doman, first place; and Theo Soderman, second place.

Doman’s name will be added to the legacy trophy that will reside in her school until next year’s contest.

This year’s competition was unusual, and not merely because a freshman took first place. For the first time, the preliminary competition on March 12 was held in two venues simultaneously: the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School gym, where Doman spent nearly seven hours drawing her solution, and at Direct Relief near the Santa Barbara Airport.

Each venue accommodated nearly 30 competitors from 10 high schools in the county. Their work was judged by two teams of three architects. Six finalists selected from each venue came together at the finals to make a 15-minute presentation standing beside their architectural drawings.

This year’s problem was another first. Inspired by a charrette organized by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in October 2017, which explored ways to revitalize Santa Barbara’s downtown, the challenge required competitors to tackle an entire city block instead of a discrete building.

“We wanted to make this an urban design problem,” said Jake Niksto of Becker Henson Niksto Architects in Santa Barbara, creator of the problem statement. “Each year we try to make the problem relevant.

“Last year, with all of the recent fires, we gave them a fire station to design, but this year we thought we could challenge them to think about the importance of the space between buildings, and we wanted to use Santa Barbara as a site for this because its paseo system was a key feature identified by the architecture community during the 2017 charrette.”

The problem asked Doman and her peers to redesign an existing city block near the Arlington Theater. It required a public transit hub and an inviting open space connecting the block to State Street while scaled to pedestrians rather than cars, and six new dwelling units.

Drawing entirely by hand, some using T-squares and triangles while others relying on their freehand skills, competitors were required to present their design at multiple scales, that of the city block down to the detail of bicycle storage and front doors.

“I included vertical bicycle racks because they take up less space,” said Sullivan Israel, third-place winner and a senior from Laguna Blanca High School in Santa Barbara. This was Israel’s fourth time as a finalist. He said he found this year’s problem particularly challenging.

“In past years, we just had to design one thing, but this year it felt like four different things,” Israel said.

The jury also considered the problem challenging.

“This is a sophisticated problem,” said Jermaine Washington, one of the judges, who is an architect and teaches design studio at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “The fact that they had less than seven hours to work on this is impressive.”

“This is a real-world problem, and it’s great to see these kids tackle it so well,” said Christopher Manson-Hing, architect and past president of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the AIA.

Other winners were Theo Soderman, a senior at Dos Pueblos High in Goleta who took second place; and two honorable mentions (both seniors), Gabe Farhadian of Providence High and Jessica Ji of Dunn School.

The competition was sponsored by the Santa Ynez Valley Rotary and Santa Barbara Rotary Club; Inklings in Solvang; and Tri-Co Reproduction in Santa Barbara, which donated printing services.

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Contributing Writer

For the sixth time, the highly talented Santa Ynez Valley High School Pirate Garage staged a grand car show March 16 on their historic campus.

A parking lot filled with eye-candy includes Dan Hoagland’s (Santa Ynez) 1958 Ford Skyliner, David Montoya’s (Solvang) stunning1936 hot rod Ford coupe, Mike Waggoner’s (Santa Ynez) ’65 Ford Mustang, and Chuck Head’s (Solvang) ’71 Ford Maverick.

The annual event continues to grow in popularity, aided by an eager co-ed team of students, parents and 50 loyal sponsors. Special thanks goes to Kathy Rick, Terry Westfall, Maria Garcia, Mindi Christian and many others.

This year witnessed an estimated 140 collector vehicles of all flavors. Cars were brought in from up and down the Central Coast. On display was everything from muscle to Minis; hot rods to rat rods; low-riders to hi boys; trucks to a tractor.

Examples of every decade dating back to the 1920s were present. The parking lot became a classroom in automotive history.

Hundreds came to enjoy all the shiny chrome and fins in the valley sun. There were moms pushing tykes in strollers and old guys spinning tales of their youth. There were happy teenagers gawking with friends and wide-eyed Asian tourists shaking their heads in disbelief. All left with smiles.

The Pirates were equally quick to share their booty, handing out freebies, holding a benefit raffle and awarding handmade plaques to a lucky few.

The Pirate Garage is one of the crown jewels of Santa Ynez Valley High School. This Career Technical Education (CTE) program is lead by “Professor” Rob Hill, who has for years introduced many of our youth to the exciting hobby and career of auto mechanics. The program has even partnered with SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) on several projects.

Hill has always welcomed girls and boys of all skill levels, from those unaccustomed to holding a wrench to those wearing grease beneath their fingernails. Nowhere can the Pirate Garage co-ed fraternity be better marveled than on the racetrack. You read that right. Many weekends this group can be cheered on at local dirt tracks, including Santa Maria and Ventura, where they duke it out with the big boys (and girls). Rock on, Pirate Garage!

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The Santa Ynez High School Theatre Group will bid farewell to 14 of its members in the semi-annual and always irreverent Senior Showcase at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, May 10-11, in the school’s Little Theatre.

This year’s showcase, titled “What, Me Worry?,” will continue a tradition of satiric, zany comedy. It features a dozen short plays and sketches by Christopher Durang, David Ives, James McClure and others.

The senior students planned the event from selecting material, to casting, to setting up rehearsal time outside of class. Theatre Group director Jeff McKinnon acts as producer and “final vote” on disputes of any sort.

“We collaborate on 100 percent of the decisions,” McKinnon said. “This is their final celebration on the stage they essentially grew up on, so I want them to own it.”

“It is definitely bittersweet,” he added. “I first met them as children; now I am getting to know them as adults. It’s hard to say good-bye.”

Ten of the seniors — Nathan Berch, Sofia Caciola, Mac Bruce, Francesca Davis, Bella Lind, Charlotte Saunders, Rose Elovitz, Evan McVicar, Mikale Mikelsen and Wyatt Meyer — have been acting together since the fall of their freshman year in 2018 with an initial production of  “It’s a Wonderful Life.” They will be joined by “latecomers” Sofie Monterrosa, Erika Spaar, Olivia Horvath and Ramses Flores.

The entire cast, part of a group McKinnon calls “one of the strongest ensembles I’ve ever had as a teacher,” performed in its final major production, “Mother Courage and Her Children,” at the end of April. The Senior Showcase offers the actors a chance at “one last fling” before graduation.

These short plays contain some mature humor and may not be suitable for younger children.

General admission is $5. For more information call 688-6487, ext. 2361.

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The committee planning this year’s Safe and Sober Grad Night at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School is seeking volunteers and donations to make the annual event successful.

Donations of money, prizes, refreshments and scholarships (for students who can’t afford the $60 cost) are welcome.

Volunteers are needed to decorate, organize prizes, chaperone at the event, and handle many other details.

The two highest-risk nights for high school students are prom and graduation nights. Across the nation, Grad Night parties are provided by groups of committed parents and other adults to give their high school graduates a safe, sober and fun graduation celebration.

Grad Nights are intended to provide an event that is safe, sober, and fun in atmosphere free of drugs and alcohol.

Graduates get a night to remember, in safety, on potentially one of the most dangerous nights of their lives. They also get to celebrate with their classmates, perhaps for the last time.

Safe and Sober Grad Night has taken place at SYHS for more than 20 years. It starts at 9:30 p.m. on the night of graduation and continues through 5 a.m. in the school’s Old Gym and environs.

Activities include outdoor games, a magician, DJ, caricature artist, henna tattoo artist, hypnotist, blackjack casino tournament, music, food, prizes, photo booth, outdoor movie and others.

Donation checks can be mailed to SYVHS PTSA at P.O. Box 926, Santa Ynez, 93460. Donations or prizes can be left with Terry Westfall in her office at the high school. Donation forms and letters can be received from Fred Luna at fredluna80@gmail.com.

To volunteer or get more information, send email to leahmeyerathome@hotmail.com or jacque@impulse.net.

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The grounds at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School will once again be filled with masters of the art world as students use chalk to reproduce works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Frida Kahlo and more in preparation for the school’s annual open house.

Students are also reproducing work by evocative and contemporary artists such as Peter Doig and Damian Hirst, according to art teacher Callie Martin.

“The mix of old and new is always exciting and connects our student to the past and present art worlds,” Martin said.

These replicas of both famous and lesser-known art pieces will be created for the 24th annual “Masters of Chalk” festival on Thursday, March 27. The public is invited to look at the students’ renditions during the school’s annual open house the next evening, March 28, from 6 – 8 p.m.

The festival was created in 1994 by then-art teacher Connie Rhode and has been continued by Martin, one of her former students.

“We have more than doubled our participating student-artists to 155. That means 155 reproductions of famous paintings and contemporary artworks. Through the research presentations, students learn about a wide variety of artistic styles, movements and artists who push the traditional aspects of art-making,” Martin said.

Each student work fills a 4-foot by 6-foot rectangle. Once again, local businesses sponsored the artists so that their creations can perform as a fundraiser for art trips, student scholarships and Art Club operations.

For more information, call Martin at 688-6487, ext. 3372.

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