Check out photos of WOD's (chilly) Earth Day Clean-Up April 20.

Essay Contest Winner

Wyatt Kanyer, a Riverside Christian School senior and Unleashed reporter, has won a local essay contest.

His first-place essay on "Why Free News Media are Important" will now compete in the national level of the contest, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

In the local contest, sponsored by SPJšs William O. Douglas Pro Chapter, Kanyer won $100. The national first-place winner receives $1,000.

The contest was open to all students in grades nine through 12. The deadline to apply was March 1.

In his winning essay, Kanyer writes: "Too many times, we as Americans like to sit by, our opinions left unuttered, and listen to public figures like OšReilly, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh represent our voice because we are too afraid to verbalize our views and opinions. The bottom line is this; the men and women who work in the free news media encourage us to utilize our right as Americans to speak our minds."

For more information about SPJ, visit www.spj.org.