Category: News

As C.K. McClatchy’s Homecoming Week comes to a close, the Homecoming Parade begins! This yearly parade is the perfect way to precede our Homecoming Game, and of course, our Homecoming dance. 

The yearly Homecoming Parade is a can’t-miss event for any McClatchy student. Floats for different sports teams, clubs, and even specialty programs were beautifully decorated with our school colors; red and white. Plus, it was a great opportunity to score some free candy from parade participants throwing it out to viewers.

This year’s parade opened up with our AFJROTC students in uniform, leading the way, marching through the streets while showing their school spirit. They were followed by CKM’s very own band. Members played beautiful live music on a variety of instruments.

And arguably the most important part of McClatchy, the teachers, were of course represented as well. Many teachers were on bikes, riding as a part of the parade. Plus, the HISP float had giant paper cutouts of HISP teachers’ heads.

Clubs weren’t left out either. Hispamix marched through the streets holding a variety of flags from all different Hispanic countries. Their float was also beautifully decorated to represent el Día de los Muertos. Many members were dressed up in traditional outfits and had their faces painted in calavera face paint and were followed by friends and family in a line of lowriders.  

Each grade also had its own float. The senior’s float was football-themed, with a whole mini football field. It also had a football flying through the goalpost. The sophomore’s float was covered in the sophomore’s signature green and palm trees to go along with it.

Many of CKM’s sports teams were also part of the parade. From women’s volleyball to our football teams. The women’s tennis float was embellished with little tennis balls. CKM’s own football team, ready for the homecoming game against Burbank, came to bring the ruckus as well. Following them were the cheerleaders. Dressed in their own uniforms, they were there to hype our Lions up.

This year’s Homecoming Parade was one to remember. With so many more students here at McClatchy this year, every homecoming activity is sure to be a blast. We hope that you all attended the CKM vs. Burbank football game as well as the Barbie Homecoming dance!

With Fentanyl overdoses on the rise, there are a few things people need to understand. 

What exactly fentanyl is, how it’s affecting people, how to know if someone is overdosing, and how to help that person. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control Fentanyl is an opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and produces a similar effect as heroin. Typically, it’s prescribed by an authorized official or doctor for illnesses such as cancer and post-surgery.

Although it is prescribed by doctors, that is only one kind of fentanyl. There are two types of fentanyl, pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl, or (IMF) for short. 

IMF is added to other drugs to increase their potency of them resulting in a more intense high. Most of the United States’ illegal fentanyl is imported anonymously from China. 

There are multiple ways that people intake fentanyl. Examples of this are inhaling it, smoking it, swallowing the tablet, in patches, and mixing it with other drugs. 

The IMF is a rapidly growing concern here in the US. The CDC reports that there are over 150 synthetic opioid deaths each day. The government program Get Smart About Drugs (GSAD) reports that for Americans aged 18-45, fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death. 

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) states that only 2 milligrams of fentanyl is lethal. That is approximately the size of Lincoln’s nose to chin on a penny. 

Each year there has been a gradual increase in the number of deaths related to fentanyl. According to statistics from UC San Francisco in 2021 around 6,000 people overdosed on fentanyl in California alone, some of which were children. 

With the more and more deaths caused by synthetic opioids, we must know what a drug overdose looks like and how we can help without putting up a risk for our own safety.

The DEA says to look out for these warning signs of overdose. Small shrunken pupils, falling asleep or losing consciousness, slowness, weakness, no breathing, choking, limp body, cold sweaty skin, and skin discoloration mainly in the lips or nail beds. 

Now that we know what to look out for we need to know how we can help which can be tricky sometimes especially since most overdoses are unexpected. 

A useful tool for situations like these is naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan. When someone is overdosing on fentanyl you don’t want to give them mouth to mouth as that opens up an opportunity for you to overdose. Instead, inject the Narcan into their nose and wait 2 minutes. If they don’t respond to the first one, Administer a Second Dose. Another important step to never forget is to call emergency services for help. 

Now that we know what fentanyl is and what to do in the situation that someone is overdosing we are educated on what to do in times of crisis which unfortunately is the reality we live in today. 

Sacramento, CA is home to many small businesses and small business owners. Restaurants are among the most common types of these businesses. 

However, according to fourth.com, many of those restaurants closed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The question though, is how did the pandemic affect those restaurants?

The pandemic was a hard time for all of us, but it was even harder for small restaurant owners. During the pandemic, many small restaurants were forced to close down due to high rent, lack of business, lack of employee payment, and overall inflation. 

How did the pandemic cause those terrible things? According to brookings.edu, it’s simply the fact that it directly raised prices rather than wages. Nationwide Financial claims that the pandemic, “has played a leading role in the jump in inflation as lingering COVID-induced supply chain disruptions have made it difficult to find some items while driving up consumer prices.” 

What they mean by this is that because of COVID-19, many of the supply chains that would deliver food and all of the materials that are needed to supply a restaurant were highly affected. Whether that be staff issues, trouble transporting the product to the supply chains, or there was no product at all. 

COVID-19 also caused issues in the farming industry. Not only did COVID-19 cause a supply crisis, but it affected mankind. There were no laborers to farm for the food that would be needed to supply those restaurants, which played a huge role in why these businesses shut down. 

As well as the restaurants that are shut down, there are many Sacramento restaurants that are struggling and not far from closing completely. These restaurants could be victims of the same problem. Considering the fact that these businesses are the only source of income for the owners, we need to stop these closures. 

One restaurant, Old Soul Coffee, is a perfect example of going from struggling to success in their business. Old Soul Coffee had seen its patronage decline. All because of coronavirus. Although they had this decline, they managed to keep going and have their business continue to strive. 

How did they manage this? All because of other local businesses. As well as their customers and their continued support. Customers would instead go to Old Soul Coffee to pick up coffee beans instead of paying extra at say, a grocery store. This is what we are trying to endeavor for. For people to continue to go to these small businesses to stop the restaurant closures. 

Give your support to the following small businesses, though these aren’t the only ones facing possible closure, and try to make a change.

Oscar’s Very Mexican Food – 3061 Freeport Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95818 or 1350 Harbor Blvd A, West Sacramento, CA 95691

La Capital – 1535 N St, Sacramento, CA 95814

Thai Canteen – 1501 16th St Ste109, Sacramento, CA 95814

Tres Hermanas – 3260 J St, Sacramento, CA 95816

Simon‘s Bar and Cafe – 1415 16th St, Sacramento, CA 95814