Issue 5 full

Page 1

NEW OPTIONS RHS has seen a change in technology and pathways over time.

SPOTLIGHT, Page 4-5

RHS TRAVELERS

SPORTS CAPSULES

Some Ritenour students travel out of the country during their breaks.

SPOTLIGHT Page 6

Check out how the winter sports are doing this season.

SPORTS, Page 8

THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL

ISSUE 5, VOLUME 44

9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114

FEBRUARY 2018

The Rock Road rebuild

New businesses have been popping up on St. Charles Rock Road, turning a strip of closed down buildings into a thriving area of stores and restaurants By MADISON WALDRUP The Pepper Box Staff Since 1815, the St. Charles Rock Road, formerly known as Route 180, has had industrial additions coming and going, and starting in 2015 the Rock Road has been under a significant renovation and rebuild. There has been an abundance of new businesses making a home on the Rock Road, from fast food chains like Raising Cane’s, all the way to relocating grocery stores like the new Aldi. “I feel that all of the new business opening is great. I do not have to go out of my way to go places anymore they are just down the street,” sophomore Sarah Murrell said. The Northwest Plaza on the Rock Road has gone under major construction recently. It started as formally being the Crossing at Northwest Plaza. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, it was

one of the top 30 largest malls in the United States at its peak, but it ultimately became a closed, abandoned building that people paid no attention to. The city of St. Ann decided to invest $100 million into a new modernization. The city has torn down more than half of the old mall, building in its place big name stores to draw in more customers. “I feel that they are helping the community to make money and filling empty spaces, but we need more variety of things that are not already here. For example, we do not need three furniture stores,” junior Desja Beach said. Big corporations like Starbucks and Panda Express have already been drawing in business, along with other companies; Bob’s Discount Furniture, Menards, Quick Trip, Popeyes, SherwinWilliams, Cricket, Sprint, Outlet Furniture, Pure Sleep Mattress Store, Ruler Foods, Art Van Furniture, a Missouri Job Center, and remodeling the office tower.

There are other stores along the St. Charles Rock Road that have been added as well, other than Northwest Plaza. One includes TKO Grill, a restaurant that opened on the Rock Road in 2016, known for their smoked turkey ribs. The establishment is located adjacent to the TKO Salon and directly across from Taco Bell. The St. Louis County Library Rock Road branch has been recently renovated. A St. Louis Bread Company, also known as Panera, has moved out of the Plaza at DePaul, consisting of Kohl’s and Rue 21, and into their own larger, separate building. “It is really nice ever since we got into our newest building, which is the one with the new drive through. It gives us a lot more business and a lot more people are coming in, including people who have never been to Panera before. It’s a really good opportunity for us to put more businesses out there,” junior Camia Clay, a Panera employee, said.

Madison Waldrup The store Here Today has opened for business in the area where the Northwest Plaza used to be. The whole area is being rehabbed with new stores and restaurants.

Raw water enters the marketplace A new form of drinking water, untreated water obtained from natural sources, is trending in the US By TRYSTAN BELL The Pepper Box Staff Raw water is a trend currently sweeping across the United States, although there is a split about whether it is a good or bad trend. Raw water, also known as natural water, is water that Ron Steinschriber has been left untreated and is packaged where it is found. Sophomore Ayele Kouevi fills up her water bottle from the Rivers, lakes, ponds, and even school fountain. Some consumers are trying raw water, rain collection barrels are all which is not filtered like the school water. sources of where raw water can come from. This new craze is generally directed towards people who are against chemicals used to treat water. Chemicals such as algaecides, corrosion inhibitors, disinfectants, neutralizing agents, pH conditioners, and scale inhibitors, are all used in the process of cleaning water and Check out keeping it safe to consume. information Junior Abigail Dismuke from this believes the trend is issue, as well humorous, but mainly as additional dangerous. “Tap water actually has content from filtering and isn’t full of the Pepper Box harmful bacteria. This is a and KRHS on trend because it aligns with ritenourlive.org buzzwords like ‘organic’ and ‘non-GMO,’ so people trust it. I don’t think all chemicals are as harmful as people make them out to be. Chemicals are not our enemy, they help keep us safe,” Dismuke said. Raw water has been

INDEX

NEWS..............Front Page

OPINION................Page 2 NEWS.....................Page 3 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 4 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 5 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 6

SPORTS..................Page 7

SPORTS...................Page 8

approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which simply means that the bare minimum of safety requirements of the public have been met. Bottled water factories must have the source water inspected and sampled, analyzed, and found to be of safe and sanitary quality. Raw water met these standards and has since been sold in townships across the nation. While the FDA might have approved raw water, health teacher Matthew Elder has concerns. “I think that the raw water trend can be very dangerous because of the naturally harmful things in the earth that can harm us, like arsenic and harmful bacteria and parasites. I believe that people need something to latch onto to claim as their own and drinking raw water gives them that behavior that is “unique” or “fringe. “Simply filtering the water naturally can take out many of these harmful things in the water so there is no benefit to me to drink it unfiltered. I would not drink raw water,” Elder said. “I think that it is a good thing that we as a people question the validity of the water supply and what is being put in the water, but drinking water raw I don’t believe is the answer. I think that we need to continue

to question what is in the water and research levels of chemicals that are in city water or tap water.” Without clean drinking water, 844 million people are subjected to disease and parasites every year, and now with raw water trending, it is likely more people will have the chance to catch these diseases. Water borne illnesses are easy to contract just by ingesting unclean water, and raw water is no different. 6.5 billion people used at least a basic drinking water service, which includes most or all of the United States population. Sophomore Veronica Chineth believes that the practice of drinking raw water is unhealthy and safe. “Raw water still has bacteria and it hasn’t been through the process of being cleaned. I think that it is such a big trend because people think that it is much cleaner when in reality it is not. You should either drink spring water or tap water, it’s better than having it come from the river or pond,” Chineth said. Grayson understands how raw water came to be sold and become popular, but still has some concerns about ever trying it.

SEE RAW WATER - 3


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Issue 5 full by Ritenour High School Pepper Box - Issuu