Eighth-grader Channing Hunter is studying three different foreign languages this year. And he's got a very practical reason for taking up his third, German.

The 13-year-old from Belleville, IL, said he hopes to become a pediatrician when he grows up. And German is a widely accepted primary language of medicine.

He said, "Many of the American medical texts are translations from German. This way, I'll be able to go to the original text when I'm studying medicine."

(This article is the first profile of elementary and middle school kids who were named last month as 2008 Gateway Young Achievers of the Year. This is the first of seven profiles which will be published this year.

(The Gateway Young Achievers are selected for their accomplishments in school and in their communities. Each YA winner is awarded a $1,000 savings bond and is automatically entered in the national YA competition.)

As the other Young Achievers, Channing is a top student in school. He attends Governor French Academy, a K-12 private school in Belleville.

He has a well-rounded life in the community.

Channing is a black belt in karate, having finished 3rd in the 2008 USA National Federation Finals in Houston, TX. He takes lessons at Family Martial Arts in Belleville.

He's also an accomplished pianist. He's taken lessons since 2001. He studies classical, contemporary, spiritual and other piano styles from Jeff Taylor of O'Fallon, IL.

Besides performing in recitals, Channing also volunteers to play piano for residents of the Cambridge House Assisted Living facility in O'Fallon, IL.

These musical performances have a special meaning for Channing. The woman who cared for him when he was a baby is now a resident at the facility. He calls her "Grandma" although she isn't a blood relative.

He looks at this as a way to pay her back for all the good care she gave while he was growing up.

He also competes on his school's soccer and chess teams.

Governor French's soccer team competes against other private schools in both Illinois and Missouri.

Channing has participated in the 2008 Association of Bright Learners Education at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. He also was a Math Counts participant at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, IL.

He also placed first in the Governor French Academy 2008 Science Fair and received a gold medal for excellence in the regional competition at SIUE.

His experiment involved testing the memory capacity of youngsters 10, 11, 12 and 13 years of age at his school. The kids read some written material and then were tested on what they could remember.

The kids were tested on their ability to remember words as well as random letters and numbers. Channing said the memory capacity got higher as the kids got older.

In his language studies, Channing started with Spanish when he was in first grade.

His study of Mandarin Chinese is more complicated because the Chinese don't use an alphabet as we do in English and other romance languages. Also, the Chinese characters are written much differently.

And his study of German also has some extras.

For one thing, Channing is not only a student but also serves as teacher to five other kids when the regular German teacher can't teach their class.

One of their recent projects involved preparing for an upcoming visit to a nearby German restaurant. Channing and the other students did all of their ordering in German.

Channing expects his participation in karate to be a lifelong activity.

He got his first black belt two years ago.

He was scheduled to be tested for his 1st degree black belt late last month. That is the first of what is a total of 10 degrees, earned as you get more proficient.

Channing said, "You earn the 10th degree when you die."

He said he's interested in karate for more than the physical activities.

"You also learn discipline and self control, which you can use throughout your life," he said.

Asked how he's used those principles so far, he said, "I don't get as mad at my sister as I used to." His sister, Abril, is 8 and he says that a sister five years younger can be a trial at times.

Channing's dad, Leon, is in sales and marketing for a Swiss agricultural firm named Syngenta.

That business affiliation resulted in Channing having a unique experience. For three years, he took part in a program at the University of Missouri-Columbia entitled Exposing Students to Agriculture.

The program at the Bradford Agronomy Research Center gave city kids like Channing an inside look at today's agriculture.

A team of four Francis Howell Middle School teenagers is trying to convince city officials in O'Fallon, MO, to upgrade a pedestrian crossing on a busy city street.

Eighth-graders Ryan Kustec, Kevin Grabbe, Zach Nicewarner and Dylan Salsman, all residents of O'Fallon, took on the civics project as a part of teacher Molly Lavictoire's advanced social studies class.

Fourteen-year-old Dylan admits, in the beginning, team members weren't overly optimistic that they could convince the city government to make any change.

He said, "When we started, I figured nobody would listen. But, when two city employees came to talk with us, I was surprised. That's when I realized that they cared."

Last month, the boys made a report on their work at project fair put on by the Citizenship Education Clearing House (CECH) program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).

CECH helps schools in the metro-St. Louis area gets students involved in projects that bring them in touch with local government agencies and officials.

(Young Saint Louis.com has covered CECH projects for several years. This year, we've done two stories. In addition to the O'Fallon project, also in this edition you can learn about Webster Groves kids' efforts to establish a unique dog park.)

This year's Francis Howell Middle team's "traffic safety" project is actually following in the wake of success by another FH Middle team that got the city to improve pedestrian safety right near the school.

In 2007, the City of O'Fallon built a protected crossing on O'Fallon Rd. right along the side of the school. In that case, the students who lobbied for the safety improvement didn't actually see the fruits of their labor until the following school year.

They had gone on to high school before the city got the new crosswalk actually constructed. (To read that story, click on Past Stories and go to the October, 2007, edition.)

Thirteen-year-old Ryan Kustec from this year's traffic team said one of the things he learned so far is that making changes in city government "is slow."

He said, "At first, I didn't even know if the city officials got what we were proposing."

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Grabbe said, "But, after awhile, we felt the attitudes of the city officials changed and they 'got it.'"

During the negotiations about the pedestrian crossing, the kids also learned they had to be flexible about what they were asking.

Fourteen-year-old Zach Nicewarner said their first proposal included moving a current traffic light and making a four-way stop at a nearby intersection.

However, he said the city streets employees convinced them such a change wouldn't be possible because the re-located traffic light would be too close to a "blind curve" bend in O'Fallon Dr.

That would mean motorists on O'Fallon wouldn't have enough line-of-sight warning of the traffic signal.

That's when the city officials suggested the traffic-island design. Such a traffic island would give pedestrians more protection. Also, the island would be a natural "slowing agent" because the island would restrict the width of the traffic lanes.

After the kids made their proposal to the city, O'Fallon officials conducted a traffic count and speed survey at the site of the proposed traffic island.

The survey showed over 26,000 vehicles passed the site in a four-day period.

Also, vehicle speed far exceeded the posted speed limit of 35 mph.

The survey showed northbound vehicles averaged 52 mph while southbound traffic averaged 48 mph. That means the average vehicle was running at 50 per cent higher than the posted limit.

For the four boys who did the study, their work is nearly over, since they'll be moving to high school quite soon.

Dylan Salsman said the city officials said it probably would be six months before any construction of a new safety island would be finished. But, if the city finally agrees with the kids' safety proposal, they will have a constant reminder of their effort as they drive by that area in the future.

And the kids will have had some hands-on experience on what it takes to get the city government to act on an improvement idea from the public.

Before the interviews with city officials, the boys had to gather information to support their idea that a problem existed. They also had to discuss among themselves what they wanted to propose.

Then, after an initial interview, they had to revise their proposal because of the problem of moving the traffic signal.

And, they had to learn patience.

All of the boys said they wanted to go to college but none of them wanted a career in city government.

Ryan said he plans to become a lawyer while Kevin wants to be either a mechanical engineer or a graphic artist. Dylan said he wants to be a sports journalist.

Zach said he wanted to go to the Berkley College of Music in Maryland and become either a professional musician or a teacher of music.

A group of 7th grade kids might get a call from Webster Groves Mayor Gerry Welch one of these days. She'd be asking about their plan for a municipal dog park.

The kids from Holy Redeemer School in Webster Groves have been working for about four months on plans for a "Bark in the Park" dog park.

Proposals for a public dog park have been discussed in city government for several years. Recently, that public discussion has started up again.

And students in science teacher Rick Schmidt and social studies teacher Teresa Martz classes have an up-to-date report on what it would take to build such a park.

Last month, the kids presented results of their "Putting a Dog Park in Webster Groves or Bark in the Park" research study. The report was at a project fair for Citizenship Education Clearing House (CECH) at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

(Young Saint Louis.com covered the project fair and has produced reports on two of the civic projects. Elsewhere on this home page, you'll find results of a traffic study report by students at Francis Howell Middle School. To read that, click here.)

The Holy Redeemer kids produced a report that covered a whole range of topics concerning dog parks. They investigated legal and liability issues, did a public audience survey and drew up guidelines and rules for the park.

They even investigated the costs of developing the park, which would have separate areas for both big and little dogs.

One thing they didn't establish was a place to put the park. But, they did contact city officials in neighboring Rock Hills, Maplewood and Richmond Heights to see if those cities might be interested.

They found out that Rock Hill already has a dedicated area for a dog park. But, the city hasn't done anything further about developing one.

Twelve-year-old Katie Garasky said she got a lot out of the civics project. And that might help her in the future because she is considering being a politician when she grows up.

"I want to be a senator or a governor," she said.

The CECH project fair included more than just reports on civics projects. In the afternoon, the kids held "model government" exercises. Katie said that also increased her interest in government.

"I was a councilman during a model city council meeting. I liked that," she said.

Katie's twin sister, Christie, also was on the kids' dog park team. She worked on a public audience survey to determine citizens' interest. Christie said the survey had seven questions and the kids talked with about 20 people they found in city parks or on city streets.

She said, "About 60 per cent of the people questioned said they'd use such a park."

Other kids on the team included Guillamine Delabar, Luke Appelbaum and Jack Brauer.

Guillamine said he collected prices on equipment for the park, including the cost of park benches and chain-link fencing. He said fencing had to extend at six feet above ground and have webbing below ground to keep dogs from digging under.

Luke said he helped design the features of the park. That would include putting in plumbing so the dogs would have fresh drinking water.

Jack said he researched the city's liability insurance. He said that would include liability for dog bites as well as $3.5 million in insurance against vandalism.

One of the first things involved in this civics project was for the kids to decide what they wanted to study. For that, Mayor Welch and a representative of the parks and recreation department gave them a briefing.

Luke said, when the question of a dog park came up, "the parks and recreation guy said he had two dogs and he'd be sure to use any such park."

Guilllamine said they might not have a final report on the dog park ready by the time this school year ends at the end of June.

"We might have to finish the report next year," he said. But, he said that would be okay because Holy Redeemer School includes an 8th grade before the kids go on to separate high schools.

Asked about the reaction of city officials when the kids called for information, Katie said, "If they didn't know we were in elementary school, they took us seriously. But, if they knew we weren't in high school, they didn't."

Guillamine said he was impressed by the visit of Mayor Welch at the beginning of their project.

"She came in before we had settled on the dog park. She talked about some of the other projects that might work," he said.

'But, in the end, she urged us to have some fun with the project," he added.

All of the kids said the dog park project made them more interested in city government.

Christine Garasky said, "It was fun."

Luke said, "I can see how actions by the government can help communities out."

Jack said, "At first, I thought it was going to be just boring stuff. But, now I can see that government can be interesting."

(Also, click here for other sports offered by the AAU for young boys and girls)

The St. Louis Majestics 12-under boys basketball team won its regional final last month. The victory gave the team some revenge for its last defeat and a berth in the AAU national tournament in July.

Last month, the Majestics defeated the St. Louis Gateway team, 48-44, in the 12-under regional finals at the St. Louis Sports Center in south St. Louis County.

Coach George Merritt has been coaching youth basketball for 15 years, including the last three years with the Majestics. Thus, he's taken that team to nationals two of three years.

Last year, his 11-under team finished 7th in the nationals. They were in a bracket that included about 100 teams in the same age grouping.

This year's 12-under team has a lot of new players who weren't with last year's tournament team.

"Right now, we're probably not as good a team as the one last year. But, this team has lots of potential for improvement if we can get a few things fixed," he said.

The Majestics went into the regional final game having lost to the Gateway team two weeks before.

Led by point guard George Merritt Jr. and shooting guard Zach Glotto, the Majestics raced off to an 18-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams employed a full-court zone press on defense. That caused some turnovers, but both teams knew how to adapt since they had played each other earlier.

They also were quick to double-team anyone getting a pass. About the only baskets from close in were off rebounds or if a guard could get into the lane on a dribble.

The teams faced each other four times during the year. The Majestics won the first two and then stumbled just before the season-ending tournaments began. But, in the end, the Majestics prevailed to earn the nationals berth.

The Majestics' lead was down to four points, 48-44, with two minutes left in the game.

Both teams fouled as the time ran down but neither could make the free shots.

Gateway got the ball with 7½ seconds left. But, Majectics used its foul-to-give with 2 seconds left and the Gateway couldn't get close enough for another try.

Zach Glotto was recruited to the Majestics this year because of his long-range shooting ability. He lived in Kansas last year but moved to St. Louis in time to be recruited to play for the Majestics.

Zach hit four 3-pointers to make a big difference in the outcome. He had played in a different national tournament last year with his Kansas team.

This year's AAU nationals will be played in July.

So, the Majestics have some time to work on improvements. One of the things that's likely to get some serious attention will be free throwing. That could be a serious problem when they get into the tournament.

The Majestics missed a number of free throws in the 4th quarter that could have clinched the game.

Zach and Cameron Scales both started playing when they were five and George started a year later, at six.

Cameron joined the Majestics a year ago so he will play in the nationals in both years with the team. Cameron is a backup at both the point and shooting guard position.

Of course, all three want to continue playing basketball through college.

Cameron said he'd like to be an NBA player but knows he'll need a Plan B when it comes to a career. He said he'd like to own his own restaurant.

But, for now, the three and the other players on the Majestics team are pleased to have qualified for another national tournament. And they're also have to finished their head-to-head games with the Gateway team with a winning record.

The AAU teams play more games than teams representing high schools. In fact, the Majestics played more than most college teams.

Coach Merritt said, after the regional AAU finals, his team had a 32-4 record.

In the national tournament last year, the Majestics played 12 games against other 12-under teams. That's a lot of basketball.

Leigh Botts is a teenager and ready to start high school. He lives with his mother who, while working at the hospital, is studying to be a nurse. His mom and his truck driver dad are divorced, but he still sees his dad fairly often. Still, Leigh can't get used to not having a two parent family. He misses his dad. His mother is away a lot because of her schooling and full-time job.

Leigh's closest friend is Barry Brinkerhof. While running on the beach together, the boys found a stray dog which was friendly but refused to go with them. Clearly, someone had told him to "stay" and he wouldn't move, even though he had been abandoned. Finally, a day later, the boys coaxed the dog to follow them home. Leigh knew the lady who owned the house he and his mom lived in might not allow a dog. So the two boys decided to share ownership. They named their new dog "Strider." Strider had been well-trained and was a good dog. However, he just kind of freaked-out if you tried to order him to "stay."

Leigh began running on the beach almost every day with Strider. Barry ran sometimes with them but not as regularly as Leigh. When school started, Barry went out for football. Leigh wasn't interested in football, but his was getting in such good shape that he decided to try out for the track team. He was good at running the eight hundred. Barry gradually realized that Strider really was becoming Leigh's dog, so he willingly gave up his share. When Leigh met a pretty red-headed girl who liked to run and who liked Strider, he knew that the dog was really helping him turn his life around.

A ghost story that involves a vengeful child ghost
targeting other kids

Thirteen-year-old Ali lives with her mother and father in a town in New England. Claire, her mother, is rather high-strung and has periodic migraine headaches. Ali and her dad have learned to try to not upset Claire. To Ali's surprise, when she begins to ask her mother questions about a picture of three girls found in an old children's book, her mother becomes very upset. The picture is one of three young girls - two of them are Claire and her slightly older sister, Dulcie. The third girl is unidentified and Ali's mother refuses to talk about her. The mom does admit the picture was taken at an old family lake cottage in Maine. The family has not been back to the cottage in the past thirty years.

A short time later, Ali's Aunt Dulcie shows up for a visit. She has her four-year-old daughter, Emma, with her. Aunt Dulcie is an artist and she is preparing to show some of her work in the fall at a gallery in New York City. She had employed a handyman to fix up the old lake cottage in Maine. She wanted to go there for the summer to prepare for her New York show. A studio has been fitted out for her in the boathouse at the lake. Aunt Dulcie wanted Ali to stay the summer with her at the lake and be a babysitter for Emma. Ali was thrilled at the prospect, but her mother seemed to be adamantly opposed. Finally, with the combination of Ali, her father, and Aunt Dulcie making the case that it would be good for Ali to go, her mother reluctantly agreed. Interestingly, neither Claire nor Dulcie ever talked about why their family had stopped going to the lake so many years before. Ali's mom even refused to get out of bed the day they left for the lake.

When Ali arrives with Aunt Dulcie and little Emma at the lake, they find the cottage and the boathouse in surprising good repair. Ali likes her little room upstairs in the cottage. The weather is not great, but the day after they arrive, Ali takes Emma for a walk along the shore of the lake. To her surprise when Emma runs ahead of her, she finds a girl standing beside Emma. The girl was about nine or ten and slightly built. She had white blond hair, eyes the color of the lake, and tanned skin. She was wearing a faded blue bathing suit, even though the temperature was cold. Emma introduced the girl by saying "This is Sissy. I just met her but she wants to be friends." There was something about Sissy that Ali disliked on sight - sharpness in her eyes, a mean set to her mouth. She looked like the type who'd lie and get you into trouble.

It wasn't long before Emma started misbehaving - acting like Sissy. Sissy had convinced Emma that Ali didn't want Emma to have a new friend. When Aunt Dulcie started to question Emma's bad behavior, she blamed Ali for it and refused to see Sissy as having any part in it. Things rapidly got worse. Ali knew that Sissy was intent on getting Emma in the lake. Did she want Emma to drown? When Ali started to suspect that Sissy was the girl from the old picture and had drowned thirty years before, she knew that she'd never get grown-ups to believe her. Nobody would believe that Sissy was a ghost. Ghost or not, Sissy seemed intent on doing harm to Emma and even to Ali. The trip to the lake was turning into a nightmare.

If you like ghost stories, you might want to read "Deep and Dark and Dangerous" by Mary Downing Hahn. You do need to read the book if you want to find out what becomes of Ali, Emma, and Sissy.

A girl thinks she has to steal a horse
to save it from mistreatment

Sixth grader Libby Roselli lived in southeastern Minnesota. The Rosellis operated an apple orchard. Their next door neighbors, the Porters, owned a stable where Jolene, Mrs. Porter, gave riding lessons. Libby earned her riding lessons by helping Jolene take care of the horses. Libby's favorite horse was Thunderbird, a seven-year-old Appaloosa. Thunder, as the horse was called, was too spirited for beginning riders. However, Libby had a way with the horse and Jolene allowed her to exercise him regularly. Libby was shocked when she received an apologetic note from Jolene telling her that she was leaving and she and her husband were selling the horses. The asking price for Thunder was $5000. That was just too much money for Libby's parents to come up with.

Even though she knew Jolene was gone, Libby sneaked over to the stable to see Thunder. While unobserved by Mr. Porter, she saw him kick Thunder and mistreat the Appaloosa, using a quirt to hit the horse around the head, injuring his eye. Libby just knew she had to do something to protect the horse. But what could she do?

On one of her excursions to visit the stable, Libby got acquainted with a new boy from her school named Griff. Griff was on his bicycle and she met him while he was watching the horses in the pasture. Libby recruited Griff to help her come up with an idea to save Thunder and the two other horses left at the stable. The kids planned to steal the three horses and hide them in a non-used barn at a nearby farm. Unfortunately, Mr. Porter suspected Libby and Griff and was watching more closely than the kids guessed he would. Could they save the horses before the mean Mr. Porter killed them to collect insurance? You need to read "Stealing Thunder" by Mary Casanova to find out.

1. SUM DAYS

2. SUM THREE-DIGIT NUMBERS

3. SUM BIRTHDAY MONEY