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No end in sight

By Rocky Hadadi | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

"Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there.” On March 20, 2003, Lieutenant Tim Collins gave this advice to his battle group, the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish at Fort Blair Mayne desert camp, 20 miles from the Iraqi border. Collins' words of advice to his troops could not be more correct—our involvement in Iraq should have been done with care, finesse and expertise. Instead, we refused to "tread lightly” and have tried to force our democratic ideals on a nation that continues to staunchly refuse them. In fact, the use of guerrilla warfare now by insurgents threatens to turn Iraq into another Vietnam.

Photo: Chicken Tikka Masala

By Claire Sleigh | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the many tasty options at Planet Bollywood.

Photo: mega mart1

By Andrew Kirwan | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Customers check out on a busy day at Mega Mart.

Photo: Smith

By Lorena Kowalewski | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Smith surges ahead of two Magruder players.

Photo: Front of Wheaton

By Andrew Kirwan | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

The front of Wheaton High School.

Photo: Chicken Kebabs

By Claire Sleigh | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

The chicken kebabs are excessively spicy.

Photo: Big Ben

By AP | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Michael Sam

By Chicagophoenix.com | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Frost/Nixon

By | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

David Frost (Michael Sheen) and President Richard M. Nixon (Frank Langella) lock horns during the last of four interviews. Photo courtesy of Universal.

Photo: Forte

By ESPN | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Eli Manning Giants

By espn.go.com | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Redskins v Cowboys

By Getty Images | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Chicken Tikka Masala

By Claire Sleigh | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In ‎Latest »

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the many tasty options at Planet Bollywood.

Pep Rally Approaching

By Shewit Woldu | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Pep rally will be on Wednesday, March 31 and will be a combination of winter and spring sports.

The downside of lighting up

By Jennie Breads | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Two before first period. Another on the walk home. A few more throughout the evening, and by the time she goes to bed, junior Kimberly Montgomery will finish a half pack of cigarettes. "I am an addict,” she admits with a shrug. "It's as simple as that. I need to smoke.”

Spirit at a standstill

By Sally Colwell | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

"Do we have to go?” one of my classmates asked a few weeks ago.  I begrudgingly got my books together and left class to attend yet another mandatory assembly dreamed up by Blair's administration, an event otherwise known as a pep rally.

Amazing Blazers

By Luke Bostian | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Blair may have seen years of bad luck in the sports department, but if history teaches anything, it is that Blair is capable, every now and again, of producing a truly stellar athlete. These ten are the greatest Blazers in the sports history of Silver Spring and Takoma Park.

Elementary school's long gone, but we've still got recess

By Laurel Jefferson | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Senior traditions include harassing freshman, loud spirit at pep rallies, and… whiffle ball? A bit unusual, but the 2003 senior class has indeed begun a new Blair senior ritual: lunch whiffleball games.

Diversity at Blair after 50 years of Brown v. Board

By Karima Tawfik | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Combs in hand, two black girls work diligently and delicately to finish cornrowing their friends' hair amidst the bustle of 5A lunch. Next to them, three Latino boys are sprawled out among the benches talking, and a few feet away, two white students finish their lunches before the whole group rises and joins the student body of the most diverse school in Montgomery County—a school that 50 years ago accepted only white students.

Gainous: ex-football star

By | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Features »

Late in the fourth quarter in the 1965 Orange Bowl, a future Hall of Famer and world class sprinter for Florida A and M fields a punt and goes straight ahead, full speed. Boom! He runs into a brick wall.

Barrow, Pete

By | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Teacher Feature »

Mr. Pete Barrow is now a math teacher at Montgomery Blair High School. However, he originally did not want to teach.

Thespians prepare to make fans fall in Love

By Sally Colwell | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

Renovations Spring into action

By Tina Peng, Eliot Stein | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

The Discovery Communications building's warmly lit main lobby smells of plastic, Windex and fresh paint. A cheerfully dinging mechanical contraption pushes and shakes rainbow-colored balls down a series of tracks. Outside, as a family passes by on the sidewalk, its wide-eyed toddler glances back five times at "Stan,” a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil replica that glares malevolently through the glass wall.

snoWatch

By KC Costanzo | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

No one saw it coming but there it was. When Blazers got up on Tuesday they found snow on the ground and ice on their car windows. However, with the exception of a burst pipe, the school day went as planned. Now there's a prediction of more to come. Are the weather people on target this time? Stay tuned to find out . . .

Blazers can't heat up against WJ

By Luke Bostian, Zach Mellman | Dec. 31, 1969, 7 p.m. | In Print »

With the clock winding down in the girls' basketball team's game against the Walter Johnson (WJ) Wildcats, the Blazers were forced to foul in order to stop the clock. This is a common technique, but Blair failed to grasp one key aspect of the strategy: Foul the other team's worst free-throw shooter. Blair, instead, fouled Wildcat star Alex Porter four times late in the game. She hit all her shots to keep the lead for the Wildcats. So despite a valiant effort from the Blazers, WJ proved to be too strong, and Blair lost, 47-38.