Bats get good news about white-nose

fungus

Over the past decade, nearly 6 million bats have died from White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that can kill more than three-quarters, and

sometimes all, of the bats in a cave where the infection starts.The White Nose Syndrome fungal infection makes hibernating bats

dehydrated, which causes them to wake up and move around, using up the fat reserves they need to survive the winter.

But there is fi nally some good news for bats: A common bacteria found in garden soil may slow or stop the spread of the fungus in caves. Re-searchers from Georgia State University recently released 150 bats who survived outbreaks of White Nose Syndrome thanks to the bacteria.

That’s a small number of bats, considering how many have died. But it is a fi rst step towards a solution. Photo/Center for Disease Control

2013

ColoradoKids CK ReporterAddie Cravens,

Arvada

A different kind of horse showA special treat awaits visi-

tors to the Denver Botan-ic Gardens this summer.

Fifteen life-sized horse sculp-tures by artist Deborah Butter-fi eld are on display throughout the gardens for The Nature of Horses exhibition.

Deborah Kay Butterfi eld is an American artist who divides her time between studios in Mon-tana and Hawaii.

She is well known for creat-ing horse sculptures that look as if they were made of wooden sticks, but are actually made of bronze that is painted and waxed.

To create this effect, Butter-fi eld works with a foundry to cast each stick in plaster to make a mold of the stick, then the foundry pours molten bronze into the plaster mold.

After the bronze has hardened, the mold is broken so that the fi nished bronze stick can be removed.

Then, the foundry welds the pieces together following Butter-fi eld’s design.

Why make sculptures of hors-es and not of people or some

other kind of animal? “I wanted to do art about what

I felt in my personal life, but I didn’t want to show myself that way as a woman, so I just started making horses as if they were me.” says Butterfi eld.

As to not just making the sculptures out of wood instead of bronze, “Sometimes the wood that is the most beautiful is the most fragile. It’s just one step away from decomposing. Like lace.” says Butterfi eld.

“And I couldn’t make this

piece, it would be all wobbly if it were really wood; there’s no way you could make it hang together like this. It has to be in bronze so that I’m able to let it go and live its own life.”

Looking at these beautiful horse sculptures, it really does feel like there is a life in them.

The Nature of Horses exhibi-tion runs through Oct. 18.

See the horses for free on one of these upcoming SCFD Free Days: Tues., July 21, Mon. Aug. 31 and Wed., Sept. 9.

The saiga is an odd-looking beast, an Asian antelope

with spindly legs under its solid body, odd corkscrew horns, and a huge nose that is something like the short, trunklike snout of a tapir.

But if you want to see a saiga, you may want to hurry to Khazakhstan soon, because something has been killing large numbers of saigas.

The antelope were already endangered from poaching, since their horns are used in Chinese folk medicine.

There were recently about 260,000 left, in Khazakh-stan and nearby countries, but 85,000 have died in past months, apparently from pas-teurellosis, a bacterial disease.

Experts are worried that, if the disease spreads, it could wipe the saiga out completely.

On the other hand, if the infection ends, saigas could rebound from the disaster.

They reproduce more quickly than other antelope and have come back before. Photo/Seilov

the news for sAigAsis not so Positive

By Finn Spangenberg,10, a CK Reporter from Denver

Artist Deborah Butterfi eld and “Argus,”a sculpture on loan from the Denver Art Museum for this exhibition Photo by Finn Spangenberg

That’s a small number of bats, considering how many have died. But it is a fi rst step towards a solution. Photo/Center for Disease Control

June 2, 2015

In “Brainwashed,” Lucas defeated The Good Company (who are involved in child trafficking)

in Paris.

Now, in the second book of the Crime Travel-ers trilogy, “Diamonds are for Never,” he is on the

hunt for his birth mother, who was supposedly killed many years ago.

When he is nearly kidnapped by two Curukians (children who were trafficked and brain-washed), he is led to believe that the evidence in his birth files may lead to his mother.

As he begins to decode his files, the adventure continues in

Rome where he discovers that the code leads to his mother’s treasure.

The mysteries of the past are unveiled in this latest book.

Paul Aertker, the author of the books, told me “Whenever I write these stories, I don’t really have a set plot. I just let Lucas become the person he is meant to be and let Lucas lead the story.”

Aertker has been approached by Hollywood producers, and we may someday see Lucas on the big screen.

Recently, Aertker has been Skyping with schools to talk about reading and writing.

“I feel like the words on a page help kids

imagine and become something more,” he said, in describing why he tries to help schools make reading fun again.

Visualization, he explains, is an important ele-ment in making writing come alive.

“If you can convert words on a page into pic-tures in your mind, you can make the invisible, visible, or the impossible, possible,” Aertker told me.

I recommend these books to both boys and girls who are looking for a quick, fun read.

Eight-to-10-year-olds would most definitely love them, but older kids will also enjoy the thrilling plots and humor that are mixed throughout.

Be sure to check out “Brainwashed” and “Dia-monds are for Never” to read more about Lucas and his wild journeys.

Paul Aertker signs a book for a young reader. Photo by Vivian Weigel

Author works to make reading fun

Many soccer fans around the world said they had long thought FIFA was dishonest, but were surprised when officials were arrested.

Look through today’s newspaper for another problem that has gone on for a long time and is finally being dealt with. How do the people affected feel about what is now happening?

Beyond these four pages

Laughter resumes in ‘Fluffy Bunnies 2’If you have read “Attack of the

Fluffy Bunnies” by Andrea Beaty, you’ll remember Joules and Kevin Rockman.

They again star as the witty heroes of “Fluffy Bunnies 2: The Schnoz of Doom”, Beaty’s second book in the series.

School is in session for the Rockman twins as they start

their 5th grade year at TBD School, but something is amiss.

Mr. H, their brillant-but-clue-less science teacher, has found a dirty, gray rabbit at the sight of a crashed rocket. A rabbit with swirly, blue eyes …

This novel, told in a combina-tion of graphics by Dan Santat and Beaty’s text is a hilarious and engaging read, though older kids might find it lacking in originality.

While some scenes are a bit morbid in their acceptance of death, in general I would recommend this book to 7-to-

10-year-olds who enjoy graphic novels but are looking for some-thing a bit more advanced.

This would also be a good read for older readers looking for an amusing and engaging read.

Some of the humor in the book is directed towards younger readers, but Beaty adds jokes and beckons to the reader to join in in ways that few authors do, including a few gags aimed towards the older generation.

This book is a fun choice for anyone looking to laugh their guts out!

By Vivian Weigel,11, a CK Reporter from Arvada

By Thandi Glick,11, a CK Reporter from Denver

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The sports world was sur-prised Wednesday, when authorities in Switzerland

and the United States arrested 14 people, offi cials of the Fédération Internationale de Football Associ-ation and other business people.

The FBI says that FIFA, the group that governs most major soccer tournaments including the World Cup, was not dealing honestly with sponsors, broad-casters or host countries.

Investigators say many millions of dollars in bribes have been paid to FIFA offi cials over the past 24 years by companies that wanted to be sponsors of FIFA or of various national teams.

Broadcasters also had to make large secret payments, the FBI said, in order to be chosen to broadcast tournaments.

The investigation began after FIFA chose Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

Critics asked why a nation was picked where temperatures can be as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit, far too hot to play soccer.

FIFA hired an American attor-ney, Michael Garcia, to investi-gate, but then his report was kept secret and FIFA announced that everything was fi ne.

Garcia protested that his report hadn’t said that, and the FBI be-gan to dig not just into the choice of Qatar, but also of Russia for 2018 and of South Africa in 2010.

Perhaps the worst part of the FIFA scandal is that, they were surprised by the arrests, few real soccer fans were shocked by the accusations.

FIFA has long been suspected of bribery and unfair dealings, and many soccer stars and team offi cials have complained about the organization’s dishonesty.

Now regional soccer groups from Europe and North and South America, as well as FIFA sponsors, are demanding that the group make real changes.

Friday, FIFA re-elected its presi-dent, who has said the problems were caused by a few individuals and that he wasn’t able to keep track of what they were doing.

Arrests shine spotlight on fifA’s honesty

BrainteaserOn this day in 1924, Grover Cleveland became the only US President ever to get married in the White House, so all our answers this week will begin with “C.”

1. Musical instrument jazz musicians call a “licorice stick”

2. Short-legged, low-slung Welsh dogs bred for cattle-herding

3. Game in which you act things out without speaking

4. Faster than a trot, slower than a gallop

5. County seat of Fremont County, known for its prisons

6. Bird known for laying eggs in other birds’ nests, and for clocks

7. Red-gold metal that turns green, like on the Statue of Liberty

8. The distance around a circle

9. Fruit also known as a “muskmelon” or “mushmelon”

10. Author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”(answers on Page Four)

DEADLINE July 3, 2015 • WINNERS receive mentoring from a prominent business leader and $1,000 cash

• OPEN to Colorado businesses owned and operated by youth ages 6-21 • LOOKING FOR active businesses that have participated in commerce

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CELEBRATION FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Co Kids Denver Post Ad 5-26-15.indd 1 1/28/2015 11:29:31 AM

Above: Federal agents take com-puters and fi les from the head-quarters of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football in Miami Beach. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Right: German captain Bastian Schweinsteiger celebrates his na-tion’s win in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Photo/Agência Brasil

Memorial Day Weekend, thou-sands of superheroes, vil-lains, princesses and other

pop-culture characters descended on the Colorado Convention Center in Downtown Denver.

This was Denver Comic Con (short for convention). Presented by Denver’s Pop Culture Classroom, Comic Con is a place where you can let your inner geek shine.

From Star Wars to Japanese anime, there was something for everyone.

Denver has the third largest Comic Con, behind only San Diego and New York, and this year’s attendance was a record, with more than 100,000 people turning out.

Costumes or “cosplay” is big at the Con and it often seems like almost everyone

who attends wears one. Some people decide to go all out, while

others keep it simple, and I saw everything from The Hulk to Jaba the Hut, and from Wonder Woman to Rapunzel.

The cool part is, most people make their own costumes, so they become very per-

sonal; although you may see the same characters, no two costumes are exactly alike.

When you first walk into Comic Con, it’s like walking into a new universe.

Merchant booths fill the area with a plethora of items to spend your money on, including comic books: There are boxes and boxes filled with alphabetized comics.

Comic Con also has panel discus-sions, which often times include celeb-rities. (See story, below)

The panels can be interactive, with lots of audience participation. Examples of these panels include “From Side-kick to Superhero, The Rise of Native Superheroes,” “Cosplay on a Budget,” and “Everything I Need to Know in Life

I learned from Supervillains.” Comic Con was an experience like no oth-

er, and I recommend you attend next year! It’s a fun family event, and it’s for a good

cause: Proceeds go to support Pop Culture Classroom.

ComiC Con like visiting A new universe

BrainteaserSolution

(see Page Three)10 right - Wow! 7 right - Great! 5 right - Good

3 right - See you next time!

1. clarinet 2. corgi 3. charades 4. canter 5. Cañon City 6. cuckoo 7. copper

8. circumference 9. canteloupe 10. Lewis Carroll

By Kenna Haverkamp,13, a CK Reporter from Denver

Rebecca Mader of “Once Upon a Time” and her

larger-than-life person-ality visited the Denver Comic Con, and gave us an interview full of tales of green make-up, evil laughs, and becom-ing the Wicked Witch.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, she portrays the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

It sounds like she loves the role. Asked “If you got to play another character,

would you pick a hero or an-other villain,” she said “I don’t

want to be anyone else; I love my character!”

Of course, being the Wicked Witch can’t be all fun and games.

Mader gave us the lowdown on the green make-up:

“They put me in a separate trailer, because they use an airbrush to put my make-up on and it hurts people’s

lungs, and I’m like, ‘What about my lungs? (cough,cough)’” she

joked. She wears five layers of green

make-up, a layer of eggplant color for shad-ows, and a last layer of gold for some sparkle.

“It takes forev-er to get off,” she says “We have to microwave wet towels and scrub and scrub.”

Asked what she thinks will happen in the future of the show, Mader said” I really don’t

know, but I don’t really mind not knowing though. I’ve sur-rendered myself, and I’m just

going with the flow.”

As for all you young actors and actresses out there, Rebecca has a little advice for you. “No mat-ter what, never give up on your dream - and

keep practicing your craft.”-- by Kenna Havercamp

wiCked witCh offers good stories, kind AdviCe

Photo by Kenna Haverkamp

Photo/ABC TelevsionPhoto/Steve Cranston

Youth-written stories that appear here also appear on

C , !