Bright shoes and a colorful keyboard are some of the things you notice when entering the office of new counselor Gracie Hess. The bright

colors are one way Hess expresses her quirky, fun personality.

“My family tells me that my style and my personality looks like Anthropologie threw up on it,” Hess said.

Hess is originally from Las Vegas but came to Utah with her family. She’s been working on her bachelors in psychology and her masters in school

counseling. She describes school back in Las Vegas as contentious and much different than the life here.

“The people here are more peaceful, more relaxed versus there,” Hess said. “We would go, people watch for fun because just the people there are a little bit different.”

After living in Utah for nine years, she has started to prefer it here. She worked at a dentist office and helped college students which pathways

they should take and how to look for what they need. But she had always wanted to be a counselor and when her stepdad told her about the job opening she decided to apply.

“My stepdad actually works for the district,” Hess said. “He told me about the job and I applied because this is what I've always wanted to do and I figured I'd get started early if I could, instead of waiting until my degree was finished.”

Not only is she a counselor for NS in the mornings but also for Pleasant Creek High School in the afternoons. While at NS, Hess works with

students in the alphabet category A-C, her job is to help students stay on track and get enough credits to graduate.

“It's a very student oriented-position where it's part of the students' needs,” Hess said. “If I can figure out how to offer and figure out how to make it work for them.”

For someone just starting out, she is doing really well. Especially for someone hired half way through the school year.

“She's only been here for three weeks,” Vice Principal Bryan Holder said. “She's still learning, but like anyone in those positions when they come in mid-year it's like drinking from a firehose. So you do the best that you absolutely can with the understanding you have until you figure out more.”

Being a new counselor has its ups and downs. It’s been easier than expected but it still has its difficulties. One of the biggest challenges for Hess

was starting.

“The hardest part is just trying to figure out what's necessary to start with because there's so much coming in the middle of the year, middle of the quarter,” Hess said. “There's so much to do in such a short amount of time.”

When she first started she was expecting a lot of independent learning and having to learn a lot on her own. But even when she gets lost or

needs help she’s been able to get the help she needs.

“Everyone I've met has been so nice and so just welcoming,” Hess said. “This is a very welcoming school, a very welcoming area with friendly people.”

She has a lot to look forward to, but the one thing she really wants to do is get to know more of the students.

“I am mostly excited to just meet more of the students and just to make those connections and to just see what I can do to help,” Hess said.

 


Picture of Ridley's grocery story

Terrel’s says goodbye to Sanpete County

By Tanner Mickel • March 17, 2026
Terrel’s has been an icon and community loved landmark for many years. Now that Terrel’s is being sold to Ridley’s Family Markets, the community is searching for answers on what comes next. Although some might not like the idea of Terrel’s being sold, the old management thought that it was time to sell while Terrel Seely was still here. “The owner is getting older and you know, it was just time, to make sure that, that transition happened while he was still alive,” Blake Rosenlof said. The arrangements for the sale were finished before the original owner passed away. Seely passed away last week. While some are worried about changes, the purchase of Terrel’s and the five other stores previously owned by Seely will bring opportunities for many involved in the store. “What Ridley’s actually wants us to do is help incorporate what we're doing here,” Jared Mecham said, “cause now Ridley’s has 30 stores … They're a bigger company now. And so they actually want our help from the bakery standpoint of getting some of our products into their bakeries and in all 30 stores. So they don't want to change what we're doing, because we're one of the best bakeries in the state of Utah.” Many Terrel's employees are optimistic about this new opportunity. Ridley’s wants to keep the family friendly and supportive environment that Seely has built. The employees believe that it is going to be good for the business and just a good thing overall. “I think it will be a good change for most of the employees. And hopefully for the community as well," Rosenlof said. Terrel’s is going to begin the change and transfer over starting in the beginning of April, and it is planned to be a slow change. Terrel’s is planned to stay open throughout the entire process. Small changes will begin to start one by one, starting with things like the bags and milk. “I think it's gonna take some time to adjust to,” senior Quincy Benson said, “especially because Terrel's means a lot to the community. It's a place where a lot of people shop and it's been such a staple, but especially because Terrel Seely, everyone knows him, we love him.” They are not certain when the name will officially change. And though the name is going to be changed, Ridley’s still wants to keep the atmosphere and family supported environment. They plan to keep all the same staff and traditions and carry on what Seely has built. “One thing that Terrel has always let me do is, they let me bring my little kids in here to work, just to teach them how to work…,” Mecham said. “They've all worked here, and Terrel's allowed that. Most companies would never let you bring your kids to work. So I talked to the Ridley’s owners, they say the same thing, that we don't want that to change, we value teaching kids how to work.”

Ai kort

By Kortney Mitchell • March 17, 2026
A group chat filled with teenagers from all across the globe bonding over common interests. These people, who in any other circumstance would have never met, become best friends because they decided to play the same online games. With growing worldwide access to the internet, it has become common for teenagers and young adults to have online friendships. These connections can mean a lot to a person. “The relationships I have online are closer to my heart than those in real life,” junior Brittlyn Church said. With a generation who has been online their entire lives, online friendships are less taboo than ever. The results from a NS Times survey showed that 47 percent of students have had an online relationship, whether that be platonic or romantic. These relationships can have similar benefits to in-person friendships. “I feel like I am a lot more confident around people that aren’t seeing me face to face constantly. It's just easy to talk to them about something,” Church said. While there are some benefits, the biggest concern around online and AI relations is the increased number of social issues and lawsuits. ABC News and BBC News have both covered issues involving AI users replacing human contact with AI. “My concern is that, much like how pornography is pyrite of intimacy, I worry that these AI relationships will be pyrite for actual human connection,” behavioral health teacher Sterling Whipple said. “And people chase them because it feels good in the short term, but it leaves them unfulfilled in the long term.” According to the Britannica, the first AI chatbot was created in 1966 as a test to see if a computer could gain sentience. The responses given were often jumbled but it gave a baseline to work off of. With AI advancements, chatbots can now respond in real time to any conversation or prompt that the user puts in. These bots can have pre-set personalities or even mimic celebrities or fictional characters when given the right directions. “At some points it did kind of feel like they were more of a real person when I was talking to them, like a real funny person,” junior Nolun Neilsen said. “Then I realized, ‘Oh yeah, this is just a computer. This is just a bunch of other things compiled together to create this.’” Even with how realistic AI has gotten, there are still bugs that make it feel like exactly what it is, a computer trying to be a human. “I feel like just a real human experience will always be better,” Nielsen said. “I don't think it's ever gonna get quite as perfect because it's always better to just talk to someone in person and that feels more real.” The essential need for human connection is why these new developments with AI and online relationships should be taken seriously. “AI needs to be taken seriously,” Whipple said. “The effects on the human mind need to be taken seriously. I just hope that doesn't push us too far into a knee-jerk fear response, a panic response, because I think there's a lot of potential for good as well. But on young minds, we have to be really careful because they are so easily shaped.”

Speech and debate places 2 at region

By Jennifer Solis • March 17, 2026
On Feb. 21 the NS speech and debate team placed 2nd at region with 88 points. “I was very proud of our team,” advisor Alex Bailey said. “This was the first year where we've had enough people or a large enough team to be more competitive.” Juniors Andrew Madsen and Hannah Holbrook placed 1st in public forum, senior Katie Jones placed 1st in Informative Speaking, senior Ethan Mendicino placed 1st in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking, Holbrook placed 2nd in National Extemporaneous Speaking, Wyatt Bills placed 2nd in Student Congress, Jazmin Solis and Sage Ivory tied for 2nd in Interpretive Performance, and Bills placed 3rd in Original Oratory. Preparing for region took a lot of practice, preparation, and effort from the team. In the weeks leading up to the competition, students dedicated time after school on Thursdays working on their speeches, practicing their performances, and making improvements. The advisors gave feedback to ensure that students could be ready to compete at region. The regional competition was a great experience for the team, as it allowed students to challenge themselves, learn from other competitors, and reflect on how hard they had come during the season. Competing against other schools gave the team the opportunity to see new performances and see what they can change so that they could do better moving forward. “Speech and debate provides a lot of positive opportunities, and I have learned a lot about myself through speech and debate,” Madsen said. “I think anyone who does speech and debate discovers something new about themselves.” The regional competition involved four schools from across the area, and because of this students knew they would face experienced competitors that required them to step up and practice harder. The team felt both nervous and excited to see how the region would turn out. “For me, [competing] is pretty easy just because I've been doing it for four years,” Jones said. “But when I started out, it was terrifying.” The team felt confident in their performance, even if they didn’t take first. “I feel good, but it's always a tough competition every year,” Ivory said. “Sometimes you can do really good at region and then there's just a school that'll just wipe you out.” Despite challenges that come with the events, most members tend to look on the positive side and see this as an opportunity to learn. Preparation helped these competitors feel more confident when it came to competing. Many students found that placing in region gave them a great sense of joy and showed the effort that they put in throughout the season. “I'm just so proud of everything they've all individually accomplished, and then what they've accomplished as a team as well,” Bailey said. “No matter how we do at state, I feel like we've already won to some extent.” As the season begins to come to an end, the speech and debate team is now preparing to move on to the state competition, bringing with them months of practice, dedication and the hope that all of their hard work will help them perform well. “My hopes for state is that myself and my teammates will have a successful weekend,” Bills said. "I hope that all the hard work we have put in this year pays off and hope that we can take home a lot of medals this year.”