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Photo by Bob Pennell Crater High School students Cameo Burnett, left, Noah Lichtenstein and Anthony Grillo argue their points with Klamath Union student Brent Roster during Monday's close of the 15th annual State of Jefferson Scavenger Hunt. Held at Medford City Hall's Council Chambers, the session put students before a judge to defend their answers to mind-bending trivia questions. Scavenger hunt tests fact finders By VICKI GUARINO Identify the parties in a lawsuit over a toilet paper pattern. Describe the contribution of Don Lansing and Al Ameskamp to U.S. moviemaking. Explain the behavior that sets apart Japanese macaques from all other monkeys. From just a quick look at the questions, South Medford High School juniors Jennifer Delugach and Amber Bessey said, they knew this wasn't going to be just another assignment. "We knew we were going to be looking for really obscure things," said Jennifer. Obscurity was part of the point of the 15th annual State of Jefferson Scavenger Hunt, which ended Monday in a tie between South and Crater High School. The race for answers ultimately tested students' research skills. Crater lost sole ownership of the hunt trophy by one letter -- the "I" in the Rolling Stone's "I Just Want to See his Face." Crater students left the letter out of their answer. "We had to call Sam Goody's to check the name," said Steve Boyarsky, Jackson Education Service District curriculum supervisor and one of the hunt's organizers. "We had to make sure I was right." Crater senior Jason Fair was awed by the breadth of the State of Jefferson hunt. "I learned a lot -- all these answers to crazy things I never though about," he said. Other finishers in the event were Eagle Point High School in second place, followed by Klamath Union and North Medford. The event is sponsored by Southern Oregon University's youth programs. Top finishers receive a total of $350 for library books at their school. Contestants began late Wednesday, roving through the Internet and roaming the streets for the answers to more than 30 questions. Answers had to be documented with copyrighted material. In a couple of instances, students also had to retrieve a specific object -- a ticket stub from a Cardinals game in which home run king Mark McGwire played, for instance. Students gathered Monday in Medford City Hall to settle the match. In a hearing of sorts before Judge Mark Schiveley, students defended their answers, and argued against competitors' answers. Schiveley, a trial court judge who presides over the county juvenile court, found the contentious tone of the scavenger hunt's half-day adjudication familiar. "Their arguments are quite good," he said during a break in proceedings. "Every once in a while they don't know when to stop. Of course that's true for some attorneys, too." Fair won one point by convincing Schiveley that "open gates and windows and bridges" was an acceptable version of the answer "European architecture" to the question of what inspired design of the new currency, the Euro. "It's just a more detailed way of describing European architecture," Jason told Schiveley as he handed the judge source material that used the phrase. "I like to debate," Fair said has he left the table. "I like to prove myself right." As for the scavenger hunt questions at the top of the story: Noted mathematician Roger Penrose is suing Kimberly-Clark, saying the company is using his copyrighted design on quilted tissue. The movie "Field of Dreams" was filmed in the Iowa farm field owned by the two men. Only Japanese macaques wash their food in water. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA