No visit yet by family to Todd Beamer High

Q: How much contact has there been between the family of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer and the new high school in Federal Way that was named after him?

A: Contact has been with the Todd Beamer Foundation and not the family, according to principal Carol Eberhart. However, the school sent Beamer's widow, Lisa, a school windbreaker jacket as a goodwill gesture when the school opened.

Eberhart said Lisa Beamer is leading a private life and understandably still is grieving as she raises her three young children, the youngest born after Beamer's death. Beamer was among the passengers who forced hijacked United Flight 93 to crash in Pennsylvania rather than proceed to the White House or Capitol in Washington, D.C. Beamer was heard over a cell phone saying his pet phrase, "Let's roll!" just before he and other passengers rushed the cockpit.

The Todd Beamer High School campus is visible from southbound I-5. Look west (right) when Enchanted Village amusement park is on your left. The school, organized into three learning "academies," opened last fall without seniors and with a small junior class. It is a member of the South Puget Sound League and has the nickname Titans.

I visited the school recently and was surprised to not find "Let's roll!" painted in the gymnasium. Eberhart indicated that students would have to make that suggestion.

Here's hoping the kids do precisely that. To me, Beamer is one of the first national heroes of the 21st century and "Let's roll!" is one of the greatest slogans in American history. Here's hoping, too, that a member of the Beamer clan shows up for the school's first graduation in 2005.

Q: What became of Chris Thompson, the West Seattle football player who was paralyzed in a 1975 game against Lindbergh?

A: Thompson, 43, has lived in the Los Angeles area for the past 10 years. He sounded good when we talked to him by telephone last Saturday and said he is engaged to be married.

Thompson was paralyzed in the 1975 game when he used his head instead of a shoulder as a battering ram while trying to get extra yards for a first down. His lawsuit was settled on insurance-company appeal in 1983 for $3.8 million.

Thompson earned two degrees at the University of Washington and said he has "some use of hands and arms." He said he was able to take a few steps with the aid of a walker and braces a few years ago but that a shoulder injury halted that progress.

Thompson hasn't been employed since the injury.

Thompson said he likes to think that his injury and the publicity his lawsuit attracted has played a role in preventing similar injuries. He said it has become "common knowledge" in football that leading with your head can be disastrous.

"If my head had been in a different position, I probably wouldn't be paralyzed," he said.

Q: What's the proper terminology for the state enrollment classifications? For example, should I say "triple-A" or "3A?"

A: The answer is "3A."

"Triple A" was the designation of the biggest schools before reclassification took effect in the fall of 1997. Most of those schools now are "4A."

Q: What is the biggest "void" in interscholastic sports in the state? In other words, what population center doesn't field teams in a particular sport?

A: Spokane schools don't have boys or girls swimming.

Have a question about high-school sports? Craig Smith will find the answer every Tuesday in The Times. Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com