11
september 25, 2009 300 richardson place wilmington, ohio 45177 volume xvii issue i index news ......................2 opinions ................4 the eye ..................6 features .................8 sports ....................10 entertainment.....12 inside... wilmington Should marijuana Should marijuana be legalized? be legalized? Story p. 4 Story p. 4 How America has How America has changed since 9/11 changed since 9/11 Story p. 6-7 Story p. 6-7 Former teacher Former teacher gives back to gives back to school school Story p. 8 Story p. 8 New WHS teacher New WHS teacher high jump champion high jump champion Story p. 12 Story p. 12 Districts to enforce new county Katie Swindler opinions editor wide attendance policy It’s a new school year in the Wilmington City Schools dis- trict, and students and teach- ers are greeted by a new countywide attendance policy. “The policy changed due to in- consistent practices among Clinton County schools,” vice principal Brent Carey said. “Clinton County prosecutors came to us with the idea of changing our policy. We were running into many issues from a school standpoint and a legal standpoint with the current policy. Our prosecutors felt that they would be able to effectively work cases if all Clinton County schools had the same policy.” The biggest changes con- cern consistent tardiness and the repercussions, and extend- ed absences, being ten or more days away from school, he said. “After ten days missed, you have twenty four hours to produce a doctor’s note. Five tardy infractions to school will count as one un- excused absence to school,” Carey said. These changes have been on the table since March, and were proposed by the coun- ty prosecutors. The changes took several months to finalize, and weren’t set in stone until “late last spring,” Carey said. “County prosecu- tors drafted a new policy based on all the districts in Clinton County. Each school reviewed the policy and made changes based on local needs,” Carey said. “We sent those changes back and amend- ments were made. Once the final policy was drafted, we sent the policy to the school board for approval.” Carey insists the only students that will see a difference are the ones that “push the envelope with their atten- dance.” Those students will now face heightened pressure to attend school regularly and provide a legitimate ex- cuse when they are absent for an extend- ed length of time or perpetually tardy. According to Carey, most stu- dents won’t have any qualms with the new attendance policy, but how will it affect the teachers? “Teachers won’t see any difference other than stu- dents being in school more often, hopefully,” Carey said. Carey feels that most stu- dents won’t even be affected by the new attendance policy. “Students who attend school on a regular basis and have parents who call when they are out won’t even no- tice this policy,” Carey said. Junior Arianna Black feels that the requirement of a doctor’s note will harm students’ attendance records if their family simply can’t afford to go to a doctor. “Well, with the economy, not a lot of people have the insurance to go to the doctor or have the mon- ey to pay the doctor,” Black said. Ultimately, the changes stem from the requirements set forth by the Ohio Department of Education. “Ohio Revised Code requires chil- dren to attend school. Code also dictates that we as a school system have poli- cies that monitor student attendance,” Carey said. “Most students don’t have an issue with this. However, there are some who don’t see this as a prior- ity. Students need to be at school on a regular basis in order to achieve.” “After ten days missed, you have twenty four hours to produce a doctor’s note.” Brent Carey WHS Vice Principal What’s Changed and Why *Aer 10 days missed, students have 24 hours to produce a doctor’s note * 5 tardy infractions to school will count as one un- excused absence to school *Prosecutors found it dif- cult to work with districts with dierent policies *Ohio Revised Code re- quires all children to aend school according to the Ohio Department of Education photo illustration/zach mccune

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Page 1: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

september 25, 2009 300 richardson place wilmington, ohio 45177volume xvii issue i

indexnews......................2opinions................4the eye..................6features.................8sports....................10entertainment.....12

inside...

w i l m i n g t o n

Should marijuana Should marijuana be legalized?be legalized?

Story p. 4Story p. 4

How America has How America has changed since 9/11changed since 9/11

Story p. 6-7Story p. 6-7

Former teacher Former teacher gives back to gives back to schoolschool

Story p. 8Story p. 8

New WHS teacher New WHS teacher high jump championhigh jump champion

Story p. 12Story p. 12

Districts to enforce new county

Katie Swindleropinions editor

wide attendance policy

It’s a new school year in the Wilmington City Schools dis-trict, and students and teach-e rs a re g ree ted by a new countywide attendance policy.

“The policy changed due to in-consistent practices among Clinton County schools,” vice principal Brent Carey said. “Clinton County prosecutors came to us with the idea of changing our policy. We were running into many issues from a school standpoint and a legal standpoint with the current policy. Our prosecutors felt that they would be able to effectively work cases if all Clinton County schools had the same policy.”

The biggest changes con-cern consistent tardiness and the repercussions, and extend-ed absences, being ten or more days away from school, he said.

“After ten days missed, you have twenty four hours to produce a doctor’s note. Five tardy infractions to school will count as one un-excused absence to school,” Carey said.

These changes have been on the table since March, and were proposed by the coun-ty prosecutors. The changes took several months to finalize, and weren’t set in stone until “late last spring,” Carey said.

“County prosecu-tors drafted a new policy based on all the districts in Clinton County. Each school reviewed the policy and made changes based on local needs,” Carey said. “We sent those changes back and amend-ments were made. Once the final policy was drafted, we sent the policy to the school board for approval.”

Carey insists the only students that will see a difference are the ones that “push the envelope with their atten-dance.” Those students will now face heightened pressure to attend school regularly and provide a legitimate ex-cuse when they are absent for an extend-ed length of time or perpetually tardy.

According to Carey, most stu-

dents won’t have any qualms with the new attendance policy, but how will it affect the teachers?

“Teachers won’t see any difference other than stu-dents being in school more often, hopefully,” Carey said.

Carey feels that most stu-dents won’t even be affected by the new attendance policy.

“Students who attend school on a regular basis and have parents who call when they are out won’t even no-tice this policy,” Carey said.

Junior Arianna Black feels that the requirement

of a doctor’s note will harm students’ attendance records if their family simply can’t afford to go to a doctor.

“Well, with the economy, not a lot of people have the insurance to go to the doctor or have the mon-ey to pay the doctor,” Black said.

Ultimately, the changes stem from the requirements set forth by the Ohio Department of Education.

“Ohio Revised Code requires chil-dren to attend school. Code also dictates that we as a school system have poli-cies that monitor student attendance,” Carey said. “Most students don’t have an issue with this. However, there are some who don’t see this as a prior-ity. Students need to be at school on a regular basis in order to achieve.”

“After ten days

missed, you have

twenty four hours to

produce a doctor’s

note.”Brent Carey

WHS Vice Principal

What’s Changedand Why

*Aft er 10 days missed, students have 24 hours to produce a doctor’s note

* 5 tardy infractions to school will count as one un-excused absence to school

*Prosecutors found it dif-fi cult to work with districts with diff erent policies

*Ohio Revised Code re-quires all children to att end school according to the Ohio Department of Education

photo illustration/zach mccune

Page 2: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

2 news

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As the school year begins, Wilm-ington High School ushers in a plethora of new changes. From ID badge regulations, to assigned park-ing spaces, students will be adapting to these new guidelines and cir-cumstances as the year progresses.

The days when ID badges were re-quired then neglected, are no more. Ac-cording to Principal Jeff Fryman, once the ID badges have been delivered to the schools and placed in the hands of students, each student must have the badge on their person at all times.

Badges in fact have a purpose, con-tradictory to student belief Fryman said.

“We’ve got 950 students approxi-mately in the building and everyone doesn’t know everyone else and if a teacher sees [a student] that doesn’t have that student in class that the student isn’t supposed to be there,” Fryman said.

Students may look the requirement not as a new change, but rather the reinforcement to an old guideline.

“Students are supposed to have their ID’s for lunch, when they check in, in the morning to the offi ce when they are

tardy and in the library…So it’s just a matter of fulfi lling that requirement that has been there,” he also commented.

Along with the ID badges, student parking spaces will now be as-signed. Each stu-dent must pur-chase a $10 park-ing pass, with a number labeled on them which c o r r e s p o n d s to the number of their space.

While many may not support the newly intro-duced concept, the administra-tion believes that it is an important con-tribution to the safety of the student lot.

“It’s a safety thing… Honestly, you [students] might not see it, but I think the first couple weeks after our students have gotten used to it and it has gotten a lot safer out there because you know where you are park-

ing,” Vice Principal Brent Carey said.When a student violates the space

assignments, according to Carey, they will be called down to the offi ce

and asked simply to move their vehicle.

Each s tuden t is responsible for their own space and if their space is wrongly occupied, it is the pass holder’s responsibility to re-port the violation.

“It’s up to those students who paid money, t ha t i s their spot, to re-port those viola-tions,” Carey said.

Among all of these changes, the exclusion of Enrichment will be ef-fecting the school weeks for students. Enrichment will no longer be offered every Wednesday between 3rd and 4th periods, but will instead be replaced by a system similar to the old Advisory program in which students will meet in

their home rooms periodically for guid-ance purposes, Fryman said via email.

“The biggest concern, it [Enrich-ment] is a time issue taking approxi-mately 40 minutes of class time everyweek… we are going to go back tosomething similar to the old Advi-sor/Advisee program but I think itwill be only once a month and it willbe very structured,” Fryman said.

With the addition of the manychanges around the building, studentsmust adapt to the absence of enrich-ment, the newly assigned parkingspaces, and mandatory ID badges.

“I think I am going to miss en-richment because of all the differentactivities that we do. The assignedparking spots are okay, but I wouldrather not have them. The ID badgesI don’t really think are necessary towear because everyone knows whowe are,” Junior Justin Areheart said.“I don’t really like the changes atall…last year was so much fun withthe enrichment and everything.”

Many changes this school year at WHS

Zach McCuneeditor-in-chief

“We are going to go back

to something similar to the

old Advisor/Advisee program

but I think it will be only

once a month and it will be

very structured.”Jeff Fryman

Principal

This school year there will be required ID badges, assigned parking spots and no Enrichment

Page 3: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

3september 25, 2009 news

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songs like Soulja Boy on there,” Wil-liams said. “I’ll crumple the whole list up and pitch it if that happens again.”

It will cost $10 for each tick-et bought at school the week be-fore the dance , and $15 for each ticket bought at the dance.

“We will not have school the Fri-day before the dance, so you have to get your tickets the other 4 days of school that week,” Williams said.

The theme of the dance this year is After the Storm, but dec-oration choices are not set yet.

“ I ’m th inking orange bar-rels, lots of flashing lights, cau-tion tape,” Williams said. “And hopefully a big swirly hurricane of doom suspended from the ceiling,”

Just like every other year, Octo-ber brings school, football games, and the Homecoming dance for Wilmington High School students.

Homecoming will be in the au-d i t e r i a a t WHS f rom 8 p .m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.

S t u d e n t s h a v e t h e o p p o r -tunity to have a say in the music selection for the dance this year.

“Like last year I’m going to open it up and say if anybody wants to give me their music recommenda-tions then they can,” homecom-ing adviser, John Williams said.

But students should remember to only submit appropriate songs that they would like to hear at the dance.

“I did this last year, and I had a cou-ple kids that tried to sneak inappropriate

HomecomingKatie Brewernews editor

It’s rare. A business that helps people help themselves, however; less than a year ago one has sprouted up among the downtown business of Wilm-ington. Located on Main Street the nutrition center, Shake Those Pounds, has found large success and helped its customers lose over 400 pounds combined in fewer than three months.

Locally owned and ran by Amanda Grimm the center sells nutritious Herbalife smoothie-style shakes that hold all the needed daily vitamins. Upon the purchase of a shake a cus-tomer also receives a shot of aloe to clear the digestive system and an energy tea that comes in four fl avors.

“Our business is different than anything else out there. We care about people on an individual basis, I want each person to succeed and reach their goal whatever their goal is and everybody has a different one,” Grimm said. “My biggest concern is not making a profit but helping people and that’s something that is absent from a lot of businesses today.”

Along with paying $4.50 for three different items, first time custom-

ers also get the chance to have a free wellness evaluation which calculates such things as ca lor ic need, body mass index, and pounds in excess.

“We give free wellness evaluations t o m a k e sure you’re on track for with what you want to do because you may not b e w h e r e y o u w a n t right now, but you can reach that goal,” Grimm said. “My mission is not that you look good in jeans, we want to focus on whole health. You have to look down the road and make sure you age healthy.”

Besides helping customers motivate themselves to lose weight and create a

healthier lifestyle, Grimm also holds meetings on how to run a business. Be-

fore open-i n g h e r own busi-ness here in Wilm-i n g t o n , G r i m m l e a r n e d h o w t o s t a r t a bus iness f r o m a Herbalife mentor in Louisiana. Eventual-ly Grimm hopes to help more p e o p l e

who are suffering from job loss by teaching them how to run their own business and maybe handing off Shake Those Pounds to someone she has mentored. When she feels her time is up in Wilmington, Grimm hopes to hand off the center to a

Shake Those Pounds, found in downtown Wilmington.

photo/katie brewer

suffi cient entrepreneur and then re-start the process somewhere else.

“I can bring people in and show them how to do it, I will always be doing this but if someone takes over the store I would do it some-where else to help more people,” Grimm said. “There are plenty of people who can do this so why not let them do it? They can provide for their families, or if someone is looking for a job out there, why not show them how to do this?”

Due to the economic challenges many are facing Grimm recognizes the need not only to create jobs but also the need to keep it local. In response to the Buy Local Clinton County Campaign, Shake Those Pounds is offering one free shake after the purchase of nine shakes.

“With Buy Local I want more businesses to get behind it. It is a great program and it should be backed especially by the businesses.”

To learn more about Shake Those Pounds stop by the nutrition center any day besides Sunday; and receive your free body scan.

Ashleigh Achorcontributing writer

ntntn e entrereprprp eneneueur r ananand d ththenen r reehee prprp ococese s somemeewhwherere elelsese

Shake Those Pounds shakes up WilmingtonShake Those Pounds is now a part of the new Buy Local program in

Wilmington that rewards customers for buying local

Page 4: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

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4 september 25, 2009 opinion

Say “high” to legalized marijuana?The legalization of marijuana would free jail space that is currently being wasted on those

who pose no risk to society

The legalization of marijuana would put innocent lives in the hands of those who

decide to abuse the substance

Katie Swindleropinions editor

Jessica Mausfeatures editor

Bringing in millions and possibly billions of dollars to help the economy, putting only those who deserve to be in jail, and fi nally putting tax payer’s money to good use are

all outcomes of legalizing marijuana. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug by teenagers in the US.

If the United States legalized mari-juana, from an economic point of view, would help our economy get back on track. Taxing such a popular drug used by millions of people would bring in billions of dollars. Legalizing marijuana would help the economy improve, not only economically, but

socially. The legaliza-tion of marijuana would reduce the amount of drug related arrests, and make tax payer’s money go to better use.

H o w m a n y times have there been news re-ports of some-o n e b e a t i n g

their child, hus-band, wife, or even a random

person while under the influence of marijuana? This just does not hap-pen. The major-ity of their reports show individu-als involved are under the influ-ence of alcohol or other drugs such as cocaine, am-phetamines, and heroin. I am not

saying domes-tic violence does not occur

while under the infl uence of marijuana, I am just say-ing, it is not as common. Arresting someone who is high, in my opinion is

not as important as arresting someone who just murdered someone else. Is it better to have someone who is high walking around town, or a murderer?

Law enforcement is wasting their time arresting people for being in possession or under the infl uence of marijuana. Yes it is illegal, but law enforcement should ask themselves a simple question- is arresting someone who is under the infl uence of mari-juana more important than arresting someone who has just committed

a crime such as shoplifting, bur-glary, aggravated assault or battery?

Each time someone is arrested and held in a city, county, state or even federal prison, that is tax payer’s money that is keeping that criminal incarcerated. Those who pay taxes do not want their money going to waste to keep someone high locked up in jail, who poses very little threat to society.

Legalizing marijuana will give law enforcement the opportunity to focus on more important things, such as catching a mass murderer, a bank robber, or someone who just stole an innocent woman’s car. Yes, marijuana is illegal, but is it really that bad? Legalizing the substance could be a start to getting our economy out of the slump it is currently in.

The legalization of marijuana would solve more of our countries problems such as freeing up the jails, pulling our country out of debt and fi nally put-ting tax payer’s money to good use.

“Smoking marijua-

na is a decision made

by one person that

affects everyone this

person is in contact

with.”Katie Swindler

opinions editor

“Those who pay

taxes do not want

their money going to

waste to keep some-

one high locked up in

jail, who poses little

threat to society.”Jessica maus

features editor

improve, not only economsocially. T

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Picture this: A senior in high school walks into a drug store and purchases not gum, not cigarettes, no, they buy marijuana. Doubtless many reading this think this vision a dream, but

there are many problems with this scene and legalizing marijuana. Maybe this senior then smokes the mari-juana they purchased before school. Again, people may wonder what the harm in that is. They are only hurting themselves, right? WRONG.

Smoking marijuana is a decision made by one per-son that affects everyone this person is in contact with, whether they realize it or not. Wonder how that can possibly be true? Let’s look at the effects of marijuana on someone’s body.

According to http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/mar-ijuana.htm, there will be problems with memory and learning, which doesn’t ap-pear at all compatible with school. They will be plagued with distorted perception, struggle with thinking and problem solving, and even lose motor coordination. On top of all of that, they will suffer from anxiety. And those are only short-term effects. This doesn’t seem like the

type of person that should be driv-ing a car, let alone sitting in classes.

And all of this is assuming that only a teen would smoke marijua-na. But what about those who have jobs, commutes, responsibilities?

High drivers exhibit the same lack of coordination as those who have had a bit too much alcohol, posing

just as great a risk as those who drive drunk, according to www.

gdcada.org. Surely everyone remembers the lectures they got in driving school, about

how one is not only risking their life on the road, but everyone else on it? Well, people who decide to drive high are

holding other’s lives in their unreliable hands, are they willing to have a stranger’s blood on them?

Let ’s swi tch gears for a mo-ment and look at

long term effects.Some may say,

“Oh, it’s not as hard on your lungs as cigarettes,” Guess

what? That’s wrong.Marijuana actually shares a few

ingredients with cigarettes, and they just happen to be a few of the deadlier ones. In fact, marijuana holds some of the same cancer-causing compounds as those cigarettes everyone seems so fond of. And guess what? Some-times they are in higher concentra-tions. “Someone who smokes one to three joints can produce the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking fi ve times as many cigarettes,” www.gdcada.org states.

Surprising? Still think pot is just a fun activity that won’t be se-verely regretted later? Think again.

Another fact that most people get wrong- Marijuana CAN be addictive.

“Marijuana is both emotionally and mentally addictive. Once an indi-vidual becomes addicted to marijuana it develops into part of who they be-lieve themselves to be,” according to http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/.

Does this senior buying pot know this? Do they know the risks and dangers? Do they know about the cancer risks? Do they know the addiction possibility? Are a few hours of fun really worth that?

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Page 5: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

september 25, 2009

hurricanew

ilmin

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on

5opinion

The hurricane is a student-produced newspaper published eight times each year by the Wilmington High School newswriting class.

All printing costs are paid through adver-tising revenues.

The purpose of the hurricane is to inform and entertain the students of Wilmington High School and the members of the community. It is an open forum for student, faculty, staff, and community expression.

The hurricane is a member of the Ohio Scholastic Media Association (OSMA) and the Journalism Education Association (JEA).

Letters to the editor are encouraged. They must be signed; however, names may be withheld if the editorial board determines that the situation warrants it. In addition, the staff reserves the right to edit material for length, grammar, libel, poor taste, or obscenity.

All signed columns are the views of the writer only and do not necessarily reflect the views of other staff members, faculty, or the administration.

Staff editorials (those without bylines) are the consensus of the editorial board, who makes the final decision concerning the content of the newspaper.

Editor-in-chief (visual): Zach McCune

Editor-in-chief (content): Madison Law

News Editor: Katie Brewer

Opinions Editor: Katie Swindler

Features Editor: Jessica Maus

Sports Editor: Megan PhillipsAsst. Sports Editor: Mercedes Welsch

Entertainment Editor: Libby Wetterhan

Asst. Entertainment Editor: Emilia LanderCopy Editor: Neil Vance

Staff Writers & Contributors: Ashleigh Achor

Adviser: Maggie Krohne

Letters to the editor should be sent to Wilming-ton High School room 214. Letters may discuss previous articles or columns published in the hurricane, or other newsworthy issues.

hurricane300 Richardson PlaceWilmington, OH 45177937.382.7716

“Ab-solutely not.

N o r e a s o n s , n o excuses, I don’t care

about medical wants; it’s a drug, you shouldn’t be

using it, don’t use it.”

Rog

er Il

g - Gym teacher/coach

“ I think that it

may not necessar-ily be a bad thing, and

that we would certainly collect lots and lots of tax money that would help

us with our econom-ic problems.”

Julie

Krab

acher - Science teacher

“ I think that it

should be legalized but with limits be-cause you don’t just want people taking

as much as they wan t . ”

Mat

t Roberts - 11th grade “ N o ,

because it kills brain cells and it will

ruin your future and things that can be better for you. I knew a kid once who did marijuana and the things that it did to him

made him not good, he was a bad kid.”

Caitl

yn Whipple - 9th grade

the hurricane asks...“Should marijuana be legalized?”

We, the staff of the Wilmington High School student run newspaper the hurricane, are not livestock, and should not be treated by the administra-tion as such. We are not cattle, of that we are sure, and should not be subjected to “tagging.”

We’ve all seen the cows with the tag on their ear, and we can just picture ourselves in faces of those poor animals, wearing a cheesy lanyard around our neck and walking morosely down the halls. Those who de-cide that they would rather not be labeled as an unintelligent, unthinking being are then given a detention as punishment. For refusing to be demeaned.

Wo u l d i t n o t b e e a s i -er if the teachers simply learned the students’ names? And per-haps we could just carry our IDs with us, in case of an emergency.

Certainly they don’t have to be visible every single second of the school day? Surely we won’t be forced to wear our ID every day?

What about those poor souls who give the camera a determined grimace on picture day? It is just cruel to subject students that sort of humiliation.

We have all had the years where we don’t even want to show our family our school picture, years where we looks so awful that we simply can’t bear to

look at our own faces on those laminated cards. Add a per-fectly dreadful picture onto the fact that we’re being tagged and herded down the halls, and it just can’t get worse.

Sure, sometimes we must scan our card in the lunch line, library or offi ce. But all of those places also accept our ID number, which consists of only six digits. So why is an ID mandatory to wear?

For these reasons, we, the staff of the hurricane, feel that being penalized for

not wearing an awkward picture on an ugly lanyard is ridiculous.

- t h e h u r r i c a n e s t a f f

graphic/katie swindler

the hurricane says...

Page 6: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

hurricane | THE EYE | september 25, 20097

hurricane | THE EYE | september 25, 2009 6

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Page 7: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

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featuresseptember 25, 2009p8Former teacher and volunteer gives gift to WHS

Katie Swindleropinions editor

Carlos Monteos is well known at WHS, not only because he is a former teacher, but because he takes care of the courtyard each year, out of his own pocket.

Born in the West Indies, “many years ago,” Mon-teos said with a laugh, he came to Wilmington for education. But his edu-cation didn’t stop in the United States.

“I’ve been all over. Eng-land, India, there were some universities in Chi-na,” Monteos said. “Aus-tria was my favorite, when talking about beauty.”

After traveling all over the world, why would he come back to Wilming-ton?

“It’s calm and peaceful, not loud like a big city,” Monteos said.

Monteos started work on the courtyard thirty years ago, when it was no more than gravel, and con-tinues coming three days a week, working for two hours each of those days.

“When I came it was all gravel, I moved about 7 tons of gravel out of the flower beds,” Monteos said.

After removing all the gravel, it took around fi ve years to get it ready for real planting.

“I had to dig it out, plant, sift the beds, and replant the plants. See when you start a garden, it takes three years. You should only plant annuals for three years, then after three years, you plant the perennials. It took thirty

one years to get this courtyard [the way it is],” Monteos said.

Monteos wagers that he spends around one thousand dollars, of his

own money, a year on the courtyard . He hopes that students can “enjoy the courtyard,” and take up gardening. He

also hopes that students who decide to garden use compost.

“Compost is a great thing. You put compost down and there are no weeds.

Everyone should use compost,” Monteos said.

The courtyard is not the only contri-bution Monteos makes to the school.

“I taught thirty one years, I taught history and sociology and then got trained and switched to biology,” Mon-teos said. WHS isn’t the only place he

has taught either, he also currentlyteaches at South-ern State, as he has done for the past 23 years.

When he isn’t working on the courtyard, he can be found any number of places around town.

“I do the flowers for the Methodist Church, and play organ there on Sundays,” Monteos said. “This is my 15th year [playing organ]. It’s sooth-ing, and I can contemplate and worship.”

If gardening and organ playing wasn’t enough to keep Monteos busy, he also enjoys woodwork-ing, getting scrap wood from the WHS Theatre Department.

“I do fi nish work, cabi-netry, baseboards, things like that. I’ve done this now [for] 20 years. They [the theatre department] are very generous. Very generous,” Monteos said.

Monteos says he lives by moderation and pro-ductivity.

“Stay active,” Monteos said, “And do what you can, but no more. Don’t do too much. If you go to extremes in anything, you ruin it. And you become obsessed. If it is in mod-eration, you see gradual

growth. With productivity, you must always stay active,

with your mind and your body.”

Carlos Monteous, former social studies and biology teacher, volunteers his time and money to create a space for WHS students and staff to enjoy

photos/ neil vance

Page 8: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

september 25, 2009p

hurricanew

ilmin

gt

on

9features

Scholarships viewed as aid to success

Katie Brewernews editor

“In our present-day economy, scholarships are the only thing keep-ing many middle-class students in college, especially at relatively ex-pensive universities,” Miami Univer-sity student, Elizabeth Wilson said.

College students have to fi nd a way to pay for the thousands of dollars a year it costs for their education. Student loans and parents can help pay off this large bill, but high school students can apply for scholarships to help before they even get to college Wilson said.

According to http://www.college-board.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html the average four year private college tuition has gone up 5.9% from last year and is now $25,143 per year. And the average four year public college tuition has gone up 6.4% and is now $6,585 per year.

B u t w h a t a r e s c h o l a r s h i p s ?

“Scholarships are awards of money presented by col-l e g e s a n d p r i v a t e g r o u p s acknowl-e d g i n g a n d r e -w a r d i n g s tudents for their academic e x c e l -lence and m u c h m o r e , ” g u i d -ance counselor Linda Graham said.

Many scholarships that students receive come from the university that they have been accepted into, but there are hundreds of other scholar-ships that they are eligible for too.

“When I applied to Miami, people who live in Ohio are already going to get to scholarships,” Wilson said. “These scholarships alone are usually about a third of what tuition is, and I didn’t even have to apply for it.”

Financial aid packages are given to students to help pay for their college tuition based on their family’s ability to pay and their academic performance.

“I received about $29,000 in fi nan-cial aid that I do not have to pay back,” Wilson said. “But total I received about $37,000 including federal and private loans that I have to pay back after I gradu-a t e . ”

Col-l e g e s w i l l s o m e -t i m e s h o l d compe-titions for stu-d e n t s to win schol -

arship money. These competi- t i o n s can be national with mil-lions of people or lo-cal with less than a

h u n -dred people.

“In the competi-tion students will

come and par-t i c ipa te

in an

e s -say-writ-ing, a perfor-mance of an in-

strument or of vocal music, or present a portfolio of some sort,” Graham said.

Seniors at Wilming-ton High School should check their school email for scholarship ideas or go to their guidance counselor for help.

“One of my respon-sibilities is to email all

the seniors any current scholarships that come my way,” Graham said. “The students’ responsibility is to research which scholarships they are applicable for and to apply for them.”

Most scholarships are only of-fered to seniors, but there are some available for underclass men as well.

“I suggest all students grades 9-12 register with fastweb.com because that’s kind of a clearing house of scholarships,” Graham said.

At fastweb.com students sub-mit their hobbies, interests, and much more. Then fastweb.com will fi nd a list of schol-arships that the students could possibly apply for.

There are many unique scholarships available, from

being a vegetarian to making a duct tape dress to wear to prom.

“There are hobbies, life-styles, and even abilities that can get you scholarships,” Graham said. “These unique scholarships are great for students who work hard to find them and apply for them.”

Some parents pay for most of their child’s college education, so their child may not try as hard as others to get scholarships.

“I think every[ones] parents would welcome the opportu-

nity to have some money come their way to

help pay for col-lege education,”

G r a h a m s a i d . “That’s why it is so

disappointing when students don’t even

try for scholarships.”The amount of mon-

ey that students can get through scholarships is un-

limited, so the more they apply for the better chance

they have of getting more money. “Some students apply for every-

thing they think they qualify for,” Graham said. “Those ones who work hard and do all of their home-work so to speak are the ones who come out on top with more money.”

With the cost of college rising and high school students fi nding it diffi cult to pay, scholarships are a popular method of funding higher education

“These scholarships alone

are usually a third of what tu-

ition is, and I didn’t even have

to apply for it.”Elizabeth Wilson

Miami university student

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11sportsp

Varsity Girls Tennis uses key player, Sodini

Hurricane Football

Boys and Girls Golf

The Varsity football team kicked of their season with their fi rst loss aganist West Carrollton.

“The most important part of team success is the leadership that comes from your seniors,” Coach Rob Vida said.

Their record is 3-1 so far, and their next game is home this Friday at 7:30 against Loveland.

Head coach Rob Vida said there is no one key player but “We must play together to be successful.”

The most important part of team success is the leadership that comes from your seniors, Vida said.

“This year’s team is full of talent, probably the most on any Wilmington football team in a long time. If the senior class can get this team to play as one, we will win championships,” Coach Willie McClure said.

Neil Vancecopy editor

Mercedes Welschasst. sports editor

Varsity Football ScheduleAug 28 West Carrollton L 20-13Sep 04 @ Miami Trace W 20-0Sep 11 Chillicothe HS W 42-20Sep 18 @ Edgewood Trenton W 19-14

Sep 25 Loveland 7:30PM Oct 02 @ Little Miami 7:30PM Oct 09 @ Amelia 7:30PM Oct 16 Kings - Homecoming 7:30PM Oct 23 @ Walnut Hills 7:30PM Oct 30 Turpin HS 7:30 PM

The girls and boys golf teams hit their season off with a record of cur-rently 9-0 overall; FAVC 4-0 for the boys and the girl record is 10-7.

The next match for the boys golf is Monday, September 28 at Snow HIll for the Clinton County Tour-nament. The match will begin at 4:00p.m.

The golf boys’ key players are se-niors Jordan Berlin, Phillip Gilmore, Brad Fuller, & Sophomore Kyle Miller.

“All 4 of them can be rated as among the top players in the confer-ence,” said Coach Tim Martin. “All things said and done by season’s end, this team expects to win a 4th con-

photo/ zach mccune

secutive FAVC title and qualify once again for the District tournament; possibly even continue our unde-feated season. They have worked hard to become the talented golfers they are and (especially the seniors) should be very proud of their 4 year accomplishments,” Coach Martin said. The golf girls’ key players are

Gabby Brown and Samantha Stewart. “I don’t believe this squad has played their best golf yet. Overall, I think we have probably done a bit better than we thought we would when the season started, but with everything, improvement is still possible. I think each of our players will record their season’s best score within the next two-three weeks.”

Mercedes Welschasst. sports editor

The Wilmington High School girls’ tennis team is now 4-9 with their season soon coming to an end.

“Marci Sodini our 1st singles player is having an outstanding sea-son she is currently 8-3 and was the FAVC player of the week last week,” Coach Jeri Earley said.

Marci has been playing tennis

since her 8th grade year and wants to continue playing in college.

“Finding enough time to practice tennis between that and basketball is a challenge but I seem to get it all done,” Sodini said.

Sodini has had many accomplish-ments while playing tennis for the school team. She was the fi rst girl to

go the farthest in Wilmington High School in the history of girls’ sec-tional tournament.

Sodini has big plans after high school and even as far as ten years into the future.

“[I’ll] hopefully be married with a few kids and defi antly still playing tennis as I get older,” Sodini said.

photo

/ merc

edes

wels

ch

Marci warms up before the East

Clinton match on Aug. 17

The boys varsity football team gets pumped up and ready for their game against Chillicothe on Sept. 11

Girls Varsity SoccerJessica Mausfeatures editor

The Lady Hurricane Record: 3-4-1Next Game: Tuesday Sept. 29,

2009; 7:00 p.m at Kings.Lady Hurricanes’ Varsity head

coach Steve Reed comments on the team and their progress so far.

“I am really happy with where we are at, right now we are still learning, learning about the kind of team we can be, so I think that even though we have had a few losses already this year, that maybe if we played them again we could win those, I’m really happy with where we are at.” ph

oto/ m

egan

philli

ps

The varsity girls take a moment prepare for their game on Sept. 15

Boys Varsity SoccerBoys Soccer Record: 5-4-0Next Game: Saturday Sept. 26,

2009 home at 7:00 against Miami Trace.

Head coach, Jeff Wiederhold of the varsity boys’ soccer team com-mented on the teams progress,

“We have played at a good level this year. There have been two games that we should have at least tied instead of losing by a goal.”

Jessica Mausfeatures editor

photo

/ meg

an ph

illips

The boys soccer take a pregame prayer against Fayeteville on Sept. 5

Page 10: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

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september 25, 2009p10

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Emily Herring, from the track to the texts

Neil Vancecopy editor

Katie Breweropinion editor

This year Wilmington High School welcomes a new English teacher, Emily Herring.

In high school, English was Her-ring’s favorite subject, but she also had another favorite thing to do. Run track, she even made All-American in the high jump fi ve times.

“I started running track in 7th grade,” Herring said. “My dad and one of my aunts ran track, I liked to run, and some of my friends were doing it so I choose to do it too.”

In junior high, high school and college track Herring did three events: 400m, 800m, and the high jump.

“I ran the 400 and 800 because those were the events I was the best at,” Herring said. “I actually started high jumping in junior high when I found out I could get out of running practices.”

Herring also ran in some of the relays while she was in track.

“I really liked running on relays because it was when you got to be more part of a team, where you were working together to win,” Herring said.

Herring went to Upper Sandusky High School and then to Wilmington College.

“In high school I jumped 5’7 and ran .58 in the 400, can’t remember what I got in the 800,” Herring said. “In college I jumped 5’10, got .57 in the 400 and 2.17 in the 800.”

Herring went to many champion-ships and set quite a few records while in high school and college.

She set records in the Ohio Ath-letic Conference in the indoor and outdoor high jump.

At Wilmington College, Herring set records in 400m, 500m, 800m, 4x400, and the 4x800 all indoor. Outdoors, she set the high jump, 4x400, and 4x800 records.

According to Herring, high jump

was “probably my best event” so it was the most fun for her to do.

“In the high jump they start the bar at a certain height and you can choose to come in at that height or at a later height,” Herring said. “You get three attempts at each height. You have to jump off of one leg and you try to arch and wrap your body over the bar.”

Herring would like to help out as a volunteer with the WHS track team,

especially with the high jumpers. She also believes that “track and cross country are really good for students.”

“I think for one thing it keeps you healthy and it teaches you how to manage your time,” Herring said. “You also get a good sense of being on a team and working hard in the competitions. But most of all it’s a lot of fun, so do it!”

Cross Country

Varsity VolleyballMegan Phillipssports editor

The Wilmington High Schools girl’s varsity volleyball team starts off their season with a 4-4 record. Already playing all fi ve of the FAVC teams, the girls are determined to end with a good record having many more games to come.

“Our team is very good when we are hustling and moving our feet to theball. When we can serve tough and take other teams out of their game,we have the ability to control games. We have been working hard andimproving all season long,” said head coach BJ Joyce.

The girls will take action next Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m, at Little Miami for league play.

photo/ mercedes welsch

photo/ emily herring

Sophomore Tommy Swank is an athlete with big achievements and large goals.

“I started seventh grade which is the fi rst year you can start cross country here at Wilmington,” Swank said.

Swank has been running cross country for four years, in that time has been dealt many ob-stacles but has overcome and moved to be the athlete he is today.

“I had a really big problem with my calves, I’m fl at footed and I had to have correct shoes, and I couldn’t run, “ Swank said.

Swank also had help to improve through camps and from professional coaches and athletes.

“I’ve been to a running camp, and I’ve had collegiate athletes and coaches there,” Swank said.

Swank has been able to shave off on his personal record and improve his athleticism.

“My personal record for 5K is 17 minutes and 30 seconds, and right now in the nation I stand 339th in my grade and in FAVC I’m in the top ten,” Swank said. “As of right now I’ve dropped about a minute from the

end of last year, I am one of Wilm-ington’s fastest in quite a while.”

Though Swank had to deal with a few set-backs he continues to run.

“I had a really big problem with my calves, I’m fl at footed and I had to have cor-rect shoes, and I couldn’t run,” Swank said.

Giving credit for support Swank is grateful for the team as a whole.

“The team is awesome, not a lot of people take it as serious as I do but they still have fun with it, which is awesome,” Swank said.

Swank has high hopes for his future by showing big records for big goals.

“In ten years, I’d like to see myself running for team USA,” Swank said.

Emily Herring competes in the All- American high jump on April 20, 2004

Varsity huddles before the

Little Miami game on Sept. 10

“The team is awesome, not

a lot of people take it as serious

as I do but they still have fun

with it, which is awesome.

Tommy swanksophomore

Page 11: Issue 1: 2009 - 2010

september 25, 200912entertainmenti

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On On DVDDVD

“I swear by God this

sacred oath: That I shall ren-

der unconditional obedience to Adolf

Hitler, Fuhrer of the Ger-man Reich and people,

Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and that

I shall at all times be ready, as a brave soldier, to give my life

for this oath.” Are the first lines you hear as the grand movie begins. The two hour enigma phenomenon

known as ‘Valkyrie’ came out to theaters on Christmas day in 2008. This mind

blowing screen play was directed by Bryan

Singer, director of The Usual Suspects, X-Men, and Super-man Returns Once again teams up with Academy Award winner Christopher McQuarrie to be led through the operation to as-sassinate Hitler by Tom Cruise who role played as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. The fi lm also stars; Keneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschman,Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin R. McNally, Jamie Parker, Christian Berkel, David Bamber, Tom Holland-er, David Schofield, Kenneth Cranham and Halina Reijn.

The fi lm is about Nazi Ger-

It’s that time of year again, and Michael Myers is back on his killing spree. In the new Halloween II, Michael Myers kills more people than in any of the other Halloween movie sequels.

In the beginning of the movie, it starts out as Lau-rie Strode, Michaels’ sister, having a terrifying night-mare about Michael chas-ing her around and kill-ing her. She constantly has horrible nightmares like this throughout the movie.

The fi rst part of the mov-ie reveals the survivors

of the first film and the blood and pain they go through being tortured by Myers. Of course they all die and Michaels’ Hal-loween massacres begin.

In the movie, Myers con-stantly sees his mother and his “white horse” always guiding him and telling him who and when to kill.

Throughout the movie, Laurie suffers from hor-rifying, murderous night-mares and finally gains strength to stand up to her brother and kill him.

In the end of the movie, Laurie is in a rehabilitation center, and has a disturbed,”

I’ll be back for you,” kind of look on her face. Making you wonder if she is going to be the next massacre kill-er, or if Myers is still alive..

Overall, I did not like the movie. I didn’t enjoy the movie because it was too much gore and not enough story plots. In almost every scene, someone died very gruesomely and you just knew it was going to hap-pen. In my opinion, a horror fi lm should be based on a good, solid plot, I should be shocked and not be able to predict when things a r e

Emilia Landerasst. entertainment editor

many and how World War II turned in a heroic fate turn to the Ameri-can, French and British forces to save Germany from a devastatingly destructive fate. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the loyal offi cer, must save Germany from Hitler before Eu-rope and Germany are destroyed. He undergoes and comes up with; Opera-tion Valkyrie. He must manipulate the allies to seize Berlin and take down the fi ercest tyrant in history, Hitler!

At the end of the movie Adolf Hitler cries, “The Valkyrie; handmaidens of the gods, choosing who will live and who will die, sparing the most heroic from an agonizing death. One can-not understand National Socialism if one does not understand Wagner.”

Megan Phillips

sports editor

going to happen, and I do not need to see so many gruesome scenes. I think director, Rob Zombie, should have just kept with the fi rst Hallow-e e n m o v i e .

Megan Phillipssports editor

The sus-penseful thrill-

er, Taken, which was directed by

Pierre Morel, is fi lled with lots of excitement

and keeps an audience on the end of their seats.Many thrillers attempt to en-

tertain but Taken succeeds. It not only gives a creative twist, but also

has an interesting plot and setting.People will never be tired of the sus-

pense-f u l

m o v i e plot where

someone is kidnapped and

the whole objec-tive of the movie

is to fi nd that person. Taken i s about a

young girl, Kim, who is abducted from her family

by an Albanian sex traffi cker during a vacation away in Paris.

Kim (Maggie Grace) was told by her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) that she would be staying with Amanda’s fam-ily, but when fi nding out that they would have the place to themselves, Kim gets bad feel-ings about the whole situation.

Brian Mills, played by Liam Neeson, is the father of Kim; he is a retired CIA agent and does everything in his power to get his daughter and her friend back.

While searching for his daughter in Paris, he bat-t l e s many p reda to r s on the way. Killing most, he fi ghts for his daughter’s life.

Near the end of the movie,

he does finally get his daugh-ter back and reunites her with the rest of her family. Unfor-tunately, her friend was found dead. But Kim and her fa-ther now have a special bond.

Taken features many fi ght scenes and action as Mills travels through Paris searching for his daughter.

“I will look for you, I will fi nd you, and I will kill you.” Mills stated.

Other actors featured in Tak-en include Leland Orser, Jon Gries, and David Warshofsky.

In all, Taken is a movie to be enjoyed by all audiences, though there is much suspense, violence and profanity’s over-all it is a very enjoyable story.

Libby Wetterhanentertainment editor

“Yes Ma’am” Tyler Perry’s latest movie, I Can Do Bad All By Myself incorporates some of his ingenious co-medic writing and Medea’s brash humor, but not enough to consider this movie a com-edy. Unlike many of Perry’s former movies which were mostly about Madea and were much more light-hearted than the weighty spiritu-al and delicate themes in I Can Do Bad All By Myself.

As all the characters in the movie come from a troubled background, such as self-destructive April (Taraji P. Henson) who was raped as a child, dabbles in alcoholism and due to her troubled past, is unable to open up emotion-ally. Or her two nephews and niece who were abandoned by their now deceased, drug-addicted mother and were also left stranded by their missing grandmother. When the kids are left to fend for themselves after a few days of their grand-mother’s d i s a p -pear-

ance, they decide to break in to someone’s home to get money for the youngest, diabetic sibling’s insulin. Whose house do they wind up in? Madea’s. Angry and determined to straighten them out, Madea marches them to April’s house where they find out that the children’s care-taker, April’s mother is missing. After this scene, Madea’s role shrinks, taking back seat to the significant personal journeys the characters experience.

When both April’s drug-addict-sister and her distant mother die, she’s left with her sister’s three children, who she wants nothing to do with. April tries to go on with business as usual, sleeping all day, staying out all night, but with the help of her live-in im-migrant, Sandino (Adam Ro-driguez), something inside her starts to change. She begins to see the error of her ways, and af-ter her boyfriend—the married man she’s involved w i t h — a t -tempts to rape her n i ece , she’s

had enough with that track her life is on, and with the help of Sandino, quickly turns it around.

With the substantial spiritual and psychological elements that are present throughout the movie, it was expansively good. Though, viewers beware, it lacks nearly all of Madea’s brash, mindless humor that originally drew view-ers to the cinema.