Issue 8, Series 87 Newton High School; 900 W 12th; Newton, KS 67114 February 4, 2011www.railernews.com

Walking in a winter wonderlandBundled up against the cold, seniors Alexis Nachtigal, Hannah Schrag and Erin Heim try not to slip while walking into school on Thursday. USD 373 cancelled two consecutive days of school this week because of inclement weather with sub-zero wind chills.

photo by Shannon Ahlstedt

Learn the unwritten rules of Facebook pg 5

Budget cuts to cost district $1.4 million pg 3

Super Bowl by the numbers pg 8

newsPage 2 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

What’s the business at Newton High School?Carlie Blaufussentertainment editor

Youth Entrepre-neurs of Kansas (YEK)

is a class taught by business teacher Lisa Yoder and goes beyond the classroom. There are currently 51 students enrolled in the course, and YEK is in its seventh year at NHS. The main objective of the course is for students to find a passion and turn it into a business plan.

“You then have something that you walk out the door with at the end of the year, that you could literally take into a bank and say ‘hey, this is my business idea. Can you give me some money?,’” Yoder said.

The students compete with their busi-ness plans at regional, state and national competitions, in addition to other activi-ties.

YEK is responsible for Market Day, which gives students involved in the course the opportunity to see their business plan being applied first-hand. Students are given a $100 cash loan to start their business. Then, whatever profit they make by the end of the day is theirs to keep. This year, all but one group made a profit, and the amounts ranged from $5 to $100.

Senior Kaysee Baron enjoys being a part of YEK because of the benefits she will see later on.

“Everything we are using right now, we can use in the future,” Baron said.

One aspect of YEK that is different than other business classes is it is not available in all Kansas schools.

“Because of the funding and all of the special events that we do, you have to ap-ply to get into it,” Yoder said. “Right now they add maybe a few schools a year.”

The YEK program also plans field trips to allow students to see what they are studying in the classroom displayed in a realistic setting. In the fall, this involves touring different businesses in Wichita and Hesston, to give the students the op-

portunity to see how they are run.Being a part of the YEK program also

gives students the opportunity to receive money for college, in addition to opening other doors in the future.

“You can really make a lot of connec-tions with either potential employers or potential investors,” Yoder said.

Yoder enjoys being a part of the pro-gram because of the positive affects it has on students, not only in the present but the future as well.

“There are so many benefits people can get out of [YEK], just because it is so realistic to their lives,” Yoder said. “They can get a lot of stuff out of it outside of the classroom, just because of what YEK offer in terms of scholarships and internships.”

Business Professionals of America (BPA) adviser Melinda Rangel firmly believes in the advantages of being a part of the club.

“Age does not hold you back. GPA does not hold you back. If you have a passion for something, you can do great in BPA,” Rangel said.

Rangel took over advising BPA when she began teaching at NHS at the begin-ning of the 2009-10 school year. She also serves on the state board of directors.

“(BPA) helps (students) prepare for a world-class workforce, through leadership, citizenship, academic and technical skills,” Rangel said.

The only requirement to be a member of the club is one must be in some sort of a business class, which can range from Computer Technology to Accounting or Business Technology.

“There are no other requirements other than you like business or you like comput-ers,” Rangel said.

The main events for BPA are the regional, state and national competitions, which according to Rangel, can be pretty costly. To offset the costs, the club has

spent a large portion of the year fundrais-ing. Fundraisers such as paper inserts at the Newton Kansan, selling carnations for Valentine’s Day and sending the Data Match surveys to the student body are a few. This year, members of the club have participated in 23 fundraising activities and have made $4,000.

Senior Carly Willis is club Historian and one of the 54 students currently in-volved in BPA. She is also enrolled in YEK and participates in On The Job Training, which entails her leaving school early everyday and using the skills learned in Junior Business Technology class to apply for an office job. Rangel assisted Willis in getting the job, along with a career shadow at KWCH12.

“Mrs. Rangel is amazing. She works harder than anyone else I know and puts in more hours than anyone else,” Willis said.

Willis appreciates BPA because of the advantages she will see further down the road.

“It’s already built my resume and taught me important job skills that I use in my job today and will use in my jobs in the future,” Willis said.

Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) is a marketing and entre-preneurship club that gives marketing stu-dents the opportunity to put into practice what they are learning in the classroom by competing. DECA is advised by Yoder.

“If you have an interest in business in any way, we can typically find something that you can compete in that you would have an interest in,” Yoder said.

Members of DECA work alongside Business Professionals of America (BPA) to run the school store.

“It’s a nice supplemental part of their education that allows them to put into practice and test what they know,” Yoder said.

Junior Connor Galloway participates in the retail merchandising division of DECA, which requires him to take a marketing

test and perform a role play at competi-tions. In a role play, members of that divi-sion are given a topic specifying a certain situation and are then required to go in front of a judge and act as if they were in the given situation. Galloway enjoys the club because of the advantages beyond the classroom.

“I know colleges look for it on your resume, and you get to know some things about business and marketing through do-ing it,” Galloway said.

There are currently 34 students in the club, but not all members attend com-petitions. Twenty members of the club recently competed at regionals, which resulted in five placing in the top three. Members of the club also compete in state and national competitions.

MarkIT is a student-run business within Yoder’s Small Business Manage-ment course. Five students currently run the business, and they can manufacture anything from mugs and key chains to t-shirts and license plates.

“We kind of do a whole lot of every-thing,” Yoder said.

The business works alongside the Fam-ily and Consumer Science (FACS) depart-ment and Laserworks course to provide a variety of products that are available to the student body. According to Yoder, being a part of the business allows students to apply the skills learned in the course as directly as possible.

“Kids get to see firsthand what it’s like to run a business. They go through the same stress that new business owners do,” Yoder said. “It’s a nice challenge for them.”

Senior Austin Jones enjoys being a part of the business because it exposes him to the business world in a realistic way.

“[MarkIT gives you] experience in run-ning a small business and how to keep it running through the whole school year,” Jones said.

Business classes, clubs beneficial for present, future student needs

YEK

TYLER PROCHAZKAonline editor-in-chief

Next year, NHS may have fewer activi-ties and programs available to students in addition to larger class sizes. This could be the new reality of Kansas schools.

As Kansas tackles dwindling tax revenue and the end of federal stimulus dollars, public education is likely to be one of many social services working on a lower budget. This budget, proposed by the new Republican governor, Sam Brownback, has put many in the Kansas education sector in an uncomfortable position for the next school year.

According to Kathy Cook, the executive director of Kansas Families for Education, schools in Kansas will experience a drop of $75 this year and an additional $157 next year in per pupil base aid. This is the amount of money the state provides for each student, with more money provided for at-risk students and for those who have limited English skills. Kansas law requires the base aid to be $4,400 per student. However, next year it will be around $3,780, the lowest level in a decade.

As a result, USD 373 will see a drop of approximately $1.4 million over the next two years, including $200,000 this year, according to superintendent John Morton.

Cook said these cuts will translate into “hundreds, probably thousands of teach-ers” being eliminated around the state, along with librarians and nurses. In turn, this could mean school programs will also be eliminated, she said.

“These cuts will be pretty draconian for students,” Cook said.

What it means for NHSNewton High School will not be im-

mune from the falling funds.Principal Ken Rickard said he is already

anticipating these cuts from the state. He said NHS cut 21.5 sections from the sched-ule this year and may cut more next year. He said these cuts prevent students from “having a schedule that fits their needs.”

Rickard also predicted that approxi-mately six staff members, including at least one math teacher and possibly a counselor, will retire at the high school and may not be replaced because of insuf-ficient funds. If another counselor retires

and is not replaced, this would leave two counselors, who are already “stretched,” to serve more than 1,000 students.

The cuts at NHS could go beyond retir-ing staff members. Rickard indicated there may be widespread cuts in staff and in wages.

“It’s not business as usual,” he said.Morton said the district has kept the

cuts out of the classroom so far. Next year, he said he will continue to avoid cutting person-nel and wages and will look elsewhere to cut first.

Morton said there will be a school board meeting next week to begin discussions about what could be cut, although most of the decisions will not come until the state votes on the final budget, which will not happen until April or May.

Some districts, including Newton, may have to tap into their “reserve funds,” which is money school districts set aside for emergency situa-tions, to temporarily offset the cuts. Once this money runs out, it is gone. USD 373 has around $1 million in reserves avail-able, Morton said.

Schools for Fair FundingThe Kansas Constitution requires

“suitable” financing of education. Schools for Fair Funding (SFFF), with Newton’s support, sued the state in the late ‘90s for not meeting this Constitutional mandate. In 2006, the Kansas Supreme Court found that the legislature was violating the Constitution. This resulted in nearly a $1 billion increase in funding to be phased in.

Due to the recent cutbacks in education spending, SFFF is suing the state again. Newton and 73 other school districts have joined the lawsuit. The trial is expected in spring 2012, according to John Robb, the General Counsel for SFFF.

“The constitution does not say ‘fund

the schools only if there is enough money in the checkbook,’” Robb said in an e-mail interview.

The politicsDistricts have another option: increas-

ing local property taxes. Cook said the state is “pushing off” its responsibility of funding schools to local districts. She said

this will hit impoverished communities particu-larly hard because they have fewer businesses and wealthy individuals to tax.

Marc Rhoades, New-ton’s representative in the Kansas House of Representatives, said the idea that districts will be required to fund more of their budget is a “scare tactic” of the school lobby.

However, Cook said districts may have no other choice.

“Anywhere where the property [values] are lower, it’s going to

cost those communities much more,” she said. “It’s not a scare tactic. It’s just the way it is.”

USD 373 is nearing its 30 percent maximum local operating budget (LOB), which is the amount of the budget funded through mill levies, or property taxes. The district is currently at 27 percent and could acquire approximately $500,000 by increasing the mill levy 2 to 3 mills, up to the legal limit. Parents from Shawnee Mission are suing to abolish the state LOB cap.

Morton said he does not anticipate go-ing to the maximum LOB percentage, but raising mill levies is one area the board will look to.

While Rhoades supports the budget be-cause it saves money for “bad years,” Cook believes it is too narrowly focused.

“They only look at one option for fixing the situation, and that is to make budget cuts. They have to look at the revenue side, and that is the billions of dollars of tax exemptions [to businesses],” Cook said.

However, Rhoades said this proposal is a “red herring” because eliminating these exemptions would move businesses away from the areas with increased taxation, and potentially out of Kansas entirely.

For Rhoades, the focus on education should move away from purely funding.

“We have to move beyond ‘more money for school districts’ to ‘better outcomes for students,’” he said.

Special educationThe governor also proposed a $16.7

million state cut in special education funds this year. This would mean the loss of fed-eral matching funds of around $70 million in the future, Cook said.

The Kansas Senate may reinstate these funds into the budget to avoid losing the federal money.

Students, teachers reactThe news of budget cuts has created

fear among some teachers and students that the quality of education will not be maintained.

In a survey of teachers at NHS, which six responded to, when asked what specifically should be cut, the district’s administrative office was a target for some teachers. One teacher described the ad-ministration as “top heavy,” and two oth-ers said this should be an area considered to prevent cuts in the classroom.

One teacher, who chose not to disclose his or her name on the survey, felt teach-ers were being “kept in the dark” about the budget by the district.

“The crazy rumors that run through the building about possible cuts are never good for morale,” the teacher said. “Treat us like professionals, please.”

In a poll of 28 NHS students, 86 per-cent said the budget cuts will negatively impact their education next year.

“[If] there are less teachers, the class-room size gets bigger, which makes it hard for us to concentrate,” sophomore Anna Clough said in the survey.

To prevent this from happening, Robb feels the only option left is forcing the courts to intervene.

“Educating our youth certainly has costs,” he said. “Not educating them has larger future costs.”

newsFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 3

Budget cuts to cost district $1.4 million

Fast Facts•Kansas funding per student to drop a total of $232 by next school year.

•USD 373 may raise property taxes to offset lost funding.

•NHS may not replace retiring teachers and staff members.

•USD 373 is suing the state to increase funding.

86% of 28 NHS students surveyed said cuts will impact their education

newsPage 4 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

ERIN REGIERfine arts editor

Imagine a class where the homework is to bring a sample of dirt from the backyard. Unbelievable, right? Yet this is exactly what Lowell Ely’s Wildlife Management class was assigned to do this past Monday. The soil they bring will later be used to test for nutrients. Other topics of Monday’s class period included barometer reading and the tem-peratures at which chicks should be kept. For the Wildlife Manage-ment class, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

According to Vo-Ag teacher Lowell Ely, Wildlife Manage-ment is a course that covers every major species of livestock

in Kansas. While students do use a textbook, most of their time is spent working together on group projects or preparing for agricul-tural contests.

One of the projects students are working on this year in-volves raising organic chickens. One group of chickens is fed organic feed while the other is fed medicated feed. Students are comparing the egg production of the chickens and examining how the feed affects the color of the yolk. The students also use the non-laying chickens to help learn and identify chicken parts in preparation for the poultry con-test. Senior Hannah Anderson is taking part in this experiment.

“I came in one day and there was blood all over the table

and a chicken in the trash can,” Anderson said. “I was sad at first because I had no idea they were going to kill my chicken, but it was also kind of cool because we got to look through it and iden-tify the parts.”

Another component of Wild-life Management is the many agriculture contests that are available to students. One contest students especially enjoyed was the Eco Meet this past October. Eco Meet is a competition that centers around the knowledge of Kansas wildlife and plants. This was the first time Newton com-peted in the event. Junior Mason Hinz was one of the representa-tives for Newton.

“Eco Meet was by far the most exciting thing we have done all

year,” Hinz said. “It was really cool because we were a first-year team and we ended up getting first at regionals.”

Anderson also said Eco Meet was a great experience.

“The best part of Wildlife Management so far was definitely Eco Meet,” Anderson. “We got to do a scavenger hunt and a skit, and then we got first place.”

Wildlife Management is only available to students every other school year. On the off years, it is replaced by Animal Science. So while it is not a class option during 2011-2012, it will be back again for the 2012-2013 school year.

Ely says anyone who is inter-ested in a career such as wildlife biology, nursery work, livestock

raising or even just interested in hunting would find this class is useful.

“I’m probably thinking of do-ing something with agriculture later in life, so this class has got some use to me,” Hinz said. “Ev-erything we’re learning is useful.”

Vo-Ag teacher Nute Rucker also stressed the importance of taking an Ag class such as Wildlife Management or Animal Management.

“I think it is even more important to teach agriculture today than it was back in the 1950s when 40-50 percent of the population lived on farms,” Rucker said. “People are losing the importance of habitats and becoming more removed from nature.”

After school conditioning prepares spring sport athletesCARLIE BLAUFUSSentertainment editor

Dim the lights, turn on the instruction-al video and prepare to be entertained as members of the NHS boys baseball team perform yoga.

For more than 18 years, NHS has of-fered after school weights and condition-ing for off-season athletes. After-school conditioning is led by baseball coach Mark George and football coach Brent Glann.

Recently, George decided to incorpo-rate yoga into the routine on Fridays, to help his baseball players and other partici-pants improve their athletic ability.

“I read in an article about a division III football team that started using yoga in their off-season training as injury pre-vention and to improve their flexibility,” George said.

His own experimentation with the activity sparked his motivation to get the athletes involved.

“I started doing yoga myself and actu-ally found that I felt better throughout the day and had more energy throughout the week if I at least did it once during the

week,” George said. Junior Alisha LaFave attends con-

ditioning every day but Wednesday, in preparation for track season, and has also been a part of the yoga.

“It’s a lot harder than you think, and it’s really funny to watch the baseball players,” LaFave said.

Senior Zach Stanley said doing yoga has helped with his flexibility and will con-tinue to improve his athletic ability.

“I’m not able to touch my toes yet, but I’m still getting flexible,” Stanley said.

In addition to after school weights, spring sports athletes also utilize their free time by practicing in other ways.

Kansas State High School Activities As-sociation (KSHSAA) rules state during the off-season, spring sports athletes are only allowed to interact with coaches if it is pre-season con-ditioning. Any activities specifically related to the sport are not to be

performed with a coach present, must be supervised if on-site. Activities must also be a part of an open gym that is open to the entire student body.

Given these rules, it is up to the athletes to organize their own practices. The base-ball and softball teams have open-gym at least two times a week and are supervised by parents. The girls soccer team holds open-gym on Monday nights, as well as participating in their own after-school conditioning. Many of the

girls swim team members are involved in club swim year-round. Track members run on their own in the off-season and attend after-school conditioning.

“It is good for (athletes) to continue to hone their abilities and improve at their craft,” George said. “If they aspire to play at the collegiate level, I think that after-school conditioning will get them to their goal.”

Wildlife Management useful for Ag students

staff editorialFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 5

As technology has swept the country, there is no doubt of the advancements be-ing made in the digital age. Communica-tion has now become easier than ever with popular social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Although these networks are familiar to many, the ways they are put to use has be-come questionable. Often these networks are used for purposes other than social-izing. The staff has come up with some unwritten rules in response to the prob-lems that are seen when people misuse their Facebook.

Safety firstThe Internet is not a private location,

and neither are many social networks. However, Facebook does provide users with privacy settings. People just need to use them. The safe thing would be to use the settings so only a person’s friends are able to see what is being posted on his or her account. For other networks, such as MySpace, that do not have this safety feature, it is important for a user not to release private information or become

friends with someone he or she does not know personally. For example, giving out information about when someone is leav-ing is not a good idea. Setting a status to, “going to Colorado with the family, and I will be back in a week” is easily translated as, “my house will be empty for the next week, so come steal whatever you want.”

Common senseEverybody has it, but not everybody

uses it. If people have chosen not to conceal their account to a select few, then they should be careful about what they are posting for everyone to see. Everyone this includes an employer, a college official, policemen, grandma, anyone.

This would be a reason people should not post pictures of themselves holding a bottle of beer when they are obviously underage. Even if in the photo one is not blatantly holding the alcohol, other users can tell if the person is drunk even if the person in the photo does not think it is obvious. It is important for users to think twice before posting and keep in mind everyone who will be seeing it.

ObsessionNow with easy access to In-

ternet on cell phones, Facebook has become more of an addic-tion or a hobby than simply a means of communication between friends. If users update their status multiple times a day, it starts to become excessive. If someone finds himself updating a life story he or she should stop and consider getting a Twitter or a Blog page instead. There is a line between simply talking to friends and being on Facebook too much. Even parents who have Facebook accounts become too attached to their computer screens. Users take away the point of social net-works being to socialize when they spend more time on electronics than with people.

Online etiquetteFacebook is not the place to have fights

with friends. Other users would rather not have to read whatever drama is being dis-cussed. Another issue is the unnecessary

use of profanity or other such inappropri-ate topics in conversations, and this goes for pictures as well. Even if someone is re-ally upset, or just trying to sound cool, the “F” word is not needed three times in one status update and preferably not at all.

In review, Facebook is a good way to communicate with friends. People just need to use it more wisely. This includes using these unwritten rules of Facebook to become a safer and smarter user.

Ashley Murrell editor-in-chiefTyler Prochazka online editor-

in-chiefEmma Bradley news editorAlex Stucky news assistantLarrah Bills sports editorCody Mick sports editorTyler Brotton opinions editorJoanna Epp entertainment

editor Carlie Blaufuss

entertainment editorChristina Poulsgaard reporterErin Regier fine arts editorMindy Ragsdale features editorBrenda Valdivia random railers editorShannon Ahlstedt photo

editor

Brandon Hanchett covers editor

DeAnna Opland photographerWes Derstine cartoonistKatie Meyers business managerDylan Moore business managerKyle Wiens online assistantErica Rickard adviser

The Newtonian316-284-6280 ext. 2117900 W. 12thNewton, KS 67114

the newtonian staff

For sports scores, photos, videos and much more...

railernews.com

jr. Adam Kelsey“Farmville and other lame games like that.”

so. Ginny Loeffler“Commenting on all my photos, which is super-Facebook stalking.”

jr. Katelyn Dorrell“When people post every 30 minutes about their lives, and just whine.”jr. Deven Gonzalez“People who post that they answered a question about you or so and so.”

so. Gabriel Torres“People who constantly cry over their problems.”

What do you think. . .What is something people do on Facebook that you find annoying?

Letters to the EditorThe Newtonian may accept letters to the editor, guest columns and news re-leases from students, faculty, adminis-trators, community residents and the general public. Submissions should be 300 words or less and contain the author’s name, address and signature. All submissions will be verified.

The Newtonian editorial board re-serves the right to withhold a letter, column or other submission and/or return it for revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning.

Letters to the editor, guest columns and other submissions can be given to the editor-in-chief or adviser, deliv-ered to room 1-113 or be e-mailed to thenewtonian@gmail.com.

Follow this guide to remain safe, smart online

Facebook’s unwritten rules

illustration by Wes Derstine

point/counterpointPage 6 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

tyler prochazkaonline editor-in-chief

In Obama’s State of the Union speech, he proposed greater federal support for “clean” energy. This could mean billions more in government money (subsidies) and greater federal regulation of the energy sector could be heading down the pipeline. Unfortunately, this will hinder any true progress towards finding alterna-tive energies.

Whenever the federal government gets involved in a certain sector, it distorts the market to send capital towards businesses that are politically connected, and not nec-essarily good for the market. Energy is no different. The government hands out bil-lions to big businesses in the energy sector who have connections to politicians.

Special interests always win out when the government gets involved.

On the other hand, smaller companies with potentially market viable innovations get shut out of the market because they cannot compete with the federally-subsi-dized businesses.

For example, ethanol was a “politi-cally viable” energy and was given huge amounts of subsidies from the federal government. However, this had little to do with its potential use to lower energy costs and reduce carbon emissions and every-thing to do with the enormous number of lobbyists that pushed for ethanol.

In fact, it is questionable if ethanol has a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels. If the expansion of farming land use is calculated, some studies have concluded burning bio-fuels (like ethanol) has twice the carbon footprint of gasoline.

In order to please the coal lobby, Obama and other politicians cling to this hope of creating “clean coal.” Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into this fantasy for decades. The real-ity is, clean coal is a pipe dream that has never been and never will be realized. Yet,

politicians continue to fund this wasteful project into infinity.

This is the principal issue with alterna-tive energies. Government intervention prevents the market from finding the “winner,” or the energy that will actually be clean and low-cost. The government will never be able to pick the actual market winner because it is too preoccupied with pleasing special interests.

The free market is fully capable of find-ing the alternative on its own. There is a lot of money to be made in a profitable alter-native energy. How-ever, the government is severely hindering the progress towards this goal.

Subsidies also tend to slow innova-tion. They create the incentive not to make or find a market vi-able energy. This is due to the unlimited funding the govern-ment will provide for the research, even when it still not viable years later. That is the irony of subsidies: they fund the losers.

These companies become economic zombies, feeding on the perpetual hand-outs from the taxpayer.

The fact is, more government involve-ment in the energy sector will delay any possibility of finding a viable alternative energy. More regulation, subsidies and various handouts will continue to drasti-cally distort the market to where consum-ers and entrepreneurs may never be able to find the solution to our energy prob-lems.

Private sector best for energy issues

tyler brottonopinions editor

Some people in the United States believe the government should stay out of the private sector, while there are some who believe the government should be in

every aspect of our lives, as well as the private sector. However, the govern-ment should intervene in some issues and stay out of others. Also, there are times where the government should work in conjunc-tion with the private sector. One of these situ-ations is in the area of energy.

None-theless, the private sector has its ups and downs when working in the area of energy.

Privatizing energy allows for more re-search and development for new alterna-tive energies to occur. This is because the private sector has better energy resources available, and better means of research-ing. Also, it has a better developmental staff available to focus on energy alone, which means it is better able to regulate energy.

However, there are also the downsides

to the private sector working with energy. The private sector does not have near enough funding available to be success-ful. As a result, it is limited in the number of companies willing to help with their resources they have available. Moreover, they are not big enough to have a drastic impact on our energy demands.

Also, the government has its positives and negatives when it comes to energy. One of the most well known energy sup-pliers is the Department of Energy.

The government, especially the De-partment of Energy, has a lot of resources available to fund research and develop-ment. The Department of Energy has to be doing something right because since 2005, we have been decreasing our de-pendence on foreign oil at a steady rate.

Although, the government does have its flaws. The government lacks regula-tion over most areas of energy because it has to worry so much about other issues. It also has a tendency to mismanage its money when it comes to energy, especial-ly in the area of nuclear energy. When the majority of the spending goes to nuclear energy and we have not produced results, something needs to change.

Looking back, the flaws of the private sector and the strong points of the gov-ernment can be put together like puzzle pieces. While there will ultimately be flaws in any energy program, having the government work in conjunction with the private sector can eliminate the majority of these flaws.

So, the government needs to stay out of the private sector when it comes to some issues, and it needs to intervene in others. However, in this special case, when the government works together with the private sector on energy issues, then it benefits the entire nation.

Government should work with private sector over energy issues

Should the government or the private sector be involved with energy?

illustration by Wes Derstine

cody micksports editor

Imagine walk-ing into Raven-scroft Gym to wildly energetic teens on either side

of half court destroying each other with large, unforgiving rubber balls. The aromas of sweat, determination and ven-geance fill the air along with the sweet tastes of blood and bitter rubber. This unforgettably beau-tiful scene has been absent from the minds of eager high school students nation-wide. America, I speak for all high school students when I ask for our dodge balls back.

A few years before the start of the new millennium, schools, includ-ing our own, started banning one of their most popular activi-ties in PE. Apparently, young Americans are too feeble and wimpy to allow themselves to take tile squares and numerous balls to the face. Suck it up. If dodge ball is considered danger-ous enough to be eliminated completely from the physical education agenda, then obvious-ly someone has never heard of mat ball. If the population is go-ing to continue to let its youth collide with one another, result-ing in flat faces, broken bones, shattered teeth and dementia, then can it not lower the risk by letting students play dodge ball, a less dangerous game, instead?

The art of dodge ball dates back to Biblical times when the leaders and the elders grew angry with a wrong-doer, they would turn murderous prosecu-tion into a fun game by cast-ing stones at the sinful victim. Nowhere in the Bible does it mention the high priests round-ing up their corrupt buddies for a badminton tournament. That is simply not as satisfying.

High school students of today recall their years in elementary school, eagerly anticipating meeting in the gymnasium for a good old fashion game of dodge ball. At that early age, these students were 10 times as wild and prone to accidents and dan-ger. If, after all of those dodge

ball games as children, we are still alive and kicking, can we not be trusted to hurl hollow rubber balls at one another for a brief period of recreational stress relief?

It all comes down to having common sense. The classic cli-

che that says, “The fat kid with glasses who sits at lunch by him-self better not come to gym class because he will die,” is simply not true. Everyone “dies” in the game of dodge ball, and that just makes the game more desirable. If nothing else, bring the game back to high schools and require the use of foam balls. This could be a solution that results in school administrators agreeing with the students of NHS and the late Patches O’Houlihan when he declared, “Dodge ball is a sport of violence, exclusion and degradation.” Thus, the reason students love the game so much.

christina PoULsGaardreporter

Living in Europe for the major-ity of my life, I have noticed how much of an influence America has

on European countries. I am talk-ing about everything from food to sports, politics, show business, entertainment and last, but not least, radio and TV.

Turning on the radio in Den-mark, and many other European countries I have been to, the latest American jams are imme-diately pouring out the speakers. It has been like this for years.

Danish TV stations gladly adopt one American TV show after another, and, despite the small, however always noticeable group of conservative people who think it would be more appropri-ate to stick with anything but what comes from abroad, the average Danish viewer loves it.

In order for Danish people to understand, Danish subtitles are simply added. I am used to reading subtitles and have never thought about it as annoying or distracting until several people here in America asked me about it. Imagine American TV stations send many Spanish TV shows on

a daily basis, then perhaps Eng-lish subtitles would be helpful.

Danish people, and Europeans in general, truly enjoy the humor and high entertainment level of American produced shows and movies. Again the sounds of American produced music have also somehow found their way to the Danish people’s hearts. These two entertainment sources have really become a daily part of Danish people’s lives and taking out everything non-Danish would leave the radio and the TV screen blank many hours of the day.

Looking back at my English learning process, I feel like at some points of my life I learned more English from watching American shows and listening to American music than I did from the teachers in school.

Just to clarify, these were not the points of my life where I did not do my English homework, as you may think. However, it was the points of my life where I would watch movies and TV shows without subtitles and listened to American music on YouTube.

When I first came here, people often asked how I could know both the name of the singer as well as the lyrics of many songs. That is simply because Danish ra-dio stations basically play much the same music as the radio sta-tions here.

I payed so much attention

to the American TV shows and music, mostly because I enjoyed the English language, and I know many of my Danish friends who have been wanting to improve their English have done the same. Imagine how Spanish home-work could turn into something fun if it consisted of watching your favorite TV show everyday. Watching American movies and TV shows most definitely helped my English skills.

American movies and TV shows are also where I got most of my impressions of America and the people living here. Some impressions have turned out to be right, though some have turned out to be completely off track. I would even go as far as to say the reason I first found a fascination for America and its culture was because of the impressions I got from what I heard and saw from American entertainment sources.

These American entertain-ment sources have greatly influ-enced the Danish entertainment business and have affected how Danish people and Europeans view Americans and the country.

Still it is interesting how much of an impression it actu-ally makes on people when they experience someone or some-thing from another country. Just a question to demonstrate: What do you think about Danish people now that you have met me?

radio, tV make impressions in denmark

opinionsFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 7

America’s youth needs to be reintroduced to dodgeball

illustration by Wes Derstine

featuresPage 8 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

Super Bowl Weekend

sr. Michelle Ramos fr. James Davis fr. Heather Lyon

Football fans wearing a dairy product on their heads is a common sight in Wiscon-sin. The fans of the Green Bay Packers have been dubbed as the “cheeseheads.” The Green Bay Packers were founded in 1919 by Earl Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun but did not join National Football league until 1921.Lambeau was working for The Indian Packing Company and asked for money to buy jerseys. The company supplied the uniforms and a place to practice. In return the players called themselves “Packers.”The Vince Lombardi trophy is awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl. The name is familiar to the Green Bay Packers since in 1970 the trophy was named in honor of former Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. He led them to win the first two Super Bowls ever played.With 12 NFL championships, the Green Bay Packers have won more champion-ships than any other team.While they have won more champion-ships than any other team, the Packers hold just three Super Bowl tittles, giving them a 3-1 Super Bowl record.Being led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers play their fifth Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cowboys’ stadium.

Packers

140 million - number of Americans that saw Super Bowl XLl

232 - countries and territories broadcast the Super Bowl

34 - languages in which the Super Bowl is broadcast

2.6 million - cost of a 30-second advertising spot on Super Bowl XLl game coverage

10 most watched television programs in history are all Super Bowl games

1.5 million TV sets will be sold during the week before the Super Bowl

Black and yellow, black and yellow. I’m not referring to the Newton Railers, or the catchy new song by Wiz Khalifa, but to the Pittsburgh Steelers who will be playing against the Green Bay Packers in this year’s Super Bowl.The Steelers were founded in 1933 by Arthur Joseph Rooney and are the fifth oldest franchise in the National Football League (NFL). The team was originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1940, with support and involvement from the fans, the name was changed to Pitts-burgh Steelers.In 2004 the Steelers became the first American Football Conference team to win 15 games in a regular season. The Steelers are also the first NFL team to win six Super Bowl titles.Part of the Steelers’ tradition is the Terrible Towel. The Terrible Towel is a yellow towel with the words “The Terrible Towel” printed on the front. The towel is waved at games to show support for the team.The Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys are tied for the most post season wins in NFL history. If the Steelers win this year’s Super Bowl, they will pass the Cowboys, giving the Steelers 34 post season wins.

Steelers Super Bowl by the numbers

27-30 definitely. Green Bay Packers because of the receiver Jordy Nelson. His dad and I were buddies growing up, so I’m counting on him.

Staff Roger Erickson

Steelers. They’re really good, and they won before. I’m sure they’ll win again.

Packers have done great all year, but it will be a close game.

jr. Rachel AbbasSteelers will win because they have the guy with the really puffy hair. He is so good.

Patriots. Wait, who is playing? Just kidding, the Steelers will definitely win.

fine artsFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 9

ERIN REGIERfine arts editor

Think of the countless events the fine arts department puts together: orchestra, band, jazz and choir concerts, art shows, state solo festival, drama productions. All of these occasions require not only money, but months of planning and organization. These events typically go off without a hitch and attendees often do not even con-sider all of the work that goes into them. A look behind the scenes shows the driving force behind the fine arts department: the Fine Arts Booster Club

Teachers, such as vocal music director Donna Woolery, thoroughly appreciate the work of the Fine Arts Booster Club.

“I used to have to do everything,” Wool-ery said. “Turn on the heat, turn on the lights, bake the cookies, make the punch. But then booster club came along and said, ‘Hey, we’ll do that!’ It is so nice that they do all of that for me. Now all I have to worry about is the music.”

According to booster club member Janis Whitfield, the purpose of the Fine Arts Booster Club is to support fine arts teachers and students financially and help with the organization of events.

To raise money, the booster club organizes fundraisers such as a commu-nity mailing, concession stands at both the state solo festival and district band concerts and the annual pork roast. This money is distributed between the five areas of fine arts: band, orchestra, choir, art and drama. Typically, each area re-ceives around $1,000 a year.

Whitfield acknowledged the importance of supporting the arts financially.

“I think that fine arts are a very impor-tant part of our curriculum at NHS as well as an important part of our community,” Whitfield said. “Budgets are not huge, and these areas often struggle to get by, so it is important for us to help them as much as

we possibly can.”Aside from supplementing

the budgets of the fine arts courses at the high school, the booster club also gives out several fine arts scholarships to seniors every year. Accord-ing to Fine Arts Booster Club president Steve Reber, schol-

arships are decided by several different factors.

“We decide scholar-ships based on input

from the student’s teachers as well as interviews with students,” Reber said in an email interview.

Reber, who was active in Railaires, Choraleers, marching band and concert band during his time at NHS, continues to

believe in the importance of the arts.“Fine arts are an integral part of the

educational experience at NHS,” Reber said. “They’re as important to those with artistic talents as sports are for those with athletic ability. Fine arts can help students broaden their knowledge base on every-thing from history to mathematics.”

The community will have the oppor-tunity to support the arts Friday at the Fine Arts Booster Club’s annual whole hog roast. The meal will be served in the NHS Commons area Friday from 5-8 p.m. during the boys and girls basketball games. Meals (which include a roast pork sandwich, chips, veggies, baked beans, pie and a drink) cost $7. All proceeds will go towards fine arts scholarships, classroom projects and student support. According to Woolery, the meal is well worth the price.

“This pork’s so good,” Woolery said. “I don’t even like pork, but I love this. It’s simply wonderful.”

Featured art

“I drew my dog Leo because he’s really cute. The project was fun because we got to use really sweet colors.”

Untitledso. Ardys Woodward

oil pastel

“It is of my deceased dog Shiloh. I drew her because I missed her and we needed a picture of her.”

Shilohjr. Danielle Brockman

oil pastel

Mr. Olais’ top picks

“

”

Fine arts are an integral part of the educational experience at NHS. Fine arts can help students broaden their knowledge base on everything from history to mathematics.Fine Arts Booster Club presidentSteve Reber

Booster club driving force behind fine arts

entertainmentPage 10 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

Overheard in the

hallways“

”You remind me of a pregnant octopus.

“

”

-Do you think you can come in here now and watch the movie without bothering anyone?

-Probably not.

“”

-What was your name again?

-Mr. Steal Your Girl.

“

”

Are you going through changes, or are you just on that Justin Bieber stage?

“

”

-Dude, you better get off that. You’re going to catch something.

-Like a cold?

“

”

-It is so cold outside.

-No it’s not. I was just outside, you big dummy.

Carriage Crossing RestaurantASHLEY MURRELLeditor-in-chief

Walking in, the aroma of fresh baked goods fills the air along with the delicious, heart warming smell of home cooking. Even though it has been around almost as long as I have been alive, I had my very first dining experi-ence at Carriage Crossing last weekend. Carriage Crossing is a restaurant/bak-ery/gift shop located in Yoder, Kan.

Many might have heard of Carriage Crossing but have never actually made the trip there to try it. The experience is worth the 45-minute drive. Heck, the pie alone is worth the 45-minute drive.

Along with great pie, they offer a plethora of home cooked meal options. I went with a group of people, so we

decided to order the family style dinner, which is exactly what it sounds like.

The table first must decide on what meat it wants, choosing between fried chicken, ham or roast beef. We decided on the fried chicken and roast beef. The roast beef was the best I have ever had. Not being a fan of fried chicken I did not have any, but the way the others at the table were devouring it, I am assuming it was pretty good.

Along with the meat, they bring out big bowls of mashed potatoes with brown gravy and country gravy, green beans, corn, bread and apple butter

that the whole table will fight over. This brings me to the next, and best, part... all of the delicious food is unlimited and

everything is a bottomless bowl.

With tasty food, great service and some of the best pie ever, the only downside of the expe-rience was the price. Depending on what meat the table chooses, the price per person can be

anywhere from around $13 to $16. Keep in mind it is “all you can eat”

and does come with a drink and pie, but it is still a bit pricey in my book.

Overall, Carriage Crossing is a superb dining experience and a place everyone should try.

“

”

The experience is worth this 45-minute drive. Heck, the pie alone is worth the 45-minute drive.

LOOK-A-LIKESNewtonian staff picks students who resemble each other

Home cooking, fresh baked goods a ‘superb dining experience’

sophomoreAustin Resser

sophomoreMark Kreider

freshmanStephanie Brown

freshmanBrooke Machmer

sophomoreJoey Greene

juniorRyan Secrest

photos by Shannon Ahlstedt

CHECK OUTrailernews.com

for photos and videos, breaking news and daily

sports updates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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World pop sensationMINDY RAGSDALEfeatures editor

“Tik Tok, on the clock, but the party don’t stop, no.” Ke$ha, world-known pop sensation, has been on top of the charts since her first hit, “Tik Tok,” in 2009. Since then, she has performed nothing less than catchy, rhythmic songs that also arrived on top such as “We R Who We R,” “Your Love Is My Drug” and “Dinosaur.”

With her solo career so successful, young and adventurous Ke$ha decided to write and make a music video for another song, “Blah Blah Blah,” with the popular band

3OH!3. The song was not of the most appropriate subject for many young teenage listeners, but if music lovers could handle the taboo subject that sparked her inspiration for the song, “Blah Blah Blah” was worthy of winning music lovers hearts and maybe even a MTV Video Music Award.

Unfortunately, along with being famous comes being in the public eye to be judged. People all over the world started to make nasty comments about this upcoming star, who would soon be shoving Lady Gaga and Rihanna out of the spotlight. Adults and teenagers said her music was non-extraordinary

and bland, her clothing looked like she bought it from Oscar on Sesame Street and her choice of judgement was horrible. Millions of people everyday make bad decisions in their lives. Just because Ke$ha decides to stay out late partying and write songs about it does not make her music awful. If every artist’s life choices determined his/her fame and success, Michael Jackson would not have been nearly as popular.

Some people say Ke$ha is untalented because her voice is auto-tuned with a machine to sound different. Sure, without the machine she sounds flat and horrible, but so do the people who do the voices for the

Chipmunks and they’re a huge hit and are now millionaires. It’s a different form of art, and hooray for her becoming famous for it. Artists everyday invent new art forms such as making amazing metal sculptures out of garbage or scrap cars rather than the norm, painting on canvas.

Ke$ha’s music, even though it is not suited for young minds, is beneficial. When I heard her first hit, “Tik Tok,” I could not

stop dancing or smiling while it was on. She is promoting catchy, up-beat songs that make music lovers want to get up and dance.

In general, Ke$ha may be crazy, but so were Michelangelo and Van Gogh, who also changed the world for the better.

What beat are you walking to?

“It brings back funny memories,

and I like to scream it to get

people’s attention.”

“Hey You There”

Soulja Boy

Brooke Haxton, freshman

“It’s catchy, and it always brings out my best dance moves.”

“Starstrukk”3OH!3

Montana Garrison, sophomore

“It reminds me of my childhood. It’s about a travelling preacher who holds rivals.”

“Brother Loves Travelling Salvation Show”Neil Diamond

Norman Lichti, math teacher

“It talks about our country and our

pride.”

“American Soldier”

Toby Keith

Ben Goertz, junior

Ke$ha performs ‘nothing less than catchy’ songs

musicFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 11

random railersPage 12 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

Buxman.com (316)283-0533 (800)794-3707

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Anderson Office SupplyMain & Broadway w Newton w 283-3570

Students speak out What are your plans for

the Super Bowl?

fr. Lauren Guhr

“For the Super Bowl, I’m going to spend time with my family and eat a ton of food.”

so. John Gatz

“I’m having a party with my friends and family. There’s gonna be lots of food.”

Joanna eppentertainment editor

She is well known within the school and by former students: the lady who sits behind the counter in the front of her room with tests and homework stacked in the built-in sink and goes through an estimated 25 pages of notes with her Elmo and Sharpie every day. She has been teach-ing math to NHS students for 32 years and has almost a perfect track record of Calculus students receiving a three or higher on the AP test. However, teacher Bar-bara Umscheid is now planning to retire at the end of this school year.

“There always comes a time when you have to pursue new adventures,” Umscheid said. “I think that’s the hardest part for me - choosing to do something new, because I truly do love what I do.”

Umscheid currently teaches Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus and College Algebra. Before teaching at NHS, she spent four years at Riley County High School. She chose teaching math as her pro-fession in seventh grade.

“I think my life goal was always to be a math teacher,” Umscheid said. “I was inspired

by two of my teachers in school, my seventh grade teacher and my high school math teacher. I’ve always loved math.

“Unfortunately, I did not have the option [to take Calculus in high school] because I attended an extremely small school. I took all the math courses offered at the college level. At times, the curriculum could be frustrat-ing, but I learned to put it away, go to something totally relaxing and fun and come back to that work later with a clear and an open mind. I never gave up. I was determined to find a solution to every problem assigned.”

Since he plans to major in en-gineering at K-State, senior Tim Stucky is enrolled in Umscheid’s AP Calculus class. Though math problems are not his favorite thing to do, Stucky said Umsc-heid was a ‘great teacher.’

“It’s fun to learn,” Stucky said. “It’s a good class, and I feel like I’m learning a lot.”

2008 NHS graduate Anna Unruh is currently a junior at KU majoring in chemical engineer-ing. Unruh took AP Calculus with Umscheid her senior year.

“I don’t think I’ve had a better math teacher than her since or before,” Unruh said. “I really learned the things she taught,

and now I actually tutor [Calcu-lus].”

Outside of school, Umscheid enjoys reading, gardening and walking outside. Some of her favorite foods are shrimp and cheesecake, and she loves to experiment with new recipes. She looks forward to dedicating more time to these activities after retiring.

“I’ll continue to work, I’m not sure at what,” Umscheid said. “I’ll work in my yard, my garden, have more time to read and be able to travel more. I’ve never traveled outside of the U.S, but who knows what my future holds.

I’ll just relax, take it one day at a time and enjoy life.”

As the lady at the front of the classroom who’s been giving students advice on how to solve their math problem for 36 years, Umscheid also had some life advice for students.

“I would say just continue to work hard,” Umscheid said. “Try to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. Be flex-ible. Sometimes our first career choice changes to something totally different. Keep an open mind. Don’t close any doors. Always look for other opportuni-ties.”

Teacher plans to retire after 36 years of math

jr. alyssa Wortz

“I’m going to watch the commercials because I don’t like either of the teams. I believe the Broncos will be in the Super Bowl next year.

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photo by Brandon HanchettHomework helpMath teacher Barbara Umscheid helps sophomore Andrew Thiesen with multi-sided pyramids during seminar.

sportsFeb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 13

Boys basketball coach’s corner Don Cameron

1) What is the team working on in practice? The guys are doing a great job trying to get better.

2) What has been hard to overcome this season? Not winning many games on the scoreboard.

3) What has gone well this season? The guys have been resilient in the fact that they do not give up, under very trying situations.

4) What has the team struggled with? Turnovers and rebounding. They have improved in those areas, however one night we will improve our rebounding but not our turnovers, then the next night it will be reversed.

5) What is the team’s goal for the rest of the season? To stay focused on becoming the best we can become, and to not give up.

6) How are you going to achieve that goal? By making the right choices in practice and games in our attitudes.

7) What is your reaction to the season so far? I feel for the guys that I personally have not been able to help them achieve more wins on the scoreboard.

Cameron

Girls basketball team ‘closest they’ve ever been’Bonding affects team on and off court

Sitting with their backs to the Willis gym bleachers, the girls basketball team members giggle and chatter as they wait for their coaches to arrive and practice to begin. A coach arrives and starts the girls in a shooting drill. As they wait in line for a turn, the girls cheer and tease their teammates as they count the baskets. Seniors, underclassmen and exchange students alike, all the girls talk and joke with each other.

“I think we’re the closet we’ve ever been [as a team],” senior Cassandra Folkerts said. “Every-one knows each other and trusts each other. We’ve got each others backs when we play, and we have fun together.”

As a basketball team, the varsity girls have been doing well, recording a 12-1 record. As a group of teen-aged high school girls, they have been getting along well.

“We all get along and there’s no drama, so we get along better on the court,” junior Maddie Pendry said.

Part of this can be attributed to amount of time the girls have been playing together. In the summer, they practiced twice a week and also participated in a Hesston league and MAYB, Pen-dry said. Those not in fall sports continued to get together regu-larly to play in the fall as well.

Many of the girls on the team also played together long before they joined the high school bas-ketball team.

“I’ve played with [sophomore] Emily Hiebert since first grade,” Pendry said. “[junior] Alyssa [Tolle] and [junior] Kendra [Scott] are second longest. I’ve played with them since third grade.”

Head coach Randy Jordan also worked with the girls before high school.

“A lot of them I had when they were a lot younger, elementary and junior high, in my camps,” Jordan said. “For the past two summers, the state has allowed me to coach them in the summer as well.”

Along with regular practices, the team often gets together for team dinners and Sonic runs.

“We’ve gone to the ropes course at Prairie View, and then we have team meals before games,” Folkerts said. “One par-ent makes food, and we show up at their house and eat and play games. We played Truth or Dare last time. [Senior] Tammy

[Guerra] brought it. It was really funny.”

Even after the season ends and the seniors on the team - Avery Vogts, Jaci Garver, Kate Lehman and Folkerts - leave, the team plans to continue to get together.

“We always say we have to have parties over the summer, so I’m sure we’ll stay in touch and get together,” Pendry said. “[When the seniors leave] I think everyone will miss their person-alities because they bring a lot to the team that way.”

Whatever it is that causes the girls to click, the team’s ability to get along transfers to the court, Jordan said.

“Obviously if there are con-flicts off the court, they’ll bring them onto the court,” Jordan said. “The fact that they get along really well helps the whole team chemistry. When they’re on the court, they support and encour-age each other.”

Joanna eppentertainment editor

courtesy photoTeam timeThe girls basketball team play cards together over break at senior Avery Vogt’s house. The girls have had several team bonding events throughout the season.

sportsPage 14 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

Swimmers anticipate upcoming state meetCODY MICKsports editor

The boys swim team’s 200-meter relay, consisting of one senior, two juniors and one sophomore, put forth an effort last Saturday that resulted in a spot at the state competition.

“We just had a big meet last Saturday [January 22] at Wichita Northwest where our 200-meter relay qualified for state,” coach Philip Schmidt said. “A lot of guys have made some signifi-cant improvements. I am very confident that we will get the 400-meter and the medley relays qualified as well.”

Sophomore Alex Trumble joins senior Mason Hinz and juniors Cameron Spreier and Matt Scheurmann on the state qualifying 200-meter relay and is ready to take on other numerous state events.

“I have qualified for the state meet in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:29 and the 200 free-style relay,” Trumble said. “My hopes are to qualify in the 200 freestyle individual.All I need to do is drop about 1.5 seconds. I am also looking forward to quali-fying in the 400 freestyle relay.”

Trumble also reflected upon the upcoming AVCTL league

meet.“It’s going to be a very difficult

meet,” Trumble said. “[It will be especially challenging] with Maize and the other 6A schools in our new division. I think if we pull together, then we definitely have a shot at winning for the tenth year in a row.”

According to Schmidt, qualify-ing for more state events, like the relays, will not be easy, but it is attainable.

“It is difficult having four swimmers compete their best in different events on the same day,” Schmidt said. “At big meets, there is a lot time before each of the events to rest up, but at small meets there is little time,

so that makes it difficult.”Besides small meets, another

unfortunate burden the team this year has been the lack of divers.

“There isn’t any interest,” Schmidt said. “When we go to meets, we automatically get zero points in the diving category because we have no divers. With the bad economic state and the little interest, we had to cut it.”

Whatever hardships the team will have to overcome, Schmidt is confident the swimmers will be able to qualify for many events.

“We beat the qualifying time for state for the 200-meter relay by more than two seconds, and I’m very confident that we will qualify for more,” Schmidt said.

LARRAH BILLSsports editor

Walking into Play-Mor Lanes on any given weekday people are sure to find high school students. At second glance, the NHS bowling team should be easy to spot, from all the fun and commotion.

Bowling at NHS is like a trip to the bowling alley with family, if said family members could bowl six strikes in a row. Junior Megan Cross considers practices with her teammates her favorite part of the season so far.

“At practice it’s really fun. [Senior] Cassidy [Ashcraft] is always doing some crazy dances. It’s just a good time,” Cross said.

Although the bowlers are cracking jokes and busting moves at practice, they are putting on game faces at their tournaments.

“We have two outstanding seniors this year. For the girls, Cassidy Ashcraft, and for the boys, Austin Jones. They both have one of the highest aver-ages in the state,” head coach

Keith Woolery said. Cross and Woolery both

agree the girls team has state potential.

“As far as potential for state, I think the girls team has it. The boys team also has potential. We have several fine bowlers. Some could make it individual-ly, but I think they could make it as a team,” Woolery said.

With around a month left in the bowling season, the Railers have yet to face their toughest competition.

“We will probably face our toughest competition when we bowl against Maize. They are the defending 6A champions,” Woolery said.

Cross does not worry too much about her competitors from other schools.

“I just bowl,” she said. As for the rest of the season,

Woolery said he thinks the team will continue to get better with each tournament.

“The girls are doing very well. They are 6-2. The boys record is not as good, but they keep improving with each tour-nament,” Woolery said.

photo by DeAnna OplandState qualifierJunior Matt Scheuermann performs the butterfly stroke at practice Monday. Scheuremann is one of the four who have qualified for the 200-meter relay event for state.

Girls, boys bowlers have ‘state potential’

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sports Feb. 4, 2011 The Newtonian Page 15

ON THE MATS

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Sophomore Anthony Monares attempts to pin his Mulvane

opponent during a dual on Dec. 2 at Newton. Monares’ record is now 8-9.

1

Junior Helam Hernandez pulls his opponent back into

the ring during the dual.

2

Junior Miles Johns holds the upper hand in his

match against Mulvane. Johns placed third at the Garden City Tournament on Jan. 29 His current record is 28-4.

3

Sophomore Dillon Archer starts in control during his

match. Archer placed fourth in the Garden City Tournament His current record is 24-10.

4

1

2

3 4

photos by Shannon Ahlstedt

photo essayPage 16 The Newtonian Feb. 4, 2011

Live, Love, DanceLive, Love, Dance

Junior Kayla Kolden dances alongside

freshman Brooke Glover while learning the

moves to the “Ice Cream Slide” by Miley Cyrus.

Sophomore John Burns and senior Todd Bates throw

their arms up to form the Y in sequence to “Y.M.C.A.”

by Village People.

Dance instructor Knox Rhine shakes hands

with junior Joseph Wilks after thanking him

for coming and leading Circle of Friends in

line dancing.

Knox RhineLine Dance InstructorRetired Boeing avionic techU.S. Coast GuardPres. of Icelandic Sheepdog Assoc.

Sarah Martinfreshman

Cheyenne KosteleckySenior

Donnie Herbison Junior&

Circle of Friends members gathered in Willis Gym on Jan. 28 to learn how to

line dance. Many songs were covered by instructor Knox Rhine, such as “Y.M.C.A.”

and “Ice Cream Slide.”

photo essay by Brandon Hanchettphotos by Shannon Ahlstedt & Brandon Hanchett