the wayland high press - My High School Journalism

the wayland high 

pawprintpress 

January Issue Volume 21 Issue 3 

Wayland High School 870 E. Superior Street Wayland, MI 49348 

www.freewebs.com/wuhspawprints 

Teen Pregnancy 

On the Rise 

By Allison Totten 

Editor-in-Chief 

in this edition 

PAGES 6 AND 7- INDEPTH 

Check out our spread on winter. 

See what your friends and you 

can do to be safe and also have 

some fun too. 

PAGE 11- SPORTS 

Media Credit: Katie Dykhouse 

Walking down the hallways, you might 

see something a bit out of place, big 

bellies. Not as in overweight students, 

but as in pregnant girls. Guidance counselors Lisa Gulch 

and John Sloan agreed that on average WHS has about 

a half dozen pregnant girls every year, give or take. 

“There have been five girls 

pregnant that we know of,” said Gulch. 

According to the U.S. Center for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) the teen birth 

rate increased for the first time in 14 years. 

“The finding on teen pregnancy was a 

surprise,” said Stephanie Venture, head of the 

CDC’s Reproductive Statistics Branch. “Even 

though the rate of decline had slowed down, 

we didn’t expect an increase,” added Ventura. 

Continued on page 2... 

Check out how your favorite 

winter sports teams are doing 

and also how you can prevent 

those dangerous sports injuries.

p 

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Even faculty 

members doing 

their part to add 

to the birth rate! 

Teachers who had 

babies in the last 

year... 

Disclaimer: 

The Second 

The PawPrint Press 

From front page... 

FIVE ON FIVE- 

The National Campaign 

To Prevent Teen Pregnancy 

took this as a real concern. 

“Any increase in a teen pregnancy and teen births is 

significant and a cause for real concern,” said Bill Albert, the deputy 

director of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy. “I 

wouldn’t call it a trend, but it’s an amazing wake up call,” added Albert. 

The birth rate for girls 15 to 19 rose three percent, from 40.5 

births per 1,000 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. This is still a 

drop from 1991 when there was a peak of 61.8 

births per 1,000. There was also an increase of 

births from unmarried women from 47.5 births 

per 1,000 in 2005 to 50.6 per 1,000 in 2006. 

“This increase is very concerning,” 

said Sloan. “We haven’t had that kind of 

increase here at Wayland yet,” added Gulch. 

The National Campaign To Prevent Teen 

Pregnancy published a survey called “With One 

Voice 2007”. It is the fifth in a series of periodic 

national surveys dated back from 2001 that has asked American adults 

and teens a consistent, core set of questions about teen pregnancy. 

This survey helps adults and teens come up with what influences why 

teens are getting pregnant and not taking the proper precautions. 

The survey that the National Campaign To Prevent 

Teen Pregnancy shows what influences a teen to have sex. 

The number one influence was a student’s parents with 47 

percent and then their friends were next with a mere 18 percent. 

“Parents tell you not to do it because you’re 

too young and then friends say its okay if you are 

in love with someone,” said senior Kortney Herblet. 

There was an overwhelming majority of adults (93 percent) 

and teens (90 percent) that believed young people need to be 

provided a strong abstinence message. On the contrary, 73 percent 

of adults and 56 percent of teens said that young people need more 

information about abstinence and contraception, rather than either/or. 

“Sometimes teen pregnancy just happens but I think the 

guidance office should give information about contraceptives and 

free clinics like Planned Parenthood,” said senior Erica Holloway. 

Sometimes teenagers are even sent mixed messages 

The “Five on Five” below represents the views of the five people 

that were interviewed. It does not in any way the views of our staff, 

teachers, and administrators. It also doesn’t represent the views of the school, the district, 

or the Wayland community. The “Five of Five” is used to include humor to our newspaper 

which is a growing trend for newspapers. Our version of the “Five on Five” will 

F 

r 

e 

s 

h 

m 

a 

n 

Mrs. Allen 

Mr. Stanton 

Mr. Howard 

Mr. Cutler 

Mr. Youngblood 

Mrs. Lazawski 

Mrs. Ernstes 

Teachers who are 

expecting... 

Mrs. Cardosa (7/08) 

Mrs. Robinson (3/08) 

Mrs. Corcoran (08) 

Mr. Kniaz (7/08) 

Media Credit: 

Office Records 

Question 1: What do you think about the teen pregnancy rate increasing? 

I think it should go down 

and you shouldn’t be 

pregnant in high school. 

Question 2: What do you think should be done to stop the increase? 

To give away free condoms 

and and have more 

classes on how bad being 

pregnant is. 

Page Editor: 

Allison Totten 

about sex, which could or could not encourage a student to 

have sex. When the teen and adults were asked, “Don’t have 

sex, but if you do, you should use birth control or protection”, 

53 percent of teens and 50 percent of adults said that did 

not encourage teens but the other 44 percent of teens and 

46 percent of adults said it did encourage teens to have sex. 

“Adults tell us no -a forbidden fruit- yet we hear “how great 

it is” from the media and friends,” said junior Brandi Mieras on how 

teens are being sent mixed messages on sex and teen pregnancy. 

Another big reason teenagers may be 

getting pregnant is that the social norms are different 

than they used to be. About 25 percent of adults 

and 29 percent of teens said that teen pregnancy 

and parenthood was now considered “No big deal.” 

As the social norms may have changed, 

the amount of media teens are ingesting 

is increasing steadily. Few would disagree 

that media helps shape the social script of 

teenagers’ lives- what’s hot, what’s not, and 

what behavior seems “normal.” Teens seem to spend plenty of 

time, consuming media that is helping shape their social script. 

“It influences people to do what everyone else 

is doing and what the media is saying and I personally 

don’t believe its right,” said senior Kendra Evers. 

Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests 

that adolescents aged eight to 18 spend more than forty hours 

each week consuming media. Even so, how the media sets the 

social script for teens may be more nuance than many realize. 

If a student happens to get pregnant while still 

in school, they can talk to their guidance counselors. 

Sloan and Gulch also agreed that the school provides a 

“safe place to land”. They also provide information on agencies 

that provide assistance. There is a Pregnancy Group, that 

Gulch and Mrs. Hulbert, giving girls an opportunity to talk about 

concerns, fears, etc. and to share with others in the same boat. 

Lastly, they say that young men and young women need to 

make better choices and decision about sex. Their actions will not 

only affect their lives, but more importantly, the life of a child they 

may be creating. 

have different people each issue and also different questions. The questions will range 

from different topics, examples of that the question topics could be related to sports to 

music or to school. If you have any concerns with this “Five on Five” please contact the 

newspaper by e-mail at journalism@wayland.k12.mi.us or by phone at 269-792- 2254. 

One person does it and 

then everyone else does it. 

They need to learn by 

experience. 

People should use 

contraceptives. 

Question 3: What do you think is the biggest reason teens do not use contraception? 

Don’t have it or don’t have 

money to buy it. 

Don’t think they have to 

and they don’t think it could 

happen to them. 

Question 4: Do you think the media should show more consequences of sex and pregnancy? 

Yeah. 

Question 5: Do you think teens should be given a strong message to not have sex until they are least out of high school? 

Yeah, they would know it’s 

wrong and to finish 

education before doing 

anything. 

S 

o 

p 

h 

m 

o 

r 

e 

Because people aren’t 

being safe. 

More education. 

Because they don’t have it 

or they think it’s stupid. 

Yeah. 

Yeah, 

doesn’t affect as much. 

J 

u 

n 

i 

o 

r 

“It influences people to do 

what everyone else is doing 

and what the media is saying 

and I personally don’t believe 

its right,” 

-senior Kendra Evers. 

Alana Cole Sarah Gulch Shelby Baker Amanda Weaver 

I feel that more people are 

having sex because it’s no 

big deal. 

More contraception 

instead of abstinence. 

Because they don’t think 

they can get them or 

they don’t think its a big 

deal. 

Yes. 

I think so, 

or if you’re going to do it 

then have safe sex. 

S 

e 

n 

i 

o 

r 

Yes. 

Yes for sure. They don’t 

realize the responsibilities. 

T 

e 

a 

c 

h 

e 

r 

Mrs. Martus 

It’s sad because teens 

need to be teens, not 

parents. 

Abstinence has to be the 

reality. There also has to 

be better parent 

communications. 

Teens are smart but they 

just don’t think. 

They need to show more 

downside of teens having 

babies. 

Yes, so young and so 

much more to do in life 

than being a young 

parent.


January 2008 

Page Editor: 

Macy Merchant 

The future of Wayland Schools 

On November 12, 2007 the WUS’ board of education 

released a $38 million bond project. The bond project ranges 

from making safer parking lots to upgraded technology. 

If the community approves the bond proposal, 

the school board sells municipal bonds to raise the 

money in May/June 2008” said Jim English, the assistant 

superintendent of finance and operations, 

“Then this money is used to pay 

for the improvements and renovations, 

technology purchases, and bus 

purchases. It can’t pay for teachers, 

books, couches, supplies, and etc...” 

According to English, there were 

11 meetings with staff groups and community 

members throughout the months of 

September and October individuals gave 

input on the districts facility needs. Then 

the architects took the list of ideas from 

those meetings and created a phased approach 

to completing all the projects listed. 

“Taxpayers have to pay off the 

bonds over time through property taxes,” said English. “However 

taxpayers will not see an increase in millage because of 

this bond proposal.” There are many new suggestions that are 

on the proposal. Here are a few for each school. For Baker 

Elementary the school board wants to add five classrooms, 

create separate a bus loop, and improve building security. 

In Dorr Elementary they want to add six classrooms, get 

newer educational technology equipment, and install lockers. 

At Pine Street Elementary some things the school board 

wants done would be to improve classroom lighting, improve 

Pearl Street areas, and put fencing around the playground. 

Steeby Elementary needs to add conference rooms and 

staff rest rooms; they also want to improve parking/ student entry. 

At WHS the plans is to add a new 800 seat auditorium, 

add a new cafeteria, and replace the roof. A plan for all 

the schools is to improve the phone and temperature systems. 

On Campus 

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Bond project tops $38 million in renovations 

By Macy Merchant 

Assistant Editor 

What is the definition of 

lucky to you? Would it be getting 

picked out of 12,000 entries 

to win a contest? Well 

then if you do, luck was on sixth 

grader, Andrew Cole’s side. 

Andrew correctly answered 

four questions in the 

weekly “Dino- 

D e t e c t i v e ” 

quiz, where 

over 200 other 

Pine Street kidsentered, 

and 

12,000 kids 

in Michigan 

also entered. 

A n d r e w ’ s 

name was 

picked, winning 

his class 

the trip of a lifetime. 

“It seemed impossible. 

I never win anything!” 

said Andrew. 

Mrs. Janet Johnson, 

who is the teacher, and her 27 

students including one chaperone 

will go on a three day 

trip to Wyoming next summer. 

When in Wyoming they will 

be joining paleontologist/author 

PaleoJoe, where they will 

By Macy Merchant 

Assistant Editor 

Pine Street class wins dino-dig 

“It’s like the 

dream of a 

lifetime.” 

-teacher 

Mrs. Janet 

Johnson 

become little paleontologists. 

They will get to dig bones themselves, 

and go to museums 

and put the bones together. 

For the next couple of 

months until the trip, Paleojoe 

will be visiting Mrs. Johnson’s 

class. He is going to instruct 

them about the dig, the dinosaur 

bones, how to find fossils, 

and use microscopes. 

“Your going to get a 

chance to do every- 

thing a real paleontologist 

does,” said 

PaleoJoe, according 

to Fox2 News. 

The adventure 

includes a round 

trip to Thermopolis, 

Wyoming, hotel accommodations, 

and 

lunch each day. The 

trip is valued at around 

$1,500 per person. 

“This is a difficult time 

economically for the entire 

county and for Michigan as a 

whole, to have something so exciting 

happen to it, its just plain 

motivating to everybody,” said 

Superintendent Eivor Swan, . 

The TV news crews, 

Mrs. Swan, Principal Rutten, 

PaleoJoe, and all the people 

involved with the surprise met 

at The Daily Brew, right in 

Other projects the school board wants done are to 

improve the stadium entry, make a concession/rest room 

building at both the soccer field and tennis courts. Also they 

want to construct concession stand/ticket booth, rest rooms, 

team rooms, and make a new entry at the football stadium. 

“We don’t need a new kitchen nobody even sees it, everybody 

from visiting schools sees the gym, and we use it year 

round, said junior Sammy Bednarsky 

“so I think if we fix anything 

it should be the gym, weight 

room, or the school bathrooms.” 

If the proposal is 

passed the design of the improvements 

wouldn’t be drawn 

up until around January 2009. 

Construction would begin in 

spring 2009. Most improvements 

could be done in time for 

the start of the 2009-2010 year 

Some students are disagreeing 

with things not on the 

list of improvement. “I think the locker rooms should get redone, 

I feel bad for the visiting schools that have to come play 

here. That is how gross they are,” said junior Katie Goodwin.” 

I mean they aren’t as gross as Hastings but its pretty close. 

The school board picked the things off the list that they 

believe are the most important things that need to get done. 

“I’m glad we are actually going to make some improvements 

around here, said senior Kate Stora. ‘We 

need to catch up to the other schools like Byron Center, 

Caledonia, Otsego, and all of those types of schools. 

Compared to those types of schools our school is 

behind in many categories, like technology is a big one. 

Also, many people complain about our athletic facilities. 

“ Our track is the worst track in the conference. 

Running on it is like running on cement, not its worse 

than running on cement,” said senior Eddie Seymour. 

“We don’t need a new kitchen 

nobody even sees it, 

everybody from visiting 

schools see the gym, and 

we use it year round.” 

-junior Samantha Bednarsky 

Wayland to discuss how they 

were going to make the surprise 

happen. They told the 

class that they were taking 

pictures of them for the school 

web site. Seconds later a man 

simply asked “did one of you 

guys enter a contest recently? 

Well guess what we got some 

news for you.” Then Paleo- 

Joe came barging in through 

the door, and screams were 

heard throughout the building. 

“If there was a teacher 

that this would happen to 

it would be Mrs. Johnson, 

she always takes chances, 

and she pushes her kids to 

take chances.”said Rutten. 

“It’s like the dream of 

a lifetime,” said Mrs. Johnson. 

WHAT A SIGHT. Mrs. Johnson’s 6th grade class will be traveling to this site 

you see above, and here they will be doing their digging for dinosaur bones. “ I 

never win this kind of stuff,” said Andrew. “ All I can say is yay.” The rip doesn’t 

take place until this summer, but once a month Paleojoe will be visiting their 

class to get them prepared for the trip. Photo Credit:www.wyodino.com: 

What should be 

fixed in our 

school? 

Bathroomssophomore 

Jamie Ditmars 

The Gymjunior 

Billy Johnson 

Locker rooms- 

freshmen 

Hannah Potter 

Cafeteria- 

senior Mary Kilts 

Bleachersfreshmen 

Sam 

Martus 

Lockers- 

sophomore 

Tasha Hoeve 

Auditorium- 

freshmen 

Morgan Henry 

Fun Facts 

about 

Dinosaurs 

- The first dinosaur 

appeared 230 million 

years ago. 

-The largest dinosaur 

is 23 m. in length and 

12m in height. 

- Paleontologists 

have evidence that 

dinosaurs lived on all 

continents. 

-Approximately 700 

species of dinosaurs 

have been named. 

- The smartest 

dinosaur was the 

Troodon,it also had 

binocular vision, and 

great speed. 

-Dinosaurs became 

extinct 65 million 

years ago. 

Source: 

USCG- Dinosaurs: Facts and 

Fiction

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Former WHS student, teacher 

Bylined Opinion 

Alex Jenkins 

As the class was having a 

discussion on things they dislike, 

a student sat and listened to 

everyone speak and blew them 

off as being petty and naïve. That 

is until one student mentioned 

how they hated President Bush. 

The students were curious 

to hear the reasoning for this very 

profound outspokenness. They 

expected to hear something along 

the lines, of how they felt about him, 

but it was nothing knowledgeable, 

it was quite the opposite. It was 

then realized how uninformed the 

teenagers of today’s society are. 

The teenagers of today are 

too infatuated with how popular they 

are, and how everyone thinks of them, 

to care about what is happening in 

their own country. It’s not to complex 

to take the initiative to get involved. 

The government affects every 

person that lives in this country, so 

why shouldn’t we be knowledgeable 

about politics? It may not affect 

the latest fad or the next sporting 

event, but whether one realizes it 

or not it affects our lives everyday. 

The 2008 elections are 

coming up very quickly; they are 

scheduled to be held on November 

4, 2008. The opportunity to choose 

our next leader is in the hands of 

the voters and even the people who 

won’t be able to vote because of age. 

Many candidates for the 2008 

presidential elections are reaching 

out to the younger generations by 

going through the websites that attract 

teenagers such as Myspace, and 

Facebook. Candidates get a lot of 

Voices 

Clayton Jackson inducted into WUS Hall of Fame 

As its newest member, Mr. Clayton Jackson will be inducted 

into the WUS Alumni Hall of Fame on January 22 during half 

time at the home basketball game against East Grand Rapids. 

Clayton is the eighth inductee since the program began in 2001. 

For those of us who never had a chance to know Mr. Jackson, he was 

an inspiration and very creative. He has lived in Wayland all his life, graduating 

from high school in 1966, he then went on to teach auto shop in an old gas station 

here in town. He is credited for designing the auto shop in the current high school 

where he and his students serviced Michigan State Police cars in the 1980’s. 

Out of all his accomplishments, he has permanently changed Wayland schools. 

Mr. Jackson started CAD programs, taught math, auto tech, power tech, wood 

shop, and drafting. He contributed for 35 years up until his retirement in 2006. 

A very active and respected member of the community, Mr. Jackson 

served in the Michigan National Guard and played Santa Claus for children at the 

Pine Rest Hospital. He also is a lifetime member of the 3 rd /126 th Infantry Alumni 

Ignorance takes over enlightenment 

Letters to the Editor: 

The Paw Prints Press welcomes and encourages its readers to submit letters-to-the-editor, guest columns as well 

as press releases (stories and/or photos) from faculty, administrators, community residents, students as well as the gen- 

eral public. However, letters-to-the-editor and/or guest columns should be 300 words or less, must contain the author’s 

name and address. The Paw Prints Press e-mail address is journalism@wayland.k12.mi.us. The Paw Prints Press postal 

address is The Paw Prints Press, c/o Wayland Union High School , 870 E. Superior St. , Wayland , MI 49348 . The Paw 

Prints Press main telephone line is 269-792-2254 and the direct line to the Journalism Lab is 269-792-3218. 

The Paw Prints Press editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter or column and return it for more informa- 

tion if it determines the piece contains items of unprotected speech as defined by this policy. Letters will be edited for spell- 

ing and grammar and checked for verification and authenticity. Should a letter exceed the prescribed length and/or contain 

obvious factual and/or numerous grammar errors, it will be returned to the author(s) for revisions. 

The Paw Prints Press, as an established public forum for student expression, and considering deadlines and space 

limitations, it may be necessary to post letters and columns meeting the above criteria on The Paw Prints Press web site 

at www.freewebs.com/wuhspawprints 

exposure through these sites, making 

teenagers more aware of who is 

running. All of the major candidates for 

the 2008 Presidential Election have 

support on Facebook and Myspace. 

Politicians are suppose to be 

working for what is best for the people, 

a democracy, but most of the issues 

that pertain to our generation usually 

slip on through unnoticed because our 

generation doesn’t do enough to get 

our voices out there to be heard. 

The government knows that 

we have the power, but they also know 

that we won’t do anything with that 

power because we are all unaware 

of the happenings of this country. 

We let generalizations 

Staff Editoral 

Association, is vice president of the Upper Rabbit River Associating where he has 

been a member for 25 years, traveled to Kenya on a mission trip, been a volunteer-H 

leader, is a member of the Michigan Polled Hereford Association, helped as a youth 

leader and head usher for Leighton United Methodist Church, and was also a leader 

for Boy Scouts in Wayland. All in all, there isn’t much that this great man hasn’t done. 

Still, after giving back so much to our community, Mr. Jackson still continues 

to give back through his “Gift of Life” organ donation program. Shortly after he 

retired Mr. Jackson was given news that he was in serious need of a liver transplant 

and was told he didn’t have long to live. Mr. Jackson got a transplant in June of 

2007 and, with his wife Elda, now spreads the word about the importance of giving. 

Truly a man to be proud of, we recognize Mr. Jackson for his many 

appreciated achievements as a teacher and community member. We are honored 

to have had him as a teacher, a friend, and now a member of the Hall of Fame. 

take place, taking no action 

whatsoever to change them. 

Not many teenagers are 

politically conscious and that 

is something that needs to be 

dramatically changed for the better. 

What will happen to the future of 

America if this generation keeps 

ignoring politics all together? 

How will we know what 

candidates we are voting in as 

our leaders if we aren’t informed? 

Our rights and civil liberties 

that we are entitled to as Americans 

are dwindling each and every day 

whether we realize it or not. Ignorance 

is like a plague and it’s quickly taking 

over more and more citizens. The 

the PAW PRINT STAFF 

press 


Editor-in-chief 

Macy Merchant 

Assistant editor 

Jackie Bernard 

Lifestyles editor 

Eddie Seymour 

Lifestyles reporter 

Alex Jenkins 

Columnist 


January 2008 

Page Editor: 

Alex Jenkins 

government wants us all to be ignorant 

citizens, oblivious to what they decide 

to do, so they can do whatever they 

wish to do without our approval. 

Making petitions and protesting 

things that you believe are corrupt and 

unconstitutional will get your point 

across and hopefully, it will soon change 

depending on the efforts put forth. It 

doesn’t take that much to get informed. 

It is hard to watch your basic 

civil liberties and rights crumbling 

away each and every day. It is even 

harder to know that we the people 

have a chance to do something about 

this, but we choose not to because 

of ignorance and unwillingness. 

Jeff Salisbury 

Adviser 

Media Credit: MCT-Campus 

Emily Hodel 

Indepth reporter 

Lindsay Hedgecock 

News reporter 

Cory Jamieson 

Sports reporter 

Kyle Farmer 

Sports reporter 

Katie Dykhouse 

Photographer

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SLEEPING BUNNY. As a body of 

the snow, the sleeping figure looks 

almost peaceful in its surroundings. 

Sophie Ryder’s ‘Introspectives 

2005’ is a four-piece 

collection of half human/half rabbit 

sculptures. 

Photos 

COLOSSAL. Alexander Calder’s 

‘Two Discs’ on a long-term loan 

from Smithsonian Institution’s 

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture 

Garden. ‘Two Discs’ is over 25 

feet tall. 

Let It Snow, 

LET IT SNOW 

BROKEN FACE (left). 

Polish artist Igor Mitoraj 

did not realize it then, 

but he completed one 

of his most famed 

sculptures, ‘Light of the 

Moon’, in 1992. Many 

of his sculptures have a 

“broken” theme to them. 

LOST IN HIS 

THOUGHTS (right) We 

may never know what 

artists like Hanneke 

Beaumont are thinking 

when they sculpt, but 

sometimes the simplest 

things have the biggest 

impact. The Dutch 

artist finished ‘Number 

25’ in 1992, paired 

with ‘Number 26’ as 

a collection. Frederik 

Meijer Gardens holds 

Beaumont’s only public 

exhibit in the U.S. to 

date. 

By Katie Dykhouse 

Staff Photographer 

YOUR HEAD IS 

IN THE BOOKS 

(right) . British 

sculpture artist, 

Bill Woodrow, 

cast the finishing 

touches on his 

bronze sculpture 

in 1995. The reoccurring 

theme 

of destruction 

and strength of 

nature over man 

shows again in 

‘Listening to History’”. 


January 2008 

Page Editor: 

Katie Dykhouse 

RETROSPECTIVE. The 

combination of engineering and 

mechanics brings forth George 

Rickey’s ‘Cluster of Four Cubes’. 

This stainless steel sculpture reflects 

the sunlight as it flows easily 

with the wind. 

The storm hit forcefully the night before, producing a blanket of snow over the artwork. Visitors found the park shimmering in a soft frost the next morning 

and set out to view the snowy sculptures. 

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park holds a number of exhibits every year ranging from the annual Foremost Butterflies Are Blooming to concerts in 

the Amphitheater. Although the summer season attracts more visitors, many find the winter exhibits to be the most pleasing. 

“It’s better because the exhibits don’t last as long,” said junior, Katie Pitcher. “So when you do get to see them, it makes it more special.” 

That’s exactly why some guests prefer winter displays over any other season. It could be how fast you go through the cold weather to see the exhibits or 

how the snow compliments the sculptures. Either way, numerous artists find a struggle in getting people to look at their art in the winter. 

“It’s easier to see the sculptures because there’s no distraction of the flowers,” said local artist, Anita Buckowing. “It was interesting to see the art against 

the bare trees.” 

And influencing generations all around is what Meijer Gardens does best. After all, Meijer Gardens is the second most-popular cultural attraction in Michigan. 

With over 600,000 visitors annually, this creates a number of shows every year. In 2006, Meijer Gardens hosted one of the most successful shows in Grand 

Rapids history. 

To check out some of this year’s shows, go to www.meijergardens.org or call 888-957-1580. 

Media Credit: Katie Dykhouse

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Indepth 

Page Editor: 

Emily Hodel 

Behind the scenes 

Snow-days decision based on safety 

By Emily Hodel 

“I get up every school 

In-depth Reporter 

During the winter, teens 

are noticed to watch the news 

more than in any other season. 

However, it’s not an increased 

interest in what’s going on in 

the world; it’s watching for twohour 

delays and snow days. 

Many students wonder what 

exactly determines whether 

or not school is in session 

for that day. 

day at 3:00 a.m. to check 

the conditions outside, and 

if it all looks good, I go back 

to sleep,” said McDaniel. “If 

I need to check roads, I start 

driving by 4:00 am so I can 

make it around the district, 

checking all types of roads, 

main, gravel, hilly, and back.” 

Other districts, however, 

play a part in the decision also. 

According to 

the Transportation 

Secretary, 

there’s one big 

thing; safety. 

“The safety of 

the students and 

drivers are the 

main concern behind 

a snow day,” 

says Sharon Walma, 

the Secretary 

of Transportation. 

“If the students or 

drivers will be put 

in danger by being 

CLEANING UP 

on the roads, there 

THE LOTS: Mr. Scott Glupker is the man behind the removal of snow 

will be no school.” for Wayland Union Schools. “Plowing the schools is usually pretty 

We a t h e r stressful, with the time crunch and coordinating the other trucks,” said 

conditions also ef- Glupker. “The most stress comes from the fact that all the responsibility 

of getting the schools accessible lies on you.” Glupker has no say 

fect whether or not 

in whether school is in session or not. Media Credit: Emily Hodel 

we have school. 

“The main things that I 

look for is stopping distance, 

visibility, startup ability, what 

type of precipitation there is,” 

said Transportation Supervisor 

Mike McDaniel. “And also 

I check what the forecast is.” 

Superintendent Eivor Swan, 

with the help of McDaniel, are 

the people behind the decision. 

“Other districts provide 

weather reports and information 

as well,” said Walma. 

“Middleville, Caledonia, Hopkins, 

and Martin all give us input 

or heads up on weather.” 

Snow day decisions arehoped 

to be made before 5:15 

a.m., or when the first bus 

By Emily Hodel 

In-depth Reporter 

Student drivers hear 

the ominous warning from 

their parents most every time 

they go to get 

behind the 

wheel; drive 

safe, watch 

out for the other 

guy, slow 

down before 

you think you 

need to, etc. 

However, 

students honestly 

need to 

be paying attention 

to this 

monotonous 

but extremely 

i m p o r t a n t 

warning. With the winter weather 

making driving conditions 

dangerous, all drivers need to 

be more cautious than ever. 

Mr. Harry Werkema agrees 

with the typical warning parents 

give their teen drivers. 

leaves to begin its route. Sometimes, 

this just isn’t plausible. 

“Fog rolls in late, or rain turns 

to ice,” said Walma. “Mother 

Nature is very unpredictable.” 

When the decision is 

made, Eivor Swan uses the 

Instant Alert System to call everyone 

at the same time within 

3-5 seconds; faculty, students, 

community, and bus drivers 

are all called. The district finally 

had a chance 

to try out the new 

technology twice 

as of today, First 

was on a snow 

day and the second 

was on a 

two hour delay. 

Students look 

forward to snow 

days for different 

reasons. Junior 

Lindsey Niemchick 

likes snow 

days for a couple 

of reasons. 

“I like to 

sleep in on snow 

days, of course,” 

she said. “Most 

likely all day, actually. 

Then I 

drink hot cocoa 

and eat soup. 

Typical snow day stuff.” 

Other students like to 

embrace the wintry weather. 

“If the roads aren’t too 

bad, I go snowboarding,” 

said junior Kyle Kenyon. 

No matter what you decide 

to do, know that snow days are 

decided with your safety in mind. 

Winter weather creates hazardous driving conditions 

“When snow 

exists on the roads, 

everyone should 

driver slower and 

more cautiously. 

Lack of experience 

makes teens even 

more prone to 

winter accidents.” 

-Mr. Werkema 

“When snow exists on the 

roads, everyone should driver 

slower and more cautiously,” 

said Werkema. “Lack of experience 

makes teens even more 

prone to win- 

ter accidents.” 

According 

to the National 

Safety Council, 

traffic crashes 

are the leading 

cause of 

teen fatalities, 

accounting for 

44 percent of 

teen deaths 

in the U.S. 

Because 

sometimes accidents 

are inevitable, 

all drivers 

should have 

an emergency kit in their car 

at all times; winter especially. 

“Your kit should contain a 

blanket or some way of maintaining 

warmth, along with 

a flashlight,” said the Police 

Department. “There should 

also be enough food and 

water for at least 24 hours.” 

A poll of 100 students 

revealed some interesting statistics. 

A whopping 74 percent 

of students involved in the poll 

said they did not or their parents 

did not have emergency 

kits within their vehicles. 

A small 26 percent of 

students asked did indeed 

have an emergency kit, and 

everyone with an emergency 

kit also stated that they would 

know how to use it if they 

were ever in the situation. 

“Yes, I have an emergency 

kit in my car,” said 

junior Stacey McConnaughey. 

“I have a spare tire, 

jumper cables, a jack, and 

some other helpful things.” 

Other students, however, 

are unprepared. 

“I don’t have an emergency 

kit,” said junior Tim 

Door. “If I did, I wouldn’t 

know how to use it anyways.” 

According to State Farm 

Insurance, keeping the windows 

clear, the car’s speed 

steady and slow, (but not so 

slow that the car gets stuck 

in deeper snow), and using 

the brakes cautiously are 

all things that drivers can 


January 2008 

A WINTER SCENE: A fresh layer snow covers the student parking lot in Decemb 

more cautiously,” said the Police Department. “Lack of experience makes teens 

caution; everyone needs to slow down and be more aware. Media Credit: Katie D 

do to be safer in the winter. 

So teens, take note 

of those nagging warnings 

from your parents; 

they could save your life. 

WINTER WEATHER A HAzARD: Winter weather is sufficiently more dangerous 

to drive in because of the hazardous conditions such as white-outs, ice 

and snow on the road, and lack of friction. “When snow exists on the roads, 

everyone should driver slower and more cautiously,” said Werkema. “Lack of 

experience makes teens even more prone to winter accidents.” 

Media Credit: www.totalcarcrashes.com


Indepth 7 

p 

January 2008 

a 

Page Editor: 

g 

Emily Hodel 

e 

of wintry weather 

er. “When snow exists on the roads, everyone should driver slower and 

even more prone to winter accidents.” Not just students need to drive with 

ykhouse 

�� 

The Good: 

•Hills are good 

•Lifts are fast 

•Close & Cheap 

And The Bad: 

•Can be icy 

•Long lift lines on 

week-ends 

•Too crowded on slopes 

•Small 

�� 

The Good: 

•Big hills 

•Sweet rails 

•Terrain Park 

•Decent snow 

And The Bad: 

•Packed with rude people 

•Sort of expensive 

Seasonal affective disorder affects everyone 

By Jackie Bernard 

Lifestyles Editor 

Winter; so many things happen 

in this season like various holidays, time 

with family, vacations, and just time to relax. 

But there is a darker side of winter. 

There are the normal yuletide annoyances 

such as slush, ice on everything, cleaning 

off your car, etc… Winter also comes with 

those “winter blues” 

“People’s mood and 

perspective are affected 

when it goes 

from warm, sunny, 

and beautiful to dark, 

grey, and not nice 

weather.” 

that sometimes manifest 

as the snow begins 

to fall and the clouds 

make their semi-permanent 

home in the sky. 

The winter blues or 

blahs as some call it, a 

kind name for a feeling 

of depression and lethargy 

one might feel as 

the suns normal supply of 

light begins to decrease. 

Nights come earlier and 

the days are darker and 

the Vitamin D deficiency 

begins to take its toll. 

These winter blues 

can become a serious 

problem for some 

people; this is called 

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. 

Most everyone gets a little cabin 

fever this time of year feeling nostalgia 

for those summer months, but for 

some people this feeling is hard to handle. 

SAD is basically seasonal depression. When the 

days grow shorter and colder some people find 

themselves pulled into a state of depression. 

“It can come as a headache or stomachache, 

loss of interest, and feeling lazy. 

It’s just like normal depression, only, it 

comes when it’s grey and cold outside,” 

said guidance counselor John Sloan. 

Have a bad case of the winter blues? You 

might think that SAD doesn’t affect many people 

-Guidance Counselor 

John Sloan 

Best Places to Ski and Snowboard 

�� 

The Good: 

•Bigger than most 

•Lots of trails 

And The Bad: 

•More expensive 

and trying to find help makes you strange or different 

in some way, but, you are wrong. Almost 

everyone suffers from depression in their life 

time and a majority of people are mentally influenced 

when the temperature begins to drop. 

“People’s mood and perspective are 

affected when it goes from warm, sunny, and 

beautiful to dark, grey, and not nice weather. 

There are many ways to deal with SAD, 

like medication, light therapy 

which uses artificial sunlight 

to stimulate the chemicals 

in the brain to balance out; 

many people seek counseling. 

But the most important 

thing to do is to get out 

of bed or get off the couch 

and go outside, go out with 

friends, go to the movies, 

just go and do something to 

help cope with it,” said Sloan. 

What of the cumulative 

effects of this constant up 

and down feeling? Someone 

who has normal depression 

knows what to expect and 

has consistent feelings. Everyday 

they have a strategy 

(or not) of dealing with their 

depression. But SAD sufferers 

simply do not have the luxury. Not to say that 

normal depression is easier because it is not, 

but it is more predictable for the sufferer. SAD 

feelings can be prevalent for days where the 

sun is not out that much and disappear as soon 

as it is sunnier. So how does one cope with this 

up-and-down relationship with the sun? 

“I do think there is a negative cumulative 

effect on SAD sufferers, but I think 

that by getting help to help them they can 

develop good coping strategies for dealing 

with their depression. People who seek 

and receive help deal with that transition of 

warm and cool weather, opposed to those 

who don’t know what’s going on,” said Sloan. 

Bittersweet Boyne Crystal Mountain Pando 

�� 

Good: 

•Tubing 

Bad: 

•Too many children 

Source: Informal Student Survey

the 

How to get 

Motivated 

-Exercise 

-Talk to a counselor 

-Read 

-Go to the movies 

-Get a job 

-Spend time with 

friends and family 

-Surround yourself 

with positive things 

-Make a schedule or 

plan for your day 

-Make long term and 

short goals 

-Do things you enjoy 

-Volunteer 

lifestyle 8 

Media credit: www.navwp.com 

Reasons why 

kids drop out 

-Didn’t like school in 

general or the school 

they were attending 

-Were failing, getting 

poor grades, or 

couldn’t keep up with 

school work 

-Didn’t get along with 

teachers or students 

-Had disciplinary problems, 

were expelled, 

or suspended 

-Didn’t feel safe in 

school 

-Had to help support 

family with work 

-Got married, got 

pregnant, or became 

a parent 

-Had drug or alcohol 

problems 

Media credit:www.focusas.com 


Page Editor: 


Students lacking in motivation 

By Lindsey Hedgecock 

In Depth Reporter 

Student Fatigue. Every student contracts this temporary 

disease at some point during their high school career. 

“I don’t think students are inherently lazy,” said English 

teacher, Mr. Michael Doupe. “However I do feel like they don’t 

always see the usefulness of the material that gets covered.” 

According to Mr. Doupe, students in his morning 

classes are lazier and less alert than his afternoon classes. 

A factor he considers with his morning classes is that most 

kids don’t eat anything before 

school, putting a huge effect on 

their ability to focus and learn. 

“It’s frustrating as a teacher 

to deal with students who are 

inactive,” Mr. Doupe said. “You 

could be the most energetic, 

hard-working, knowledgeable 

teacher; but if your students are completely apathetic, 

they aren’t going to learn what they need to.” 

While some students seem to suffer from student 

fatigue, not all students are lazy in general. Students are 

overwhelmed with other priorities in their lives, such as 

sports, after school programs and outside school activities. 

After going to classes all day, senior Kate Stora then 

Tired teachers = upset students 



There have been many 

changes to the school this 

year, some positive and some 

negative. The most negative is 

the most noticeably destructive 

thing is “teacher fatigue”. 

You may have experienced 

it before, may it be teachers 

simply not caring or not getting 

sufficient help with problems. 

Like most jobs, teaching can 

get boring; one may get sick of 

doing the same things, dealing 

with the same problems, 

seeing the same people. 

The adverse effects of this on 

the students who are struggling, 

trying to learn are very great. 

“It makes me so mad when 

I’m taking a test and I know that 

I can’t finish by the time the 

hour is over and the teacher 

is standing there practically 

saying are you done yet? It 

makes me so mad, I just don’t 

understand why a teacher 

would do that, I’m not learning 

anything if I’m rushed,” 

said senior Jennifer Taylor. 

If the primary job of a teacher 

is to teach, why are they failing? 

Is it the lack of interest, or the 

feeling of too much repetition? 

But whatever it is, it is certainly 

negatively affecting students. 

“A teacher I had just sat there 

“It’s frustrating as a teacher to deal 

with students who are inactive.” 

-English teacher Mike Doupe. 

and didn’t really do anything in 

class,” said junior Alexa Venlet. 

“I think the teacher acted like 

that because the class was so 

big and everyone was loud. 

But I had that teacher again 

and it was a small class and 

it was the same. I would ask 

January 2008 

section 

for help and I could never get a 

straight answer to my question. 

Then I would ask if I could stay 

after for help and the teacher 

would never be there. So I 

didn’t do so well in that class 

and I still don’t understand 

that subject,” added Venlet. 

TEACHERS TEACHING? Many students are upset and frustrated with some 

teachers and their teaching methods or lack there of. The best thing for students 

to do is to try to be a respectful, get work done, and ask other students 

for help when you are having trouble with something. Media credit: Katie 

Dykhouse 

p 

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heads to a two-hour basketball practice or game. When her 

practice or game is done she then goes home and spends an hour 

and a half finishing her homework, mostly doing her AP Biology. 

Finally she gets around to sleeping between 11 p.m. and midnight. 

“Being kept busy has affected the time I spend doing 

homework, but overall it hasn’t affected my grades,” Kate said. 

There are five steps that students can take in order to overcome 

student fatigue, according to Bloggingbits.com. The first step is 

to take action, instead of not doing what is needed, and just do it. 

Take one bite at a time 

is the second step, do one thing 

at a time instead of doing it all at 

once. The third step is to remove 

the distractions, isolate yourself 

from distractions like the computer 

and TV. Finding motivation is the 

fourth step to overcome student fatigue. Find something that 

motivates you to take action. The final step is rewarding yourself. 

For seniors, student fatigue can come as a 

serious problem. This is the time for seniors to choose 

from the many different choices they have. Choices may 

include going off to college, heading into the work force 

or taking a year or two off to make further decisions. 

A teacher who doesn’t teach, 

a very standard definition of 

teacher is someone who helps 

others learn and understand 

a given subject. Some of the 

teachers here are lacking in that. 

“I just want to learn as 

much as I can before I 

graduate, and I feel like this 

whole school is against that,“ 

said senior Jennifer Taylor. 

“I feel like this school is just 

anxious to get rid of us. It 

is really disappointing to 

me that I can’t even get a 

straight answer to a question 

that I ask and it feels like the 

teacher is like well sorry you 

don’t understand it but we’re 

moving on,” added Taylor. 

A teacher’s job is to teach, 

it is understandable that there 

are ups and downs in life that 

affects work performance. But 

it is a multiple sided issue. 

The responsibility lies 

with teachers, students, 

and administration. So if all 

cooperate a more positive 

outcome and more successful 

students may emerge. 

Happier students, teachers, 

parents, school board 

members, and ultimately 

a better, brighter future for 

students.


January 2008 

Page Editor: 




Ears swimming against the 

harsh waters of mainstream 

music, stinging from the lack 

of depth and just plain sick 

of it? Well I have the cure. 

Now that I have your 

attetion I can tell you about 

the new face of heartfelt and 

heavy music. They are called 

“Evans blue”, originating in 

Canada. A five member band 

is seriously the new sound 

of pain. Anyone in the world 

can appreciate lead singer, 

Kevin Matisyn’s angelic voice. 

Evans blue has a similar 

sound to that of Chino Marino 

of Deftones. Matisyn’s voice is 

smooth but powerful and fits 

perfectly in with the music’s 

sound. Curious about the 

name, I found out that, evans 

blue is a dye injected into 

the bloodstream to measure 

blood volume. But what first 

interested me is how much of a 

connection I felt to this music. 

The words, the sound, the 

general feeling just inspired 

me to that feeling of “Oh 

I guess I’m not alone”. 

By Eddie Seymour 

Lifestyle Reporter 

Smosh 

Smosh Productions 

www.smosh.com 

Lifestyle 

“Evans blue” is pure inspiration 

E v a n s 

blue’s first album came out in 

February 2005, called “The 

Melody and Energetic Nature 

of Volume”, containing the 

single “Cold 

(But I’m still 

here)”. “Cold” 

hit airways 

in December 

and stayed 

in the Top 10 

of Billboards 

Heatseekers 

Chart for 

a couple 

months. It’s no 

surprise that 

Evans blue is a 

crowd pleaser, 

the bad has 

been touring 

the U.S. and 

Canada along 

with Taproot, 

F r a m i n g 

H a n l e y , 

Submersed, 

and the 

reviews have nothing 

but good things to say. 

In Buffalo, NY the local 

paper reviewed the Evans 

blue show as being “full of 

Known for their legendary lip-syncing of the 

Pokemon Theme Song, Smosh Productions has 

become a Youtube sensation for teenagers. A duo 

of California college students, Anthony Padilla and 

Ian Hecox, have written, filmed, and acted in their 

own exciting skits, each with their own original 

story line. 

Ranging from stories involving Anthony hitting 

Ian’s sister with a car on a birthday to rapping 

about Transformers and their sweet skills, the entertainment 

is endless. Smosh Productions proves 

that teenagers can produce creative and appealing 

entertainment for the masses. 

passionate energy that threw 

the crowd into a frenzy”. 

Now, I was lucky enough to 

see this wonderful band back 

in July at the Intersection, 

REVOLUTIONARY MUSIC. Kevin Matisyn heads up the five member rock 

band “Evans blue”. Originating in Canada the members have all been previouse 

members of moderatly successful bands, now together as the powerful 

sounding supergroup. Media credit: www.myspace/evansblue. 

along with five other bands, 

and I was entranced by 

Evans blue’s performance. 

They started the show out 

with “Beg” which is a song 

on “Melody”. I was instantly 

mesmerized. The band has a 

so-so stage appearance. No 

fancy outfit or leather pants, 

just people doing what they 

love. The 

d i ff e r e n c e s 

in the band 

m e m b e r s 

made that 

much more 

of a positive 

impression on 

me. This band 

you will not 

soon forget. 

At the 

show they 

also played 

songs off 

there much 

a n t i c i p a t e d 

r e l e a s e 

“The Pursuit 

Begins when 

this Portrayal 

of Life Ends”. 

Not 

knowing any 

of the new song lyrics I 

contently listened as Matisyn 

poured his heart and soul 

out on stage with his words. 

I instantly fell in love with 

Cheap, Easy, and Loving it? 

As one of the most popular Internet video clip 

series, “Ask a Ninja” has created such amazing 

humor that can appeal to any age group that enjoys 

really anything. This show takes simple life questions 

from fans and turns them around into psychological 

questions about ninja stories and lifestyles 

that will make you clutch your upset stomach from 

laughing so hard. 

Have you ever heard of a ninja dog with hyperninja 

speed? What about Ninja Santa that disposes 

of nosy children on Christmas? Enjoy over thirty 

episodes of crazy Ninja talk that no one can ever 

forget! 

p 

9 

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the new songs and knew 

that I needed to get that 

CD the instant it came out. 

Evans blue is a mixed bag, 

sometimes I’d like to think of 

them as a hard core “Coldplay”. 

The bands have very minimal 

similarities (so don’t get your 

hopes up Coldplay fans, Evans 

blue is heavy) but the lyrics are 

deep and mostly depressing, 

themed with love and loss, 

betrayal and hope, but nearly 

none with a happy outcome. 

The music is heavier, but 

has this edge, something 

along the lines of art. It is like 

nothing I’ve ever heard, the 

sound that Evans blue has. 

This band is perfect for the 

hardcore mosh-pit enthusiast 

and the compassionate “Jewel” 

fan, they are that diverse. 

Evans blue is not a band to 

be missed, this band contains 

so much pure musical art 

and inspiration you will not 

be disappointed. For anyone 

music can sooth a troubled 

mind and heart, fuel the 

anger held inside, or provide 

pleasant driving music, you will 

not go wrong with Evans blue. 

Are you sick of expensive movies? 

Do you want to be cheap for a night, and when I mean cheap, I mean like there is no money involved? 

Well here is your chance, and you are going to love it! The Internet is full of awesome free LEGAL videos that are extremely 

enjoyable to watch. However, among the top contenders for the best entertainment series, three prominent selections are truly 

worth the time and no money. 

Ask a Ninja 

Digital Filmaker 

www.askaninja.com 

Chad Vader 

Blame Society Productions 

www.blamesociety.com 

In a galaxy not too far, far away (well actually, 

our galaxy) Blame Society Productions brings to Internet 

fans the hilarious story called “Chad Vader”. 

While his infamous brother Darth Vader rules with 

an iron fist in another galaxy, Chad enjoys the exciting 

life as day-shift manager at a local supermarket 

called Empire Market. 

With non-stop laughs, this series is entertaining 

to anyone, ranging from Star Wars fans to vegetable 

soup lovers. “Chad Vader” brings out the same 

dry, yet goofy comedy as NBC’s “The Office”. This 

Internet series shows just how wacky a day at work 

can be, especially one that involves Jedi force powers 

and lightsabers.

p 

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10 

Check out these new 

books! 

�� 

Duma Key 

Release: 

Jan. 22 

�� 

�� 

Source: 

www.barnesandnoble.com 

7th Heaven 

Release: 

Feb. 5 

�� 

Bratfest at Tiffany’s 

Release: 

Feb. 5 Remember Me? 

Release: 

Feb. 26 

Lifestyle 

JOEL 

HOOKER 

Beauty is Joel Hooker’s 

2002 maroon Dodge Stratus 

Sport Edition. The speedometer 

tops out at 160 mph but 

Joel has only gotten it up to 

107 mph. Thick, fuzzy seat 

covers envelop the driver 

and passenger seats. Hooker 

uses a tape deck to listen to 

music in the car though. When 

asked how much the car was 

Joel replied, “Free cause my 

mommy loves me.” 

The Forgotten Bomb 

Book offers lesson, warning 

I found “Nagasaki: The Forgotten Bomb” 

to be a riveting yet disturbing story that 

drew me in and would not let me out. 

Frank Chinnock does a wonderful job of 

blending historical information with behind 

the scenes stories that make the 

reader feel as though they were there 

experiencing this cataclysmic event. 

During the period leading up to August 

9, 1945 the world was dominated by 

two questions: Would the 

terrible conflict engulfing 

most of the globe ever end? 

And if so, how would it 

come to an end? The focus 

of the book soon shifted to 

the latter and how this question 

came to be answered. 

The most destructive 

weapon known to man 

has been used only twice 

in the world’s history. 

The first atomic 

bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and 

has been the subject of countless books, 

d o c u m e n t a r i e s , a n d o t h e r a r t i c l e s . 

However, the second bomb dropped 

on Nagasaki has been largely ignored, despite 

the fact that it was even more powerful 

than the first bomb, because the world 

was still in shock when it was dropped. 

Chinnock’s excellent account captures 

all of the human suffering and terror involved 

in the decision itself to drop the bomb, and the 

result of this decision. It helps that the story is 

so dramatic and heart-wrenching to begin with. 

Twenty years after this disaster, Chinnock 

returned to the city of Nagasaki to find out the true 

story of what had happened on August 9, 1945. 

After two years of traveling about 50,000 

miles, and doing hundreds of interviews 

By Rafe Nelson 

Bylined Opinion 

Nagasaki was not 

actually the first 

target choice but a 

foiled mission 

resulted in the 

destruction of the 

entire industrial city. 

Beauty and the Beast 

BRAD 

SIMS 

Beast is Brad Sims’ 

1992 blue Chevy Silverado 

pickup. The side skirts are 

rusted from wheel to wheel, 

along with the paint chipping 

off. The windshield wipers do 

not work, and the hood needs 

to be hit on, in order to do any 

work on the engine, or even 

gain access to the engine. It 

was given to him by his dad, 

and has 230000 plus miles on 

the odometer. 


January 2008 

Page Editor: 


he had found what he was looking for. 

The book is written in chronological order 

for the most part with the occasional jump 

back to the time that the book is written. 

The story begins by tracing the difficult decision 

made by President Truman and his advisers 

to use the second bomb which is a story in itself. 

Nagasaki was not actually the first target 

choice but a foiled mission resulted in 

the destruction of the entire industrial city. 

Chinnock goes far be- 

yond the typical statistics that 

are thrown around when describing 

the dropping of the 

bomb, and really appeals to 

emotion with some of the personal 

accounts that he gathers. 

After reading some of 

the horror stories in this book 

I felt that the ones nearest 

the epicenter of the explosion 

were the lucky ones. 

Instant death is 

a fate much better than what befell thousands 

of people far to enough away to 

at least survive the horrifying event. 

Frank Chinnock was born in New York 

in 1927 and attended Princeton University. 

After a three-year stint in the army he joined 

the staff at Reader’s Digest where he was 

an editor for 12 years. In late 1966 he started 

work on this account of the Nagasaki bomb. 

For anybody interested in 

World War II history, or history or warfare 

in general, this is a must read. 

“Nagasaki: The Forgotten Bomb” serves 

as an account of man’s incredible ability to 

survive as well as his frightening willingness 

to destroy, and offers a lesson and a 

warning that would be perilous to ignore.

the 

By Kyle Farmer 

Sports Reporter 

Injuries are commonplace 

in athletics from the professional 

to little league levels. Sports 

use the body in unnatural ways 

and places stresses that bodies 

normally would not undergo. 

Most injuries are 

easily prevented through 

stretching and proper technique. 

Improper technique in a game 

of tennis can result in a condition 

called tennis elbow. This is when 

repetitive strain of muscles in the 

back of the arm result in small tears 

in muscles and tendons. This causes 

pain as well as weakness over time. 

Senior Joel Hooker underwent 

two months of physical therapy 

to repair his torn rotator cuff. The 

repetitive overhead motion of the serve 

is the most likely cause for the injury. 

Stretching should also be 

in every athlete’s best interests 

before, during, and after practices or 

games. Increased range of motion, 

better balance and blood flow, and 

decreased joint pain and stress. 

Plantar Faciitis, and Fibromyalgia are 

both diseases treated by stretching. 

In 2005 over one million 

high school student athletes were 

injured, with the highest injury 

rate among football players. 

A common football injury is the 

concussion, a condition where a blunt 

force is applied to the head resulting in 

Athletics are a risky endeavor 

bleeding below the skull or into the brain. 

Concussions also are a 

hotly debated issue for retired NFL 

players because of supposed long 

INJURY REPORT Freshmen Scott Rankens is one of the currently injured student athetes at 

school. Scott broke his hand while taking part in a game against Lowell on December 21. Rankens 

is on the varsity hockey team. Hockey players are one of many athletes who are injured due to 

contact or other phenomena. Media Credit: Kyle Farmer 

term effects such as depression. 

Soccer has the second highest 

injury rate among high school sports. 

The many concussions brought on 

by head to head collisions in soccer 

brought on the invention of the soccer 

helmet. A 5/8” piece of vinyl foam is 

meant to soften the blow of the collision. 

Aside from that, soccer players often 

will receive ankle and foot injuries. 

Basketball and volleyball 

players commonly receive injuries to 

11 e 

their knees such as the dreaded 

ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) 

tear. This injury normally requires 

arthroscopic surgery to properly repair. 

Junior Macy Merchant has 

been sidelined for most of the volleyball 

and all of basketball, around 15 weeks, 

due to her meniscus, and ACL tears. 

Runners have the lowest 

injury rate among high school athletes. 

But even runners are not entirely 

safe from the possibility of an injury. 

The more common running 

injury is the stress fracture, a minuscule 

but debilitating break normally in lower 

leg bones. Usually those whom 

have not ran in a significant amount 

of time, and begin to run too hard 

receive this injury. The repetitive 

stress causes this and they usually 

take a few months of rest to heal. 

Often times with 

teenage high school athletes the 

possibility of re-injury is very high. 

A study by the center for 

disease control and prevention found 

that students previously injured are 

twice as likely to be injured again. 

One reason for this is 

the pressure for the athletes to 

return resulting in playing while 

injured; another is the lack of 

knowledge of the injury sustained. 

All sports use the body as the 

main medium for success. A well taken 

care of body can be injury free and can 

bring on success for the individual and 

the team. But when injuries do occur 

athletes must wait for their bodies 

to heal in order to return to full form. 

November and December Athletes of the Month 

Junior Quinten Marcott is November’s 

Athlete of the Month. He was 

a key player on both sides of the ball 

for the varsity football team, earning 

All-Conference, All-Allegan County and 

All-Area honors. With a 3.989 GPA, he 

also earned Academic All-State. Marcott 

is “the man” in the weight room, 

currently top five on the “1000 Pound 

Club.” His total is 1155 pounds. As a 

member of the wrestling team, he went 

2-2 at the first invitational at Zeeland, 

and in the spring, Marcott throws shot 

put and discus for the track team. 


sports 

January 2008 

section 

Kate Stora was a captain 

and key player on the volleyball team 

which earned her November’s Athlete 

of the Month. She earned All- 

Conference, All- Allegan County and 

All-Area honorable mention for her 

efforts. Her 98 percent serving percentage, 

and serving 100 percent in 

conference matches was a major help. 

Stora also is the starting point guard 

for the varsity basketball team. Defensively, 

she is one of the best on the 

team. In the classroom, she is equally 

as impressive holding a 3.735 GPA. 

Anthony Castaneda is December’s 

Athlete of the Month. As a member 

of the varsity football team he led 

the team as a linebacker with 95 tackles, 

including seven for a loss. He also 

had three interceptions to go along with 

150 yards rushing at the fullback position. 

This earned him All Conference, 

All County, and All Area accalades. 

For the basketball team Castaneda 

plays as a guard. He often matches 

up with the best defensive player for 

the other team. Against Mona Shores 

he scored 13 and against conference 

foe Byron Center he had 14 points. 

p 

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Page Editor: 

Kyle Farmer 

Junior Kaleigh Shuster is December’s 

female Athlete of the Month. 

For the volleyball team she played 

middle hitter. She recorded 521 kills, 

91 blocks, and 53 aces earning her All 

Conference, All County, and All Area. 

Shuster is also a member of the varsity 

basketball team. She plays the 

forward position and leads the team 

in free throw and three point percentage. 

She is also averaging 8.5 points 

per game. In the spring she plays 

soccer for the varsity. In the classroom 

she also excels with a cumulative 

grade point average of 3.981.

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12 

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Sports 

Wrestling team looks to improve 

By Kyle Farmer 


Wrestling is a grueling 

and difficult sport for 

anyone to undertake. Yet 

this year’s wrestling squad 

still consists of 36 guys willing 

to take on the challenge. 

This season’s team looks 

to be an interesting combination 

of experience and 

talented youth. This is to 

be the formula for success. 

Both mental and 

physical toughness are required 

to become a successful 

wrestler. Grueling practices 

are coupled with the stress to 

meet the desired weight class. 

Many times matches 

will come down to whoever 

makes the first mistake that 

results in precious points. 

Other times opponents will 

simply use brute force to obtain 

the well deserved pin. 

The biggest addition to this 

year’s team is first-year 

head coach Jody Tyner. 

He is coming into 

an experienced team with 

the possibility for success. 

Tyner was a wrestler himself 

at Middleville, one of 

Wayland’s conference foes. 

“The team is very close and has 

a lot of senior leadership,” said 

assistant coach Roy Harter. 

Wayland returns many 

top seniors in a variety 

of weight classes. 

Chae Acton returns at 

112 pounds, David Card at 152 

By Cory Jamieson 


pounds, Sean Thompson at 

171 pounds, Ryan Reurink at 

189 pounds, and Glenn Van- 

Nortwick at 215 pounds. Glenn 

and Chae are the more experienced 

on the team, with Van- 

Nortwick receiving his 100 th win. 

Nearly the same 

number of juniors return to 

this year’s team as well. Top 

returnees include Darrin 

Walker at 140 pounds, Chad 

Wilson at 145 pounds, and 

Brad Barry at 160 pounds. 

Other underclassman who 

should have an impact from 

the start is freshman Mark 

Halloway who wrestles at 

135 pounds. Halloway wrestled 

in his first JV meet and 

won it easily which boosted 

him to the varsity squad. 

The team, who placed 

sixth in the conference last 

year, may have another difficult 

road ahead of them this 

year. Both Hamilton and Hastings, 

who carries a 50 man 

roster, are ranked in the top 

10 in the area. Middleville and 

Byron Center will also be competitive 

in the league this year. 

Wrestlers will have 

many big events this year. 

On December 8 they held 

their home invitational, and 

on February 9 they will have 

the conference tournament. 

February 13 are the team 

ALL WRAPPED UP. Freshman Mike Rawlings wraps up the Middleville opponent, in the January 9 dual match. Rawlings 

is one of a few promising newcomers to this years team to blend with their senior leadership. Rawlings is also 

known as “Chicken Beard” for one of his signature wrestling moves. Media Credit: Katie Dykhouse 

Bowling season starts up 

Both the girls and boys 

bowling teams are looking to 

make a run for their conference 

titles this year, both returning 

key talent. 

Looking very good this year so far, the 

boy’s team leads with juniors Steve Marcus, 

Brady Forcier and Paul Goodwin leading the 

way. All of them have been on the varsity team 

since their freshman year. A second place finish 

is the conference is one thing they would like to 

one-up to a championship this year. Marcus is 

the only returning all-conference honoree on the 

team, after achieving it his sophomore season, 

and he is looking for a break-out year. His high 

of 277 and 193 average was very impressive 

last season, along with his eighth place finish at 

regionals. Junior newcomer Thomas Tobolic, and 

senior Ricky Martus also look to break-out this year also. The 

team has two former weekly “ladies man” competition winners in 

Forcier and Goodwin. The competition is something that brings 

districts where teams can 

qualify for regionals and on 

February 16 the individual 

districts where individual 

wrestlers can qualify for regionals 

en route to state. 

the team together, and encourages more fans to go to matches, 

especially the ladies. Other former winners include newly 

aquired bowling team fans juniors Jarret Dore, Jake Bronson, 

Billy Johnson, and senior Josh Russo. 

“It’s alright,” says Russo about winning 

“They’re 

alright” 

-senior 

Josh Russo 

on the bowling 

teams this year 

the award, and then when asked about the 

bowling team this year, he replied, “They’re 

alright.” 

Key returnees for the girls team are 

seniors Shannon Dukeveicyz, and Amanda 

Fifelski who were two of their top bowlers last 

season as juniors. The key loss that will hurt the 

team a lot is the departure of Cassie Goodwin, 

who carried the team last season, and was an 

all-conference honoree her sophomore, junior, 

and senior seasons. With the loss, it will be 

tough to upgrade there second place OK Gold 

finish last season to a championship this year, 

but it is definitely a possibility. 

Airport Lanes is the home bowling alley for both teams, 

and you can come out and watch the team for free. 


January 2008 

Page Editor: 

Cory Jamieson 

Paw Prints Press 

Salutes Freshman 

Basketball 

Freshman Sam Martus 

Outstanding 

Basketball Player 

Favorite TV Show 

Simpsons 

Favorite Singer 

Matchbox 20 

Favorite Food 

Subs 

Favorite Superhero 

The Hulk 

Pets 

Dog (T-Bone) 

Favorite Brand 

Nike 

Favorite Athlete 

Rip Hamilton 

Favorite Teacher 

Mr. Mo 

Favortie Subject 

Math 

Pet Peeve 

When kids screw around in 

serios situations 

Best Friend 

Wes Hudson 

Freshman Caitlyn Carlson 

Outstanding 

Basketball Player 

Favorite TV Show 

8 Simple Rules 

Favorite Singer 

Taylor Swift 

Favorite Food 

Mashed Potatoes 

Favorite Superhero 

Super Women 

Pets 

Cat (Lilly) 

Favorite Brand 

Hollister 

Favorite Athlete 

Jenny Finch 

Favorite Teacher 

Mrs. Brown 

Favorite Subject 

Math 

Pet Peeve 

People talking behind your 

back

the wayland high press - My High School Journalism

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