8 - Merrillville Community School

3 News
Merrillville family makes the best out of house fire
By Josh Davis
Staff Reporter
House fires are never a funny or
entertaining topic, but for the Davis family it
has been a scary, yet fun ride.
“We have been living the life the past two
weeks,” Mrs. Precius Davis said.
With the family home destroyed by fire
April 14, the family has been living in The
Residence Inn off of US 30.
Before the fire, the family lived on 61st
Avenue for six years. Four of the five Davis
children attend Merrillville schools. Louis
Craig, the fifth son, graduated from MHS in
2010.
“We don’t have to pay for living there or
breakfast,” Mrs. Davis said. For a family who
has suffered a tragedy, the Davis family is
living a “suite” life.
MHS Choir joins
NWI Symphony
By Cassie Govert
Staff Reporter
The Choralteens will join three other
high schools performing with the Northwest
Indiana Symphony in a “Glee Concert” May
17.
“It is nice for them to get a chance to
perform with the symphony,” choir director
Mrs. Melinda Reinhart said.
The high school choirs will sing two songs
with the orchestra accompianment. The
Choralteens will sing alongside the symphony
choir, Lake Central, Hobart and Emerson.
“I am stressed about the event since it is
a week after our Spring Showcase,” said Mrs.
Reinhart.
“It is a great honor to perform on the
Star’s stage where people like Bill Cosby and
Jerry Seinfeld have given performances,”
Sophomore Will Akins said. Many of the
students have already performed on the Star’s
stage when the cast of the summer musical,
“Les Miserables,” was invited to do a musical
showcase.
“Even though I have performed at the
Star before, it’s still a great honor,” Akins
commented.
By Sam Gubitz
Editor-in-Chief
With the Class of 2012 quickly
approaching graduation, they hope to close
the year out with a figurative bang.
The remaining senior events include
the Baccalaureate, Senior Breakfast and
graduation.
The much-hyped senior/faculty basketball
game was won by the faculty for the sixth year
“It’s fun to live in a hotel,” Fourth grader
Elijah Davis said.
At first the family was living with Mr.
Choa Davis’s mother for a few days.
“I love my mom but my family is big and
we need plenty space,” Mr. Davis said. His
mom’s house was already a full house with
three kids living in it and the Davis family just
added four more.
“Nanny’s house was packed and in
the hotel we at least have our own bed,”
Freshman Anthony Davis said.
The family has been provided all their
needs by the insurance company, State Farm.
“They have been amazing. They have
helped and supported us through the entire
process,” Mrs. Davis said.
This isn’t the first time the family has
experienced a fire that took their house.
Seventeen years ago Mr. Davis’s family was
STAND donates money,
support to ‘adopted’ child
By Jalisa Mosley
News Editor
After the heartbreaking video campaign
of the ill-minded wrongdoings of Joseph Kony
surfaced, the Socially Together and Naturally
Diverse (STAND) club decided to stand
up and contribute by adopting a child from
Uganda.
“Seven kids from Uganda have been
pulled from Children of the Nation, which is
an organization supporting poverty stricken
By Ana Adame
Staff Reporter
The Merrillville Band participated in the
ISSMA competition April 20 and 21.
The advanced band group received two
gold ratings, one in the regular competition
and another in sight reading.
children in Africa” said club Sponsor Mr.
Danny Lackey.
“We are going to choose one of those
seven who we feel needs our help the most
and we are going to support him financially
until that child reaches age 18,” he added.
STAND is promising to donate $32 per
month to the child that they choose. They
want to encourage other clubs to join in and
adopt their own child.
“The money we make from selling the
Kony 2012 t-shirts will go to the cause,” Mr.
Lackey said.
MHS Band goes to ISSMA,
earns gold and silver ratings
in a row. Class sponsor Mr. Alan Mizmakoski
said that the game “went great” and that the
class “raised a lot of money [$1700] for the
class gift.” Mr. Mizmo also noted that “the
‘Decade of Dominance’ is still intact.”
The Sam Troutman Game Night was April
26. “Game Night had more time and energy
than any other senior event that took place
this year,” Mr. Mizmo said. The Troutman
family also attended and donated some of
their own money towards the scholarship
forced to move away because of a fire that
had reportedly started as a break in as well.
“I don’t know if it is bad luck or if
someone is out to get us, but we will continue
to be a strong family and make it with each
other,” Mrs. Davis said.
The Davis family is currently searching for
a temporary house to stay in while their house
is being re-built.
“We love the hotel and living free but we
are a pretty big family and we need a house,”
Mrs. Davis said.
When Mr. and Mrs. Davis learned of
the fire, “My heart sort of dropped to my
stomach and I wanted to cry,” Mrs. Davis
said. Mr. Davis also had a feeling of shock
and heartache.
“It was probably one of the worst phone
calls you can ever receive,” he said.
Sight reading is playing a piece that the
group has never played or seen before.
The intermediate and freshman band
groups received a silver rating in their regular
competition.
The intermediate bands, however, did
not have a sight reading component in their
competition.
fund. There will be one, $1000 scholarship
available to seniors looking to go into a
science related field in college.
Baccalaureate, a nondenominational
religious service held for graduating seniors
and their families, will be held May 20.
Senior Breakfast, an annual breakfast held
by the school to celebrate the graduating class,
is May 25. This year, the senior breakfast has
a Hollywood theme.
“We are hoping to bring the lights, glam
Many people from the community offered
money orders and clothes to help support the
family.
“You never really know how nice and
kind-hearted your neighbors are until you go
through a tragedy,” Mr. Davis said.
The difficulty of losing a house can be
astronomical, but to the members of the Davis
family, it was the little things that hurt the
most.
“The fact that our neighbors probably
won’t be our neighbors anymore is tragic,”
Mrs. Davis said.
It is the most difficult part for Mrs. Davis.
“We have been blessed with many things
and sometimes we get too materialistic,” Mr.
Davis said. “Not to wish this upon anyone,
but this is just what people need sometimes to
realize what is truly important in life.”
Bowl for Kids
raises
over $2000
for scholarships
By Jake Larson
Back Page Editor
Future Educators of America held their
annual Bowl For Kids event in March.
The fundraiser raised over $2000 and the
team that made the most money was Fieler
Foxes.
The money that is raised goes towards the
scholarships that students want to go into the
teaching field. The scholarships are worth
over $500 each.
Although the fundraiser went as planned,
there are still things that it can improve on.
“We could’ve promoted more, and offer
incentives towards the winner,” FEA sponsor
Ms. Christina Mueller said. Also there weren’t
as many people in attendance as hoped.
“We wished more people had come, as
there were only eight teams, and one student
team,”Ms. Mueller said.
Senior class prepares for early Hollywood ending
and fame of Hollywood to MHS,” Mr.
Mizmakoski said. “[Senior Breakfast] is [the
seniors’] day and time to shine,” he added.
This year, graduation is earlier than years
in recent memory, May 30.
“I’m also excited for the students to
graduate. The students I worked with
and talked with this year were great,” Mr.
Mizmakoski said. “I am excited for them to
move on to better things in their lives,” he
said.