2015-2016 School Year, Volumn 96, Issue 3

The Voice of
the Presidents
Friday, October 30, 2015
Volume 96, Issue 3
Meet Warren Harding’s unknown grandson
McKenna Gallagher
Kristen Crissinger
Journalism Students
“I’ve always known. I always
heard the stories. My grandmother
never lied,” says Jim Blaesing of
Portland, Oregon. Nan Britton, his
grandmother, was in her early 20’s
when she fell in love with former
president Warren G. Harding.
It was the ultimate love story.
Except he was married, she was pregnant, and then there was the fact that
he was soon going to become the
president of the United States.
Mr. Blaesing had sent the grandnephew and niece Peter and Abby
Harding an email after finding out in
August from Ancestry.com that President Harding was indeed his grandfather.
Before taking the DNA mouth
swab test from Ancestry.com, he
took a government test only to have
the results come in at 66 percent. The
second test had a 99 percent certainty
level.
When emailing Peter and Abby,
some members of the Harding family
didn’t want to know the answer.
Whether they liked it or not, it was
all over the United States thanks to
the press.
Nan Britton and baby Elizabeth (1922). Elizabeth’s son, Jim Blaesing, lives
in Portland, Oregon today. Photos courtesy of Jim Blaesing.
Blaesing says, “It feels pretty
good to know I’m Harding’s grandson.”
The 65-year-old contractor is
glad his grandmother’s story is seen
as the truth now. During the phone
interview with the Harding Herald,
Blaesing got a little emotional when
talking about what they did.
“They called both my mother
and my grandmother terrible things.
They would call my grandmother a
gold-digger and (she) was accused of
lying and just being a local prostitute. My mom had to hide.”
He says that he gets treated differently now that everyone knows
the truth is out. Anyone could say
that “Romeo and Juliet” was a great
love story, but in Jim Blaesing’s eyes
his grandmother and President Harding had it all.
During the six-and-one-half year
affair, Harding would buy Nan Britton all sorts of gifts, one being a diamond ring she wore every day. One
day, heading to a shop, she lost it and
for a year she would go to that shop
and look for it, put up fliers with a
reward if someone could find it, but
there was no luck.
“They were truly in love with
each other and I believe that it hurt
him when he couldn’t see her or his
daughter. I believe he died of a broken heart.”
Even though the letters were
burned and Britton had no proof,
she would stick up for herself
when someone would call her a
liar.
That’s exactly why she wrote
the book “The President’s Daughter” published in 1927.
“She wouldn’t have wrote the
book if Harding would have
stepped up. She only did it for her
daughter,” says Blaesing.
He says that this revelation
would be everything to her. “I
didn’t do this for myself. I did this
for my grandmother and my
mom.”
Nan Britton died in 1991
Elizabeth Blaesing was born in
1919 and died in 2005.
Jim Blaesing is planning a
trip with his family to come to
Marion within the next year.
He would love to visit
Harding High School. When
asked if Harding was the best high
school, Blaesing replied, “Of
course. It has Harding’s name on
it and is full of great kids.”
See more never-published
pictures on the Harding
Herald ‘s new website
www.PresidentialPress.com .
Musical tackles discrimination in the ’60s
Colton Hoffman
Journalism Student
This year’s musical, “Hairspray!”
will be performed at the Palace Theatre.
The show dates will be Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, at 7:30 p.m. and
Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets
will cost $8 for students and $10 for
adults.
As usual, Choir Director Mrs. Jami
Inside this issue
“The Intern” review………………..2
Marijuana vote Nov. 3……………..3
Harding Band honored……………..4
Prexie pride is growing………....….5
Fine football season..….....………....6
Winter sports preview……..……….7
Faces in the Hall……….…...………8
Rawlins will be in charge of directing
this year’s show with the help of her
Assistant Director Kristi Wink. This
show is going to take a different direction than last year’s performance of
“Les Miserables.”
“Last year’s show was super good
but this year’s show will be just as
good,” stated Tanner Wink, who plays
the part of Corny Collins.
Contrary to popular belief,
“Hairspray!” is not just a show about
hair product. “Hairspray!” is a show
that has a setting taking you back to the
1960s in Baltimore, Maryland. Now,
even though students today weren’t
alive to know this, this show displays a
theme regarding a huge problem with
racial discrimination. In the show, there
is even discrimination if you looked
different from the rest of the people.
The main character in
“Hairspray!” is a girl named Tracy
Turnblad, who will be played by Lauren Nelson. Tracy is in love with a cool
and hip TV show called, “The Corny
Collins Show.” She is also in love with
Photo courtesy of Google
Link Larkin, who will be played by
Josh Martin. Tracy is even lucky
enough to go down to the station and
have an audition for the show but is
made fun of because of her weight.
While she’s at the station, she notices
that the black performers only get one
dance a month and Tracy doesn’t think
this is right. Tracy even earns a spot on
the show but is still showing her feelings towards discrimination, not just
against black people, but anyone that
may look a little different, in general.
Her doing this will either help or hurt
her chances at achieving her life-long
dream of becoming Ms. Teenage Hairspray competing against her foe, Amber
Von Tussle, who
is played
by Ashley Russell.
Harding
students
always go
above and beyond in giving their audience the best performance any school
in this community has to offer. Many
hard nights of rehearsals will be sure to
pay off. With “Hairspray!” offering a
lot of dancing scenes, Wink thinks that
“overall it will be a pretty good show
with a lot of dancing and pretty tough
vocals.” The cast is “fighting through.”
As always, the hard work of the cast
will shine through their performance.
As cast members have indicated,
this year’s show is going to be outstanding. Many are proud of Harding’s
Music Department and this show will
definitely display the incredible talent
we have at Harding. Mrs. Rawlins has
had a big hand in building the Music
Department into what it is today. “Mrs.
Rawlins always does a great job,” says
What’s Hot?
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 2
“The Intern” shows that old school is the new school
McKenna Gallagher
way) is the big bad boss who
created the company and to
Journalism Student
After traveling the world, retired 70-year-old widower Ben
Whittaker (played by Robert De
Niro) decides he wants to conquer a new challenge, so he applies to be a senior intern at an
online fashion site. Grey being
the new green of course.
When the first day comes
he’s the classiest type out of the
younger trendmakers who work
there. Everyone falls in love with
him except for his boss. Jules
Ostin (played by Anne Hatha-
whom Ben is assigned to be an
intern.
At first Jules isn’t so
keen about Ben, seeing him to be
nosy when really he just wants to
be wanted.
As the movie goes on, their relationship grows, followed by
smiles, tears and Jules loving
him like a best friend. She is telling him everything, even the secret affair she knows is going on
between her husband and a mom
at school.
This 2:01 movie is PG-13 so
the whole family can go and
watch it together. Directed by
Nancy Meyers, “The Intern” was
released Sept. 25.
In its review the New York
Times said, “The director Nancy
Meyers doesn’t just make movies, she makes the kind of life-
style fantasies you sink into like
eiderdown.”
“Robert De Niro attains peak
adorable-ness in “The Intern” a
genial, gentle, regrettably bland
comedy by writer-director Nancy Meyer,” said Washington
Post
In my opinion this is a loving
story that everyone can relate to
about an old man wanting to be
needed like the rest of us in the
world. I liked how in the beginning they see Jules to be mean,
conservative, and stuck up. As
the story continues on, she
opens up telling the reasons she
is like that.
Tim Burton is the Pumpkin King
Sydney Cook
Herald Editor
When Halloween is around the
corner, everyone is so eager to attend
haunted hayrides, haunted prisons
and watch the latest scary, R-rated
movies. But what about the kids and
the families with younger children?
That’s where Tim Burton comes in.
Burton is a legendary Hollywood producer and film director best
known for his animated films like
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) and “Corpse
Bride” (2005). Although these are
some of his older works, they are
still popular and well-known. In fact,
“Corpse Bride” is featured nearly
every year on ABC Family’s “13
Nights of Halloween” and “The
Nightmare Before Christmas” has an
average four-star rating on Netflix.
Some of Burton’s latest animated
works include
“Frankenweenie” (2012). In these
films, the protagonist is usually faced
with a problem bigger than themselves, such as life and death. In
many of his animated films, Burton’s
protagonist’s name is Victor and
these protagonists have a dog with
various names.
Burton doesn’t just work on animated films, but also does live action
Tim Burton’s new exhibit showcases
notorious character from his movies.
movies. Many of his well-known
works include “Beetlejuice” (1988)
“Edward Scissorhands” (1990) and
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005). In many of Burton’s live
action films, Johnny Depp is featured
in the cast as the main character. The
duo are like partners in crime. Johnny
Depp is featured in many of Burton’s
movies such as “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), “Alice in Wonderland” (2010) and “Dark Shadows” (2012).
Burton’s genre of movies is usually fantasy set in later or older times.
The ideas that make Burton a legend
are outrageous and the man definitely
thinks outside the box.
Burton now has his very own
exhibit featuring models of characters
from his movies at the New York
Museum of Modern Art.
Can we take a trip to Mars, and come back?
Troy Marshall
Journalism Student
Originally a book, “The Mar-
tian,” starring Matt Damon, is
about a manned mission to Mars
in 2030’s where they are to stay
on the planet for two months
when astrobotanist Mark
Watney (Matt Damon) is
caught in a fierce space
storm. He is left behind by his
crew of “Ares
lll” and presumed dead, as
the crew
launches themselves back to
Earth.
Watney finds
himself alone on
the hostile planet
and must survive on his wits and
only meager supplies while he
figures out a way to signal to
Earth that he’s alive. Millions of
miles away, a team of interna-
tional scientists and NASA work
tirelessly to figure out how to get
him home. Meanwhile his crew
mates concurrently plot a daring, if
not impossible, rescue mission.
Towards the end of “The Martian,”
Matt Damon’s stranded character,
in a moment of success shouts, “In
your face Neil Armstrong”. This
shows the film’s irreverence which
is rear in the spacesuit genre.
“‘The Martian’ mixes smarts,
laughs, weird character scenes, and
is wrapped with tension” says the
New York Times review. “The
Martian” is directed by Ridley
Scott and written by Drew Goddard.
The movie was filmed in multiple locations such as Wadi Rum,
Jordan, Korda Studios, Etyek, Hungary and Johnson Space Center in
Houston Texas. “The Martian” is
rated PG-13, and the box office
brought in $166.2 million dollars,
when it opened in theaters on Oct.
2. The runtime is 2 hours and 14
minutes. The genre is action/
adventure and based on a novel by
Andy Weir.
“Smart, thrilling, and surprisingly funny, The Martian offers a
faithful adaptation of the bestselling
book that brings out the best in
leading man Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott” is the critics’
consensus on RottenTomatoes.com.
Perspectives
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 3
Should marijuana be legalized in Ohio?
YES
Tyler Parsons
Herald Editor
For the first time in history,
Americans are more in favor of legalizing marijuana than criminalizing it.
2013 has markedly been a successful
year for marijuana legalization, with
Colorado and Washington both passing laws to decriminalize the drug.
Now, 58 percent of Americans are in
favor allowing the plant to be legal.
No one has ever died of a
marijuana overdose. You may think
having a large amount of THC in your
system will kill you, but you are
wrong. Ever since marijuana has been
known to mankind, not one single account of death from overdose has been
recorded. On the other hand, in just
one year 201,038,329 people died
from drug overdoses. Sixty percent of
those were related to prescription
drugs. In that same year, 25,692 people died from alcohol-related causes.
If you are completely fine with
alcohol and cigarettes, then there
shouldn't be a reason you
aren't accepting of marijuana as well.
A 2010 study published in the Lancet and reported by the Economist, a
team of drug experts in the U.K. assessed the combined harms to others
and to the user of marijuana as less
than the harms posed by alcohol or
tobacco use.
The negative stigma of pot use
has certainly made it seem like it's
worse, and since using the drug is still
illegal, the fact that only people who
are willing to break the law will smoke
has inevitably made it associated with
a "pothead" culture.
Marijuana has a very low risk of
NO
abuse. Contrary to popular belief,
marijuana is not as addicting as one
may think. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's
chief medical correspondent, recently
wrote in his essay, "Why I Changed
My Mind About Weed," that we have
been "systematically misled" on marijuana. He reports that marijuana leads
to dependence in around 9-10 percent
of adult users. Cocaine hooks about 20
percent of its users, and heroin gets 25
percent of its users addicted. The
worst culprit is tobacco, with 30 percent of its users becoming addicted.
Maya Angelou, Martha Stewart,
Zach Braff, Morgan Freeman, Ted
Turner, Michael Bloomberg, and even
Rush Limbaugh are all highfunctioning marijuana
users. Stewart, who is
72 years old, gave an
interview with Bravo's
Andy Cohen over the
summer of 2013 where
she talked about
"sloppy joints" and flat
out said, "Of course I
know how to roll a
joint." And this isn't just
an argument about how
the "cool kids" do it and
therefore so should you.
There are big-time business people, such as Richard Branson, who
couldn't have accomplished as much
as they have if they were being debilitated by a killer drug. Sure, there is a
difference between the marijuana use
of a "pothead" and Oprah Winfrey, but
we shouldn't continue punishing the
moderate users.
These are just a few of the reasons
that marijuana should be legal not only in Ohio but across the country.
Sydney Cook
Herald Editor
Issue 2 and Issue 3 will be on
Ohio’s ballot Nov. 3 on the question of legalizing marijuana. Issue
2 would prohibit monopolies from
selling marijuana, but Issue 3
would make recreational use of
marijuana more open to the public
with set limitations, similar to cigarettes and alcohol.
Although there are some benefits to the medicinal purpose of
marijuana, such as
for cancer patients
and patients with
sleep disorders
and decreased
appetite, I do not
believe it should
be legalized. Legalizing marijuana for medicinal
purposes cannot
guarantee it will
just be used for
medicinal purposes. There are many ways to cheat
the system. For example, many
people are receiving government
assistance through welfare, food
stamps, disability and other programs, yet they have the money to
buy brand new phones, computers,
televisions, etc. and can do rigorous manual labor such as severe
landscaping or yard work to their
own homes. Many people on these
assistance programs also abuse
drugs and alcohol, and we just started doing random drug testing earlier
this year.
An article on Cleveland.com
written by Jakie Borchardt in August 2015, states, “Two Republican
state lawmakers are reviving a plan
to drug test welfare recipients to
ensure taxpayer money is going to
families who need help and not drug
dealers.”
The lead to this story says it all,
if drug dealers can cheat the government system for public assistance, it
won’t be that hard for patients to
cheat the system by faking an injury
or illness, or exaggerating their injury or illness. Also, who’s to say we
can trust the doctors to administer
the drugs appropriately? According
to The Columbus Dispatch there
were 2,988 claims of malpractice in
Ohio in 2010, and although the
numbers are dropping as we speak,
that is still a lot of cases.
The legalization of medicinal
marijuana can lead to the general
legalization of marijuana. There is
no case where marijuana is considered the primary cause of death,
such as through an overdose, but it
can be considered as a secondary
cause of death. Marijuana impairs
judgment, slows down reaction time
and creates fatigue. In a car accident, the primary cause of death
would be the impaired driver, but
the driver would later have been
discovered as impaired by marijuana.
Photo Opinions: In next month’s voting, should marijuana be legalized in Ohio? Why?
Mason French - Freshman
Kara Weatherbee – Sophomore
Taiya Jones - Junior
Taylor McIntire– Senior
“Yes, because it’s used for medical
reasons.”
“Yes, for medical reasons.”
“Yes, because it makes people feel
good and it’s a stress reliever.”
“Yes, because the government can tax it
and make money.”
Features
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 4
Band goes to infinity and beyond
Tyler Parsons
Herald Editor
Marion Harding High School's
marching band is making history.
Under the direction of Director Jacob Hartman and Assistant Director
Yugi Jones, the band received superior
ratings in all 12 categories at the
Maumee Music in Action competition
on Oct. 10 and Swanton High School on
Oct. 24. It's the first time in school history that the band has accomplished this at
a competition.
Another way the band is breaking
history this season is that they won
grand champion and received best percussion overall and in their class at every
competition they attended this year.
Other successes include qualifying
for the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) state competition at its
first competition of the season. The color
guard won the best in-show award at
Columbus Grove, the first time it's
earned this honor in 17 years.
“It’s a lot of time and effort and it’s
a lot more than just spinning a flag. We
spend so much time together my team is
my second family,” said Emilee Cox, a
sophomore member of the color guard.
This is the 27th consecutive year
that the band's qualified for state.
The theme of this year's show is
"Beyond." It's a space-themed show with
movements like "Lift off," "Is anybody
out there?" and "Re-entry."
Successes like this doesn’t just hap-
Marching Band competition trophies.
Photo by Tyler Parsons.
pen overnight. The band starts its season
in the early summer, usually the week
after the Fourth of July while the percussion starts in mid to late June.
The band starts its season with their
band camp. This is a three-week period
normally consisting of a week of “two-adays” which is a noon-9 p.m. rehearsal
with a two-hour dinner break from 4 to 6
p.m. Then a week of “three-a-days”
which consists of a 9-to-9 rehearsal with
a one-hour lunch break, then a two-hour
dinner break.
After this, there is yet another week
of “two-a-days”. By this time, the band
has a good portion of their show learned.
They then continue to learn and clean up
the show during the normal 6-to-9 practices throughout the rest of the season.
The band will add in new props and visual aspects to their show throughout the
season.
The band will be performing at the
last football game home against River
Valley. After that, they will go to state at
Hilliard Bradley High School on Oct. 31.
Brennan Thrasher, a sophomore
who plays tenors in the drumline, said
that being in the band “is a spectacular
experience in which you get to meet cool
people you’ll never forget and always
have an amazing time being pressured.”
The band will continue its season
after state this year. The band will be
leaving Dec. 26 and go to Florida to
compete to play their show at the Outback Bowl. They will spend a week there
and practice and compete at a parade and
the band competition. The last time the
band went was in 2013 where they won.
Safety Code
Jake Nelson
Herald Editor
With all the recent school threats, codes
are now extremely important. But does everyone know them?
On a Code GREEN the building is
locked down. All exterior doors are locked
and no person can enter or leave the building.
All entrances are monitored and students
move under normal procedure.
Code YELLOW is when everything is
under lockdown, or non-violent stay-put. Staff
will lock the doors, close windows, and turn
off the lights. Hallways should be clear and
no one is permitted to leave. YELLOW is
often used with hazardous materials in the
building or drug searches.
Code RED is a violent threat lockdown.
There is an urgent situation with an immediate threat. ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform,
Counter, Evacuate) comes into effect.
However, sometimes Harding has a
bomb threat like the recent one in September.
In order, the staff will: determine location of
spill/extent of explosion, call 911, notify the
superintendent, admins will go door-to-door
and begin evacuation, assist with injured,
secure area, send school safety responders to
meet with emergency responders, and if an
explosion occurs students should seek cover
under desks if possible and should cover their
heads at all times. Rest assured, when something bad happens in the school, the staff will
handle it.
Features
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 5
Mideast in crisis
Prexie pride takeover
Amber Mullins
Herald Editor
tough for a Prexie, but this year,
things seem to be different.
Every student has found
something or someone to be
proud of, even if that thing is
The first grading quarter is
already over and the leaves have
fallen. Within
just a few
months, hallways and stadiums have
been bustling
with pride. It
seems that
anywhere you
look, there are
students
speaking
about being a
Prexie.
Photo courtesy of Amber Mullins
The 2015themselves. Prexie pride can be
16 year started off with positive
found everywhere from the athchanges. This year has already
letes and Music Department to
brought so much talk about the
the Student Section, artists and
school and all that we are. Stigarticle writers.
mas are being proven wrong,
Artist and senior Lynisa
teams are working harder than
Ritchey states, “We [as artists]
ever, and students are becoming
take a lot of pride in our work
more open. Each and every day,
and try our best at every project
students are trying to encourage,
and it really makes us happy to
help, try and be the best they can.
be able to share our talents with
Walking through the halls can be
Jake Nelson
the rest of the school.” With
Harding being so diverse,
there’s something for everyone
to be proud of.
The Student Section, the
leaders of our school
pride, have been very
loud and proud this
year. Through tough
games, rainy Friday
nights, and a few losses,
the Student Section has
yelled out cheers and
danced to keep excitement and warmth. Senior Jesse Ansley, who is
very involved in being a
Prexie, proudly said,
“The atmosphere at
Harding just seems to be
more alive. It has brought people together and created a more
unified sense of school pride.”
Prexie pride isn’t just
seen in the hallways but outside
the building’s walls as well. Any
social media outlet is full of
posts, tweets, photos and captions all bringing a positive light
to Harding. As this school year
continues, keep that Prexie pride
present, Harding!
Student sees Pope in U.S.
Marion Harding High School
1500 Harding Highway East
Marion, Ohio 43302
(740) 223-4700
Published by the Harding Herald staff,
The Harding Herald has been a studentproduced newspaper for 95 years.
Opinions expressed are those of
students in a public forum and should not
be
construed
as
administrative
policy. Letters to the editor and/or guest
articles are welcome from interested
readers on relevant subjects.
They
should contain the author’s name,
homeroom and address. The Harding
Herald reserves the right to edit letters
for length, repetition, spelling and
grammar. Also, letters must be subject
to laws
governing libel, obscenity,
privacy and disruption of the school
process.
Sophomore Connor Stevenson traveled to Philadelphia with his family in late
September for Pope Francis' visit to the United States. He saw the pontiff in person
during Saturday's parade on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. He is seen here with
his sister and mother just after Sunday's outdoor Mass. Photo courtesy of
Lori Stevenson.
Editors:
Jake Nelson
Sydney Cook
Tyler Parsons
Hayden Hamilton
Adviser:
Amber Mullins
Mr. Bob Bender
Herald Editor
The Middle East has been a hotbed of activity recently with the Syrian crisis in full swing. In a mass exodus, millions of people are fleeing
Syria in an effort to find safety. Over
22 million people have been displaced from their homes and at least
seven million have fled the country.
But why are they fleeing?
The whole fiasco started back in
2011 when there were peaceful protests against the country’s government. The protests turned violent
quickly and were soon full on riots.
Then the situation got worse when
people started rebelling against the
government, forming their own ar-
People carrying a burnt body at the
site of an explosion in Damascus,
Syria in 2012. Photo by Reuters.
mies to fight the government. Among
those armies is ISIS. It’s now a civil
war and more than 220,000 people
have been killed, which is about
equivalent to six Marions being completely wiped out. At first not many
countries were involved but now it
seems most of the world has its eyes
on the Middle East, including Russia
and the US.
South of Syria another conflict is
unfolding. In Israel, Jews and Muslims are clashing with Palestine on
one side and Israel on the other.
6,890 Palestinians have been killed
and 1,091 Israelis since 2000. All of
the fighting was brought on when the
Jews were moved to Israel after
WWII. The local Muslims hated
these new people and the wars have
yet to stop.
The war has been going on in the
form of skirmishes for decades now.
Most of the Middle East is in turmoil
and is causing great distress in European countries by the great number of
refugees fleeing into their borders.
The tiny countries do not have the
capabilities to hold a massive influx
of people and are struggling to balance the refugees and their own people. With no end in sight, the fighting
goes on.
Sports
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 6
Football season huge success
Amber Mullins
Herald Editor
and determination changed the
now than past years. I just love
brotherhood from those hot sum-
way the team functioned, ac-
the game. For me that's inspir-
mer days has carried over to to-
cording to some players.
ing enough," expressed senior
day.” The seniors were deter-
linebacker Roger Hamon.
mined to bring home a win this
As the air gets cooler and
"We've played collectively
the scoreboard counts down,
as a unit. We were happy to be
another season of
a part of something bigger than
Senior tailback and nose
guard Thomas Moore added,
year, and they did just that, three
wins.
"There is a
football is coming to
an end. This season
has been the best season for Harding football in recent years. So
far, the football team
has accomplished
Harding had been in the top
sense of family
rankings for the MOAC consec-
in the team.
utively for a few weeks. Harding
From the lock-
is currently in fifth place behind
er room on ear-
Galion. Coming in to the last
ly Saturday
Friday night, Harding is now 3-
mornings
6.
watching game
more than what was
expected.
Some parents and
county schools were
skeptical of Harding's team.
ourselves,” stated senior re-
What would make this year dif-
ceiver and corner Cory Rice.
With one last game on the
film and run-
board, the boys are nearly re-
ning to balling
lieved and sad all at once. To-
every Friday/
night, the boys play school rival
Saturday with
River Valley. During halftime,
the guy next to you, knowing
senior players will be announced
you both have each other's
and escorted onto the field by
ferent than any of the others? A
"(We have) leadership, we
change in pride, sportsmanship
worked hard in the off season
backs...For some of us, it start-
their parents. Come out to sup-
and we act more like a team
ed at the end of last year...This
port the boys on Senior Night.
Volleyball is helping take a stand
Sydney Cook
Herald Editor
On Oct. 13, Harding faced
the Pleasant Spartans in the
different. Ronda Thrasher, Brennan Thrasher’s mother and Taylor Thrasher’s stepmother, suf-
Thrasher.
Angelica White’s mother and
Around 12% of women in
Grant cafeteria worker, Evelyn
the U.S. will develop invasive
White, also suffers from breast
fers from breast cancer.
cancer.
Thrasher says that the hard-
Angelica states, “The hardest
“Volley for the Cure” game.
est obstacle she has had to face
part was when she lost her hair.
The game’s purpose was to sup-
in her battle with breast cancer is
Before that, we could pretend
port breast cancer awareness
“the fear of not being around to
that nothing was happening and
and help find a cure through the
see my kids grow up and begin
it just made everything that more
Stefanie Spielman Foundation.
their lives.”
real. Not being able to do any-
In honor of the game, both
But still, Thrasher keeps
thing to help her, was and is still
teams wore different shirts other
fighting. “I never want my kids
hard. At the end of the day
than their regular jerseys. Har-
and my family to think it’s okay
though, I know that chemo treat-
ding wore bright pink shirts with
to give up without fighting. My
ment is to benefit her and not
their numbers on them.
time here on earth is not prom-
Although the game was im-
ised, so I want to make as many
portant to both teams, Harding
memories as I can with the time
had more reason to fight and
I have left.”
play. All throughout Marion
The Thrashers are now sell-
harm her so it makes it a little
Shelbie Howard and Faith
McGinn wait for the serve.
Photo by Sydney Cook.
better. She only has one more
treatment and then radiology,
so we all can’t wait for it to be
breast cancer in their lifetime.
over and to be able to go back
to normal.”
City Schools, there are several
ing t-shirts that say “Ribbons for
The predicted death rate for 2015
cases of breast cancer, from
Ronda” on them. If you are in-
is about 40,290 women in the
staff to parents, and each case is
terested, see Taylor or Brennan
US.
Sports
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 7
Winter sports ready to take off
Amanda Wilford is the coach of
Kristen Crissinger
the gymnastics team. Senior
Journalism Student
Ashleigh Lindsey last school year
took top honors in floor exercise
It’s that time of year again at
Harding—winter sports.
Boys’ basketball is coached by
Don Worstell. “Absolutely, obviously, we strive to win the league MOAC
competition and third all–around at
the OHSAA Central District Gymnastics Tournament.
Swim is coached by Kristin
Grandee.
(Mid Ohio Athletic Conference) and
Last, but not least, we have
improve upon last year’s record,11-
wresting coached by brothers Rocky
12.” Improvements for this year’s
Ratliff and Jeff Ratliff. “I believe
team are to play faster and more en-
this year will be a ‘break out’ year
tertaining basketball. “We hope to
for the wrestling team.
provide more exciting games for our
“This year's team will feature
fan base, and make our school
some outstanding upperclassmen as
proud,” says Worstell.
well as several ‘impact’ freshman
Girls’ basketball is coached by
coach Rocky Ratliff. Harding would
Evan Geyer.
Bowling is being coached by Ernie Indoe. Tryouts for bowling will be
Nov. 2 – 3 at the blufusion Fun Center.
that we will be counting on,” says
be ranked as a top 10 Central District
Division I wrestling team.
Harding would like to wish all
teams luck for a great season this
school year.
Presidential Press
Marion Harding High School
Come visit us at
www.PresidentialPress.com
Updated sports scores, photo galleries, detailed articles and more!
Presented by the Herald Staff
Faces in the Hall
Friday, October 30, 2015
Page 8
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Kit Kat.
What is your favorite scary movie?
“Halloween.”
If you could be a character in a book, TV show or movie, what
would it be?
Finn.
What one musician would you want to bring back from the dead?
Why?
Beethoven. I don’t know why.
Are you usually early, right on time, or late?
On time.
If you could time travel, would you visit the past or the future?
When would you arrive?
Future. I don’t know when.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge
you?
I don’t know.
Did you do your homework last night?
Yes.
Name: Shytriauna Keith
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Gummy bears.
What is your favorite scary movie?
“The Exorcist.”?
If you could be a character in a book, TV show or movie, what
would it be?
SpongeBob.
What one musician would you want to bring back from the dead?
Why?
Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
Are you usually early, right on time, or late?
Late.
If you could time travel, would you visit the past or the future?
When would you arrive?
Future. I would arrive in ten years.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge
you?
Only God can judge me.
Did you do your homework last night?
What homework?
SOPHOMORE
Name: Elijah Mullins
SENIOR
JUNIOR
FRESHMAN
ONE PERSON FROM EACH CLASS WILL BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN SPOTLIGHT IN EVERY ISSUE
Name: Savannah Landon
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Kit Kat.
What is your favorite scary movie?
“Sinister.”
If you could be a character in a book, TV show or movie, what
would it be?
I would be Levi from “Attack on Titan.”
What one musician would you want to bring back from the dead?
Why?
I can’t think of one.
Are you usually early, right on time, or late?
Right on time.
If you could time travel, would you visit the past or the future?
When would you arrive?
Future. I would arrive around 2019.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge
you?
I wouldn’t be afraid of being me.
Did you do your homework last night?
Yes.
Name: Ashleigh Lindsey
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Kit Kat.
What is your favorite scary movie?
“Hocus Pocus.”
If you could be a character in a book, TV show or movie, what
would it be?
Meredith Grey.
What one musician would you want to bring back from the dead?
Why?
Michael Jackson. I don’t know why.
Are you usually early, right on time, or late?
Early.
If you could time travel, would you visit the past or the future?
When would you arrive?
Past, 1970s.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge
you?
Nothing.
Did you do your homework last night?
Yes.