Heartbreak - Lewis Central Community Schools

The Wire - Lewis Central High School - 3504 Harry Langdon Blvd.
Council Bluffs, IA 51503
W
Friday, October 9, 2009
Special Feature pages 6 and 7
Expressions
Inside Look page 11
Here piggy piggy!
The scoop on swine flu
News page 2
Issue 1
Homecoming
Heartb
Heading into a packed, all-white,
and loud crowd, the Lewis Central football team (2-2) looked pumped for their
homecoming battle with the Atlantic
Trojans (1-3). That is exactly what the
game was: a battle.
Defense was the name of the game
in the first quarter as both teams were
held scoreless. However, four minutes
into the second quarter Atlantic struck
first with a 30 yard punt return for their
first touchdown since the opening game
of the season. The two-point attempt
was failed though, putting them up 60.
After a 56-yard punt by junior Eric
Toole, pinning the Trojans deep, the Titans held Atlantic to a three and out. LC
took advantage of the good field position. After a short drive, junior quarterback Chance Otto hit senior Zach
Pettepier in the end zone for Lewis
Central’s first touchdown of the game.
Junior kicker Brandon Wilson added on
the extra point to give the Titans the 7-6
lead going into the half.
Continued on page 4
Story by Steven Elonich
reak
The Wire
The Bell
Vandalized
Incidents from the Past
Rusty edges, lonely, silent, and rarely
Shining in all its glory outside the school, the bell sits front and center. In past years
the bell has been used for such things as pranks, pictures, and shade.
Photo by Taylor Jensen
Local Swine Flu Drama
H1N1 Sweeps Students off Their Feet
Get your flu shots here! Flu vaccinations for high school students! Protect
yourself from H1N1! It seems like such
a big deal, this new flu, this potential pandemic. As if we don’t have enough to
worry about already, now we have to fret
over getting this mutated form of the flu.
Hospitals and clinics are tiptoeing around this virus, doing everything
they can think of to prevent mass chaos.
“We’ve been to lots of meetings and we
get memos almost every day,” Melissa Bergantzel said, an x-ray technician at a clinic
in central Iowa, where there was recently
a confirmed case of the flu in the area.
As of now, the only way doctors can tell
if someone has the flu is by swabbing the inside of the nose. Until the threat of the flu
is either confirmed or denied, the potential
victims must wear masks. “If people in the
waiting room have a cough, we put a mask
on them and take them back immediately
to give them a flu shot,” Bergantzel said.
Lewis Central, however, has it under
control. Although there have been several
confirmed cases of the flu in Council Bluffs
and a few in the district, Deb Blodgett, the
school nurse, is not very concerned. “The
threat is relatively mild,” Blodgett said.
Lewis Central is still educating students and
staff on the importance of hand washing, just
to be safe. According to Principal Chuck
Story, Lewis Central is one of the last school
districts to come in contact with the flu. Most
other schools had to deal with it at the end of
the summer and beginning of the school year.
Recently, Lewis Central sent out a
letter specifically addressing the H1N1
flu virus, informing parents that students should stay home if they have a
TASTEE TREET
50 cents off any purchase
of $2.00 or more
For Lewis Central Students and
Staff
Located south of Lewis Central
(712)366-2892
on Harry Langdon Blvd.
2 News
noticed by the hundreds of students that
walk by it everyday. The bell sits on a big
pedestal in front of the school, which is hard
to miss. The bell lives one day at a time.
In 2000, it was stolen from its place
in front of the school and taken to a party.
The bell was thrown in a fire, beaten, and
cracked. After all that, it was thrown over
the side of the South Omaha Bridge and
left to rot. The people involved were former
students of Lewis Central. They thought
they were pulling one of the best pranks
ever, but in the end it was one of the worst.
All who were involved got caught and
had to suffer the consequences, which in
this case was community service and replacing the bell. The prankers had to pay for the
stand which the bell sits on and serve their
hours. The bell in front of the school is not
the original bell that sat in front of the old
high school. “An anonymous person donated a bell that they had sitting in their backyard,” Associate Principal Paul Massman
cough and a temperature. “It’s something
we should take seriously,” Story said.
It seems that most working adults in
Council Bluffs are not worried about contracting it, not even those who work in
the most public-oriented businesses. Precautions have been taken and put into action, such as disinfectants at every corner. Hand sanitizer proves to be the most
common form of prevention throughout
Council Bluffs. “We have hand sanitizer
at every register and entryway and are educating employees on hand washing,” Sean
Butterbaugh, manager of Hy-Vee said.
The Council Bluffs post office, however, is taking precautions a few steps further.
“They have given lots of talks. They clean all
the door handles and doorknobs on a thorough
basis and there is hand sanitizer everywhere.
They even have automatic paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms and encourage people to take paper towels to open the doors,”
Mark Allmon said, a mail handler at the post
office. Allmon has his doubts about the precautions. “We come in contact with so much
mail, [catching it] is always a possibility.”
With these simple precautions in place,
not many Hy-Vee employees are worried about catching it. “We have sanitizer
in every aisle. I use it all the time,” junior
Kyle Ranney said. The disinfectants seem
to be serving their purpose well. “Education and prevention are better than taking
care of it after the fact,” Butterbaugh said.
As with all viruses, students and staff
are advised to wash their hands regularly,
use the hand sanitizer provided throughout
said. The old bell is still around, but no one
really knows where it’s at, it could still be
at the bottom of the river as far as we know.
Nothing had really happened to the bell
for a few years until a week before school
started. A student broke part of the stand that
holds the bell up, but that was as far as they
could get. The student was caught before
he could do anymore damage, the bell was
saved. Other than that the new bell has neither been vandalized nor had any other life
threatening incidents, but still gets noticed.
The bell still gets its attention by posing in the yearly newspaper, yearbook,
and senior pictures. “It gives shade for
the people whose parents forget them,”
junior Ashley Minnick said. Many students get saved by the bell everyday.
“The bell has and always will be there, in
front of the school,” sophomore Shaylia Barber said. The bell is important to Lewis Central; it shows the strength, effort, and pride
that the students and staff put in our school.
Story by Taylor Kuhn
the building, and keep their hands away
from their faces. When it comes right down
to it, education on hand washing is the ultimate guard. Like Blodgett said, “Be smart;
stay home if you are sick.” Nurse’s orders.
Story by Sara Rudolph
The Wire Staff
Editors-in-Chief
Christopher Jensen
Lindsey Lawrence
Assistant Editor
Taylor Jensen
Photography Editor
Bridget Mulligan
Business Editors
Steven Elonich
Kyla Spencer
Copy Editor
Sara Marshall
Cartoonist
Trever Daniels
Reporters
Ashlynn Cooper
Bridget Hall
Shelby Klepfer
Taylor Kuhn
Sanjula Mahathantila
Carrie Miller
Brandon Myers
Stephanie Rapier
Sara Rudolph
Bianca Zerwas
Page Design Chris Jensen
October 9, 2009
Ingredient in Diet Pop
Possible Link to Early Alzheimers
Photo from weightymatter.ca
At the start of a normal school day,
the taste of a crisp, refreshing Mountain Dew may sound tasty to you. Then
as you’re at the pop machine, ready to
put your six quarters in, you realize that
there is just diet Mountain Dew! In a
school filled with only diet pop machines
turned on during the day, this change
is a big difference for this school year.
This switch has upset students.
Only two pop machines are left not diet.
“I think it’s stupid. Diet pop is worse
for you than regular pop, since it has fake
sugars in it and it is known to have bad
side effects,” senior Jordan Harden said.
A main ingredient in diet pop is the low
calorie sweetener aspartame. Being a controversial ingredient, it is linked to serious health
problems. Alzheimer’s, a memory loss disease, is rumored to be caused by drinking a
lot of diet pop. But according to www.alz.org,
aspartame can also cause brain cancer, but
there is no scientific proof from the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) that this is true.
“I do not drink pop as it is useless and damaging to the body. Also, why put chemicals
into your body that are completely foreign?
Your body does not how to metabolize them,”
a local practicing physician assistant said.
The reason for the switch is the Healthy
Kids Act, which include students of Iowa getting more physical activity and being health-
ier. Though having only diet pop machines
turned on during school hours in not included in the bill, law makers are working on it.
“We had to switch because of the Health
KidsAct, and basically in July 2010 all pop will
be taken out of school during the day,” Activities Bookkeeper Charlotte Butterbaugh said.
Of course, there are other options
from drinking diet pop at school. Located
in the cafeteria, there are two machines
that have sugary juice, Gatorade and water. The Titan Snack Shack sells a variety
of drinks, from milk to juices. If all else
fails and you have to have to the Mountain
Dew, there is a gas station down the street.
Story by Shelby Klepfer
Sophomore Stasha Cannon and senior Janet Leafty dump recycled paper into the big, green cart.
Photo by Stephanie Rapier
LC Admin Takes Away Boxes
The boxes were everywhere to help save the Earth. They were put out by
pottery teacher Clay Cunningham, to try to make an example for the freshmen that
were just starting high school.
“I just wanted to take care of it and I was the only one to bring it up,” Clay
Cunningham said.
Now that those large white boxes are gone, there are things you could do
to help get them back. “If you want them back you could petition Mr. Story, or
maybe, if you used them correctly you would still have them,” said security guard
Richard Vogelzang. If you petition you can take it to the student council, the student body, the teachers and the parents, and then give it to Mr. Story. Saying that
we could use them correctly is not a slam, it is the truth.
Some students think that the school could still use them. “I think the school
does what it can and recycling boxes are a good place to start, they should go in
the cafeteria next to the garbage,” senior Nicole McGuire said. Junior Kait Madsen also thinks they are a good idea. “I think it is important for students to learn
the steps to help the earth, and it is really easy to do.”
Now what about getting them to the plant? “Getting the bottles ready to take
to the recycling plant was a hassle because I had to dig through the trash and food
to get to the bottles. “Getting them in to the plant is easy all I had to do is pay a
small fine.” Cunningham said.
There are a lot of recyclable materials at school still. “Yes because there are
a lot of materials that should be recycled like bottles. They could be used for that
Story by Stephanie Rapier
instead of trash.” Senior Nicole McGuire said.
Page Design Chris Jensen
News 3
The Wire
With a determined expression, junior
Eric Toole
prepares himself for football
practice. Toole
is a multi-sport
athlete,
playing baseball, football,
and running
track.
Photo by
Bridget
Mulligan
Justin Toole, alumni of Lewis Central,
recently graduated from the University of
Iowa and went on to sign with the Cleveland
Indians. While the Hawkeyes have lost one
Toole, they have gained another.
After signing with then Iowa as a sophomore, junior Eric Toole will be getting a
full ride scholarship to play baseball for the
Hawks . “I’m excited for the opportunity to
follow in my brother’s footsteps and play for
Iowa.”
The Hawkeyes should be excited too. As
a sophomore, Eric Toole batted .492, crossed
the plate 53 times, stole 29 bases, and made
first team all-state in class 4A.
Toole still has two years left in high
school before he joins the Hawkeyes in
2011, and is on track to only get better. As
one of the leaders, Toole led the Titans to a
25-11 record.
The Hawks did not fair as well as the Titans though, placing last in the Big Ten with
a conference record of 4-19. “Hopefully I
can go in there and help bring the program
up,” said Toole.
From the Hawkeye Ten Conference to
the Big Ten, anyone opposing this player
better be on top of their game.
Story by Steven Elonich
Hawkeyes Acquire a New
Toole for Success
Homecoming continued
from the
Heartbreak front page
Lewis Central came out of
the gates fast in the second half,
with junior Nate Connealy’s 90yard sprint for a score, putting
the Titans ahead 14-6. Atlantic
was not out of it though, after a
53-yard passing touchdown that
included two broken tackles and
a missed two point conversion,
they lowered the deficit to two;
14-12.
As the fourth quarter wore
on, it seemed to be this would be
an exciting finish, and it did not
disappoint. The Trojans had the
ball with about 3 minutes remaining on the Lewis Central 31yard-line. They ran a post pattern
with junior Cole Johnson and
senior Cole Jensen covering the
4 Sports
Trojan receiver. “It looked well
defended and like it was going
to be batted down, but somehow
he squeezed between the defenders and caught it,” junior Bobby
Daley said about the play. “It was
a disappointing end to an exciting game.”
A loud Titan fan base suddenly went silent as they watched
the Trojans celebrate after the
shocking touchdown reception.
The Titans still had three minutes
but could not come up with a
response to the Trojan score and
they game finished at an 18-14
Lewis Central defeat, dropping
them to 2-3, and 1-2 in conference play.
Story by Steven Elonich
Senior of
the Issue:
Jessica
Nightser
Senior Jessica Nightser has been a part
of the Lewis Central swim team for all four
years of high school, and has lettered each
and every one. She is also involved in Lewis Corporation and has been a part of such
things as band, express, chamber choir and
golf throughout her four years.
Nightser admits that she would rather
be stranded in Antarctica than in a desert
because she could chill with the penguins.
Her favorite food is Orsi’s pizza and is in
love with the color green.
The first thing Nightser does in the
morning is hit the snooze button and when
she finally wakes up, she slips on her favorite pair of shoes, her moccasins.
Showing off her breaststroke, senior
Jessica Nightser swims outside the water.
Nightser has been swimming for nearly
nine years.
Photo by Bianca Zerwas
Instead of growing up to be Sailor Moon
like she planned on when she was a young
child, she plans to go to college and study
pharmaceuticals.
Story by Bridget Hall
Page Design Taylor Jensen
October 9, 2009
Band Takes a Stand
She walks out onto the field, sets up the equipment, and waits. She
waits for 7 o’clock A.M. The groups of band members slowly trickle
in bit by bit, and when the small hand hits the 7, practice has begun.
Senior Kristina Kempton is a band girl.
“Go to target,” a formation used for warm-up purposes, is her first
command of the morning and the band members follow like it was
something they would do in their sleep. She raises her hands and gives
the first down beat for the band to begin their ‘ultimate warm-up.’ Being one of three drum majors in the band, Kempton helps lead the group
through the rest of the practice.
Kempton is a first time drum major and has responsibilities such
as setting up the band equipment before performances, and conducting
and answering any questions students may have.
“I got a little nervous before the first home football game. It was
my first time being a drum major. Now I think I will only get nervous
before big competitions.”
Kempton is not alone in her worries, seniors Mark Hamilton and
Ryan Penney share her anxiety as fellow drum majors. With a band
consisting of mainly freshmen, practice is sure to get frustrating.
“The formations are the same concept every year, but sometimes
it can be hard for freshmen to grasp. We have pretty good chemistry;
we’re just a young group. We melt together pretty well by the end of
the year,” explained Kempton.
After all the stretching, drills, and two-a-day practices are done,
Kempton just has one thought left on her mind:
Senior drum major Kristina Kempton prepares to lead the Lewis Central band in their home“We know what the crowd is like on game days. When we are docoming half-time performance. Kempton has worked hard since freshman year to earn her
ing set drills for 20 minutes at a time during practice, it might help if
postition as one of the three drum majors.
we knew we were going to get the kind of admiration dance team and
Photo by Sara Marshall
football get.”
Story by Bridget Hall
Belting out a melody,
trumpet players seniors
Matt Mouw and Steven
Warner and junior
Blake Deforest rehearse for the half-time
performance. During
competitions the three
boys join forces to
make a trio.
Photo by Stephanie
Rapier
Senior of
the Issue:
Mark
Hamilton
Senior Mark Hamilton is a student active in the drama department participating
in such things as speech, band, choir and six
productions including the one premiering
this fall.
Hamilton says he can relate to the color
black because it is dark and mysterious like
him and tells that the best birthday present
he has ever received is the book Fahrenheit 451. He also reveals that if he could
have any magical power it would be super- strength so he could save the damsels
in distress, but if he was not lucky enough
to actually wield the power, he would be a
dragon.
Hamilton plans to go onto Iowa State
Page Design Taylor Jensen
Confused as to what is going on, senior
Mark Hamilton throws up his arms.
Hamilton’s favorite chicken is Chicken
of the Sea.
Photo by Sanjula Mahathantila
University after high school and major in
materials engineering instead of being a superhero like he planned when he was a kid.
“My advice to underclassmen is this:
Life is like a breath mint, short. So you
ought to leave a good aftertaste.”
Story by Bridget Hall
Single file, sophomore
Laura Lawrence, juniors Kyle Ranney and
Zach Lang and senior
Matt Colter practice
their set. Part of the
marching bands show
includes an eight count
silence where the drumline takes control.
Photo by Stephanie
Rapier
Activities 5
The Wire
Religion: Invisible Liberty
Hit and Run
My opinion on religion has never changed much. To me the Bible and a game of telephone are
one in the same. Both are inconclusive and crucial details change over time. Therefore you do not
know what is true or what is made up. This explains why I am an atheist, which means I do not
believe in a higher power such as a god. Some of your friends might be atheists or even agnostic,
but fear the repercussions of what you might say or what their family may say.
When you think about it more people
have died in the name of religion or god than
for any other cause. Wars begin because people cannot agree whose god is best, or kill
another man because god told him to. Faith
is an odd thing for me. It’s basically taking
someone’s word, you do not know if it is true
or if it false. I have faith in a few things such
as family and friends but don’t have faith in
an idea such as religion. A great example of
a holy war or a war between religions would
be the Thirty Years War.
A main cause cannot be found for the
fighting. If you were Protestant you may have
been killed. If you were Catholic you may
have been killed. Before the war was over
nearly 30 percent of the German population
had been killed and those who survived were
homeless as thousands of villages were destroyed throughout the empire.
People still criticize the actions of gays
because the Bible says it is a sin to be with
someone who is of the same sex.The Bible is
supposed to be the spoken word of god, perhaps god misspoke. A higher power should
be more accepting. If you love someone, you
should be able to get married, eventually all
same sex couples will be able to marry each
other in the United States. But that day seems
decades away because people’s religious beliefs triumph morals and rational feelings.
Possibly the worst crime in the history of
the earth took place because of religion. That
crime of course was the genocide of millions
of Jews throughout Europe. Those who were
not killed were sent to concentration camps
where they were used basically as slaves
and either died of exhaustion or disease. It
is sickening that humans would do this to
each other just because they have another
religion. It baffles me; I would have given
up my religion for my life. Others may have
not been so lenient but I doubt even religion
would change Nazi’s minds on whether you
Facebook
Taylor Kuhn is excited for the weekend. You would probably see this statement
as my Facebook status. Facebook is a website where you make a profile, add friends,
play games, and chat with people. Basically,
it’s a place where you can be yourself and
have fun, right?
Recently the social network has been
changing from being used mainly by teenagers to being used by all ages. Parents,
grandparents, and even teachers have been
getting a profile. Some teenagers think it’s
awesome that teachers are getting Facebooks and adding them as friends. It is okay
if you are friends with them, but do you
realize that they can see everything on your
profile? That includes your status, information, and pictures.
Most teachers don’t want to be your
friend though. Adults get Facebooks so they
8 Opinion
deserve to live.
A certain passage in the Bible supports
stoning children to death when they misbehave, but Americans complain about spanking their kids. The Bible had two premises
in my mind, to tell others what is right and
what is wrong; which as a result controls
them. We do not take things as far as we did
hundreds of years ago. People are neither
stoned to death for their beliefs nor burned at
the stake. However, there is still the penalty
of death.
I support the death penalty, which is in essence a childish action of retaliation. It seems
natural to get back at some one even if it’s not
a big deal, let alone murder. Generally humans
need to let things go, but every once in a while
there needs to be a consequence for those extreme actions. Technically a life sentence for a
murderer would be more fitting but if it makes
a family feel better for the other man be put to
death, well then by all means.
Story by Brandon Myers
When a dog gets hit by a car and the
driver doesn’t stop, there is always at least
two sides to the story. The first side is the
person responsible and why they didn’t
stop; and the second, the person who owns
the dog and why they weren’t watching her.
Both people are responsible to some
degree, even though the driver is obviously more responsible for it. If someone
hits a dog while driving, they should always stop to see if she is okay. But the
driver can always learn something from
this. There are plenty of precautions you
can take while driving so that you never hit
a dog again. Like actually pay attention to
the road, for instance. Put down your cell
phone, iPod, or whatever it is that distracts
you from the road, and focus on the road.
The owner of the dog can also learn
something after losing their pet like this.
The next time they get a pet, they can do
things a little differently. If they never
bothered to see if the gate is closed or if
there were any exits to the yard other than
a gate, they can start doing that. Or maybe
they can even take a little time out of their
day just to stay with their pet whenever she
is outside, because it really does not take a
long time for them to need to be out there.
The point of all this is that most people are way too busy to notice little things,
like a dog running across the street or a
hole under the fence. Sometimes we just
be talking smack about an activity or your
need to take a break from reality and realjob. People do read statuses and do talk
ize the things we want to get accomplished
about them, including teachers and your
boss. For example, Timmy Titan is so happy at some point, but never really do. For
example, before I lost my dog, I always
he skipped school today. The next day he
told myself that someday I would take her
gets called down to the office because of
running with me daily, because she was
his status. Another is all work and no play,
definitely considered an overweight dog.
work stinks and the pay is horrible, might
Since I never actually acted upon getget you in trouble or even fired.
ting
my dog exercise, I am always going
It doesn’t matter if the person is an
to
be
stuck questioning whether she could
adult or a teenager, but you should always
have
made
it passed that car if she were
know who you are adding as a friend. There
just
a
little
bit healthier. I know I didn’t
are people who pretend to be who they
have
to
lose
my dog, but you don’t eiaren’t and could be harmful to you. In the
ther.
And
this
does not have to just be
end it’s your choice who you want to be
about
an
animal,
it could be about anyyour friend and who you don’t. One thing to
one.
Don’t
procrastinate
spending time
remember is that you control what they see
with
someone
you
love,
or
put off doing
and what they don’t see.
things
you
want
to
eventually
do. You
Story by Taylor Kuhn
might not always get a second chance.
Column by Chris Jensen
Friend Request Accepted
can stay in touch with family and friends.
They usually aren’t interested in what you
and your best friend did last night, but there
are some teachers who do. Teachers who do
add students for communication like to ask
questions about class or to find times for
rehearsals. There are some pros, but there
are also cons.
Here is a warning for all those students
adding teachers as friends: Be careful of
what you put on your profile. What you put
on it can always be seen, especially your
profile pictures. If you have some pictures
from a party where people are drinking
alcohol or playing beer pong, teachers can
turn you in for underage drinking. You
probably don’t want your grandma seeing
you half naked or making out with someone
either, so don’t put them on your profile.
It is also probably not the best idea to
Page Design Chris Jensen and Steven Elonich
October 9, 2009
President Unheard?
On Tuesday, September 8, President
Barack Obama made a presidential address
aimed towards students ranging in age from
kindergarten to high school seniors. The topic of the speech was that students are responsible for their own education, and it is their
responsibility to make sure that they graduate. The address was directed right at the
student population, however, many students
throughout public schools were not allowed
to watch it.
Many parents of students attending
Council Bluffs and Omaha schools called in
and threatened to pull their kids out during
the time of the speech to ensure that their
child would not watch it. At Lewis Central,
Principal Chuck Story received about ten
phone complaints himself. He feels that it
is, “Very unfortunate that it escalated to that
point,” and believes there was a lot of miscommunication. Story handled the issue by
allowing teachers to decide for themselves
whether or not the wanted to take time to
watch the president, although the speech
needed to fit into their curriculum. The address was also shown at eleven o’clock in
the media center, which drew about fifteen
students away from their lunch hour to hear
the speech. There were copies of the address
available for students to obtain from their
teachers.
Still, I cannot help but wonder exactly
where the controversy is here. Was it over
the subject matter? I have never known that
graduation from high school was a controversial issue. When did it become the opinion
of only Democrats that teenagers should receive a proper education? Perhaps it was just
unacceptable for President Obama to speak
directly to the student population. Since
when is it controversial to be able to hear the
President of the United States speak?
I am not by any means saying that everyone needs to believe in what the president
says, but we owe him the right to be heard
by his country. As an American high school
student, we all should have had the option to
watch the speech. Perhaps we should even
have been forced to watch the speech and be
involved in a follow-up discussion over the
material.
I did not see any reason for parents
to make such a commotion over this one
speech. If the president should choose to motivate the student population to take charge
of their own education then by all means he
does have the right to do so. How can we
develop our own opinions and become functioning, independently-thinking members of
our society if we are not allowed to participate in that society?
No one asked the student body what
their opinion of the Presidential Address
was. No one even asked us if we were interested in watching it. As citizens of America,
we should have the right to listen to the president of our country speak about the issues
relating to us. What exactly were people so
afraid of? Are we not responsible enough to
decide for ourselves what we should see and
hear?
Story by Kyla Spencer
The World
in Bits and Pieces
You step into class and see that kid
staring at you in the back. You ask yourself
“Who is he?” and wonder what his problem
is. You find yourself almost disgusted by his
distinct difference that clings to him apart
from you and your friends. You don’t know
him, but you assume that he’s just some
unpopular nobody.
In fact, he’s got autism; a rare brain disorder that causes slowed brain development,
severely weakened social skills, and slowed
reading and writing comprehension. This
is true in many autistic children, but for
some the conditions can vary. My brother,
Tayler Daniels, was born with this disorder. He also has what is known as severe
retardation. To some of you that may strike
a laugh or giggle. If it does, you do not
understand the severity of the disorder.
Tayler is thirteen, yet has retained the
mentality of a three-year-old. He sees the
world in bits and pieces. He sees only what
his mind is able to slowly piece together.
His world is a constant battle of distinguishing simple words and understanding what
they mean.
I will often sit and watch Tayler from
our couch as he watches “Blue’s Clues” and
I see the pure joy in his eyes. The one thing
he can totally comprehend is his favorite
show, a show intended for kids ten years
“Fruit roll-ups! They’re
delicious and then I
would smell fruity!”
“Macaroni, because I
LOVE cheese!”
Lunch Lady
“Cake! It might be difficult, and
I would probably have to eat my
way out, but I LOVE cake!”
“Sweet corn, because
it’s creamy and Iowa is
the capital of corn!”
Senior
Travis Gray
Sophomore
Jan Opal
Alysha Daley
Freshman
What would it be?
Morgan Dew
If you could swim in any food...
“Chocolate syrup! It’s
not too cold, not too
hot, just delicious!”
Page Design Steven Elonich
Junior
Caitlin Cozad
Jay Hildreth
Junior
younger than he is. He sits and laughs in
front of the screen, and I know what he must
be thinking. He thinks about how great it
is to be sitting with his big brother on the
couch and watching his favorite show.
He looks over at me and grins with his
hands stretching out for a hug. It’s then that
I understand there are things far beyond our
comprehension that we can never change.
These things take seniority over homecoming dates, texting, and finals. These are
things my brother will never know.
The point of me telling you all this is
that I want you to look twice at the kid that
stands at the tray counter washing dishes.
He smiles as the silverware falls into the
large metal bowl splashing water on his
apron stained with ketchup that was flung at
him a few minutes previous.
As individuals I don’t think we appreciate these kids enough. Next time, instead of
laughing at the kid behind the counter, pat
him on the back because it isn’t hard to understand people with these disorders. They
are just like the rest of us, but they see the
world in bits and pieces. In a way this isn’t
bad, because sometimes I wish I could see
the world a bit simpler. Right now though,
I’m going to sit with my brother and watch
some TV.
Story by Trever Daniels
“Jello, I want to get
jiggy with it!”
Opinion 9
The Wire
New Teachers
Derek Archer - Consumer
“I’m actually a relatively good
singer and I’ve sung at about five
weddings.”
Photo by Ashlynn Cooper
Brett Ford - Science
“Most people wouldn’t know
that I won awards for my photography.”
Photo by Ashlynn Cooper
What’s in Your Bag?
Open up your bag. What’s in it? There
are probably the usual things: notebooks,
folders, pens, pencils, and a few textbooks.
Don’t forget about the occasional stale sandwich or discarded pop-tarts wrappers.
Is your backpack heavy from all the
things you carry around with you during the
day? Well, carrying around bulky bags can
cause spinal problems. If your bag weighs
more than 15 percent of your body weight,
or if it makes you lean forward when you
have it on, it’s too heavy. Spinal problems
are no fun, and they may need to be fixed
through medical care.
There are some pretty weird things that
add to the weight in those bulging bags you
see people walking with down the halls.
Would you believe that a complete change
of clothes or remnants of food lurk in one of
those pockets?
“The weirdest thing I’ve ever carried
[in a backpack] is a pair of my friend’s underwear,” junior Erica Frain said. “I swear it
wasn’t as bad as it sounds, though.”
Then, of course, there are the funny stories that go along with huge backpacks (and
freshmen). “My bag was super heavy, and I
was in the hall weaving through people. My
bag kept hitting other people, and their bags
kept hitting mine. It was like bumper cars,”
sophomore Ashlee Lindner said.
“I was with one of my friends when we
saw another one of our friends. My friend
dropped her bag and ran over to her to give
her a hug. I took off after her, but I forgot
Photo by
Ashlynn
Cooper
about her bag; I tripped over it and went flying. It was embarrassing, but pretty funny,”
junior Kellie Skipton said.
How many times have you been waiting to get your food, when someone carrying
a bag that sticks way out from behind them
hits you in the stomach and takes the breath
out of you, or when the bag knocks you
hands loose from your tray and you drop it?
It can get pretty irritating, especially when
the person does it day after day.
“There was a freshman [in the lunch
line] who had a big bag on, and when he
turned around he sent a tray of pizza flying.
It was hilarious,” sophomore Shaylia Barber
said.
There are ways to lighten up your bag,
believe it or not.
• Stop at your locker and drop off your
books and notebooks.
• Don’t carry around things that you
don’t need, such as old papers or spare tennis shoes. They can go in your locker or car
if you need access to them, but it’s not a necessity to have them on you.
• Clean your bag out every now and then.
You’d be surprised what you’ll find lounging
about on the bottom of your backpack.
• If you have a lot of textbooks and your
locker is on the other side of the school from
your classes, take a few out of your bag and
carry them. It takes the strain off of your
back and you’re working your arm muscles (
a sneaky little way to build up your biceps).
Above: Walking in the bustle of the cafeteria, sophomore Ashley Zerwas leans
slightly back to accommodate her bag.
Below: 13.
Sporting at least two bags each,
three students enter the
crowded cafeteria. Using
one strap for a backpack
Story by Carrie Miller
Kaitlyn’s
Mission
Maria Melby - Math
“I still play volleyball all year
round and softball in the summer.”
Photo by Ashlynn Cooper
Rachel Wragge - Choir
“From grades 3-5, I had a mullet.” Photo by Bianca Zerwas
Inside Look 10
A bus ride took her to a vast
abandoned desert and a plane
ticket took her to a sea of children just waiting to be talked
to. Though complete opposites
in themselves, senior Kaitlyn
Connealy’s life was changed
by both.
In the last year Connealy has taken part
in three mission trips, two of which were located in Mexico and one that took place in
Romania.
“My first Mission trip was during the
summer of 2008. I just really enjoyed helping people that couldn’t help themselves.”
Connealy, the only teenager on the trip,
set out for Romania earlier in the summer
of this year, only knowing she was going
there to help children and teach bible school.
What she found when she arrived was much
more.
The two and a half hour car ride after
the flight only fazed Connealy a small bit.
The first day was spent getting to know the
translators, but with no knowledge of the
Romanian language, Connealy had to get extremely close with her own translators. The
second day was spent walking to the first village and when the group crossed over the hill
a stampede of 200 plus kids stormed the field
and rushed to greet the Americans.
“I had to tap one of the kids translating
for me because we couldn’t see them at first
and I thought it was a riot. I had no idea that
many kids were going to be there and this
was only the first village.”
The hardest part of leaving was saying
goodbye. Connealy had grown extremely
close to one of the girls on her trip who she
had met in a hospital. They had spent almost
an entire day talking with each other.
“I thought there would be a language
barrier, but she could speak English and
hadn’t told anyone. We just talked about life,
Romanian versus American. Oh my goodness, it opened my eyes to other people’s
situations. It might sound really cheesy, but
Photo by
Ashlynn
Cooper
here in America we have it really good. It’s
really eye-opening.”
After arriving home from Romania,
Connealy packed her bags once again, this
time shoving a hammer and an air mattress
in the bottom of her suitcase. Destination:
Tijuana, Mexico.
The goal of the Mexico mission trip was
to build one house for one family over the
course of 4 days. The group she went with
slept in tents and made their own meals. The
trip to them was not about luxury, but about
giving a helping hand. She was chosen to
hand over the keys to the family her group
had built the house for. With a speech prepared and tears in her eyes, all that she was
able to force out was “Welcome home.” She
had witnessed what it was like to live with so
little and still persevere.
“The conditions are different but the
families could not be happier. Even though
what they have is small, they love each other
just the same. They are just happy to have
each other. They don’t look at what they
don’t have.”
Story by Bridget Hall
Page Design Sara Rudolph
October 9, 2009
Expressions In-Depth
Molding a creation
out of clay, senior Ali
Almazan forms her
next masterpiece.
Almazan is currently
working on making M&M mugs and
plates.
Photo by Bridget
Mulligan
Story by Bridget Mulligan
Every day people are finding out
what they are good at and how they
shine. Despite every curve life has
thrown her, senior Ali Almazan has found
her life’s calling in her passion for art.
“In the sixth grade I had my first brain
surgery. Afterwards I wasn’t allowed to do
much, so my mom bought me a drawing
book and I’ve been drawing ever since.”
A solitary worker, Almazan draws
anything from M&Ms to Hommies, and
even does nails. “If I see anything interesting, I draw it,” Almazan said.
Along with drawing in her sketch
book, Almazan is a member of the school’s
art club, where she is working to paint a
memory in the newest mural that is coming to life. “She is very creative and a re-
ally big asset to art club because she is
dependable, and always there when we
need her,” art teacher Kari Lewis said.
Almazan is also an advanced pottery
student, and is planning to enter her work
in art contests. Almazan has entered her artwork in several competitions, including the
Hawkeye Ten. She hasn’t won yet, but this
year she is determined to make an impact.
This creative artist hopes to put her talent towards a rewarding career as an elementary school art teacher, “because then you can
teach them anything you want,” Almazan said.
She has even considered becoming a finger
nail technician or designer, since she enjoys
finding new ways to decorate her own nails.
Although, undecided on where to pursue her
dreams, her dedication is set in the field of art.
C
L
4
ay
R
The man. The Titan. He walked
these halls and he cheered on our teams.
Things have not changed much in 30 years.
Most students do not even know
who he is, but Ray McManus is the
man who has worked behind the scenes
of Lewis Central football and girls
basketball for over 35 years, spending countless hours devoting his free
time to filming heartbreaking losses
and nail-biting victories. The amount
of money he spends on the athletes can
only be justified by McManus’s true
love of the school. “He is a die-hard
Lewis Central guy,” football and girls
basketball coach Chris Hanafan said.
Throughout the years, he has filmed
virtually every football and girls basketball game, and even filmed graduation
ceremonies. He has treated the athletes
to various things such as sweatpants for
the girls basketball team, pizza before a
long drive home, and dinner at the girls
state basketball tournament. “The final
answer is it’s just for the kids,” McManus said, giving a huge smile. He even
went as far as to get small roses for the
girls basketball team. “He was always
into making everybody feel good,”
former Activities Director and former
head football coach, Steve Padilla said.
Building “Ray’s Nest” at the top
Page Design Sanjula Mahathantila
of the old high school (now the middle
school) gym, which was his designated
spot to film for basketball games, was
one of Lewis Central’s attempts to
tell him thank you for all he has done.
When McManus first started filming for Coach Padilla in 1978, videocameras were a lot bigger; they had
to sit on the filmer’s shoulder. “You
could always tell when Ray was eating
a Snickers candy bar because the camera would shake up and down every
time he took a bite,” Padilla laughed.
“I still joke with him about that.”
When the annual football jersey
auction rolls around, you can guarantee
that McManus will be right there in all
the action. On average, he buys five or
six jerseys, paying about two to three
hundred dollars each. “I am usually
competing against girlfriends of the
players, so I just give the jerseys back to
the girls, and the rest, Cindy [Brockman]
hands out in the office,” McManus said.
He can be spotted at sporting
events year-round, whether he is filming for football, basketball, or standing
on the fence at the track cheering the
Lewis Central runners on with his wide
school-boy grin. “He has a true love for
Lewis Central, no doubt about that,” Padilla said. “Ray certainly bleeds blue.”
What is his motivation for all of
this? “I think he just cares about the
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLY!
kids that much; he wanted to
give back to the school that
he went to,” Hanafan said.
That much is true. McManus graduated from Lewis
Central in 1974, and was
always full of Titan pride,
serving as the manager for
the football team after he
shattered his knee in his
sophomore season. “There
is nothing he wouldn’t do for
Lewis Central,” Padilla said.
After all these years,
McManus’s favorite memory was from 1996, when
the football team went undefeated. “We beat Harlan,” McManus smiled,
not trying to hide his sense
of pride for the team.
Even though he is not
helping film football this
year, he still plans to film for
girls basketball. It is amazing to think that he has so
willingly volunteered for so
many years. “He wouldn’t
have done it this long had he
not enjoyed it,” Hanafan said.
In the words of Marc Osborne, “It would be hard to
find somebody to replace Ray
– there isn’t anyone like him.”
Story by Sara Rudolph
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Inside Look 11
Spraying a fans hair with
spirit, senior Colette Berding
works her magic with hair
dye. Art students have been
painting faces and dying
hair to fundraise for the
upcoming Eurotrip.
Photo by Bridget Mulligan
LC v. Glenwood
Photo by Bridget
Mulligan
Palms together, color guard
members junior Michaela
Sutherland and sophomore
Lindsey Rollins stretch out their
legs. The girls regularly warm up
and do stretches before every
performance..
Photo by Bianca Zerwas
Cartoon by Trever Daniels
Will Welter and
Steven Warner
Photo by
Sanjula
Mahathantila
Emily Morgan,
Jordan Morgan,
Taylor Turgeon
Photo by Sara
Marshall