Wamego students gave their Regards to Broadway

WaKaller
Wamego students gave their
Regards to Broadway
By Shellsea Holman
Senior
This year, the students
of Wamego High School
are performed a large stage
production of the musical Give
My Regards to Broadway.
This musical was first written
in 1980s by Shubert Fendrich,
with music written by George
M. Cohan.
According to the director,
Jennifer Topliff, “This play has
almost 50 students in the cast
and crew and is the largest show
that Wamego High School has
preformed in a long time.”
Give My Regards to
Broadway is a musical about
a theater that is running out of
money. Though the entire staff
of the theater is trying to help
raise money to keep the theater
afloat, they aren’t raising as
much as is needed. Help comes
from a very unlikely source and
the theater is saved.
Give My Regards to
Broadway was suggested to
Topliff by her husband, Adam
Topliff, because she needed
a large cast to, “let everyone
shine” because she has
numerous talented students this
year, said Topliff.
The performers in this
show were of all ages. The stage
manager was Cat Wethington
and the assistant stage manager
was Matt Thornton. The
main actors included Steven
Fox as Dick Foster and Shin
Han as Eddie Cowles. Rilana
Grolimund played as Mona
Monroe, while Hannah ConroyPhilbrook played Mary Colins.
Donald Harper was played by
Clay Massingill.
There were no real leads in
this play due to the fact that it had
more of an accumulative cast.
Stephanie Haug, who
played Hilda in the play, said
that “this was a fun play to
perform in due to all the large
numbers and few solo songs.”
The play also cast almost
11 percent of the student body,
and 15 of the 50 involved were
in principle roles.
The musical’s opening
night was Feb. 18. Then, there
was a showing on Saturday and
a matinee on Sunday.
February 2011
Volume 46
Issue 9
OTHER STORIES
IN THIS ISSUE...
Decade Review
The decade has come to a
close, and now it is time to
review the hottest trends and
memorable situations. Explore them in chronological
order, from the most terrifying
experience in 2001 and then
continue to 2010.
See Decade, pg 8
WHS Alums
The cast of Give my Regards to Broadway pose for a picture at the end of the show.
Photo by Amber Christian
SECTIONS
Editorial................................................2
Student Showcase..................................3
Sports.....................................................6
Feature.................................................8
Movie Reviews..................................11
Music Reviews..................................13
Graduates of Wamego High
School have moved on in their
life, and shared thier experiances. These Alum range from
class 2005 to last year.
See Alumni, pg 4
2
Editorial
February 2011
Schedule changes take toll on pupils
By Michael Moman
Junior
There are many things that
the school has done wrong in
the past, but this one is just a
little over the line: taking five
minutes off of our lunch. To
make up snow days, I canunderstand making students start five
minutes early and adding five
minutes to the end of the day,
but why would they take five
minutes off of lunch?
Most students enjoy going out to eat and have a hard
time getting back on time because they have to walk to the
place, wait in line, wait for the
food, then finally eat, and walk
the whole way back. Taking off
five minutes is just asking for
tardies.
Before, almost everyone
got back from going out with
only a couple of minutes to
spare, and now that we have
five minutes less in our lunch
period. All the people that were
almost tardy before, will definitely be tardy now.
Another bad thing about
there being five minutes less is
that usually the lines to go to
lunch are really long, it takes
up half of the time just to get
your food, which leaves students with around fifteen minutes. Now with the new lunch
we have around ten minutes if
there are long lines.
Shorter lunches will also
hurt the resteraunts that all the
students went to before. a large
quantity of students would flow
into the stores, but now there
Students are eating lunch after the time changes at WHS.
photo by Michael Moman
will only be the few that think
they can walk there, get their
food, and eat and walk back in
twenty-five minutes. The high
school doesn’t even need to
make up any time for the snow
days. The only reason everyone
has to do the time restrictions
would be because central elementary started two days late
due to construction, and therefore every school is on the new
schedules.
When asked what he felt
about having five minutes off
lunch, senior, Alex Hennigh
responded, “I think it’s ridiculous, we already have to be to
school early and let out later,
come on, do they want chaos
in this school?”
With all the students
against it, buisnesses losing
money, I think that we should
keep the five minutes before
and after school. (even though
we don’t need it). However,
I believe we should get rid of
the five minutes off lunch so we
can enjoy eating out again.
The Daily
Grind
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Open 6:00 to 4:00 on Saturdays
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Phone. 785-456-7575
February 2011
Student Showcase
3
High school shaped Shaffer’s future
By Marcus Collins
Junior
Taylor Shaffer is involved
in many things right now. He
enjoys what he does and does
them because he likes challenging himself.
Shaffer is the president of
National Honor Society, a service organization. In the past
they have raked leaves for elderly. They also host the blood
drive, adopt families for Christmas, and do some highway
clean-up.
Shaffer is also involved in
wrestling. He pushes himself
until he’s dead tired.
He said, “I came into wrestling wanting to win state, and
have been trying since my
freshman year.”
“I have always wrestled.
It’s a sport that’s more solo
than anything, in where you
do everything by yourself, and
you call the shots. One-on-one
competition is different,” Shaf-
fer said. “I’ve always been
athletic, but right now I’m the
most fit I’ve ever been.”
Shaffer signed in February to play football for William
Jewell College. He said he likes
the team and school. There
are new coaches and staff and
“they are good at what they do
and have been given the job for
a reason.” William Jewell is a
liberal arts school located about
15 minutes north of Kansas
City.
“It’s built on a hill looking
out at beautiful scenery, and it
makes campus life special,”
Shaffer said.
William Jewell is a private, Division II school. Shaffer is going in to study law. He
wants to graduate high school
and tells everyone to enjoy
themselves in school; it’ll make
things easier.
Shaffer also competes in
track and does community service around town. He broad-
The WaKaller is the official newspaper of Wamego High
School. The mission of the WaKaller is to inform and to express student opinion while raising awareness and giving
recognition. The newspaper staff is also a member of the
Kansas Scholastic Press Association.
Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters need to
be signed. The WaKaller reserves the right to edit all work
received. The mailing address is 801 Lincoln St., Wamego,
KS 66547.
Views expressed in the WaKaller are not meant to represent those held by the faculty, administration or the USD
320 Board of Education.
STAFF
Laurina Hannan (editor) Olivia Divish Nick Webb
Grant Cragg (assistant editor) Deanna Feathers
Kyle Weishaar Shellsea Holmam Marcus Collins
Michael Moman Zach Johnson Cat Wethington
Amber Christian Luke Hannan Brianna Hinton
Louis Torres Tyler Douglass Kelsey Rodgers
Tyler Divish Chris Alexander Alison Burton
Lori Goodson (advisor)
Taylor Shaffer is going to William Jewell College after high school.
Photo by Marcus Collins
casts for some of the games and
enjoys reading.
“If you have the drive
and motivation, anyone could
do these things,” said Shaffer.
“Don’t take things personally;
look at things positively and be
able to take failure as a learning
experience.”
4
News
February 2011
WHS almuni share stories and advice
By Laurina Hannan
Senior
After graduation, students
generally go on to work or to
attend college to further their
education. Many alumni expressed their memories of high
school at Wamego and shared
their advice.
“I attended, and graduated
from, Kansas State University,”
said Taylor Symons, a 2005
Wamego graduate. “It was a
hard decision to attend K-State
because it was so close to home
and felt like I wanted something
new and different. I visited six
schools other than K-State, and
as much as I fought it, I realized
that K-State had everything I
wanted.”
Wamego High School
alumni traveled all over the
state of Kansas and beyond to
earn their college education.
“I’m living in Lawrence,
working at Kansas University
and going to school. I am currently pursuing a History of Art
BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts)
with a Women’s Studies minor,” said past WaKaller editor Kim Lopez, class of 2007.
“I’ll be spending my summer
abroad.”
Other students expressed
their gratitude toward their
education from specific classes,
such as the student newspaper.
“Being part of the WaKaller
has definitely had its benefits
outside of high school,” said
Kris Velasco, class of 2009.
“I am a guest columnist for
the University Daily Kansas,
and my experience with the
WaKaller helped in securing
that position. Furthermore, it
has aided me as I built connections with students in the field
of journalism due to the common bond…. I am currently a
sophomore at the University
of Kansas, double majoring in
political science and communication studies, with a minor in
leadership studies.”
Students are also thankful
for their other experiences from
high school.
“I was pretty active at
Wamego High School; I always enjoyed being busy,”
said Symons. “I was involved
in StuCo (president my senior
year), National Honor Society,
Future Business Leaders of
America, band, debate, forensics, High Voltage and theater. I
was also the assistant editor for
the WaKaller my senior year.
I did tennis my freshman year
and track my sophomore year.
I tore my ACL at the end of
my sophomore year, so sports
were over after that…. I didn’t
pursue all of those [activities]
in college, but was very active
and did spend four years as a
student senator in Student Governing Association and participated in many other clubs and
organizations.”
Julie Scherer, class of 2008,
recollected her high school experience.
“In high school, I was involved in quite a few activities,” said Scherer. “I did History Day competition every year
(I went to Nationals twice),
NHS, culinary arts team, Spanish Club, pep/marching/concert
band, district and state honor
band, band festival, community band and private flute lessons. I haven’t really pursued
any of these activities past high
school, except for band. I still
play for my church in Wamego
on holidays, and I play in my
university’s concert band.”
Other students used their
skills from high school to
strengthen their studies in college.
“I was in marching, concert, Jazz I and II and pep
band,” said Drew Kiker, class
Patrick Mattia, class of 2008, traveled to Austria last spring break to
sing at a service at the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn.
Submitted photo
of 2009. “I still play in the university concert band and one
of the Jazz bands at Friends
University. I was also greatly
involved in the theater department, and I actually work for
the Theater Department’s wood
shop here at Friends.”
For many, students use
their high school experience to
prepare them for their college
education.
“The biggest gain [from
working with the WaKaller]
for me would be the benefit of
having some additional English
practice,” said Trenton Modean, class of 2010. “I’m not
into journalism as a career, so
there aren’t a lot of connections
between newspaper and my
major aside from extra writing practice and skills… Right
now I’m in the College of Business Administration with an
intended major of Management
Information Systems with minors in Leadership Studies and
Economics.”
Along with improvement
with writing skills, all the
past students agreed that they
learned better time management skills.
See WHS alumni, pg 5
News
February 2011
5
WHS alumni
Continued from pg 4
Rachel Hatfield, class of
2010, said, “The WaKaller
helped me so far in my writing skills. Also, there is a lot of
planning and organization that
goes into the WaKaller and that
has helped me learn to manage
time and tasks better.”
There is also something to
be learned leaving high school.
Some lessons were learned after entering the adult world.
“Keep pushing on in your
academics,” stated Modean.
“For first-year students, specifically, the majority of scholarships and other incentives are
given out to excellent and outstanding students in the classroom and in your community—
volunteer in your community to
not only gain some recognition,
but to also interact with your local community members.”
Interaction is recommended, not only within in the community, but also in high school.
“The best memories are the
ones of the friends that I made
in high school,” said Matt Slagle, class of 2006, who graduated from K-State with a degree
in elementary education. “I was
reluctant to join the cross country team my freshman year, but
I decided to go for it, and have
never regretted that choice because of the relationships that I
built because of it. That’s probably what I miss the most, those
lost relationships. My friends
and I were just like everyone in
high school: we promised each
other that we would always be
friends, would always keep in
touch and always to something
to preserve the friendship after
graduation. It doesn’t work that
way, though. It can’t work that
way. We each went our separate
ways and lived our own lives
and slowly drifted apart. I miss
those friendships, but I wouldn’t
for a second trade them for the
new friends I’ve made.”
Patrick Mattia, class of
2008, shared the same feelings
as Slagle.
“I miss my really close
friends,” said Mattia. “The
school building and even
Wamego doesn’t hold too
much sentimental value, but the
friendships I made, both with
classmates and teachers, are
what I will remember for my
entire life.”
Lopez stressed the impor-
WHS alumni, Matt Slagle (left), class of 2006, volunteers in his spare
time.
Photo submitted
tance of participating in high
school activities.
“Get involved!” said Lopez. “Find something you love
and go for it! Join a club, play
sports, audition for a musical, do it all! I met some of the
best people in the world in high
school just by going to forensics
tournaments, being in plays and
the newspaper. Even in college,
I’ve found getting involved to
ATTENTION PARENTS
be extremely helpful in making
both professional connections
and new friends.”
“High school really is full
of fond memories,” said Megan Salfrank, class of 2009.
“Looking back, I am glad I
was involved in the things that
I was, such as newspaper. It’s
given me so many great memories that I’ll treasure for a long
time.”
Join in the celebration! Submit lower portion along with a picture of student to feature in the Graduation 2011
commemorative issue of the WaKaller in an ad taking up either a quarter-page, half-page or full page. Cost for
ads are $5, $10 and $20, respectively. Previously, baby or toddler photos were popular, but any photo will do.
Return to Dr. Goodson in room 217 by April 6.
Name of Senior:
Message (limit 25 words):
Address (for returning photo and commemorative issue):
6
Sports
February 2011
Raiders heat up during cold weather
The month of February was
a cold one and as a result there
were some postponements. The
Raiders’ and Lady Raiders’ first
games of the month were postponed.
It was scheduled to be at
Abilene, on Feb. 1st, but due to
inclement weather it was postponed until a later date.
The basketball squads’
next competition was at home
against the Valley Heights
Mustangs on Feb. 4th. Both
teams came out firing and defeated the Mustangs.
The Raiders defeated the
Mustangs, 55-42, with the top
scorer being B.J. Kohler, he
had 16 points.
The Lady Raiders also defeated their opponent, the Lady
Mustangs, 51-35, with the top
scorer being Kaylee Page wit h
20 points.
Then, once again there was
another postponement. The
Raiders and Lady Raider were
scheduled to play the Chapman
Irish; however, do to inclement
weather in Chapman, the game
was postponed until a later
date.
Next the Raiders and Lady
Raiders headed off to Clay
Center on Feb. 15, for a league
match up against the Tigers.
The Raiders took down their
league opponent, defeating the
Tigers, 47-39; this time the top
scorer was Zach Johnson, with
11 points.
But, the Lady Raiders lost
their league match-up, losing to
the Lady Tigers, 54-44. Once
again, Kaylee Page was the top
scorer, with 25.
Then, on Feb. 18, the teams
traveled to Concordia for another league game. The Raiders overwhelmed their league
opponent for the second time,
defeating the Panthers, 61-18.
The Lady Raiders also de-
feated their opponent, the Lady
Panthers, 51-37, and once again
Kaylee Page was the top scorer,
with 26 points.
Most recently, the Raiders basketball squads traveled
to Abilene for another league
match-up. Both teams struggled
against their league opponent.
The Raiders fought hard
but came up short, losing to the
Cowboys, 61-55. Dexter Carter
was the top scorer against the
Cowboys, he had 23 points.
The Lady Raiders were
also upended by the Cowgirls,
losing the game, 71-36. Kaylee
Page was once again the top
scorer, with 13 points.
After four rough back
to back games, Coach Troy
Hemphill praised his team for
their efforts.
“I thought it was good to
win three out of four games.
It was a tough loss to Abilene;
we have had a tough schedule,”
said Hemphill. “It was difficult
not being able to have practice all those days, but it really
showed how mature our players
were.”
Coach Jim Page also
praised his team on their efforts.
“I was proud of the ability
to bounce back and accept the
highs and lows of the sport,”
said Coach Page. “It show a lot
of maturity on their part.”
Both teams’ next competition and their Senior Night was
scheduled to be against Centralia on Feb. 24th; however, due
to more inclement weather, it
too, was cancelled.
Senior Night for the Raiders was a blow out. The Raiders toppled the Hiawatha Redhawks. They won the game
54-28, with B.J. Kholer being
the top scorer with 23 points.
The next competition for
the Lady Raiders will be on
Isaac Poe shoots a lay-up in the Feb. 4th game against the Valley
Heights Mustangs.
Photo Submitted
March 1. They will travel to
Clay Center to take on the Panthers in Substate.
The Raider will travel to
Clay Center for their Substate
game on March 3. The Raiders
play Abilene at 7:30.
Wamego vs Valley Heights
Boys
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Raiders
9 12 14 20 55
Mustangs 13 7 11 11 42
Girls
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Raiders
9 5 14 23 51
Mustangs
2 6 9 18 35
Wamego vs Clay Center
Raiders
Tigers
Boys
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
21 10 4 12 47
14 15 5 5 39
Raiders
Tigers
Girls
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
2 7 6 24 39
8 12 14 9 43
Wamego vs Concordia
Boys
No Score To Report
Girls
Raiders
Panthers
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
2 7 6 24 39
8 12 14 9 43
Wamego vs Hiawatha
Boys
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Raiders
17 14 11 12 54
Redhawks 6 8 7 7 42
February 2011
Sports
7
Wrestlers have success in February
The Raider wrestlers have
had a busy February so far,
even with all the snow days
cancellations.
The wrestling team only
had one dual affected by the
snow days in February, and it
was just postponed to a later
date.
The Raiders’ first dual of
February was a double dual at
Holton, where they dueled both
Holton and Rock Creek. The
Raiders lost to the Rock Creek
Mustangs, 36-22, and they lost
to the Holton Wildcats, 55-15.
The following Saturday,
the Raiders traveled to Silver
Lake for the Silver Lake Invitational. There were over 150
competitors on the varsity side.
The Raider had three placers on the varsity side and four
placers on the JV side. The following wrestlers placed in their
respective weight classes:
152: Tyler Douglass 5th
215: Taylor Shaffer 3rd
JV Placers
103: Jacob Christie, 2nd
125: Kyle Wilson, 4th
145: Ryan Wahl, 2nd
152: Tyler Douglass, 1st
160: Cody Wilson, 3rd
171: Brad Standlee, 2nd
215: Taylor Shaffer, 1st
119: Jacob Dietrich 4th 152:
Richard Vargas 3rd
189: Daniel Hougland 1st
285: Paul Hartwich 2nd
Varsity Placers
125: Kyle Wilson 1st
The following week, the
Raider were supposed to dual
Council Grove on Tuesday, February 8th. However, the Council
Grove squad was plagued with
a skin disease, so the administration of both schools thought
it was best to cancel the dual.
Then on Feb. 10, the Raiders dueled the Marysville Bulldogs at Marysville. The Raiders
lost the dual, 54-15.
That Saturday, the Raiders
traveled to Cottonwood Falls
for the Chase County Invitational.
The tournament had 10
teams and took over 12 hours.
The Raiders had seven placers
all together and got first place
overall. The following wrestlers placed in their respective
weight classes:
At the Chase County Tournament, Raider wrestler Tyler
Douglass recorded his 100th
career win.
The Raider then headed
to Concordia for the Regional
tournament. The team placed
6th out of 15. The team qualified four wrestlers for the State
tournament, three of which
were in the Finals. The following wrestlers placed and qualified in their respective weight
class:
103: Jacob Christie, 2nd
125: Kyle Wilson, 1st
152: Tyler Douglass, 4th
215: Taylor Shaffer, 2nd
Opponent/Time
Mar. 1: Royal Valley/6:00
Mar. 3: Sub-State @ Clay
Center/TBA
Mar. 9-12: State/TBA
Track
&
Field
Meet/Time
The Raider grapplers then Mar. 31: Chapman
journeyed to Salina for the Inv./4:00
4A State Championships. The
Raiders wrestled well, but in
the end they had no placers.
Taylor Shaffer was closest
to placing. He was one match a
way, losing to Dalton Converse
from Clay Center, 2-1.
The Raider wrestlers had
a very successful season. The
finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in
tournaments, they had a 5-8
dual record, and qualified four
wrestles for the State Tournament.
Upcoming
Games/Meets
Boys
Varsity
Basketball
HOME/AWAY
Opponent/Time
Mar. 3: Sub-State @ Clay
Center/TBA
Mar. 9-12: State/TBA
Kyle Wilson (So) looks to score a takedown in his 125 lb. Finals
Match on Saturday February 5th.
Photo Submitted
Varsity
Basketball
Girls
Baseball
Opponent/Time
Mar. 29: Council
Grove/4:30
Softball
Opponent/Time
Mar. 24: Wabaunsee/4:30
Mar. 29: Council
Grove/4:30
Mar. 31: Rock Creek/4:30
Boys
Tennis
Opponent/Time
Mar. 29: Washburn
Rural/9:00
Mar. 31: WHS Inv./3:00
Golf
No March Events
Compiled by
Tyler Douglass
Sport Editor
Senior
News
February 2011
8
2000-2010: A decade in review
By Grant Cragg
Junior
As the previous decade
has ended, we now enter a
new decade where the world
will continue to make history.
However, the last decade has
proven to have been full of its
own moments that will survive in history. As we enter a
new chapter in time, it’s time
to take one last look back at
the previous decade and some
of the moments that those
who lived at the time will
never forget.
Y2K
With the turn of the millennium, people throughout
the world were panicking
about their computers and
technology. Because computer programs at the time
had been using two-digit
abbreviations for the year
instead of the four-digit standard, many people (experts
included) worried that the
computers would not be able
to transfer the dates (and with
it the bulk of their programming) over from ’99 (1999)
to ’00 (2000). Consequently,
many became alarmed, and
governments were forced
to organize massive reprogramming campaigns for
their technology to ensure
that our technology-induced
order would remain as the
millennium switched over.
9/11
On Sept. 11, 2001,
al-Qaeda terrorists took
control of four jet-airliners
in the skies over America.
The terrorists of two flights
crashed their planes into the
north and south towers of the
World Trade Center, bringing
down both towers and kill-
ing nearly 3,000 American
citizens. Another flight hit
and severely damaged the
Pentagon, while the last flight
(bound for the White House)
was intentionally crashed into
a field in Pennsylvania by its
passengers, whose sacrifices
saved the lives of many government officials.
Facebook
In February of 2004, Facebook was launched as a social networking site similar to
MySpace. In 2009, statistics
showed that Facebook had
secured a massive lead on
the next most popular social
networking site (MySpace).
Today, over 600 million users worldwide have active
Facebook accounts, which is
open to anyone age 13 and
over. It is also estimated that
41.6 percent of Americans
have an active Facebook account. Facebook is especially
popular among teenagers and
young adults, though it is not
limited to them. Today, Facebook has evolved into more
than just a social networking
site and includes many kinds
of games, advertisements and
business pages. Because of
technology, it is now commonplace to see people of
all ages walking around with
their Facebook page open on
their cell phone or iPod.
Terri Schiavo dies
On Feb. 25, 2005, a
Pinellas County (Florida)
judge ordered Teresa Marie
“Terri” Schiavo’s feeding tube removed. After
more than 14 years in a
pronounced vegetative
state, Schiavo’s husband
Michael (who wanted the
tubes removed since 1998)
finally won the fight with
New York’s north tower was hit by a passener jet; a second airliner
approaches the south tower on a collision course.
Photo from www.gnosticliberationfront.com
The Facebook logo is now seen everywhere, and it is perhaps one of
the most well-known logos throughout the world.
Photo from hardwaremag.com.
her parents, Robert and Mary
Schindler, to have her feeding
tube removed. On March 31,
2005, Schiavo died, sparking
anger from both pro-life and
disability rights groups.
The debate over Terri Schiavo
(shown right) would become
a national issue regarding
disability rights.
Photo from www.
hospicepatients.org
9
News
February 2011
At the White House
Continued from page 8
Pope John Paul II dies
On April 2, 2005, beloved
Pope John Paul II died in
Rome after complications
from a urinary tract infection.
This loss was felt by the
world as John Paul II was
noted as a man who had great
responsibility in defeating
communism in his native
Poland. He also improved the
Catholic Church’s relations
with other major world
religions and institutions
including Islam, Judaism, the
Eastern Orthodox Church and
the Anglican Church. In his
lifetime, John Paul II traveled
to 129 countries during his
reign as pope. Serving 27
years, he had the secondlongest recorded reign as Pope
in history.
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the
upper Caribbean, and with it,
the southeast coastal states of
America. The hurricane eventually reached category five
strength (the highest level) and
took nearly 2,000 American
lives. The storm cost hundreds
of billions of dollars to date,
and the rebuilding process is
still far from over, nearly six
years later.
Destruction of New Orleans
brought on by Hurricane Katrina.
Photo from katrinadestruction.
com
Hurricane Katrina
Pope John Paull II before his
death.
Photo from www.dailymail.co.uk
Global warming scare
In May of 2006, An
Inconvenient Truth came into
theaters, grossing $49 million
dollars. Although global
warming had already become a
major issue in today’s political
and scientific spectrums, the
movie (sponsored by Al Gore)
raised huge attention for the
cause to understand and fight
global warming at every level.
Recession
In December of 2007,
experts declared that the
United States (and in turn,
the world) was in a state of
recession. Among the largest
contributors to the recession
included the collapse of the
housing market, which took
enormous hits causing both
builders and buyers to notice
major negative impacts. The
Global warming cartoon.
Photo from globalwarming2009.
blogspot.com
Foreclosed home due to housing
crash.
Photo from aboutrealstate.com
recession was declared over in
September 2010.
On Nov. 4, 2008, Barack
Hussein Obama was elected
President of the United States,
the highest office ever held
by anyone of non-Caucasian
descent. This victory was
over Republican John
McCain of Arizona. Soon
after his inauguration, Obama
announced his appointment
of Hilary Clinton (former
primary opponent) as Secretary
of State. Obama has since
become known as one of the
most liberal Presidents our
country has ever known.
Miracle on the Hudson
On Jan. 15, 2009, U.S.
flight 1549 was disabled by
a flock of migratory birds in
the skies over New York City.
After only 6 minutes from takeoff, Captain Chesley “Sully”
Sullenberger was forced to ditch
President Barack Hussein
Obama.
Photo from climatelab.org
the jet-airliner in the Hudson
River, adjacent to Manhattan.
All 155 passengers and crew
members survived, with only
minor injuries, earning the
label as “the most successful
ditching in aviation history.”
The passengers and crew of flight 1549 ditched the airliner in the
Hudson Bay and await rescue on top of the bouyant jet.
Photo from usatoday.com
H1N1 pandemic
In June of 2009, the
World Health Organization
labeled the H1N1 flu strain as
a pandemic. This label meant
that it was affecting the global
population. By the beginning
of 2010, the strain of influenza
(flu) commonly known as
swine flu, was responsible
for nearly 17,000 deaths
worldwide. By August of 2010,
the World Health Organization
declared the pandemic over.
Though these events were
major, many (especially the
young), may have forgotten
that some of these moments
occurred. However, many
people can still remember
where they may have been
on the day the towers fell, the
fear they felt at the height of
the H1N1 pandemic and how
the nation reacted to these
events (both catastrophic and
miraculous). In the coming
decade, the world will face
new challenges and those who
live through these times should
never forget what the world
went through.
As said by John W. Gardner,
“History never looks like
history when you are living
through it.”
Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi stands in the ball as
it is being dropped at the turn of
the decade in Times Square.
Photo from sgreed.wordpress.
com
10
Feature
Februry 2011
Meet the staff
By Chris Alexander
Senior
Alison has been a member
of the newspaper staff for one
year, she joined it simply to fill
an empty block first semester,
but over time has grown to love
the class. She considers her
most defining characteristic her
optimistic positive attitude. She
has three favorite colors, purple,
green, and blue. Purple is her
favorite overall, but blue is her
favorite to wear. She likes the
color green because they match
her eyes. Her favorite number,
is 96, and according to her “I
don’t have a reason, it just is.”
Another first year senior
of the staff, Shellsea Holman
joined the news paper so she
would be more involved in
the school. She considers her
most defining characteristic
how entertaining she is to be
around. Her Favorite color is
purple, because she considers
it a cheerful color. Her favorite number is 13 because of
it is the date of her birthday.
Photos by Chris Alexander
Kyle Weishaar, a senior,
joined the newspaper staff at
the beginning of this year. He
joined it because he heard that
it had a relaxed atmosphere.
His favorite color is Hot Rod
Red. If he could have any car
it would be a ’67 Camaro.
His hobbies include playing
video games such as Battlefield and Medal of Honor.
Remember to check
out the WaKaller online
issues!
February 2011
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Movie
The Roommate
Just Go With It
Reviews
11
Just Go Roommate
Compiled by Deanna Feathers
Junior
Synopsis
Review
In The Roommate, Sarah,
with all of her small-town
hopes and dreams, comes
into contact with her roomate, seemingly cheery
Rebecca. Sara is exposed
to the Los Angeles lifestyle
through Rebecca, who seems
like a worthy friend willing
to show her the big city. This
spirals out of control when
Sara realizes Rebecca has an
obsessive personality and is
mentally unstable. As Sarah
pulls away from Rebecca,
Rebecca turns psychotic and
does dangerous things. But
in Rebecca’s eyes, it’s not
up to Sarah; she won’t stand
for abandonment in any
form, and Rebecca will try
anything and everything not
to be alone.
In Just Go With It, Katherine
is a single mom working
as an assistant to Danny's
successful plastic surgeon,
and she's got the frumpy
wardrobe to prove it. The
way for a nerdy guy to be
with an endless succession
of great-looking women is
to pretend he's married. Dr.
Danny has finally met a gorgeous girl who likes him even
without the wedding ring.
Since he actually likes this
one, when she discovers his
fake gold band and declares
she won't date a married man,
he undertakes a cover-up to
try and keep her. The plan
involves getting Katherine to
pose as his wife, conscripting her kids, concocting a
divorce and funding a "Pretty
Woman" makeover. Soon,
the new girlfriend, the fake
ex, the fake kids and the fake
ex's fake flame are off to Hawaii to swim with dolphins.
Squarely targeted at teen audiences dreaming of a post-secondary experience as exciting
as this one, The Roommate
offers very little frights, or
intelligence. There wasn’t any
thrill, and it didn’t keep me on
the edge of my chair like I’d
hoped it would. In one scene,
a girl bruises and cuts herself
in what amounts to a desperate act of wanting attention. A
kitten also becomes part of the
murderous plot after it's placed
in a laundry dryer. There are
frequent instancies of vulgar
language. After watching this
movie, it did make me want
to do a background check on
my future roommate. All in all,
The Roommate will most likely
move out of the spotlight by
the end of the month.
This movie is the most hilarious movie I have ever seen.
Throughout the whole movie
I never stopped laughing. Just
Go With It is a tale of lies that
finally give way to truth, and
of childish behavior eventually
corrected strung along by jokes
that hit and miss in roughly
even number. Overall, it is a
movie that would be an excellent choice to go see. In fact,
I think it was so worth it that
I would pay to see it a second
time.
Rating
Music
12
February 2011
Rob Griffin
Artist: Never Shout
Never
Song: Baby Got Back
Song: Trouble
Album: Mack Daddy
Album: Me and My
Uke
Artist: Brad Paisley &
Alison Krauss
Artist: Lil Wayne
Song: Whiskey Lullaby
Song: Wayne On Me
Album: Tha Carter III
Artist: Taio Cruz
Artist: Wiz Khalifa
Song: Dynamite
Song: Black and Yellow
Album: Rokstarr
Album: Black and
Yellow
Compiled by Brianna Hinton
Junior
Trevor Lindley
John Latimer
Album: Mud on the Tires
Kelsey Holtman
Artist: Sir Mix-ALot
Madison Wiegers
Lacey Carr
WHS Music Picks
Brain Teasers from
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/braint10.htm
1. Space Invaders 2. Missing you 3. Forgive and forget
4. Falling in love 5. Win with ease 6. On cloud nine
7. You are full of bologna 8. Trail mix 9. Try to understand
10. No one to blame 11. 3 blind mice 12. A big laugh
Compiled by Nick Webb
Sophomore
Mind Blowers
February 2011
Games
13
14
Review
The Bookshelf
By Alison Burton
Senior
Bright Young
Things
by Anna
Godbersen
This book deserves:
The year is 1929 and everything is wonderful. Cordelia and Letty have survived in
small town Ohio for their entire
lives, but they have had enough.
They pack up their things and
hit the road for New York City
without a second thought.
Cordelia is determined to find
her long lost father, the now
notorious bootlegger, Darius
Grey. Letty is destined to be
a star, illuminated in lights for
the entire city to see. For young
New York socialite, Astrid’s
day-to-day cares only consist of
what to wear that evening and
which party to attend.
When Cordelia stumbles
upon Astrid and her fabulous
lifestyle, a whirlwind of changes transforms her into an overnight celebrity of the city, leaving Letty in the dust. Letty and
Cordelia are in for a rude awakening that, although New York
is full of limitless possibilities,
stardom has a higher price to
pay than they expect.
Once arriving in New York,
both Letty and Cordelia get
caught in dangerous romances
very quickly. So dangerous
in fact, that these relationships could be life threatening.
These young girls are forced
to grow up quickly, when they
are faced with the challenge to
be true to themselves and their
morals, because the city is full
of deceiving smiles and hidden
agendas; no one is to be trusted
but themselves.
Bright Young Things by
Anna Godbersen was such a
stunning novel.
Godbersen
captures the light-hearted essence of the flapper generation
so flawlessly; I couldn’t help
but to think I was a part of the
era.
This book is not a part of
the Debut Author Challenge
or the Contemps challenge for
2011, but it can be counted as
a part of the Historical Fiction
Challenge for 2011.
Bright Young Things is the
first in the Godbersen’s new series of four. It’s sequel, Beautiful Days will be published in
September 2011.
I adored Bright Young
Things and cannot wait for
Beautiful Days to arrive on the
shelves.
Freefall
by Mindi Scott
This book deserves:
Seth is on the fast track
to nowhere. He has two more
years of high school left, and
doesn’t want to be a drop out
like his brother. But the summer of his sophomore year,
Seth’s best friend, Isaac, died;
Seth was the last person to talk
to him, and the first to see him
dead. Seth cannot get over the
guilt he is consumed with from
leaving his friend drunk that
night, thinking that if he hadn’t
left him, Isaac could still be
alive. The only way to subdue
the pain and guilt is to drink
hard and do drugs every night.
Seth spends the rest of his
summer drinking himself to
sleep every night and waking
up to start the process all over
again. When school starts in
the fall, Seth doesn’t think he
Here’s a sneak peak
of the new Bright
Young Things novel,
Beautiful Days by
Anna Godbersen.
Get ready to continue
the journey of the
stars with the release
of this book in
September 2011.
February 2011
can deal with the heavy load
of classes he needs to graduate.
Just when things start to look
worse than ever, Seth meets
his soon-to-be girlfriend, Rosetta. Rosetta is beautiful and
can change everything. She
gives him hope, that he can get
through this, that things do get
better. Rosetta has been through
not only one, but two deaths in
her lifetime; she is the only one
who understands. Is Rosetta
enough to get Seth to let go of
his guilt and move on?
Although Freefall is intended for a male audience,
girls can gain insight from this
novel. The story is told from a
boy’s perspective, so most teen
guys can relate to the story. It
was really refreshing to read
a book directed more toward
boys than girls, I feel like I
gained a new look into the teen
guy’s mind about relationships
when I read this.
This novel is a part of the
Contemps Challenge for 2011.
I liked the book, but was a
little disappointed that there
wasn’t more of a story line. I
didn’t feel like there was a climax, or anything super fantastic that happened. It basically
just followed Seth for a school
year and recorded the average
happenings in his life. It did
portray an accurate account
of a typical high school kid’s
life though, because not much
happens out of the ordinary for
most high schoolers.
I feel like the book sends a
false message to the readers. It
seems like Seth uses Rosetta to
overcome his grief. Although
people should lean on others to
get through rough times, they
can’t rely on only other people
to help them; he or she needs
to also be able to work through
problems by themselves.
Freefall was an entertaining read that made me think
about problems through a new
perspective. I look forward
to reading more from Mindi
Scott.
Calendar
Feburary 2011
March
Sunday
Compiled by Olivia Divish
Senior
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Monday
1
7
FCCLA State
Officer & Peer
Ed. Selection
7:30 p.m.
Band and
Choir Concert
Saturday
4
5
Dr. Seuss’
Birthday
3:30 p.m.
WHS
Forensics
Meet (H)
8
9
10
11
12
Sr. Mentoring
Barbie’ s
Birthday
Culinary Arts
Competition
2
Friday
3
Share a Smile
Day
6
15
Fr. Mentoring
State
Basketball
Mardi Gras
BIGS
State
Basketball
National
Pound-cake
Day
No School
Day - 1/2 Day
Teacher Work
Day
Forensics
Meet, Silver
Lake
State
Basketball
State
Basketball
Forensics
Meet, Holton
13
Daylight
Saving Time
Begins
14
7 p.m.
NHS
Induction
16
15
6:30 p.m.
FFA Chapter
Banquet
Jr. Mentoring
20
27
21
Spring Break
28
22
23
National GoofOff Day
Toast Day
29
30
Spring Break
Passover
Begins at
Sundown
Spring Break
17
18
St. Patrick’ s
Day
No School
Soph.
Mentoring
24
Spring Break
First
spacewalk In
1965
25
Spring Break
19
26
31
FBLA State
Leadership
Conf.
http://usd320.hosted.webevent.com/cgi-bin/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal2
http://familycrafts.about.com/library/spdays/blmardayslong.htm
16
?
By Cat Wethington
Senior
February 2011
?
?
?
??
Feature
Questions
of the
Month
If you could live in any era, which would you live in and why?
Amy White, Junior-- “Now
is fine.”
Patricia Goehring, Staff-“Now. There is no way I could
wear those long dresses.”
Taylor Roberts, Freshman-“Here. It’s what I am used to.”
If you could live one day over, which would you relive and why?
Cheyenne Nigus, Senior-“My 18th birthday. It was
awesome.”
Shannon Sweet, Freshman-“Nov. 20, 2010. I would stop
my friend from moving out of
Kansas.”
Fred Lindsey, Senior-- “Sept.
11, 2001. I would fly to New
York and kill the terrorists.”
What makes you unique?
Mariah Ekart, Senior-- “My
multiple hairstyles.”
Joseph Haug, Freshman-- “I’m
smart and athletic.”
Shin Han, Junior-- “I’m foreign.”