Vote affirms annexation - Unit School District #304

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PERMIT NO. 9
STORM
TRACKER
THE United High School Newspaper
Volume 3, Issue 3
IN THIS ISSUE:
Superintendents’ reactions
p. 2
Report upbraids colleges
p. 3
1st nine weeks honor roll
p. 5
High school menu/calendar p. 6
United basketball previews p. 7
Football/volleyball recaps
p. 8
STORM ALERTS
Welcome new readers
As a result of the November
7 vote which affirmed the
annexation of the Yorkwood
School District into United, it
was decided to make this issue of
the Storm Tracker available to all
residents of the new district.
For our first time readers, the
Storm Tracker is distributed
monthly during the school year
to all residents of the United
School District, and is a product
of the United High School
journalism class.
The journalism class is
comprised of a limited number
of United juniors and seniors
and is responsible not only for
publishing this paper, but also
for the United High School
yearbook.
This month’s circulation of the
Storm Tracker will total nearly
3400 residents of Warren and
Mercer Counties.
Sold out!
For the first time in the paper’s
three-year history, the Storm
Tracker has completely sold out
its advertising.
Please support the advertisers
who appear in this paper. Their
backing ensures that no taxpayer
money is used to publish and
distrubute the Storm Tracker,
which now reaches nearly 3,000
residents of Warren and Mercer
Counties.
Past issues available
A limited number of back
issues of the Storm Tracker from
the 2005-2006 school year are
available. This includes issues
centering around the Alexis
tornado and May’s graduation.
Interested parties should
contact Mr. Kozelichki by calling
the high school at 734-9411.
Blood Drive
The American Red Cross will
host a blood drive at United
Elementary on Friday, December
1, from 2:00-6:00 p.m.
Please call 482-3332 for an
appointment.
Vote affirms annexation
Overwhelming vote
brings United and
Yorkwood together
By Tony Kozelichki, Publisher
Groundwork that was laid
several years ago by former
superintendents Tom Avery
(Yorkwood), Chris Rademacher (Alexis), and William
Rees (Warren), finally paid off
as voters in the Yorkwood and
United school districts overwhelmingly approved a reorganization that will see the districts
finally become one as of July 1,
2007.
In the Yorkwood district,
which officially will be annexed into United for the start
of the 2007-2008 school year,
the results of the November 7
balloting were in sharp contrast to the results of the failed
2003 referendum that sought to
combine that district with Alexis
and Warren, which only a few
months later agreed to consolidate to form United.
This month’s vote in the five
precincts in the Yorkwood district
showed 644 (78.5%) voters approving the annexation proposal
with only 176 (21.5%) against it.
While voters in the former
Alexis and Warren districts approved the original three-way
consolidation, Yorkwood voters
defeated the 2003 measure by a
xx-xx margin.
Now retired, Avery says there
was a greater sense of urgency
in his former district this time
around.
“The reality set in for some
people that the loss of students
combined with a lower EAV
(equalized assessed valuation)
Experiencing American
holidays for the first time
an experience in itself
Editor’s Note: Taiwan
native Albee Hua will be
spending the year as a
United High School senior.
As a member of the journalism class, her primary
focus will be to write
about her experiences
here in western Illinois.
By Albee Hua
The last couple of months of
the year offers me many new
experiences. Holidays here are
very different than what I’ve
expereienced in Taiwan.
In America, Halloween is
pretty cute and mysterious. We
don’t have anything like it back
home.I didn’t go trick or treating that night, but I saw lots of
children who did. I cut my first
pumpkin on Halloween Eve. It
was harder than I thought. I cut a
scary face. While I don’t understand everything about Halloween, it was really fun.
Thanksgiving is another
holiday that is American, in origin. On Thanksgiving eve, we
went to Bill‘s daughter’s house
and celebrated Bill’s birthday.
That night, they told me about
Thanksgiving, how it comes
from a long time ago, and how
the native Americans taught the
Pilgrims how to grew food and
how to built houses.
On Thanksgiving day, I got
up early, because I had to speak
fhat morning in the church about
Taiwan, I was excited and also
led to a deficit budget the past
two years and would continue to
lead to deficits until who knows
when,” he said.
“I was a little surprised by the
margin of victory,” said Avery.
“While I was 100% sure it would
pass, I figured it would be about
60-40 not 75-25.”
In the United School District,
the margin of victory was only
slightly lower compared to
Yorkwood.
In the twelve Warren and Mercer County precincts that make
up the United District, 73.5% of
voters favored the proposal, with
the final tally coming in with
1285 voters casting “yea” ballots, and only 462 voting down
the proposal.
“I’m not surprised it passed,
but am pleased the vote was
so overwhelming,” said Rees.
“I was a little concerned after
the first vote that the margin
wouldn’t be nearly as high.”
For Rademacher, now superintendetn in Polo, the vote came
down to simple business.
“People now realize this helps
the kids and they were willing to
give up some of the emotional
attachment to the old schools for
the kids’ benefit,” said the former
Alexis boss.
“It’s also a good deal for
Yorkwood as they basically got
the same deal as was on the table
during the original talks.”
Rees, the retired Warren
superintendent, agreed.
“A lot happened around them
after the first vote failed. Southern and Union consolidated and
so did Monmouth and Roseville.
Their enrollment continued to
decline and they lost programs,
such as band,” Rees said. “In
the end, they figured United was
still the best way for them to go,
especially in keeping their buildings open.”
“I do feel sorry for Jeff
(Whitsitt) because he’s had to
worry about consolidation in one
form or another for the past four
years,” Rademacher added.
The task at hand now comes
down to administrators and the
school board establishing a new
budget for the combined district
and determining staffing needs,
as well as placement for teachers now that the junior high will
have its own separate facility
at the current Yorkwood High
School building.
Already in place is a contract
with the teachers’ union which
runs through the 2008-2009
school year.
By Laura Stahl, Editor in Chief
On November 7, the vote was
passed for Yorkwood to annex
into United. On November 8,
both schools’ hallways were
filled with the usual chatter,
yet the topic of annexation was
barely discussed.
When brought up in conversation, most students responded in
a nonchalant manner. While this
may sound negative, most students believe the annexation is a
positive occurrence. Many didn’t
discuss the topic because they
expected the vote to go through
and it was of no surprise to them.
Most students, teachers and
staff are excited about the joining
of the two schools. When asked
their opinion, students said they
looked forward to an increase in
class populations, more variety
in available courses and more
sports opportunities.
Yorkwood junior Max Christy
said, “Looking from an athlete’s
point of view, I believe it will be
advantageous to all participants
in extracurricular activities.”
Others have concerns about the
annexation. United junior Larissa
Prentice says, “I’m looking for-
ward to having a larger class, but
I’m not sure that having the three
buildings will work.”
United Principal Amy Schmitz
sees the positive side to having
three buildings, saying, “I’m
very excited for the junior high
to have their own building. It
will help them create their own
identity, which is so important.”
She also believes the increased
enrollment will be beneficial,
stating, “I’m thrilled at the opportunities this will create for the
students, both academically and
socially.”
Yorkwood principal Kris Nelson shares this positive attitude,
saying, “I think it is positive. It
creates many opportunities for
the students and I think they are
excited about it.”
While some people might not
agree with every aspect of the
annexation, they are able to see
the benefits such a joining will
bring and are looking at the positive side. United’s website even
features a welcome Yorkwood
statement using words such as
“excited” and “opportunity,”
shedding an even more positive
light on the situation.
Little vocal reaction to vote
very nervous. After the speech,
we went home and watched the
Macy’s parade in New York on
TV. There were lots of people
and bands, balloons, dancers and
singers. It was pretty grand.
At noon, we went to a cousin’s
house to have our big turkey
meal. There were a lot of relatives and friends at the dinner. It
reminded me very much of New
Year’s Day in Taiwan. I was so
excited. It just like I was back
home!
We had turkey, gravy, green
beans, cheesey noodle casserole,
mashed potato, hams, and cookies, apple pie, pumpkin pie and
lots of cakes for dessert.
Anyway, there was lots of
food, I ate so much it was hard to
walk. I’ve gained a lot of weight
since coming to America. I need
to control my diet, but since I
like the food here so much, it’s
becomiing really hard for me to
eat less.
More election coverage
see page 2
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STORM TRACKER
Laura Stahl, editor-in-chief
Reporters
Nicole Hennenfent, Albee
Hua., Nathan Johnson, Corey A
Rundle, and Nicole Yung
Mr. Tony Kozelichki, advisor
“Some material courtesy
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Storm Tracker commentary
Final vote margin encouraging for all
By Jeff Whitsitt, Superintendent
Strength in numbers. That
has been a theme throughout the
state of Illinois regarding school
districts. More students equal
more money equals better education. This is not a new phenomenon, just a belief with a renewed
effort. The fact is this is true of
most any type of organization,
not just schools. Based on the results of the election on November
7, I’d say that the majority of our
community feels the same way.
The overwhelming support of
the reorganization vote sends a
message that we do feel strongly
about keeping things at a high
level. But, the caveat to all of
this is the fact that by strictly
adding numbers, we will automatically be a better district.
That is hardly the case. There are
still a number of specific efforts
that need to take place to create
and/or maintain an educational
environment that is “better than
the rest.” Strength in numbers is
their desire to make things better
for our kids. Our efforts will be
more effective and worthwhile
if we work together to improve
these
issues, particularly as we begin
to include our new constituents
to the west. Strength in numbers
is more people working together
for more kids. It means more
time, it means more thought, and
it means more dreams.
I have always believed that the
strength of the United School
District is its people: staff,
students, parents, and community. We have just added another
group of good people to make
the United District even better. I
hope we all look forward to getting to work with more people,
and more numbers.
Guest commentary
more than students and dollars.
Throughout the first 2 ½ years
of our existence, there have been
a great many positives for our
kids. Those positives are the
result of many people and a lot of
effort. There have also been
those items that have not been
viewed as great for some of our
students. Not unlike other districts, some people are quick to
lay blame and some are quick to
call for action. I understand
School calendar reminders
As a result of the November vote to approve the annexation of the Yorkwood district, a pair of school improvement days scheduled for the second semester will
be held as a joint effort between United and Yorkwood
for planning purposes for the 2007-2008 school year.
Those school improvement days will be Friday, February 16, and Friday, May 4. School will be dismissed at
11:30 on each of those days.
The remaining calendar reminders are listed below.
Dec 21-Jan 2 No School--Winter Break
Jan. 15 No School--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Feb. 16 Half day--School Improvement
Feb 19
No School--President’s Day
Mar. 3
No School--Teachers’ Institute
Mar. 12-23 ISAT Testing--Grades 5-8
Apr. 2-6 No School--Spring Break
Apr. 25-26 PSAE/ACT Testing for Juniors
May 4
Half day--School Improvement
May 21 Last day of student attendance
May 22 Teachers’ Institute--No School
May 23 Report Card distribution
May 27 Graduation
Yorkwood superintendent gives
thanks for United support
By Jane Michael
It has been said that if we are
facing in the right direction, all
we have to do is keep walking.
When I reflect on the last twenty
months, I remain confident that
the decision for Yorkwood to
seek reorganization is the “right
direction,” and now that both
United and Yorkwood communities have voted their convictions
so positively, we need to “keep
walking.”
For Yorkwood students,
parents, and staff members, the
reorganization experience is
new. It is already apparent that
United folks remember their
recent feelings. We in Yorkwood appreciate the support and
friendly welcome being offered
to us. United Elementary School
sent a wonderful poster to the
Yorkwood Elementary staff
and students. It is posted in the
cafeteria. Yorkwood members
have been invited to participate
in events on United’s campuses,
and some of our athletes have
already set a model for partner-
ship and cooperative effort.
I appreciate the opportunity to
write this article for the Storm
Tracker, which is now being
mailed to Yorkwood community
members, too. It gives me the
opportunity to write THANK
YOU to everyone in both districts for their commitment, a
commitment we must continue.
As I write this, I know that for
many the next months will not
be easy ones. They are full of
decisions and change. I sincerely believe they are changes
that work in the best interest of
students, staff, and community
members in both districts. All
of us need to cultivate patience,
set aside self-interest, and work
together now and in the future.
Like any good partnership, it
will have its shining and frustrating moments. In the shining
moments, we need to celebrate
our successes, and in the frustrating ones, we need to remember
that even though the path’s not
as smooth as we wish, we are
headed in the right direction.
Report criticizes public universities
By Mara Rose Williams
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT) KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Leading public universities
have become enclaves for the
privileged and are failing to give
bright minority and low-income
students fair access to higher
education, a national report said.
The report by the Education
Trust, based in the nation’s
capital and created to promote
high academic achievement for
students, graded 50 flagship
UHS principal looks foreward to
changes annexation brings
By Amy Schmitz
A flurry of events occurred
at United Jr./Sr. High School
this fall. Our fall sports schedules were in full swing during
September and October. Con-
gratulations to our Red Storm
football and volleyball teams for
providing many exciting moments throughout the season.
We are always proud of the fact
that our student-athletes are not
only tough competitors but also a
great group of young ladies and
gentlemen. I want to thank the
community for supporting all of
our extra-curricular events within
our school district.
An historical event also occurred this fall as the annexation
vote passed in the November
election. This will provide so
many wonderful opportunities
for our students next year. While
change can be difficult, the longterm results will no doubt be
worth all of the hard work.
Arnold Bennett, an English
writer, said “Any change, even a
change for the better, is always
accompanied by drawbacks and
discomforts.”
As we experience some discomfort throughout the transitions in the next year, we have
to keep focused on all of the
educational opportunities awaiting our students.
institutions, one in each state.
It concludes that the leading
and oldest public universities are
doing a poor job of recruiting minority and low-income students
and of distributing financial aid
to needy students.
“We really wanted to use flagships as a way to highlight the
magnitude of the problem,” said
Danette Gerald, senior research
associate for the trust and co-author of the report.
“We thought that by grading
them on measures they are not
typically held accountable for
it would shine a light on these
inequities,” she said. “These are
issues that Americans care a lot
about fairness and effectiveness.”
Each university was graded
on the access it provided for
minority and low-income students, graduation rates for those
students and progress made from
1992 to 2004 on both fronts. In
addition to looking at graduation
rates and minority enrollment,
the report also examined the
number of students who received
federal Pell grants in each state
compared with the number who
enrolled at the flagship institutions.
Looking at all areas measured,
the most common grade was an
F. No university got an A, and
only four got a B.
When it comes to financial aid,
the report faulted the flagship institutions for giving too much to
students whose family incomes
are $100,000 or more and not
enough to students from families
earning less than $20,000 a year.
“These flagships have virtually
unfettered discretion to decide
which students will benefit from
tuition assistance and how much
they receive,” Gerald said.
For example, the report says
that in 1995, these public universities gave $50 million in finan-
rmg Risk Management Group, Inc.
Bill Ramsey
1-800-553-7475
Helping agricultural producers manage price risk
Commodity futures, options, and cash
cial aid to students from highincome families. That jumped to
$257 million in 2003, when the
institutions gave $171 million
in tuition assistance to students
from families earning less than
$20,000 a year.
When it comes to access, the
report says there are many more
students, especially low-income
students, who meet the grade
point and test score requirements
to enroll at these flagship universities than are actually enrolling.
“The conclusion is that either
they are not going to college at
all or they are going to less selective institutions,” Gerald said.
“As public institutions, the flagships need to be held accountable
for how well and how equitably
they are serving the students in
their state.”
To fix the problem the report
made six recommendations:
• University leaders should
become familiar with minority
and low-income enrollment and
use them as a guide in defining
how successful they are at serving the state.
• Universities should focus on
improving the success of students
already enrolled.
• Universities should aggressively recruit talented low-income and underrepresented
students.
• Universities should reallocate
at least half the funds now going
to students from high-income
families into need-based tuition
assistance.
• Universities must re-attract
good students who left without
earning degrees.
• Universities should commit to
preparing highly qualified teachers to work in high poverty and
predominantly minority schools.
The Education Trust is funded
by 11 foundations, including the
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
___
(c) 2006, The Kansas City Star.
If you are a child or grandchild
of a Veteran, see Mrs. Shaver in
the counselor’s office regarding
a scholarship opportunity.
FAFSA forms are now available in the counselor’s office for
all interested seniors. After the
student and parents calculate
their 2006 taxes, they can submit
the FAFSA via the internet. To
do this, you will need a Personal
Identification Number (PIN) for
the student and one for the parent. Go to www.pin.ed.gov to
request your PIN number.
A financial aid workshop will
be held at United High School
on Thursday, January 11 at 6:00
p.m. Full information will be
detailed in the next issue of the
Storm Tracker.
A website is available to aid in
college scholarship searches at
www.collegezone.com
Three of the many reasons to
try the website:
Counselor’s notes
1. You will find links to the top
five scholarship search tools
on the internet. By filling out
a profile, the scholarship search
tools will help identify qualifications from a database of more
than 600,000 scholarships.
2. Students can plan at
www.mapping-your-future.org
future careers ranging from the
military to tools for paying for
college.
3. Help with FAFSA, the
federal student financial aid form
required by virtually all colleges.
Forever Flowers
262 330th Street
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Want to make a positive
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Call 482-3344 for info
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Call Tue-Wed-Th-Sat
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Buy-Sell-Trade
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482-6600
National convention highlights busy fall for FFA
By Nathan Johnson
The United High School FFA
had five girls attend the national
conference held in Indianapolis,
Indiana, on October 25-27.
Attending the conference were
Kayla Daniel, Jennifer Landon,
Randi Sue Reynolds, Bri Trembly, and Sarah Unsworth.
The first day they toured Indianapolis before checking out the
Conseco Center, where the next
day’s activites were to be held.
“We only got lost four times,”
exclaimed Trembly.
That night, they attended the
FFA mega concert held at the
RCA Dome, featuring Heartland,
Jason Aldean, and Carrie Underwood.
The next morning they had to
get up early to attend the morning session where the national
FFA officers were introduced.
They also attended a career show.
On Friday, they took a tour of
Indianapolis, included stops at
the National FFA center, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and
the NCAA Hall of Champions.
In other FFA news:
On September 28, a few members attended the soils contest in
Knoxville. The team of Kevin
Lybarger, C.J. Ravel, Josh Smith,
Sarah Unsworth and Luke
Watson finished fifth out of ten
teams.
On October 3, the officers and
Ag Alumni sponsored the annual
greenhand supper, where new
members and their parents were
given an introduction to FFA.
They were told about projects
they would be expected to do
and events they would be able to
attend.
On October 4, the officers
attended an LTS meeting held
at ROWVA High School. At
this meeting the officers broke
into groups, with chapter officers going with their section
officer, who led them in games
that taught leadership skills and
teamwork.
The following day, the Intro to
Ag class was visited by Illinois
FFA Reporter Taryn Pfeiffer,
who talked to the class about
how FFA has influencced her
life and has made her who she
is. She then played a game with
them that taught leadership skills
and related questions to her
speech.
Local geography bee winners
United Junior High students who advaned to the regional georgraphy bee following local competition are (from left to right)
Caitlin Kozelichki (third place), Cecelia Prentice (second place),
and Joe Wood (first place). The regional geography bee for all
schools in Warren, Mercer and Henderson Counties was held
November 20 at Westmer High School in Joy.
United FFA members who attended the national convention in
October were (left to right) Bri Trembly, Sarah Unsworth, Kayla
Daniel, Randi Sue Reynolds, and Jennifer Landon. The convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
On October 25-26 Becky Condreay came to school to teach a
CPR class. They students had
to perform five sets of 30 chest
pumps on a mannequin in under
two minutes. Those able to
complete the task became certified in CPR.
The annual Hare and Hound
Race was held October 29.
Dyring the day, the officers made
a course throgh fields, pastures,
timber and a creek. The course
is made of lime piles about 15
yeards apart. Contestants are
then sent out in the dark with a
flashlight and had to follow the
lime piles for more than two and
a half miles. Of the 27 competitors, all but four finished the
course.
Winners this year were Bryan
Lincoln, Zack Steele, Eric Olson, Grace Simpson and Kaitlyn
Winkler.
On November 9 Mr. Cirks
took his Intro to Ag class to a
crops contest at Sherrard. At
this contest, students have to
identify weeds and seeds. The
team of Kaitlyn Winkler, Grace
Simpson, Sammy Mackey,
Jacklyn Barnhouse and Casey
Schuermann finished fifth out of
ten, while Winkler placed fifth
individually.
On November 11, several
members attended ROWVA’s
fourth annual trap shoot. While
neither the varsity of JV team
placed, the alumni team of Alex
Corben, Justin Haase, T.W.
Woodell and Brian Johnson took
second place.
Music departments preps for concerts
By Laura Stahl, Editor in Chief
Each year, music students are
given the opportunity to try out
for and participate in the IMEA
(Illinois Music Educators Association) District Festival. Held
at Augustana College in Rock
Island, the festival is a great way
for the students to expand their
knowledge of music and meet
other music students from different schools. Participating groups
in the festival include junior-high
and high-school band, chorus,
jazz band, jazz chorus, and
orchestra.
Try-outs were held on October
7. Students are either chosen
United CUSD #304 NOW
PROVIDES TRANSPOR
TATION TO LICENCED
DAYCARE PROVIDERS
by their teacher or volunteer
themselves to attend. This year,
United was represented by two
band students. Eighth grader
Erin Flick, on the clarinet, and
junior Taylor Willet, on percussion, both represented the school
fantastically.
Arriving at the college midmorning on November 18, both
girls practiced with directors
from schools such as Bradley
and Millikin Universities during
the day to prepare for the concerts held later that evening. The
junior level concert was held at
4:00 p.m., while the senior level
concert took place at 6:00. Both
concerts were open to the public.
The United music department
is also busy preparing for their
annual Christmas concerts.
The elementary concert will be
held Thursday, December 7, at
the United Fieldhouse in Alexis.
If past experience is any indication, spectators should arrive
early as the gymnasium is usually filled before the 7:00 p.m.
performance.
The following night, Friday,
November 8, the United Junior
and Senior High School bands,
choirs, jazz band and drumline
will perform at the South Campus.
That concert will also begin at
7:00 p.m.
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December Elementary Menu
Monday
4
Fried Chicken
Mixed Vegetables
Strawberries Ice Cream
11
Chicken Noodle Soup
Grilled Cheese
Pear Half Cherry Freeze
18
Pizza
Green Beans
Pear Half
12/4 Muffin & Bason
12/11 Donut & Bacon
12/18 Cinnamon Roll
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Nachos & Cheese
Mixzed Veggies
Peach Half
Ham & Cheese Sandwich
French Fries Corn
Pumpkin Bar
Fun Fish
Macaroni & Cheese
Mixed Veggies Apricots
5
Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce
Green Beans
Pear Half
12
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Nachos & Cheese Peas
Tropical Fruit
19
Hot Dog
Hot Potato
Cook’s Choice
12/5 Cereal & Toast
12/12 Cereal & Toast
12/19 Cereal & Pop Tart
6
Tenderloin
Tator Tots
Cinnamon Apples Cookie
13
Stormburger
Green Beans
Cookie Peach Half
20
Cheeseburger
Chips & Salsa
Cook’s Choice
12/6 Long John & Yogurt
12/13 Grahams & Yogurt
12/20 Cook’s Choice
7
Corn Dog
Baked Beans
Apricots Teddy Grahams
14
Turkey Gravy & Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Santa’s Surprise
21
NO SCHOOL
12/7 Cereal & Pop Tart
12/14 Cereal & Mini Muffin
12/21 NO SCHOOL
Friday
1
Cheeseburger
Chips & Salsa
Peas Pineapple
8
Bar-B-Q Rib
French Fries
Corn Mandarin Oranges
15
Crispitos
Lettuce & Tomato
Pineapple Cookie
22
NO SCHOOL
12/1 Grahams & Yogurt
12/8 Pancakes & Sausage
12/15 Bagel & Cream Cheese
2/22 NO SCHOOL
United names high school and junior high honor rolls
The following students have
earned honor roll status based on
their performance during the first
nine weeks of the 2006-2007
school year.
HONORS (3.34-3.66 with no
D’s or F’s):
Seniors: Mark Connell, Levi
Cox, Nicole Ester, Katie Lair,
Josh Mettler, Alex Nall, Brittany Perry, Betsy Simpson, Matt
Wood.
Juniors: Erin Bickerton, Kayla
Bishop, Aaron Corben, Katie
UNITED CHECKS
Donaldson, Cassie Hawks, Nate
Johnson, Bryan Lincoln, Amber
Shawler, Nikki Yung.
Augusta Chandler, Ashley Cox,
Nate Dutton, Erin Flicek, Katrina
Parks.
Sophomores: Chase Chavero,
Heath Fredrickson, Kyle Ischer,
Kevin Lybarger, Eric Olson,
Jami Prichard, C. J. Ravel, Kaitlyn Sherfey.
7th Grade: Jonah Armstrong,
Sully Frick, Emilee Holmberg,
Jesse Kenney, Beau Morrison,
Megan Patterson, Shannon Patterson, Ashlynn Winkler.
Freshmen: Jaclyn Barnhouse,
Blake Callihan, Katie Hook,
Mollie Murdock, Adam Olin,
Faith Schleich, Kaitlyn Winkler,
Carissa Youngquist.
8th Grade: Jenny Battenburg,
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Show your school colors each time you write a check!
HIGH HONORS (3.67 & up
with no D’s or F’s):
Seniors: Cassie Bainter, Samantha Candor, Rachel Damos,
Patrick Gavin, Jay Grant, Matt
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Thur/Fri/Sat
8-8 most Sundays
Sunday dollar breafast bar
Biscuits/Gravy and chili
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Alexis
482-3423
Grose, Nick Hanson, Laney
Morgan, Jake Murdock, Lauren
Powell, Corey Rundle, Kayla
Winkler.
Juniors: Sarah Armstrong, Ben
Battenburg, Colt Foster, Matt
Olin, Larissa Prentice, Bri Trembly, Taylor Willett.
Sophomores: Katie Allaman,
Blake Anderson, Bre Christian,
Matt Dutton, Peter Elliott, Teri
Jones, Jake Kenney, Brandon
Lee, Sarah McCrery, Patrick
Olin, Christopher Olson, Preston
Powell, Macy Sprout, Megan
Vanskike.
Freshmen: Jake Armstrong,
Jenna Fox, Sammy Mackey,
Duncan Nall, Zach Steele.
8th Grade: Emily Douglas,
Rachel Kenney, Gina Long,
Erin Prichard, Joe Wood, Jenny
Youngquist.
7th Grade: Zane Carlson, Logan
Douglas, Geoffrey Hahn, Rebecca Hook, Caitlin Kozelichki,
Meghan Olin, Amy Olson, Tyler
Osborn, Evan Powell, Cecilia
Prentice.
December Jr/Sr Lunch Menu
Monday
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Mized Fruit
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Bar-B-Q Chicken on Bun
French Fries
Peas Pears
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Scalloped Corn Fruit Crisp
Cavatini
Garlic Brea
Green Beans Peaches
Friday
1
Hot ham & cheese sandwich
French fries Mized veggies
Mandarin Oranges Cake
4
Fiestada
Chips & Nacho Cheese
Corn Peaches
5
Batter breaded chicken
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Green beans Pears
6
Cheeseburger
French Fries Baked Beans
Mandarin Oranges
7
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce
Cheese Bread Layered Salad
Mized Fruit
8
Pizza
Peas
Chips
Pineapple
Cheesecake
11
Burritos
Peas
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Mandarin Oranges Cookie
12
Pancake on a Stick
Scrambled Eggs Hash Browns
Mixed Fruit
13
Chicken Patty on Bun
Chips Corn
Pears Cookie
14
Cavatini
Garlic Bread
Green Beans Pineapple
15
Chef Rite on Bun
French Fries Baked Beans
Peaches Cake
18
Crispitos Chips & Cheese
Mixed Vaggies Pineapple
O’Henry Bar
19
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Scalloped Corn Cherry Crisp
20
Chili Dogs
French Fries
Peaches
21
NO SCHOOL
22
NO SCHOOL
12/5 Long Johns
12/12 Cereal
12/19 Long Johns
12/6 Cereal
12/13 Long Johns
12/20 Pop Tarts
12/7 Donuts
12/14 Cinnamon Rolls
12/21 NO SCHOOL
12/1
12/8
12/15
12/22
12/4 Pancake on a Stick
12/11 Breakfast Biscuit
12/18 Cereal
Sunday
Baked Beans
Cinnamon rolls
French Toast Sticks
Pop Tarts
NO SCHOOL
December 2006 Calendar
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
All HS games played at
the Fieldhouse in Alexis
beginning with F/S at
6:00 and Varsity to
follow
3
All JH games played at
the High School beginning with 7th grade at
5:30 and 8th grade to
follow
10
The girls’ basketball
tournament at
Abingdon runs
December 11-16, with
dates and times TBA
4
5
6
HSGBB v. Wethersfield HSBBB @Williamsfild HSGBB @Galva
JHBBB v. Cambridge
11
HSGBB @ Knoxville/
Abingdon Trny
12
13
14
JHB/BB v. Wethersfield F/SBBB @ Galva Trny
Friday
2
9
F/SBBB @ Galva Trny
15
16
F/SBBB @ Galva Trny
22
NO SCHOOL
23
United Board of
Education Meeting 7 pm
20
21
NO SCHOOL
Classes will resume on
Wednesday, January 3
Saturday
8
JH/HS Christmas
Program 7:00 p.m. at
High School Gym
JHBBB @ ICS
HSBBB @Aledo
McDonald’s Trny
JHB/BB @ROWVA
17
18
19
The boys’ basketball HSGBB @ Stark County HSBBB v. Yorkwood
tournament at Aledo
runs December 11-15, JHBBB v. Alwood
with dates and times
TBA
7
Grade School Christmas
Program 7:00 p.m. at
Fieldhouse
1
’06-07 United Red Storm basketball preview
By Nicole Hennenfent
Beginning the season with an
0-4 tournament start at Williamsfield, the United boy’s basketball
team will be looking ahead to another tourney at Aledo in hopes
of gaining momentum before
the conference season starts in
January.
Varsity coach Dean Betts is
enthusiastic about the upcoming
United boys’ basketball coach
Dean Betts is entering his third
season at the Red Storm helm
2006-2007 United
Boys Basketball
Home games are BOLD
12/5
@ Williamsfield
12/9-16 @ Galva F/S Trny
12/11-15 @ McDonald’s Classic
12/19
Yorkwood
1/5
@ Aledo
1/6
Abingdon
1/9
@ Wethersfield
1/12
Galva
1/16
Stark County
1/19
@ Annawan
1/23
Westmer
1/26
Alwood
1/27-2/3
LTC Tournament
2/6
@ Cambridge
2/9
ROWVA
2/10
@ Avon
2/13
West Central
2/16
@ Princeville
2/19
Regionals TBA
2/24-3/1 @ Yorkwood F/S Trny
The IHSA has yet to announce
regional and sectional host sites
or team assignments.
Fall athletes named
academic all conference
Excelling on the field as well
as in the classroom has garnered
a number of United High School
athletes academic all-conference
recognition.
Named to the Lincoln Trail
all conference academic volleyball team were seniors Rachel
Damos, Amanda Gillen, Lauren
Powell and Kayla Winkler,
junior Sarah Armstrong, and
sophomore Krysten Karnes. Gillen and Karnes are Yorkwood
students who played for United
as part of this year’s co-op.
Named to the West Prairie
Trail football conference’s all
academic team were seniors Jay
Plastics
Glass
Ceramics
Metal
Decorative Plating
B.A.D. CO.
Grant, Matt Grose, and Nicholas
Hanson; junior Ben Battenburg,
and sophomore Peter Elliott, Patrick Olin, and Chris Olson.
Additonally, Grant was named
to the Illinois Football Coaches
Association all-state academic
team.
Senior Patrick Gavin was the
lone United representative on
the Lincoln Trail Conference’s
academic golf team.
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season.
“On different nights, different players will stand out,” said
Betts. He insists that everyone
participating will contribute to
the team.
A worry of Unied’s thridyear head coach is the handling
of pressure by his players, a
problem the team faced with the
Williamsfield Tournament.
The opening game against
Monmouth was the worst defeat
they would face in the tournament. Game two showed
improvement as they played host
Williamsfield. Last Friday’s loss
to Henry was closer than the
59-47 score indicated, but after
leading at half in the final game
of the tourney, Galva mounted a
comeback, leaving the Storm 0-4.
“We have to build from where
we are. There is room for improvement,” said Betts after the
tournament.
By Corey Rundle
Some may say that the United
girls basketball team is beginning with a rocky start. However,
compared to this point in time
last season, the team is already
two wins ahead. It took last
year’s squad well into December
before they were able to attain
their first victory.
So far in the 2006-07 season,
the team has a record of 2-2.
with the two wins coming in the
Cambridge tournament, over
Cambridge’s junior varsity team
and Elmwood.
Of the two losses, one was at
the hands of the tournament host,
the Cambridge varsity team,
while the other came in a regular
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2006-2007 United
Girls Basketball
Home games are BOLD
11/29
11.30
12/4
12/6
12/11-16
12/18
1/3
1/4
1/6
1/8
1/10
1/13-20
1/22
1/24
1/29
1/31
2/5
Aledo
West Central
Wethersfield
@ Galva
@ K’Ville/Abingdon
@ Stark County
Annawan
@ Brimfield
Abingdon
@ Westmer
@ Alwood
LTC Tournament
Cambridgte
@ ROWVA
@ West Central
Princeville
Regionals TBA
The IHSA has yet to announce
regional and sectional host sites
or team assignments.
season matchup with Elmwoo.
On a positive note, the 2-1 showing at the tournament gave the
United girls a second place finish
in the round robin.
“We are still trying to discover
what is going to work best for us
as a team,” head coach Dennis
Mann said. “We are also still
Veteran Dennis Mann begins
his second season as head
coach of the girls’ program.
looking to see who our leaders
are going to be, and to see which
of the other teammates are going
to step up and play with heart.
“We will take it one game at
a time and prepare heavily for
each and every team we compete
against this upcoming year. We
have tons of talent on this years
team, however we need to find a
way to isolate it,” Mann said.
The team is also benefitting
from a co-op agreeement with
Yorkwood, which has added
depth to Mann’s squad.
The Red Storm girls will host
Wethersfield on December 4,
their final home game before
break.
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Pair named all-LTC; team loses in first round
By Nathan Johnson
The United Red Storm overcame problems they had early in
the season to finish strong with a
four game winning streak, allowing them to make the playoffs for
the third straight season. That
streak, however, ended in the first
round of the playoffs with a loss
at Aledo, which went on to finish
second in the state.
The team held its awards
banquet on November 16 at the
South Campus.
Named to the all conference
team by the first year West Prairie Trail Conference were senior
running back Corey Rundle and
Jay Grant, a fellow senior who
was named to the all conference
team at both center and line-
United seniors Jay Grant and Corey Rundle picked up all conference honors in voting by West Prairie Trail conference coaches
backer.
Grant also received all-state
academic honors presented by
the Illinois Football Coaches Association.
Also recognized at the banquet were the team’s top weight
lifters, which included Rundle,
Brandon Boyd, Levi Cox, Drew
Clevenger, and Blake Anderson.
Rundle earned all conference
recognition by leading the team
with 1202 yards rushing on 158
attempts. He also scored 21
touchdowns.
Juniors Drew Lozier and Gavin
Brown finished second and third
in rushing with 490 and 456
yards, respectively.
Senior tight end Matt Grose led
the team with 152 yards receiving, with touchdowns resulting
on four of his five catches.
Sophomore quarterback Patrick
Olin fired six TD passes.
On special teams, freshman
Erik Watson connected on 15 of
18 extra point attempts for an
83% rate. Nathan Johnson led
the team with a 36.38 yard punting average.
Brown, Rundle, Chris Olson
and Colt Foster all averaged better than 13 yards on kick returns,
while Brown averaged nearly 20
yards per punt return.
On defense, Grant proved why
he was named first team all conference as he led the team with
104 tackles, easily outdistancing
Levi Cox with 49 and Rundle
with 47. Grant also pulled down
an interception in the playoff loss
at Aledo.
Junior Caileb Feik led the team
with three interceptions.
Feik, Lozier, Boyd, Johnson,
Andrew Teague, Josh Atwell,
Derek Winston and Justin Fox
each recovered a fumble to tie
for the team lead.
United girls dominate all conference selections
Five get all-LTC recognition; Courtney Young top
conference vote getter,
while Caiti Tucker gets
all-state recognition.
By Nicole Yung
Even after the devastating and
close loss to LaHarpe to end the
volleyball season, the Red Storm
has little to hang their heads
about.
Five Red Storm players were
named to the Lincoln Trail AllConference team. Those chosen
for First Team were Courtney
Young, Caiti Tucker, and Rachel
Damos, while Kayla Winkler, and
Amanda Gillen were selected to
the Second Team.
Courtney Young was also
chosen for the Toney Award,
given to the conference player
who receives the most votes from
coaches in the LTC. Additionally,
junior Caiti Tucker was named
to the Champaign News/Gazette
Top 100 All-State Team.
The statistics show how
deserving the team’s All-Conference players are. Caiti Tucker
was the leader for the Red Storm
in kills with an overall total of
217, and a hitting percentage of
83%. In digs, Kayla Winkler had
208, and Rachel Damos led in
assists with 259. Nicole Ester
led the team with 44 serving
aces, while Lauren Powell had a
remarkable serving percentage of
98%. This was the second consecutive year for Powell to top
the serves for United. Courtney
Young had the most blocks with
54.
The Red Storm also proudly
named six girls to the AllAcademic Team. This included
Sarah Armstrong, Rachel Damos,
Amanda Gillen, Krysten Karns,
Lauren Powell, and Kayla Winkler.
Tucker was named the team’s
most improved player, with
Damos and Gillen named team
captains.
With a record of 22-6, placing
Unparalled success for the United volleyball program this year
meant conference championships and perfect 11-0 records for
both the varsity and junior varsity teams.
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third in the Bushnell-Prairie City
tournament, and being conference champions, Coach Donn
Damos says, “I’m very proud
of the entire varsity team. Their
goal was to win the Lincoln Trail
Conference. Finishing the LTC at
11-0 is difficult and something in
which to be very proud”
As a result of the affirmative vote lat month, United and
Yorkwood High Schools will
expand their sports’ co-ops for
this year’s spring season.
That means Yorkwood students
will be able to participate in
baseball and softball under the
United banner.
Still to be decided is the status
of the boys and girls’ track programs. Yorkwood is currently
scheduled to co-op track with
Westmer, but there have been
discussions in the past that would
propose Westmer be allowed to
co-op with Aledo this spring,
with Yorkwood being allowed to
join United.
This past fall, the two schools
teamed to field cooperative volleyball and golf teams, resulting
in a conference championship
volleyball squad and a state
qualifier in golf.
The girls’ basketball team is
also co-oping this year, while the
boys’ teams will play separate
schedules.
Vote guarantees spring co-ops