New Seating Arrangements - Decatur County Community Schools

January 2015—
The No. 1 South Decatur High School Publication
Issue IV
Coach Bell Brings Colt’s “Play 60” to South’s Junior High
WHAT’s INSIDE…
Biomed Goes to Nationals—pg.2
Lady Cougar Editorial—pg.3
All About Technology
Today—pg.4
Photo by Brayden Helms
Is Craigslist Safe?—
pg.5
Goodbye 2014… Hello
2015—pg. 6
Mike Prior, owner of a Super Bowl XXXI ring, as well as former
safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Indianapolis Colts , and
the Greenbay Packers, joined forces with other Colt’s “Play 60 “
members to work with Coach Bell’s junior high, January 15th in the
SDHS gymnasium. Coach Bell said this was the 5th year that he’s
invited this Colt’s organization to his classes. ‘Play 60’ teaches students various styles of physical activity and fitness.
What is Happening to
New Seating
Gas Prices?—pg.7
Arrangements
What Were They
New tables with attached
seats replaced the old
tables and chairs in the
SDHS cafetorium on
Monday, January 19th.
Thinking?—pg.8
Meet the Miller—pg.9
Senior Spotlight—pg.10
Juniors Paige Wilmer and Sierra Bischoff pose on the new
cafeteria perches.
Photo by Luke Ryle
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
“When you go into the
cafeteria, yeah, it looks
really nice,” said Cory
Hastings (11), “but I miss
my old chair...it was
more comfortable!”
StrongX Health Records takes Best in State
&Regional Honors; Next Step-Win Nationals!
“We’re so excited,” said Senior Byron Haley. “It started out as an
idea for a class project and we never thought it would get this
far!” No truer words were ever spoken as Haley and his idea partner Brittany Koors shared the announcement that their medical
records app idea had gone from a simple school project to one of
the 24 National contenders for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge.
The app idea, created by Seniors Brittany Koors and Byron Haley, is called StrongX Health Records and will give patients the ability to access their own medical records without all
the phone calls and the paperwork that is usually present. The idea
originated when the duo was working on a class project for Miss
Strand’s Bio-med class. Their assignment was to create something
that would make their community better. According to Koors, she
and Haley were looking online at complaints about medical records when the idea for an app hit them. Haley said that they realized that most people often have a phone with them, so using the
phone to access medical records seemed like a good idea. Of
course, they added bio-technological security measures, like eye
scans and fingertip scans.
The two seniors had their class project almost completed when
Haley found the Verizon challenge on the HOSA website. Ironically, the two thought completing the Verizon Innovative App
Challenge would be easier than finishing the last portion of
Strand’s assignment. So they talked other classmates into joining
their team, worked on the challenge for two days, stayed one night
until 8P.M. writing the three essays and making a video explaining the app, before sending off the project.
Ms. Brandy Strand, Haleigh Hainning, Byron Haley,
Brittany Koors, Breanna Evans , and Chantelle Richeythe complete team for the National challenge.
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
Byron Haley and Brittany Haley—originators of
the app design
SURPRISE! That was just the beginning. The SD
team placed Best in State out of the 1000 competitors. Their project went on to Regionals, where they
competed against four regions—a total of 50 teams.
Now, Byron, Brittany and the rest of the team are
competing against 12 other high school teams, and
to win, they must first present their app idea in a
live webinar on January 23rd. By February 3rd the
team will know if they are one of the four final
teams that will be flown to Texas later in the school
year, where they will be given the opportunity and
some technical assistance from Verizon to create
the real app.
In addition to the shirts, backpacks, plaques, certificates, and $5,000 given to the school for winning
each level thus far, WHEN the team wins Nationals, the reward is $15,000 to help design the app
and to cover traveling costs for Miss Strand if she
wants to go with the team to the National TSA
Conference in Texas. (The trip for team members is
paid by Verizon.) Also, each member of the team
wins his/her own Samsung tablet…. Not bad for an
idea that was just a way to get out of some school
work.
By Eline Van der Zijp
By: Natasha Bruce
Is this any way to treat a lady?
Disclaimer: This an editorial. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the DCCS administration , faculty or “Paw Street staff.
Girls sports have been seen
as “equal” for many years now.
Yes, they have moved up the
equality ladder, but are female
sports really equal to male sports?
I think not. The past couple years,
I have seen girls sports, figuratively, thrown under the bus.
First, let’s talk about the
softball team. For as long as
South’s had softball, the girls have
been required to drive themselves
(or get a ride with someone) to the
softball field behind the elementary school. The boys simply walk
out the gym doors and they are at
their field of dreams. What would
happen if one of the girls would
have wrecked while driving? What
about all the gas money spent by
players and their families? I won’t
mention ALL the problems with
the girls’ playing field because I
realize the boys’ field sometimes
has issues too, but is their home
plate underwater after only a little
rain? And after the rain puddles
are gone, does home plate still
ooze water when stepped on? The
girls have played for years on a
sub-par field, but hopefully,
WHEN the new softball diamond
is created, the nightmare of twisting ankles in the outfield chuckholes will be over.
gift baskets in the parking lot before they got on the bus for sectionals. In the past years the softball girls have had a senior night,
but it was never as extravagant as
the football teams’. The girls’ parents did not walk onto the field
with their child, and no one could
hear Coach Huff’s speech because
of the lack of sound equipment.
The two lovely
seniors
Olivia
Watkins
and
Megan
Niece,
who have played
basketball
for Megan Niece
SDHS since junior
high, will be playing their last
home game at 1 o’clock on Saturday.
When Brittany Koors
(senior softball and volleyball
player) was asked if she feels like
men’s sports are treated better than
the ladies’ sports here at South,
she said, “Yes, girls softball is just
now getting a diamond located at
the school and the boys have had a
diamond here for how long? Also,
the majority of the boys football
and basketball games, if not all of
them, are on Friday and Saturday
nights, while girls have their
games during the week.” Granted,
girls varsity teams do play on Saturdays, but it is a Saturday noon
game. When was the last time during the regular season that the
boys varsity played a noon game
and the girls had the Saturday
night spot?
Niece said, “It seems like
the boys’ sports are [treated] superior because it seems like they
are first priority over the girls. It
would have been nice if the girls’
game could have been scheduled
for the evening that day, especially
since it is Senior Night.”
Koors also pointed out
that the girls’ senior nights are
most always inconvenient. The
volleyball team had theirs duringfall break when most people
were on vacation. The softball
team, well, in three years, I have
never seen a legitimate senior
night event.
What I fear
won’t be over is the
lack of attention to
our lady seniors.
Football and boys
basketball both have
respectable Senior
Night tributes. Last year, Brittany Koors
the senior softball girls did
not have a legitimate senior
night, but instead received their
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
Speaking of senior night,
the girls basketball team is
getting the short end of the
stick when it comes to their
last home game on the 24th.
Everyone knows life is not
always fair, and, yes, female athletes are grateful to have the opportunity to play sports in a competitive arena, but Title IX has
been around for nearly 30 years.
Certainly it is time for SDHS and
other schools to try a little harder
To show support for the
girls and their last home game, Mrs.
Tichenor and the Spirit Club have
created South’s own Lord of the
Poster Boards. All a person needs
to do is create a school appropriate
sign that shows support for the Lady Cougars, register the sign by 1
p.m. for the girls’ game on Saturday, January 24th, and that's it! All
registered posters are eligible to
win one of the prizes: $20, $10, or
$5. To qualify for the prizes, each
poster needs to put the hashtag
#LMCTO (Laughing My Cougar
Tail Off) at the bottom of the poster! And don’t forget to tag your
photo
on
Instagram
to
@sdhs.tclub !
Name That App!!
D. Instagram
B. Trivia Crack
A.
Tumblr
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
C. Pinterest
-Arietta Ellard
By: Brendan Henderson & Garrett Wiley
Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist? Well,
as the popularity of Craigslist has risen, so have
the crimes associated with Craigslist deals. When
someone buys something off Craigslist, the buyer
usually meets the person selling the item. These
meetings can turn out bad as Juniors Jordan
Neal and Dylan Myers found out Thursday, January 8th.
That night, Myers and Neal drove to Indianapolis to buy two cell phones that were listed
on Craigslist. They were supposed to meet in a
public place but the plan changed, and they met
the sellers at a different location. When Neal and
Myers were exchanging money for the phones,
one of the sellers pulled a gun on Neal.
“We were held at gun point,” said Dylan
Myers. “They took all of our money, our phones,
and the phones they were supposed to sell us.
Eventually, they also took Jordan’s truck,” Myers said.
After the two boys took Dylan and Jordan’s things, the thieves told Myers and Neal to
get out of the truck, walk down the sidewalk, and
to not look back.
“We called the cops, “ said Dylan. “The
cops came and found Neal’s truck five blocks
away; they had crashed it into a telephone pole.”
After crashing Jordan’s truck, the thieves
were running through alleys, and eventually, the
cops found the two boys in a house, and they
were arrested. Currently, the two are in jail
awaiting their court date.
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
This story is a prime example of how dangerous a Craigslist deal can be. If you do buy
something off Craigslist, be sure to use your best
judgment, and even then, situations can become
scary. Recently stories have been on the news
about people who were scammed in a Wal-Mart
parking lot. The news reported that the man,
wanting to purchase an electronic device,
thought that meeting the seller in a busy parking
lot would be safe, but it wasn’t. The thieves had
no device, took the man’s money and shot him.
The man had been smart enough to record the
whole event on his phone, so the police could
find the criminal.
Tips for buying safe on
Craigslist
1. Shop local when possible
2. Never give out any personal or financial Information
3. Never buy something without seeing
it in person first
4. Meet in a public place with a friend
SOURCE:http://netsecurity.about.com/od/
advancedsecurity/a/How-To-Stay-Safe-OnCraigslist.htm
The new year is here and that
means people are looking forward to what a new year
brings! So we asked students
and faculty two questions: (1) What would
you like to leave in 2014? and (2) What would
you like to bring with you to 2015?
By: Anekah Bower
SD Cougars were asked what they wanted
to leave behind in 2014:

Drama

Obama’s food
plan

What could be brought into 2015?

Better grades

College
“Bae”

Field house

“Fleek”

Track Records

“Bruh”

Football winning record

Swag

Unhealthy food

Relationship drama


Baker and Brogan Howard
Baker’s fashion model
career

Football losing
record

Graduation

Embrace technology

“Dumb” people

Good study skills

Paperwork

Doing homework

Procrastination

Better attitudes

Austin’s raps

The fryers

Squad’s Legacy

Giant cookies

“Bet”

Austin’s new raps

Ebola

Squad 2.5

High School


Bad relationships
“Bringing sexy
back”

Selfies

All A’s

Miley Cyrus

Getting braces off

Bad grades

Less homework

Good friendships
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
What is happening to gas prices?
By: Lilly Williams
If you are a student driver and regularly
drive to and from school, you probably know the
struggle of the rising and falling gas prices. At
the beginning of the school year in August, the
gas prices ranged anywhere from $3.50 to $4.25.
Right now the new year has brought lower
prices at the pump, and the cost of fuel is continuing to drop into the low two dollar area. Currently Greensburg's average gas price is $2.04.
On January 20th, Greensburg’s BP sold gasoline
for $1.95 while Speedway was $2.05—ten cents
higher.
While everyone who is filling their tanks
appreciates the extra change in their pockets, the
really good news is that prices will continue to
drop. According to www.bankrate.com there are
four specific reasons for the cheaper gas. One,
there is a greater supply of oil. Two, oil prices are
going down and gas prices tend to follow. Three,
there haven’t been any major disasters to disturb
oil and gas manufacturing . Lastly, the fourth reason, there are cheaper blends of gas during the
winter. Different blends of gas have a variety of
prices.
Some surrounding towns, such as Versailles, are selling gas as low as $1.53, according
to gasbuddy.com. Meanwhile the Marathon station on the corner of State St. and Gladstone was
the cheapest gas in Columbus, at $1,74. Westport’s Pavey’s tends to stay competitive with
Greensburg and was also selling for $1.95.
The government ‘s Energy Information
Administration predicts that gas will stay under
three dollars throughout the year of 2015. Looking at gas prices of the past five years, we will
see that the price of gas was in the $3.50 - $4.50
range. So, be grateful for the low gas prices and
look forward to seeing them in the future.
What do you think about the current gas prices?



A 7-Eleven on Colorado Springs' northeast
side, was selling gas for $1.540 per gallon cheapest in the area !
Let’s just suppose….in 2014 you spent an average of $3.75 a gallon. Let’s say you have a
twenty (20) gallon tank that you fill every
week. Now, in 2015 your gas price averages
only $2.25. How much cash would you save
in the course of a year?
If you drive at a steady pace, you can save gas
and wear on your tires. (Somebody tell that to
Levi Wilson!)
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
“I think the gas prices are pretty
good right now.”- Larry Myers
“I really like the gas prices right
now because you can travel
farther and spend less money.”
- Sierra Moore
What were they thinking?
In life, people make some
When two burglars broke
very dumb decisions. On the plus into a house in the UK, they fled in
side, some of the dumb things
terror as they heard the growl of a
people do will give us all a laugh... large guard dog. In reality, the
large guard dog turned out to be a
In 2014, a woman got
stuck in a chimney while trying to 238 pound pot-belly pig.
break into her ex-boyfriend’s
house.
A 62-year-old woman discovered a python on her bathroom floor. She thought that the
python was a scarf “because it
had such a beautiful pattern.” She
soon realized otherwise when she
prodded the python with her cane
and it moved.
A YouTube user from JaOn January 5, 2015, a rep- pan taped Mentos to his body
tile shop owner in Florida was ar- and jumped into a tub full of coke
An eight foot, 36-yearrested for hitting employees with zero. We all know what happens
a bearded dragon lizard and then when you mix coke with Mentos. old, pet alligator named Jaxson
was seized by animal services
later put it in his mouth. He is
from a yard in LA.
now facing battery and animal
cruelty charges.
A teen in West Palm
A man was arrested in Chi- Beach, Florida was caught pretending to be a doctor for a
na for trying to smuggle 94
In Pittsburgh, a handcuffed
shoplifting suspect stole a patrol
month
at
St.
Mary’s
Medical
CenIPhones taped to his body. He was
car and took it for a joy ride at
ter.
Officials
of
the
hospital
agreed
caught after customs noticed that
speeds of up to 100 mph.
not to
he was walking weird.
press
charges.
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
Adding a new face to the teaching staff….
Mrs. J. Miller has years of experience in the world of biology
Mrs. Genna Miller
Where are you from?
“I’m from Indianapolis.”
What college did you attend and what did you study?
“I went into nursing and paramedic science at Marian University and I also went to Indiana Wesleyan.”
When are you due and are you having a boy or a girl?
“I’m having a little girl and we are due the first of March.”
What other jobs have you had?
“I’ve been a paramedic and a nurse the last nine years.”
What do you like about teaching?
“When I worked in the emergency department, I did a lot of teaching with patients, patients families, kids that came in exhibiting
high-risk behaviors and things like that. I love watching people get it, I like when the light bulb comes on regardless of whether
it’s a formal classroom setting or if it’s in a health care setting.”
How are you adjusting to South?
“I’m adjusting very well now that we’re in the classroom and Apex is working.”
Seniors
Liz Moffett
Jackie Hardebeck
What are your plans for after high school?
Cosmetology
What are your plans for after high school?
Go to IVY Tech or IUPUC to get my basics out of
the way.
Are you ready for graduation? College? Why?
Yes and No. I’m ready to get out of here but I’m going
to miss my friends. I’m ready for cosmetology school
so I can start my life.
Are you ready for graduation? College? Why?
Yes and no, I’m ready to start my life, but I don’t
want to leave my friends.
Have you filled out any scholarships? Which ones?
I’m getting ready to fill them out.
Where are you going for college, or where would
you like to go?
I would like to go to Hair Force Academy in Seymour.
Have you filled out any scholarships? Which
ones?
No, not yet. Still in the working process.
Where are you going for college, or where would
you like to go?
I would like to either go for IVY Tech or IUPUC
and then go to Vet Tech Institution to finish my
learning career.
Guidance & Mr. J (the whole school)
If South has a bunch of snow days, what happens to the graduation date?
It will stay set at the same date, because we have seven snow make-up days left.
What do seniors need to do in order to graduate?
Regularly check classroom progress to make sure you pass your classes!
What type of things do you guidance counselors and the school do for the seniors?
Senior award program, Senior picnic, Senior breakfast on Awards day, and Create Senior picture & baby picture PowerPoint for graduation day ceremonies
Top 5 things students should be worried about right now.
Grades in classes, Scholarship applications, College applications get completed, FAFSA/taxes, and if undecided about what you want to do or where to go for
college, talk to Guidance.
Any seniors who receive a scholarship need to report that information to the
Guidance Office. They would really appreciate having the information!
Paw Street Journal—January 2015
Arietta Ellard
Senior Spotlight
After Graduation Plans?:
“Culinary school and
then open my own restaurant.”
What is the Best Thing
About You?: “My personality”
Favorite Teacher & Why?: “Mrs. T. because
she’s like a mom, a teacher, and a best friend!”
By: Olivia Rigby
Sarah Gilley
Who Will You Miss the Most?:
“Mrs. T and Mrs. Hudson”
Most Embarrassing Moment?:
“In biology I was leaning back
in my chair and I just fell! Butt
hit the floor - head hit the
cabinet.. Horrible time..”
Favorite Song?: “’Heaven Knows’ by The Pretty
Reckless”
If You Could go to School Anywhere, Where
Would You go & Why?: “London, because it’s
London..”
Favorite Quote?: “’She was always willing to
burn for everything she has ever loved.’ –R.M.
Drake”
Favorite Quote?: “If it’s green and wiggly, it’s
biology; if it stinks, it’s chemistry; and if it
doesn’t work, it’s physics.”
If You Could go to School Anywhere, Where Would You go & Why?: “The ocean
because I have never been.”
Favorite Elementary or High School Moment?: “Playing kickball in the 5th
grade”
Favorite Movie?: “Step Brothers”
Favorite Quote?: “’It’s not about how hard you can hit.
David Mize
What Will You Miss the Most?: “Seeing Kylie
Ross everyday :)”
What is the Best Thing About You?: “I’m always brutally honest”
Favorite School Lunch?: “Chicken Alfredo.”
Favorite Teacher & Why?:
“Mr. Stevens, because he
helped me pass my ECA for
Algebra.”
Favorite Quote?: “’Forget
how much it hurts and try
again.’ –Bob Marley”
Abi Menkedick
The Paw Street Journal— January 2015
Most Embarrassing Moment?: “Being friends
with Natasha Bruce..”
If You Could go to School Anywhere, Where
Would You go & Why?: “I would go to PCA (the
school on the T.V. show Zoey 101) because it
looked like they spent more time having fun
then actually doing school work. Plus they had
scooters!!”
Favorite Quote?: “I
don’t know whether I
wish to drown myself in
love, vodka, or the sea.”
Favorite School Lunch?:
“I like grapes and fries”
Madison Burton