Central Press

Central Press
March 14, 2014
Volume 2,Issue 9
Beta Club Goes Big!
Redbirds Represent!
By Darian Hayes and Jimmy Drennon
March 1, 2014 was a cold Saturday morning for the people
who were participating in the Rend Lake Polar Plunge. A total of
258 volunteers had signed up for the event and a total of $16,210
was raised. Our West Frankfort Redbirds were included in this
great event. Forty-three volunteers from West Frankfort made it
out to the event. Our own Greg Cooper and Micah Jullian won an
award for best costume. The two boys dressed up in hula skirts.
The West Frankfort Redbirds were also recognized for oldest
plunger, school spirit, best costume, and came in second for most
money raised for school ($6,740). Great job Redbirds!!
Special points of
interest:
 Shout Outs!
 Spotlight Students
 M&M’s
 Music
 Video Games
CJHS Has Talent!!
Results from the IGSMA
Marah Willmore - First Superior (Vocal)
Jaidyn Buckingham—First (Vocal)
Bailee Wilson - First (Vocal & Flute Solo)
 Fossils
Lucas Willmore—First Superior (Vocal)
 Summer Time
Olivia Hutchcraft—First (Vocal)
 Home Improvement
Dottie Flener—Second (Vocal)
 I Live In WF
 I-57 Drag Strip
 Limiting Home Plate
Collisions
Sarah Levanti—First Superior (Vocal)
Kaity Hixon—First Superior (Vocal)
Adyson Studer - First (Clarinet Solo)
By Jessica Arnold
Here at CJHS we have a Beta
Club. The Beta Club is a way to recognize
and honor high academic achievement. It
also helps build character and leadership
skills in students. Mrs. Swann’s definition
of Beta is a group of outstanding students
that will go above and beyond not only for
academics, but also for their community.
If you are in 7th grade this year and interested in joining the Beta Club next year,
there are least two
requirements in
order to qualify for
Beta. They include
no referrals and at
least a 4.5 grade
point average.
This year
there are 25 students in Beta. The
students include Bethany Aldridge, Allie
Arview, Megan Beery, Tyson Broy, Jaidyn
Buckingham, Bradlee Croslin, Logan Elko,
Olivia Harkins, Wesley Hawkins, Kaity
Hixson, Olivia Hutchcraft, Jacob Jones,
Jackson May, Kaitlyn Milligan, Brendan
Russell, Jacob Russell, Makayla Short,
Emma Talluto, Keagan Thrash, Nic Tindall,
Olivia Weeks, Aubrey Wilson, Courtney
Wilson, Marah Willmore, and Cali Wright.
This year there was one manager, Rorrie
House.
The CJHS Beta Club attended
the state convention in Springfield, Illinois.There were 28 schools at the convention this year. Our Beta Club placed in
eight different categories. The categories included Living Literature, Quilting,
Group Talent, Song Fest, Spelling Bee,
Calisthenics, Sketch, and Cross-Stitch. .
Great job CJHS Beta club!
The 25 Beta club members are
now raising money to compete this summer
in the National Convention in Virginia.
Good Luck Beta Club!
Page 2
Central
Fossils
By Jimmy Drennon
Imagine yourself
as an endangered animal
millions of years ago.
Next thing you know
you’re taking a nap on a
rock and your species is
wiped off the face of the
Earth.
Some of those
animals were fossilized.
Over the years their
bodies decayed on that
rock. The body then
molded itself into the
rock. That’s called a mold
fossil. Other types of
fossils are called cast
fossils, trace fossils,
true form fossils, unaltered preservation fossil,
petrified fossil, replacement fossil, carbonization or coalification fossil, recrystalization fossil, and antigenic preservation.
The first people
to find fossils were the
Greeks and the Romans.
They referred to fossils
in their stories about
ogres and Griffin Legends. The fossils found in
China were given the
name “dragon bones.”
The first dinosaur to be described scientifically was Megalosaurus. A Megalosaurus
is about 30 feet long and
Video Games
An Atari: One of the
first game systems.
Press
Seventy-two percent of American households play computers or
consoles
(also known
as systems).
The newest
video game
systems out
there are
the Xbox 1, PS4, and the
Wii U. The newest games
are Call of Duty Ghosts,
GTA5, Saints Row 4,
Walking Dead New Season, NBA14, and Madden
weighs a ton.
Dinosaur fossils
aren’t the only fossils you
can find. You could go to
the park and look
through rocks. You could
look for what could have
been an animal body part
at one time and those are
cool because you get to
decide what the animal
was when it was alive.
Fossils are studied by
scientists today and can
lead to the discovery of
new species or new information.
By Kyle Vancauwelaert
NFL25. The games to
look for include Titan
Fall, Thief, Elder
Scrolls
Online, New
Zelda, and
Evolution.
Personally, my
favorite
video game is Call of
Duty Ghost, and my
favorite system is
Xbox 360.
As of today
there are eight gen-
erations of gaming
systems. The first
generation contains
Magnavox Odyssey,
Color TV game, Telstar, and APF TV Fun.
The last generation
contains Wii U, Playstation 4, Xbox1, and
the Ouya.
No matter
what game you play or
how you play it, life
without video games
would be boring.
Volume
2,Issue
Music
9
Page 3
By Alex Anderson
Music is something I think we all can
relate to, no matter what
genre it is. Music can
help people relax and
ease stress. It also helps
people to think or reminisce about something.
Listeners can relate to
someone, typically the
artist that they are listening to. I’m not aware
of one person who doesn’t enjoy some type of
music.
Something special
about music is that we all
can relate to it in some
way. It doesn’t matter if
it is Rock, R&B, Rap, Pop,
Jazz, Country, or Gospel,
everyone has some type
of music they can relate
to. Its incredible how one
person can listen to one
song and
relate to it
and to the
artist a
million
times over.
We can
relate to
subjects
such as
love, death, life, stress,
addiction, and so many
more subjects and topics.
As much as you can relate to it you can also
learn things like life lessons, mistakes the artist
or group has made, or
how you can better yourself as a better person.
Music can also
help you relax and ease
stress. The song you listen to may reflect the
mood you felt when you
picked the song. The lyrics might also explain how
you feel on the inside and
it can tell stories that
you can deeply relate to,
which in turn might help
ease your stress. Whenever I’m angry, depressed, or even feel like
I’m on top of the world I
know I can always relax
or relate to something
because of music. As an
artist I know it’s very
important to get the listeners to relate and love
the sound of the album
or track they are listening to at the
time. I can’t
stress how
important
that is for
many artists
like Eminem,
Kanye West,
and Future
to make you
relate to the track or
album you are hearing.
Music can also
get you to think a lot.
Artists like Eminem,
2Pac, Biggie Smalls, 50
Cent, Pink, and Adam Le-
vine are all artists that
make you think about
deep issues (not in every
song they write). 2Pac
and Biggie Smalls wrote
songs about life, death,
and politics. Eminem does
this as well. Artists like
Shady and 50 Cent make
you think about stress,
arguments, and drama.
Last but not least people
like Pink and Adam Levine
make you think about
love, heart breaks, and
violent/messed up relationships.
All these wonderful artist make you
think deeply about a lot
of things. There are
other artists out there
from other genres that
can express deep
thoughts. The artists
that I mentioned are artists that I personally enjoying hearing. You may
not. You may have other
artists that you enjoy
listening to and they may
express the feelings that
I listed above. No matter what group or artist
you are listening to they
can always make you
laugh, smile, or feel better about yourself.
Page 4
Central
Summer Time
Press
By Baylee Boren
In the last few weeks, we have gotten a glimpse of nice spring days. These
spring days will eventually lead to nice summer days. The first week of summer is
the 21st of June. Summer time means more days off from school so you can hang out
with friends, and play video games.
When the days bring the 90 degree weather you might go outside and find a
pool to swim in. If you don’t have a pool then maybe go to the park pool. Your parents or family can go with you to work out or even swim with you.
Summer time isn’t just for swimming. You can also go fishing, camping, or any other activity you like
doing. Camping and fishing are good for spending time with your family and friends.
Not every summer day will be spent outside. There will be days you just want to stay
inside. When it gets really hot you just might want to lie in an air conditioned house to cool
off or just sleep. Summer days can also bring stormy weather. When it is storming you can't
go outside. Those days it will be best to also stay inside.
Even though it’s not summer yet, it can feel like it at times. I am ready for summer.
On March 20th spring will be starting and we will be one step closer to summer.
Home Improvement
By Alex Crnokrak
Home improvement is the art of expressing your home in a different way. You should always plan ahead
before buying supplies. Even while planning you should draw the house or room you are going to build on a separate piece of paper. Be sure that you know the neighborhood and the lot size if you want to build a house. If
you want to renovate a room you should check the foundation in the walls, flooring, and ceiling. If you are not
sure of what kind of things were put into your house, you should check into what kind of things were used to
make houses when your house was made. When demoing your house or room you should look out for:
Load Bering walls
Turned on electricity
Popcorn ceilings ( if your home was made from the 1980’s or before you could have asbestos)
Bug or rodent infestations
Roof conditions
When you are buying supplies, be sure they are in your budget and are appealing to the masses. Appealing
to the masses means getting things that everybody wants to have, which sells your house faster. If you have
your own style of house or room go crazy, but like I said before make sure it’s in the
budget. Don’t waste your supplies. The more you waste the more it eats into your
budget, and you can’t do anymore projects until you save the money you’ve spent
right back. If you want to learn more watch HDTV or DIY or got to their websites.
Volume
2,Issue
9
Page 5
My Adventures in West Frankfort
By Dalton DeVore
I live here in West Frankfort, and I like to hit the streets and go on adventures. During my adventures in West Frankfort, I usually like to take a bike. I will ride a bicycle around town. Usually I meet up
with my friends and we go to the park. I always try to hit up my friends when riding around town.
I like to ride skateboards I love to go to the skate park and ramp skateboards. I also go to the
Herrin skate park. They have manual pads and half pipes. There is also a skate park in Marion. There are
ramps and manual pads there also. I enjoy skate parks.
There are times when I have gotten into trouble when I have been out and about in West Frankfort. I have gotten into trouble because my cousin threw a rock at a house so we booked it out of there.
We didn’t get caught but my cousin knows not to throw rocks anymore! The worst thing that has happened
was when my cousins and I were out past curfew and we could have got in some trouble. This was actually
my friend, my cousin, and I. We were out past curfew. Again, we never really got caught but we booked it
back to my house because we did not want a curfew ticket.
These are just some adventures that I have went on in West Frankfort. I like to hit the street
when I am bored and not in school. So if you see me out there on my bike or just walking, come and join me!
Always feel free to say hi!
Who Are YOU to Judge?!
Most teenagers
in middle school tend to
judge others that don’t
fit into what they consider attractive. Sometimes people look at what
you wear like name brand
shirts, jeans, and shoes.
Also, they judge you by
your hair, face, and personality. Girls tend to
judge the most. Guys
don’t show judgment as
much because they keep
it bottled up inside.
I honestly have been
judged so many times by
By Angel Brown
my appearance. Those
same girls got to know me
and started to look at me
differently.
bullying. It’s one of
the reasons why I
moved to West Frankfort.
Judgment is a big
part of teenage life. We
all need to work together
in life. We are all equal.
Human beings need to
grow up and stop judging.
I just think judging is
stupid. I mean you can’t
judge one person by their
look or personality. I
tend to not judge anyone.
I have experienced a lot
of negativity because of
It’s better to
be yourself than to be
somebody you’re not.
So please care for one
another, and take the
time to realize the
beautiful things in life.
Page 6
M&M’S
Central
Press
By Denver Parkhill
M& M’s are one of America’s most loved
candies. M&M’s are loved by most of Americans.
There are different types of M&M’s. Some examples of different types of M&M’s include peanut
butter, pretzel, the peanut, and raspberry, mint,
coconut, regular, chocolate trios, candy corn, carrot cake, mini’s, cinnamon, and cherry cordial.
M&M’s are a good snack. A dude named
Forrest Mars made M&M’s because soldiers
wanted the taste of home in the form of chocolate. He took the challenge and made the M&M’s.
The soldiers liked this candy because it can withstand any climate. The M’s in M&M stand for
Mars and Murrie. Mars and Murrie are the last
names of the people who invited the M&M’s.
M&M’s are favorite types of candy. I love the
mini ones.
Nutrient Facts for Plain M &M’s
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 10 pieces (7 g)
Per Serving% Daily Value*
Calories 34
Calories from Fat 13
Total Fat 1.5g2%
Saturated Fat 0.9g5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.4g
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 4mg0%
Potassium 18mg1%
Carbohydrates 5.0g2%
Dietary Fiber 0.2g1%
Sugars 4.5g
Protein 0.3g
Vitamin A 0% · Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1% · Iron 0%
Law of the Land
By Mariah Bonstell
The United States has two owner manuals, The Constitution and Declaration. Our ancestors gave us
rights and we have to be responsible so that we can maintain these rights. If we fail to read this document
then we are only hurting ourselves. Our lack of knowledge has caused our rights to be stolen in the past. Here
at CJHS we are taught all about the constitution so that we are more responsible in the future. Students
need to know what the constitution is so they know the rules for our country.
The Constitution of the United States also affects us here at CJHS. Students are given rights as well
as adults. Students also have rights which are included in the following; Bullying & Discrimination, Proms and
Other School Events, Clothing and Dress Codes, and Censorship.
Congrats to all of the 7th Graders at CJHS who have passed the Constitution Test! You are now more
knowledgeable on you rights as an American citizen.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." — Preamble to the Constitution
Volume
2,Issue
Page
9
8th Grade Spotlight
By Angel Brown
7th Grade Spotlight
By Jimmy Drennon
th
Aubrey Wilson is the 8 grade spotlight
student! She likes to learn about history and loves
to do cross country. Aubrey likes school. Her favorite hour of the day is first hour. Aubrey’s favorite teacher is Mrs. Swann. Aubrey’s favorite food
is spaghetti.
In Aubrey’s spare time she practices
shooting her bow and
Tori Bolato is the 7th grade spotlight student. She was born in Marion, Illinois. Her favorite
color is lime green. Tori likes cheerleading, and her
favorite subject in school is P.E.
Tori’s favorite amusement park and water
park is Holiday
World. She can’t
draw and doesn’t like
watches TV. She also
to read. She likes
likes to read books in her
listening to country
spare time. Aubrey has
music, and her favor-
brown eyes and brown
ite movie is Titanic.
hair. She loves to play
basketball. She likes all her friends and teachers
Tori is one fascinating person!
at CJHS!
Shout Outs!
By Mariah Bonstell
To: CJHS Teacher & Staff
To: Olivia Weeks
Message: You Rock!
Message: I love your hair!
From: Kay Levanti
From: Mariah Bonstell
From: Not Telling
From: …..
To: Luke
Message: you iz cool
To: Rorrie House
To: Olivia Harkins
Message: You have short hair
now, I like it!
Message: You’re gorgeous!
From: Mariah Bonstell
From: Olivialicious & Tropical
Fruit Punch
From: Mariah Bonstell
Message: “On Wednesdays we
wear pink”
From: Mariah Bonstell
To: Danielle Mandrell
Message: Your dog loves me!
From: Little D
To: Andrew Ragsdale
To: Olivia Hutchcraft
Message: You’re my ‘Olivialicious’
From: Mariah Bonstell
Message: Supp big D
From: Caitlin Rich
Message: Hang soon?
From: Winkie
To: Taylor McPhail
Message: You’re nice. (;
To: Violet Morgan
Message: Love you Kitty!
From: Courtney Nelson
To: Allison Toms
Message: Your hair is so pretty!
To: Andrew Ragsdale
Message: Rogaine
From: You Know Who
To: Jacob Jones
To: Courtney Wilson
To: Mr. Hopkins
Message: Stale Dale
To: Luke Smith
Message: You wanna go on a
donut run?
From: ?
To: All Boys in School
Message: If you want to join
Boy Scouts come find me! I will
give you info!
From: Shane Veil
7
Central
Page 8
I-57 Dragstrip
Press
By Amber Webster
I-57 Dragstrip was built and opened in the spring of 1970 by the owners
Doc and Nonie McElwee. Their family operated it from 1970-2006. The race track,
at the time it was built, was known as Little Indy. It was the widest 1/8 mile track
ever built in that time period.
Back when I-57 Dragstrip was built it was the first race track around that
had a modern day timing system. A timing system is a system that calculates how
fast a vehicle can go. Also the timing system is triggered by sensors which are connected to a stand of lights known as the Christmas Tree. When the racers are
ready the lights on the tree come down.
When the light turns green the racers leave the starting line. When
the racers cross the finish line the timer shuts off calculating the
ET known as the laps time. That lets the drivers know how fast
they went.
On the starting line all the way down to the finish line is
660 feet on an 1/8 mile track. It is also 1,320 feet from starting
line to the finish line. Every Dragstrip has a burnout box. A burnout
box is a little area where the driver or drivers pull up and does a
burn out to make the tires on their car sticky (racecar drivers have
certain tires to do this with). The reason why the drivers get the tires sticky is so they will not spin when
they are taking off from the starting line.
Before the race begins, each driver must estimate the time in which they will complete the race. Each
driver must write the estimated time on the window of their race car. Once this done, the racers come to the
starting line, the tree will get ready, the lights will come down, and the drivers will take off down the track.
Those numbers that are on the windows will also be entered into the computer. The racer who comes the closest to the number on their window wins, unless there was a mistake made by the driver. For example, one of
the drivers left the starting line too soon (which is called a red light which is a foul), and if this is done the
driver is automatically out.
Today the I-57 Dragstrip is still family owned and operated. However, it is now owned by our very own
Mrs. Bailey. Mrs. Bailey and her husband have owned the I-57 Dragstrip for about 6 or 7 years. Mrs. Bailey
said she likes owning the Dragstrip, but it is a lot of work. She also said that when they were younger (before
they owned the Dragstrip) they went to the Dragstrip a lot. Mrs. Bailey
said the cars that can compete are Regular Drag Cars, Long Rail Dragsters,
Junior Dragsters, and Nostalgic race cars. Mrs. Bailey also said the most
cars they have had are at the Jeg’s race where they had 211 cars.
The I-57 Dragstrip has seen its share of owners but I think it is in
good hands now. Mrs. Bailey and her husband do a good job with the I-57
Dragstrip. All of the races turn out good. Keep up the good work Mr. and
Mrs. Bailey!
Volume
2,Issue
Page 9
9
Computers Over Time
Did you know
around 74% of people in
the United States use
computers daily? In
1836, Konrad Zuse invented the first Z1 com-
puter and it was the first
computer to be freely
programmed. In 1942
John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry created the
ABC computer. In 1944
John Presper Eckert and
John W. Mauchly came up
with the idea for the
ENIAN1 computer. It is
still not known who invented the first computer, but one thing we
can be sure of is that
By Darian Hayes
computers have opened a
huge door to careers,
social organization, and
media. Thanks to computers you can do almost
anything, whether it’s
listening to music or
ordering cloths
online.
Computers have
changed
the lives
of thousands of
people, and by
2015 we will
have 17 billion
devices hooked
up to the internet.
Most people today consider a computer
as a LCD screen, a mouse,
a keyboard, and a modem,
but the first computers
were much more than
that. The Z1 computer
Top Five Movies of 2013
The top five movies of 2013 were some of
the most famous films.
The number 5 spot belongs to “Iron man 3”
selling out for $1.2 million. In number four, we
have “Pacific Rim” with
earnings of $407 million.
Next in number 3, we
was a extremely large
machine it used a binary
system and had limited
programs that were
stored on a reel of
punched tape holding all
the computer’s memory
and data. It was a very
interesting machine.
Next time you
use a
computer,
stop
and
take a
moment
to
think
about how far we have
advanced in technology.
By Alex Crnokrak
have believe it or not
“Frozen” laying a $161.1
million on the table. Number two on the other
hand was “Monsters University” scoring a little
bit over $700 million.
Finally at number one was
“Despicable Me 2” coming
in real hot with $782
million. These films will
be remembered in the
future for how much
popularity and support
they received.
Limiting Home Plate Collisions
By Kaed Rich
On February
24, 2014 the MLB created an experimental
rule that limits collisions at home plate.
Now the new rule is
that the only way that
a collision at home
plate is legal is if the
catcher has the baseball and is blocking the
base runners path to
home plate. MLB officials decided that if
the base runner collides with the catcher
when it’s unnecessary
for them to collide, the
base runner will automatically be out even if
he loses the ball when
they collide.
Umpires of the
MLB said that the
catcher is allowed to
block the plate only
when he has the baseball in his possession.
Any other time he’s
blocking the plate when
it shouldn’t be allowed
is illegal and the runner
will automatically be
safe.
to score a run for the
Marlins but he noticed
that Posey was on top
of the plate blocking
the path so Scott was
forced to collide with
Posey. This collision
resulted in an injury
and the player being
out for the rest of the
2011 season.
Some of the
players in the MLB like
this new rule and others don’t. Buster Posey
of the San Francisco
Giants said that the
new rule is a good
thing.
This rule will
help to ensure that
catchers and base runners will both be better protected during
the 2014 season.
One of the main
reasons that this rule
is being applied is because of an injury that
Buster Posey received
in 2011. Scott Cousins
of the Florida Marlins
was rounding 3rd base
THE CAVALIERS
By: Zack Koczorowski
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team in the NBA. This team joined the NBA right before 1970- 1971
season. That same year the Portland Trailblazers and the Buffalo Braves joined the NBA as well.
In 1980’s Ted Stepien, the owner of the Cavaliers, took the team into a dark era. He did nothing but
trade away Round 1 picks in order to save money. Later there became a rule called the “Ted Stepien rule”,
which made it to where you couldn’t trade consecutive Round 1 picks.
Right now the Cleveland Cavaliers are still in the playoff race. Their roster includes #0 Guard C.J
Miles, #1 Guard Jarrett Jack,#2 Guard Kyrie Irving, #3 Guard Dion Waiters, #8 Guard Matthew Dellavedova ,#10 Guard Sergey Karasev, Guard-Forward Carrick Felix, #9 Forward Luol Deng, #13 Forward Tristan Thompson,#15 Forward Anthony Bennett, #33 Forward Alonzo Gee, ,#32 Forward-Center Spencer
Hawes, #40 Forward Center Tyler Zeller, and #17 Center Anderson Varejao. As of this week their record is
26-40. Here’s hoping the Cavaliers make it to the playoffs!