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Spirit squad cheers academics
Volume 84 Number 10 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
By Kurt Backscheider
kbackscheider@communitypress.com
Student council members at Oak Hills High School are making sure the school’s academic team has support from fellow Highlanders. Members of student council have formed a group called the OHATSS (Oak Hills Academic Team Spirit Squad), and they attend every academic team match to cheer the team to victory. “It’s been great to have the OHATSS there,” said senior Adam Coey, a Bridgetown resident and captain of the academic team. “They bring a lot of spirit, and they’ve even talked a few teachers into attending matches.” Coey, who has been on the academic team since his freshman year, said attendance at academic matches was sparse until the spirit squad formed this year. He said the only people who came to matches in the past were team members’ parents and maybe a couple of friends. He said last year the team finished an even 9-9 in the Greater Miami Conference, but so far this year they are 6-2 on the season. He said the same team members have been together now for a few years, which is playing a role in their success, but support from fellow students definitely helps as well. “It’s incredible,” he said. “They’ve come to every match.”
Trip money
Bridgetown Middle School students are having a yard sale to raise money for a class trip to Washington, D.C. ≠– FULL STORY, A4
Galloping along
Western Hills High School basketball team don’t have a winning record, but its coach thinks his team is exceeding his expectations. – FULL STORY, A7
Oak Leaf
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Senior Stephanie Fromhold, a Delhi resident and member of student council’s executive board, said student council encourages every member to attend at least two games for every sport at Oak Hills. She said she and the other five or so students who attended the academic team’s first match this season enjoyed the experience so much they decided to cheer on the team at every contest. “We had a few signs for the first match, but since then we’ve upgraded,” Fromhold said. “We made T-shirts and now we
wear goofy hats. We kind of took it and ran with it.” She said the spirit squad even organized a tailgate party – complete with soft drinks and food cooked on a George Foreman grill – outside the school library before a recent home match. Fromhold said no loud cheering is permitted during academic team matches due to the nature of the competition, but the spirit squad, which has about 15 members, found ways to quietly support the team. They hold up signs and perform silent cheers, such as the wave.
“I enjoy the reactions from the other schools when they see our team has its own cheering section,” she said. “I think we serve as a distraction to the other team.” Oak Hills chemistry teacher Cheryl Vandewalle, who coaches the academic team, said several coaches from other schools have told her they got a kick out of seeing the OHATSS show up to the matches. “They were even invited to come back to the tournament at the end of the season,” Vandewalle said. “I think it’s wonderful.”
Three Rivers delays vote on bond issue Three Rivers Local School District officials are waiting for more feedback from the community and the results of a geotechnical study before deciding whether to request a bond issue to build a new prekindergarten through 12th-grade school building in Cleves. “I don’t think we’re in a position here tonight to necessarily make a decision,” said school board president David Shuey at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, Jan. 12. Shuey said he wants to make sure the 62-acre site the district is eyeing at Cooper Road and North Miami Avenue is environmentally safe enough to support a new school facility before moving forward with the land search committee’s recommendation to consolidate into one school. He said the results of a geotechnical study the district commissioned are due the week of Jan. 18. If the board decides to place a bond issue on the May ballot the deadline for doing so is Feb. 8. Three Rivers leaders are considering a proposal to build a new school because the Ohio School
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Shuey Altenau Facilities Commission will pay for 50 percent of the cost of a new school since Three Rivers was forced the closure of Meredith Hitchens Elementary School in Addyston in 2005 for environmental reasons. Three Rivers Superintendent Rhonda Bohannon said the district will have to pass a bond issue to pay for the other half of the cost to build a new school. If the district decides to move forward with the proposal, it would cost the community roughly $37.1 million, meaning the district would need to pass a 4.99-mill bond issue. She said the 4.99-mill, 37-year bond levy includes 0.5 mills the state requires for building maintenance. The levy would cost the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 about $153 per year in taxes.
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Board Member Greg Altenau said he’s spent the past few weeks speaking with people in the community. He said many people he’s spoBayes ken with think consolidating into a new school is a good idea, but they disagree with the timing. He said a lot of people have been hurt by the economy and asking for a tax increase now will not likely go over well in the community. “My general feeling is the public is fed up with the amount of taxes they have to pay,” Altenau said. He said it may be better to see if the economy will improve by November and place a bond issue on the ballot at that time. Other board members disagreed with waiting until November, noting that whether a bond issue is passed in May or November, the collection on the levy would not start until January 2011. Board Member Al Bayes said building a new school increases community pride and is also the
most economical choice for the future of the district. He said in four years the cost to repair and maintain the existing buildings will exceed the cost of building a new school. “As a school board we’re here to do what is best for the community and the school district,” Bayes said. “It’s such a sweet deal it feels right to proceed sooner than later.” Board Member Angie Weisgerber said she understands people are struggling in this economy, but the down economy will allow the district to take advantage of low interest rates and lower construction costs. Shuey said the state of the economy has been his biggest concern from the beginning. “I don’t want to create a hardship for anyone,” he said. “However, I think the economic development possibilities in Cleves are a plus for the entire community and it feels like right now is the best time to do this.” The board will have to call special meetings to vote on the issue if it wants to place a levy on the May ballot because the next regular board meeting is after the deadline.
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By Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
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From left, front row, Katie Osborn, Kelsie Fieler, Stephanie Fromhold, Eden Brennan, Eisa Ficker and Angela Memory are members of the Oak Hills Academic Team Spirit Squad, who cheer on the academic team at all its matches. Varsity academic team members are, from left, back row, Nicole Bishop, Sara Peasley, Gabrielle Coors, Evan Frondorf, Adam Coey, Jenn Adkins and Christian Vandewalle.