Mamma Mia by Catherine Johnson is the ‘2425’ school musical. This musical is a big change from the previous musicals, which were The Wizard of Oz and The Addams Family. The last two were more lead-heavy, while Mamma Mia is more ensemble-heavy. But the leads still play a major part in the performance.
The cast is very excited to perform their product when the time comes.
Some of the roles this year are Memphis Brown ‘28 and Chloe Tracy ‘25. The Co-director Brock Godown has been putting in excellent work to help get the musical ready. When asked
who he would be if he was in the musical, Godown stated “[I would be] Donna because I like the songs she sings.
Donna is one of the main roles in the musical. Another main role is the man to be wed, Sky. Who is played by Brown. Brown joined the musical because he finds joy in performing for people onstage.
“I like acting and it’s fun,” Brown said.
Not only does Brown find joy in his acting, but he also enjoys his talent for singing. One of the songs he sings is Lay All Your Love On Me, by ABBA.
Many of the leads are quite happy with the roles they were cast in. One ex-
ample is Tracy, who plays Rosie.
“It’s pretty exciting since Rosie is my favorite character,” says Tracy.
However, there have been a few challenges with the musical due to the dances. “The biggest challenge has been [the] Voulez-Vous dance,” Tracy said.
However, the cast and ensemble have had fun practicing the songs and dances and will be ready for their first performance when the time comes.
“[It’s about] searching for a sense of family,” Godown said.
If you get the chance to see the musical, it may be in your best interest to
BOOM OR DOOM!!!
Is Fairbury school lunch exquisite or devious? Students weigh in on cafeteria food. Is it Boom or Doom?
School lunch is almost always a topic of conversation at schools. Sometimes it’s good and other times it’s not, there is always room for improvement.
“In my honest opinion we can make more homemade food instead of processed food,’’ cafeteria worker Amy Bray said.
However, not every kid likes the school lunch.
“The food is not really that good, and it’s way overpriced,” Memphis Brown ‘28 said. “To fix it you can lower the price or make the quality better.”
Quality can be a difficult thing to achieve, especially
Chloe Tracy talks to Co-director Brock Godown during musicalpractice. This is Godown’s first year helping out with the musical. Photo
check it out. It is a good way to spend some time out of your home and listen to some music. Or go and check it out because your friends and peers could be involved.
when there’s a budget, allergies, and little time to make good food.
“The quality of school lunch is better than what most schools have,” Bray said. “We have kids come in from different schools saying our lunch is better than [at] their school”
Even though the school lunch can be not good at times, the lunch ladies are trying their best to make decent food with the restrictions that they have.
“I think that they are not necessary because we can’t make as much food as kids need for energy,” Bray said.
But not all students think that the quality of the school lunch is bad.
Compared to past meals, at least.
“The food was not that bad, it could be worse,” Atreyu Siefford ‘28 said.
“Like that beef stew, we had back in elementary school.”
Reporter
James Bey
by Liam Young
Slippin-slidin on a late start
Reporter Dakota Zimmerman
On January 4, 2025, many towns in America were devastated by a massive snowstorm, including Fairbury Nebraska. Some individuals affected were Liam Young ‘27, Melissa Barry and Ryan Dusso.
Young was caught in a car accident due to black ice after he slid over the ice and hit someone while sliding into traffic. Though minimal damage was caused, there were still lingering effects of this accident.
Young’s accident was merely a fender bender, but the damage was still sustainable enough to cause Young to get a new vehicle.
Barry was trapped in her house and couldn’t come to work. Dusso had a stroke of bad luck with most of his kids trapped in Lincoln.
“It was a peaceful weekend,” Dusso said. Understandably, he was still stressed about the chance he wouldn’t be able to see kids for at least 3 days. He said, “At the earliest, Monday.”
Thankfully, it was the best-case scenario and his kids got home safely. Although funnily enough, the kids didn’t even know it stormed because there was little to no snow in Lincoln at the time.
When they got back down to Fairbury they were surprised by the amount of snow that had accumulated, but it wasn’t just snow that had arrived, it was also the black ice.
“There should’ve been a snow day anyways in my opinion,” Young said. Many other students agree with this statement and some teachers agree as well.
The roads were treacherous for people traveling in town at the time. For the people who lived out of town, it was almost impossible to get into town because of the conditions of the road and the insurmountable amounts of snow that had covered highways for miles.
Barry was one of these people who had to force her way through these conditions, she agrees with the statement that there should’ve been a snow day, saying “Yes, it was treacherous.” But it wasn’t that she wasn’t there that mattered that day, it was more that her pay was affected.
“I had to use my PTO and it did not make me happy,” Barry said. But there is a silver lining to every story, in this one, it’s where she said “I got a lot of cleaning done.” So maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
SPORTS SPORTS
Feburuary 28, 2025 - Volume 69 - Issue 1
Kuzelka becomes 2nd junior to earn 100th win
The gym in Fairbury erupted in euphoria when Konrad Kuzelka ‘26 won his 100th match and became the second junior in Fairbury Jeffs history to obtain 100 wins in his junior year.
Coach Derek Garfield could see Kuzelka’s success before it happened. From youth wrestling, to when he joined high school wrestling, to now.
After pinning his opponent, the crowd reacts as Konrad Kuzelka 26’ reaches his 100th career win. Kuzelka became the second junior to earn his 100th win.
L’Ecyuer
While there have been thouse who have achieved 100 wins, few have done so by their junior year. Earning 100 wins takes time and effort and opportunity.
Some may think it's grit or skill, but others believe it comes from humble beginnings and the right mentors.
For Kuzelka it started with Matmen, Fairbury’s youth wrestling program that children can start when they are 3-4 years old.
“The earlier the start the better,” Garfield said about Kuzelka’s
experiences. Attributing the success to his start at four years old.
But one's success doesn't just come from starting at an early age; it also comes from off-season wrestling.
“[We do a] lot of offseason, and he's taken every opportunity he’s gotten,” Garfield said. “I felt happy for him that all the hard work has paid off.”
Even though Kuzelka has won 100 matches, he didn’t start as the successful wrestler he is today, Kuzelka knew he needed to improve.
“In the first few years, I was not very good,” Kuzelka said, “but over
time I became pretty good and growing up in Matmen I achieved the most pins award many times, and from then on, I think I've been pretty solid.” Getting started in Matmen was something that Kuzelka had experienced from since previous family members' were involved and he looked at their successes for motivation to start and excel.
“I saw my brother wrestle, so that made me want to wrestle,” Kuzelka said. “The wrestlers from 2017-2020 years [were fun to watch] because they were all so good and entertaining.”
With all of that he has accomplished, there are goals he still aspires to achieve and one of them is state wrestling.
“[I want] to be a state medalist and hopefully state champ,” Kuzelka said. “I also want to break the school records for wins and the pin record.”
