Issue 1

the

reporter

Paola High School • 401 N. Angela • Paola, KS 66071

New faces

3 (news)

October 2012

Acting out

5 (entertainment)

Playing games

Traditions continue

10 (sports)

6-7 (features)

#followingalong@PHS Freshman Derek Robison likes Twitter better than Facebook.

“Facebook has too much drama,” Robison said.

Twitter has finally entered the small town of Paola as several students log on, tweet and follow not only their peers, but also celebrities.

Students like Twitter for different reasons. Senior Madison Waltrip said she enjoys it because it allows her to create new connections.

“I get to talk to random people I have never met,” Waltrip said. “I also love being able to talk to all my favorite celebrities and bands.”

However, Twitter isn’t just used for fun. Principal Phil Bressler said he uses the high schools’ Twitter for educational purposes.

“We use it mostly to communicate athletic results, pictures of school events and teacher and student awards;

Twitter slang Tweet: Must be 140 characters or less. A description of the action or thought one is performing.

Hash Tag: The marking symbol used to locate specific interests.

Follow: A legal form of stalking in which one receives the “tweets” of groups or people they enjoy.

Trending now: Items that have been followed and hash tagged enough to become popular items of interest.

Retweet: The process of taking a person’s tweet and making it one’s own.

- Hali Wimbush

evil for me. I use it for a “It’s a necessary purpose and also to piddle with.

- Stuart Ross, English Follows: the high school, Yasiin Bey KU Cancer Center, Stephen Colbert, David Lynch, Daniel Tosh

thought it was dumb until a friend “Ishowed me how to follow sports people.

It lets me follow K-State and the Chiefs.

- Nic Traugott, special education

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hali wimbush design editor

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caleb hecker editor-in-chief

basically anything we want people to know about today,” Bressler said.

Not everyone enjoys the aspects of Twitter. Junior Dustin Rojohn said he doesn’t really use Twitter.

“I have one, but I never really tweet,” Rojohn said. “I have no time to get on Twitter.”

Sophomore Jaden Allen said she checks Twitter every day.

“I usually check it during lunch and after school” she said.

Since it started in 2006, Twitter reports more than 145 million accounts have been created, according to the Twitter website.

With growing popularity, students still won’t be able to use Twitter on the school’s internet.

“All social media sites are blocked,” Bressler said. “It is part of the district IT (Internet Technology) policy.”

With it having already taken much of the nation by storm, senior Hunter O’Brien and Waltrip said it took Paola a while to truly discover Twitter.

“Social media has always been slow to Paola,” O’Brien said. “We are too out of the mainstream loop to be trendsetters.”

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Move over Facebook, Twitter has finally arrived

“It’s a habit.-Kaelah McMullin, junior Follows: the Kardashians and models like Channing Tatum

2 (quick news) in honor of the 125th anniversary of the high school

1930

1939

year the football and basketball teams changed the mascot from oriole to panther

1905

year the first yearbook was published

Compiled by Marissa Bergman

quick picks

7

number of seniors in the first class in 1889

The Reporter • October 2012

year the Tom-Tom was first used to keep score of rival games between Paola and Osawatomie

31

number of students who quit school to fill job openings left by World War II soldiers

Information from 1988 100th Anniversary Yearbook

Photo by Journey Capettini

Panther dancer Maggie Fleming does a front flip for the crowd during halftime of the football game against St. James on Aug. 31. Fleming was the first freshman athlete of the month.

Lori says farewell

Lori McCracken Secretary Lori McCracken has spent the last 10 years working at the high school as the secretary.

Oct. 5 was her last day. She will be doing secretarial work as an office manager at Tri-Star Seed Company.

McCracken says she is going to miss the kids and staff. She will miss something a little closer to the heart as well.

“I’m going to miss Nevin [her son] coming into the office to raid his ‘snack drawer’, give me an occasional hug and ‘I love you mom,’” she said.

Vice principal Jeff T. Hines said he is upset about the situation from a personal standpoint, but understands why she is leaving.

Seminar teachers, rules modified Recent changes to seminar were not a last minute weary of the changes, he said.

“This is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often, and I just couldn’t pass it up,” she said. “Having a job with schedules similar to my kids was always a priority and now it isn’t as necessary.”

Hines said the position has been filled by Callie Rolf.

Ten people applied and they interviewed four people. The position requires someone personable, detail oriented and firm, Hines said. Rolf’s training began on Oct. 3.

McCracken said she hopes to stay in touch with everyone and not just remain a memory.

“I’ve been blessed to be a ‘mom’ to so many,” McCracken said. “I will value those memories always and cherish the friendships I’ve gained with faculty and staff.”

decision. The building leadership team composed of department chairs started discussing solutions to problems at the end of last semester.

Changes to seminar are the result of those discussions.

Seminar teachers will now be the core faculty member in the students’ lives for the next 2 to 4 years.

Those teachers will be there to keep students involved, check grades, and remind students of pending assignments.

“Students at PHS have been allowed to fail before we helped them,” said Vice principal Jeff T. Hines.

The new system is designed to help students at risk of failure and raise the graduation rate to 95 percent.

However, students and teachers prove to be a little

“I don’t like the limitation on travel because the whole idea of seminar is for kids to get help and they can’t do that on Mondays,” said science teacher Todd DeYoung.

Senior Sarah Dickson has a similar opinion.

“If I miss class on Friday I have to wait till Tuesday, the day the assignment would be due, to go and see a teacher,” said Dickson.

The seminar changes were put in place to help the student body. As with any new system there is a potential for problems to arise. They will be addressed as they come, said Hines.

- Tristan Barnes

SophomoreS omourns loss of sister p h o m o r e C a r r a other’s needs before her own.”

-Katey Colwell

Kylee Mader ‘10 graduate

Mader faced a tragedy this summer when her 19-yearold sister, Kylee, died on June 28.

According to Carra, Kylee was outspoken, caring and always looking out for the well-being of others.

“Kylee was always like a mom to everybody else,” Carra said. “She always put

Carra’s life took a dramatic shift at the end of June.

Not having Kylee present in her life has been a big change for Carra. Despite the negatives of this misfortune, she said she has grown other ways.

“It has definitely made me stronger,” Carra said. “I learned I could handle more than I thought I could.”

Kylee was a 2010 graduate of the high school and was involved in FFA, softball, and coaching for the Miola softball and basketball leagues.

-Libby Rayne

(academics)

The Reporter • October 2012

3

New faces; unfamiliar places New students feel welcomed far from home by students, teachers

Jakob Vehlewald: senior camille mars reporter 6-foot-4 senior Jakob Vehlewald stands out in the crowded hallways.

If his above-average height wasn’t enough, the fact that he is a new student seals the deal. He is not an ordinary transfer student. Vehlewald is visiting America from Potsdam, Germany.

Potsdam, situated about 10 miles outside of Berlin, has 145,292 occupants compared to Paola’s population of 5,523.

Vehlewald said there is “more space and farms” in Paola than his hometown.

While you might think that the two PTowns must be absolute contrasts, according to Vehlewald, that isn’t completely true.

“It’s not as different as you would think,” Vehlewald said.

One difference he does comment on is American price tags. He says that in Germany, tax is already included on the cost of

Laura Hemberger: senior brooke prothe reporter Senior Laura Hemberger is a foreign exchange student from Malsch, Germany, a small town not very different from Paola.

She came to America to improve her English, which she started learning at 11, and she said she thought it would be a good experience. So far Hemberger says her favorite subjects are choir and French.

“I love to sing and choir lets me do that,” she said.

When she came to Kansas she left behind her family and friends. She has two brothers

what is purchased.

Also, he said Paola High School is stricter.

Back in Germany, for example, if you have to use the restroom, you just leave. No agendas, sign out sheets, nothing.

He is in America by way of a foreign exchange program called FLAG. After he learned about the program from a friend of his fathers, he filled out an application with full support of his family.

Then he attended an interview where he was asked questions like, “How long does it take to use a washing machine in America?”

In Germany the washing machines take longer because they are more energy efficient, he said.

Once the interview process was completed, Vehlewald was accepted into the program. Then, he was chosen by the people of Brandenburg, the German state he lives in, as the student they would fund. So, he is on a scholarship.

Robert age 18 and Lukas age 13. However she gained a new house family.

“My favorite thing about America would have to be my new house family. I’m living with Courtney and Jordan Bardwell,” she said with a thick German accent.

Even though she says her favorite thing is her new house family, she was impressed by the stores being open on Sundays.

In Germany, the students all stay in the same room and a different teacher comes in to teach the lesson, unlike in America. They only go to school from first to sixth grade which starts at age 7 and ends at age 18. They don’t have lockers and their books are much smaller in thickness, she said

Lea Forler, Jakob Vehlewald and Laura Hemberger are foriegn exchange students from Germany.

Lea Forler: senior whitney mcdaniel reporter Lea Forler, senior, is a foreign- exchange from Bad Mergentheim, Germany. She left her family and the life she knew to come and experience life in America.

Forler got to choose America, but the foreign exchange organization randomly placed her. She didn’t even know where she was going until three days before her departure.

Forler sacrificed a lot to come to Paola.

She left behind her parents and siblings, Kathran and Yannik. Forler still remains in contact with her friends and family.

“Sometimes it’s good to talk German,” she said.

Forler said her biggest challenge living in a country foreign to her is the language.

Her classes can be confusing as well, a result from being unfamiliar with English.

Forler said she knew she wanted to be a foreign-exchange student and travel to America after a two-week vacation in the United States two years ago. She simply loved it in America. So far, Forler she loves

Paola, too.

“I’ve only met people that are nice to me,” she said.

Forler does miss a lot from Germany.

Aside from her family, she misses the time she had after school (German schooling only goes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) she liked how much more outdoors time she had in Germany and how there were a lot more windows in her previous school. She also likes how they don’t use air conditioning in Germany.

“On my first day, I was freezing in school because it was so cold,” she said.

Forler enjoys some of the differences between Paola and her home town. She said she likes that people are a real team here rather than just random people she happens to play with. She also appreciates the fact that people take their time to help her out instead of them just disregarding her.

“In Germany, when you’ve got a problem, you’ve got a problem,” she said.

Forler said she is truly enjoying herself in America, and is excited for the months to follow.

“Hier ist es toll- It’s great here,” she said.

Design by Caleb Hecker

4 (news)

The Reporter • October 2012

New faces; familiar places New staff joins with hopes to learn, assist Bonnie Hill: special education

jackson setter reporter Bonnie Hill is the new special education teacher, from Drexel, Missouri. After high school, Hill continued to The University of Missouri and Central Missouri State University with a degree in education.

Before coming to Paola, Hill was a stay-athome mom. Before that, she was the principal at George York School.

Hill has been teaching for 20 years.

“The reward of teaching is watching students reach their goals,” Hill said.

She said she enjoys teaching special education and would suggest this profession to others. She said it is very rewarding; however

there are mounds of paperwork.

“Former students are what inspire me to teach special education,” Hill said.

Hill says that she would be spending more time with her family if she was not teaching.

So far, Hill said she enjoys the high school.

“I love it,” she said. “The staff is so helpful, nice, and respectful. It’s been a positive experience.”

Deanell Wieland: counselor

katie biggs reporter Deanell Wieland decided to become a counselor out of her love of helping people.

She graduated at Phillipsburg High School then went to college at Kansas State University and North Alabama University. She taught at three different schools.

As a counselor she meets students and talks to them about problems they may be having, whether it is about family, school or college.

She said she enjoys meeting all of the students and working with the staff and families. Even though at times it can be tough, she said she loves being a counselor for teenagers because they talk about adult things and have their own opinions.

Wieland’s dad was her inspiration to be a counselor.

“My dad had a psychology degree and we both have a love of helping people and I saw that growing up which made me want to help,” Wieland said.

She said wants to get to know all the students so Wieland encourages students to come and talk to her.

Linda Rice: registrar

rochelle alexander reporter Linda Rice is the new registrar.

A registrar is a record keeper. Before this, she worked as the secretary for USD 368’s superintendent for nine years and worked at Lakemary for eight years.

She moved to Louisburg and came to Paola to work and be closer to family.

Rice has been married for 17 years and has two children, an 8-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. When Rice is not at school, she says she is a TV junkie. She enjoys shows such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Voice”. She plays games with her kids, for example, the game 21, and watches movies. Rice and her daughter like to scrapbook.

“I’m kind of a boring person,” she said.

Rice grew up in Sharon, which is also the

Theresa Dickinson: SUCCESS

tristan barnes reporter A new SUCCESS class, taught by Theresa Dickinson, is now offered.

SUCCESS is a credit recovery class for students who have failed a class or classes. It is another option to alternative school. There are usually two to six students in the class each block.

In her free time, Dickinson is an adviser for a Boy Scout crew, not to be confused with a Boy Scout troop though. “[With] a troop the leaders are more involved,” Dickinson said. “A crew is run by the kids. The adult advisers just advise them on what to do.”

The scout crew meets once a month to plan a camping trip or fundraiser. Dickinson has to be at every meeting. The

crew is new, she said so they haven’t done much yet. They have gone on a few camping trips. Dickinson likes Pomona Lake best.

“It was the first campout that the crew went on,” Dickinson said.

The crew does anything from coupon books to lock-ins to raise money that goes towards fun filled events. These do not just include campouts. The crew also plans to go canoeing, go-carting, and sail boating,she said.

Cameron Schneider: student teacher shelly macke reporter Inspiration: It’s everywhere. Everyone is inspired by something a little different.

Lesley Wilson’s student teacher, Cameron Schneider, said he knew he wanted to teach when he attended his political science class in college.

“The professor was so passionate about what she did,” Schneider said. “She woke up every day and always said how much she loved her job teaching college students.”

Schneider says it was a defining moment when he realized he wanted to be part of an education curriculum.

Schneider graduated from Louisburg High School in 2008, and went to Johnson County Community College for two years.

He graduated from Emporia State University, with a major in secondary education in December of 2012. After he finished college,

he was drawn back to Miami County.

“It’s so good to be home, back in Miami County with my family,” he said.

Schneider says he was interested in PHS because of its good reputation the school has.

He said he feels his contribution to the school is to show students that social studies can be fun, not boring, and to interact with the students and have them recognize that we’re all interconnected in the small world.

Inspired by his counselor at the community college, he plans to further his education at Emporia to get his master in counseling.

Jacob Rhoades: student teacher

hometown of Martina McBride. She graduated from Attica High School in 1990 and went to Butler County Community College along with a few other colleges including McPherson and Barton County.

Rice said she took the job at the high school because she has experience and it is neat to be around high school students.

“It keeps you young,” she said.

Being registrar is pretty close to her dream job she said, because she likes being around students and adults.

jessica schasteen reporter Jacob Rhoades is in Paola for 14 weeks as a student teacher for physical education.

Seven of his 14 weeks in Paola will be spent at the high school, while the remaining will be spent at Sunflower Elementary.

Many new people come to this school every year. Some stay for the year, some for longer, and some for not as long.

Rhoades is a former Anderson County graduate and senior at MidAmerica Nazarene University. Rhoades chose this college because it was a good school and was the same school that many of his family

members attended.

Rhoades chose to come to Paola because he said he knew that this school is an excellent school district that has good athletics and admirable teachers. He said the good student-teacher relationship is one of the things that he enjoys about the high school.

Design by Caleb Hecker

(entertainment)

The Reporter • October 2012

5

Photo by Whitney McDaniel

Celtic Tales characters end their final song with confident poses.“I’m OK with dancing,”senior Cooper Sims-West said.“Sometimes it’s difficult, but it’s fun.” The played showed Sept. 28-29.

Plays then & now

rags time

Actors learn Irish dialect, dances, songs as part of Celtic Tales

Showtime:

lane harris reporter Junior Austin McReynolds was sad to quit, but he knew he didn’t have a choice.

“It was the night before I quit,” McReynolds said. “I had problems dancing and I couldn’t focus.”

This is just one of the issues the Irish play Celtic Tales had with its cast before its performance Aug. 28.

“I got [my] blood tested for mono and thyroid problems and sinus issues,” he said. Nothing seemed abnormal.

McReynolds said he thought his cast members would be mad because he had to quit.

“They said your health is more important,” McReynolds said.

“They tell me they miss me all the time.”

Leslie Coats, theater, said

McReynolds left early enough to make changes to the play without too many road blocks.

McReynolds said he’s fine and looked forward to seeing Celtic Tales. He said his cast members worked hard on the production.

Cooper Sims-West, senior, said memorizing lines was more difficult in Celtic Tales.

“These lines are different from most lines,” Sims-West said.

“They’re not triggered by something and they’re in an old Irish dialect.

Sims-West said he memorized his lines better repeating them over to himself.

McReynolds said he felt fine after leaving that night.

Coats said the most challenging part of making the play was not knowing if it would succeed.

“When the script is in flux you’re walking not knowing if the ground under your feet is secure,” she said.

Nov. 15-17 (schedule may change because of football.)

Synapsis: Immigrants come to New York and adjust to American life while Americans adjust to immigrants.

Freshman Justin Hieber is part of the 28-person ensemble.

Hieber said he likes being with other people who share his musical talent.

“I was in‘Music in Motion’ in choir.

I’ve done it ever since I could and I sang with the Madrigals with my brother.”

- Justin Hieber, freshman

A drama page from the 1988 100-year anniversary yearbook. The drama club performed Picnic.

Students become stars in lackluster showing of Courage

Review caleb hecker editor-in-chief On Sept. 14, the movie people have been waiting four years for finally made it to the big screen.

In 2008 the movie Last Ounce of Courage was filmed in Paola. In 2009, Paolans watched an unedited version of the movie.

The movie’s main character, Bob Revere (Marshall Teague), is a small-town mayor who fights for the town’s freedom of speech and religion when it is threatened by a civil liberties union.

Revere becomes aware of the issue when his grandson, Christian Revere (Hunter Gomez), is suspended for having his Bible out during school.

Revere then puts up Christmas trees and statues of angels around town. Predictably, he wins.

After all the anticipation built around this movie, it was a thorough disappointment.

The actors delivered their lines with a lack of emotion. The most climactic scene, Revere standing up to the ACLU, still lacks even the

least emotion.

Despite the bad reviews, two out of five stars from the IMBD website and one out four stars from the Washington Post, some students still look forward to seeing it.

Senior Sarah Dickson said she remembers when the movie was being shot.

“Journey Capettini and I were sitting next to each other while [Revere] put a topper on a tree,” Dickson said. “We were standing behind him and supposed to be in awe.”

Junior Christian Peuser doesn’t quite picture it as clearly.

“I was an extra in some scene,” Peuser said. “I don’t remember, because it was three or four years ago.”

Dickson said she remembers

being in the movie when it was shot.

“I was filmed but they might not use that take,” Dickson said. “The part I remember the camera being on me was when he put the topper on.”

Even with the possibility of still being in the movie, Dickson said some of the hype has worn off because it took so long to be released.

“I almost forgot I was in it,” Dickson said. “I was more excited in the beginning because I wasn’t expecting it to take so long.”

Despite the delay Peuser said he still wants to see what places make it in to the movie.

“It will be cool, because you might see a part of Paola you recognize,” Peuser said.

gummy bear rating:

predictable, family-friendly runtime: 1 hr 41min release date: Sept. 14 rating: PG for thematic elements, some war images and brief smoking

casting:

Bob Revere Christian Revere Hammerschmidt Dottie Revere

Marshall Teague Hunter Gomez Fred Williamson Jennifer O’Neill

friendly warning: Bring a pillow.

Information from the IMDB website

(features)

Summoning spirits

The Reporter • October 2012

The Reporter • October 2012

“Ghosts aren’t real. I call bull crap every day.”

-Karsten Gray, junior

“I don’t really believe in ghosts specifically, but I do believe in spirits and all that stuff.”

-Jarod Shulista, freshman “I’ve never had an experience with a ghost, but I don’t want to assume they’re not out there.”

-Joe Buchman, junior “I think [believing in the supernatural] just has something to do with our fascination with trying to scare each other.”

-Todd Weaver, social sciences teacher

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My great great aunts were wickens and believed themselves to be witches and in control of the spirits. There is a book of supposed spells in my aunt’s trunk along with some spiritcontrolling devices. Supposedly there’s a line of witchcraft and stuff in my family. It’s weird.

- Trent Markus, senior

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The legend behind Gravity Hill is that there was a school bus full of kids that got stuck on the railroad tracks and was hit by a train and they all died. Now when you put your car in neutral, the kids push your car up the hill towards the railroad tracks at the top.

One time Dylan, Barrett, Kyle and I went to Gravity Hill. When we got there, out in the forest we could hear people whispering and stuff in the distance. It was definitely the ghosts whispering. We brought flour and trickled it down on the front window. After we did it, the handprints from the children pushing the car were in the flour and we were really freaked out. Then on the way back, the moon was blood red. It was like the reddest I have ever seen the moon. We were completely terrified.

Well someone died in my house—he hanged himself in my room, so sometimes weird stuff will happen. Like last year at Christmastime our tree would fall over by itself all the time. It’d get pushed over and the lights would go off by themselves and the ornaments would be around the room in different places. Then stuff would start happening like things would go missing in my room, the curtain in the shower would close and open by itself when you were in the shower, it’s pretty creepy.

- Andrew Leach, sophomore

- Steven Beets, senior

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Where do you stand?

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My brother told me stories about this old abandoned house him and his buddies used to go to and there’s like nothing in the house except a desk with a bible in the center of it. So what you do is you take the bible and you can move it around everywhere and you can hide it and stuff, but the next day when you come back, it’s always right back on the table. And there are some uncovered wells when you walk in, so you can take the bible and throw it down the wells and when you come back it is always right back on the table in the same spot.

One time me and John went to what’s called ‘Crybaby Bridge’ in the middle of the night. We had our windows down and the truck was off and we heard screams. Then we heard a scratch on the side of the truck. We tried to roll the windows up but the truck wouldn’t start, so we were sketchin’. It was crazy.

- Nevin McCracken, senior

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At the old middle school, the janitor was haunting a young boy that was playing the trumpet. Then he scared him and the boy fell down the stairs and died.

Now that very boy haunts the old middle school.

Now when you go there at night, supposedly, you can hear the boy playing the trumpet. Before the fire department renovated the whole building, there were paint chippings on the wall in one of the bathrooms that were in the shape of a boy playing the trumpet.

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1. Place board in middle of group 2. Place lit candles behind each player 3. Place two candles on either side of the board 4. Lightly rest fingers on planchette (heart shaped, table-like figurine) 5. Players should not drag the planchette—the spirit will 6. Designate a main player to ask questions to avoid confusion 9. Have no one sit at the table that does not have serious intentions 10. Ask the first question, “Ouija, are you there?”

12. If the planchette moves to ‘yes’, ask the second question, “Are you from the sun or the moon?”

13. If the planchette moves toward the sun (a good spirit), continue 14. If the planchette moves toward the moon (a bad spirit), end the session immediately 15. End the session by repeating “Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye” 16. Session must be ended by spirit moving the planchette to ‘goodbye’ 17. Avoid questions about the afterlife, God, how the spirit died, etc.

18. Do not take everything the spirit tells you seriously, for it could be teasing you

More spooky stories

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How to Ouija

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F

Macke said she is unsure as to what came over her.

“I wasn’t sure where those words came from,” Macke said. “I don’t consider myself a religious person.”

Then finally, the last thing Wisnewski remembers is opening her eyes and she was sitting on the ground, her face was wet, her eyes were burning and her nose was stuffy.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Why am I crying?’” Wisnewski said.

The Aftermath: After the incident with the Ouija board, Carrete said everyone was distraught.

“We were very shaken up for at least two weeks,” Carrete said. “Every shadow—it felt like something was in there and I couldn’t handle it.”

Throughout the next week, Wisnewski said strange things happened.

“That night when they went to the car, they looked at the clock and it said it was 7:34,” Wisnewski said. “And the next night we all woke up in the middle of the night at 4:37.”

Wisnewski also said that within the next week, a member of her family was mauled by a bull, resulting in a collapsed lung and six broken ribs, and her horse died of Colic when its intestines twisted into a knot.

As to whether or not there is a link between those strange happenings and the Ouija board, Wisnewski is uncertain.

“I like to think they’re not connected,” Wisnewski said.

“But it makes you wonder.”

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aly johnson feature editor libby rayne opinion editor

or juniors Giovanni Carrete, Jennifer Wisnewski, Morgan Driskell and Shelly Macke, what began as a little harmless fun will quickly turn eerie as they begin to open their Ouija board.

“We had already gone to a different cemetery and it didn’t work and we had the vibe that we shouldn’t really be doing it, but we went to another cemetery, sat the Ouija board down, lit the candles, and began to chant ‘Ouija, are you there?’,” Carrete said. “We chanted and chanted and eventually it moved to ‘yes’.”

After the planchette moved to ‘yes’, signifying that they had successfully contacted a spirit, Macke asked it if it was from the sun or the moon—the sun meaning it’s good, the moon meaning it’s bad.

“At first it kind of budged, but we couldn’t tell where,” Carrete said. “So we asked it again and it took a straight shot to the moon.”

Wisnewski also said that after asking the Ouija a second time, the planchette shot over to the moon, but at that same time she had an even scarier realization.

“After that happened, I looked down [at the board] and realized that I was the one controlling it,” Wisnewski said. “I didn’t realize that I was doing it mentally, but physically I was.”

Knowing they shouldn’t

proceed any further, they said they tried to close the Ouija board.

“We immediately said goodbye to it,” Driskell said. “We threw the candles and ditched the Ouija board, but when we all got up to leave, Jennifer was just sitting there staring straight ahead.”

Carrete said when he looked down at Wisnewski, he could see it in her eyes that she wasn’t really all there and when he tried calling her name, she just stared onward and didn’t respond.

For Wisnewski, everything became a blur.

“The whole time when we were doing the board I was trying to talk to my grandpa because he is buried in that cemetery,” Wisnewski said.

“And the last thing I remember was a voice that said ‘This isn’t your grandpa.’ Then everything went black.”

Carrete stayed with Wisnewski while the rest went to the car to try and figure out what to do next. Then something came over Macke and she decided she needed to get out and do something to help.

According to Driskell, Macke ran over, put her hand on Wisnewski’s shoulder and started to pray intensely and preach to her.

Driskell said Macke was saying things like “God is with you, God will get this thing out of you.” And every time Macke said the word “God” or “Jesus,” Wisnewski would cry and scream even harder.

After about five minutes of preaching, Macke prevailed.

“Shelly went into ultimate religious preacher mode and banished that demon,” Carrete said.

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Students’ experiment turns scary

- Kyle Johnson, senior

-Zach Trigg, senior

“I don’t think [ghosts] are real. I’m a very rational person and I think people are way too easily tricked into believing that there are ghosts. They just want any excuse they can to explain the paranormal.”

-Jakob Vehlewald, senior

Background photo by Libby Rayne

8 (opinion)

The Reporter • October 2012

New lunch guidelines leave us hungry

libby rayne opinion editor School lunches are not supposed to be something to look forward to. In movies and on television, school lunches have always been poorly represented.

Compared to the slop they serve at prisons, I guess you could say we have it pretty good.

In all honesty though, the school lunch has taken a dramatic dive.

I’m not holding the lunch ladies responsible, because I know they just do what they are told. I blame the people upstairs who are looking for a cheap way out. Sure the food is healthier, but the quality has dwindled.

2010: the lunches were subpar. Certainly not the best of anything, but that was something we could live with.

We had options. An entrée or two to choose from, pizza day, a salad bar and a potato bar. Snack bar was affordable.

Really, there was something for everyone.

2011: still the basic foods we had the previous year with minor nutrition provisions that were tolerable. All of the same options still applied.

We switched to a new card system (that change was for the better). We received

Here’s My Beef some additional microwaves. The price of snack bar items rose.

2012: all of sudden lunch became quite unpleasant. No salt, no potato bar, no salad bar, cheaper brand of milk and smaller portions. An ordinary amount of ketchup now costs extra. Not to mention a ‘share tub’ where you put in food you won’t eat, so others can have it.

The amount of calories now required per meal is 850.

According to kidshealth.org, active teens need 2,000-5,000 calories per day. This aspect of the food changes alone has caused uproar from multiple people.

The new changes, which are the first alterations in 15 years, have actually added over $3.2 billion to the cost of the lunch program according to The New York Times website.

The lunch program

stipulations have doubled the amount of fruits and vegetables we are served.

Every grain served must now be a whole grain.

Making healthy changes to the menu is great.

The food’s quality is the issue.

The government doesn’t realize that adding plastic-like lettuce and bogus cucumbers to the menu is not going to make this generation of

staff editorial w

students healthier.

The reason for all these changes is to fight childhood obesity. Yet right after we get something healthy from the lunch line, we can put it in the ‘share tub’ and not have a trace of nutrition on our plate.

Foods that would make us develop and grow healthier are ones that are not all processed. Real grub! Fresh corn on the cob, actual mashed potatoes, red tomatoes, strawberries, etc.

Anything locally grown would be a great nutritious option.

Food

shipped from across the country artificially preserved just isn’t the ticket.

This may cost more. I realize that. If everyone is so desperate to fight obesity then it should be seen as a necessary expense. That is the goal; to make for healthier generations to come.

Ultimately, if school lunches are going to be bad, they might as well be good for us too.

When you sign up for high school you’re granted a certain level of privacy.

Privacy has always been a concern among parents, students and teachers. An example of privacy is the Infinite Campus password, along with all of the security measures to entering the account. Yet, the teachers are able to access everything in our Infinite Campus.

I dislike the fact that teachers are allowed to access my grades as well as missing assignments.

I see the reasoning behind this method. But, as a student I would like some say in my education.

I don’t want a teacher to tell me every no travel Monday, in reference to the third paragraph of seminar changes on page two, that I have missing assignments. I think it should be a matter of choice on whether or not teachers are allowed to check my grades. I understand that the school only wants what’s best for me but it bothers me more that they’re checking my grades and missing assignments, without my permission.

I understand the network is owned by the school and it has control over the computers and grading system, but when I’m told to make something up or fix something, part of me decides I’m not going to do it.

Not because I don’t like the teacher; not because I’m a bad student, but because I don’t want to be told what to do when we’re told over and over that we’re going to need to make our own decisions to prepare for adulthood. If you want me to make my own decisions and be my own person than please allow that to happen.

ketchup

Cartoon by Katie Biggs

(opinion)

The Reporter • October 2012

The Donkephant is in the room

Yea, you betcha - Palin for Prez

Students should become involved in politics, think for themselves

katey colwell feature editor Every four years the citizens of the United States elect the next president. Stop and think about the problems we have in America and our economic situation.

The congressmen and president who deal with these problems are put into office because of us.

Therefore, we should know what we’re talking about.

One of the civil rights we have as American citizens is to vote and participate in elections. By doing so, we help determine how the problems will be solved in our country.

I have been raised by parents who have diverse political beliefs. I am also a cradle Catholic. In the Catholic Church, I am supposed to be pro-life, which means you do not believe in abortion or stemcell research from dead fetuses. I am pro-choice and speak for myself when I say that if I were in the position to choose abortion

or adoption, I would give my child up for adoption.

If other women are in that position, it is their choice.

It’s not fair for us to judge others who may have had abortions, because no one knows their circumstances .

I don’t pay taxes yet so I don’t really know how to feel about politics or which political party I’d like to join.

However, I like the ideas that have been presented from both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

I disagree with the government wanting tax dollars to pay for other people’s welfare. If my parents go to work and work hard to pay for themselves, then so can other people.

I have been raised by the idea that “hard work pays off” and “not everything is handed to you.” I have been raised to try my best and work hard in school, relationships and activities. I have been raised to speak up and stand for what I believe in.

I know this: when I do start paying taxes, I don’t want my money and my hard work paying for someone else who is able to do the same.

Being a Catholic is hard sometimes. Especially when your religious and

political views get in the way of each other. The Catholic Church is against gay marriage and gay rights all together. This is one of the many things my church and I don’t see eye-to-eye on. Everyone has a right to love another person. People can’t help the way they are.

Being a homosexual is not a choice,they should not be punished or ostracized because of who they are.

Obama thinks that allowing gay marriage should be left to the states.

He supports gay equality.

In fact, he supports health benefits for gay partners.

Romney supports domestic partnerships, but believes marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman.

To me, marriage should be reserved for two people who are in love and will dedicate the rest of their lives to each other.

If you don’t know which party you want to belong to, you may have a few years. Be prepared for your political and religious views to clash. When the time comes for you to decide who you want to vote for and what political party you’re with, think for yourself.

Always remember to speak up and stand up for what you believe in.

Choosing who’s right for America

Can you see Russia from your backyard? I can’t either.

However, former commercial fisherman, hali wimbush design editor governor of Alaska and mother of five, Sarah Palin, can.

Palin has become an identifiable figure in the houses of many by her very unique traits. Palin is a great, extravagant, inspiring, awe-filling, frosting on the cake kind of reflection of what we need here in America. (And the seriousness of this article disappears with the word, Palin.)

Palin is portrayed in a negative light, whether it’s Tina Fey poking fun at Palin on Saturday Night Live, or popular online celebrity, Jenna Marbles in her hit parody ‘Cooking with Palin’. Marbles is dressed in a blue bra, with American flag boxers, she talks in a thick Alaskan dialect and cooks moose.

Palin ran for vice-president in the 2008 election with Senator John McCain. For some reason, I assumed Palin was still in the running in the candidacy. With all the social media we have today, one would assume we have some idea who’s running in the elections. Not necessarily…

Many Americans aren’t keeping up with what happens in America today. Now, back to the fabulous topic of Palin.

Palin has all the qualities America needs. Palin isn’t afraid to shoot a gun and with the threat of a zombie apocalypse in a few months, we’re going to need a president who isn’t afraid to put the violence back in America. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of violence, but when a zombie is chewing your face off, are you really going to want to cry out to

the

reporter the staff

Volume 88 Issue 1

9

Editor-in-Chief: Caleb Hecker Design Editor: Hali Wimbush Feature Editors: Katey Colwell, Aly Johnson Opinion Editor: Libby Rayne Reporters: Tristan Barnes, Natalie Eppler, Lane Harris, Camille Mars, Whitney McDaniel, Chase Mercer, Brooke Prothe, Jackson Setter Ad Manager: Marissa Bergman Adviser: BriAnne Chayer

Obama ‘Help Mr. President, I can’t do this alone’ and get the response ‘Yes you can’?

No. We need Palin who is going to be there holding her gun ready to assist us.

Palin shows us how using our resources are beneficial to the overall country.

According to theHuffingtonPost website, Palin supplies her family with freshly hunted caribou and moose to eat for their survival, since there aren’t many grocery stores in Alaska. The only downfall to this survival trip was that it cost $42,400 according to hollywoodlife.com. Now, Palin isn’t as money savvy as America needs, but with our growing deficit, we can afford to go into a little more debt.

Another trait we’re going to need for in a president is someone maternal. Palin is the mother of five children and she’s also a grandmother. Since children are our future, we’re going to need a maternal president who will be able to nurture our children and continue on with the idea of returning to rustic times and hunting for your own food, we’ll not only gain a self-supplying society but also a healthier one.

Now, according to the website exploredia Palin was worth $14 million in 2011. This means she knows how to make money, whether it’s her adorable face or that cute Alaskan accent of hers.

Palin is constantly posting and tweeting which just gives us a forecast on how social she would be as president. ‘Just, approved a new law #like a boss’ Imagine tweets like that being viewed all over the world. It keeps us updated with our president and it helps us Americans who don’t pay as much attention stay involved.

Passing on the opportunity to vote and learn about your presidential candidates can really give one a negative view on the candidates. But, taking the time to develop traits, such as being able to talk in an Alaskan dialect will really help us grow closer to those that could be running the country. So vote: Palin 2012, so you can see Russia from your backyard.

mission statement

editorial policy

The Reporter is for the students, by the students.

The goal of the Reporter is to give the students a voice, and provide an open forum of ideas while maintaining an ethical publication with unbiased coverage.

It is the policy of the Paola Reporter, to provide a forum for student expression, voices in the uninhibited, robust, free and open discussion of issues. The Reporter encourages students to write letters to the editor or submit articles for the editorial page. We reserve the right to edit content. Material that contains libelous or obscene information will not be published. Material that will cause a disruption of school activities is also prohibited. Authors must provide their full name. No articles will be published with an alias.

10 (sports)

e xcellence The Reporter • October 2012

Traditions of Volleyball, football, cross country athletes work to keep strong teams aly johnson feature editor The football team has made it to SubState the past three years, making them the fifth most winningest team in the state of Kansas.

Varsity volleyball coach Michelle Abshire recently celebrated her 400th varsity win at Paola.

Last year the girls’ cross country team won third place at State and broke many school records throughout the season.

These, among many other successes throughout the years, have allowed for the football, cross country and volleyball teams’ names to be associated with having traditions of great excellence.

Freshman volleyball player Tamron Dowd said there is a strong tradition associated with the volleyball team.

“The older girls have set a high standard for us to have to follow in their footsteps,” Dowd said.

However, living up to past legacies isn’t always easy.

For head football coach Mike Dumpert, it was because of the football team’s strong tradition that he was wary to take the job as head coach.

“I had to literally be talked into taking this job because of who I was following,” Dumpert said.

“I think that highly of Coach [Jim] Lee (head football coach 1979-1998) and what he got done and the importance the football team is to this community. You just feel like the whole town is watching.”

Cross country head coach Lesley Wilson said she also feels the pressure to live up to everyone’s high expectations.

Last year, Wilson was awarded the 4A Kansas State Girls’ Coach of the year, so this year she said she feels the need to prove herself once again.

“I think once people recognize you, you’re expected to keep your team preforming at that level every year,” Wilson said. “So after winning an award like that, there’s pressure because you don’t want people to think it was just a joke.”

However, Wilson also said the pressure can serve as motivation for the team.

Photo by Lane Harris

The varsity volleyball team huddles up before a game against Ottawa on Oct 2. Paola won all three sets.

Photo by Whitney McDaniel

Sophomore Emily Muckelbauer runs in the cross country meet at Ottawa on Sept. 22. The girls’team earned a perfect score and got first place.

“I think now that the girls have qualified for State the past few years, they have a kind of hunger to keep that tradition alive,” Wilson said. “They want to keep getting better and better each year.”

Abshire also views having high expectations as a positive thing.

“Expectations are there because I put them there,” Abshire said. “And the players are strong competitors, so they have the same expectations of themselves.”

Junior quarterback Andrew Henn said he views playing under pressure as a normal thing.

“In every single varsity sport there’s pressure,” Henn said. “But you just have to rise to the occasion, do your best and play your game.”

Despite the football team’s rough 2-4 start, that is exactly what they intend to do.

Senior Brandon Haggerty, Henn and Dumpert said the team will be able to come together and be as strong as ever.

“Even though we lost our first two games, we’re building up,” Haggerty said. “Like two years ago the team started off 0-2 and they ended up making it all the way to sub-state, so I think we’ll be fine.”

The cross country, football and volleyball

teams have high hopes that they’ll be able to have a success story of their own.

Photo by Journey Capettini “I don’t know about anyone else, Junior Mitchell Sloan runs the ball during a varsity home game against but I want to be Baldwin on Sept 7 . The Panthers lost 28-14. state champions,” Amanda Hedges, As for the football team, Dumpert and senior cross country runner, said. “We got Henn said its goals are to become better third at state last year and right now we people, get better every week as a team and have a lot of injuries, but when we all get come out with a winning record. And if all of healthy and start to peak, I think we can be those affairs are in order, they are confident dangerous.” they’ll go far.

The volleyball team hopes to pave its “We will be in the play-offs,” Dumpert way to the Sub-State and State tournaments said. “Mark it down.” in Salina.

Jackson Setter and Caleb Hecker “I believe Coach Abshire runs a very contributed to this story. good program,” sophomore hitter Maddy O’Brien said. “My expectations are to make State, and we will achieve that with hard work and dedication.”

Abshire agrees that if the team continues to work hard, they’ll be able to accomplish their goal of going to State.

“The girls know ultimately that their hard work will get them there,” Abshire said.

“You can’t count on experience.”

Have a story idea? Contact someone on staff.

11

(sports)

The Reporter • October 2012

Kicking in expectations Soccer players discuss their expectations for the rest of the season along with the expectations among other members of the team. hali wimbush design editor

For Carl Schmidt, senior, the most thrilling part

tations for the new members.

of the game is during the last 10 minutes of a close

“I expect the younger players will learn a lot be-

game, when everyone is playing hard or going one-

cause of all of the injuries and having to now step up

on-one with a goalie trying to score.

to the plate,”Beverlin said.

Even though this isn’t the most thrilling part of the game for all players, soccer still remains the only sport for some and with experience come expectations, weather pre-season or post.

“At the start of the season, we were looking really good,” Schmidt said. “Most of our starters had varsity experience and we had strong senior leaders.”

However, during the Baldwin game, senior leader

According to Alyssa Jackson, junior, most of the injuries this year have been on varsity.

“It upsets me,” Jackson said. “It affects the scores and how we play because most of the injured players are good players.”

Both Jackson and Sakeena Agha, sophomore, said they expect more communication among the team members throughout the season.

Austin Kehoe tore his meniscus, a muscle in the knee

“I hope we communicate better, and gain skills,”

which allows it movement and ACL, which is a liga-

Agha said. “We’ve always had a problem working

ment that allows your knee to bend, rendering him

together.”

out for the rest of the season.

Jackson agreed with Agha.

“It mixed everything up,” Kehoe said. “Keegan

“I’m hoping we do better with communication,”

[Sutti, senior] had to come back from midfield posi-

Jackson said. “We’re getting better but we still have

tion to play my defense position.”

trouble.”

With all of the injuries, Kehoe said he expects more from the younger members of the team.

Even through the injuries and hardships the soccer team remains strong and united.

“I expect them to step up, work hard, and to prove

“Right now we’ve hit a wall,” Schmidt said. “But

themselves for varsity positions,” Kehoe said. “Espe-

when we break free we’re going to be stronger and

cially with all the injuries we have had.”

better than ever.”

Both Kehoe and Nils Beverlin, senior have expec-

Photo by: Michaela Conn

For more stories visit our website at www.phsjournalism.com

12 (features)

H

The Reporter • October 2012

aunted orrors

A ghostly face greets the guests of the 3rd Street Asylum haunted house. Steve Hoffine said the Asylum in Bonner Springs was built on top of a graveyard in 1918.

Photo by Erin Brown

kali funk reporter erin brown reporter

needles.

“The unexpected-andNicholas Holmes, freshman

What were once just parties, turned into 600 people showing up. That was when Clouse and the Hoffine brothers realized they could make something out of their hobby.

“We got to a point where the parties just kept getting bigger and bigger,” Steve Hoffine said.

They learned the ins and outs, recycling props and building their own. Clouse does most of the mechanics and Jerry Hoffine does woodwork.

Each May, they start work on the rooms. They remodel, switch and tweak the rooms making them just right.

This being their third year in business, Steve Hoffine knows what is really important.

“You want people walking out and thinking that was worth the money they spent,” he said.

The Hoffines and Clouse are all involved in the asylum and have parts to play. Steve plays Buck Arthur and has thick gloves and a mask.

He checks on the actors and shows up to the guests when they least expect it, because he knows the asylum like the back of his hand.

Steve Hoffine said the rooms are always changing and you never know who or what is behind the next corner.

“We always try to keep things new and incorporate things we think will make 3rd Street better,” said Steve Hoffine.

Design by Caleb Hecker

landed on my head.

“Spiders, because one- Chase Collins, sophomore

“

“

“I just don’t like evil possessions.

- Tyler Duncan, junior and personal peopleget.

“I don’t like how up close - Savannah Taylor, senior “

Scariest things?

“

Fear: Painful emotion excited by apprehension of impending danger; dread.

We’ve all felt it, the sweaty palms, the tension so great

you jump at the slightest movement.

Haunted house operators have to think about what makes people tick.

Spiders, snakes, clowns, pigs, darkness, claustrophobia; they’re all used as tools to scare.

“Our theme behind the haunt was really your base fears, what really gets people down deep. Your most primal fears,” said Steve Hoffine, owner of the 3rd Street Asylum in Bonner Springs.

Three floors of pure terror, there is something for everyone. If clowns are your Achilles heel, you’ll love the maze

where every time you turn a clown is waiting.

The “spider room” with tarantulas and webs hanging from the ceiling is a particular favorite.

Make sure to pass through the ice cream parlor where ice cream is the last thing on your mind while stumbling through the dark.

No one really thinks of pigs when you’re thinking of things that scare you, but the slaughter room might change your mind.

“People are terrified of pigs, it’s amazing,” Steve Hoffine said.

Just when you’re thinking that’s bad enough, things get worse.

In 1918, there was a cemetery where the building now stands. If you had the money to move the bodies of your loved ones you could but if you didn’t, they built on top of them. 3rd Street Asylum actually is a haunted house, just adding a little extra scare factor.

Steve Hoffine said the ghosts often show their presence.

“The children we think are here, they’re the ones who pinch and pull hair,” Steve Hoffine said.

The masterminds of 3rd Street are Steve Hoffine, Jerry Hoffine and Mike Clouse. They have always been infatuated with things that scare.

Photo by Erin Brown

Demonic props are some of the tools used in the 3rd Street Aslyum haunted house. The asylum opened Oct 5.