The Reporter- Issue 1 October 2017

{reporter}

THE

volume 93 issue 1 October 2017 paola high school 401 angela street paola, ks 66071

In this issue {3} top halloween picks {6} school changes {8-9} whats in a name? {13} 1 in 643 {15} sports rivalies

Student journalists act ethically to cover issues For: 38

The power to be able to publish the truth has always been a controversial topic in schools.

The school newspaper and yearbook are the voice of the students.

These publications are written by students for students.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Kansas public school students being granted their freedom of the press. The Kansas Student Publications Act protects high school journalism students from censorship by their school’s administration.

Section 3 paragraph E from the Kansas Student Publication Act states, “No publication or other expression of matter by students in the exercise of rights under this act shall be deemed to be an expression of school district policy.”

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Against: 0 The Kansas act was created in response to the Supreme Court case decided in 1988 in Missouri which said public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment. The case involved a high school journalism staff who planned to publish stories about teen pregnancy and divorce.

The school principal denied publication because students might be identified even though named were changed and the parents of the divorce story should be able to respond.

Many issues of The Reporter cover sensitive topics that need to be covered. We have published stories about race, loss, depression, religion, self-harm, pregnancy and bullying; issues that need to be addressed in our school.

Several high schools also serve as examples of the publications act.

This spring, a high school revealed sexism between members of the debate team. Early last year, school wrote about drug use and its effects. Another area journalism staff wrote about sexual violence in its school.

All these stories are protected un-

The Reporter October 2017 Editorial

Absent: 5 der the Kansas Student Press Act but only if high school journalists cover these issues ethically and responsibly.

We are responsible for our work.

We discuss ethics and one of our considerations always is: Do no harm.

Freedom of press for our high school is allowing us to talk about racism, abortion and politics as well as document our year. Being free to write what is needed unites our school and shows our truth.

Without the press act, our students wouldn’t have an in-depth view on many issues.

Our goal is to show the voices of all of the students. Our goal is to let everyone know the many faces of our high school. The press act gives us the power to do it.

We may not agree with certain opinions of people in the high school or on staff, but as journalists, we have the responsibility to explore and report on these issues. In addition, we have the freedom to write stories about them.

2017-2018

staff list Managing Editors

Matthew Troutman & Mariah Sullivan

Photo & Design Editors

Kelsey Lester & Hannah Menefee

Online & Social Media Editors

Jacquee Hecker & Moorea Long

Ads Manager Amanda Meeks & Joey DuVal

Senior ads managers Bre Allen & Abby Winterscheid

Reporters

Abby Richmond, Abgiail Heger, Ashlyn Watson, Breuana DuVal, Cali Seck, Chloe DeYoung, Claire Cox, Cora Jackowski, Nikki Bates, Emma Behrendt, Emma Cox, Faith Beyer, Gracyn Shulista, Haleigh West, Jordyn Barbosa, Kalyn Bell, Kassidy Blann, Kaylie Miller, Lauren Espinoza, Macayla Enman, Makayla Hughes, Liv Meridith, Paige Fleming, Preston Martin, Rylan Armbruster, Skyler Hughes.

Stephanie Castillo, Taylor Murdock, Madison Taylor, Tori Fox, Trinity Miller

Advisor

BriAnne Chayer

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.

Volume 93 Issue 1 mission statement

our Free

love Press Rights

the Reporter

the reporter editorial policy

Staff Editorial

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.

{

creepers

jeepers Its Halloween

students rate a few favorite things about halloween {

}

Hannah menefee photo editor

Fun Facts

27 is often associated with the story. This film was released 27 years after the original 1990 TV mini-series.

In the book, “it� returns to Derry about every 27 years. Jonathan Brandis, who played young Bill in the original film, died at 27 years old. This movie was released one month after Bill Skarsgard (Pennywise) 27th birthday. The official U.S. release date is 9/8/2017.

(9+8+2+0+7= 27)

Scariest movie

It 28.5%

The blair witch project 3.8%

The Exorcist 25.2%

hush 4.6%

The Shining 10.7%

favorite halloween candy Candy corn 21%

skittles 16.1%

fun-sized candy bars 24.5%

sweetarts 5.6%

caramel apple lollipops 21%

{Source:IMDb website}

scariest haunted house {Source:Edge of Hell website}

the edge of hell 32.6% the haunt 22.7% kc west bottoms 18.2% 3rd street asylum10.6% zombie corn maze 2.3%

The Edge of Hell is in the West Bottoms in Kansas City, Mo., in a converted five-story warehouse. A quarter-mile walk ends 30 minutes later, as you slide from heaven down the five-story spiral slide into the arms of the Devil.

The high school library has 62 Stephen King books. The most common book to check out is The Green Mile.

The newest and largest Stephen King book is It with 1,153 pages.

scariest author

stephen king 69.6%

Dean koontz 4.6%

edgar allAn poe 19.3%

clive barker 0.7%

r. l. stine 5.9% {Source: Reporter survey of 30 percent of students}

{Source:Tracey Angermayer} {Photo by Hannah Menefee}

The Reporter oCTOBER 2017 ENTERTAINMENT

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12 S. Hedge Lane Paola, KS 66071 (913)294-4400

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PHS JOURNALISM ONLINE Ashlyn Watson’s story about teacher tattoos

The Reporter OCTOBER 2017 advertisement

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out of Breath admininstrators hope to prevent alcohol use on campus

{ } {breuana duval} kalyn bell reporter

reporter

The Board of Education is going the extra measure in hopes that the presence and consumption of drugs and alcohol on campus will diminish.

Administrators have breathalyzers and drug dogs will make random patrols in the student parking lot.

Jeff Hines, principal, said board members decided to take precautions to protect students.

“It’s a Friday night football game and a student’s been drinking and we give them a breathalyzer; that’s a positive because they didn’t get hurt.”

Hines said faculty could, in theory, prevent something really bad from happening “The worst thing that we could do is nothing.” he said.

Hines said breathalyzers could also protect students from the dangers of peer pressure.

“We give them an out,” he said.

Hines said students will face consequences

if they are drinking - five days of out-of-school-suspension.

“Then you’re a student in good standing again,” Hines said. “I was a young person too, I made mistakes so we aren’t going to hold it against you.”

Administrators will make students use a breathalyzers if they suspect they are under the influence., Hines said. They will not implement random breathalyzer tests at dances or games, he said.

Hines said the drug dog patrols in the parking lots will be random. Board members still had to determine if drug dogs would search the staff parking lot as well, Hines said.

Katie Rogers, junior, said she felt as if the drug dog searches would have a positive impact overall.

“However, I disagree with parking lot searches,” Rogers said. “It will not interfere with our rights because we should not be allowed to have these substances, however, I do think that searching cars is excessive because if a student is going to make these decisions, that is their decision.”

Hines said board members considered two options to protect students.

“They wanted to do random drug testing for anyone involved in extracurricular activities. It was going to be costly and it was going to be intrusive,” Hines said. “So what they decided to do instead was to do drug dogs patrolling the parking lot.”

Hines said by drug dogs patrolling the parking lot it was going to cover more students than the randomized drug testing among students involved in extracurricular activities.

“There’s a ton of people that park in the parking lots that aren’t involved in activities. They’re going to be checked in the same manner that the students in sports would be,” he said.

“If a drug dog hits on your vehicle it’s not a guarantee that there could be drugs inside of your car, but it is a really strong indication that they have been recently,” he said.

“We are going to search the vehicle,” Hines said.

If nothing is found, parents will receive a message that administrators did not find anything, but the dog hit on the vehicle for a reason, Hines said. .’”

hOW BREATHALYZER TO USE A

1 BREATHE INTO SENSOR WAI T FOR LI G HT 2 GREEN- PASSED

YELLOW/RED- IN TROUBLE

Q&A preventative steps What do you think about drug dogs?

“I think drug dogs strictly inside the walls of the school are acceptable, and breathalyzer are fine as lomg as you have a reason to be tested.”

Katie Rogers, 11

Administrators have breathalyzers to prevent alcohol use on campus. {Photo by Kalyn Bell}

Do you think the school should have breathalyzers?

“I think they are a good idea because it keeps people safe and keeps them doing good things. I think they should be used at both dances and sports games.”

Ady Edwards, 12

The Reporter OCTOBER 2017 school news

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with the

with the

out OldIn New larger classrooms, no responsiblity release affect students, teachers {

} {breuana duval}

skyler hughes reporter

reporter

Lisa Collier’s College Algebra class of 26 works on homework Sept. 6. “I really like teaching the classs,” Collier said. This class can be used as a college credit through Fort Scott Community College. {Photo by: Breuana DuVal}

Responsibility release more beneficial to get homework done?

YES

66.1%- 82 students NO

33.9%- 42 students YES

Bigger classes?

74.2%- 92 students No

25.8%- 32 students {Source: Reporter survey of 20 percent of students: 120 students}

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The Reporter OCTOBER 2017 SCHOOL nEWS

The hallways are more crowded, the classes larger by a margin of 28 students.

Some teachers, such as Rachel Dougherty, chemistry teacher, are incorporating more group work to get their point across.

“When there were 14 kids, I could have them do it on paper. Then, I could wander around and I could look at each kids’ work individually. Now I’m having to do groups of three with whiteboards and hope they get the concept,” Dougherty said.

Increased class sizes also create a potential saftey problem in the labs and make classes harder to manage, she said.

“Now we’ve got kids right on top of each other,” Dougherty said. “When there were less kids I would have one to two kids at each lab station. Now, I’ve got three to four. It could be a safety hazard.”

Not only will completing labs be a safety hazard, Dougherty said the effectiveness of her teaching has been limited.

“Those students who don’t speak up often get left behind because I can’t go to them individually and see that they didn’t get a certain question or don’t understand a certain aspect of the lesson.” Dougherty said.

Dougherty said she wishes class sizes could have fewer students. Her ideal class size was 22 students, she said.

While her classes are slightly harder to manage because

of the increased class sizes, she said the change in the rules concerning advisory release have also affected her ability to help students during advisory.

“It does make it harder to help the kids who want help from my actual classes; now I’ve got to try and manage my seminar while helping out other kids,” she said Responsibility release was an opportunity for students with good grades and no missing assignments to spend their advisory in the gym.

With the loss of responsibility release, P.E. teachers Mike Dumpert and Dan Clark were assigned advisory classes.

Dumpert said he had previously been assigned an advisory, but when responsibility release was implemented ,he was put in charge of supervising it.

“I personally felt the idea behind responsibility release was really good, but I wasn’t in the classroom. I was with the kids who were released, so consequently I had a little different view of it,” Dumpert said. “In reality, it didn’t work out very well.”

Dumpert said he enjoys having an advisory again because of the new connections he will make with students.

“I like the idea that I can possible give them some advice to help them get through some things,” Dumpert said.

Hello Hello get off your phone students lives affected by smartphones {Emma Cox} reporter

Kenzie Gray, 11, said teachers should not a negative way. have the power to take away a student’s Cora Jackowski, 9, said she believes a cell phone, but to only advise them not to teacher should have the right to take a use it. student’s cell phone away if it is for a good “I think they should not be able to take reason. away your phone because it’s your person“I think they should have this power al property,” Gray said. only for certain situations,” Jackowski As cell phones become more popular, said.

Gray said she sees a difference in how Jackowski said a student’s phone strict the teachers are becoming with their should be put away during class time and cell phone polout of sight of icies. the teacher.

The device “I don’t think policy listed it is appropriin the student ate for the cell handbook phone to be out states that the unless permituse of elected,” Jackowski tronic devices said. in the classTech nolo g y room is up to helps improve Mary beth rayne Teacher the discretion the school beof the teacher and classroom policies are cause a student can get all of their textto be included in the course syllabi and books online and their backpack is way communicated to students at the onset of lighter, Jackowski said, plus you can look the course. up things that they don’t understand High school students are known as the quickly. iGen, a generation which cannot rememJackowski said she sees the benefits of ber a time before the Internet. both the Chromebook and your personal Technology continues to advance with devices. each generation. As the smartphone be“I would like to use both because they comes an integral part of daily life, more both are unique in what you can accomadolescents are being affected by its use. plish on them,” Jackowski said.

Computer science teacher Mary Beth Jacob Maynard, 12, said teachers should Rayne says she understands that a smart- not have the power to take away a stuphone is the tool students use to survive dent’s cell phone because the message and communicate in today’s world. could be important.

“When I was in high school, I used a “They shouldn’t, cause sometimes it’s phone hanging on the wall. I would tie important, the message might be importup the only phone in the house for hours,” ant.” Maynard said.

Rayne said.

Maynard said students shouldn’t use However, Rayne said if teachers can get their cell phones while the teacher is them away from their devices for at least talking, but when they are not it’s his 85 minutes, their attention spans and time not theirs. work ethic do not seem to be affected in

{ } “This isn’t just students- it’s adults too. When you are talking to someone, or having dinner with a group of people, phones should NOT be on the table.

Many students want to use their cell phones to text students texting during class. Students said their phone is a big part of their lives. {Photo illustration by Emma Cox}

10%

Say they see no negative side effects to constant cell phone use

4 in 5 See teachers being more strict

44%

have had phones taken by teachers

2 in 3

say teachers should not have the right to t a k e a s t u d e n t ’ s d e v i ce

say phone addiction m ajor problem

{Source:Reporter survey of 20 percent of students - 130 students}

85% {7}

The Reporter october 2017 School News

us

identify what is in a name?{

Bre Allen

Gary George III

}{Stephanie Castillo}{Trinity Miller}

seniors ads editor

reporter

reporter

Most popular male name

Jake

Jacob Farmer, Jacob Weaver, Jacob McDaniel, Jacob Maynard, Jacob Hinnman, Jacob Knoss, Jacob Gayley, Jacob Anthony; Not pictured: Jacob, Mil er

Most popular female name

Maddie

Madison Rowlett, Madelyn Smail, Madison Bryant, Maddison Rief, Madison Slyter, Madison Timpe, Madison Taylor Masidon Monshower, Madison Updike, Madison Timblin; Not Pictured: Madison Toman

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The Reporter October 2017 Features

Unlike Swan, Gary George Ⅲ, 11, was named after his father and the name has been passed down for four generations.

George said he believes that if he were named differently he would not have the same impact on others as he does now.

“I think the impression would be different because the name you call them will change the response you receive and maybe their personality would change a little bit,” George said.

Overall, George said he likes his name because of the family history that ties into it.

Jack Rowlett IIII

The history of Jack Rowlett’s, 9, name is similar to George’s.

Rowlett was named “Jack” after four other generations in his family.

Rowlett said he likes his name because he’s the fourth and the generations continue growing. Rowlett said he thinks he looks like his name “I think I truly look like my name because all of the “Jacks” in my family look alike,” Rowlett said.

“I wouldn’t want my name to be different, but if it was I don’t think anything about me would change; I would still be the same person.”

Achilles Ferrell, 10, has a different story behind his name. Ferrell said he does not know how he received his name, but said that his parents just chose one they liked.

“My name doesn’t come from my family’s history, but it’s special because of how much longer it is than all other normal names,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell has the nickname “Alex” too, and he said the nickname suits him better.

“My impression on others would probably be different because it wouldn’t be who I am now,” Ferrell said.

Karsten Thompson, 9

K ALIKES

Emi Zeller, 10

Achilles Ferrell

CELEBERTY L Freddie Highmore

Names are titles given to you when you are first born. They come from many different backgrounds and histories.

Octavian Swan, 11, said he was named “Octavian” because it was Augustus Caesar’s real name and his mother is interested in history.

“My name doesn’t come from family history and there really isn’t any significance about it. It’s just my name,” Swan said.

Swan said he thinks he looks like an “Octavian” a little bit, but he feels he would fit well being a “George.”

“If my name was different, I don’t think it would change t he impression of myself to others because I would still be t h e the same fun and friendly g uy , ” Swan said.

AnnaSophia Robb

Octavian swan

{ } { } {} “If I had a different name I do not think it would change how people see me”

“When my mom was little she always played school with her sisters and their dolls. She named the best student Amanda and named me after her best student.”

Hayley Collins, senior

Amanda Rosich, junior

The Reporter October 2017 features

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symbolcontroversy of sepAration of the confederate flag

ensnared by tech

“The Civil War is an important part of history and we need to ensure future generations who will lead this country will how to avoid past mistakes.”

-Junior mariah Sullivan The Confederate Flag has been an issue of controversy for centuries.

The flag was never the official flag of the Confederacy. It began to be associated with the Confederacy after the south lost the war, when it was used to honor the fallen confederate soldiers. Later, the Confederate flag began to be a symbol of segregation during the Civil Rights Movement.

The history of slavery and segregation in our country cannot be ignored or forgotten. As a person who is of mixed race, the flag symbolizes separation of our country. It is one thing to learn from the past, it is another to continue to bring it up to discriminate against a certain race.

People have the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The people who choose to praise the Confederate leaders and flags have the right, but that does not make it morally OK. In Germany the Nazi flag, Swastika and other symbols of Nazism are illegal to own or show in public.

Germany does not ignore the history of the Holocaust; they approach it openly to teach the mistakes the led to the mass murder of 6 million Jews so future leaders can avoid them.

As a country, we need to remember our history. The Civil War is an important part of history and we need to ensure future generations who will lead this country will how to avoid past mistakes.

According to the Huffington Post

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poll, 17 percent of blacks see the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern Pride. 72 percent see it as a symbol of racism and 7 percent see it as both.

Whereas 66 percent of whites think it is a symbol of southern pride, 25 percent see it as racism, and 3 percent see it as both.

If more than 50 percent of blacks see the flag as a sign of racism, then why is it still being flown. I understand the Confederate flag is a part of heritage for some, but the Confederacy was fighting for was slavery.

The meaning of the flag is interlaced with the Confederacy. Some believe the Civil War was not solely about slavery, but Pulitzer Prize winning author, James McPherson said “The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the nation government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states.”

The flag has been used during the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Ku Klux Klan adopted it for a small portion of time although it was not their official flag. Many people may see this flag as a symbol of their southern heritage, but the history shows that it has been used as a symbol of racism to divide our country.

The Reporter october 2017 opinion

85%

say phone addiction is a major problem

{Art by Lauren Espinoza}

Lettuce bring it back schools should have a salad bar

“Helping students choose healthier options now can help them choose healthier options later in life. ”

-Junior abby Winterscheid 1. Having a salad bar would give students the opportunity to have healthy choices at lunch. With a salad bar people can achieve their diet goals and be healthier.

2. It would give more options for students. Rather than just eating the typical panther rib or spicy chicken, having a salad bar can give students more options.

3.

Increase students consumption of fruits and vegetables. Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables that goes into a person’s body is always good. It can help with weight management, eyesight and overall just makes your body healthier.

4. Helping students choose healthier options now can help them choose healthier options later in life. By eating healthy now

it can lead to healthier decisions in the future and a healthier body.

5. When kids are allowed to choose what they eat less food goes into the trash.

A lot of kids throwaway there food because they don’t like what they are eating.

If they have an option to choose what they eat, less food will be thrown away.

6. Food Service Supervisor Elaine Harris said “I couldn’t prove the amount of calories that you would intake on a daily basis from the salad bar. We now have the garden bar which does include lettuce and also a few toppings so that way you can make a salad, just within the guidelines.”

However expanding the garden bar with more healthy options would be a great compromise.

Rights Right

president stripping basic freedoms “We are all human and we make mistakes, but we have the right as humans to make those mistakes. We have the right to be forgiven for these mistakes, but the responsibility to also learn from them. ”

-senior matthew troutman President Donald Trump and his administration have been trying to take away many basic rights.

Since the election less than a year ago, Trump has tried to ban transgenders from enlisting in the military and possibly remove those in service. The Secretary of State also removed workplace discrimiation protection for transgenders.

Trump has not truly aided Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. As a U.S. territory, the citizens have the right to be subjected to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) aid, just like the states of Texas and Florida. Going to Puerto Rico and throwing paper towels into a crowd is not helping.

Then a few days later you tweet: “We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever.”

All because the Mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz criticized his efforts.

Not long after that tweet, Cruz tweeted a response: “It is not that you do not get it; you are incapable of fulfilling the moral imperative to help the people of PR. Shame on you.”

The current administration is also trying to put an end to the Obama administration’s program DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), taking away the rights of the Dreamers who are children of illegal immigrants who have been in the country since birth or a very young age.

What happened to land of the free?

The word “right” has multiple meanings, according to the Dictionary website. Aside from rights as “a moral or legal entitlement,” it also means “morally good, justified, or acceptable.”

As children, parents and educators teach us the difference between right and wrong. Most of understand the concept of trying to do what’s right, while others like to crumple that notion up and throw it away.

The Trump administration is throwing away our Bill of Rights. As citizens, we take pride in these and other rights.

But the statement “all men are created equal” took 131 years to accomplish.

We know about the women’s rights in 1920, and even the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Since then, Americans have still fought for equal rights. In 2011, the Obama administration repealed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” to grant gays the right to be in the military. In 2015, gays gained the right to legally marry in all 50 states.

Granting these rights to all humans regardless of their gender, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation or identity is the right thing to do.

We are all human and we make mistakes, but we have the right as humans to make those mistakes. We have the right to be forgiven for these mistakes, but the responsibility to also learn from them.

Learning from your mistakes is a morally right thing to do, it is what makes us human.

Friends drift apart..

Tips for survivng friendships drama “Your best friend freshman year will probably not be your best friend senior year.”

-Junior Kelsey lester Your best friend will not be your best friend forever. It’s just a simple fact that people change. Through the years, friends drift apart until you see each other in the halls and you are nearly strangers.

People break away from each over the years. In high school, the main reason people grow apart seems to be caused by drama.

Friendship tips to survive: If someone gets mad because their friend said something unkind about them, talk about it. You only make matters worse by talking about them or fighting about it.

Sometimes, friends just need that wake-up call, to push them to make their life more positive.

Be you. You do not have to change for other people.

Don’t be friends with someone just because other people like them. This is

about you. If that friend leaves because you made them mad, let them.

Do not fight for people who do not fight for you. Try something new. Don’t text anyone when you wake up and see how many people text you first. If you are itching to blow up someone’s phone with text messages, wait.

See how many messages you get from them first, will there ever be a conversation?

Find how who thinks about you throughout the day, and who doesn’t.

Then decide how you really feel about these people you call your friends.

Ask yourself if a person is good for your life before you invite them in, because they might just be that match that ignites the flame.

The flame that can burn down your whole life by making one decision.

WHY teenage friendships are important a sense of belonging, a feeling of being valued and help with developing confidence being popular in high school tied to higher social anxiety in early adulthood students with strong close friendships as teens showed decrease in depressive symptoms from 15-25 Source: Child Development Journal

The Reporter OCTOBER 2017 Opinion

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your night... your event... your

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PHS JOURNALISM ONLINE Katie Austin’s Profile about Cyla Brooks, 9

The Reporter october 2017 sports

WWW.PHSJOURNALISM.COM

1 in 643

a series providing a glimpse into the life of one out of the 643 unique students at PHS

Waters Rage

minden’s childhood home damaged by flood

{

}

Freshman Shelby Minden woke up to social media editor water flooding her basement, no air conditioning or working vehicles in her driveway.

According to the KMBC website, Paola received around 3 feet of rain on Aug. 22 Minden walked down the stairs and saw all of her baby clothes, pictures and other memories ruined in the water.

Minden said she was affected mentally and physically by the flood at her house.

“A lot of sentimental things were lost in the flood,” Minden said. “My baby blankets, pictures and clothes were all lost.”

Minden said her calf, dogs, cows and pig almost drowned, she had to clean out her basement, all of their family vehicles were ruined and they lost their air conditioning.

It was a two-week long process for the Minden family to clean up everything.

The family had to clean their basement, clean out the garage, fix all the cattle fences, repair the four-wheeler, fix the mower and take out the air conditioning unit because it was damaged by the water.

Minden said her grandparents, aunts, family and friends all helped in the cleanup process.

The family’s cars, everything in the

moorea long

basement, a freezer full of meat, holiday decorations, sentimental memories, some things outside and in the garage were all taken by the flood.

Minden missed two days of school because of the flood. So far the family has repaired the freezer and the air conditioning unit.

Minden said the land around her house is still soft with water in it, but the animals are all okay and she isn’t frightened anymore.

“Waking up at 3:30 in the morning to rain in the basement, flooding and broken windows is really freaky, but everything is getting better,” Minden said.

Minden said life has improved since things have gone back to normal.

“The basement still has cracks in the walls, windows are broken with fabric over them and we just fixed our AC,” Minden said. “Other than that stuff, life is starting to be a bit more normal now.”

Minden’s family saved all the animals, important papers, unplugged everything from all the outlets and stayed on the second floor in hopes the water would not reach them. Luckily, the water ended up staying in the basement and garage.

“I got light-headed and scared a lot,” Minden said. “I am so glad that the whole thing is over.”

Top: 311th St. was flooded high enough to cover road signs. The flood lasted about 3 days. {Photo by Breauna Duval} Middle: Wallace Park flooded on Aug. 18. The baseball and softball fields must be redone from being ruined by the water. {Photo by Abby Winterscheid} Bottom: The flood waters reached up to the top of the fences at Wallace park. The flood also tore up some bleachers and the bleachers floated away. {Photo by Moorea Long}

The Reporter oCTOBER 2017 FEATURES

{13}

athlete tricks

student athletes work hard to reach goals

}

}

“Practice. Colton Gleghorn tells me what to do and helps me be a better player.”

{

Gavin Stark, 11

{ } } “I enjoy soccer because of my teams motivation and my motivation to play the game.”

Justice reed, sophomore

“ i PLAY VOLLEYBALL BECAUSE i LOVE THE SPORT. i PRACTICE MY HARDEST SO I CAN KEEP IMPROVING. mY MOTIVATION TO KEEP IMPROVING IS MY LOVE FOR THE GAME.” Kaleigh Scott, 12

Top: Brandon Wilkes, 12, breaks through the banner on homecoming night Sept. 29. Paola beat Eudora 42-6. {Photo by Hannah Menefee} Middle Left: Sophie Jones, 10, spikes the ball during the Junior Varsity dual against Pittsburg. Middle right: John Colwell, 10, runs at the home meet on Sept. 9. This was Colwell’s first year of cross country. {Photo by Cali Seck} Bottom: Nathan Smith, 12, takes the ball from a Eudora player Aug. 31. Varsity won 2-1. {Photo by Macayla Enman)

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The Reporter October 2017 Sports

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“I participate in cross country. i began to prepare for it in july. My goal this season is to break 21 minutes. i hope as a team this year we qualify for state.

Darian hudgeons, 9

Of the

Battle Cats

local schools go head to head {

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jacquelyn hecker

Many athletes admit that the Louisburg Wildcats are one of Paola’s big rivals. The rivalry plays a big part in the community, but also affects how athletes approach the competition.

Lindsay Pitzer, 12, said the rivalry between Paola and Louisburg makes the volleyball team even more determined - especially since the girls beat Louisburg at substate to go to State for the first time in program history last year.

“We think about everything we need to do and we make sure we are doing our best to win,” Pitzer said.

“We push each other to do our best.

We all want to beat Louisburg so we will do what we can to be the best we can.”

Delaney Armbruster, 11, said the volleyball team is influenced in multiple ways when they are facing Louisburg.

“In order to play volleyball, everyone has to do their job and at the same time work as a team encouraging each other,” Armbruster said.

Matthew Ralston, 12, said the football team is affected some, but they mainly act as they would playing any other school.

Football:

Paola Louisburg 5 1

Soc. Media/Online Editor

}

matthew troutman managing editor

“We still work as a team as hard as we can but it really doesn’t change too much,” Ralston said. ‘We try to play hard every week but it may vary depending on the player.”

Head football coach Mike Dumpert said that his players take all games seriously. The Panthers face the Wildcats Oct. 27 in Louisburg.

“Our kids work hard all year but they know the significance of this game,” Dumpert said. “The game means a lot to both teams but it’s still the same as any other game.”

Vice Principal, Darin Gagnebin worked in the Louisburg school district for 17 years before coming to Paola.

“The rivalry has always been strong between the two schools. It’s a date Louisburg has always circled on all the calendars and anticipated for, I’m sure Paola is the same way,” Gagnebin said.

From a Louisburg student’s perspective, the rivalry with Paola isn’t really a big thing. Haley Cain, 10, said the rivalry has died down through the years.

“It’s just something that comes along with the territory,” Cain said.

“It’s a part of life in a small town.”

Volleyball:

Paola Louisburg 4 6

Top: Karlie McMullin, 10, lunges to bump the ball during the game against Spring Hill on Sept. 12. {Photo by Jacquee Hecker.} Bottom: The ‘16 football prepares to snap the ball against Louisburg Oct. 28, 2016. The Panthers lost to Louisburg 7-35. {File Photo.}

Source: 2012 to 2016 PHS yearbooks

The Reporter October 2017 Sports

{15}

Local

miami county legends and ghost stories retold {

} {chloe deyoung}

mariah sullivan

Carey’s Bridge

managing editor

staff member

South of Osawatomie

Senior Mary Peuser spoke of the legend behind this century-old bridge. Carey Ford supposedly committed suicide and marked the spot where she hung herself, with an “X.” “It wasn’t really creepy, it was just scary driving across it because it had a wood bottom. That part was kind of nerve-racking,” Peuser said.

gravity hill

East of Louisburg

Some students say they have been to Gravity Hill, including Dagney Marr, 12, who said she went her freshman year “I heard there were ghost children that pushed you up the hill,” Marr said. “I remember an older family friend telling me about it when I was little. He said that when he left there were handprints on his car.”

According to the ScienceAlert website, there are “gravity hills” located all around the world. The phenomenon occurs because of elements like the horizon and reference points around trick the mind into thinking objects are rolling uphill.

Paola Square

{{ }

How many students have...

16

heard of the firehouse gym legend?

The Reporter october 2017 entertainment

yes:

64% -98 students

no:

36% -57 students

been to gravity hill?

Top: Carey’s bridge in Osawatomie on Sept. 21. This bridge is the spot where a woman named Carey supposedly hung herself and threw her baby off of the bridge. {Photo by Mariah Sullivan} Bottom: Hand prints on the back of the car ar Gravity Hill in Louisburg. Gravity Hill is the spot where a school bus broke down on tracks. {Photo Illustration by Chloe Deyoung}

{Source: Reporter survey of 20 percent of student body- 120 students}

yes:

14% -21 students

no:

86% -133 students

visited carey’s bridge?

yes:

61% -94 students

no:

39% -61 students

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Paola firehouse

Early in the 1900’s, the firehouse was the high school. Based off the MysteriousHeartland website, one band member died when he attempted to push his rival down the stairs; tripping and breaking his own neck instead. This was an effort to gain first chair. Legend has it he can be heardw him playing through the halls. Despite the widespread legend, LeAnne Shields, a Miami County Historical Society volunteer and life long Paola resident, is skeptical.

“I’ve never heard anything about this, besides, there would have been a police report.”