Talon magazine, Volume 10, Issue 3, February 2018, Staley High School

Inside This Issue...

Feature

Find Valentine’s Day Alternatives p. 4-5

News

Apps Can Be Helpful Or Hurtful p. 6-7

Opinion

Cyberbullying Needs A Solution p. 8

Opinion

Popular Trend Impacts Teens p. 9

News

Meme Trend Becomes Reality p. 10-11

News

Big Changes Fast Approaching p. 12-13

Sports

JV Basketball Has Winning Streak p. 14-15

Feature

Junior Designs Clothing Line p. 16

Feature

New Video Game Takes Over p. 17

Entertainment

Student Reviews Local Restaurants p. 18-19

Lifestyle

Wellness Champions Give Fitness Advice p. 20

Taking the ball down the court, sophomore Lauren Tourtillott works to put points on the board against Ruskin High School on Jan 23. The JV girls basketball team has been on a win streak since they beat Ruskin 53-23. “We have improved so much because everyone gives 100 percent at all times,” said Tourtillott. Photo by

Ruth Hylton

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TALON STAFF

Section Editors Cover: Kelsey Bennett News: Alexa Schulte Trends: Alexis Howard Opinion: Leidy Venegas Photo Editor: Emilie Kerr Copy Editor: Haylee Roberts Feature: Leidy Venegas Staff Artist: Kelsey Bennett Makenzie Hooton Sports: Haylee Roberts Entertainment: Emilie Kerr Adviser: Cherié Burgett Editors In Chief Haylee Roberts Leidy Venegas

Staff Paxton Donaldson Jacob Dyke Kyla Gaines Jen Hulen Dawson Parks Madelyn Phillips Christopher Spry Jack Warner

Editorial: New Proposed Start Time Students have been complaining about school start times being too early since the school opened, and now it seems that district administration has made a good call. They made a proposal to the school board to move the start time for school back 20 minutes, to 7:43 a.m. for the 2018-2019 school year. This is what we have been asking for.

However, some may be worried about getting out of school later, but the final bell is only delayed by 10 minutes, ending at 2:40 p.m. Sure, it will bump activities back a little, but it is nothing that cannot be handled. Games, concerts, debates -- they will all still end at a reasonable time for students.

It has been scientifically proven that teens need more sleep, and it is normal for them to go to bed later, therefore they need to sleep in later. The teenage brain clock is about two hours behind those of adults, meaning our sleep patterns are different, making it almost normal for teens to stay up late, according to a scienceeducation project based out of Washington State University.

If parents are worried about older children not being home in time to get younger siblings off the bus, it isn’t an issue because under this proposal the middle school would start at 7:15 a.m., and they get out first at 2:12 p.m.

Not only would students benefit from this change, but it is also saving the district nearly $1.3 million a year on transportation costs. This means it saves the community’s tax dollars, and the money can go to other things that students, staff and the community can benefit from.

Now, this might not solve the tardiness issue that many high school students battle, but it will definitely make the high school students of the district happier, because they will feel as though their voices have been heard.

The school board will vote on the proposed time change Feb. 13.

On the Cover...

The graphic represents the “Vapedemic” that has affected our student body, and that topic can be found on pages 9 and 10-11.

Talon is published quarterly during the school year. Talon will accept letters to the editor in CR202 or at cherie.burgett@nkcschools.org. Before the letter is published, we will need to verify the writer’s identity with a photo identification. Letters may not exceed a length of 350 words. We will not publish letters that are libelous, obscene or that may cause a verifiable disruption of the education process of Staley High School. Letters must be signed. Anonymous letters will be discarded. Advertisers may contact the adviser at cherie.burgett@nkcschools.org, (816) 321-5330 or at 2800 NE Shoal Creek Parkway, Kansas City, MO, 64156-1313.

Opinions expressed in Talon do not express staff’s endorsement of the products or services.

Talon is a member of NSPA, MIPA, MJEA and Quill and Scroll. Talon is affliated with JEA and JEMKC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [3]

More Than Just Dinner Find Valentine’s Day Alternatives Written by Makenzie Hooton Graphics by Kelsey Bennett, Makenzie Hooton and Paxton Donaldson Photos by Leidy Venegas

What’s your best or worst Valentine’s Day memory?

“In sixth grade, my boyfriend didn’t get me one of the chocolate roses, and I was so upset with him that I broke up with him the next day.”

Junior Makenna Sweet

“I took my girl out on a nice dinner. After our meal, we ordered dessert and found out that someone ended up paying for our entire meal.”

DIYDinner Making dinner at home is much cheaper than going out on Valentine’s Day, and it’s a fun experience whether it’s with your significant other or just your friends. You can light some candles, lay a tablecloth out and play some music for more of a romantic setting.

Senior Isaiah Russell “My stepdad and brothers made a whole Valentine’s Day dinner for my mom and I, gave us chocolates and then took us shopping.”

Junior DK Bascom “In seventh grade, this guy told me he had a present for me but never gave it to me until April because he was embarassed. It was a stuffed giraffe.”

Senior Madalyn Darby

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Movie Night Throw a movie or TV show marathon together with your friends or significant other. Grab lots of candy and popcorn, and enjoy the night in.

Renting movies on demand is way cheaper than spending more than $30 on movie tickets and snacks at the movie theater.

$ SpaDay Grab some friends, and have a relaxing day in.

You can put face masks on, paint nails and have a foot bath. Target has face masks by Que Bella that are only $1.99. You can also find nail polish for less than $10 there as well.

Valentine’s Day By the Numbers

$1.9 billion people will spend on flowers

$4.4 billion

people will spend on diamonds, gold silver

$1.6 billion IceSkating Take your friends or significant other out on the ice rink and enjoy a fun-filled night ice skating together on Valentine’s Day. It costs $9 per person for admission and skates at the Crown Center Ice Terrace.

people will spend on candy

145 million

Valentine’s Day cards are purchased

$130.97 average estimated amount people will spend

Source: CNN News

FEATURE - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [5]

Impact of Social Media Apps Can Be Helpful Or Hurtful Written by Kyla Gaines Graphics by Alexa Schulte

Social media is something that is not taken lightly. Whether it’s Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, there is a bright and dark side of social media.

The affect can sway with each post, like or comment.

“It’s a nice feeling when you post a picture that gets a lot of likes, but I try not to obsess over that kind of stuff.

I want to be able to post something because I like it and want it posted, but not because I think it will get a ton of likes. I wouldn’t enjoy social media as much if I let things like likes or retweets mean that much to me,” said senior Mikayla Watson.

Social media can be a very innocent way of sharing news with family and friends.

“The main ways I use social media would be to connect with my friends,

family, ect., also to share what I am up to. I post a lot about cool placed I go and the fun activities I do; I enjoy seeing this content from others on social media as well,” said Watson.

Social media can be an outlet for some, but for others it is a place where they are targeted. In a study conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center, the rate of cyber bullying has raised from 2007 to 2016, but has stayed at an average of 27.9 percent. Actions taken online can sometimes be a faceless attack on someone who may not have a support system to come to their defense.

“A lot of people live and breathe by their social media accounts. If they don’t have followers, or people are saying mean things, then it will either encourage them or discourage them.

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It has a lot of power, probably more power than it needs to have,” said Tammy Slauson, the school community resource specialist.

The rise of social media has spread wide and far. In today’s world, it’s more common to see students on their phone than reading a book in class. It has become a part of their everyday lives.

“If you look around and notice, you will see people constantly have their heads down and are on their phones, or they’re on their computers, people aren’t talking to each other as much,” said Slauson.

The overall impact of social media has affected this generation both negatively and positively in many different ways and has changed the way we spread information and communicate.

Has social media affected you positively or negatively and why? >>>>>

Global Social Media Statistics 7.476 billion people in the world

2.789 Billion

people are on social media

Billions

3.773 Billion

people use the internet 3.773 billion people use the internet

“It’s affected me positively because I have family spread across the country, and it keeps me in contact with them.”

Sophomore Delaney McPherson

“It’s positive because I can keep up with the people I like, and negative because people don’t know what’s right and wrong.”

Sophomore Trent Schrader

“I don’t really use them, but it does distract people from their tasks that they should be doing.”

Freshman Adrian Sanchez

“It’s been a little of both for me. I’ve met people I would’ve never expected to meet.”

Senior Jake Clark

2.786 billion people are on social media

7.476 Billion people in the world

Source: Digital Media 2017 Global Overview by: “We are Social” and “Hootsuite”

“Positively, it’s a way to show people happy thoughts because sometimes social media is negative.”

Senior Hannah Smith

“It helps me connect with my friends that I moved away from. Negatively, it does throw people off task.”

Freshman Bradley Green

NEWS - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [7]

Stop The Hate Cyberbullying Needs A Solution Written by Madelyn Phillips Graphic by Kelsey Bennett

Pain. That’s what cyberbullying brings into teens’ lives. It makes people feel alone and like they aren’t worth it, and it oftens makes people hide instead of telling an adult. Cyberbullying is as wrong as it is to go up to somebody’s face and call them vicious names.

One out of every four teens has experienced cyberbullying, and it has affected adolescent lives in a drastic way, according to cyberbullying.org.

Social media makes it easier to target people, and many people use these apps for just that. NBC News reported that a 12-year-old girl from New Jersey named Mallory Grossman was told through Snapchat, Instagram and through text telling her to

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kill herself. Mallory committed suicide.

People around the world are threatened and bullied online every day. It’s not just adolescent girls being attacked online, but it’s also just as likely for boys to experience this, according to cyberbullying.org.

Stories like Mallory’s show the seriousness of cyberbullying and that there needs to be a change. Teens shouldn’t have to worry about others slandering them on social media or saying negative things in the comments section on an Instagram photo.

There needs to be a solution. Spreading love and positivity is something all of us should be doing. We can block the bullies from

social media, but something more needs to be done. A point needs to be made to educate kids before letting them have access to social media. Schools should provide lessons about the dangers of social media and show teens how to be good digital citizens.

Cyberbullying affects people on a daily basis, whether it’s from seeing somebody else getting hurtful comments or reading horrible comments about yourself.

These things have been going on for too long, and there needs to be an end. No more innocent people need to get hurt or worse, kill themselves.

It’s time to speak up and stop the threat of cyberbullying.

Newsflash: Vaping Isn’t Cool Popular Trend Impacts Teens Written by Jack Warner Graphics by Kelsey Bennett

Vaping is common in today’s society. However, many people do not realize that the effects of vaping, with or without nicotine, are harmful to the body. People need to be educated on the effects of putting harmful chemicals into their bodies.

A claim that I often hear by people who vape are, “It isn’t bad for you,” or, “It doesn’t matter as long as there’s no nicotine.”

Granted, vaping with nicotine is much worse than vaping without nicotine.

This is due to the fact that nicotine is addictive.

However, both damage the smoker’s lungs, and no matter what, if you are vaping, you are putting chemicals into your lungs that will damage

them.

Irina Petrache, doctor and lung specialist at Indiana University, was in charge of a research team that found, “Nicotine, whatever its source, can harm lung tissue,” and, “even an e-cigarette liquid having no nicotine disrupted the barrier function of lung cells.”

My biggest issue with vaping is the whole culture.

People who don’t vape are also regularly criticized for the decisions they make on not participating. I can’t count the number of times that I hear people talking about their juuls, phixes, juices, etc.

People who need an alternative to smoking and are trying to get rid of the

need to smoke may need to use an e-cigarette device, short term.

But now, people are treating vaping just as generations before us treated cigarettes. It is something that makes people stand out; it makes them part of a crowd. Either way, it is not worth it to risk your health to fit in or even stand out.

It is ridiculous to think that in the future people can be facing health problems because of some stupid trend in high school. The misconception of vaping not being harmful is incredibly irrational and will just lead to more people vaping and more people having issues of addiction or otherwise.

OPINION - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [9]

A Vapedemic

Meme Trend Becomes Reality Written by Christopher Spry Photos by Emilie Kerr and Leidy Venegas Infographic by Haylee Roberts and Leidy Venegas

What started out as a meme, has now become a reality: Vape Nation.

Vaping, which was once used to help quit smoking, has become popular among teens.

“I think it’s a gateway device. It introduces the idea of inhalants, and once you have an inhalant, with or without nicotine, then you get used to not only the action of inhaling but also having that to use,” said assistant principal Sharon Roberts.

In about a year, the number of teenagers used e-cigarettes nearly tripled from 660,000 to 2 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

Current e-cigarette use has surpassed current use of every other tobacco product overall, including conventional cigarettes, according to the CDC. Legally, people can only purchase vaping products at the age of 18, but many are using them at much earlier ages.

“I see people vape everywhere school, work, in their car, restaurants. You name it, someone has tried to vape there,” said senior Quinn Armstrong. “I feel like people don’t understand the real hazards of vaping and are misinformed, when people say, ‘It’s only water vapor.’”

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According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with the newness of e-cigarettes to the market, researchers are planning on working on potential studies to find health effects, but they are still in the future.

Manufacturers that advertise that smoking with an e-cigarette is not harmful is one of the main reasons teenagers are switching, but that isn’t necessarily true. E-juice is made up of glycerin, water, nicotine and artificial flavorings. Smoking with those chemicals can cause addiction over time, and long-term users can

contract popcorn lung -- a form of bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe obstructive lung disease, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences “Everyone says vaping isn’t bad for you, but it’s still bad. Yes, it’s better than drinking, but I just don’t see why kids are starting to get more into it,” said senior Alyssa Ramirez Vaping over time can cause negative health effects, and although some dangers of vaping are unknown, it can still be addictive over time and cause lung disease.

WHAT DO TEENS SAY IS IN THEIR VAPE? 66%

13.7% flavoring

don’t know

13.2% nicotine

5.8% marijuana

1.3% other

VAPE BY THE NUMBERS

2 million 53% 37.2% 23.5%

more than

U.S. middle and high school students vape

of students vape to experiment and see what it’s like vape because it tastes good

of students report vaping because they are bored

Source: University of Michigan Survey Research Center National Institute on Drug Abuse

NEWS - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [11]

District Wide Changes Big Changes Fast Approaching Written by Jack Warner Graphics by Alexa Schulte

Big changes are coming next school year. Most schedule changes after the school year starts will not be permitted due to the large number of students requesting schedule changes after they have attended class.

Students will be able to review class schedules at registration, but the classes on their schedule should not surprise them because they are classes they’ve requested, for the most part.

This new policy is upsetting to some, but administrators said it was needed.

The policy is being put into place because of the needs of the counselors and the students.

“Driven by the fact that counselors spend, at the beginning of each semester, doing well over 2,000 individual schedule changes for students, it leaves us very little time to meet with our new students that are enrolling,” said counselor Jennifer Grossman.

While counselors are busy doing schedule changes, they are unable to work with students on other issues.

They are at school to support students just as much as they are to assign their schedules.

12 9

3 6

12 3

9 6

How do you feel about the start time changing to 7:43?

Photos by Jacob Dyke Graphics by Alexa Schulte

“We go through a class-picking process. Let’s be really good at the class-picking process the first time so that the changes we’re making are only the necessary changes,” said assistant principal James Wheeler.

With the new policy in place, it will make the counselors more available.

However, some students said they find it necessary for their schedules to be able to be altered during the school year.

“I think it’s unfair that we are now committed to concrete schedules when high school is supposed to be about finding yourself and growing up. But we couldn’t even change our own paths if we wanted to,” said junior Taryn Clark.

Another change being implemented in the 2018-2019 school year is weighted GPAs. This means that if a student successfully completes one of the courses offering a weighted GPA (AP, IB, PLTW, and/or TSAs) they will receive a 1.0 weighted addition. So, if a student gets a B in the class, it is equivalent to an A being that it counts for a 4.0 in the class.

“I don’t understand why they are changing the weight system now, especially when they are not going to go

“I don’t mind as long as we still get an early release.

The time difference isn’t that big.”

Freshman Blake Mabion

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back and change grades for juniors. I took a lot of AP classes this year, and it counts the same as honors classes which doesn’t seem right,” said junior Grace Duddy.

Even if a student completes an AP, IB, PLTW or TSA course but does not take the test at the end of the course, they will still get .5 weighted addition to their GPA. This was to encourage and reward students for taking AP classes.

“Our school district has taken the approach of more kids in AP classes, more kids with rigorous coursework, more kids that get pushed and stretched academically do better down the road in college and in life,” said Wheeler.

There will also be a new diploma option for students, the AP Capstone diploma-option. It is similar to the Gold Medallion option with some additions, including four additional AP courses throughout high school, earning a score of 3+ on exams and one year in AP Research.

The district wants to make counselors more available to do other aspects of their jobs besides scheduling and to reward students for completing rigorous courses

“I’m all for changing the time to later. It will give me more time in the mornings.”

Sophomore Gabriella Knox

“I like the start time being later. It will allow me to get even more sleep.”

Junior Tristan Hurt

No more schedule changes: Cuts down on the ability to change classes.

Only necessary changes will be made.

Too many schedules were changed this year.

Counselor Jennifer Grossman speaks to students about enrollment Jan. 31

Gold Medallion Change: Exhibition and Research Methods will change to AP Seminar GPA Change: AP and college classes will have a weighted GPA of 1.0 instead of 0.1 Example: a 4.0 would’ve been 4.1 it will now be 5.0 Gifted teacher and counselor Carol Toney and junior Joseph Nguyen work in Research Methods Jan. 31.

Start Times Possibly Changing: The new proposed start time will be 7:43 a.m.

The reasoning is transportation.

It could cost the school district millions for school buses to keep the current time.

Photos by Jacob Dyke

NEWS - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [13]

Passing the ball to her teammate, sophomore Fabiola Salgado contributes to the 53-23 win against Ruskin High School Jan. 22. The games the team have won were by an average of 20 points. “When we mess up, we pick each other up and move on,” said Salgado. Photo by Ruth Hylton

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Making her way to the basket, sophomore Makenzie Hooton makes it difficult for Lee’s Summit North High School to make a comeback at the game on Jan. 30 at home. This game left the team with an overall record of 16-1 for the season. “We have a good time together and always hype each other up. It makes playing basketball fun,” said Hooton. Photo by Dawson Parks

At home against Lee’s Summit North High School, sophomore Lauren Tourtillott makes her way down the court Jan. 30. The girls JV team continued their win 50-35. “We don’t really think, we just play to the best of our abilities, and it works,” said Tourtillott. Photo by Dawson

Parks

Dribbling down the court during the game against Fort Osage High School on Feb 2, sophomore Lauren Tourtillott starts the next play. The team has only five games left this season, and have a record of 18-1 as of Feb 7. “I love playing with these girls. No matter what was happening, they always make playing fun,” said Tourtillott. Photo by Dawson

Parks Against Lee’s Summit North High School, sophomore Paxton Donaldson takes her shot in the home game Jan. 30. The Lady Falcons took home another win with a final score of 50-35. “It’s been a fun season because we’re all very close, and it’s been fun winning together,” said Donaldson. Photo by Dawson Parks

Leading the Staley JV girls, sophomore Marissa Stepp fights for the ball against Fort Osage High School on Feb. 1. It was their 17th game won this year, ending with a score of 61-17. “The group of us on JV works so well together because we’ve been playing together since eighth grade,” said Stepp. Photo by Dawson

Parks

Girls Run The Court JV Basketball Has Winning Streak Written by Haylee Roberts

Eighteen wins and one loss.

That’s the record for the Lady Falcons JV basketball team as of Feb 7.

The only game the team lost was against Liberty High School on Jan. 17 and fell 38-33. Since then, the team jumped back on a win streak as of Jan. 24 and plan to carry their success to the end.

The team gained almost an entirely new group of girls coming in to the season, seven to be exact.

A majority of the team is made up of sophomores, with two juniors and two freshmen.

On average, the girls are outscoring their opponents by 20 points per game.

“It’s really nice to win more than we did last year on JV, because this year it’s even better since we are all friends,” said sophomore shooting guard Fabiola Salgado.

The team’s strengths come from their defense skills and their ability to move the ball down the court quickly. JV girls basketball coach George Adair said none of it would be possible without the balance of work and fun.

“Instead of stressing and trying to do everything right, we just play,” said sophomore point guard Lauren Tourtillott.

Over the summer, the players were given the opportunity to play in a summer league, which many took advantage of, getting a head start on their season, as well as getting to know their teammates.

“It’s not that we are doing anything different than last year, but the girls are just quick on their feet,” said Adair.

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Pictured above: Sydney Allard, Johnny Hawkins and Movonn Banks

Kansas City Creative Junior Designs Clothing Line Written by Paxton Donaldson Photos by Christopher Spry

Johnny Hawkins

“Fear Ends Living On.” This is what junior Johnny Hawkins calls his clothing business.

However, this wasn’t the original name. It first was “eclectic,” but he changed it along with the logo because he saw FELO as a better fit.

“The logo represents that you can’t hide in fear and keep your hands in front of your face,” said Hawkins.

He said his vision is to motivate the culture to face their fears and go get what they actually strive for in life.

“I was always just really into fashion, and I just wanted to make some money for myself. And I just thought of something to do that with,” said Hawkins.

He said he saw a perfect opportunity for himself when he got the idea from his cousin Blake Piper who he shares his business with.

“It’s cool that we started off just meeting up with people and selling around to local people, but now that we have an online store, it expands our sales and exposing our product,” said Hawkins.

He hopes to attend a summer program

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at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and also go to school to further his education in fashion design and merchandising.

“This program will help me in achieving my goals for a career in the creative fashion design industry and provide me with great networking resources to further my company,” said Hawkins.

Hawkins said he is hoping to turn his love for fashion into a career someday.

The shirts are sold on their business website, and he personally delivers shipments to people in the Kansas City area and ships them to people outside of the city.

Hawkins uses Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to help advertise his designs and get information about his business out.

Everything Hawkins does, he said, revolves around FELO, and every day after school he goes and works on his designs.

The newest winter collection will be released Feb. 14 including both long and short sleeved shirts and sweatpants with all new designs.

Victory Royale!

#1

New Video Game Takes Over Written by Dawson Parks Photos by Jack Warner Graphic by Kelsey Bennett

“Fortnite,” has caught the attention of many in the student body, and they play the game for hours, even days, at home and during class.

Students have downloaded this newer fighting and survival game on their school Mac. “Fortnite” is played on gaming systems such as “X-Box,” “PlayStation,” and even computers. It’s played in a lobby of 100 people where players battle to get the most kills and win a battle royale.

“Fortnite” is played in two ways, “Save the World” and “Battle Royale.” Most people play Battle Royale which consist of 100 players, and everyone fights to win first.

They can play solo, as a duo with one teammate or in a squad, which consist of a max of three. The last game mode is the newest game mode, “sniper shootout.”

“Sniper shootout” is where players are only allowed snipers and pistols. There are

also potions and shields to help increase their health.

“Get the guns and materials you need, and stay on the outside of the eye of the storm,” said sophomore Luke Winkler. “Once there aren’t many people left, you need to build a fort and start picking people off.”

“Fortnite” launched a new update on Jan. 18, with new locations on the map. The new locations fill up a huge part of the map and have more chests, rare weapons and loot. One new location on the map is “Tilted Towers,” a city full of businesses and buildings that are loaded with rare weapons and chests.

The number of students around the school playing is just a small number compared to the millions around the world who have been playing the game. It has been played so much that the network crashes, and there is a wait to play the game. With the new update and weapons, the game continues to become more popular.

“The teamwork and getting a dub with your friends is the most fun.” -- senior Jack Roberts At school, students have played together in squad modes to win. They team up to gather wins. To win, a player must survive longer than the 99 other players by killing the other people with weapons they pick up in houses.

“The teamwork and getting a dub with your friends is the most fun,” said senior Jack Roberts.

Weapons are the main reason players stay alive in “Fortnite,” using different tactics and theories to win.

One thing players are allowed to do is hide in bushes and build forts.

What’s your theory on winning?

“Build walls and climb up when you’re getting shot at, then shoot them while they are reloading.”

“My theories include getting as many guns and weapons as possible then hide in bushes and shoot.”

“I always try to be the third person. I wait until two guys finishing battling it out then kill the winner.”

Junior Landon Donaldson

Sophomore Alexis Utz

Junior Quinten Arello

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Best Burgers in Student Reviews Local Restaurants Written by Alexis Howard Photos by Leidy Venegas

Tay’s Burger Shack Tay’s Burger Shack is a small hole-in-the-wall place.

Even though it looks like an actual shack on the outside, it resembles a fast food place but with a comfortable atmosphere. You just order and sit down anywhere, then the food is delivered to you.

Out of all the restaurants,

they provided the best customer service. They switch it up with having sriracha ketchup and sriracha mayo as options for condiments. The sriracha ketchup had a kick to it and was somewhat spicy. For the burger, it was delicious and juicy. For a cheap price, it was surprisingly big.

1019 Armour Rd, North Kansas City, MO 64116

Steak n’ Shake Open 24/7, this 50s-themed diner is good for a quick, late night bite to eat with friends.

From burgers to onion rings to shakes, they have a traditional American menu.

I ordered a double cheeseburger with a side of

fries. Although the burger was tasty, the bun quickly became soggy and wasn’t anything too special. Even though it always seems like there’s only one person serving at a time, the service is quick and the food is reasonably priced.

9500 NE Barry Rd, Kansas City, MO 64157 [18] TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 - FEATURE

KC

Westport Flea Market The Westport Flea Market was so confusing, but it had a good burger. Ordering is a little hard to understand if it’s your first time. A waiter comes by to get your drink order, then you have to go up and order your food. Even though it took a little for them to call us up to

get our food, the burger was worth it.

There was also a chooseyour-own-toppings bar, which I have never seen in a restaurant before. I loved that because normally I have to pick toppings off my burger.

817 Westport Rd, Kansas City, MO 64111

KC Smoke Burger KC Smoke Burger, which just reopened and is under new management, was my favorite place of all five. The burger was brought out on a mini grill, and they placed in on top of the bun. The burger tasted like it was from a cookout, smoky with perfectly melted cheese.

The burger itself was huge, and on the top bun was “KC” cutely stamped on top of it and the bun toasted added a nice crunch to the burger. The fries were thick and perfectly seasoned. Overall, it’s a mustgo-to place, and I would recommend it to anyone.

1610 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111

Hayes Hamburgers Hayes Hamburgers is a small burger joint that opened in the 1950s. I ordered a single cheeseburger and fries, and they delivered it rather quickly. The burger was small in comparison to the other

places. Honestly, the patty was undercooked, thin, and it tasted bland. For the price I paid, I wasn’t expecting anything special, but I was disappointed by the size and how the burger tasted.

2502 NE Vivion Rd, Kansas City, MO 64118

FEATURE - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [19]

Warner & Wilt’s Tips Wellness Champions Give Fitness Advice Written by Paxton Donaldson Graphics by Makenzie Hooton Photos by Jen Hulen Coaches Missy Wilt and Todd Warner were nominated by the North Kansas City District to advise others to be healthier by being aware of nutrition and exercise.

Coach Wilt Find ways to move.

Find support.

Work out during TV/Netflix time.

Mix it up. Try different activities.

Focus on eating healthy.

Make FITNESS a lifetime goal.

Drink water.

SLEEP!!!

Coach Warner “The weakest amongst us can be some kind of athlete, it takes a truly strong person to lead a sedentary life.” – Dr. George Sheehan What habits are you forming now that will either harm you or help you in the future?

Being healthy and fit have nothing to do with being on a team. You don’t need a uniform to take care of your mental, physical and spiritual health.

When getting started, don’t overdo it, and celebrate small victories.

Develop good kitchen habits. Fitness is more about food intake and meal preparation than exercise.

Find someone to work out with you.

It will increase the chances to stick to your plan.

FEATURE - TALON - VOLUME 10 - ISSUE 3 [20]