December 26, 2009Vol. 23, No. 3

CENTRAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLSof DeWitt, Grand Mound, Low Moor and Welton, Iowa

Helping out. Creighton Fox did chores for his Mom, Lisa, when she couldn’t lift things. Photo by Allison Hansen.

Transfer students find new home at Central

—Page 3

Holiday Seasonfeatures

—Pages 8-9

Box 110 425 East 11th Street • DeWitt, IA 52742563-659-0715 • www.central-clinton.k12.ia.us

Missing his Mom. Kyle Donahue’s mother, Patty, died when Kyle was in fi fth grade. “I miss my Mom most at big moments of my life,” he said. Photo by Allison Hansen.

Mom’s breast cancermakes a bittersweet holiday for families

The joy of still having their moth-ers with them pushes Creighton Fox and Dustin Petersen to appreciate their mother and families more every day, not just dur-ing the Christmas season. But for Kyle Do-nahue, losing his mother to breast cancer in fi fth grade means he has to fi nd that con-nection somewhere else.Kyle Donahue Kyle is a sophomore involved in track and football. He seems like an average teenager to most students who solemnly trudge by him in the hallways. What most students don’t know is that in fi fth grade he lost his mother, Patty, to a tragic disease.

Breast cancer, affecting 200,000 woman and families each year, is the deadly disease that took Kyle’s mother away from him.

Most teenagers treat their parents as their maids telling them to do this and that, taking their parents for granted. Kyle, instead, had to face the emotional changes of losing a parent. “We were all extremely sad,” he said, “but we picked ourselves up and carried on.”

“I miss my Mom most at big moments of my life, like homecoming or sports events,” Kyle said. “I’ve learned to enjoy life and the ones you love a lot more.”

Kyle still has his dad, Dan, and sister, Keri, to enjoy as a family.

“My dad plays both parent roles ex-tremely well and my grandparents help out every now and again,” Kyle said. “I’m also

a lot more watchful over Keri now and I have to babysit more often.”

His mother’s death was diffi cult to han-dle. “We still talk about all the good times we had, though.”Creighton Fox

Creighton Fox, also a sophomore, is involved in wrestling, football, chorus and student council. He’s the funny, witty kid everyone knows as the one always crack-ing jokes.

Creighton’s mother, Lisa, found out she had breast cancer after a mammogram. She didn’t have breast cancer for long before fi nally conquering it.

“My whole family is just hoping it doesn’t come back,” Creighton said. “My family and I all appreciate the life we were given a lot more. We also respect our mom a lot more now.”

Creighton found his help with daily chores was a big help to his mother.

“She couldn’t lift a lot of things,” Creighton said. “We had to lift laundry bas-kets because she was weak on one side.”

Creighton wasn’t the only one affected, though. His mom’s ordeal had effects on his whole immediate family.

“The hardest thing to overcome in all this was the weirdness of not having my mother around when she was having her three surgeries,” Creighton said. “I’m quite a mama’s boy, so I appreciated my mom a lot more from when she was gone.” Dustin Petersen

Dustin Petersen, also a sophomore, is involved in track, football, chorus and bas-ketball.

Dustin’s mom, Annie, got diagnosed with breast cancer after a self-exam and has had breast cancer since December 2003. Annie is still fi ghting breast cancer and is in remis-sion for the second time. She will always have cancer.

Annie is still fi ghting her disease, and Dustin is more than ecstatic to have his mother with him.

The hardest thing for Dustin to over-come was not knowing when his mother was going to get better, or if she was going

to get better. “I had to accept a ton of responsibil-

ity and grow up a lot faster,” he said. “My mom also couldn’t do a lot of things that others had to do for her.”

Twenty-seven percent of women get breast cancer through family genetics. For the mothers of Kyle, Creighton and Dustin, their breast cancer was not caused by fam-ily genetics. When asked if cancer ran in the Petersen family, Dustin responded em-phatically:

“It will now.”

THE PURPLEnion

Allison Hansen Staff Writer

Donahue

Fox

Petersen

In remission. Dustin Petersen “grew up faster” with his Mom, Annie’s, cancer. Photo by Allison Hansen.

Dakotah Doolittle Features writer

Christmas is that time of year when friends and family spread the cheer. The question is how do they spread that cheer? I’ll tell you how they do it; by eating tons and tons of delicious food.

It’s hard to fi nd someone who doesn’t like Christmas. It’s even harder to fi nd someone who doesn’t like the delicious Christmas food.

“Oh my gosh, I love little smok-ies wrapped in bacon,” Erin Smith said. “They’re delicious.”

Chelsea Garton added, “Monkey bread is defi nitely my favorite thing to eat on Christmas.”

Every family has different Christmas

I’ll have a Blue Christmas without—food

Oh, so yummy. Sitting by a cheery Christmas tree are Chelsea Garton and Amanda Benson, who are enjoying delicious holiday treats. Photo by Dakotah Doolittle.

eating customs. However, not everyone always likes what their family’s customs consist of.

“I don’t like sweet potatoes,” Amanda Benson said. “They look like baby poop.” Kristen Dierickx agreed. “Sweet potatoes make me seriously want to vomit.”

We all love the delectable main courses, but who can resist the sweet temptation of the famous Christmas desserts?

“Scotcheroos are by far my favorite des-sert for Christmas,” Dustin Fox said. Tyler Smith, on the other hand, said that his fa-vorite Christmas dessert was cheesecake.

Christmas is that famous time of year when everyone is out and about, rushing in and out of stores to get everything that they need. Enjoying a meal with family is just one of the many important ways that people can fi nally slow down and realize what Christmas is all about.

The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 32

2 snow days = 1 super time sledding

HOLIDAY SEASON

Nate Cypher Features Writer

As time flies by, so do the seasons. We are getting into the season of snow and ice. During winter there is a more likely chance of car accidents, or car wrecks.

Some people do not know or understand the dangers of driving in the snow and ice. It is important for people to stay cautious during this brutal winter season.

A few students had troubles driving in this cold winter season.

“I slipped on ice then I put my brakes on and then my car slid all over and then I went in the ditch,” Lexi Cheney said, and later explained that she just drove out.

Some students may be told how to im-prove their driving, but still end up with bad luck. “My parents told me to drive slowly and I was jamming out,” Shawna Becker said. “I wasn’t paying attention and I went into the ditch right in front of my house.”

People should keep emergency items in their car in case of an accident. “A blanket, your cell phone, maybe a map, and maybe

an ice scraper,” Courtney Jackson said. Others may have these items, but still

aren’t exactly safe. “I have a safety kit,” Becker said, “but I don’t know how to use it.”

Cell phones are essential to our world today, but what would happen if it was dead or wasn’t with you? “I would prob-ably cry, wait until the blizzard is over, and hitchhike to the nearest phone,” Jackson said.

Becker added, “I would have been re-ally scared, and my parents would have been really angry.”

The people that students most likely would contact in an accident would be their parents. Students feel like parents are more likely to have control over the situation.

Becker knew exactly whom she would call. “My dad,” she said. “He is most likely to get me out.”

Students with unfortunate driving expe-riences can offer some firsthand advice to other teen drivers.

“Go slow,” Cheney said. Jackson said, “Stay calm, have a

charged phone, — “— and call your mom for help.”

Bad weather makes for travel troubles

Wear and tear. Rough winter driving can do some serious damage to your vehicle. Drive carefully, and pack emergency items. Photo by Alexandria Naughton.

AlexandriaNaughtonStaff Writer

Students all over the country wake up in the morning to find snow on the ground. They check the school website or the local television station obsessively until it’s of-ficial that school is cancelled.

It’s called a snow day, and there are endless possibilities of what can happen on a snow day.

You could build snow forts, have snow-ball fights and have friends over, but the one thing that happens most is sledding.

In DeWitt, the popular place to go sled-ding is at Springbrook Golf Course.

“I went off the ramp and down Hole 5,” Katie Minick said. “It was a rush.”

Cory Cypher added, “My favorite place is the putting green on the other side of the course.”

Teens and kids of the last generation had wooden sleds and toboggans, but for the teens and kids of this generation, the best sleds are the plastic ones and the fiber-glass snowboards.

Many people go snow skiing during the winter. Over the years, the preferences of the teens have changed along with the styles of riding. They were said to be the fastest of the age. Nowadays kids will use anything to gain speed.

“I love the speed,” said Ben Comer. “I will use almost anything to go faster.”

Whether it’s the number of people you can fit on one sled, or flying down Hole 6 at the speed of light, when snow is on the ground, people are sledding.

’Twas the week before Chrismas and all through the school, All the students were sleeping and starting to drool.

The teachers were trying to cram in some more Thoughts in our heads: Oh! what a chore!

Studying for finals kept us out of our beds,While dreams of Christmas break danced in our heads.And Mr. Pickup in his tie, and Mr. Ohnemus in his vest,

Had just warned students they’d better not rest.

When out in the lobby there was a great soundI dashed from my classroom and searched all around.

Up and down hallways I ran until I could see,Vest-wearing singers around a Christmas tree.

In four years of high school, I’ve never come nearSuch an outbreak of music and holiday cheer.

With voices like combinations of Fergie and JesusTheir sweet Christmas carols did nothing but please us.

“Sing, Taylor! sing, Fletcher! sing, Bryar and Audrey!Dance, Kristen! dance, Rachel! dance, Michael and Courtney!”

From the front of the lobby Mrs. Dean yelled with glee,“Sing Rudolph and Santa, and now sing Frosty!”

These classic Christmas songs brought a smile to us all,Their cheer and joy were even heard in bathroom stalls.

Even though Christmas holidays seeem to fly,Don’t forget to cherish the good times that go by.

We hope your winter break is purely divine.Love, the Central Pubs staff of two thousand and nine.

Decking the halls. Mrs. Sue Nordstrom and Mrs. Denise McAleer admire the student council’s Christmas tree in the front lobby. Student council members decorated the tree before school on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Photo contributed by Rachel Meade.

A Christmas Poem

Spreading Christmas cheer. Pubs staff members Katie Dorpinghaus, Bryan Connell, Bree Dunkel and Renee Christiansen, authors of the poem above, want to wish ev-eryone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Photo by Eryca Schebler.

Haley RuskStaff Writer

Ariani OehrleinOn Campus Editor

Editor in Chief: Katie DorpinghausAssistant Editor: Bree Dunkel Features Editor: Becca WalkerSports Editor: Bryan Connell

Page Design Editor: Katie Petersen Photography Editor: Alex Barr

On Campus Editor: Nichole Haack Graphic Design: Renee Christiansen

Review Editor: Melanie SaundersAdviser: Mrs. Christine Gilroy

THE PURPLE ONION WELCOMES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. LETTERS MUST BE SIGNED.

Central Community High SchoolBox 110 • Old Highway 30 East • DeWitt, IA 52742

563-659-0715 • www.central-clinton.k12.ia.us

HOLIDAY SEASONThe Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3 3

Winter is here as we’ve all been wait-ing, and the cold weather is catching up with us. “I hate the cold weather, but I like the snow,” Katy Vorwald said. People are staying in more and spend-ing time with their family rather than going out each night. “I will be going out less unless I have to work or for some-

thing I really need,” Vorwald said. With snow falling, and wind blowing, getting to the places you want will take some time.

Winter is full of changes. One day it could be -2 degrees with snow flurries and the next it will be 33 degrees and sunny.

Either way, we’re all trying to adjust to it. Families are packing away their summer clothes and getting out the jackets and hats. “I’m making sure we have candles and flashlights in our house,” Vorwald said.

It’ll be hard to stay active for some, and going out during the week to the fitness center isn’t very easy. Kids get their fresh air from sledding, snowboarding, and the typical snowball fight. “I’ll be playing in the snow and sledding a lot,” Vorwald said.

“I’m looking forward for snow so we don’t have school and for a white Christmas.” Vorwald said, but with a white Christmas comes a lot of accidents.

All drivers are using caution for the slippery roads and reckless drivers. “I know there might be some accidents with

teens driving in the snow because the roads will be slippery and icy,” Vorwald said.

Deer are another problem for this win-

ter roaming on highways and gravel roads. The number of car-deer accidents in Iowa increased 17 percent in the last five years.

Oh, the weather outside is frightfulWinter months bring fun, but lethal driving conditions

D e W i t t , I o w a , p o p u l a t i o n r o u g h l y 6 , 0 0 0 . W h y m o v e h e r e ? J o b s , f a t h e r s’ j o b s , t o b e e x a c t . B r o o k e C r a t e r , E r i n S m i t h , a n d R y a n H a m b y c a m e t o s m a l l - t o w n D e W i t t f r o m d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d a t d i f f e r e n t t i m e s , a n d s o m e h o w t h e y a l l h a v e s o m e t h i n g i n c o m m o n .

S t u d e n t t r a n s f e r s s e e m t o c o m e a l l y e a r a r o u n d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e y e a r , t h e m i d d l e , o r t h e e n d , i t d o e s n ’t m a t t e r . T h e f a c t i s , t h e r e a r e a l w a y s n e w k i d s . W h y d i d y o u m o v e ? I t i s o n e o f t h e t o p fi v e m o s t a n s w e r e d q u e s t i o n s f o r a n e w s t u d e n t . S u r p r i s i n g l y , “M y d a d ’s j o b ,” s e e m s t o b e o n e o f t h e m o s t c o m m o n answers t h e s e d a y s .

“I n M i c h i g a n t h e r e w e r e n o j o b s , s o w e m o v e d o u t h e r e f o r m y d a d t o b e a t r u c k d r i v e r ,” said B r o o k e C r a t e r , a s e n i o r w h o t r a n s f e r r e d f r o m M a q u o k e t a b u t i s o r i g i n a l l y f r o m M i c h i g a n . A s a s o p h o m o r e , C r a t e r t r a n s f e r r e d t o D e W i t t , h e r f o u r t h m o v e i n h e r l i f e .

C r a t e r s a i d t h e t i m e c h a n g e a f f e c t e d h e r a b i t a f t e r t h e m o v e , b u t s h e e v e n t u a l l y g o t u s e d t o i t . S h e a l s o s a i d t h a t y o u j u s t h a v e t o b e a b l e t o g i v e p e o p l e t i m e t o w a r m u p t o y o u r p r e s e n c e .

E r i n S m i t h , a l s o a s e n i o r , h a s m o v e d a t o t a l o f f o u r t i m e s , m o s t r e c e n t l y f r o m G e r m a n y . S h e m o v e d f o r t h e s a m e r e a s o n C r a t e r d i d , h e r d a d ’s o c c u p a t i o n . “H e w o r k s f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t , ” Smith said.

S m i t h a r r i v e d i n I o w a t h e s u m m e r b e f o r e h e r j u n i o r y e a r . B e i n g b a c k s t a t e - s i d e h a s f e l t g r e a t , s h e s a i d , “I t h a s b e e n y e a r s s i n c e w e l i v e d n e a r [ m y f a m i l y ] a n d s p e n t h o l i d a y s w i t h t h e m . I t f e l t g o o d t o b e i n v o l v e d a g a i n . ”

R y a n H a m b y m o v e d b e c a u s e o f a j o b t r a n s f e r t h a t h i s f a t h e r accepted . “I n e v e r h e a r d o f D e W i t t b u t i t a i n ’t b a d ,” h e s a i d . “I t ’s b e e n g o o d t o m e s o f a r .”

A s o p h o m o r e , H a m b y h a s m o v e d f o u r t i m e s , s t a r t i n g i n A m e s , I o w a , a n d e n d i n g u p i n D e W i t t . H e h a s a l s o l i v e d i n B a l l a r d , I o w a , a n d h a s m o v e d a s f a r s o u t h a s T e x a s .

A l t h o u g h t h e s e h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s a g r e e t h a t m o v i n g w a s d i f fi c u l t , b e t w e e n l e a v i n g o l d f r i e n d s a n d m a k i n g n e w o n e s , t h e y a l l a l s o k n o w t h a t t r a n s f e r r i n g i s a c h a n c e t o g r o w a n d m e e t s o m e a m a z i n g n e w p e o p l e .

“I d o n ’t m i n d m e e t i n g n e w p e o p l e . I t ’s p r e t t y f u n ,” s a i d H a m b y. S m i t h a n d C r a t e r a r e i n a g r e e m e n t . E v e r y t o w n i s d i f f e r e n t w i t h its o w n p e r s o n a l i t y , b u t D e W i t t i s a t o w n e a s y t o f a l l i n l o v e w i t h, they felt .

L u c k i l y , t h e s e t h r e e t r a n s f e r s e n j o y e d m e e t i n g n e w p e o p l e . B u t t h e y a l l h a ve t h e i r o w n r e a s o ns n o t t o l i k e i t .

S m i t h s a i d t h e w o r s t p a r t w a s t r y i n g t o fi n d t h e r i g h t g r o u p o f f r i e n d s a n d m a k i n g s u r e y o u fi t i n . S h e c o n t i n u e s b y s a y i n g , “I t ’s l ik e s h o o t i n g a t a r g e t b l i n d f o l d e d . ”

C r a t e r s a i d t h e w o r s t p a r t i s a d j u s t i n g t o t h e d i f f e r e n c e s a n d a c c e p t i n g t h e n e w c h a n g e i n l i f e .

R y a n H a m b y b e l i e v e d t h e m o s t

d i f fi c u l t p a r t a b o u t m o v i n g w a s s i m p l y , “U n p a c k i n g . ”

I m a g i n e b e i n g a p a r e n t , a n d h a v i n g t o t e l l y o u r c h i l d , w h o i s h a p p y h e r e , t h a t y o u ar e m o v i n g . N o w i m a g i n e b e i n g a k i d w h o i s h a p p y a n d b e i n g t o l d y o u w e r e m o v i n g . I n t e n s e , r i g h t ?

“M o v i n g t o I o w a , m y r e a c t i o n w a s ... w e l l , I w a s s h o c k e d , a n d I r e a l l y w a s c l u e l e s s o n w h a t t o t h i n k ,” s a i d C r a t e r o n h e r r e a c t i o n t o t h e n e w s .

H a m b y r e s p o n d e d the o p p o s i t e way . “I j u s t k i n d a t o o k i t ,” h e s a i d . “I t w a s h a r d t h e fi r s t t i m e b u t I g o t u s e d t o i t, I g u e s s . Y o u g o t t a m a n u p a n d m o v e o n .”

S m i t h l o o k e d a t h e r s i t u a t i o n a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t l y . “I w a s h a p p y , ” s h e s a i d , “I c a m e t o D e W i t t t h e s u m m e r b e f o r e a n d s t a y e d w i t h m y c o u s i n s o t h a t m a d e i t e a s i e r .” P l u s , s h e a d d e d , “I t w a s t i m e t o m o v e . ”

M o v i n g b r i n g s s e v e r a l c h a n g e s i n t o a p e r s o n ’s l i f e : s o c i a l c h a n g e s , e n v i r o n m e n t a l c h a n g e s a n d m o s t o f a l l i n t e l l e c t u a l c h a n g e s .

E r i n S m i t h s a i d , “[ S i n c e m o v i n g ] I h a v e m o r e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s n o w a n d h a v e m a t u r e d . I h a v e n ’t c h a n g e d t o o m u c h . ”

B r o o k e C r a t e r, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , b e l i e v e s s h e h a s c h a n g e d t r e m e n d o u s l y f r o m h e r l a t e s t m o v e .

“I l o o k a t h o w I v i e w o t h e r s d i f f e r e n t l y . I t r y t o a c c e p t t h e m f o r w h o t h e y a r e a n d n o t b e s o j u d g m e n t a l ,” she said.

S h e g o e s o n t o s a y , “P e r s o n a l l y I w o u l d s a y I h a v e b e c o m e a m u c h b e t t e r p e r s o n a n d I ’m e a s y t o g e t a l o n g w i t h . I d o n ’t s e e m t o h a v e a n i s s u e w i t h b i g c h a n g e s a n y m o r e . ”

R y a n H a m b y b e l i e v e d h e “l e a r n e d t o m a k e t h e b e s t o u t o f a n y s i t u a t i o n” f r o m h i s e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h b e i n g a t r a n s f e r s t u d e n t .

Frosty’s on his way. Katy Vorwald rolls Frosty into place for all to see. Winter brings fun like making a snowman, but threats also. Photo by Ariani Oehrlein.

Moving around, growing as a person

Smith

Crater Hamby

Making new friends. Transfer student Ryan Hamby shares a high fi ve with his good friend Dustin Petersen. Hamby and his family have lived in four different towns, but Hamby has had no trouble making friends at Central. Photo by Haley Rusk.

Melanie Saunders

Review Editor

The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 34

Going gaga for Glee

Bryan Connell

Sports Editor

Take Cover. Devin Daniels uses his headset to talk to his teammates while

playing Call of Duty. Photo by Bryan Connell.

REVIEWS

TV show-viewers of all ages and gen-ders are singing and dancing with joy. They flock to the television every Wednes-day at 8 p.m., flip the on switch, hold their breath in anticipation, then let out a wild yell when it comes on. What is “it,” might you ask? It is a new hit show, kind of like High School Musical on steroids, because it’s on every week and brings in a whop-ping average of 8.6 million viewers each episode. This phenomenon is named Glee. What exactly is this new show com-pletely out of left field? A musical comedy that features a high school Spanish teacher with the goal of forming a glee club, and to make it the most happening activity in town. Self -proclaimed diva with the big-gest voice around, Rachel Berry, is all for it, but convincing other students in the school to join a “geek club” proves harder than expected. Bring in an eclectic mix

of misfits from the high school, each with unique personalities, plus Quinn Fabrey and Finn Hudson, aka, most popular cheer-leader and star football player. You’ve got an entertaining hour of television. With the talented cast singing modern hits such as Rihanna’s “Take a Bow,” and Kanye West’s “Golddigger,” in addition to old favorites like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” it’s no mystery why this show has got viewers all across the country belt-ing along. The show has developed a de-voted following who are self proclaimed, “gleeks.” Gleeks tune in every week and watch every episode in rapture. Now that Season 1 is over, what is in store for Season 2? I predict the return of Sue Silvester, demented cheerleading coach, a little romance brewing between Mr. Scheuster and Emma, the guidance counselor, and a whole new array of inter-esting and spicy new songs in store. Look out American Idol, because Glee just might be the new top singing show around.

Glee is the way to be. Glee sountrack, released on Nov. 3 was a fresh hit, selling $2 million in digital sales alone. The show will be back after a four-month hiatus this

spring with its second season. Photo by Melanie Saunders.

The end of Christmas marks the start of a new wave of recruits for the armed forces of Sony and Microsoft.

The veterans have been fighting since November and have been racking up the kills. Although this is global warfare, no blood has been shed and there are no bil-lions in damage, only profit.

This war is being waged online and on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows game systems.

Released on Nov 10, Call of Duty:

Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most an-ticipated games all over the world.

“I had the date in my head for so long,”

John Reynolds said. “It felt like it was nev-er going to come.”

At Central, students stood in line late into the night and early in the morning to make sure they were one of the first to get the game. When they did get the game, they were rarely seen again.

“I have totaled over three days playing,” Blake Munro said.

Everywhere, players were racking time played and total scores.

“One game I was playing never ended,” Tom McDonald said. “Something hap-pened and made everything a free-for-all. I got 1036 kills and only died 422 times.”

Along with the online play, there also is a story line that plays off the original Mod-

ern Warfare.“This story line is great,” Ryan Dan-

iels said, “and the new things they added stunned me.”

The new things are weapons, maps and perks. New weapons include a nuclear bomb, new guns, and EMP that knocks out power. The new weapons help getting more kills for players.

“I like that fact that you can kill so many things in a safe way,” Preston Frick said.

Also new is a Spec Op campaign mode on Call of Duty. Two players team up and attempt to complete missions using skill and teamwork. Chas Cahill and Devin Daniels spend many hours a week playing with each other attempting to out due the other.

“Even though we are on the same team,” Devin Daniels said, “I am clearly better and play unmercifully.”

With all of the new changes and up-grades Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has become one of the most loved games at Central and around the world. For students from Central, a free minute is a chance to play.

Many players have also started to hear rumors of the next Call of Duty that should come out next year.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Reynolds said “but I don’t know if they can outdo this Call of Duty.”

Ready for war

Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year, and also one of the most stress-ful. Christmas can get insane. With rela-tives visiting and leaving, making all the food, going shopping and setting up lights. Let’s not forget the sudden snow storms that slow everything down. Everyone loves Christmas, but at the same time in the back of everyone’s mind, we kind of hate it.

Yes, Christmas is great. You get to see family, eat tons of food, and you get pres-ents, that’s a pretty good combination. But there is a lot of work that makes up that great combination. There’s getting all the family to one place, preparing all the food to eat, and buying all the presents.

It seems nearly impossible to get peo-ple from all over the country to one place, and when you finally do get them all to the same place, you’ve got the whole person-ality problem. People can love each other, grow up with each other, spend every single minute with each other, but they are bound to disagree on something. With many peo-ple in the house, there are going to be some issues. It’s a family thing, I guess. Thank-fully, and usually, everything turns out well and nobody gets hurt.

For Christmas dinner some people have ham, prime rib or maybe even turkey. No

matter what you’re eating, they all have to be prepared just right. If they aren’t, people will let you know. Therefore, hours are put into the main dish and then you have all the sides and snacks for people. Another problem with cooking is timing. Around the holidays all sense of time seems to be lost. But it really can’t be. You have to time everything that goes in the oven, when ev-erything needs to be put in, and how to get everything fixed and ready by dinner time. It can get crazy in the kitchen, and that is not always the best place for craziness.

Every child dreams of Christmas morn-ing and waking up, running to the tree, and seeing a mounds of present. The reality is, that doesn’t really happen too often. Then you have disappointed children, and frus-trate parents. Parents spend such a long time purchasing all different things for kids. Toys, Clothes, books movies, and — seriously, parents, you can skip the clothes. No child likes to rip open a beautifully wrapped box and find clothes, sorry. Par-ents, we understand your frustration with all your time not adding up, but face it, even we rarely know what we want. Trust, me, we do appreciate the gifts, we just don’t always know how to show it. And we don’t want to ruin our image.

Christmas is absolutely lovely. It’s also a bit overwhelming, no, it’s really over-whelming. Why doesn’t everyone just take a breath, take it all in, and enjoy the won-derful feeling Christmas brings.

Haley Rusk

Staff Writer

Three Wise Women. Planning meals, visiting, and gifts for Christmas are Mrs. Bar-

bara Deutmeyer, Mrs. Pam Burke, and Mrs. Andrea Shelton. Contributed photo.

Don’t let the Christmas season overwhelm you

OPINIONThe Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3 5

Renee Christiansen Graphic Designer

Are T-shirts really fashionable?

Walking down the halls of the high school filled with students, one can immediately see what events are taking place that day. Fashion plays a huge part in showing student activities and students’ mood that day.

Most people feel, as I do, that DeWitt is not a high center for fashion. But on any day at the high school, one can see the importance of clothing to students.

Most of the time you can tell students’ mood by clothing, especially seniors. Some days students wake up and think, Well, I think I can dress up today. Maybe I’ll impress that cute boy.

Others, many who stayed up until 1 a.m. doing homework, wake up with minutes to get ready. Cheap sweatpants are thrown on, and if you’re lucky, your T-shirt kind of matches!

Others have to dress a certain way. Why else would those girls be wearing long

Sarah StoferStaff Writer

You see them standing at the entrance of many stores around our area, standing out there, ringing away. Some are more en-ergetic than others, but all of them have a willing heart to stand out there at all.

Every year, the youth group of the DeWitt Evangelical Free Church goes to

black skirts and crisp, white button-down shirts, right? Basketball players dress up for game days, students with debates and speeches try to dress up, and blood drives must have peach NHS shirts, of course.

Another popular high school fashion that must be included is the generic T-shirt. We at Central seem to have a fascination with making T-shirts. Soccer season? Time for a T-shirt! Birthday parties? Let’s make T-shirts! My car was searched by police officers at school? Why not a T-shirt?

Each day at school one can see new designs of T-shirts. Each group tries to outdo others with clever ideas and sometimes-controversial sayings for their own unique designs.

Some may argue that we do have fashion sense here, but sometimes I’m not so sure. Either way, I think comfort is the main factor.

Teens don’t feel the need to dress up for school and I agree. Trend plays a role also. Trend will always be important to nervous freshmen and those students who take time to dress for success. I congratulate you for your effort, but I think I’ll stick to sweats!

ring bells for the Salvation Army at the North Park Mall in Davenport.

This year they rang on Dec. 12. Five stu-dents who went were Molly Keegan, Selby LaBlanc, Alex Luedtke, Mitch Nielsen, and Tom Nodurft.The head coordinator was Craig Jepson, one of the youth group leaders.

Youth who went said the main reasons they went were that their friends would be there and because it was a youth group ac-tivity. But some had deeper reasons.

Looking good. Ali Necker, Vince Elsea, Brianna Kueter and AJ Smith advertise the reasons they wear what they wear. Every day at Central, students sport different outfits depending on their mood and activities. Photo by Katie Dorpinghaus.

Ding-a-ling. DEFC Youthgroup is ready to ring bells for the Salvation Army. Front: Mrs. Heather Haley, Amanda Friedman, Jenny Stofer, Brooke Chapman, Mrs. Paula Stef-fens, Hailey Franzen, Marci Nielsen, Peter Keegan, Logan Haley, Caleb Keegan, Seth Wierup. Back: Molly Keegan, Alex Luedtke, Tom Nodurft. Contributed photo.

Youth bell ringers help make the holidays happy“I thought it would be a simple way to

serve,” Keegan said. “One Christmas it dawned on me that

I didn’t do anything for anyone else at Christmas time,” Jepson said.

The students said that this year was full of good memories and experiences, espe-cially since it wasn’t very cold.

Jepson told of a young man they met who was an employee on break. “When he started smoking behind us I told him that if he wanted to stand there he had to ring a

bell. He said, “Okay,” and rang with us for a while. After he had gone back to work he ran back out, did a little jig for us and went back in. This opened an opportunity to talk to someone who you may not talk to normally.”

The Salvation Army uses the donations from the bell ringing to pay for most of the personal items they give to those in need.

“I think it’s a good organization,” Je-pson said, “because of what they do and because they stand for God.”

HOLIDAY SEASON6 The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3

Making Christmas special one child at a time

‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’

Chamber Singers work to make this year’s performances fun

Eva-Maria Conway Features Writer

Becca WalkerFeatures Editor

In the midst of braving the crowds for

the coolest-this or fastest-that, the true

meaning of the holidays is sometimes

overshadowed by material possessions.

People rarely stop to consider the less

fortunate families, the children who don’t

know the delightful feeling of opening a

present on Christmas morning or the tin-

gling anticipation of Santa coming down

the chimney.

Even in these hard economic times, peo-

ple lose sight of compassion toward others

who are in need.

Not Becca Walker, however, who has

been lending out a helping hand since

childhood and bringing a worthwhile smile

to a local child year after year.

Walker, a senior, has been looking out

for others ever since she can remember.

“Every year since I was nine my family

has been doing things to help the less for-

tunate,” Walker said.

“One of the things we do every year is

help make Christmas special for a child in

need.”

“It’s a tradition for us now,” Walker add-

ed. “If we don’t do something, it doesn’t

feel right.”

Before moving to DeWitt, Walker par-

ticipated in programs in Texas, which in-

cluded Operation Christmas Child and the

Salvation Army’s Giving Tree program to

adopt an angel.

This year, the local First Central State

Bank is displaying a tree filled to the brim

with wish lists from children whose fami-

lies aren’t able to afford the presents many

take for granted.

“This year we have a little three-year-old

boy,” Walker said. “We bought him some

clothes and a Thomas the Train toy set.

One of his wishes was Thomas the Train

videos, so we got some of those too.”

Walker is also making another kid’s

Christmas special by participating in her

church’s Operation Christmas Child.

“You put toys, clothes, shampoos, and

other basic necessities in a shoebox and

wrap it,” Walker said, “and then send it off

to the child in need.”

As to those who are considering donat-

ing their time to a child this holiday season,

Walker has her own view.

“I look at it this way,” Walker said.

“Imagine yourself not having Christmas,

and somebody helping you. Wouldn’t that

make your Christmas?”

A heart that cares. Becca Walker has shared her Christmas heart with those in need since she was 9. “It’s a tradition for us,” she said. Photo by Eva-Maria Conway.

Expecting the unexpected is not alway

the easiest thing to expect, especially when

you are in Chamber Singers. “We were

practicing one day,” Taylor Donovan said,

“and Rachel Meade was sitting on the edge

of the bleachers. She told everyone not to

push her off because she was going to fall

off. Somebody went “really?” and pushed

her off. Rachel went right off the bleachers

and onto the floor.” The best part about it?

“She looked like she was still sitting on the

chair, but on the floor.”

This is just a typical day at a Chamber

Singers practice.

The Chamber Singers practice big time

for their biggest show of the year, the

Christmas show, starring Santa Claus, Mrs.

Claus and Rudolph and friends.

The Christmas show for the Chamber

Singers is bound to be a big hit with every-

one who watches.

Scheduled to perform in 22 shows this

season, the Chamber Singers were ready to

face all of them, but with the weather five

of them have been canceled.

Starting the show with “Santa Claus is

Coming to Town” and ending with Forever

Christmas and many different Christmas

favorites in between, the Christmas show

is going to be the show that everyone will

watch and hear their favorite Christmas

song in there somewhere.

Not only do they do singing and danc-

ing, but there is partying involved.

“We were getting dressed one day,”

Taylor Donovan said, “and the fire alarms

went off. Mrs. Dean covers the windows

with paper so that no one can see us chang-

ing.

“So when the actual alarm went off, but

the lights stayed on, we decided to turn off

the lights. Strobe Party!!! It was so much

fun.”

With the Chamber Singers, whether it

be with practice, the show, or while getting

changed, there is never a dull moment.

“I’ll Have a Blue Christmas without you”. Singing to all Elvis fans, Michael Carr, dressed as Frosty the Snowman, makes his debut with Courtney Rickard, Austin Daniels, Brittney Jackson,Lucas Blondel, and Jenny Kruger at the December 13 band and choir concert. Picture contributed by Debbie Stofer.

Two thumbs way up. Ready to make the crowd excited for the appearance of Santa Claus, Austin Daniels makes everything holly and jolly. Picture contributed by Deb-bie Stofer.

Snow gives kids a break

Katie BlaserFeatures Writer

HOLIDAY SEASONThe Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3 7

Snowball fight! Nikki Darland and Madeline Wright face off in a head-to-head snowball battle on their day off school. Photo by Katie Blaser.

Katie PetersenFeatures Writer

Divided family makes for too much traveling,stressful holiday season

You wake up, look outside and see a sheet of white covering your yard and the snow is still falling heavily. You turn on your radio or TV and wait anxiously to see if school is cancelled. Finally they an-nounce your school and you happily lay down to get some more sleep.

For many, a snow day means a day with-out parents or boring classes and is a time to have fun with friends. “I like to watch movies or go sledding with my friends,” Nikki Darland said.

“I hope that me and my friends can go skiing if we have another snow day later on,” Madeline Wright said.

Snow days are also good days to catch up on sleep for many students. “I wake up around 9 o’clock,” Darland said.

Most students love early outs and late starts but not everyone likes having snow days.

“Late starts and early outs are fun be-cause you get to miss school but you don’t have to ever make them up,” Wright said.

Sure, having a day off now may be fun but when all you want is for summer to start at the end of the year it is not fun to have extra days of school to make up.

So are the snow days worth it? “Only a small amount because it gives

you a break from school,” Darland said. “It’s fun to miss school now but making

them up when it’s the end of the year when you just want to be done with school, it’s horrible,” Wright said.

The movie Four Christmases shows struggles that families with divorced par-ents can endure.“Christmas becomes a big-ger hassle than anything,” Brooke Kindles-perger said.

Brooke’s parents divorced when she was young and since then she has tried to spend Christmas eve with her dad and Christmas morning with her mom. “We have grand-parents’ houses to go to as well,” Kindles-perger said. “This year I actually have six different places to go.”

“The last few years we’ve had to be at

my grandparents on my mom’s side and my aunts on my dad’s side at the same time,” Kindlesperger said. “So we have to miss half of each.”

“Santa has extra runs to make, too,” Kindlespeger said. ”He has to show up at both houses.

“By the end of the day you’re pretty worn out,” Kindlesperger said. “But you still can make it fun.”

For Cassie Sheehan, on the other hand, everything is pretty much the same. “We’ve always spent Christmas eve with my dad and grandpa, and Christmas morning with my mom and grandma,” Sheehan said.

“The only stressful part is having to pack a bag and go to Cascade for two days then coming right back here,” Sheehan said.

Feeding your need to succeed in FFA fashion

Lauren WeirupOn Campus Editor

The two-time Clinton County pie eating contest winner has done it again, only this time instead of pie Patrick Diedrich ate four slices of pizza faster than 10 other guys.

The DeWitt Central FFA Chapter held a Christmas pizza eating contest after their monthly meeting and they ordered 18 piz-zas from Hall Of Fame. The winners re-

ceived a $10 gift certificate. With a turn out of eleven guys and three girls the chapter decided to hold two different contests, so the males went up against males and fe-male against females.

With 11 guys lined up hungry and anx-ious, the chapter officers passed out four slices of sausage pizza to each participant and they were allowed to have only water to go along with their pizza.

After a greasy battle, Diedrich came out on top with a time just under 10 minutes, his motto “Hakuna Matata” showing how happy he was to finish first. In second place and only a few bites behind Diedrich was Cody Kent, and Levi Wagner came chomp-ing into third. “Patrick is a beast at eating contests,” said Wagner. “I am honored to lose to him.”

The rest of the participants walked away with nothing but bragging rights. Those participants included Mitch Jebson, Jacob Reistroffer, Austin Kent, Garrett Delaney, Dylan Kakert, Hunter Wagner, Levi Wag-ner, Adam Goodall, Cody Kent, Caleb Beer and Patrick Diedrich.

The girls had it a little easier. There were only three participants and they only had to down two slices. Jenna McConohy came out in first place after eating both slices. Erin Weirup came in second with just the crust left over, and last but not least, Eleni Boesch finished third, even though she did not finish the last slice.

Chowin’ to glory. With hat turned back-ward to boost his cool factor, Patrick Diedrich takes the lead while working on his last slice for the win. Photo by Lauren Weirup.

Take it to the limit. Erin Weirup, Eleni Boesch and Jenna McConohy represent the only female participants in the contest. Photo by Lauren Weirup.

Keeping the spirit alive. Even though their families are split for the holidays Brooke Kindelsperger and Cassie Sheehan still keep the traditions of decorating the Christ-mas tree. Photo by Katie Petersen.

1. Jubilation to the entire terrestrial globe.2. Oh small Israeli urban center.3. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas.4. Decorate the hallways.5. May the deity bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans.6. As the gardians of the wooly ani-mals protected their charges in the dark hour.7. Broadcast the message from an elevation.8. Maternal parent was observed

osculating a redcoated unshaven teamster.9. Listen, the winged heavenly mes-sengers are proclaiming tunefully.10. Far off in a haybin.11. Cup-shaped instruments fash-ioned of a whitish metallic element.12. Vehicular homicide was com-mited on dad’s mom by a precipitous darling.13. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.14. We are Kong, Lear and Nat Cole.15. Wanted in December: top foward incisors. ANSWERS FOUND ON PAGE 8

Each phrase represents the title of a Christmas carol. Can you decipher them?

Puzzling Christmas Carols

The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 38 ON CAMPUS

Sprechen sie Deutsch?

If you’re still looking for a group to join, but FCCLA just isn’t your thing, Ger-man club is still open for membership.

“It’s a time for German-speaking stu-dents who want to learn about the German culture and have fun,” Rebekah Stofer said. Anyone can come to German club, even if you’re not in a German class. The meetings are every other Monday in Frau Deutmey-er’s room (313) from 3:05 - 4 p.m.

At the last few meetings, the club did Christmas-related activities, learning Christmas carols in German and making paper snowflakes.

Sometimes the club will take field trips or have people come in to enhance their learning. “Jonas Laaser [German foreign exchange student] is going to come talk to us,” Kaitlin O’Leary said. “We went to the Hausbarn,” Nikki Darland said.

“It is especially fun when we play games,” said Darland. “I enjoy it a lot,” said O’Leary.

Sarah StoferFeatures Writer

Name: Matt Daniels

Activities: Football, Student Council, and NHS

Favorite Teacher: Mr. Birt, he’s a stud.

Favorite Class: Health Three

What made you want to join NHS?: I thought it would look good on college applications.

You got a lot of people to give blood

for the blood drive. How’d you do it?

I made a facebook group and sent out a mass text to recruit as many people as I could.

What made you want to join student

council? Rachel Meade told me to ap-ply because it’s lots of fun and I joined because Creighton Fox was also in it.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m planning on going to UNI and studying business.

Interviewed by Eryca Schebler

Senior Spotlight

Feeling festive. Who wouldn’t want to eat this cute Christmas cookie? Making sweet treats is one of many beloved holiday traditions carried on by families throughout the district. Photo by Mary Broadfoot.

Do you speak German? Taylor Donovan, club president, takes the time to advertise the German club and recruits new mem-bers from Mrs. Barbara Deutmeyer’s German classes. Photo by Sarah Stofer.

Answers to Carol Puzzle from page 71. Joy to the World

2. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

3. O Holy Night

4. Deck the Halls

5. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen

6. As Shepherds Kept Their Watch at Night

7. Go Tell it on the Mountain

8. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

9. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

10. Away in a Manger

11. Silver Bells

12. Grandma Got Run over by a Rein-deer

13. Silent Night

14. We Three Kings

15. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

9ON CAMPUSThe Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3

Eryca ScheblerColumnist

Melanie SaundersReview Editor

Conspiring, pranking and plotting, oh my!

Ah, the great detectives of our genera-tion: Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Dick Tracey... Mrs. Denise McAleer?

In a classic case of whodunit with a modern twist, five senior guys decided to pull a prank on their language arts teacher when she least expected it, at 8 a.m. on a Thursday morning.

Nic Elsea, Albert Aguirre, Ben Comer, Ryan Daniels, and Will Hunter decided to pull a prank no student had pulled before: put flour and rice in a teacher’s fountain in the front yard. Sound crazy? Well, it kind of is.

“I’d been planning some sort of prank on Mrs. McAleer for weeks,” Aguirre said. “So, one day when I was driving, I went to WalMart and bought 10 pounds of rice, and 50 pounds of flour.”

Fast-forward to 8 a.m. on that Thursday morning. The sun is up, the sky is blue, and all is calm. The time for action had come at last. “I led the brigade,” Elsea said. “All of the lights were on at their home, and I was sure we were going to get caught. We ca-

sually charged up to the fountain, dumped our bags, and ran away.” Aguirre added, “All that planning, and it was about a two-minute job.”

Hunter said, “Just call us the Navy Seals of DeWitt. We got the job done and got out of there.”

But they weren’t quite off the hook yet. That day in Intro to Lit class, all was eerily quiet. Too quiet. Mrs. McAleer paced the front of the room like a private eye on the search for a criminal.

Her eyes stopped on Elsea, who was sitting in the front row, sweating bullets and starting to fear exposure. Finally, he couldn’t take the pressure anymore and spilled the beans, telling her everything she needed to know.

“Nic crumpled like a house of cards,” Hunter said.

But that wasn’t the end of the boys’ adventure. With fun and games comes re-sponsibility. “We made a mess,” Aguirre said. “So that Saturday, we went to clean it up, and it only took about an hour.” He continued, “I left Nic to do a job and clean something up, came back 10 minutes later, and Nic was jumping on the trampoline with Mrs. McAleer’s kids instead.”

Elsea said, “Mrs. McAleer’s son shot me with an air-gun.” Mrs. McAleer add-ed with a laugh, “I wish I would’ve taped that.”

So what’s next for these senior boys with minds for mischief and high jinks? Hunter said, “No one is safe from us.”

Sneaky senior boys

prank favorite

teacher in wee hours

Y.H.E.C. (Youth Hunter Education Challenge) occurs on a weekend in June at the 4-H Education and Natural Resources Center in Madrid, Iowa.

Competitors from all over Iowa are grouped according to their county in groups of about five or fewer. Participants have to take hunter’s safety class and pass in order to be able to go. Clinton County makes up about a third of the people there.

There are eight events. Four of them are shooting and the other four are non-shoot-ing events. The shooting events include ar-chery, muzzleloader, shotgun, and .22 rifle. The non-shooting events include written exam, hunter safety trail, orienteering, and wildlife identification.

Each event totals up to 300 points with a complete total of 2,400 points.

All of these are important if you are interested in the outdoors. Wildlife iden-tification helps students in Field Biology and orienteering can help students in Earth Science.

Competition isn’t the only thing that happens out there; there is football (which can get pretty rough), swimming, rock wall climbing, playing games, hanging out and staying up late, and snipe hunting.

Competitors show up in Madrid on a Friday in June. They go to a building to get shirts, hats, name tags, and a cookie or

something like that. Then they go to their cabins to “study.” Meals are provided on Saturday and Sunday. Trophies, medals, and awards are handed out on Sunday and then everybody gets their pictures taken. After that everyone heads home, strategiz-ing for next year.

When asked what needed to change about Y.H.E.C., Easten Lovelace replied “It needs to be more co-ed with a lot more girls.”

Because of all the walking, Dylan Kacz-inski wants the events to be closer together.What do people like about Y.H.E.C.? Ste-ven Adams said “I love the smell of gun-powder in the morning. Smells like... vic-tory.”

Some go because they like getting med-als and awards and have fun, others like to take some new recruits snipe hunting. Overall Clinton County does pretty well out there, bringing home the majority of the trophies.

Y.H. E. C. is also on Facebook and the Iowa DNR website with more information on its date and location.

What the heck is Y.H.E.C.?

The back of the National Honor Soci-ety’s shirts this year say “We bleed purple and gold.” Well, NHS members may be bleeding purple and gold, but for the rest of the people giving blood, it’s just going to be regular old red.

Many people donate blood each year at Central through winter and spring drives, and this year it won’t be any different.

The blood drive is an event that NHS puts on twice a year to raise blood units for the Mississippi Valley Blood Center.

“We organize who helps out with the different tasks throughout the day,” said NHS member Melanie Saunders.

Saunders, along with Matt Daniels and Bryan Connell, is in charge of the winter blood drive.

Anyone over the age of 16 is allowed to participate.

“The only way you can’t give blood,” Saunders said. “Is if you have an illness or low iron or something like that.”

“The more people that participate, the more blood units we can get and we can save more lives.” said Saunders.

The blood drive always has many peo-ple participating and NHS always sets a goal for how many units they can get.

“We’re hoping for 185 blood units for the winter blood drive,” said NHS advisor

Ms. LeAnn DePue. “But my personal goal is 200.”

“I’m also hoping the weather co-oper-ates with us this year,” Ms. DePue said. “ Last year there wasn’t enough time in be-tween the winter and spring blood drive so the numbers were lower.”

NHS members: ’We

bleed purple and gold’

WaylonHenningsen

Staff Writer

Deadeye. Steve Adams holds up his awards for Y.H.E.C. Photo by Waylon Henningsen

Racking up the volunteers. NHS members, Amanda Frank and Taylor Donovan turn in thier donor sheets for the Blood Drive. This year NHS mem-bers are aiming to get over 200 donors at both their winter and spring drives. Photo by Eryca Schebler

Area Hunters participate

in Y.H.E.C. to work on

their hunting skills

Gotta get those prices. Writing down the prices of rice and flour is Albert Aguirre, the main culprit in the pranking of Mrs. McAleer. Photo by Melanie Saunders.

10 ON CAMPUS The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3

Eva ConwayFeatures Writer

Katie MinickStaff Writer

With tired eyes and frazzled hair, stu-dents dragged themselves out of the toasty warmth of bed and into the desolate lobby of the high school at a painful 6:45 a.m.in the AM, all in the name of Publications.

With keen and curious minds, 13 loyal publications staff embarked on a journey that would swoop them out of the monot-ony of the normal school day and instead sweep them into the blur of the modern journalistic whirlwind.

They were thrown at the feet of the almighty IHSPA conference in Iowa City to be bedazzled by the power of newspaper and yearbook.

The journalism department at the University of Iowa, through the High School Press Association, offered work-shops to all Iowa high schools free of charge. The workshops not only allowed students to brush up their journalistic skills for school, but also opened new doors for future careers.

“It’s important for students to realize what awesome career opportunities await them in communications, especially with all the activity in the Internet,” said Mrs. Christine Gilroy, teacher and adviser for the publications staff.

“The publications conference was cool,” Katie Dorpinghaus said. “It showed us that what we are doing in class people do every day in the real world. It’s a great real-life connection.”

“I learned about new technology in the journalistic world, such as Twitter.” Melanie Saunders said. “I also learned about new photographic techniques I know I’ll use.”

The photography workshop offered at

the conference was much anticipated, and several students took advantage of the future opportunities it offered.

“I really liked the photography class,” Alex Barr said. “I’m looking into photog-raphy as a side job after college, and all the pictures I saw gave me inspiration. I want to keep getting better and better.”

The IHSPA conference provided loads of educational value for the students attending, but also made for memorable moments along the way.

“I woke up five minutes before the bus was supposed to leave,” Dorpinghaus said. “I didn’t even shower. I was so cranky and so gross. The first thing I did was run to the school’s bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and put makeup on.”

“Watching Bryan Connell eat is my

favorite memory of the trip though,” Dorpinghaus added. “He had two pieces of pizza, a bacon cheeseburger, fries, bread-sticks, Cold Stone ice cream, and a large Coke without breaking a sweat.”

Bloopers aside, last year’s “Now Playing” yearbook raked in an astound-ing 10 awards, including two first-place wins for the theme concept category and the photo illustration category. Such an achievement offers this year’s students even more inspiration.

“I have seen the kids so excited on the bus back to the high school,” Mrs. Gilroy said, “that they’ve planned out an entire section of yearbook or added a new dimen-sion to newspaper.”

In regard to the IHSPA conference and the eventful day, Lauren Weirup said, “It’s

Great minds unite at the IHSPA Conference in Iowa City

really nice to know that other kids are just as energetic about journalism as we are.”

AWARDS1st Place for Theme Concept: Abby Hunter1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place for Photo

Illustration: Erin McDonnell3rd Place for Academics Photo: Eva-Maria ConwayHonorable mention for Academic

Design: Brittney DonovanHonorable mention for Academics

Writing: Eva-Maria ConwayHonorable mention for Organization/

Performance Design: Melanie Saunders

Honorable mention for Sports Design: Abby Hunter

Pubs represents! Publication students represent DeWitt at the IHSPA Conference in Iowa City. Front row: Bryan Connell, Bree Dunkel, Melanie Saunders. Second row: Ethan Haley, Katie Dorpinghaus, Lauren Weirup, Nate Cypher. Third row: Ka-tie Blaser, Sara Stofer, Becca Walker. Fourth row: Alex Barr, Katie Minick, Ariani Oerlein. Photo contributed by Mrs. Christine Gilroy.

Everybody deserves a chance to have a better education. That is what the kids in the alternative school and SWS classes are receiving. Some students may believe it to be simple or an easy way out, but it’s far from that.

It’s a chance for students who are be-hind, have difficulty in regular classes or have had social issues that have affected their school work. “Traditional education doesn’t work for all kids so for some, alter-native education is what they need,” Ms. Pam Courtney said.

Some students in these programs be-lieve that the other students don’t fully understand what they are for. “People think sometimes that we are stupid but we aren’t,” Kayla McAleer said.

Some believe the program is easy and is there for kids to breeze their way through school, but that’s not the case. “People have their opinions and reasons for them but I’ll continue to believe in what I do,” Ms. Courtney said. “They see them as having the answer given to them so it’s to easy,” Mrs. Colleen Flathers said.

Even though students enjoy what they

are doing in the classes, it has bad parts as well. “You can’t go anywhere in the school besides to lunch and P.E.,” Jacob Schnoor said. “I hate doing the packets,” Haley Kueter said. “The class takes forever,” McAleer added.

There are many different students in these classes and they don’t always seem to get along. “People are sometimes loud when I’m trying to work,” Dylan Kaczin-ski said. “It can get really annoying.”

Even though it’s school work, students can learn to have fun and work all at the same time. “I like it when former students come back and show me how they have succeeded,” Mrs. Flathers said.

When there is no work to do, the stu-dents can relax and have a little fun with each other as well. “I like when we make paper boats when we are bored,” Tyler Sullivan said.

“I really enjoy the conversations I tend to get into with Kayla and Katie,” Kaczin-ski said.

Some are curious as to why these stu-dents are in the classes. “I was behind on my classes,” Greg Harrison said. “To graduate high school,” Banowetz said. “Last year I didn’t hardly come to school but now I do.”

The classes are a good alternative for many students as well. “Not better, just different,” Mrs. Flathers said. “It suits

them better then traditional classes for that certain student.”

There are many students involved in the SWS programs as well. They are offered a chance at success at an earlier age before they are old enough to go into the alterna-tive school.

Many children in the programs don’t al-ways choose to be there.“My mom put me in resource because she felt I wasn’t suc-ceeding in school,” Sullivan said.

“It gives me more confidence to do bet-ter,” Kaczinski said. “It helps me focus

more on my education.”These students are offered a second

chance with the alternative school and SWS classes. It’s their way of learning and getting to where they need to be in life. “I like getting a better education and growing as a better person,” Kueter said.

It’s okay to not fully understand the importance of the classes, but what is im-portant is that the students are not judged according to where they learn. “I believe in what I do,” Ms. Courtney said. “And I know what the students are capable of.”

Studying hard. Jordan Reelitz, Selby Leblanc, Megan Schram, Abby Kilburg and Nikki Heath work on their school tasks. The alternative school helps students by us-ing a different teaching approach than traditional school. Photo by Katie Minick.

SWS classes: a different approach to learning

Mary BroadfootFeatures Writer

The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 3 11ON CAMPUS

Free money, not so easy

Lauren Weirup

On Campus Editor

Buried under piles of homework, work-ing until the wee hours of the night, filling out college applications, and trying to find time to squeeze in some fun with friends: These are all things that seniors have to deal with during their final year of high school, so how do they find time to fill out those important scholarship applications?

“It’s not too bad finding time,” Alan Buttars said. “I just started applying early, and once you know what you’re doing, each one is basically just copy and paste.”

Mrs. Nancy Murphy, guidance coun-selor, agrees that not waiting until the last minute is key to scholarship success. “Start working on scholarships as soon as they come out,” she said. “Start early and stay on top of it. It gets very stressful if you wait till the last minute.”

Seniors can find information on schol-arships available to them and links to their websites on the school’s web page, under scholarships, http://www.central-clinton.k12.ia.us/hs/hs_guidance/hs_guidance_

main.php. Mrs. Terri Fischer, secretary, recommends checking the website often, especially after Jan. 1.

“Things will start changing daily after the first of January,” Mrs. Fischer said, “Don’t just think you can check it once a month.” Another helpful tool for finding scholarships is the scholarship search part of the College Board’s website, http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp.

When filling out applications, there are certain things to keep in mind. “It seems not all students care about how neat their applications are and about the spelling,” Mrs. Murphy said. “If possible, type it in-stead of writing it. Most can even be typed on the same page as the application.”

Mrs. Fischer also emphasized the im-portance of spelling, adding that the main thing to remember is just to fill out every-thing that is asked for on the application.

“A big key to good scholarship applica-tions is neatness and grammar,” Mrs. Mur-phy said. When essays are required with the application, this is especially important and when filling out multiple applications, extra attention should be paid to the es-says.

“The essays can be kind of tough,” But-tars said, “they usually have to be different for each application, because each one has

a different prompt.”For younger students who are think-

ing ahead to senior year and college, Mrs. Murphy also has some advice. “Keep track starting freshman year of what you are in-volved in inside and outside of school,” Mrs. Murphy said, “Then when it comes to senior year and scholarship applications,

you have an ongoing portfolio right there in front of you.”

The main thing to remember about se-nior year and the added work that comes along with it is to prioritize and plan ahead. With these two skills, scholarship and col-lege applications will be begging you for mercy, not the other way around.

We have all heard stories about bad service someone has received at a certain restaurant, but have you ever stepped back and wondered why? Why do some servers have bad attitudes? Why are some pushy and rude? What ever happened to service with a smile?

Maybe it’s because of a customer that has pushed their buttons to the limit.

In the field of food service, the first im-pression is always the most noted. If you start off being rude to waiter or waitress they tend to get the idea that you are go-ing to be a hassle for them the rest of your visit. Once you have given your first im-pression, the news of your bad impression gets passed around to everyone who will

be serving you at that visit. Greeters usually get the first glance of

who you are and what your attitude of the day is.

“I hate it when the customers think they know more than the servers,” Renee Chris-tiansen, a greeter at Chili’s said. “They see an open table and think that their name is written all over it. They never stop to think that maybe the table is not clean or maybe there are no available waitresses for that table.” Being patient is the most valuable character trait for consumers to possess.

After being shown to your table you may think your attitude has been just fine, but if someone has pushed your waiter’s buttons, even the smallest gestures will set them off.

“One thing that bugs me is when a cus-tomer will only give you one word answers to simple questions,” Shanna Spies said. “Or when they think they deserve all the at-tention like I don’t have any other tables.”

Even the little things like sending some-thing back to kitchen for any reason will plug up the kitchen which slows down or-ders and causes further problems.

It’s better to get the specifics right away before they turn the order into the kitchen. “One of the most common stresses of res-taurant workers is when the customers de-cide to come in only a few minutes before closing and then are indecisive about what they want,” Logan Kennedy, a cook at Hall of Fame said.

It’s safe to say that when you show up at a restaurant and your server has a bad at-titude, it is usually caused by past custom-ers. Just give them a smile and do your best to cheer them up and put them in a better mood. By making their day better you are helping them to serve you and anyone who will come in after you with a better attitude and more focus.

Service with a smile

Hammering on the throttle and seeing tunnel vision. The adrenaline rushes as Adam Goodall sets up for a jump outside of Gooselake.

Goodall, a senior, has been riding snowmobiles for about nine years now.

“I like to just get out and go riding with my friends,” said Goodall. That’s the aspect he enjoys most about snowmobiling.

Freshman Tyler Sullivan says the thrill and the rush is what he enjoys most about snowmobiling.

There can be good and bad memories, rules, regulations and people who don’t like snowmobilers, but Goodall and Sullivan both say they love to ride.

It seems like the hot topic of some good memories are jumping ramps and going fast. This is a good way to get away from life and have fun says Goodall.

“This is a good way to have fun but

not too much fun because it can also be dangerous,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan knows all to well about dangerous after hitting a tree last year outside of Welton.

Goodall can relate to this, because last year a group of snowmobilers he was riding with got caught in an ice storm and two people got in an accident.

“It’s my worst memory of snowmobiling,” said Goodall.

There can be things you can gain by snowmobiling, such as physical and mental activity. It’s a good way to develop hand-eye coordination and trust between your riders. Meeting girls and socializing with people is what Goodall gains from riding town to town.

“Even though there are some riders that can be disrespectful towards property, most of us care and don’t intend to be harmful,” said Sullivan. Goodall agreed with Sullivan and said, “If I could change one thing about snowmobiling it would be my fellow snowmobilers who disrespect property.”

Scholarships equal more work for busy seniors

Fingers on fire. Jenessa Kyarsgaard finds a moment to work on a scholarship appli-cation during free time before school starts for the day. Photo by Mary Broadfoot.

For the love of the ride

Would you like fries with that? Logan Kennedy works through the frustration

of his job. Photo by Lauren Weirup.

Brandon Sullivan

Staff Writer

The snowmobiles of yesterday. Sisters Jenny, Rebekah and Sarah Stofer slide across slick ice in a traditional sled. Photo contributed by Debbie Stofer.

Like Mike. Niki Green converts a Williamsburg turnover into a layup. The Sabers

defaeated the Raiders 52-22 on at home on December 4. Photo contributed by Matt

Dorpinghaus.

Kickin’ it new school

Bend it like Beckham. Ethan Boesch goes “around the world” and works

on his footwork before a cross country

meet. Photo by Melanie Saunders.

The Purple Onion

December 26, 2009

Vol. 23, No. 312 SPORTS

Lordan Larison

Features Writer

When summer is only a wistful memory, and the air freezes your breath as you talk, sports take cover from the harsh elements. Basketball replaces football, and soccer games are moved to indoor environments.

The Bubble in Davenport is a beloved

Making some noise

With five sophomores, five juniors and one senior, the Saber girls’ basketball team is one of the youngest in the conference, but after a summer and fall spent working on their game, this team is ready to make some noise in the WaMac.

Meghan McClimon, one of the team’s sophomores, is especially excited to be varsity. “It’s faster paced and it’s a lot more fun than jayvee because we win,” McCli-mon said. “Practices are a lot more intense and we get a lot more done.”

McClimon is the lone sophomore in the Saber starting lineup, playing guard along with juniors Alex Hunter and Lindsay Smith.

Starting at forward is junior Rachel Henning, and a fourth junior, Jennifer Kei-tel, is starting at center.

Keitel, a third-year starter on the team, has worked hard in the off-season to im-

prove. “I started weightlifting and I’ve been working on my outside shot,” Keitel said. “I’ve also been working on new post moves.”

Keitel is impressed with how the soph-omores have caught on to varsity basket-ball. “The sophomores are really stepping up,” Keitel said. “They have more confi-dence and hit more shots. They’ve really worked on defense a lot.”

Niki Green agrees with Keitel. “Now that the sophomores have grown a little and weigh more than a hundred pounds they’ve really been contributing,” Green said.

Another addition to the team is assis-tant coach Alyssa Rickert. “Coach Rickert has a lot of great input,” Green said. “She really knows her stuff.” McClimon agrees. “She really helps us out,” McClimon said. “Having another coach giving you advice is great”

Even with their youth, this team has big expectations. “One of my personal goals is to go to state,” Keitel said. “That would be awesome.”

Katie Dorpinghaus

Editor in Chief

With their stomachs full of Christmas turkey, and their feet wearing a brand new pair of Nike socks from Santa, the Saber boys’ basketball team is ready for the sec-ond half of the season. The winter break was a much-needed time for the Sabers to rest and perfect their play.

Although the season started with a loss to Marion, the Sabers responded later in the week with a win against Williamsburg. The Sabers played tough defense and ex-ecuted on offense. They held the Raiders’ key offensive player, Chad Malloy, under his season average.

“Our defense was the key,” Scott Burke said. “We limited what Malloy could do.”

However, with tired legs, the Sabers lost the next night to Pleasant Valley. A third quarter letdown put the Sabers in a deficit they couldn’t overcome.

After the Pleasant Valley game, the Sa-bers were 1 and 2 and ready to start their conference schedule. Although weather postponed the Maquoketa game, the Sa-bers came to the Western Dubuque game two nights later, ready to play.

Again defense was the key as the Sabers held another standout, Zach Otting, to four points.

“We handled Otting pretty good,” Bren-

‘D’ is the keyBryan Connell

Sports Editor

Bros. Bryan and Dillon Connell go through their traditional pre-game hand

shake before the game against Western

Dubuque. Photo by Melanie Saunders.

host to aspiring athletes who are able to play indoor sports when the weather is be-ing less than cooperative.

Although cold air seeps in through the balloon-esque walls of the Bubble, and the turf is more painful when you slide across it than grass, it is a great place to maintain athletic skills until the real season starts.

A crowd-favorite game is indoor soccer, a sport lovingly referred to and fervently played by students.

“I play indoor soccer to be ready for outdoor season,” Taylor Donovan said. “And I play outdoor soccer because it’s just amazingly fun.”

“I really like that the fields are smaller so you can work on footwork and tech-nique,” she added. “I’m going to try to play as a walk-on in college, so practicing a lot really helps.”

Donovan isn’t the only one who appre-ciates the smaller playing field.

“Since the field is smaller, it forces me to think faster and to keep my touches on the ball quick to keep it in control,” Ethan Boesch said.

Preparation and conditioning are always in the back of these students’ minds. Even though the regular season may end, prac-tice does not.

“I think I’ve gotten better but it’s not al-ways easy to tell when you’re playing with really skilled players,” Boesch said. “But it’s the regular season that counts. Indoor is just for me to stay focused and condi-tioned.”

“I’d really like to play in college,” he added. “But I don’t know if I have what it takes. Whether or I make it or get cut, I’m going to try, either way.”

nan Ketelsen said. “He started to get frus-trated and hot-headed.”

The Sabers kept up their defense and beat a young Mt. Vernon team on the road. However, spreading the ball around was the key in the victory against Mt. Vernon.

“Every one helped on offense,” Ketelsen said. “It was a great team effort.”

With the season just starting, things are looking good for the Sabers. The tough de-fense along with a consistent offense will be a key as the Sabers take on the rest of the schedule.