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Get a sneak peak of fall’s coolest upcoming entertainment releases page 3
Fair photo essay
Senior spends year as exchange student page 5
Fall sports seasons in full swing
page 6
blue&gold
page 7
Inside
Volume 87, Issue 1 Friday, September 25. 2009
pg. 2... Editorial pg. 3... Entertainment
pg. 4... News/Feature pg. 5... Feature
pg. 6... Big Picture pg. 7... Sports
Courtyard
CONTROVERSY
HACKY SACK
Sophomores Gary Harger, Jon Courtney, Zack Hostettler and Sid Jones play hacky sack in the new courtyard during their lunch period. The courtyard was renovated over the summer costing $170,000 from Permanent Improvement funds.
Summer renovation draws criticism
D by John Sisser
istrict administrators are fielding complaints from members of the community regarding the summer courtyard renovation at the high school. The new courtyard, which includes new cement, benches, landscaping, an amphitheater and some brickwork, is drawing criticism as a waste of public funds. Superintendent Dean Wittwer thinks the project is not only justified, but necessary. “The previous courtyard was unsafe because of the infrastructure and because of the crumbling concrete,” Wittwer said. “This is an area that can actually be used by students. No one really used it before the renovation. “Part of keeping our facilities maintained is renovating and repairing all parts of all buildings, both inside and outside areas. This was part of our renovation plan.” To improve the condition of the courtyard, the project was funded through a 2006 Permanent Improvement Levy that collects around $1.8 million annually. However, former school board member Eric Browning believes the permanent improvement fund should be used for worthier projects. “You have to make a decision on spending money on a stage in the courtyard or a reading program for students in middle school,” Browning said, “and I just question whether
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We’re trying to maintain our buildings, but somehow it is perceived that we are fiscally irresponsible, and that is just not true.
-school board member Barb Lockard
the district made the right decision. “I would like the superintendent and the board to remember why they exist and look at where they are spending their money.” Contrary to what the ex-school board member believes, this fund is only used for projects with at least a five-year lifespan, like building renovations or technology, according to Wittwer. “These funds could not be used for staffing or tutors,” Wittwer said. “We have Permanent Improvement dollars to fix our buildings. You can be criticized for keeping up and maintaining your buildings and you can be criticized for letting them run down. “Nothing has been done to the courtyard in nearly 40 years. We are trying to keep up our current buildings.” Some administrators are concerned the controversy may hurt the school levy in November to build two new middle schools and a career technical center. “I don’t think it would be as big of an issue if there wasn’t a levy coming up,” board
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member Barbara Lockard said. “Anytime you ask for more taxpayer money, people are going to begin to scrutinize even more. It has become a sort of rally call for people to vote ‘no’ (on the issue).” Browning’s recent letters to The Courier describing the project as the “Mercedes” of courtyards may be fueling some of the controversy. Lockard, however, does not think the area is overly glamorous. “There is a lot of misinformation going around as far as the amenities of the courtyard are concerned,” Lockard said. “It’s definitely not the Mercedes-Benz of courtyards. “It is a good sturdy job. It is not a very plush option that we chose.” Lockard also thinks the criticism of the project is unreasonable. “To be honest, some of the comments I’ve heard (about the courtyard) make me very angry,” Lockard said. “We’re trying to maintain our buildings, but somehow it is perceived that we are fiscally irresponsible, and that is just not true.”
things to make you look smart today 1. Cedar Point’s new water ride, Shoot the Rapids opens next year featuring an 85-foot tall hill.
2. There are 75 Lego bricks for every person on Earth.
3. On 09/09/09, a 9 lbs., 9 oz. baby was born at 9:09 a.m.
High: 69 Low: 54 Thunder Storms
High: 75 Low: 50 Partly Cloudy
4. Michigan State’s stadium consumes enough electricity monthly during the season to power 225 average households for the same period. 5. About 25 percent of adults play video games at least once a day.
photo by Katie Logsdon
fact or fiction Fact: The courtyard cost the district around $170,000 Fiction: Money
used for the courtyard could have been spent on any new programs for the school district
Fact: Board members voted unanimously to approve the project on February 9, 2009 Fiction:
Administrators chose to renovate the courtyard rather than put money into the middle schools
Fact: The final cost of the courtyard was $15,000-$30,000 cheaper than the original bids
pg. 8... Sports
New policy ends Smokers’ Corner by Emily Rivest Smokers’ Corner no longer exists thanks to a new line of sight policy and administrators’ increased monitoring of the corner of Broad and Swing avenues. The student handbook now includes the new policy stating that the rules apply whenever a student is “in the line of sight of the high school.” “If we can see it happening, it’s something we’re going to address,” Assistant Principal Nate Sorg said. “Whether it is smoking in the morning, smoking after school, fighting at lunch, we’re going to handle it as if it was happening at school.” For Sorg, eliminating Smokers’ Corner is in the students’ best interests. “For most of the students over there, it is illegal for them to be smoking,” he said. “We want to help them stop and realize they just shouldn’t be smoking at all.” By patrolling the corner more, administrators have been helping eliminate the problem. “We are making more of an effort to go across to the corner when there are issues,” Sorg said. “Mr. (Rick) Lyon, the crossing guard, has been radioing us and letting us know what’s going on over there. (Assistant Superintendent) Mr. (Craig) Kupferberg and (Superintendent) Dr. (Dean) Wittwer were over there almost every day and so far we’ve been successful.” Despite Sorg’s optimism, others think it will return. “I have a feeling it’s just going to start up somewhere close, maybe a block or two away,” senior Fhalyshia Orians said. “It might take awhile until it builds up the same reputation, but it will happen.” No matter what happens, the elimination of the corner is good for the school, according to Sorg. “For FHS, one of the main things is to improve (our) image in the community,” Sorg said. “For all of the good things, there’s one bad thing that just seems to ruin the projection out into the community. We want to put the focus back on all of the good things at FHS.”
Council announces Homecoming activities by Emily Rivest Students will vote for Homecoming queen and king during Spirit Week in their English classes. Queen candidates are: seniors Lindsay Atkins, Katy Jastal, Kelsi Romatowski, Cherrelle Sanchez and Abbey Hale. Seniors Michael Alexander, Zach Crawford, Sherwin Quiambao, Billy Kreh and Marc Wadsworth are all king candidates. Dress-up days are: Monday-Neon colors Spirit Week Tuesday-Movie begins Oct. 5 with character themed dress-up Wednesday-Future days, a pep rally Thursday-Favorite and ends with the animal Homecoming dance Friday-Blue and Gold Saturday night. The weekend begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. with the Homecoming parade down Main Street from Central Middle School to Donnell Stadium. The Homecoming king and queen will be crowned at 6:45 p.m. prior to the kick-off. The week-long festivities will end with the Homecoming dance in the cafeteria from 8-11:30 p.m. “We’re trying to do a wider variety of activities, like for the pep rally, an obstacle course,” junior Chloe Wires said. “Our idea is to do new things to keep the students interested and improve spirit.”
Hats Off
Seniors Jessica Braddock, Emily Rivest and Cole Lautermilch are National Merit Semifinalists. To qualify, they were within the top 16,000 scorers on the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. “I’m really honored because it opens a lot of doors for me,” Lautermilch said.