March 8, 2006 Vol. 35 Issue 7 6001 W. 159th Stilwell, Kan. 66085
tiger print
Fun in the sun Spring Break questions: slopes or sand? Sun or tanning bed? Where to go? See pages 8-9 for more.
Blue Valley High School
Struttin’ their stuff
Some students who attended Relay for Life Feb. 24-25 participated in the Queen of the Relay contest. Male team members had to dress up as females and solicit cash donations from others who attended the Relay. Other activities included basketball, dancing and balloon relays. The goal of the Relay was to raise money for cancer research. See related story on page 2. Photo by Eric Min.
Junior-senior prom arrives early sara ster
staff reporter
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o, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. Junior-Senior Prom is scheduled for April 1, just two weeks after Spring Break. Though the administrators said an early date was necessary, some students and faculty say it’s just too early. “There are a lot of events in the spring,” prom sponsor Diane O’Bryan said. “They had to work around so everyone can go.” “I think it’s too soon because after prom students seem to ‘checkout’,” teacher Michael Johnston said. Prom will be held on April 1 from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Ritz Charles. The theme is “A Black Tie Affair” and there will be classy decorations by All Seasons Rental. Ear Full Productions will play a variety of music along with requests. “There are a lot of events “They usually play a lot of things the kids like to dance to,” O’Bryan in the spring they had to said. work around.” Seniors get into the dance for free, Diane O’Bryan and tickets will be sold to juniors for $25 the week before the dance at lunch and will also be sold at the door for $35. “I like Prom being early,” senior Sean Flynn said. “You don’t have to worry about it before graduation.” After-prom will begin at midnight and end at 5 a.m. (4 a.m. Daylight Savings Time). According to teacher Mark Mosier, in the past approximately 400 students attended the after-prom. “It is established by parents so that students will have a safe, drugfree place to go after the dance,” Mosier said. After-prom is free to get in and is only for seniors and juniors and/or their dates. There will be board and card games, moon walks, sumo wrestling suits, tricycle races, temporary tattoo and caricatures, movies in the fixed forum and all the food you can eat. The more games that are played, the more money that can be won which can up the chances of winning a prize in the drawings. The prizes range from computers and mini refrigerators to car wash coupons.
Vandals help demonstrate new field’s durability sami miles
staff reporter
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andalism in Blue Valley reached a new level this month. Just recently the installation of the new $750,000 turf into the football field was completed. But on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 26, someone drove onto the field, resulting in more work to be done to finish the field. They entered from the back of the field by the tennis courts through a gate that was left unlocked, according to officer Ken Braden. By driving onto the field, new sod was torn up in the back. Several donuts were performed on the turf which affected its rubber. Mike Slagle, Blue Valley District assistant to the superintendent, said that the damage was minimal. “There was very little damage. We reported the incident but when we inspected
[the field] on Monday morning there was virtually no damage,” Slagle said. However, had this been done on the old field, the school would be spending thousands on repairs, according to Braden. Although no monetary damage was done, the school officers still went to work going through the cameras’ tapes to catch the perpetrators. Unfortunately, they had no luck. “The cameras weren’t pointed toward the fields, so there is no way of knowing who caused the damage,” officer Dennis Randall said. However, the damage did not stop the plans for the field. The school quickly went to work on redistributing the rubber, which was done the day after the incident so it would be ready for the track team to practice. This renovation began shortly after the 2005 football season ended. The turf is going to be an improvement because of its durability through all weather conditions and treatment.