May 25, 2018
VOL. MMXVIII, No. 3
RAM’S EAR R I O V I S TA H I G H S C H O O L
Rio Vista FFA Success at the Dixon May Fair
by Kalia Howell, Staff Writer
Courtesy of D.D. Preston
Every year, Rio Vista’s FFA members attend the Dixon May Fair with their animal projects. They bring their animals to fair on Tuesday, and for the rest of the week they either stay at the fair or go to school, but either way, they have to work extra hard to keep their grades up. When students in FFA raise a meat animal to auction, hours and hours of hard work are required, along with all the other FFA requirements. Animals need to be fed and worked with because they have to be a certain weight for auction and trained for showing. This year there were 13 pigs, seven lambs, seven goats, five steer, two rabbit pens, and three chicken pens from Rio Vista FFA at the Dixon May Fair. This year was successful for Rio Vista FFA. When asking FFA members how they felt about this year, Katlyn Langlois said, although she placed 1st in her market class, she wants to improve by working on showmanship more. She also reflected on her lamb, saying “This year I placed in market, but I had a smaller lamb. So, [I didn’t make] as much profit.” Elizabeth Webber
Wyatt Preston wins the Junior Rabbit Grand Champion with a rabbit from his breeding stock.
Leslie Diaz with her Supreme Grand Champion Market Goat.
said, “It was my first year doing a pig,” and she’d like to “do better in show next year.” This year, teachers and students came through the week to support Rio Vista FFA, as well as to enjoy the fair itself, and many people said this year was better than last. (Continued to next page)
Ryan McPherson: From Small Town to Small Screen and best content but also tell and write a serious story that can really impact someone and make a change in there lives, and to make them go do something that can change the world. Ryan wants to be the change in the world that he wants to see.
1. When did you graduate from Rio Vista High School? What sports and clubs were you active in, and what were your favorite classes? “I graduated from RVHS in good Ryan McPherson, Bryce Swink, and Liam Smith posing with McPherson’s Emmy award for his camera ol’ 2000. I was pretty much into anything work on “The Deadliest Catch” and everything at the high school; I loved languages. I took two years of Spanish and two years of French. Mr. Fulk taught by Liam Smith and Bryce Swink, Staff Writers civics, and I found myself hooked into the Ryan McPherson is a cinematogra- world of business, stocks, and speaking pher and a graduate of RVHS. He’s been a in front of groups. We used to get extra cinematographer for about 15 years. Some points for reading an excerpt from a book, shows he’s worked on include: Deadliest newspaper, or magazine article. The only Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Wicked Tuna, catch was that you had to climb a full-size Swamp People, American Tarzan, Yukon ladder in order to read to the rest of the class. The higher up the rungs you went, River Run, Swords: Life on the Line, Lone the more points you got! I can’t believe Target IRT Deadliest Roads, Live PD, Hehe got away with that! roes of Hell’s Highway, I was always into “What is the universe Born This Way, Port Propolitics and governtection, Swamp Pawn, really expecting of me? If ment, so I had to join and Game of Arms. you never take the chances the A.S.B. I served a full or say yes to the opportuniHe takes great pride ties (outside of your comfort term as class president in his amazing work. zone), you may never be my senior year, which Ryan McPherson was pretty cool considable to answer that came to the digital pubering my sister Cheyquestion.” lishing class earlier this enne was class presi-Ryan McPherson month and showed some dent the year before! of his amazing cinematography. He preWoodshop was a must, but I really sented a documentary that he is working couldn’t get enough of the art class taught on, which was amazing. He also showed by such a special guy: Mr. Pace. Mr. Pace his Emmy he won for his work. Ryan’s joined our school when I was a sophomain goal that he can possibly achieve more, and he immediately wanted us to through his work is that when he does a take ownership of our classes. So, when he story, not only can he get just the best shots mentioned that we could start a ceramics
Ryan McPherson taking a selfie while on one of the “Deadliest Catch” crab boats in Bering Sea.
course, I jumped right on that opportunity. He hooked up with a local gentleman that helped us with a constant supply of reclaimed clay. We just had to go after school and help do the recall process. It was hard work, but nonetheless, we got free clay to use on our projects before we had proper funding to buy our own. I started working with the gentleman after school in his ceramic studio across the river and learned how to throw on a wheel and make plaques and all sorts of cool variations of jars and coffee cups. The man, Scott Kauffman, had a Jack Russell terrier rescue that housed up to 20 Jacks at any given time, who were never shy to come busting through the door (in packs of 10) and “help” with the art. Those were good times. I was also heavily involved with the journalism class, (and of course, just
loved Mrs. Griffin’s vibe!!), and snapped a handful of our newspaper sports photos. I helped the audio vision department set up the filming for sporting events. As far as sports goes, I dabbled. I spent two years on the swim team, two years on the golf team, (the first two years it was offered as a high school sport), JV baseball for two years, track for four years (100m sprint, 200m sprint, long jump and pole vault where I made sections my senior year), and four years of football (running back, corner, safety, left tackle, and outside linebacker). I was planning on trying out for college football at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA, but I suffered a knee injury on the first game of my senior year that put me out for (Continued to next page)