Community mourns loss of music teacher Jaiden Herald Co-Editor-in-Chief
The Scott County School District 2 community grieved the loss of beloved, retired teacher and substitute teacher Owen Egeberg on Feb. 25. “He was the kindest, most gentle [and] most genuine person I have ever had the privilege and honor of knowing,” teacher Tamah DePriest said. Egeberg taught music classes at Scottsburg Middle and High schools for 16 years before retiring in 2014. “He was an extremely caring teacher and individual. He was always supportive of all the kids he taught and interacted with. He would give the shirt off his back, that’s how kind, nice and caring he was. He spread a lot of positivity through his teaching and interactions with all students and staff,” said Curits Turner, SHS band director. During Egeberg’s tenure, he also served as choir director. “He was very passionate about music. He always strived to push his students toward excellence. He got student’s out of their comfort zone. He was able to push kids and get them to really enjoy singing and learning about music,” Turner said. Following his retirement, Egeberg continued to substitute teach as his health allowed. “Mr. E was the sweetest guy. He always brought a positive energy when he would sub and everyone loved him,” Kynleigh Watson (12) said. “He was always a kind soul and very good at keeping kids happy and engaged. He made music class fun,” Riley Pool (12) said. Funeral services were held on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 at Turning Point Church, where Egeberg was a long time member. “He left every person, whether a kid or adult, feeling like he genuinely cared about their welfare,” DePriest said. 4
March 2020
News
New club introduces Esports team Justice LaMaster Staff Writer
The newest club at Scottsburg High School is taking sports to a new level. Esports is a way to play video games competitively in an organized setting. Players take the skills they have and put them up against other competitive players. According to Director of Esports Shawna Slaton, last year, several students approached her asking why the school did not offer Esports. “[I] went to two sessions and investigated it through a conference I was attending and started to work on the process. From there, I had to ask for approval and did a call-out form to see who was interested in it,” Slaton said. Slaton said Scottsburg’s Esports team had a group of games they had to choose to play based on what Indiana High School Esports Network offered, the equipment the school had, and what each student was interested in. Once they picked the games, the club was split into three different teams: the Rocket League team, the Smash Brothers team, and the Forza Racing team. “I participate in the Smash Bros. team, where I’m ranked in the top three. I joined Esports as I’ve had a huge interest in it since freshman year,” Carson Bowen (11) said. Each team participates at different times and different days. The Smash Brothers team participates at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, the Rocket League team participates in matches at 4:30 p.m., on Wednesdays and the Forza Racing team participates in a weekly racing challenge provided by ISHEN. Students are welcome to come and watch each of these events take place.
Photo by Hailey Christoff
James Smith (11) playing against Super Smash Bros. Champion Ethan Campbell (10).
Although Braxton Soloe never pictured Esports coming into his life, he is now the Esports coach for Scottsburg High School. His job as their coach is to motivate the teams and to make sure that the players utilize their skills and abilities to their full potential. “I’ve played sports like basketball and tennis my whole life competitively. Video games were just played on the side in my free time. Esports was never really in the picture,” Soloe said. Now, Soloe is very excited to be a part of the Esports experience at SHS. “Now, you are able to play video games while still having that competitive nature from your typical sports, and that’s what I love about it. Esports is becoming more mainstream every day, and it’s only going to get bigger,” Soloe said.
VIDEO GAMES WERE JUST PLAYED ON THE SIDE IN MY FREE TIME... NOW, YOU ARE ABLE TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHILE STILL HAVING THAT COMPETITIVE NATURE FROM YOUR TYPICAL SPORTS, AND THAT’S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT.” Braxton Soloe
