Sterling Cub Reporter: November 2016

Sterling High School | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | Nov. 2016

CUB REPORTER Importance of civics Pg. 2

To the heart of the matter Pg. 6

Sterling High School |

All for run Pg. 10

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| Nov. 2016

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EDITORIAL

www.sterlingstudentpublications.com 308 E. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579 Phone: 620-278-2171 • Fax: 620-278-3237

STAFF

EDITORS: • Dallas Lackey • Lexi Rose REPORTERS: • Will Duton • Lindsay Gilmore • McKiah San Miguel ADVISER: • Todd Vogts GRAPHIC ARTISTS: • SHS Graphic Design Class ADVERTISING SALES: • Sterling Publications Staff

POLICIES The Sterling High School Cub Reporter and all subsidiary publications are designated forums of free speech. The print edition is published October through May of each school year by the journalism class at Sterling High School. It is distributed for no charge throughout Unified School District 376 buildings and the Sterling community. The first copy is free. Subsequent copies will cost $1 per copy. For information about being added to the subscription list, contact Todd Vogts at 620-278-2171. Letters to the editor are welcome. Email them to editor@sterlingstudentpublications.com.

All letters must be signed. Anonymous letters will not be printed. All letters subject to editing for legal, grammatical and factual reasons.

ABOUT THE COVER PHOTO Freshman Wyatt Brown competes at the trapshooting competition on Oct. 16. Brown achieved a score of 35 out of 50, placing in the middle-to-upper half of that day’s scores.

(Photo by Grace Rowland)

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Time to be engaged

For a lot of students, the idea of politics, policies and election coverage seem over their heads, especially in an election year.

Why don’t more people our age try to be engaged in our country’s civics, vote and/or pay attention to the happenings in our country?

At a recent voter’s education meeting many seniors took away a specific anecdote from keynote speaker Dr. Roger Marshall. He said, “Do you know less than 20 percent of countries worldwide have the right to vote?”

Most people do not know this. Think about your parents not having the right to vote for government officials. It’s crazy to think that in most countries, not having any say whatsoever is actually the norm, NOT the exception.

Whether or not you can vote, do you care about the future?

We, as a publications staff, believe that if at the legal age, everyone should vote. We feel strongly that everyone is entitled to an opinion even if others may disagree with it.

By voting, your voice on certain topics and issues could be heard. You wouldn’t just be a percentage casting

a vote for a certain person, you’d be a caring young adult in your country.

If you do not pay attention and don’t keep up with what is going in the country, who are you prone to vote for?

You would probably cast a vote for whatever political party you are affiliated with. While this might be what you end up doing anyway, you should be informed on candidate’s character, morals, policies, etc. before you cast your vote.

No, this is not an editorial slamming either presidential candidate. This is instead a platform for kids trying to understand why paying attention to politics is important.

Digging into more details about something will always be worth it.

Because this year’s election is so hostile and divided among people, it is important that we try to see other people’s perspectives and try to create an atmosphere for our country that is more unified and progressive rather than being split.

A country that is growing and improving is what we need.

— For the Editorial Board

BRIEFLY STATED

“My favorite part of Thanksgiving is seeing my baby cousin Bradley.

She’s so cute!”

Zero to Have you ever wondered about all the cool stuff going on around SHS, and then thought of all the unfortunate stuff to happen? Here’s your guide to all the hot, and cold, stuff going on at SHS.

100 90 Senior volleyball player Niki Dowell expresses her frustrations about her leg brace. “It sucks that I can’t play the sport I love, especially since it’s my senior year.”

SOPHOMORE ANTHONY KARRAKER, in preparation for the upcoming holiday season, shares why he’s excited to spend time away from school.

80 70 60 50

On Oct. 7, Liz Willis shared insights about how to setting goals can help overcome any difficulties.

New members inducted into NHS

40 30 20 10 0 (Photo by Lexi Rose) (Listed left to right) New NHS members Katie Comley, Mia Stinemetz, Taya Wilson, Alley Rowland, Will Dutton, Raegan Mantz, Codi Custer, and Lexi Edwards. NHS members prepared for their induction ceremony that took place on Oct. 18th.

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NEWS

HOA league holds same expectations, difficulties Lexi Rose When the word about joining the Heart of America league spread, many people were concerned with how it would affect our extra-curricular activities, but this year’s debate season is said to prove to be no threat.

“I’m honestly not worried about this year’s season at all,” junior William Weiner said.

So far in their season, the debaters have yet to feel the pressure of the new league.

“Being in HOA honestly hasn’t changed anything yet,” Weiner said. “It won’t change anything until our league meet.”

The new league won’t affect the debaters until the league meet on Nov. 19.

“Our old league was so competitive,” head debate coach Betsy Dutton said. “They had a very strong group of debate teams.

As every debate topic comes with it’s own challenges, this year’s foreign topic seems to be bringing forth more.

Editor

@lexxi_rosse

“When you do a foreign topic it’s harder because judges don’t understand it as well as others,” Dutton said. “Traditionally, because judges don’t track with it, there are tournaments where we suddenly don’t do as well.”

Even though the competition is still mainly the same, some debaters feel the tension of competing well and being a good mentor increase.

“Sometimes it’s hard to do because we, as senior debaters, have to mentor the novices and JV debaters, but still do well personally” senior Edward Weiner said.

Overall, this year’s season seems to be going smoothly, and the debaters have high expectations for the upcoming competitions.

“I’m sure we’ll be just fine going into the rest of our future competitions this year,” Dutton said.

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Students volunteer, build sets for ‘Secret Garden’ Dallas Lackey

(Photos by Morgan Anderson) Sophomore Dylan Stewart works on the musical set with assistance from junior Trent Jones.

Editor

@DallyEL

Here at Sterling it has almost became an expectation to have great musicals. Behind the musicals there is plenty of work and preparation, beyond just the singing and dancing.

Each year Dutton turns to student help to make the set of that years musical.

“Every year we have some students in some way build our set,” Musical Director Betsy Dutton said. “This year John Schweizer came to me and asked to do it.

We also have kids from a class that Todd Vogts teaches helping as well.”

Having to build a set during class time is one thing, but volunteering to work on your own time is completely different, and something most people wouldn’t enjoy doing Schweizer however, seems to be the exception, as he sees more to it then

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just building. “ I really like building things and putting stuff together,” He said. “ It helps me practice all the skills I am learning in my VoTech classes, and Betsy trusts me. She knows that I know what I am doing.”

Someone’s first thoughts on a complete set built solely by students may not be too great, as student work might not get viewed as very reliable, but Dutton has had students build her sets for years, and doesn’t plan to change.

“Ideally you want students building your sets for a number of reasons,” Dutton said. “It makes the people in the production appreciate it more knowing people they go to school with put so much time into building it for them, it makes them take better care of it.”

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FEATURE

HEART

THE

OF

CHAMPIONS Two seniors battle a heart condition that impairs their physical abilities, opportunities Reporter

@LGilmore10

&

A day in the life of most high schoolers probably consists of the following things: breakfast, school (the usual subjects), sports practice, work (for some), dinner, and sleep. For two seniors though, that daily routine has to be monitored.

Max Fulbright and Kaleab Wilson both suffer from a heart condition that fails to keep the heart from beating too fast.

Wilson discovered his condition during the sixth grade, but didn’t know that it would come to be serious enough to keep him from athletics.

“I was in a little kids practice and I felt my heart speeding up,” he said. “I sat down for a little bit and it was gone.

My parents took me to a cardiologist in Wichita but they said that there was nothing wrong. When I got into high school we went to another cardiologist that told me it was a little more serious than we thought before.”

Fulbright’s story is a little different.

“About two years ago after the Lyons race for cross country I figured out that something wasn’t right. I was getting dizzy and lightheaded,” Fulbright said.

“We went to the hospital in Lyons and found out that it was mitral valve prolapse, which means that the valve that is pumping blood in and out is not 6

McKiah San Miguel

“

Reporter

@kiiiaaahhh

I try to not think about the bad .

“

Lindsay Gilmore

– Senior Kaleab Wilson

opening as fast as what it should.”

While death is very unlikely with their conditions, Wilson said that it is still scary to think about.

“Worst-case scenario is usually a blackout,” Fulbright said. “It’s possible that if I don’t stop when my heart gets going too fast I could have a heart attack.”

Doctors have told Fulbright and Wilson to continue living their daily lives, with the exception of exercise and some physical activities.

“They told me that I can basically go along with my day, and when it comes to running I just need to be very careful about it. If my chest starts to hurt I need to stop, but if it feels alright I can keep going,” Fulbright said. “Right now, we are just playing it by ear.”

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OPINIONS

Thanksgiving, a time of savings The meaning of Thanksgiving is literally written in the name, a time to give thanks. To me, thanksgiving is the only true holiday of the year. There’s no free candy to entice you to celebrate like Halloween, and no gifts like christmas, just genuine family time.

I think of the three F’s when I think of Thanksgiving. Food, family, and football.

However, that is not the case in today’s society. You see, Thanksgiving becomes less and less about family and more about savings. Black Friday has taken over.

The only problem is that as the public we have very little control over Black Friday taking over Thanksgiving. We are just giving into our instinct as not only humans, but also consumers.

When something is on sale we are more likely to buy it. That’s how society has taught us to think. We strive to own every materialistic thing we want and we just have to buy it and get the best deal

that we can. Black Friday gives us the chance to buy whatever we want and get that great deal.

If I am being completely honest I save money just to spoil myself on Black Friday. I am in no way a poster child in this situation, I struggle just like the majority of society.

I’m no different then the next guy, savings influence my buying habits. This only becomes a problem when our main focus during this time of year is Savings.

When did we lose sight of the the three F’s and start caring more about the savings we get the day after? I don’t think this is something we can completely fix.

We can, however, fix it within ourselves and our own families. If we take the time to really appreciate thanksgiving and being with our families, and forget about the savings we might get the next day, we can save the meaning of Thanksgiving one family at a time.

COLUMN BY DALLAS LACKEY @DallyEL

Not another cookie cutter town

COLUMN BY LEXI ROSE @lexxi_rosse

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Since I moved here in 2011, I have grown to be accustomed to, and love, the tranquility living in Sterling brings you.

I am happy and content with small-town life and all that comes with it, like knowing the faces I see and having a number of unique businesses that bring a significant profit to our community.

However, over the years, we have welcomed change, especially in this year alone. As a person who is meticulous about basically everything, accepting change as an actual happening in my town is hard.

One of the biggest changes Sterling has welcomed this year is Sonic. Sonic is a huge deal. Some would say that it could only be beneficial for Sterling because of the popularity it brings us, but that idea puts me slightly on edge. When I heard that Sonic was coming to town, I was initially pretty stoked. I would no longer have to drive 15 minutes to get a sweet peach tea with easy ice (people,

take note). Why wouldn’t I want an easily accessible fast food joint in my town?

Now that Sonic is up and running and the newness of it has worn off, I’ve realized we are growing farther away from the small, distinctive Sterling we used to be. We are becoming just like every other town along the highway with the same businesses and fast food restaurants common in other Kansas towns of similar size.

Alongside Sonic, there are a number of other changes that are happening or are planned to happen, and the thought of them scares me.

The aura of Sterling makes me feel some type of way, and I don’t want it to change.

I don’t want my home to grow into what everyone else’s home is like.

Therefore, the further we go down this road of change, the more uneasy I become about accepting Sterling’s new atmosphere.

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SPORTS

All for Run

(Photo By Lexi Rose) Senior Will Dutton finishes his race at the Sterling Cross Country invitational as fellow senior Kyler Comley cheers him on. “Will quote here about support from non-XC’ers,” Dutton said.

Cross country team comes together during postseason Lindsay Gilmore Postseason is a time that members of any sports team will tell you is different than any other point in the season. Senior Will Dutton believes that is no different for cross country.

“Usually during regional week we tapper off a bit. We have a few team runs of long miles, maybe one up-tempo interval, and then the normal lake-route the day before the race,” Dutton said. “The preparation is more mental. Our coaches want us to think positive and have faith in ourselves that we can do our best. Goal setting becomes even bigger and more important at the end of the season.”

With only two seniors on the boys side, Dutton and Max Fulbright, and lone female runner Maddie Wagley to offer up leadership, the seniors have sort of discovered their unwritten assignments for leadership.

“My senior leadership has consisted mainly as showing instead of telling. I wouldn’t consider myself a vocal leader, I just try to encourage the younger guys and tell them that they can do it if they are confident,” Dutton said. “Max Fulbright is more the vocal leader. Before races he always prays and kinda lightens the mood for everyone, which is nice.”

Even with different roles, the team as a whole is meshing like a well-oiled machine going into their regional meet, which will be held at the Sterling Country Club on Oct. 22.

“Individually Max Dutton represents our best chance. It’s good that he’s finally back near full strength, he’s battled a knee injury all season. He’s a competitor. If he doesn’t make it he

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Reporter

@LGilmore10

will definitely not go quietly. William Weiner is an incredibly disciplined runner. His main thing is he just needs to believe in himself,” Dutton said of the boys’ side of the spectrum. “It’s tough when your regional has the defending state champions, and probably three of the projected top five teams, as well as team one and two all at your regional.”

The Runnin’ Bears’ regional this year is different than the past few, specifically in the fact that it will be hosted at home.

“We sure aren’t complaining it’s in Sterling. That will give us a great advantage, especially if some community members can be there,” Dutton said.

On the girls side, Wagley says that having a larger team has led them to bigger goals.

“Throughout the season, we’ve set goals to try and be a deeper team. It’s great to have two really fast girls, but it’s even better to have seven fast runners,” she said. “This is the most girls that we’ve had since I’ve been in high school so it’s really neat that we are able to compete as a team. I know we’re all really excited to compete at regionals and to see how well we can do as a team.”

As far as senior leadership for Wagley, she says she has tried to create a postitive atmosphere all season and heading into regionals.

“My senior leadership consists of mainly setting the attitude and the tone for the girl’s team. Everyday going to practice, I know that there are people looking up to me so I really try to have a positive, encouraging attitude,” she said.

(Photo By Lexi Rose) Lead by seniors Maddie Thrasher and Lindsay Gilmore, the girls tennis team waves to fans during a school-wide sendoff as they head for the state tournament in Wichita.

Lady Bear tennis shines, finishes season Will Dutton Over the past few years Sterling’s girls’ tennis program has seemed very impressive. In 2016, expectations were again high, but that didn’t spark any negative responses.

“I really liked the fact how kind we all were to each other this season. Overall we respected and had a lot of fun with each other,” junior doubles player Katie Comley said.

This year the team saw only five girls join.

“I was kind of sad we didn’t have a full team this year, but we all really embraced each other and made it work,” said Comley.

Looking to build off last year’s triumphs seniors Maddie Thrasher and Lindsay Gilmore came into the season with high expectations.

“I wanted to cut down on my losses heading into state and make it to the championship match at state,” Thrasher said.

Thrasher would bring a dominant 28-3 record into state, where she finished 4th place in singles in what could be considered a very challenging draw.

Gilmore, fresh off her fifth place doubles finish at state a year ago, expected to make it back to state during her senior season.

She wasn’t sure which event she would be competing in: a doubles or singles competition.

“Originally when I came into the season I was hoping to play doubles with Maddie. That was my hope, even thought we could bring a state doubles trophy home to Sterling,” she said.

Gilmore’s season changed quickly. After a couple meets playing doubles she made the transition to singles.

“Once I started playing singles, my sole focus became returning to state and showing everybody I could do it,” she said.

Gilmore’s season was highlighted by a third place finish at the Hesston regional. She would end up placing 8th at state.

“I feel like I could’ve done better, but 8th place is nothing to be ashamed of,” she said.

Sophomore returner Lydia Miller also came into the season with goals of her own.

“I just tried to have fun every time I was on the court. Making state with Jasmine was definitely the highlight. We really gelled together,” she said.

Jasmine Bates was the newest addition to this year’s tennis

Reporter @DuttonWill team. Electing to play a new sport, it seems to have paid off.

“I played a lot of summer tennis growing up, so I’d known the game for awhile. My freshman year I just did not enjoy volleyball like I thought I would, so I joined the tennis team” she said.

This new journey was unlike any other for Bates.

“There was a definite close connection from our team this year, and that made me really happy. I hadn’t felt that close to teammates before,” she said.

Miller and Bates entered the state competition with a 10-7 record and were able to win one match at state. They plan to play tennis and return to state next year, both of them eager to improve even more.

“The fact that Lydia is a lefty and I am a right-handed player is something really unique about us. I think that definitely helped this season,” Bates said.

Even with graduation taking away the team’s two best players, the team seems to have potential heading into next season.

“There’s no doubt in my mind this group of girls have a bright future,” Gilmore said. “They all love the sport and work hard at it.”

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NOTE: Killer Serial Fiction is a part of Sterling Student Publications. It is the home of creative writing by Sterling High School creative writing students. Stories appearing here are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. These stories are presented for entertainment purposes only and are not intended to be read as being part of Sterling Student Publications news coverage. For more stories, visit www.sterlingstudentpublications.com/fiction.

Erlebnisse

BY KATIE COMLEY

To Angela, upon my passing, My dear daughter, I am sure that you are aware of the fact that we have made each other what we are today, but perhaps you don’t know how precisely true that claim is. Let me tell you the story of how I became who I am today as a result of you.

There are moments in people’s lives that they find hard to explain. To put into words. More often than not, it’s the moments that are“breathtaking” or invoking “speechlessness” that are steeped in emotion. Snapshots of pure joy or the scars of sorrow.

But really, the problem was never that there were no words to explain the feeling, but rather that people never took the time to find them.

Erlebnisse became one of my favorite words during my youth.

It’s a German word meaning that the experiences, positive or negative, that we feel most deeply, and through which we truly live; not mere experiences but Experiences. To be alive and to live while doing it. I thought that was beautiful. I thought that all words were beautiful then, their quiet explanations and hidden meanings.

They were able to describe my emotions and life, explaining what I perceived from myself and others, allowing me to focus on something that made sense and brought some form of luminescence to a world which, it seemed to me, was quickly descending into darkness and chaos.

I met your father in the summer of 1915, almost a year after the Great War began. I was finishing my studies at Oxford with my education in linguistics, relishing in the opportunity to learn more about the art that I loved. Everybody was concerned about the war, but I didn’t let it bother me -- what would happen would happen.

There was nothing that I could do about it -- I was an educated woman, yes, but there was nothing that my actions could do even if I did try to sway something within the war. Instead, I went along with my business and minded it, trying to ignore what was happening in the outer world. I had been in a bookshop by the harbor that day, an antique collector when your father waltzed in.

He acted as if he owned the world, a hero from the Queen’s Navy on shore leave after a long deployment and on to another to fight the Central Powers off the coast of Germany in two weeks’ time. His name was Michelangelo, named for the famous painter, although nobody really called him that, he had told me, only his

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mother when she got cross. No, every called him Mike or Michael or Leo, but none of those worked well for me either. I knew him solely as Angie or when I found him to be particularly endearing.

He had come into the shop looking for some obscure ancient text that some other sailor had told him about on their journeys, insisting on him finding it. Cranford, he called it. By whom he couldn’t remember. I told him that his sailor friend had most likely been drunk when he said it and the book didn’t actually exist, but he insisted that it did, and asked what “existent literature” I was searching for. I told him that I was looking for an immaculate copy of Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol, one of my favorites.

I loved Wilde’s natural gifts with the way words fit together, his perfect decadence.

Angie proceeded then to deem Wilde’s book as the purest form of filth as well as the rest of his works in a similar fashion. I could hardly believe it and we were immediately sealed within an epic battle of me defending one of my dearest heroes and him devising the thickest accusations against his writing, claiming it to be so frivolous that no sense could be derived from it. I disagreed of course and before long, we had ensnared the attention of the entire shop’s customer population with our raised voices. At some point, he claimed that he was entirely too hungry to carry out our conversation any longer and invited me to continue shouting at him over coffee and I had compiled before I realized that our entire argument had been a ploy by him just to get me to go out with him, the flirt.

It so happened that our first date went splendidly, we did hit it off rather well. He did invite me out again, to which I replied yes, sneaking out of the house with a story of going to visit one of my friends across town, which I don’t suppose was so wrong of me. I brought him home with me that afternoon and somehow manipulated your grandfather into allowing us to court. Although he surely knew it was against his better judgement, he had always had a sweet spot for me since I was his only daughter.

Angie left for six months on his deployment and when he returned, I could tell that the War had changed him. However, unlike the countless other soldiers who let the darkness and horrors of the battlefield haunt and destroy them, it made Angie a better man.

. . . To Be Continued