November 2017
Volume 92
Issue 3
Bond of brothers shapes TJ into a wrestling powerhouse Jordan McAlpine Reporter Monday, November, 13th, 2017. 3:30 pm. The 2017 Iowa High School Wrestling season is officially underway. Wrestling is not just a mere sport here in Iowa, to many in this state of just over 3.1 million people, it’s a way of life. The Bill Smith wrestling room, the home away from home for Thomas Jefferson wrestlers over the course of the next threeand-a-half months. Workouts, practices, cutting weight, it all starts here, all with an end goal in mind of the Wells Fargo Arena in the state capital city of Des Moines. Don Gugler, 1934. Bob Nusser, 1950. Cuck Jerkovich, 1977. Scott Peak, 1993. Colton Clingenpeel, 2016. McGwire Midkiff, 2017. The names of state champions and finalist read up and down the walls, which begs the question. Who’s next? Day one. Head coach August Manz peers over his clipboard,
whistle in hand, and looks upon his group of wrestlers for this upcoming winter. For Manz he’s established quite the coaching resume. He’s been the man at the head of Jackets wrestling program for 13 seasons, and has coached wrestling for a total of 18 years. During his tenure at Thomas
Jefferson he’s sent 38 wrestlers to state, seen 13 of them place and has had two state champions in Clingenpeel and Midkiff. In addition, Manz produced the first two wrestlers to place at State all four years of their high school career. TJ has also finished in the top ten for the first time since 1950. Although Manz is very hum-
ble when it comes to his coaching, he is very proud of what he has to show for his time at TJ, and it goes beyond the results on the mat. “We have a great wrestling room named after one of the most recognizable athletic alumni to ever come through here in Olympic champion Bill Smith;
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and to know that [the room name dedication] happened during my tenure is pretty cool. “But, then you look back and think about what else, and I’d say the bonds that I’ve made with my wrestlers. We have alumni practices, now and alumni luncheons in the summer, and we meet and get to reminisce. I get to find out how their lives are going and it’s just a good time to get to see those guys again. It’s one of the best parts of getting to coach at TJ.” Across the room stands assistant coach Adam Manz, the younger brother of the man at the helm of the Thomas Jefferson wrestling program; and the person the older Manz holds one of the most special bonds with. For these two, wrestling is not only a sport, but has truly become a special bond for their family.
Story continued online at bit.ly/SignalNews Coach Manz going over the basics of wrestling. Photo by: Jordan McAlpine
Mayoral Election
The Odd Couple
Seniors Patience Cave and Raylynn Nelson bicker during a dress rehearsal. Photo by: Cami Wagaman
Voting booths were set up all over town for citizens to vote for the new mayor. Photo by: Morgan Jacobson Walsh was not happy saying Adriana Ibarra that his opponents supports were the reason for so much negativReporter ity but put the frustration on Matt Walsh was re-elected himself. for a second term as the Mayor Walsh admitted that he was of Council Bluffs. This term will nervous about the results until add another four year to Walsh’s they were finalized. years in office. Moving forward walsh plans Within the campaign there to keep on working on the ecowas a lot of negativity floating nomic development of the city. around.
Cami Wagaman Editor-in-Chief The Thomas Jefferson drama department has been hard at work for the past month in order to prepare for the fall play, The Odd Couple, written by Neil Simon. The Odd Couple starred two seniors, Raylynn Nelson and Patience Cave. “I have a notebook that I write in about my characters when I'm
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in a production,” said Nelson. “I write about their age, appearance, and personality and try to imitate that as much as I can.” For a high school cast, some of the biggest challenges they face come up while trying to memorize lines, all while putting on the best performance possible. “Some of the biggest challenges were my cast learning all of their lines and even me learning lines for a part three days before opening night,” explained Custer. “In the end, it all came together like it always does!” Throughout the performance,
the cast and crew both faced many obstacles, but worked together as a team to overcome them and put on the best show possible. “One of our cast members got sick and Ms. Custer had to fill in for her,” Nelson states. “It was really weird and it was hard to adapt but eventually it felt more natural and she helped bring energy to the performances.” Overall, the cast and crew did a fantastic job putting on the production, and we cannot wait to see what else they have in store for this school year.
Face of the month
News
Author and school tech, Ryan Sinclair poses. Photo provided by: Ryan Sinclair “I do a little bit of everything,” Emily Eikenberry explains Sinclair. “A friend of Reporter mine pushed me into writing.” When asked about how he balanced work and his hobby, Sinclair states that it’s a difficult Ryan Sinclair is a tech for the task. district and helps students with “You don’t really manage it, their computers. During his free but it is just like homework you time, he writes stories in the do it when you have time,” Sinfantasy and historical genre. clair said. “Sometimes when I’m At Thomas Jefferson, Sinclair driving I will take a note on my makes sure that the computers phone and I do a little bit at work are fully functional so students and teachers are able to use them. when I have time.” It takes a lot of time, hard During his free time, he keeps work, and effort to get books out an open mind, thinking of what when working as a tech in a high he will create next. Many of the books Sinclair has school, but the hard work eventuwritten revolves around medieval ally pays off. Visit Ryan’s website at stetimes and it ties the fantasy world phenstclairwrit.wixsite.com/ and the historical world together craftedquill to make a story.
THE SIGNAL Editor-in-Chief Cami Wagaman
Local teens killed in accident
Copy Editor Adriana Ibarra Paginator Adriana Ibarra Cami Wagaman Staff Madasyn Davis Emily Eikenberry Alondra Ibarra Morgan Jacobson Courtney Jones Jordan McAlpine Adviser Rob Lindquist Phone: 712-328-6493 Facebook: CBJacketJournalism Twitter:@TJHSJournalism Web: cbjacketjournalism.com Snapchat: tjhsjournalism
On the left: Efren Lemus, 18, was killed in a car wreck with Christian Renteria Perez, 17 (Right). Photo provided by: KPTM Fox42
Alondra Ibarra Reporter For Abraham Lincoln High School students, tragedy is something that they can’t seem to escape. In the early morning on Friday, October 27th, two teens were involved in a crash and were killed when the car that they were in, ended up in Lake Manawa. The two teens were identified as 18 year old Efren Lemus
(driver) and 17 year old Christian Renteria Perez. Both of them were dead at the scene. After they were identified, school administrations were notified and students were able to go home after being called out by their parents. Counselors were also sent to AL for any students or teachers that may need them. Authorities have confirmed that both speed and alcohol were factors. The accident is still under investigation. Both teens are being laid to rest in Mexico.
The Signal is a school-sponsored publication of Thomas Jefferson High School 2501 W. Broadway Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501. The Signal’s office is located in the upper library. The Signal is printed by OH-K FASTPRINT in Omaha, NE. The Signal is a school-sponsored-publication and therefore recognizes its responsibility to stay within the boundaries that the school administrator sets. The Signal will therefore inform its readers using a high standard of morals and ethics. The Signal encourages readers to respond in the form of letters to the editor, which can be sent to room C128. The Signal’s editorial staff reserves the right to edit the letters for grammatical errors and to remove any profanity. The editors also reserve the right to exclude letters that are false in their statements or accusations. The Signal will not accept advertisements that promote activities illegal to minors. Advertising rates are available upon request.
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Even more stories online! Visit bit.ly/SignalNews
Domestic abuse awareness
CB awarded outstanding community
Purple ribbon symbolizing domestic abuse. Graphic by: Adriana Ibarra
Courtney Jones Reporter On average nearly 20 people per minute are physically or verbally abused by their significant other. In the U.S. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been affected by domestic violence at least once in their lifetime. On the week of October 12, residents of Council Bluffs and surrounding areas gathered in
Bayliss Park to raise awareness of the domestic violence that goes on everyday in the U.S. There were about 75 participants and survivors in total. The event was hosted by Catholic charities, better known as the Phoenix House. This is not the first event that has been hosted by them, as they do many things from toy drives for christmas, to community baby showers for mothers in their last terms of pregnancy. The group lit candles and shared a moment of silence for
those affected by domestic violence. Survivors decorated shirts with a variety of messages on them which hung from a clothes line in the park. The event was hosted by Diane McKee, a manager for Catholic Charities Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse program. If you or anyone you know is in need of help you can contact the Catholic Charities 24hr Crisis Hotline at (712)-328-0266. For volunteer opportunities contact the Volunteer/PR specialist at (712)-256-2059.
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“Un” buttons representing Council Bluffs. Photo by: Madasyn Davis
Madasyn Davis Reporter On October 26, 2017, the city of Council Bluffs was named Iowa’s Outstanding Community. In the year of 2016, Council Bluffs had a population of 65,524 people. Cities with a population of 10,000 or more competed for each award.
Many free events were held over the weekend in May, including Loessfest. Loessfest was an event held from May 26-29, 2017 at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge park. The weekend of free events lead to Loessfest event to be awarded as Outstanding Event. Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau was awarded for an Outstanding Website. Council Bluffs is unrelenting, and striving to move forward.