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Virtual reality games gain in popularity
WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
3600 Haywood Road, Hendersonville, N.C. 28791 • Volume XXVIII, Issue 5 • May 12, 2010
Superintendent retiring June 30; associate promoted
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Sohpomore Trevor Norton performs his winning talent show act, the “Robot.”
•Annual talent show benefits AI The Arts for Individuals organization sponsored its eighth annual talent show late last month. Proceeds went to the Monty Parker Scholarship fund, which benefits a student of Hispanic background. Parker was a former Spanish teacher. The band Bloodline, with members junior Wilson Billingsley, freshman Grant Billingsley and eighth grader Bennett Billingsley, won first place in the music category. Sophomore Trevor Norton won first place in the dancing category. Both winners received $50 in prize money. “The talent show was really great. We raised $1,500 for the scholarship,” AI sponsor Leanna Racquer said. “I think there’s a reputation now where people know that the talent show is going to be good entertainment. The people competing also brought in a lot of audience members.”
Henderson County Schools’ crime rate drops Hailey Johns Feature Writer
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Peregrine Poll
he took one last look in the mirror that hung from her locker door before she jolted her head back, covered her mouth with her palm and drank a sip of water to help the pills go down. This was her escape, her only way out, and the one crime she was guilty of. “I’ve seen girls that could have been homecoming queen their senior year, and two years out of school, they’re on crack. They’re addicted and hooked on meth and I’ve seen how it destroys people’s lives,” School Resource Officer Steve Geyer said. “The worst thing is to drive up on a scene and see a former student in a car mangled to a tree or another car because of alcohol. If the administration at West and I sat here and said, ‘We don’t have any drugs or alcohol in this school,’ then we’d just be turning a blind eye.” The good news is that the crime rate in the Henderson County Public Schools has dropped from the previous school year, according to N.C. Department of Public Instruction. In 2007-2008, there was an average of 4.733 crimes committed per 1,000 students. During the 2008-
Do you plan on attending the junior-senior prom on May 8?
Yes 61%
No
2009 school year, that number dropped to 2.908 per 1,000 students. Most of these crimes were categorized as either possession of a controlled substance or possession of an alcoholic beverage. This is relatively low in comparison to other nearby counties. In 2008-2009, Buncombe County had 9.764 crimes committed per 1,000 students, and Transylvania County had 13.294 crimes per 1,000 students. Polk County had 3.273 crimes per 1,000 students. “There are some instances with punishment when leniency is needed, but most of the time kids know right from wrong. If they fight or bring drugs to school, then they’re going to jail, and that’s just common knowledge,” Geyer said. “Crime is compulsive, and it’s in the moment. There’s no premeditation to it because it’s more of an impulse than it is anything else.” But depending of the type of offense, not all student discipline issues are reported. There are some occasions where administrators will categorize a crime as a nonreportable offense. “In this position, you have to be tough to find the facts, and then you have to immediately transfer into
• See Crime on Page 2
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Brandi Martin Junior Editor
tephen Page walked through the doors of Heartfelt High School in Darlington, S.C., as the school’s new assistant principal. He was surprised to see police swarming the hallways. It was 1978. Page, 6 feet, 4 inches tall, had recently served in the military, and he had been encouraged to take his first job as an administrator in a place where integration was not going smoothly. “I got to the school when it was absolutely at its worst,” Page said. “Even though I was probably intimidating, I wanted to make sure that the students got more than just this big guy that had been in the Army. I wanted the students to know I also cared.” Page’s three years at Heartfelt proved to be important stepping stones in his path toward becoming the superintendent of the Henderson County Public Schools in 2004. After more than 30 years in public education and six years in Henderson County, Page will retire on June 30. At its May meeting the school board announced that Associate Superintendent David Jones will become superintendent on July 1. “After last year, with the budget situation and all, I just started looking at it like I only have one life to live,” Page said. “I have been a central office administrator for more than half of my career. It’s time for me to do something else.” After gaining advanced degrees in public school administration while in South Carolina, Page got his doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1985. After moving to North Carolina, Page applied to fill the position as the assistant principal at Enka in Buncombe County. He followed this job as the principal at Erwin and later served as the principal for the career education center. He served as associate superintendent in Buncombe County before taking the job in Henderson County. Page said he never intended to pursue such jobs. “When I got into education, my first thought was that I wanted my master’s degree in American history, not education,” Page said. “Later, I realized I wanted to be a high school principal because I started understanding how things worked. I would have been perfectly happy to have remained a high school principal.” Page was consistently encouraged by friends and co-workers to pursue job openings such as the superintendent position that opened up in Henderson County six years ago. “All the jobs that I have had, I have
• See Superintendent on Page 2
(based on a survey of 212 juniors and seniors)
H Hall eard
Lawmakers question effectiveness of driver education Joy Owens
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in the
“I wasn’t kissed by the sun, I was raped.” Anna Decker, sophomore (discussing her‑ sunburn) “Yuck. I’d like some ice in my beer.” Brian Brewer, social studies teacher (about European customs) “Being born does have some action . . . ask your mother.” Mariano Jarrin, Spanish teacher (talking about reflexive verbs) “He would make a really good blind person.” Brandi Martin, junior (about touchy-feely boys)
Editor-in-Chief
llie Henson sits in a classroom at 6:30 a.m. trying to focus on the rules of four-way stops. Although the early morning driver education lessons are unpleasant, they may not be available in the future. Driver education is currently taught free of cost to students in North Carolina. However, funding for the driver education program is currently under scrutiny by state lawmakers who question its effectiveness. In the future, students could be forced to turn to expensive private companies to pay to take driver education. “I don’t think my parents would pay $300 for me to take driver education,” Henson said. “Most families don’t have that kind of money for their kids to take a course just to learn how to drive.” According to driver education teacher Kent Teeter, the problem with funding for driver education began in February when the program was not included in the state’s budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The program was under review and “got lost in the shuffle,” he said. “We were informed through our state association that driver education had not been placed in the continuing budget for the coming year,” Teeter said. “Driver education money comes from the Department of Transportation, funded to the Department of Public Instruction, to be administered by the state superintendent to the schools. DOT thought DPI was reviewing this money, DPI thought DOT was doing it, and nobody did.” Driver education costs the state $33 million annually, money that comes from the DOT’s State Highway Fund. According to Teeter, the money comes from taking $3
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Challenges that face pregnant teenagers
from every N.C. license plate renewal. Now that the DOT is facing a budget deficit of its own, some DOT supporters want funding to come from the education budget. “It is mandated by law that driver education be taught in North Carolina,” Teeter said. “If they do not fund driver education, then they’ve got to go back and change some laws that say you don’t have to take it. Otherwise, Mom and Dad will have to pay for it if the state doesn’t.” Driver education teachers like Teeter teach in the public schools but are usually not employed by the school system. Private companies contract with these instructors and the state supplements these contracts. “About half of driver education teachers are contracted through a private company,” Teeter said. “It would be a $300 or $400 expense parents would have to pay if the state doesn’t fund it and doesn’t change the law. It would be a private company that would be out here teaching driver education, such as the company I work for.” One option is to take driver education out of schools and turn the instruction over to parents. Teeter said this would not be as effective. “About four or five years ago Texas turned driver education over to parents, and kids were still allowed to get permits. Accident rates skyrocketed, and Texas put driver education back in as a statesponsored program,” Teeter said. “It has proved to not be getting the job done.” Teeter said he thinks the state will find some way to fund driver education because it was included in Gov. Bev Perdue’s version of the budget. “It’s going to be under pretty strong study this next year,” Teeter said. “The legislative committee is going to make sure that driver education is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, that it’s being taught properly.”
Looking Ahead May 12 June 8 June 9 June 11
Progress Reports 1st, 3rd Period Exams 2nd, 4th period Exams Graduation/Last Day of School
HOW to
get a driving permit • complete 30 hours of classroom instruction • complete 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction • get a driving eligibility certificate • go to the Division of Motor Vehicles with proof of residency, proof of identity and proof of liability insurance (N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles)
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Changing technology with iPad and Kindle