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Summer music festivals popular with students
WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
3600 Haywood Road, Hendersonville, N.C. 28791 • Volume XXVIII, Issue 6 • June 4, 2010
BIG
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Contestants from ‘The Biggest Loser’ speak on dangers of obesity
Students cheer for Jason Rhodes after being named teacher of the year.
•English teacher named countywide teacher of the year
Katie King Junior Editor
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Will you be attending the awards ceremony on June 11?
Yes
Photo by Jessica Tobin
English teacher Jason Rhodes was recently named the Henderson County Public Schools teacher of the year. Earlier this spring, the faculty voted him the school’s teacher of the year. “I was really surprised about being named teacher of the year,” Rhodes said. “I was also excited about it; it’s a cool honor. And of course, it’s neat to be appreciated.” Rhodes, a teacher at West for five years, will move on to the regional competition. He received a monetary prize of $1,000. “There are many responsibilities that come along with it; it’s kind of like winning the presidency,” Rhodes said. “It’s been really fun, though, especially getting to hear from old students about what I taught them and what they gained.”
Peregrine Poll
A New Look Ed Brantley stands with a poster of himself from October 2008. Brantley lost 139 pounds while on the reality TV show “The Biggest Loser” and has kept off more than 100 pounds in the 16 months since the season finale.
47%
No 53% (based on a survey of 380 students)
Heard Hall in the
“Well, the sun is burning all the time . . . except at night.” Haley Watkins, biology teacher (discussing the carbon cycle) “Ow! You just paper-cutted my jugular!” Laura Hamilton, sophomore (while passing back papers) “Hopefully, this will make your life a little bit shorter.” Kerry Ravan, math teacher (intending to say “easier”) “It was a redneck type of community watch, like the kind where they shoot you.” Ryan Duckett, senior (on a neighborhood)
gain
inalist Ed Brantley stepped onto the scale to determine who had the highest weight loss percentage of the season. After weeks of vigorous training and dieting, it was time for the finale of NBC’s The Biggest Loser. Brantley was first out of the three finalists to weigh in. Starting the show at 335 pounds, Brantley lost a total of 139 pounds, about 42 percent of his previous body mass. However, it wasn’t enough to beat contestant Michelle Aguilar, who won the show and the $250,000 that came with it. The Biggest Loser premiered on NBC in October of 2004. It was a show designed to help people that struggled with obesity overcome their obstacles and lead healthier lifestyles. Brantley and his wife Heba Salama, both North Carolina natives, were contestants on season six of the show, which aired in September of 2008. The season featured eight duos competing for the title of “The Biggest Loser.” “We had failed a million times at diets so we wanted to try something new to modify our lifestyles,” Salama said. “It was a lot of stress emotionally and physically, but it was a good experience overall.” Salama won the $100,000 consolation prize with a total weight loss of 138 pounds. She was the heaviest woman to be on the show up to that point, beginning at 294 pounds, and she had the highest weight loss of all of the women from previous seasons. Brantley and Salama now tour the country educating people on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The couple visited West for a presentation that was given to freshmen and sophomores on May 10. They talked about their experience on The Biggest Loser and how it has affected them while also inspiring others to be healthy. “We just try to keep people motivated. That’s the biggest thing, I think, just giving people motivation, and being real with them about it,” Salama said. “We don’t want anybody to have to go through what we did. I wish somebody had tried to mentor or coach or tell me earlier on. It would have saved me 14 years of mess.” Physical education teacher Cathy Corliss, who arranged the presentation at West, says it is important for students to hear this message and be aware of how their health and lifestyles affect them. “I really hope kids will get something out of this as far as wellness and fitness issues. I think the message is invaluable. It’s really priceless,” Corliss said. “They are talking about issues like obesity and lack of exercise that are really big issues for physical education.” Since the show’s finale, Brantley and Salama have continued to exercise regularly. This year, they are working on a “10 in 2010” fitness campaign, running at least ten marathons and triathlons throughout the year to motivate others. They are also working on a cookbook to be released later this year. Salama says that despite the difficulty, losing weight has had lasting effects on her physical and emotional health as well as her marriage. She and Brantley try to pass on the tools they have learned to people in similar situations. “I think I’m more sensitive to how hard losing weight is now that I’m on the other side of it,” Salama said. “But I don’t try to tell people how to do it; I try to give them tools to try to figure it out for themselves. And I think it has obviously made our marriage better because we work out together instead of pig out.” As for students who are trying to lose weight, Salama says the best way is to start a plan right away and stick to it. “Do it now. Don’t keep starting a diet,” Salama said. “Make the decision to put yourself first. Don’t wait till Monday.”
• See related stories on Page 8
David Jones named Henderson New national health care plan County Schools superintendent to affect students and teachers Kaitlyn Reddy Asst. Feature Editor
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hen David Jones was a teacher in 1978, he would go outside with his sixth graders during recess. Standing on a small concrete square, he passed a rubber four square ball back and David Jones forth with his students. Now, as he is about to become the superintendent of the Henderson County Public Schools, he can still remember those days. Jones is a graduate of Edneyville High and received his first job with the Henderson County School System in 1978. He has held several different positions in the school system. He served as an elementary and middle school teacher, assistant principal, director of testing and accountability, senior director for accountability and facility management, senior director for facility management and assistant superintendent for personnel services before taking the associate superintendent post on July 1, 2005. “I’m the kind of guy that loves to go to work every morning, although every job may have its challenges,” Jones said. “I also have a commitment to excellence.
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Sleep deprivation serious problem for students
I want our school system to be the very best that it can be, and I look forward to continue to provide leadership. I think it was very enticing just to know the leaders that we have and the commitment from our board members and the others that believe so much in our school system.” Jones is taking over the superintendent post for the upcoming school year. Current superintendent Dr. Stephen Page announced his retirement on May 3, and Jones will be promoted from his associate superintendent position on July 1. Jones said he is glad that Page can now enjoy his retirement. “Dr. Page has done such a wonderful job that you would hate to see him leave,” Jones said, “but at some point in everyone’s life there comes a point where you want to retire and enjoy the other part of life. In that perspective I was happy for him.” Jones said in his opinion there are many great things about the school system already. He hopes to keep many of the changes Page has implemented that have benefited the county. Page began a banquet for the top 15 scholars from each high school in 2004. Jones said that this academic scholars’ banquet is something he would like to continue. However, Jones may be forced to handle certain issues a bit differently than Page. “There will be a few things that we
• See Superintendent on Page 2
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Josh Wentzel Asst. Opinion Editor
enior Drew Adams wanted to attend the University of Tennessee. As a North Carolina resident, his out-ofstate tuition costs almost $14,000 above the in-state price. He looked everywhere he could for student loan money but could only scrape together $9,000, not even half of the money he needed. And even with the loans he did get, Adams, like other college-bound students, will have to pay back his student loans with interest. “The interest rates seem kind of unfair because you are paying so much for school anyways,” Adams said. “For them to pull even more money out of you from what you are already paying is ridiculous.” Public and congressional debate has been raging over one of the year’s most controversial issues, the health care reform bill. In late March, Congress passed the final version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a plan for government reform of the health care system with student loan reform tacked on as a “rider,” or unrelated bill that might not pass on its own. “A rider is an attachment to a bill that is irrelevant and tacked on at committee because it couldn’t pass on its own; it’s what we also call ‘pork.’ These riders, these attachments, this pork is usually attached
on to any sort of bill,” civics and economics teacher Frank Gerard said. “Because the president doesn’t have a line-item veto he can’t cross off certain portions and sign the other portions of the bill. If you have an idea out there as a member of Congress that you need passed, you just tack it onto a bill, any bill.” One major reason for the inclusion of a government takeover of student loans lies with the issue of money. As the PPAC act neared passage, a problem arose – the federal budget. For the new legislation to become law, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) and the Senate Finance Committee had to show a $140 billion savings over the next 10 years. With the medical side of the health care bill alone, the HELP Committee could not show $140 billion in savings. Student loan reform legislation was incorporated to make up for the difference in savings, and brought the estimates to the required threshold of $140 billion. Political analysts said that the inclusion of student loan takeover by the government provided a scapegoat for voting for the whole bill if the Congressman’s constituents agreed with only one and not the other. The PPAC act passed in the Senate on Dec. 25 by a vote of 60-39 and in the House with a vote of 220-215 on March 23. Another part of the legislation about
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• See Health Care on Page 2
Childhood obesity a nationwide dilemma