THE KAW TRACKERVOLUME 11, ISSUE 4 FEBRUARY 2011

TRADITION OF WINTER ROYALTY CONTINUESBY: TAYLOR EASUM

No wonder they call it Winter Roy-alty. The week of the ceremony PLHS had only four days of school due to snow days. Students started off spirit week on Monday dressing up like little kids. Junior Jeremy Im-menschuh wore full footie pajamas complete with space ships and stars. Tuesday was stop-light day and kids wore green if they were in need of a date, red if they had one, and yellow if they weren’t sure. On Wednesday kids stayed at home and slept in as they were granted a snow day. Thursday, back at school, because of the snow day no one participated in crazy hair day. Friday, as always, was Blue and Bad day. Fans decked out in blue, black and white to rep-resent the Kaws who were playing

against Nemeha Valley that night. At the pep rally the Winter Royalty candidates were paired up and tied together. The queen candidates for the 2011 ceremo-ny were Kourtney Foley, Taylor Korth and Haylee Harden. Their escorts and king candidates were Ryan Akagi, Dalton Carver and Trevor Madorin. Paired up respec-tively, one pair of hands and one pair of feet were tied to-gether and the candi-dates played twister with a twist. The red

circles were cov-ered in ketchup, the yellow in mustard, green with relish, purple with grape jelly and unfortu-nately, the white circles were coated with none other than sauerkraut. The dice were rolled and the contes-tants fought to stay off their bottoms. After two teams fell, Haylee Harden and Trevor Mado-rin were declared the winners of the pep rally challenge. The night came fast and the candidates, junior attendants and the

children gathered in Mrs. Lesser’s room to prep for the cer-emony. The cor-sages were pinned, the flowers and basketball were given to the chil-dren to hold tightly to and the winners’ names were sealed in a white envelope. The nervous group traveled to the gym-nasium where a full crowd awaited. After the candidates were lined up in their rehearsed spots, ju-nior Paul Funk ush-ered Natasha Carver and Jamie Child onto the court. They were followed by Junior

Trevor Hastert who escorted Clara and Shannon Foster. Maverick Hawkins, son of Heather Plant and Jeff Hawkins, was presenting the basketball and Ava Morris, daughter of Cheyanne Morris and Justin Scallon carried the flowers. The winners were announced and the newly revealed King, Dalton Carv-er, crossed the half court line to ac-company the queen, Taylor Korth, to the center where Jessica and Tyler Christman, last year’s royalty crowned the two.

Candidates from left: Ryan Akagi, Kourtney Foley, Dalton Carver, Taylor Korth, Haylee Harden and Trevor Madorin.

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FACEBOOK SCHEDULED TO SHUT DOWNyounger populace. Acco rd ing to Zuckerberg, the stress of creating and dealing with the social networking dynamo has ruined his life. Quoting that the website has grown out of con-trol, he just wants to shut it down and resume his once normal life. Other Facebook officials encouraged users to remove any pic-tures or videos that they wanted to keep, as all of the con-

tent will be deleted upon the fifteenth. H o w e v e r , along with the hor-ror that most teen-agers will face on that day, relief could also be witnessed. Many parents have expressed concerns with the website since its creation, stating problems with online preda-tors, bullying, and overall Internet se-curity. Disregarding all of these other concerns, parents will be most likely

pleased to finally have a full conversa-tion with their child. Of course, this entire situa-tion could be a gi-ant hoax. Questions are being raised as we get closer and closer to the termi-nation date. Face-book is shutting down soon after a profitable film was based on it? Why would Zuckerberg shut down such a huge money maker? Facebook is current-ly considered one of

the wealthiest busi-nesses in the world, its worth being es-timated at a whop-ping $7.9 billion. W h e t h e r you’re devastated or celebrating, Face-book has been a frontrunner in this generation’s popular culture and has made a huge impact on businesses, schools, organizations, and even religious es-tablishments. As for whether it’s really shutting down, that’s up for speculation.

BY DALTON CARVER

Get ready to send those protesting e-mails, social net-workers. Facebook is shutting down. According to a viral rumor, sup-posedly started by Mark Zuckerberg himself, Facebook will be going on a permanent hiatus as of March 15, 2011. This is sure to cause widespread Internet panic among net-workers everywhere, especially among the

THE DEFINITION OF SPORTSMANSHIP BY DALTON CARVER

In the high school atmosphere, conflict is anticipated at ev-ery turn. Students have problems with teachers, grades, and more frequent-ly, other students. There are issues with relationships, just friendly and oth-erwise, issues with starting positions in sports, and issues with popularity. These situations are expected, even pre-pared for. However, I have a slight prob-

lem with the animos-ity between players of different sports. Think of terms like grass fairy and pumpkin pusher, disrespectful nicknames for the sports of soccer and basketball respec-tively. These titles are given by players of the opposite sport of the season, for some unwarranted reason. I don’t be-lieve that wrestling is any more impor-tant or manly than basketball, and on the other hand, I

don’t think that bas-ketball is in any way better than wres-tling. A true, honor-able athlete plays his own sport with pas-sion and fervor and also respects and supports his fellow peers in the activities they participate in. T h o u g h wrestling and bas-ketball are a good example of this ani-mosity, it’s not as much of a problem compared to the fall sports. It seems that a fall day can’t go by without a foot-

ball player mak-ing the obnoxious claim that football is the most manly and respectable ac-tivity out there. On the same note, a soccer player can’t complete a sentence without bashing the football team. As a soccer player, I can say that it’s slightly irritat-ing when I hear a football player call a teammate of mine a grass fairy, or ridi-cule someone be-cause they’re even touching a soccer ball. From the same

view, I’ve got a few friends who have got quite a few things to say about the football team’s re-cord, or even about specific players. Both sides of these situations are dishonorable as an athlete and com-pletely disrespectful as a fellow student and human being. I consider bad sports-manship too cli-ché of a term, but in simplest terms, that’s what this problem really is. The worst part is

EDITORIALS

CONTINUED TO P. 5

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STAFF

LOVE IS IN THE AIR AT PLHSBY MORGAN SCHIFFELBEIN

We all have a special day of the year. To some that to special day could be Christmas or our very own birthdays, but to others it is Valentine’s Day. To some of the students here at PLHS, Valentine’s Day is a day to share with a boyfriend or girlfriend, while to others it’s a day to just hang out with best friend/friends or even loved ones.

So how do some of the students here celebrate their day? PLHS sophomore Hanna Smock said, “My favorite gift was just getting any-thing, but the worst was getting a half baked cookie.” She added that her friend wasn’t a very good cook at the time. To Amy Payne, another sophomore, “spending Valen-tine’s Day with my boyfriend is some-thing I look forward to. The things I prefer most on Valentine’s

Day are jewelry or even flowers and chocolates as long as they remembered.” Trevor Madorin stays with flowers and chocolates for girls on this special day instead of some-thing more signifi-cant because “it’s way easier and that way they’re happy and you didn’t get them something they didn’t like.” So now that Val-entine’s Day has passed, you know some things that Perry Lecompton

High School stu-dents like to do and what they feel they would like to get for their Valentines Day. Hope your Val-entine’s Day was as interesting as theirs.

SNOW DAYS PLAGUE USD 343BY KELSEY HAR-WOOD

This semester the students and faculty of Perry-Lecompton are getting a lot of days off due to the snow. While the slick roads can be dan-gerous, this brings time for students to relax and have fun. “I am normally snowed in, so I have to stay home inside all day,” said Taylor Korth. The students that can manage to leave their houses spend their

days outside hav-ing snowball fights, sledding, snow-boarding, building snow forts, sleep-ing in, and spending time with friends. When asked what his favorite memory from a snow day was, Brett Walker answered, “My fa-vorite snow day was when some friends and I went to the dam around mid-night in a blizzard and went sledding and snowboarding.” “My favorite snow day was last

year when I went sledding with some friends, and we made a giant ramp. I got over five feet of air once or twice and it was really fun until I fell off the sled.” said Kris-tine Packard when asked about her fa-vorite snow day. Snow days can also give students more time to prepare for upcoming tests and finish late home-work assignments. “One time I had a really big test I wasn’t ready for

and I was going to just cram for it the night before but then we had two snow days so I end-ed up having plenty of time to study for it,” McKenzie Wil-liams said when asked how snow days have helped her with school. Even though snow can be fun for everyone, remember that the roads can be dangerous, and it is important to stay safe and make smart decisions.

DALTON CARVER

EDITOR

DAWN SCHULTZ

BUSINESS MANAGER

REPORTERS

HAYLEY MILLER

TAYLOR KORTH

TAYLOR EASUM

KELSEY HARWOOD

MORGAN SCHIFFELBEIN

BAILEY SEETIN

ALLISSA CHRISTMAN

EMILY MULVIHILL

ADVISOR

CAROLYN KABERLINE

Spring Production of Jocko

Directed by Ms. Ward

March 10th @ PLHS

PAGE 4 FEBRUARY 2011FEATURE ARTICLESSTUDENTS COMPETE IN JCCC TECHNOLOGY CONTEST

BY DALTON CARVER

With Perry-Lecompton’s first appearance at the Johnson County Community College technology competi-tion came confusion, patience, and finally, some success. The students, led by Mr. Rhett Scrimsher and Mrs. Jamie Van Hecke, walked in from the brisk air ready to compete. H o w e v e r , the students soon met with confusion

as the events they signed up for had already taken place or involved more materials than they possessed. Despite these obstacles, P e r r y - L e c o m p -ton competitors managed to adapt. Ryan Lang-ton, Alex Callahan, and Dalton Carver managed to pick up another event in the unexpected schedul-ing of their original one, video-on-de-mand. They entered the Technology

Bowl, which is very similar to Scholar’s Bowl, except it dealt with construction, computers, design, etc. Entering as the 14th seed, the trio managed to make it to the final four, where they placed third overall. Not too bad for a group that definitely wasn’t in its comfort zone. Dalton Holl entered in the drag-ster competition, which took place shortly after noon. The competition

consisted of two pre-made wooden vehicles, accelerated to racing speed by a carbon dioxide push. Despite his car’s de-cent test runs, he was disqualified due to the length of his car, which ex-ceeded the max by mere millimeters. Other com-petitors included Amy Payne, Me-gan Jantz, Ashley Herken, and Emily Schmidt, who made a good showing de-

spite the constant and unexpected change of plans. The main showcase of the competition, however, was the PLHS students’ abil-ity to adapt to situa-tions they weren’t prepared for. Over-all, that will be the biggest thing they can take from this competition on into their future lives.

PLHS PREPARES STUDENTS FOR FUTUREBY EMILY

MULVIHILL

Some junior and seniors are not quite ready to leave high school and figure out what they want to do with their lives. It is a big deci-sion and one of the most important ones they ever make. Those taking Ca-reer Prep will be given opportunities to try out new ca-reers and think about what they can actu-ally see themselves doing in ten years.Career Prep is a class that is offered at Per-

ry-Lecompton High School, and taught by Rhett Scrimish-er. This class helps students figure out what they want to do with their lives. Mr. Scrimisher teaches the students that, “if you put your mind to it, then you can be anything you want to be, the sky is your limit.” When Cody Am-erine was asked about the class he said, “It was very beneficial to me be-cause it made me stop and think about what I really wanted to do in the future.”

Each student gets a chance to go on three job shadows: a realistic job shad-ow, dream, and any-where they choose. Jon Denton, an-other student at Perry Lecompton High School had the chance to job shadow a sheriff. During the day, they attempted a drug bust but were unable to find anything. “The class and job shadowing were a lot of fun. If you have the chance you should take the course,” says Den-ton.

Brittany Zilliox, another student sees herself as a nurse in ten years. “You should do what you love, and love what you do,” she states. Students en-joy Career prep. “The class was great. You learn so much while still having fun,” says Jeremy Immeshuh. When asked, Trevor Madorin says “My favorite part was playing games with Riley Shaffer when Mr. Scrimish-er wasn’t looking.” While Trevor Ma-dorin knows how

to have fun, he also has a better idea of what he wants to do in the future now. Career prep helped him realize his love for animals. He had the chance to shad-ow Ryker Morris, a cattle worker, an experience he en-joyed. Who knows, in ten years he may be the local vet-erinarian down the street that everyone takes their pets to.

PAGE 5 FEBRUARY 2011

that the bad sports-manship is com-ing from teams that reside in the same school, not from an opposing team. In the end, the real power in one team support-ing another lies with the coaches. If they set an example as supporting fans, the players underneath them are sure to follow. For Perry-Lecompton, I’d say most coaches, in-cluding a few stand-outs, realize their role as leaders and set the examples that should be expected. However, there are

those with opinions that are less than de-sirable, and honest-ly, very immature. T h e r e ’ s enough conflict buzzing around high schools each and ev-ery day. Don’t you think that sports can be above the pet-ty quarreling? I’ll be supporting the school as whole, and that includes every-thing from football to band to Scholar’s Bowl. Will you?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2SPORTSMANSHIP

LADY KAWS LOOK TO FINISH STRONGBY ALISSA

CHRISTMAN

The Lady Kaws are hoping to finish the last few games with some wins. With tough competi-tion ahead the team will have to work harder than ever. The team feels they have a good chance of winning. Although with a re-cord of 3-12, Me-gan Boleski, sopho-more, explains that, “We have really improved and have a lot of young tal-ent on the team.” When Taylor Ak-agi and Abbey Bays, the two seniors on the team were asked why they enjoyed the sport, they laughed at the memories. Taylor Akagi shares, “We played basketball together since kindergarten and we became best

friends while play-ing in 6th grade.” Another way the team stays close is by having team dinners. The last team dinner was held at Anna Tust’s house. All of the players that could make it happily at-tended, having a fun time bonding with their teammates. One thing the la-dies enjoy while at the dinner is to talk about the upcom-ing games they are looking forward to and how the past games have gone. This coming Thurs-day the team will meet again to have another dinner. The Lady Kaws were asked what their dream posi-tion would be if they could have any position they want-ed. When asked, Lillian Seib, sopho-

more, responded quickly saying, “My dream position is to be a center just like my idol, former KU basketball play-er, Cole Aldrich.” When Taylor Akagi, senior, was asked the same question she an-swered, “My dream is to be a tall center so I can dunk it.” As a team the Kaws are sad to see the season coming to an end, but of course they are ex-cited to play these last few games to-gether. With the two senior’s final games approaching it will be an emotional ending to their high school basketball careers. But both seniors are excited to see the new talent of the Lady Kaws step up for a great up-coming season.

We TheySanta Fe Trail Home 26 46Sabetha Away 25 53Silver Lake Home 26 45Nemaha Valley Away 29 49Hiawatha Home 34 32Royal Valley Away 24 57Holton Home 18 47Oskaloosa Away 38 48Oskaloosa Away 25 41McLouth Away 58 35Jeff West Away 31 39

SPORTS

The Lady Kaws watch their teammates in the first quarter.

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KAWS LOOK TO IMPROVE FOR NEXT YEARBY BAILEY SEETIN

The boys have had a rough season with a 3-14 record, but students, players, coaches, and fans are hoping for the best in upcoming games. “I hope to see a lot more wins with the players get-ting used to the new coaches,” says ju-nior Addison Jones.

A l t h o u g h winning is not ev-erything, it is a nice confidence booster for the entire team and fans. Coach Hawkins just wants the boys to contin-ue to be consistent. Most of the boys on the team simply wish to get some more wins under their belts, but oth-ers want more.

When asked the strengths of the team Coach Hawkins said, “The kids work hard. They have a great work ethic that helps us through the rough times.” With no se-niors on the team this year, the boys have worked hard through their prac-tices and games. As

Coach Hawkins explains, “There is not much experi-ence on the team.” While still hop-ing for some wins this season the boys know what they need to do to im-prove and work to-gether better the next year and the next. F r e s h m a n Zach Linquist, said, with a laugh, “I

want to win league and then state!” State may not be an option now, but the boys can always go for gold next year. The boys meet Hi-awatha on Friday and Holton on Tuesday. These two teams are tough completion, but the boys will play their hardest and give it their all.

Opponent We They@ACCHS 44 58Santa Fe Trail 37 66@ Sabetha 25 58Silver Lake 34 66@ Nemaha Valley 24 45Jefferson West 38 60Hiawatha 32 30@ Royal Valley 32 51Holton 25 53@ Wellsville (Baldwin Invitational) 28 45@ KCCS(Baldwin Invitational) 30 38Oskaloosa 37 42Sabetha 32 34@ Jefferson West 41 55Nemaha Valley 57 23@ Santa Fe Trail - -

Royal Valley 61 59 The Varsity Kaws attempt to grab the rebound against Holton.

PIE A TEACHER!Pie your favorite teacher in March and send FBLA to state!

Buy tickets for 25 cents before school, during break and at lunch!

PAGE 9 FEBRUARY 2011

STATE HOPES FOR KAW WRESTLINGBY TAYLOR EASUM

“That’s the plan.” senior athlete, Trent Robb stands with his arms crossed. He has been wrestling since a very young age. He knows the moves, the mat, the feel of a win and his coach says he should enter region-als at least at the number two spot. This year he seems confident in his skills and abil-ity. He is a leader and he plans to lead his young team to new places, state being one of them.This so called “plan” is nothing written up. The only blue print is the wrestlers’ back-grounds and their drive to win. The not-so-new but new-

to-wrestling coach Mike Paramore, is trying to stretch the older wrestlers and push them to new heights, like state and more wins than they could imagine while also helping to elevate the skills of the young, and very numerous, fresh-man athletes. With their leaders and their new coach, the Kaw wrestling team is working hard. When you talk about coaches, Perry-Lecompton thinks Mike Para-more. They see him as one of the finest football coaches this side of the Kansas River. He has one of the most thun-derous voices and he knows how to motivate anyone.

The Kaws’ football coach has turned the tables though. C o a c h e s keep slipping from the metaphorical Half Nelson that the Kaw wrestling squad had them in. Two years running the PLHS coaches have left the team, and this year when the opportunity pre-sented itself, always one to help PLHS out, Paramore opted to take the job. “He is motivating and really makes us want to work hard,” said Robb. Thirteen of the 24 wrestlers in the 2010-2011 sea-son are freshmen. This year’s team is extremely young.

They are dedicating themselves to the years ahead. “We are hopeful this year. The older wrestlers are progressing and growing,” says Coach Paramore, “and we want the younger boys to

have opportunity and to flourish.” With a new coach, a young squad with lots of potential, and senior and junior leaders who know exactly what they are doing, maybe the Kaws will flourish.

STATE WRESTLING UPDATE

CONGRATULATIONS

to Trent Robb for placing 6TH

at the state wrestling Tournament in Salina.

Senior Tyler Bedford attempts to pin an opponent.