Homecoming

Homecoming
Anna Nicks
10-30-2013  1:05 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-This year's football homecoming was a night to be remembered.  After a week of great participation in the spirit days, Friday’s game came around and fans filled the stands.  First, before the game started, Jessica Saunsaucie was crowned the fall homecoming queen of 2013.  Her court included Freshman attendants Hannah Jansen and Danielle Becker.  Sophomore attendants were Emily Hendrix and Haley Ryan.  Junior attendants were Kelsey Kern and Joleen Goodman.  Senior attendants were Carrey Schroeder and Brittany Jansen.    

            During the football game, Owensville quickly gained the upper hand by scoring a touchdown not long after the start of the game.  Owensville ended up winning the game against Pacific with a score of 17-14. 

            Saturday, hundreds of students flocked to the Rosebud American Legions hall for the homecoming dance.  From 8:00 pm  to 11:00 pm, students danced under the lights and music provided by Fischer sound.  Owensville High School’s Student Council, led by teacher Shirlie Wright, set up for the dance. 

            “I like to dance, so it was really fun.  There were a lot of people, so it was crammed, but e’rer’body had fun.”  Eleventh grader Kelsey Kern states of the homecoming dance. 

            

Spirit Days

Spirit Days
Anna Nicks
10-30-2013

OWENSVILLE, MO-            This past spirit week, in preparation for the homecoming football game, there were many participants.  The theme was “reach for the stars and win.”  From Black and White day to Favorite Movie Character Day, this year’s spirit week was widely participated in, and enjoyed by many.

            Monday was black and white day, to represent the silent movies.  This day was considered the “easiest” to dress for by many.  Tuesday, people came dressed as their favorite movie characters.  Jeremiah Abell dressed as Harry Potter.  His ensemble consisted of a stick, glasses, and a tie. “It was fun…It was very, very fun.” He says of the spirit day. 

Come Wednesday, students donned their bright colors in Bright Like a Star Day.  Neon greens, yellows, pinks, and other color flooded the halls.  Thursday was Hex Day, and OHS students dressed in the opposing team’s colors.  This year, students dressed in the Pacific Indians’ purple.  Finally, Friday rolled around and keeping with tradition, it was Orange and Black day.  Senior kept with their own quirky tradition and wore orange hunting vests with sequins and words. 

Amber Winston dresses as Pippi Longstocking

            Spirit days are there for a reason; they exist so students can participate and have fun.  This year, there was a lot of participation, and it is hoped for even more next year!

American League Division Series

American League Division Series
Cody Goggin
10-30-2013  12;58 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-And then there were eight. Just eight teams remain in the battle for the World Series. In the American League, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were matched up and the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers faced off in the other battle. The American League Divisional Series is a five game series with the top two teams advancing to the championship and a chance to go to the World Series.

            In the first game of the ALDS, a close game is not at all what took place. Boston blew out Tampa Bay by a score of 12-2. After spending their top two pitchers on the tiebreaker game and Wild Card game, the Rays were just out of arms to shut down the high-powered Boston offense. After the second game of the Red Sox putting up multiple runs and defeating Tampa, it looked as if the number one seed Red Sox would sweep the Rays and easily advance to the ALCS. A sweep was not in the plans for Tampa though as they would show some fight with a win in their first game back home. This game was won on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by Jose Lobaton to give the Rays a 5-4 win. Game 4 of the series was a straight pitching duel as no one scored until the seventh inning. In that seventh inning, the Red Sox scored two runs which would ultimately be the deciding factor. Koji Uehara came in for the save and sent the Red Sox to their first ALCS since 2008 when they won it all. 

On the bottom of the bracket was the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers. These two teams were pretty evenly matched. It was a bunch of young, upstart players (A's) vs. the superstars (Tigers). Lead by Max Scherzer, Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander, and Miguel Cabrera, it is impossible to know who will stop these Tigers. All of these games have been tightly contested and came right down to the final out. Game won resulted in a 3-2 tigers victory, but the A's would come back with a 1-0 walk-off after pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a gem. The Athletics would keep their momentum going into Game 3 when they won 6-3 after a bench-clearing altercation in the ninth. Detroit then came back to tie up the series, forcing a decisive Game 5 in Oakland. In this final game, Detroit ace Justin Verlander pitched amazingly as he shutout the Athletics over eight innings, only allowing two hits as the Tigers went on to win by a score of 3-0. 

So now that we are down to the Major League Baseball version of the "Final Four," the championship is so close that it can be smelt by these teams, but who will it be hoisting up the trophy in a few weeks? It will either be Los Angeles, St. Louis, Boston, or Detroit. 

Dutchmen Homecoming Football Game vs. Pacific

Dutchmen Homecoming Football Game vs. Pacific
Cody Goggin
10-30-2013  12:57 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-It is one of the biggest events in Owensville all year long. Dutchmen football Homecoming draws in a huge crowd and even though our football team has not been as good as in the past, a great deal of people still showed up. A parade, a dance, and a queen crowning would all take place as part of homecoming, but the main attraction on Friday night would happen under the lights on the new field.  

The game could not have begun any better for Owensville. Kicking to start the game, the Dutchmen kicked the ball within the 20 yard line where it was then bobbled and the tackle was made at the goal line. On the first Pacific play from scrimmage, Morgan Huebner picked off the pass which would then set up a touchdown run by Ben Angell for the first score, just 15 seconds into the game.

            At half, the score was 17-7, in favor of the Dutchmen. Pacific would then score another touchdown in the second half to make the score 17-14 and only a one possession game. The Indians would have a couple of chances to drive the ball down the field towards the end, however, they were unable to move the ball against the Dutchman defense as time expired while a Pacific player was being tackled.

            The crowd went wild, the cheerleaders threw their pom-poms, people were hugging, players were shouting, and tears were even falling. The streak was over. For this football town, it was huge to have a win like this, especially at homecoming. Alumni, citizens of Owensville, and current Owensville students gathered to sing the alma mater with the players and cheerleaders after the game. This was the brightest moment yet for the Owensville Dutchmen football program under the reign of coach Dale Long.

            I asked senior offensive lineman Brady Poggas what it felt like to win at homecoming and he told me that, “I was ecstatic. Not only did we win homecoming, but we also snapped a terrible losing streak, so you could say it was pretty great.”

            There have not been very many shining moments for Owensville football in the past couple of years, but this huge victory is sure to leave a lasting memory in the minds of many for years to come. 

School Clubs

School Clubs
Kelsey Kern
10/30/2013  12:55 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-High School clubs are student-based school organizations, consisting of administration-approved organizations functioning with myriads of tasks, varying on the specific purpose of each respective club. Clubs composed of students, with adults as advising figures to maintain the functionality of clubs.  Clubs primarily focus on some aspects: fund raising, career aspects and interpersonal dynamics (also known as group dynamics.)

    Clubs: almost everyone is in one. There’s all kinds sporty ones, debate ones, there’s a club out there for everyone! So get active in your school, and join in on a club. Some clubs in the school actively participate in major events. Like the Young Republicans participation in placing the flags for 9/11.

  Other clubs such as Physics Club, and Math and Science club do fun field trips such as the Science Center and the St.Louis City museum! Not too long ago, the Spanish club took a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo!

So as you can tell clubs are tons of fun, so get out there and join one, it’s a great way to have fun and make new friends and great memories.

  

Al a Carte Lunches

Al a Carte Lunches
Kelsey Kern
10-30-2013  12:53 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-Al A Carte lunches, many kids in high schools across the country enjoy this option from normal school food. However, tasty they may be, are they a health hazard?  A la carte food sales of burgers, tacos and other treats are extremely popular with kids, particularly in junior high and high school. Under federal rules, these foods are sold outside the school lunch program and are ineligible for federal reimbursement.

But because kids pay retail rates for these items, a la carte programs pump cash into school districts struggling to find new revenue.

Under the law governing school lunches, the government reimburses schools for every lunch served that meets the program's nutritional guidelines

 While school lunches are subject to some regulation, most food items that are sold separately, or a la carte, are not. A la carte foods include meal-type items such as a single slice of pizza or a single serving of French fries.

The National School Lunch Program regulates only the few a la carte items that fall into a category called Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV). The FMNV classification was developed in the 1970s to identify those foods that provided fewer than 5 percent of the daily value of certain nutrients.

So , what’s your choice? Is Al A carte, healthy or hazardous?   Leave your comments below!

Are Abbreviations Wrecking Our Writing?

Are Abbreviations Wrecking Our Writing?
Zane West-Derby
10-30-2013  12:52 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-It is generally agreed upon that texting talk is not talk.  Whether or not abbreviations are wrecking society’s writing is debated by many.  In teens’ writing, abbreviations are showing up far more often in formal writing.  Abbreviations like ur, r, b/c, lol, lmao, rofl, and cml.

            When asked on her thoughts about texting and twitter lingo, Mrs. Jennifer Stockton, a high school English teacher, says that “I think [abbreviations] are [hurting writing] because when we try to make people write formally, they cannot do it because they are used to abbreviation because of texting, Facebook, and Twitter.”

            Students had varying opinions.  Danielle Roblow said “I do not write like I text.”  This brings up an argument made by some experts.  Some believe that while students may use this type of talk casually, they do not use it when writing.  

            However, Tristan Crofford says that “Yes, abbreviations do affect my writing; sometimes I put u instead of you. Also, I put r instead of are sometimes.”

            Then, there are students who do not use abbreviations at all when texting.  Some choose to use “proper” grammar when texting and tweeting.  Logan Moritz says that text talk does not hurt his writing because: “I text like I write. I use proper grammar.”

            Some feel that texting is causing writing to worsen.  Some feel it has no effect.  The general consensus with instructors and adults seems to be that they feel the shortened words are worsening writing.  However, when it comes to students, there are varying opinions. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW!

The Importance of College Visits

The Importance of College Visits
Cody Goggin
10-3-2013  12:50 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-Well here you are. You are an upperclassman in high school and it is time to make the decision on where you are heading next. There are a couple of colleges in mind, but you are not quite sure. You can compare prices, proximity to home, and the quality of the education, however, one intangible that you must experience is the feel for the campus.

 Campus visits are very important to determining what college you will attend, because if the campus is not suitable for you, you do not feel comfortable there, or it is not “homey” enough, then you will not be reaching your full academic potential and be the best prepared for your future. Choosing a college is not just a matter of choosing a school, but also choosing your home and community for at least the next four years.

            I am not the only one that has found the college visiting process valuable. Senior Marissa Landwehr has also visited and decided on a college. Whenever I asked her why stepping foot on the college’s campus was important, she replied by saying, “It is important to visit a college because it gives you an idea if the college is right for you. When visiting you can get the feel of the atmosphere and the people around you.”

I can speak about the importance of college visits personally. By just researching schools online and looking at all of them I thought I knew what college I wanted to go to. Whenever I visited my first choice, I was not so crazy about it. This college was the University of Missouri-Columbia. It was not bad, but the feel of the campus was just not for me, so a couple months later I visited Missouri State University and absolutely loved their campus. I had to take a third visit at Southeast Missouri State University just to make sure, but I decided that Missouri State was for me and that is where I will be attending next year. I never really thought I would be going to Missouri State, but after stepping foot on their campus, I could tell that it was a place where I could live.

Making a college choice is a life-altering decision, so you want to not only pick a place where your career will be able to advance and flourish, but where you can be happy. So when making this decision, make sure that you schedule at least one campus visit to one place or even multiple places to see if it is for you.