Volume 5 Issue 6 - Unit School District #304

DELIVER TO BOXHOLDER
PRSRT. STD.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
ALEXIS, IL
61412
PERMIT NO. 9
STORM
TRACKER
THE United High School Newspaper
Volume 5, Issue 6
IN THIS ISSUE:
United board notes
p. 2
Academic teams rule p. 3
UHS honor rolls
p. 4
Elementary menus
p. 5
HS calendar & menu p. 6
Ashley’s story stuns UHS
By Jillian Rundle
As students, faculty, and parents filled the high school gym
for an all school assembly on
February 20, who knew that they
would walk out of that gym with
an impacting, yet heart-breaking
story.
As a part of the STORM
ALERT team’s activities, the
group decided to invite Cathy
Family to send third to
U.S. military
p. 7
LTC decisions made p. 8
Randy Waddell views a picture of his daughter Ashley, killed with
two other Pekin High School teens in 2005 in this vehicle. Waddell and his wife spoke to United High School students on February 20 about making smart decisions when behind the wheel of
an automobile.
STORM ALERTS
United Pre-K screenings
United pre-kindergarten
screenings for the 2009-2010
school year will be held this
month.
If your child will be 3 years
old by September 1, 2009, please
consider having them screened
for our pre-kindergarten program, which is available at both
the West and North campuses.
At the West Campus, screenings will be conducted on Monday, March 9, from 8:30-11:30
a.m.
Please call the West Elementary at 734-8513 to schedule an
appointment
For the North Campus screenings are scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, from 1:00-7:00
p.m.
Please call the district office at
482-3344 to schedule an appointment
Student Council news
By Bethany Fredrickson
With the numerous activities
the United Student Council has
participated in, the Valentines
Day candy bags was the most
recent.
That event consisted of making
candy bag, which were sold for a
dollar each.
This was just a small fundraiser that helps fund nesxt year’s
homecoming. After buying the
candy to fill the bags, the student
council recieved a $70 profit,
after selling 140 bags of candy.
On March 5, the student
council will be going to the
Milan Community Center for
the district convention. Council
members will participate in a
variety of leadership training
activities.
Elections to choose the 20092010 executive officers will be
held in early March, with the
new officers slated to attend the
state convention in Chicago in
May.
United junior Kaitlyn Winkler
was but one of many whose
emotions were on display after
hearing the story of Ashley
Waddell’s death.
Photo reprinted with permission of Kent Kriegshawser,
Gatehouse News Service.
and Randy Waddell to share the
story of their daughter Ashley’s
2005 death.
When they spoke to the United
students, they shared the impact
Ashley left in peoples’ hearts, the
night they found out about the
accident, and the aftermath of her
death.
Ashley, a varsity swimmer as a
Pekin High School sophomore,
had everything going for her, or
White praises change in law
By Jesse White
The issue of teen driving safety
is and has been very important
to me. In 2005 and 2006, it
seemed that just about every time
I opened a newspaper or turned
on the news, there were stories
about teenagers killed in automobile crashes. It was happening too frequently, and I knew
something needed to be done.
That’s why in the summer of
2006 I initiated the Teen Driver
Safety Task Force. We knew we
had our work cut out for us. We
knew that automobile crashes
were the leading cause of death
for teens. We also knew that
national studies showed that a
strong graduated driver licensing
(GDL) program could work to
reduce teen fatal crashes.
As a result of the Task Force’s
work, my office initiated and
the General Assembly passed
groundbreaking legislation that
took effect Jan. 1, 2008, giving
teens more time to obtain valuable driving experience while
under the watchful eye of a parent or guardian, limiting in-car
distractions, and requiring teens
to earn their way from one stage
to the next by avoiding traffic
convictions.
State and national traffic safety
organizations praised Illinois’
GDL law as one of the best in the
nation. The praise was all well
and good. But results are what
really matter.
That is why I am pleased to announce that teen driving fatalities
in Illinois dropped by over 40
percent in the first full year of our
state’s GDL law. In 2007, 155
teens age 16-19 were killed in
automobile crashes. In 2008, 92
teens died in crashes.
The fact that 63 fewer teens
died in automobile crashes in
our state last year is worthy of
celebration.
While we can and should
celebrate that this law is working
as we intended--the goal all along
was to save lives--I believe we
still have work to do.
Now law is perfect. As such,
my office will continue to work
with state and national traffic
safety organizations to consider
ways we can improve upon Illinois’ GDL program.
My office will also continue to
partner with high schools, driver
education instructors, and parents
to improve upon the way we
prepare our teens for a lifetime of
safe and responsible driving.
The goal is always the same:
to make Illinois roads safer and
save more lives.
Jesse White is Illinois Secretary
of State
so she thought.
Coming home from school,
she planned to watch her favorite
television show, One Tree Hill,
with a couple of friends. They
planned to watch it at Ashley’s
house, not knowing that her TV
wouldn’t tune in the channel she
needed.
They decided to go to Andrew’s house to watch the show,
expecting to arrive back home by
9:15 p.m.
Unfortunately, 9:30 rolled
around and Ashley had not arrived home yet. Cathy Waddell
called houses to find out where
her daugter was but no one
knew.
Scared about what might have
happened, Randy set out to find
Ashley, traveling the normal way
to Andrew’s house, later finding
out the three teenagers never
made it.
Trying to rush to his house,
Andrew reached a speed of
nearly 100 miles per hour before
striking two trees, killing all
three teenagers.
The last thought that comes
to parents’ minds is planning on
their child dying before themselves, leaving Cathy and Randy
even more in shock.
Ashley left a lasting impact on
more than 2,000 Pekin residents
who visited Ashley and family
for the last time at the visitation
and funeral, as well as thousand
of other students who now hear
this tragic story.
In addition to Ashley’s parents’ remarks, her best friend,
Jami Halvorson, also shared her
memories of Ashley and what it
was like at school without her.
“The drama, the fights--it
all stopped. Enemies became
friends. Everyone realized you
never know the last moment you
will see that person,” she said.
Following the more than 90minute presentation, students
were allowed to view the car
Ashley was in at the time of the
accident.
With no alcohol or drugs
involved, it was easy to see the
damage such an impact could
have on the vehicle’s passengers.
Officially, Ashley died of acute
head trauma, the result of the
violent impact of the speeding
car hitting a stationary object.
Cathy and Randy Waddell left
United students with the message, “ Guard your choices,
some don’t come with second
chances.”
President’s Day afford a timely
trip for United’s exchange student
By Bast Chaikhunsombat
For such a short month, a lot
has happened in February, both
good and bad.
I ate at Buffalo Wild
Wings in Galesburg with fellow
students Matthew Frakes, Jillian
Rundle, Lyndsey Fridrickson and
Matt Grubb. The food was very
good.
I received a call from my
mother and we talked for an
hour. It was the first time we had
talked in a month and we spent a
lot of time discussing problems
we were having getting shipments through customs.
On President’s Day, I took a
trip to Springfield with the Feldman family and other exchange
student groups.
We toured many places including Lincoln’s tomb, his Springfield home, which we learned
was fairly upper-class for that
period,
We also visited the new Lincoln Museum, which depicts
Lincoln’s life from his childhood
through his Presidency.
The trip was very enjoyable as
I have a great interest in learning
about American history.
STORM TRACKER
1905 100th Street
Monmouth, IL 61462
309-734-9411
The Storm Tracker is published
monthly by the journalism students of
United High School, is printed through
the facilities of The Register-Mail, and
is distributed to residents of CUSD
#304. The material published does not
necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the
administration of United School District
#304, nor the policy of The RegisterMail.
While every attempt is made to
determine the validity of advertising
contained herein, the advertising in the
Storm Tracker is not to be construed as
endorsement of a specific product or
service. The Storm Tracker assumes no
responsibility of liability resulting from
the content of paid advertisements.
The Storm Tracker does not knowingly
accept advertisements that discriminate
on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion,
color, handicapped status, veteran or
sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly
print ads that violate any local, state, or
federal laws.
Parties interested in advertising in
the Storm Tracker should contact Mr.
Kozelichki at the address and/or phone
number listed above.
Letters to the editor must be mailed to
the address above and cannot be more
than 350 words. The author’s name
and phone number must be included for
verification purposes. The Storm Tracker
only edits letters in cases of timeliness
and obscenity and does not guarantee
publication of all letters.
STORM TRACKER
Stasha Giese, Editor-in-Chief
Vic Fredrickson, Business Mgr.
Reporters
Katie Allaman, Bast Chaikhun
sombat, Bethany Fredrickson,
Julie Gunter, Elizabeth Johnson,
Anton Kozelichki, Jillian Rundle,
Katy Schrader
Mr. Tony Kozelichki, Advisor
“Some material courtesy
of American Society of
Newspaper Editors/MCT
Campus High School
Newspaper Service.”
United CUSD #304
contact numbers
Superintendent’s Office
482-3344
FAX 482-3236
United High School
734-9411
FAX 734-6090
United applies for economy stimulus funds
By Anton Kozelichki
On Thursday Februrary 12,
the United school district held
its monthly board meeting with
resignations, maternity, and the
Lincoln Trail Conference on the
agenda. Marshall Schrader was
the only member of the school
board unable to attend the meeting.
The school board regretfully
accepted the retirement of bookkeeper Evelyn Simkins. Simkins
worked for the Alexis and United
school districts for 28 years.
Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt said, “She will be missed
greatly.”
The board also accepted the
resignation of junior high volleyball coach Angie Lybarger.
Lybarger says she doesn’t
necessarily want to leave the
program, but instead wants to
watch her daughter, who will be
a freshman next year, play high
school volleyball.
The board has accepted the
maternity leave request of higher
level math and computers teacher
Jennifer Stoneking. Fellow math
teacher Brooke Anderson will
take over Stoneking’s geometry
and Algebra II classes, while
substitute teacher Julie Schrader
will teach Anderson’s pre-algebra and Algebra 1 classes for the
remainder of the year.
The board voted to increase the
pay for volleyball referees from
$55 to $60 dollars per match, as
part of an annual review of officials’ pay.
The West Campus reported
that everything is going well and
the students enjoyed the celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th
birthday. They especially enjoyed
the Lincoln look-a-likes provided
for them.
The South Campus was pleased
to report that the WYSE team
brought home first place in regionals (see story on page 3).
There was more news to report
on the Lincoln Trail Conference.
The LTC will be pulling out of
the West Prairie Trail football
conference. The LTC has sent
out invitations to the Midland,
West Prairie, Sherrard, and Orion
school districts about possibly
joining the conference. The
Olympic Conference received
bad news as Farmington is leaving the conference and heading
to the Prairieland Conference.
With that in mind, other schools
from the Olympic conference are
looking elsewhere (see complete
story on page 8).
United was informed that Monmouth College is changing their
duel credit policies for next year.
Next year, for a student to
receive duel credit through Carl
Sandburg College, he will have
to have four English credits
before taking Senior Composition, which is the only duel credit
class offered at United.
The policy change makes Monmouth’s requirements similar to
the University of Illinois’.
“Monmouth College has made
it more difficult for our students
to take advantage of our dual
credit,” said Whitsitt. “If other
institutions follow suit, it will
clearly impact how our kids
schedule their classes.”
The tentative schedule for
the 2009-2010 school year was
voted and passed by the school
board. Teacher institutes will be
on August 20 and 21. The first
day of school for students will be
August 24 and the last day May
27, 2010.
Should the district need to
use its entire allotment of five
snow days, the end date could be
pushed back to as late as June 3.
The board gave formal approval for Whitsitt to begin the
process of creating a budget for
the next fiscal year, which begins
July 1. In addition, contract
negotiations with the teachers’
union are expected to begin
soon, as the current three-year
deal is set to expire.
Mr. Whitsitt informed the
board of an application that he
sent to Congressman Phil Hare’s
office, Senator John Sullivan’s
office, Representative Rich Myers’ office, and Representative
Don Moffitt’s office.
The application is seeking
funding for a possible athletic
complex at the South Campus,
geothermal heating and air conditioning upgrades throughout
the district, and the demolition
of the old Alexis High School
building.
Mr. Whitsitt asked the board
for some dates for a goal setting
and planning meeting.
A representative from the
Illinois Association of School
Boards will meet with the school
board as it works toward a longrange plan to set goals for the
district. It will be an open session meeting. The date has yet to
be determined.
The next regular meeting of the
District 304 board of education
will be held Thursday, March 12,
at the unit office in Alexis.
By Victoria Fredrickson
With the United FFA booming
with new activities every month,
the chapter is also fortunate to
have such brilliant students in
FFA.
At Aledo on February 14 the
proficiency awards were held
with five United members participating.
When the night was over, Ellen Reeder, Jake Armstrong and
Katy Darrah advanced to disctrict
competition on March 18 to compete in equine plcement, ag sales,
and ag safety, respectively.
Reeder also competed in
equine entrepeneurship, crop
entrepeneurship and agricultural
educaiton.
Alisa Randolph competed in
food service; while Grace Simp-
son entered in beef entrepreneurship.
Simpson and Armstrong will
also be receiving their state FFA
Degrees at the State Convention
that will be held in June.
National FFA Week was recognized at United High School the
week of February 23-27.
During this week the members
had many different activities to
look forward to and compete in.
Afternoon activities included
a food relay, a jello (aka mud)
slide, and a shoe race in which
groups of students had to run
across the gym floor and find one
of their shoes hidden in a pile of
competitors footwear.
The annual “Kick ‘Em Off the
Cow” again did not disappoint,
with industrial arts teacher Fred
Lucas maintaining the faculty’s
superiority with a knockout of
senior challenger Matt Frakes. A
year ago it was chemistry teacher
Roy Schwass defeating his
daughter.
The annual 3-on-3 tournament
was held February 28 at the
Fieldhouse in Alexis. Members
of the FFA volunteer their time
to help the Ag Alumni put on that
affair, with proceeds going to the
Beth Aden Scholarship Fund.
The annual FFA banquet will be
held at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday, March 24. The public is
invited to help honor the achievements of the FFA chapter during
the 2008-2009 school year. The
dinner begins at 6:00 p.m.
United celebrates national FFA week
rmg Risk Management Group, Inc.
Bill Ramsey
1-800-553-7475
Helping agricultural producers manage price risk
Commodity futures, options, and cash
United Junior High
734-8511
FAX 734-6094
United Elementary North
482-3332
FAX 482-3341
United Elementary West
734-8513
734-8515
COUNTRYSIDE
BIBLE CHURCH
Thanks United students for
making our 5th quarter
Friday’s a huge success!
Youth Group @ Emanuel Baptist
Sundays @ 7:00 p.m.
Academic teams take WYSE, ICTM by storm
WYSE dominates region
ICTM back to state
By Katie Allaman
While Coach Ben McIntosh
may have retired following
the 207-2008 school year, on
February 12 at the Carl Sandburg
Regionals, his former WYSE
(Worldwide Youth in Science and
Engineering) team showed that
they most certainly have not.
United sent 11 individuals
competing in math, physics, biology, chemistry, graphics, English
and computer sciences and
walked away with top honors..
In the individual competitions,
Jessy Battenburg placed first in
physics, Chase Chavero placed
first in computers, and Duncan
Nall placed first and second in biology and chemistry, respectively. Nall also received the award
for best individual achievement
out of 152 competitors.
As a team, United WYSE
placed first in Division 300,
defeating ROWVA, BushnellPrairie City and Alwood. To cap
the day, the WYSE team took
first overall, defeating not only
Division 300 schools but larger
division schools Knoxville,
Farmington, Monmouth-Roseville, Rockridge, and Sherrard,
as well.
The WYSE team will next
compete at the Knox College
sectional on March 16.
By Julie Gunter
In the midst of blowing snow
on February 21, the ICTM (Illinois Council of Teachers of
Mathematics) team made a trek
to Western Illinois University for
regional competition. While the
ride was long and the temperature cold, it was worth the while.
Not only did the team win first
overall in Division 1A competition, but they earned the fifth
highest team score in their division for the entire state.
In individual events, Cecilia
Prentice took first in Algebra I,
Nick Cavanaugh placed first in
geometry, Duncan Nall won in
Algebra II, and Bre Christian
and Peter Elliott tied for first in
pre-calculus.
The freshman-sophomore 8person team, which consisted of
United’s WYSE team not only dominated their own division, but
they also beat all schools in a larger division at their regional.
Scholastic bowl preps for LTC meet
After handily winning their regional, United’s ICTM team enters
state competition in May with the fifth-highest score in Illinois.
Pair of underclassmen make speech sectional
By Katy Schrader
In Deb Kessler’s final season as
coach, she saw three of her members win conference titles and a
pair advance to sectionals.
The speech team walked away
with many medals at the Lincoln
Trail Conference meet on Thursday, January 29.
First place medals were awarded to Grace Simpson in prose,
Katy Schrader in verse, and Emily Douglas in original oratory.
Taking second were Cecilia
Prentice in declamation, Kelsey
Winkler in dramatic interpretation, Simpson in extemporaneous speaking, Dan Kellogg and
Duncan Nall in humorous duet,
Nall in impromptu, and Jake
Armstrong in original comedy.
Third place finishers were
Marina Eagen in special occasion
speaking, Joe Wood in humorous interpretation, and Kellogg
Gina Long, Alex Gavin, Taylor
Toops, Joe Wood, Jake Gavin,
Logan Douglas, Daniel Adee,
and Cecilia Prentice placed first.
The junior-senior 8-person
team of Jessy Battenburg, Katie
Allaman, Krysten Karns, Preston
Powell, Mollie Murdock, Duncan Nall, Zach Steele and Carissa
Youngquist also took first place.
The calculater team, composed
of Brandon Lee, Chris Olson,
Zach Steele, Nick Cavanaugh
and Brad Cook took first as well.
In junior-senior 2-person
teams, Patrick Olin and Peter Elliott won first, while Bre Christian and Julie Gunter placed first
in oral competition.
The team advances to state
competition, which will be held
on May 2 at the University of
Illinois.
in radio.
At Valley High School on January 31, two members finaled,
with Nall and Douglas both taking fifth place in their categories,
impromptu and original ratory,
respectively.
Regionals were held at Limestone High School in Bartonville
on Saturday, February 7.
Six United team members were
awarded medals.
Douglas took third in original
oratory and Eagen placed fourth
in special occasion speaking,
with both advancing to sectionals the following weekend,
While they didn’t qualify for
the state finals, both are sure to
have promising speech careers
ahead of them, as both are only
sophomores.
Also at regionals, Julie Gunter
placed fifth in impromptu, the
dramatic duet of Schrader and
Elizabeth Johnson also placed
fifth. Armstrong placed sixth in
original comedy, the humorous
duet of Armstrong and Johnson
also placed sixth,
“This was an especially gifted
team,” Coach Kessler said of
her final group. “The variety
of strong personalities worked
together for the benefit of all.
I’m honored to have known these
fine, talented young people!”
By Katie Allaman
United’s scholastic bowl team
will wrap up its season on Saturday, February 28, at the Lincoln
Trail Conference meet.
Continuing in the latter half of
the season, the varsity has racked
up a 4 win, 6 loss record. They
have defeated Stark County,
Alwood, Princevile, and Cambridge.
Junior Varsity has also put
up an impressive season, going
8-1. They have won against West
Central, Stark County, Galva,
Alwood, Princeville, Aledo, and
Cambridge.
United’s varsity team members are Jessy Battenburg, Chase
Chavero, Kyle Ischer, CJ Ravel,
Jerry Wildbahn, Katie Hook,
Sammy Mackey, Josh Munson
and Kristy Schwass.
The junior varsity team mem-
bers are Emily Douglas, Marina
Eagen, Melissa McDonald, Joe
Wood, Brad Cook, Logan Douglas, Tyler Osborn and Cecilia
Prentice.
“We have a solid varsity this
year, with good experience.
There are a couple new members. It should be lots of fun,”
said coach Fayla Bodenhamer,
United High School history
teacher.
“I am excited about JV. They
are enthusiastic. They also have
many strengths, academically
speaking.”
Of the Lincoln Trail Conference schools, only Annawan
does not field a scholastic bowl
team, meaning the 11-team field
could present a wide open competition for the 2009 conference
title.
Tanning Beds Open!
Haircuts and Styling
Visa/Mastercard Accepted
482-3549 or 371-6277
SPORTSCARDS
Buy-Sell-Trade
Baseball-Football-Basketball-Hockey
482-6600
Seniors, need help
getting started on your
high school scrapbook?
Call Linda 482-6600
The Seedhouse
1930 140th St.
Cameron 61423
Steve Youngquist
Sales Representative
563-9842 (office)
221-9843 (cell)
2nd quarter & 1st semester honors rolls named
United High School is pleased
to announce the following
students have attained honor roll
status for the second quarter of
the 2008-2009 school year:
HIGH HONORS 3.67 and
higher GPA
Seniors: Allaman, Jessica Battenburg, Chase Chavero, Breanna
Christian, Stephanie Damewood,
Peter Elliott, Victoria Fredrickson, Stasha Giese, Teresa Jones,
Krysten Karns, Brandon Lee,
Sara Martin, Kristin Mason,
Sarah McCrery, Courtney Mullen, Josh Noble, Patrick Olin,
Christopher Olson, Tana Pierce,
Preston Powell, Christopher
Ravel, Ellen Reeder, Jillian
Rundle, Cathryn Sargent, Christina Sharer, Macy Sprout, Trisha
Swanson, Raquel Valencia, Megan Van Skike, Jerry Wildbahn.
Juniors: Jacob Armstrong,
Jaclyn Barnhouse, Alek Buckert,
Blake Callihan, Madeline Craig,
Scott Duncan, Jenna Fox, Julie
Gunter, Kathryn Hook, Elizabeth Johnson, Anton Kozelichki,
Samuel Mackey, Mollie Murdock, Duncan Nall, Adam Olin,
Katy Schrader, Kristy Schwass,
Grace Simpson, Zach Steele,
Carissa Youngquist.
Sophomores: Jennifer Battenburg, Hillary Campbell, Nicholas Cavanaugh, Emily Douglas,
Alex Gavin, Rachel Kenney,
Regina Long, Melissa McDonald, Jessica Price, Madison Ray,
Taylor Toops, Joseph Wood,
Jennifer Youngquist.
Freshmen: Daniel Adee, Jonah
Armstrong, Kelsey Crain, Ashlie
Douglas, Logan Douglas, Jennifer Elliott, Michael Galusha,
Jacob Gavin, Amanda Hendrickson, Christopher Hollis, Amy
Olson, Megan Patterson, Evan
Powell, Cecilia Prentice, Christian Schrader, Brandon Wooters.
HONORS: 3.34-3.66 GPA
Seniors: Marissa Flynn, Lindsey
Fredrickson, Eric Olson, Miranda
Vollbracht.
Juniors: Nicole Adwell, Bryce
Bruns, Cory Davey, Alexandra
Fell, Dan Kellogg, Amanda Sage,
Trevor Smoldt.
Sophomores: Augusta Chandler,
Jaylin Choate, Ashley Cox, Robert Huber, Nicholas Hull, Katie
Kaywood, Alex Lile, Jennifer
Magee, Katrina Parks, Corinne
Sargent, Gretchen Schrock.
Freshmen: Zane Carlson, Brad
Cook, Emilee Holmberg, Rebecca Hook, Caitlin Kozelichki,
Beau Morrison, Eric Nicol,
Meghan Olin, Anna Schnerre,
Ashlynn Winkler.
FCCLA means more than Home-Ec
By Katie Allaman
United FCCLA (Family,
Career and Community Leaders of America) started the year
successfully back in the fall with
apple pie sales earning a profit of
$327.
Sixty pies total were sold.
Forty-eight of them were sold at
a teachers’ institute for $7, while
12 were sold to teachers and students for $1 per slice at lunch.
The profit came after the FCCLA used some of its earnings
to purchase new items for the
kitchen stations in the family and
consumer sciences room. After
purchasing a number of Pampered Chef products, the group
also received $240 in free items.
A Pampered Chef party was
also held for the classroom,
which produced more than $600
to purchase new kitchen needs.
The most recent item of business on the minds of the FCCLA
members was Valentine’s Day.
The week prior to Valentine’s
Day saw the group bake and
decorate heart shaped cookies
with Spanish love sayings for
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Higbee’s
Spanish classes.
In the spring, the group will
be redecorating the family and
consumer sciences classroom by
repainting the cabinets and color
coordinating the four kitchen
stations.
Members will also be repainting the walls on both sides of the
room and possibly putting up
new window treatments.
The FCCLA is under the
direction of first year family and
consumer sciences teacher Mrs.
Linda Kozelichki, who is working with Delabar Vocational Education System Director Mr. Bob
Pritchett to obtain grant funding
to be used toward the purchase
of updated computer software
for the living environments and
clothing classes, which are offered during the second semester.
United High School is pleased
to announce the following
students have attained honor roll
status for the first semester of the
2008-2009 school year:
HIGH HONORS 3.67 and
higher GPA
Seniors: Katie Allaman, Jessica
Battenburg, Chase Chavero,
Breanna Christian, Stephanie
Damewood, Matt Dutton, Peter
Elliott, Marissa Flynn, Victoria
Fredrickson, Stasha Giese, Anna
Hook, Teresa Jones, Krysten
Karns, Brandon Lee, Sara
Martin, Kristen Mason, Sarah
McCrery, Courtney Mullen, Josh
Noble, Patrick Olin, Christopher
Olson, Eric Olson, Tana Pierce,
Preston Powell, Christopher
Ravel, Ellen Reeder, Jillian
Rundle, Cathryn Sargent, Christina Sharer, Macy Sprout, Trisha
Swanson, Raquel Valencia, Megan Van Skike, Jerry Wildbahn.
Juniors: Jaclyn Barnhouse,
Alek Buckert, Blake Callihan,
Madeline Craig, Scott Duncan,
Jenna Fox, Julie Gunter, Kathryn
Hook, Elizabeth Johnson, Anton
Kozelichki, Samuel Mackey,
Mollie Murdock, Duncan Nall,
Adam Olin, Katy Schrader,
Kristy Schwass, Grace Simpson,
Zach Steele, Carissa Youngquist.
Sophomores: Jennifer Battenburg, Hillary Campbell, Nicholas
Cavanaugh, Ashley Cox, Emily
Douglas, Alex Gavin, Rachel
Kenney, Regina Long, Melissa
McDonald, Katrina Parks, Jessica
Price, Erin Prichard, Madison
Ray, Taylor Toops, Joseph Wood,
Jennifer Youngquist.
Freshmen: Daniel Adee, Jonah
Armstrong, Kelsey Crain, Logan
Douglas, Jennifer Elliott, Jacob
Gavin, Amanda Hendrickson,
Christopher Hollis, Megan Patterson, Evan Powell, Cecilia
Prentice, Christian Schrader,
Brandon Wooters.
HONORS: 3.34-3.66 GPA
Seniors: Lindsey Fredrickson,
Ivy Shepard, Miranda Vollbracht.
Juniors: Nicole Adwell, Jacob
Armstrong, Bryce Bruns, Cory
Davey, Alexandra Fell, Sommer Foster, Dan Kellogg, Alisa
Randolph, Amanda Sage, Trevor
Smoldt.
Sophomore
s: Augusta Chandler, Jaylin Choate, Katie Kaywood, Alex Lile,
Jennifer Magee, Corinne Sargent,
Gretchen Schrock.
Freshmen: Zane Carlson, Brad
Cook, Ashlie Douglas, Michael
Galusha, Emilee Holmberg, Rebecca Hook, Caitlin Kozelichki,
Beau Morrison, Eric Nicol,
Meghan Olin, Amy Olson, Tyler
Osborn, Taylor Powell, Anna
Schnerre, Ashlynn Winkler.
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March North Campus Menu
March West Campus Menu
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
NO SCHOOL
PULASKI DAY
3
Corn Dog
Baked Beans
Pineapple
Cookie
4
Cheeseburger
Corn
Tropical Fruit
Teddy Graham
5
Italian Chicken
Nachos/Cheese
Green Beans
Cinn. Apples
6
Tuna Casserole
Peas
Peach Half
Cherry Freeze
2
NO SCHOOL
PULASKI DAY
3
Breaded Pork
Potatoes/Gravy
Green Beans
Pineapple
4
Pizza Casserole
Corn
Mixed Fruit
5
Corn Dog
Potato Chips
Baked Beans
Applesauce
6
Cheese Pizza
Tossed Salad
Peaches
Cookie
Cereal & Toast
Long John
Cereal/Yogurt
French Toast
Pancake Wrap
Cereal & Danish
Eggs & Toast
Toaster Pastry
9
Chicken Strips
Mash. Potatoes
Mixed Veggies
Mand. Oranges
10
BBQ Pork
Tator Triangle
Apricots
Cookie
11
Tenderloin
Chips & Salsa
Peas
Pear Half
12
Chili
Carrots & Dip
Cheese Sticks
Applesauce
13
Hot Dog
French Fries
Peach Half
Marble Square
9
Fiestada Pizza
Mixed Veggies
Pears
Trail Mix
10
Ham & Cheese
Hash Browns
Mand. Oranges
Oreos
11
Chili
Cheese Cup
Carrots & Dip
Applesauce
12
Spaghetti
7-layer Salad
Peaches
13
Fish Sandwich
Potato Puffs
Peas
Brownie
Muffin/Bacon
Cereal PopTart
Donut Yogurt
Cereal Muffin
Breakfast Stick
Long John
Cinn. Toast
Cereal Muffin
Sausage Biscuit
Cereal
16
Tacos
Lettuce/Tomato
Refried Beans
Cookie
17
Hamburger
Chips & Salsa
Peas
Tropical Fruit
18
Chick. Nuggets
Pasta Salad
Mixed Veggies
Pineapple
19
Hot Turkey
French Fries
Mand. Oranges
Cookie
20
Grilled Cheese
Baked Beans
Pear Half
Pudding Cup
16
BBQ Pork
Green Beans
Pineapple
Frosted Graham
17
Steamburger
Oven Potatoes
Baked Apples
18
Deli Sub Wrap
Tomato Soup
Mixed Fruit
No Bake Cookie
19
Grilled Chicken
Lettuce/Tomato
Broccoli
Fruit Yogurt
20
Mac & Cheese
Sausage Patty
Corn
Applesauce
Sausage Biscuit
Cereal & Toast
Long John
Cereal/Yogurt
Breakfast Pizza
Cereal Donut
Cheese Omelet
Cereal Donut
Cereal Nutrigrain
Breakfast Pizza
23
Sausage Pizza
Green Beans
Pineapple
Cookie
24
Hot Dog
Coney Sauce
Tator Triangle
Apricots
Rice Krispie Bar
25
Spaghetti
Lettuce Salad
Garlic Stix
Peach Half
26
Breaded Chick.
Chips & Salsa
Peas
Applesauce
27
NO SCHOOL
Teachers’ Inst.
23
Bread. Chicken
Potatoes/Gravy
Peaches
Cookie
24
Hot Dog
Nachos
Baked Beans
Pears
25
Taco
Lettuce/Cheese
Green Beans
Pudding
26
Sausage Pizza
Tossed Salad
Cheesecake
27
NO SCHOOL
Teachers’ Inst
Pancakes
Cereal Muffin
Donut & Bacon
Cereal PopTart
Cereal Muffin
Egg Burrito
Cereal Donut
Cereal Donut
30
Crispito
Lettuce/Tomato
Mand. Oranges
Cookie
31
Stormburger
French Fries
Mixed Fruit
Fruit Rollup
30
Chick Nuggets
Potatoes/Gravy
Corn
Jello w/Fruit
31
Cheeseburger
Oven Potatoes
Mand. Oranges
Elf Grahams
Long John
Cereal & Toast
Cereal Muffin
French Toast
Frank Zucker
Consultant
P. O. Box 5151 Phone 309-283-2805
Rock Island, IL FAX 866-353-3137
61204-5151 frank.zucker@jostens.com
1201 W. Broadway
734-9494
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March High School Menu
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
NO SCHOOL
PULASKI DAY
3
Chicken Patty on Bun
Chips
Baked Beans
Peaches Cookie
4
Chili or Chicken Noodle Soup
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Lima Beans
Cookie Fruit Snacks
5
Cavatini
Garlic Bread
Salad
Mixed Fruit
6
Cheese Pizza
Chips
Green Beans
Mandarin Oranges Cake
9
Tacos
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Spanish Rice Peas
Pineapple
16
Cheese Quesadillas
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Spanish Rice Mixed Veggies
Mixed Fruit
10
BBQ Rib on Bun
French Fries
Baked Beans
Mandarin Oranges Brownie
17
Cheeseburger
French Fries
Scalloped Corn
Peaches
11
Chicken Chunks
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Mixed Veggies
Peaches
18
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Hot Rolls
Pears
12
Ham and Cheese on Bun
Cheesy Potatoes
Peas
Pears Cake
19
Spaghetti & Meat Balls
Salad
Cheesy Bread Sticks
Mandarin Oranges
13
Macaroni and Cheese
Little Smokies
Green Beans
Pink Applesauce
20
Fish Sandwich
Cheesy Potatoes
Peas
Pineapple Cake
23
Burritos
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Spanish Rice Corn
Peaches
30
Fiestada
Corn Chips Nacho Cheese
Mixed Veggies Spanish Rice
Mandarin Oranges
24
Chili Dog
French Fries
Green Beans
Pineapple
31
Chef-Rite
French Fries Baked Beans
Peaches
Rice Krispie Treat
25
Tomato or Vegetable Soup
Grilled Cheese
Cookie
Fruit Snack
26
Goulash
Cheesy Bread Sticks
Mixed Veggies
Mandarin Oranges
27
NO LUNCH
11:30 DISMISSAL
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Equal Housing Lender
Alpha 629-4361 ~ Aledo 582-3150 ~ Alexis 482-5511
New Windsor 667-2735 ~ Viola 596-2189 ~ Woodhull 334-2802
visit our web site at: www.fsbwil.com
Member
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March Calendar
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
NO SCHOOL
PULASKI DAY
3
BBB Sectionals Begin
4
JHGBB vs Galva
5
United Sports Booster
Meeting @ the High
School 5:15
6
7
Band/Choir Solo & Ensemble Contest at Rock
Island High School
13
BBB State Finals
14
BBB State Finals
FS BBB @ Elmwood
8
All junior high
basketball games are
played at the West
Campus at 5:30 unless noted
JHGBB @ Alwood
9
LTC Honor Band
10
BBB Supersectionals
11
JHGBB vs Westmer
Winter Sports Awards
@ the High School
12
School Board Meeting
JHGBB @ Stark
County
Career Fair at CSC
15
All home baseball
games are played in
Alexis at 4:30 pm unless noted
16
17
FS/V BB vs Knoxville
18
19
FS/V SB @ Orion
22
All home softball
games are played in
Cameron at 4:30 pm
unless noted
23
V BB @ Williamsfield
24
25
V SB vs Moline @
Dragon Dome in Pekin
26
FS/V BB vs North
Fulton
29
30
Boys & Girls Track @
Bushnell
V SB @ Williamsfield
FS/V BB @ Abingdon
Boys & Girls Track
LTC Exhibition @
Knox College 4pm
20
27
NO SCHOOL
Teachers’ Institute
FS/V SB @ Nauvoo/
Colusa/Warsaw/Hamilton
31
FS/V BB @ Rockridge
FS/V SB @ South
Fulton in Astoria
21
After Prom Trivia
Night
28
BB vs Orion 11am
Wildbahn family set to send third child to U.S. military
By Stasha Giese
A journey into the Marines is
more than a brave individual allowing his life to be risked upon
demand. It goes much further
than that and it takes its place
right at our back door of United.
“A sense of pride and belonging,” senior Jerry Wildbahn
replied when asked what he
hoped to gain from his Marine
experience.
Wildbahn will be leaving
on August 10 for a 13-week
boot camp program. He will be
stationed in Paris Island, South
Carolina, or Monterey, California.
“I would rather go to Paris Island,” admitted Wildbahn. “That
is were both of my sisters went.”
After he finishes with boot
camp, Wildbahn will take a ten
day leave and then head off to
MCT (Marine Combat Training).
In this stage Wildbahn will learn
small unit tactics and become
familiar with weapons.
Directly after his next step will
be to receive a more specific job,
which will be assigned him.
Wildbahn’s reason for enrolling into the Marines suprisingly
did not have as much to do with
his sisters’ decisions as one
might think. When asked why, he
honestly replied that his reasons
were geared toward “loyalty
toward the country.”
For Jerry the Marines also set
the stage for a more stable future.
“The job market isn’t good
Girls’ hoops finishes strong
Continued from page 8
good effort and had a chance
early, but again couldn’t finish,
losing to the Wildcats 49-33.
With the season ending, Coach
Mann is looking forward to next
year.
“I think Gina and Mollie
(Murdock) will be the leaders for
the team next year, because Gina
led the team in almost all the offensive and defensive catagories
and Mollie was right there behind
her and has also been a leader in
volleyball having started three
years in volleyball and having
played a lot her sophomore year
and now starting her junior year.”
“The sophss had a good year.
We aren’t rebuilding, we’re going to try to continue where we
left off. With the freshman and
sophomore team undefeated, I
think they’ll help a lot.”
In addition to the sophomores,
Mann had high praise for the
freshman class including Sadie
Van Norman.
“I think a lot of people should
keep and eye on her. We’re los-
ing a lot of size in Bre, Krysten,
and Tana, and because of her
size, she can be helpful, but she
needs to get stronger during the
off-season.”
Coach Mann published a
stats sheet for the team after the
season ended. Gina Long led the
team in, field goals made, field
goals attempted, field goal percentage, free throws made, free
throws attempted, free throws
percentage, offensive, defensive,
and total defensive rebounds.
She was also named first team
all-conference.
Bre Christian led the team in
blocks, while Murdock and Long
tied for assists.
right now” he stated.
Wildbahn decided in early
fall of 2008 to make his decsion
concrete. He will be serving a
minimum of four years, with
plans to then go to college.
“They actually give you a college wish list,” Jerry hopefully
exclaimed, “but ultimately they
decide.” He then revealed a possible aspiration for becoming a
chemical engineer, and then followed with “I am still not sure.”
Although Jerry Wildbahn, Sr.
is completely supportive of his
children now, that wasn’t the
case when his eldest, Bethany,
I have to admit they seem to be
very happy...what more could a
father ask for?
“The girls even bunked together in basic, and Sarah got
an award for being the most
physically fit of the 80 girls in ths
platoons.”
Jerry Wildbahn, Sr. fully supports his son’s decision and left
off with excellent advise:
“You can try to guide and
direct your children, but they will
just do what they want to anyways. You just have to encourage
them to be independent.”
Track teams open season with 3/13 LTC exhibition
By Elizabeth Johnson
The 2009 United track teams,
coached by Mr. Dennis Mann
and Miss Barb. Bohan, look to be
a promising pair this spring season. The girls’season officially
started February 23 with the boys
starting a week later.
High jump star Scott Duncan,
a state qualifier a year ago, looks
forward to surpassing his previous records.
“I’m going to try my hardest to
achieve 6’7” this year. It should
be a good season for the whole
team.”
As for the rest of the team, they
are all excited to get started with
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their track season. When asked
about the girls chances at excelling this year, senior Katy Darrah
eplied “I think we have a pretty
good chance this year. We are all
trying really hard and I think that
will pay off.”
The coaches are very supportive of their team and push them
more than most just to try to see
them succeed.
United’s girls’ team will open
the seasopn with nearly two
dozen members, while the boys
are looking to have about 16
participants, their largest number
in school history.
The season will open at Knox
College on Friday, March 13,
with the second annual LTC exhibition, an event meant to gauge
individual performances, rahter
than a competition among teams.
The March 23 Frostbitre Meet
at Monmouth has been cancelled
due to scheduling difficulties.
This year’s Red Storm Relays
will be held Thursday, April 23,
at Monmouth’s Sunnylane Field,
which sports an eight-lane, allweather track.
Both boys and girls’ relays will
be held that evening beginning at
5:00 po.m.
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announced her plans to start a
life as a Marine.
Bethany was a member of the
last graduating class of Warren
High School.
“You see, I was around at the
time of Vietnam; it was immoral,
and I was antimilitary.”
Later his middle child Sarah,
a graduate from the first class
of United High School, dropped
out of college in order to follow
Bethany’s lead.
Wildbahn Sr. openly admitted
he had a change of view in the
Marines
“They are now self-reliant and
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LTC’s future beginning to come into shape
By Tony Kozelichki, Publisher
While nothing yet is set in
stone, it appears the stability
issue facing the Lincoln Trail
Conference may finally be settling into place.
At the February meeting of the
conference’s principals, member
schools voted unanimously to
accept West Prairie (Sciota/Colchester) into the conference as a
full member and Varna Midland
as a football-only member beginning with the 2010-2011 school
year.
Principals also voted unanimously to withdraw the conference from the West Prairie Trail
football conference following the
upcoming 2009 season.
That vote comes on the heals
of an earlier decision by the Prairieland Conference to withdraw
from the WPT.
At the February 12 meeting of the United Board of
Education, Superintendent Jeff
Whitsitt confirmed United was
offered the opportunity to join
the Prairieland Conference as
its tenth team; however, United
declined the invitation when it
was discovered that fellow LTC
schools Princeville and Stark
County had opted not to become
the rival conference’s 11th and
12th teams.
Discussions continue with
other area school’s regarding the
possibility of expanding the LTC
from its current ten team membership.
Representatives from Sherrard
and Mendon Unity were present
at the February principals’ meeing, and letters have been sent to
a number of Olympic Conference
schools, as well as other area
high schools, gauging interest
in the possibility of joining the
LTC.
The Olympic Conference
remains a topic of discussion
following Farmington’s defection
to the Prairieland, which left the
Olympic with only five member
schools. The IHSA requires
conferences to have at least six
members for automatic playoff
qualification in football.
The Prairieland has extended
invitations to Beardstown and
Rushville-Industry to become
that conference’s 11th and 12th
teams.
Both schools are currently
members of the West Central
Conference, but their defection,
like that of West Prairie to the
LTC, leaves the West Central
Conference’s future as much in
doubt as the Olympic’s.
For the 2009 football season,
unless changes are made in the
next couple of months, United
will find itself playing the same
schedule as it did in 2008, the
first time in the school’s five-year
history that it has had the same
football schedule in successive
years.
Homecoming is now scheduled
for October 16, when the Red
Storm will host Peoria Heights.
With only four varsity home
games this fall, and two of them
coming in weeks eight and nine,
the school was left with few
choices for scheduling homecoming activities.
The LTC principals have added
a March meeting to their schedule in order to consider potential
partners for the 2010-2011 school
year.
Basketball teams post most wins in school’s five-year history
Boys bow out in regional final, while
Powell’s 3’s advance
By Anton Kozelichki
The record for the United Red
Storm boys basketball team may
be below .500, but winning the
most games in United history,
and a berth in the regional finals
was very exciting for coach Jim
Noonan.
“I’m very pleased with how
we’ve played this year. Anytime
a team can improve two straight
years, that really tells you something about the kids we have on
the team.”
The Red Storm finished the
season 14-17, but finished strong.
They would play in the Lincoln
Trail Conference Tournament and
would get a berth in the Consolation Championship before losing
to ROWVA.
Before losing to ROWVA,
the Red Storm went to Aledo
to face the Green Dragons. The
boys would come out and stun
the crowd winning by 21 points,
70-49.
“It was awesome hearing how
silent that crowd was,” senior
Chris Olson said about the game.
Senior night saw the boys beat
a winless West Central team
63-50.. Alex Gavin (above) and
Patrick Olin led the team with 14
points, Peter Elliott scored 13,
and Chris Olson added nine.
The Red Storm would travel
back to Aledo for a regular season game. In the first matchup,
Aledo was without seniors
Devin Bysinger and Matt Dawson. They were back on their
senior night with Bysinger scoring 32 points en route to a 76-50
victory.
United would enter the Orion
Regional with a number three
seed. In the first round, they
faced Westmer. Earlier on in the
season, the Red Storm had some
trouble with the Warriors, but
exploded in this game, leading at
one point by the score of 27-2 en
route to a 53-28 win setting up
the rubber game with Aledo.
In that semi-final matchup, the
Red Storm controlled most of the
affair, but ended up giving up 15
and 9 point leads.
Foul trouble was key for both
teams, as Aledo lost three players, including Bysinger. United
lost Brian Robbins and Peter
Elliott to fouls. A tip-in at the end
of the game by Aledo sent it into
overtime. Key free throw shooting by Gavin, who finished with
33 points, would help United win
the game by a score of 63-57.
The key that night was to keep
Bysinger and Brett Anderson
in check. Before foulng outk,
Bysinger scored only 10 points,
while Anderson netted only six,
while playing most of the fourth
quarter and all of overtime with
four fouls. This would turn out
to be the last game basketball
game in Aledo history, as they
are consolidating with Westmer
next year.
The Red Storm would then face
the state;s fourth anked team,
Orion, in the regional championship on their home court.
Orion would blow away in the
second quarter with a 22-0 run.
There were also some very questionable calls in the game, but
coach Noonan doesn’t think that
had anything to do with the loss,
but credits Orion’s pressure by
the defense and ability to harrass
ball handlers.
Some might say the season
ended badly, but others, including Alex Gavin, was happy with
the season.
“I was happy with our success
this year. Obviously, we would
have liked to have gone farther,
but I think we’ll have some more
success next year.”
A bright note out of the regional was senior Preston Powell,
who advanced in the Three Point
Shootout at sectionals in Lewistown. United has had success in
the past in the Three Point Shootout with Alex Fox in 2006 and
Patrick Hollis a year ago making
it to the state finals.
Mann sees many positives in girls’ season
By Anton Kozelichki
Even though the season ended
for the United girls’ basketball
team with a record of 11-17,
Coach Dennis Mann was very
pleased with the team this year.
“We made improvements from
last year. We were close to have a
much bigger season.”
Mann said the girls just didn’t
finish some of the games this
year, and that would have made a
difference.
The girls played against state
ranked West Central on January
29 and were beaten 61-41 but
stuck in for most of the game.
The following game against West
Prairie on January 30 saw the
girls explode for a 64-49 victory, with Gina Long (picitred
above) scoring 16 points, Brooke
Armstrong scoring 15, and Bre
Christian scoring 14. The girls
would then travel to Princeville
on February 2, losing 57-52.
“There were three or four
games this year when we didn’t
finish in the final minutes and instead of a 11-17 record you could
be looking at a 15-13 record. We
easily could have been a .500
team.,” said Mann.
Senior night on February 4
saw the Red Storm pull off a
57-41 win over Aledo, with Bre
Christian, Victoria Fredrickson,
Krysten Karns, Tana Pierce and
their parents being honored
before the game.
Following a 42-35 loss at
Alwood, the girls closed out their
season with a Saturday afternoon 60-28 thrashing of visting
Cambridge.
United would enter regional
play against a very good North
Fulton team. The girls gave a
See “Girls’ hoops” on page 7
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