February 15, 2013 - Minooka Community High School District #111

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peacepipechatter.com
SCHOOL NEWS
February 15, 2013
Chili Cook-Off Champs
Designed By Baylee Dibble
The Peace Pipe Chatter
Minooka Community High School
301 S. Wabena Avenue Minooka, IL 60447
mthomas@mchs.net peacepipechatter.com
@peacepipechattr
Editors-in-Chief
Dutch Nave, Baylee
Dibble, Elaina Bartoli,
Alexa Bowen
Cover Designer
Head: Sarah Schimanski
Assistant: Sara Dobbyn
School News Editor
Victoria Bavaro
News Editor
Brennan Pagel
Interactive Editor
John Anians
Features Editor
Ali Bagley
The winners of the REACH inaugural Chili Cook-off were Olivia Guereca, Brandy Laursen, and David
Tayler with their Chiliville Chili recipe. The contest was held on Feb. 1. Photo courtesy of REACH.
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March 5
March 21
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May 9
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May 13
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Head: Katie Jostes
Head: Ryan Nelli
Assistant: Catie Petric
Assistant: Chris Rubio
Opinion Editor
Head: Crystal Uribe
Assistant: Jacob Lopez
Sports Editor
Head: Austin Hough
Head: Aaron Ladzinski
Assistant: Tara Schumal
Staff Writers
Brandon Fierke, Sylvia
Pokolenczuk
Marketing Team
Tyreisha Washington,
Catie Petric
Social Chairs
John Anians, Brennan
Pagel
Copy Editors
Kayla Vidano, Ali
Bagley, Baylee Dibble,
Lexi Sponseller, Austin
Hough
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Graham Taylor, Kayla
Vidano, Tyreisha Washington, David Magnus
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Alyssa Aspan, Lexi
Sponseller, David Magnus, Tara Schumal
Editorial Board:
Elaina Bartoli
Alexa Bowen
Baylee Dibble
Jacob Lopez
Dutch Nave
Crystal Uribe
Journalism I
Brianna Bouchard, Chelsea Cerveny, Josh Fierke,
Gaby Gall, Bethany
King, Sam Magnus, Janee Maka, Nina Manzo,
Jake Pena, Will Roberts,
Hope Smith, Gigi Taylor
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About The Cover:
Students pose in preparation for
Valentine’s Day.
Cover designed by Sarah Schimanski
and Sara Dobbyn.
SCHOOL NEWS
Student of the month
Designed by Kayla Vidano
February 15, 2013
By Kayla Vidano
Designer & Copy Editor
therapy. Her favorite
class of her senior year
is calculus.
“I did not expect
being student of the
month at all. Mrs.
Swanson pulled me out
of class and gave me
all of the information
about it,” May said.
May’s life has
changed since she has
been recognized.
May said that a lot
of random people and
teachers come up to her
in the hallway and congratulate her.
The students tell
her they see her face
on the website, which
makes her laugh.
May’s family was
very proud of her when
she was chosen for this
award.
“My parents actually brought me out
to dinner to celebrate
when they found out,”
she
said.
Senior Rachel May poses for a photo after being elected
“I
think I won beas Student of the Month. Courtesy of Alyssa Aspan.
cause I am really inOn Jan. 10, Rachel May, senior, was volved in student activities and school
named the Channahon-Minooka Rotary sports,” May said.
Club “Student of the Month” at MCHS.
“The advice I give to future winners
She has a 3.8 GPA and is on the high would be to really focus on representing
honor roll.
your school. Winning made me strive to
In her free time she plays softball on do better and it makes me feel like I am
her travel team and works at Elite Sports actually noticed,” May said.
Performance in Oswego.
Every month a student is recognized
When May gets out of high school, she at MCHS as a student of the month. It is
plans to attend the University of Illinois an honor that can help to push yourself to
of Chicago and major in occupational succeed in your future.
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New type of push-up invented
By Brennan Pagel
School News Editor
When asked what an Aztec push-up
is, most people would reply with an answer of uncertainty.
Although it isn’t very common, an
Aztec push-up is an elite styled movement that is generally executed with
military-like precision.
As you extend your body in the normal movement of a push-up, you push
into the air with explosive force while
touching toes to hands before landing
back on the ground.
What started off as a simple charity
event ended in a bold opportunity for
a young man by the name of Brandon
Collofello.
“University of St. Francis junior
Brandon Collofello set a new Guniess
World Record when he did 31 Aztec
push-ups in one minute, shattering the
old record by 20,” according to the Joliet
Patch.
As amazing as this ability is, it is
even more amazing to know that this
young college student is a 2010 graduate
of MCHS.
Even though there is proof of this
event on film, Collofello has to complete
the task on a video with a front and side
angle, and also has to have two witnesses present (including a public notary)
so that his record may be officially recorded.
The proper recording of Collofello
doing the push-ups has been set to a
later unknown date. This may be good
news for Collofello, as he has more time
to practice and improve the masterful
skill so that the bar might be set to ‘unachieveable’ for record-breaking aspiers.
The photo above displays the aztec push-up being shown by trainer Marc Perry.
It is picturing the pushing off into the air before landing onto the ground. Photo
credit to builtlean.com.
MCHS grading scale debated
By Sara Dobbyn
Cover Designer
Students at MCHS have been adapted
to the seven-point grading scale since the
school opened, so why is the Board now
suddenly taking it into consideration to
change it?
Over time, high schools have changed
their grading system to the 10-point grading scale like colleges.
“I don’t like the idea because it will be
much harder for students to strive for their
grades. Also, it will make us look like we
are doing worse,” Autumn Terborg, junior,
said.
Just like any other changes that our
school has gone through, the students are
going to have to adapt to it whether they
like the idea or not.
Some students are not going to like
it simply because they like to challenge
themselves and if the scale was to change,
it wouldn’t be a challenge. Others may like
it because they think that it will be easier
for them to get the grade that they want
and that they think they deserve.
“I think it would be worse for students
to have this luxury because it will not challenge them enough for college and then
“I don’t like the idea
because it will be
much harder for students to strive for
their grades. Also,
it will make us look
like we are doing
worse.” -Autumn
Terborg
they could possibly not get into the college
that they always dreamed of.
Also, students wouldn’t use it beneficially because they would think it would
just be an easy grade,” Alyssa Theimer,
junior, said. All of the students at MCHS
think different from one another.
If MCHS started this change, some
students would take advantage of it and
then their grade would start to slip because
they are not caring as much.
Other students would still work as hard
as they have ever worked because it would
be easier for them to get a passing grade as
opposed to a failing grade.
“I would like it because you would
have a better chance of getting a better
grade,” Rachel Ward, freshman, said.
This luxury can be helpful to many students, especially to the students that have
learning disabilities because they tend to
spend more time on an assignment than
other kids do.
So, it would give them an extra boost
in their confidence level that they could get
good grades without having to study for
five hours all the time.
“The board has thought of it, but they
want me to pursue it,” James Colyott, Superintendant, said.
To change the grading scale, it goes
through a long process. That process includes research, surveys, and public forums, meeting with the administration,
and meeting with the board of education.
If MCHS were to have this change, it
wouldn’t start until next year.
“I am new to the
area so this is my
first time hearing about [the issue], but I think
it is a phenomenal idea.”- James
Colyott
“I am new to the area so this is my first
time hearing about [the issue], but I think it
is a phenomenal idea,” Colyott said.
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SCHOOL NEWS
February 15, 2013
Designed by Victoria Bavaro
speaking the language Step in the right direction
By Sarah Schimanski
Cover Design
When you think of speaking a foreign
language fluently, images that come to
mind are being around a family that has
spoken it for years, or taking a class during
your high school and college years.
For Dan Worden, senior, on the other
hand, it came into interest to teach himself
to speak German.
“I started teaching myself because it’s
part of my family heritage and my great
grandparents are from there,” Worden said.
Not only does he show off for all his
friends, but also he reads books that are
written fully in German. The music style
that he listens to also continues his interest.
“I listen to German music a lot with
bands like Rammstein. My friends and me
joke around, and I usually swear at them.
I’ll teach them whatever they would like to
know,” Worden said.
Rammstein is an industrial metal band
that is from Berlin, Germany. Not only
does this band perform songs in German,
but also they do songs in English, Spanish,
French, and Russian.
Teaching himself allows for him to talk
to people from Germany over Facebook,
just like a pen pal.
“I” call my friends from Facebook and
we have full conversations in German,”
Worden said.
Knowing two different languages can
allow for better job opportunities and
chances at traveling abroad learning of new
cultures.
“I could easily be a translator, which a
lot of people can’t say,” said Worden.
Pavelka continues to get better
By Brennan Pagel
News Editor
Mr. Sam Pavelka, science, is a teacher
at MCHS South Campus who was recently re-diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.
His wife, Cheryl, has been updating on
Pavelka’s state and she currently explained that Pavelka is doing wonderfully
at home and that he is able to walk around
the house without his walker.
He’s been attending physical therapy
three times a week and the therapy has
helped with the walking tremendously.
She goes on to say that he only has five
more rounds of chemotherapy, and when
it’s over, he will have completed 12
rounds total. Their house is open to any
visitors that wish to stop by.
Pavelka has already beat Ewing’s Sarcoma once when he was diagnosed at age
22 with the cancer.
“Pavelka was the kind of teacher that
got the best out of you while having a
good time doing it, he wasn’t afraid to
laugh at himself,” said Tyler Gleim, junior.
A quest to cure Grandma
By Victoria Bavaro
School News Editor
Children’s Theater continues to
brighten the days of children and families in the community. This year they
acted out a play called “The Quest.”
This play consisted of famous fairytales
such as Snow White, Little Red Ridding Hood, and Rapunzel all morphed
together.
The play, if you didn’t get a chance to
see it, was about three different missions
to get ingredients needed to cure grandma of what ailed her. Not So Very Short
Dwarf, Judo Pig, and Just Plain Ordinary Pig found the poison apple. 007
Goldilocks and Western Pig found the
cold porridge. Furthermore, Little Red
With A Hood found the lock of golden
hair. While they were on their different
journeys they come face to face with
Huff and Puff the big bad wolf and his
minion Tag Along Troll. They also meet
Rapanzel and the not so very handsome
prince.
“It was really good,’ Corey Alonzo,
senior, said. “Joey was really funny.”
They acted out this play for the community on Feb. 5 and for the children on
Feb. 6. Over $1,000.00 was raised at the
community performance to benefit the
families of Mr. Assaf and Mr. Pavelka.
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NEWS
February 15, 2013
Designed by Jacob Lopez
peacepipechatter.com
Armstrong confesses to doping charges
By Ali Bagley
Copy Editor/Features Editior
After years of accusations,
Lance Armstrong has finally
come clean and confessed to
Oprah in a public interview that
he has used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his cycling
career, which included the period
during his seven Tour de France
wins.
Many people were skeptical
of Armstrong and his usage of
performance-enhancers during
his entire career. There have been
studies and even books accusing
Armstrong of doping.
Armstrong repeatedly denied
doping in the past, and even attacked the reputations of those
who accused him. So why con-
fess to his actions now instead of
earlier? Or why not just hold the
secret forever?
Some believe it is because the
guilt finally got to him, while others believe it was a preexisting
obligation for him to confess.
Although Armstrong may have
got his confession off of his chest,
he will pay serious financial consequences. Reportedly, Armstrong will lose over $10 million
in lawsuits, and a majority, if not
all, of his sponsors. Livestrong, a
charity that Armstrong started in
1997, is likely to survive the chaos, but is receiving a large amount
of criticism.
MCHS students had similar
opinions on Armstrong’s recent
confession.
“I love Lance Armstrong,”
Ayhan Ozgen, senior, said, “I
will still support him no matter
what. He’s a very talented guy,
especially coming back from cancer and still winning the Tour de
France.”
Lance armstrong confesses his use of performance enchancing drugs in an
Similar in thought is Chris
interview with Oprah.
Costa and Alex Short, both se-
Addison Locke fights cancer
By Elaina Bartoli
Editor in Chief
Words to describe Addison
Locke include energetic, outgoing, and extraordinary. Last
March, the then 6-year-old was
diagnosed with liver cancer. This
was a shock to her friends and
family considering up to a few
weeks prior to this discovery, Addison was just a typical girl.
Up until this time, she was attending school at Bobbie Noonan’s Child Care. She also was a
competitive cheerleader at Five
Star Cheer Academy in Joliet.
Addison’s journey began
with flu-like symptoms after her
younger sister, Rori ,6, had a virus. She seemed to resemble the
same symptoms as Rori, so the
family thought nothing of it. They
went on a vacation to Walt Disney
World in Florida and continued
with their everyday lifestyle.
She was first taken to the doctor on April 3, where many tests
were taken. The doctor called
them shortly after to inform Steve
and Erin Locke that their daugh-
ter’s blood work was extremely
off. She then received an ultrasound, and a mass was found on
her liver.
On April 10, the Locke parents
met with their daughter’s doctor and were informed that twothirds of children’s livers that
have masses are cancerous. At
that point, they learned that the
mass was, in-fact, cancerous.
Since that time, Addison’s
battle against cancer has been
full-force. She received a liver
transplant and underwent chemotherapy for a majority of the past
year. She has received the nickname of “Super Addison” which
is referring to all of the battles she
has faced and conquered.
All seemed to be on the right
track until early January 2013
when Addison’s counts went up
again. They were then given the
terrible news that the cancer had
spread to Addison’s lungs. There
are numerous spots that are each
the size of a grain of salt on her
lungs.
She is now undergoing radiation once again. The family is also
switching to being gluten-free.
Although Addison is going
through an extremely terrible
time, she is not going through it
alone. In May 2012, there was a
“Cutting It All For Addison” fundraiser where many people came
and cut their hair for Addison.
In September 2012, there was
a “Super Addison Fundraiser”
banquet where there were raffle
baskets, dinner, split the pot, and
more. Five Star Cheer Academy
held many fundraisers. These include selling bracelets, keychain
bows, pop tabs, and more.
Times III Performing Arts
Academy is doing a pop tab fundraiser as well. There has been a
dine and donate through Lonestar
in Joliet. In addition, there have
been many t-shirts made and sold
where the proceeds go directly to
the Locke family.
But the fundraisers don’t stop
there. In March there is a bowling fundraiser planned, “Believe”
shirts are being made and sold,
and there are St. Baldrick’s events
starting soon in which the proceeds go to cancer research.
North Korea’s missile development
By Crystal Uribe
Opinion Editor
never officially came to an end,
North Korea and South Korea did
however, agree to cease-fire.
The United States and North
Recently, North Korea has
Korea have a relationship similar stood firm on continuing their
weapon and missile developments.
Their
target
may not only be
South Korea, but
the United States
as well.
North
Korea
has bluntly threatened to attack the
U.S.
Journalist
Rick Gladstone,
from the New
York Times reported,
“North
North Korea has been conducting undergroud
Korea has no innuclear missle tests. Photo from Globalsecurity.org.
terest on denucleto one that consists of walking on arizing itself and would forge
eggshells. While the Korean War ahead with its missile and weap-
ons development, with the goal to
hit American territory.”
North Korea doesn’t have a
reputation for following through
with their threats, but they do
have a history of unexpected attacks.
Their most recent attack involved the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Whether completely serious
or not, the United States is taking
these warnings seriously.
“I still think North Korea’s
threats should be taken seriously. We should always keep our
guards up,” said Meg Levis, senior.
As if President Obama didn’t
already have much to take on
during his second term in office,
these threats from North Korea
are now added to the list.
niors.
“I think people need to look
at the big picture and realize that
cycling is the dirtiest sport, and
everybody dopes in that game.
Don’t just blame Armstrong,”
Costa said.
“I agree with Costa. I think
that if you’re going to call out
Armstrong for doping, then you
have to call out everybody else
that does it too,” Short said.
Faith
Thompson,
junior,
agrees.
“Armstrong” Cont.
on Page 13
Veteran takes hostages
By Sylvia Pokolenczuk
Photogapher/Staff Writer
Jimmy Dykes, a 65-year old
Vietnam veteran shot and killed
a school bus driver and then abducted a 5-year old boy on Jan.
29 in Midland City, Alabama.
According to CNN.com, Dykes
had taken the child hostage in a
self-made underground bunker
on his property. Officials have
been attempting to communicate with Dykes through a 4-inch
ventilation pipe connected to the
bunker, where both the suspect
and victim are still hiding in.
On Tues. afternoon, Dykes
had gotten on the bus and demanded that the driver hand
him a child. When the driver,
Charles Poland, refused and tried
to block Dykes, he was shot and
killed. The suspect had grabbed
two children and one was lucky
enough to safely escape along
with the other children.
“I feel as if this psychotic man
is trying to imitate the movie
Lovely Bones and the fact that
he is a Vietnam veteran makes
it worse,” said Abraheem Juma,
junior.
According to local neighbors
Dykes had been working on the
bunker, which he claimed to be
a storm shelter, for over a year.
The bunker is located on the
property near a trailer with a pipe
that leads up to the driveway so
that approaching cars and people
can be heard from inside. The
bunker is well stocked with essential supplies that can last for
days, as well as a television.
“What goes through someone’s head to do something horrible like that?” said Gwen Morales, senior.
The officials will not be leaving any time soon, and the suspect can only stay in hiding for
so long until his supplies dwindle. Sooner or later, Dykes will
have to face his consequences.
College shooting
By Catie Petric
Assistant A&E Editor
Imagine walking through
the heavily lighted hallways of
school, and glancing over to see
two students having an altercation. Now, imagine looking over
to see one of the students pull a
gun out and shoot the other student.
On Jan. 22, a man with a gun
plagued Lone Star College in
Houston, Texas. He opened fire
on three students, and luckily
none of them were faced with
death.
Originally, Carlton Berry
was put into custody as a suspect, but after further investigation, it turns out the real gunman
was Trey Foster.
“Shooting” Cont. on
Page 13
An officer patrols the entrance of Lone Star College after the shooting. Photo from CBS News.
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OPINION
February 15, 2013
Designed by Crystal Uribe
Equality in Combat Adulterated food
Over the years, women have served a
very important role in the military.
According to the Department of Defense (DOD), as of February 29, 2012, over
20,000 females are serving or have served
in Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to news.yahoo.com, “the
U.S. military will formally end its ban on
women serving in front-line combat roles.”
This could potentially open hundreds of
thousands of fighting services for female
service members.
Individual military services will have
until 2016 to decide it combat roles should
remain closed for women.
Although many people think woman in
combat is extremely dangerous, it is just as
dangerous as having men fight front-line.
Men die fighting front-line each year,
and the number goes up every time the U.S.
forms a new attack or we begin another
war.
Just as there are tests for men to pass
before joining the military, such as physical, mental, and moral standard tests, those
things apply to women to.
Why is it fair to let men fight front-line
when they pass the tests and not women?
Women take on so many masculine
roles in this day and age, that it is almost
absurd not to open the front-line combat
role to them.
Women serving as firefighters and police officers are just some of the dangerous
careers women risk their life in every day.
Not only that, but people all over the
world are fighting for equality.
Does it make sense to have inequality
when it comes to front-line combat when
only our male soldiers actually fight for
peace and equality?
-PPC Editorial Board
The U.S military is undergoing the removal of the ban, which doesn’t permit women to
serve in front line combat. Strength should not be measured by gender. Photo Courtesy of
Foreign Policy.
Although we have advanced greatly in technology, many people are still oblivious when it
comes to what they consume. Ingredients such as, olive oil is one that is most frequently
adulterated. Photo courtesy of Food Safety news.
By Alexa Bowen
Editor-in-Chief
These days, we may not necessarily
know what’s going into our favorite foods.
Companies all over the world are illegally
packing their foods with things that aren’t
supposed to be there—an act known as
“food fraud.”
In order to reduce costs, companies cut
out an ingredient and replace it with something less expensive. As consumers, we are
not educated enough about food to detect
the imposter ingredients.
One example of food fraud is the delicious cold substance many of us drink every day—milk.
A lot of people think their milk is coming from a cow, and many of them could be
mistaken. Cow milk is most often replaced
with bovine milk (a peptide hormone that
regulates metabolic processes in cows) or
buffalo milk with goat-antelope milk.
Milk is also sometimes cut with things
like oil, caustic soda, sugar, salt, and skim
milk powder.
Another horribly adulterated food is olive oil, even the extra-virgin kind.
Olive oil is supposed to do a lot of good
things to your body, but it is the most commonly adulterated food. Olive oil is most
often cut with hazelnut oil. This is bad
news to anyone with nut allergies.
According to www.prevention.com,
other bad and imposter-like ingredients include sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable
oil, soybean oil, walnut oil, and corn oil.
Does this sound anything like olive oil?
Not only is food fraud dangerous, but
it also makes these foods way more unhealthy than consumers are able to see.
This opens a lot of dangers for heart problems, cholesterol problems, and every day
weight gain leading to obesity.
Other adulterated foods include honey,
orange juice, coffee, and apple juice.
These are not the only foods with fake
ingredients, though. The wrong ingredients may be put into your favorite foods
every day.
Guns need control
By John Anians
Interactive Editor
3,533
3,500
Gun control has become a primary issue in the United States. Politicians and the public are
equally concerned; however, will stricter laws be the solution to the conundrum? Illustrated
by John Anians.
It’s not that banning guns will prevent
all future shootings, no; laws cannot hope
to do that.
The government won’t always be able
to stop some insane man from exacting a
weird justice upon a school of innocent
children.
However, the laws can reduce them.
Many people are indifferent about this
highly controversial topic, but it seems to
me the answer is clear; Ban assault rifles so
that we can prevent civilians from making
poor decisions in the future, which may
turn out to be fatal.
Even though there are ways around the
ban, it’s going to significantly reduce how
easily obtainable some of these weapons
are, while also restricting a wide array of
specifically more “harmful” models of certain weapons.
I do, however, disagree with a restriction on specific firearms.
Any type of handgun or semi-automatic
rifle used as a weapon to hunt game for
food or sport should not be banned to the
general public.
Background checks will also help the
NRA to determine who has access to the
guns.
Any explicit criminal background
would surely cut a person off from acquiring guns.
If they ensure a strict policy on the matter, then the possibility of a crazed gunman
who gained a firearm through the proper
procedure would purely be a phenomenon.
Laws can only go so far as to produce
good people, though.
So, to say that the best option is to make
a strict policy on guns would be a fallacy.
Understanding this, one can only try to
meet halfway on the dispute.
In that event, gun control is good, but
complete gun removal could be bad. For
instance, Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto is attributed to saying “you cannot invade the
U.S. mainland, because there would be a
rifle behind every blade of grass.”
Although this quote has no factual evidence of ever being said by him, it still
rings true in society today.
Conclusively, I am partially in agreement with the policies Obama is attempting to impose.
I hate the idea of an American home
where there isn’t any security, especially in
the event of a crisis.
But I also believe our gun security
needs to be tighter.
INTERACTIVE
Designed by John Anians
February 15, 2013
Game 1
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peacepipechatter.com
Dots AND Boxes
Players take turns joining two
horizontally or vertically adjacent dots by a line. A player
that completes the fourth side
of a square (a box) colors
that box and must play again.
When all boxes have been colored, the game ends and the
player who has colored more
boxes wins.
Game 2
Word of the Month
CONUNDRUM
[kuh-nuhn-druhm]
noun
1. a riddle, the answer to
which involves a pun or
play on words.
2. anything that puzzles.
Origin:
1590–1600; pseudo-L word
of obscure origin
Teacher’s Corner...
Did you know?
Mr. Richard Undesser, Spanish, won the World Championship of Judo in 2009,
in Atlanta, Georgia. To win it, he had to take on Cuba in the semi-finals, and
after advancing, he had to beat Russia in the finals. In 2010 he was invited
to go back and compete again, but unfortunately got into a car accident on
the very last day of school, which forced him to give up the dream.
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FEATURES
February 15, 2013
Designed by Ali Bagley
Student plans to yo-yo ‘around the world’
By Baylee Dibble
Editor-in-Chief
The competitors get an early start to
their day, walking in and catching up with
old friends. They spend time practicing
and hanging out before finally it is time
to take the stage for their few minutes to
impress the judges.
Tiereney Ulmer, junior, is a competitive yo-yo player. She has been yo-yoing
her whole life, but she really started taking
it seriously in June 2012.
“I had a crush on a yo-yo player,” Ulmer said while talking about why she decided to take up yo-yoing. Her dad has
also been a yo-yo player for over 20 years.
Ulmer said that her favorite trick to do
is the spirit bomb, which is too complicated to explain. She has been competing
in the areas of sport ladder and free style.
On a typical competition day, after
catching up with old friends, Ulmer takes
the stage to compete in the sport ladder
event. After five to 10 minutes of performing, she waits for the results and then takes
the stage again to compete in the freestyle
event. Throughout the day she is on and
off the stage for about an hour. After her
final event, Ulmer gets to relax and watch
the rest of the competition.
This hobby allows Ulmer to travel all
over the country. The most recent compe-
tition she participated in was held in Colorado, and she is competing in one in St.
Louis very soon.
Ulmer practices for about two hours
every day and has received many string
burns in the process. Throughout the
years, she has accumulated over 40 yo-yos
and her dad has more than 80.
“It let’s me get away from the world,”
Ulmer said talking about her favorite
things about yo-yoing. It has also allowed
her to make a lot of friends, some even being professionals.
Yo-yoing is not the only thing that Ulmer likes to do in her free time though, she
also enjoys riding her unicycle, and has
recently taken up pizza dough throwing.
Music is big part of Ulmer’s life as well,
and she plans to pursue a career as a music
producer.
Ulmer does not have any plans to stop
yo-yoing, though. One of her goals is to
go to worlds at least twice in her life. She
said she would also love to compete in nationals.
“I really want to meet my two favorite players Zach Gormley and Graeme
Steller,” Ulmer said also regarding her yoyoing goals.
Never underestimate the talents of your
classmates; you could be sitting next to a
competitive yo-yo player next class period.
Tiereney Ulmer, junior, is taking her yo-yo playing talent to the competitive level. Photo
courtesy of Sylvia Pokolenczuk.
Which road will you choose?
By Katie Jostes
A&E Editor
The time has come for the seniors of MCHS to start that first
part towards adulthood: college.
At this point, you might start to
think: what colleges are left? Is
there even any time left? How
much will tuition be now? To
go to JJC or to four-year college right away? These could be
things that might alter the whole
college experience for you.
For some, this fall comes by
with ease and almost everything
is all planned out for them except
a few minor details, like registering for classes. For others, this
is such a difficult process for
numerous reasons that students
are just completely lost with
nowhere to go or who to turn
to. Thanks to the counselors at
MCHS, there is hope for the lost.
First of all, it does not hurt
to go to any of your counselors
for help on what to do this fall.
That’s what they’re there for after all, so do not fear.
“There are still plenty of
schools accepting students as
freshmen for 2014 because of
rolling admission,” said Mrs.
Bobbi White, counselor.
There are many schools with
rolling admission, which means
they’re still accepting students
even by the time graduation
rolls around in May, such as the
School of the Art Institute of
Chicago or Drake University in
ville, TN.
Sure, they may not be Ivy
League or completely well
alone in this situation; there are
plenty of students who are not
sure where to go or even what
reer choice.
Cost may also be a determining factor of going to JJC or
straight to four-year college.
There are scholarships still,
but they may not be enough
to cover the majority of the
cost for the dream school
right now. With JJC, there
is at least security of getting
your general education credits done.
Some students may not
even have college on their
minds right now.
“School? What school?”
senior Tori Larson said.
She has decided to take a
year off from school, which
is also a popular option, and
focus on getting a job and
saving money. Then, she
has decided to go to Joliet
Junior College. She also is
spending her fall season at
the popular haunted house,
Abyss.
Some students are still
applying to different places
and picking from there, like
senior, Shannon Romeo.
She has been applying to
Seniors have many different options when deciding what to do after they graduate high school. Picture drawn by Nick multiple colleges while their
Esposito, senior.
fees are waived, but is tentatively going to JJC this fall.
Whatever the case may be,
Des Moines, IA. Some go even known, but they will more than career to choose.
further in advance than May and likely have some sort of a pro“A musician or therapist, just know there are always peogo all the way into August, such gram that any teenager may want that’d be rad!” said senior, Nick ple to talk to and options for colas Belmont University in Nash- for a career. Also, no one is at all Esposito when asked about a ca- lege. It is never too late.
FEATURES
Designed by Tyreisha Washington
February 15, 2013
9
peacepipechatter.com
Who’s your match?
By Sylvia Pokolenczuk
Photographer
It’s that time of the year again, and MCHS
students took the ultimate multiple-choice test for
love just a few weeks ago to find that special someone, though one can’t help but to wonder about
these questionnaires and their reliability. 50 MCHS
students were surveyed to tell us what they really
think and these are the following results.
Forever in love?
By Alyssa Aspan
Photographer
Looking at this very stereotypical topic of high school dating has proven to be
quite a challenge.
Many believe that because we are only
in high school that relationships are pointless and overlooked.
Past all the stereotypes of puppy love
and storms of drama waiting to happen,
high school relationships can actually be
extremely beneficial to students in the long
run.
By having a relationship in high school
you can learn a lot about commitment, life,
love, and expressing yourself and by possessing these qualities, you can then use
them later in life.
“I think dating is beneficial because it
creates an idea of what you’re looking for
in a potential future relationship,” Kyle
Martin, junior, said.
It is important for you to know what
exactly you’re looking for in a person to
potentially date.
Although most people believe that you
just know what your “type” is, things like a
person’s personality and traits also commit
to how you’re attracted to a person.
By having prior relationships experience in high school, you can point out if
someone is caring or kind because you
know how to recognize these traits.
Socially speaking, a high school relationship is a great way to put yourself out
there.
You can learn how to be yourself around
others and how to talk to people.
A relationship will encourage you to try
new things, will provides you with a sense
of understanding, and supply you with
great people skills.
“Relationships allows you to be more
open and social. I’ve learned to be more
myself with my boyfriend and others,”
Danny Vickers, junior, said.
Dating can also bring on maturity. High
school in general is also a time to mature
and grow up, and the amount of maturity
you gain in the four short years you are in
high school is crucial in the future. Dating
helps you from that stand point.
“I have been dating my boyfriend for
a little over a year and four months and
I think relationships are really important
while in high school.
Relationships make you happy; it’s nice
having someone to talk to that you can tell
anything to.
I think that dating makes you more mature if you’re in the right relationship because you have to learn how to understand
each other,” Sammi Stubert, junior, said.
You also have to learn how to commit to
someone and care for someone other than
yourself.
At the same time, you also learn how to
work out differences in opinion and argu-
ments with others.
All of these will generally make a person mature and push them to grow up.
No, not every relationship you experience in high school is candy coated and
great, but most relationships aren’t meant
to work out.
Yes, everyone will go through heart
break or rejection, but you will gain so
much emotional and mental knowledge
while you were in that relationship that
will make you a new, better person.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to
date.
When it comes to teenagers finding that
one person, they feel like they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If you like someone, don’t be afraid.
Who knows what you can learn from a relationship.
You’re only in high school once, so go
for it. Just be yourself and you’ll find the
right person for you.
10
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rts
February 15, 2013
ntertainment
Designed by Dutch Nave
‘A Haunted House’ splits sides
By Alyssa Aspan
Head Photographer
Would you make a deal with the devil
and sell your soul for a pair of Louboutin shoes? That’s just what Kisha does
because they “make her calves pop” in A
Haunted House.
A Haunted House is a knee-slapping,
laughable comedy with tons of hilarious
humor and crazy plot twists. It was by
far 1 hour and 26 minutes of my life well
spent.
After dating for over two years Malcolm
and his girlfriend finally decide to move
in together. Unfortunately, Kisha moves in
with way more than just her bad gas and
crazy amount of shoes. Strange paranormal events begin to unfold almost instantly after she moves in. This motivates Malcolm to have security cameras installed
everywhere around the house to catch
what is causing these strange occurrences
on camera. But once Kisha becomes possessed, Malcolm seeks help from a homosexual psychic, two wannabe reality
TV nerds, and a priest to save Kisha and
his relationship in this hilarious parody of
past popular scary movies.
Directed by Michael Tidds, A Haunted
House illustrates scenes from all Paranormal Activity movies, The Devil Inside,
The Last Exorcism, Insidious, and other
scary movies. This mixed parody stars
Marlon Wayans as Malcolm, Essence Atkins as Kisha, and other stars like David
Koechner, Nick Swardson, and Affion
Crockett.
Like other movies written by Wayans,
(for instance the Scary Movie parodies)
there is a lot of eye-watering comedy and
entertaining humor within the film. It focuses a lot on the questions viewers have
when watching the original movies, that A
Haunted House is based off of, that makes
producers want to make fun of it in the
first place. Why would you stay if your
house is haunted? Or why do you continue
to document your experiences on film if
you know it upsets the demon or ghost?
These are all answered and revolved
around in a funny fashion throughout the
entire movie.
Another hilarious comparison the creators make fun of is the difference between how African-Americans would react to living in a haunted house compared
to white. It sounds terrible I know, but it
made me completely laugh my head off.
I liked how every star in A Haunted
House pulled off their roles extremely
well. You really get the feel that Malcolm
and Kisha are a newly moved in couple
because of the hilarious chemistry Way-
ans and Atkins display. They illustrate a
lot of common problems newly moved in
couples face in a funny and amusing way.
You clearly see the relationship humor
highlighted in this film.
I don’t understand why critics continue
to have so many negative comments about
this movie. Critics set their standards way
too high, especially when going to see a
parody. It’s like they are expecting to see
the next award winning film. The whole
point of this movie is to get a good laugh;
it was made to make fun of popular scary
movies, not to win a 2013 academy award.
Sure, the critics don’t like it, but the
audiences do. Customers watching movies in other theatres actually complained
because they could hear the crowd laughing through the walls when I went. I found
myself dying of laughter and crying at
most scenes. By the end of the movie my
abs definitely hurt from the insane amount
laughing I did.
One thing this movie does lack though is
the sense of when you have gone too far.
It is expected in a rated R movie that there
will be some adult topics and scenes, but
A Haunted House takes it to an extreme
level. The humor is very vulgar and outrageous, with sexual jokes and content and
some nudity I’m not saying a lot of those
scenes weren’t funny, because they were,
like the scene with Malcolm and stuffed
animals. I’m talking about over the top
things like the scene with the couple and
the ghost that is taking over their household in bed together. I was not expecting
anything like that at all. It shouldn’t have
to be so inappropriate to be funny.
Another thing I disliked about this film is
how the movie continued to touch on topics that could really offend people. I know
audiences come into a parody expecting a
lot of rude comments and jokes but that
usually applies to the movies within the
film itself, not toward a particular group of
people as shown in this film, in this case,
homosexual people.
Likewise, this movie has its good and
bad, as does every film. I give A Haunted
House 3 out of 5 stars because of its amazing ability of making people, including
me, laugh. I feel like this parody is a much
more successful and actually funny compared to previous ones made within the
past few years. You leave the theater feeling like it had a point and that it wasn’t a
waste of money or time. I would definitely
spend the money to see it again for sure.
I don’t recommend this to anyone under
the age at least 16 or if you don’t have a
sense of humor. But, if you are craving a
good laugh and an “abdominal workout,”
get to the theater.
Etsy makes
buying
items -z
By Lexi Sponseller
Copy Ediotr/ Staff Photographer
Many people choose to buy things online
now rather than going to stores and buying
them. Most people would know about eBay
of course, but how about ETSY?
If you enjoy more hand crafted, unique,
or edgy items, then this site is just the site
for you. Its full of creative and fun items on
every page.
Like eBay, ETSY is on the web for you to
buy and sell items. But unlike eBay, ETSY
has more handcrafted items and more of a
variety of selections.
ETSY is not as well known as eBay, although it is just as good, if not better. With
eBay, account members are expected to
give a percent of the prophet back to eBay
for using their services, while ETSY users
are not expected to give money to them.
ETSY users are able to message other
users with questions or concerns about
the products they are purchasing, same as
eBay. But with ETSY, the customer can always make deals with the seller.
With ETSY you don’t bid on items, they
are all just available to buy at all times with
no time limits. For example, to make an
IPhone 4/4S or 5 case customized with a
picture of your choosing can cost you only
$15.99 with free shipping and no tax. Just
go to www.Etsy.com and you will see for
yourself a great website.
Yes, eBay is a good, safe site to make
purchases on, but at the same time, it isn’t
any better than ETSY.
Connecticut gets another haunt-
By David Magnus
Staff Photographer/ Designer
Following in the footsteps of other popular “Based on a True Story” horror films,
The Haunting in Connecticut series instills fear into its viewers by presenting
a more plausible situation. Preceding the
first movie, The Haunting in Connecticut
2: Ghosts of Georgia features the settling
of the Wyrick family into a new home.
The family purchases the sizeable estate
without hesitation due to its mysteriously
low price. After settling down, they begin to experience unexplained events that
progressively grow in intensity. Upon the
discovery of an old mortuary in the century old mansion, the family comes to a
conclusion that the strange occurrences
were paranormal. This film, like many
others of its type, was somewhat cliché.
The plot of this film made it hard to pay
close attention to, as every shock could be
predicted, diminishing the bolt from the
blue factor. Despite an overall predictable
series of events, writer David Coggeshall
displays skill in stitching historical aspects
of the plot together. The storyline behind
the movie is perhaps the most interesting
ingredient in its profile. During the climax
of the paranormal events, a few twist help
to compensate for the unoriginality of this
motion picture. In general, I would not
suggest viewing this movie if you have
seen the any of the films in the paranormal
activity series, for they weaken the shock
factor. If you are new to based-on reality
horror films, you may find this film enjoyable.
ntertainment
Designed by Ryan Nelli
February 15, 2013
11
peacepipechatter.com
Future plans for The Legend of Zelda
By Ryan Nelli
A&E Head Editor
In a Wii U Direct video on
Jan. 23, Eiji Aonuma, one of
the creators of the Zelda
series,
announced
much information
about the upcoming Zelda game
for the Wii U.
Aonuma stated in
the video, “Our mission in developing this
new Zelda game for Wii
U is quite plainly to rethink the
conventions of Zelda.”
It appears that the game mechanics within the upcoming title
in the series is going to be seriously altered, such as “completing the dungeons in a certain order” and “playing by yourself.”
These statements greatly imply
that this game will be a solid improvement concerning a new type
of gameplay and that it will be
multiplayer. Aonuma said that the
developers
“want to
create a
new-
born
Zelda
so players
today can enj o y
the real essence of the
franchise.”
Even
the
game’s graphi c s
look
great.
A
t
E3
2011,
Wii U
Zelda HD
Experience demo
stations were set up where players
could experience the long-awaited HD graphics. Gamers could
rotate the camera to any angle in
a scene where Link fights a giant
spider.
Aonuma was also pleased
to announce that the GameCube
classic, The Legend of Zelda: The
Wind Waker, will be re-released
for the Wii U. Aonuma said
that the
r e -
vamped
graphics
made
Wind Waker feel as if it had been
transformed into something entirely new. “We intend to offer
you The Legend of Zelda: The
Wind Waker, reborn on Wii U, to
play in the meantime.”
Photo courtesy of vgblogger.com
Hyrule Historia is HERE!
By Ryan Nelli
A&E Head Editor
The world’s most popular
video game series, The Legend
of Zelda is known for being
very prestigious and successful,
and as of Jan. 29, the legend has
come to life with the release of
the book The Legend of Zelda:
Hyrule Historia.
Originally released in Japan in December 2011, Hyrule
Historia has pages of information on the Zelda series including interviews with the creators,
concept art, and the official
timeline for the games.
The book was released in
two editions: the standard hardcover copy and the limited edition having a faux-leather hardcover and gold gilded pages.
Unfortunately, the limited edition sold out quickly when it
was announced so the only
version available is
the standard edition.
The book has gotten so much praise that
even some MCHS students pre-ordered the
book and have already
received it.
Aaron Gutierrez, junior said, “The suspense
to finally open my Hyrule
Historia has been an agonizing torture.”
“I’ve wanted it since it
came out in December 2011,”
said Megan Stropus, junior. “I
love how there’s multiple timelines in the story and I enjoy
looking at all the concept art of
the characters.”
The Legend of Zelda:
Hyrule Historia can be bought
on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for around $20. Due to the
amount
of excited Zelda
fans,
they’re running out quickly so
pick this up soon before they’re
Designers turn towards Oculus Rift
By Jacob Lopez
Opinion Editor
Gamers and game developers have been raving about the
new “virtual reality” goggles
called the Oculus Rift. Currently
finalizing development, about
10,000 packages containing the
Rift goggles will be shipped as
developer kits in about a month.
The Rift goggles were showcased at various gaming conventions last year including E3,
Quakecon, Gamescon, and PAX.
They also became a hot topic
when they were endorsed by famous game developers such as
John Carmack, co-founder of Id
Software (Doom, Quake, Rage,
Wolfenstein 3D), Gabe Newell,
co-founder of Valve (Half-Life,
Portal, Team Fortress, Left 4
Dead), and Markus Persson, creator of Minecraft. The Rift raised
over one million dollars in less
than 36 hours, and ended up raising nearly $2.5 million funding
on Kickstarter.com; ten times
their goal of $250,000.
The Rift uses head tracking
technology to simulate a 360-de-
Jimmy Fallon trying the Oculus Rift on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Photo courtesy of theVerge.com.
gree view. When you turn your
head left, the headset detects that
movement and you’ll turn left in
the game too. Inside the goggles,
there are two separate screens for
each eye. The two screens take
up your entire field of vision, so
you’ll see things like you would
if it were real life, instead of just
looking at a screen.
Oculus is currently experimenting with possible features
to be included in the final product, such as adjustable focus
for people with glasses and gun
tracking for shooting games.
12
peacepipechatter.com
rts
February 15, 2013
ntertainment
Designed by Graham Taylor
A new hope or a phantom menace?
By Graham Taylor
Designer
Ever since Disney purchased Lucas Films in 2012, Star
Wars Episode VII has been met with mixed emotions. On
the one hand, a new Star Wars could be fun and exciting. What happened after the Empire fell? On the other
hand, it could leave fans disappointed and empty. What if
it doesn’t live up to their expectations?
Either or, the theaters are sure to be packed on opening
day, even though we know very little about the newest
episode. The few details we have learned in this time is
that Episode VII will feature an original plot not based on
one of the Star Wars novels, and that the lead protagonist
might be female.
However, the biggest announcement so far has been
that J. J. Abrams is set to direct this next installment. He
is well known for much of his work in television, including Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, and Revolution, and
he is even more known for his work in more recent films,
including Mission Impossible III, Super 8, and
Star Trek.
That’s right. The man who directed Star
Trek is now going to be directing Star Wars.
It’s odd to think that the same guy will direct
these different sides of the Star-spectrum. This
came as a shock to both Trekkies and Star
Wars fans alike.
“I’m a little bit happy about [Abrams directing], but I don’t think Disney is going to
do a good job… no one has been able to capture Star Wars since the original creators,” junior Avery Wilkins said.
“I don’t think it’s that bad. I’m looking forward to it. I liked Super 8,” Evan Cook, junior,
said.
Whatever the popular opinion is, most of Some people are worried that the Mouse is going to weigh down the
Abrams’ films have been box office hits and Star Wars franchise. Picture by Graham Taylor.
have been well received by fans and critics.
Regardless of how fans react to Star Wars: Episode VII, we are guaranteed at least a good movie, even if it isn’t
exactly a good Star Wars movie.
Beyonce takes center stage at half-time
By Christopher Rubio
A&E Editor
One of the biggest events everyone looks forward to during the
NFL season is the very entertaining Super Bowl. Whether you’re
a fan of sports or not, the Super Bowl has entertainment for everyone. For die-hard fans, there is the game of course, which the
Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers were set to play. If
watching football isn’t your cup of tea, then there are hilarious
ads and commercials that are prepared specifically for game day
because it attracts an average of 80-90 million viewers in the U.S.
One thing fans look forward to mostly is the famous half time
show, which they can see their favorite artist perform live. The
past couple of years we’ve seen names like The Who, Black Eyed
Peas, and Madonna hit the stage. Fans who anticipate the Super
Bowl look forward to see who will perform the upcoming year.
Beyonce was this year’s form of entertainment, for the half
time show. Destiny’s Child, an R&B group that Beyonce was
apart of, also helped with the performance as well for the Super
Bowl.
Halftime History
2002: U2
2003: Shania Twain, No Doubt,
and Sting
2004: Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Kid rock, and
Nelly
2005: Paul McCartney
2006: The Rolling Stones
2007: Prince
2008: Tom Petty
2009: Bruce Springsteen
2010: The Who
2011: The Black Eyed Peas
2012: Madonna
Beyonce and Destiny’s Child take center stage during the Superbowl 47 half-time show, performing many of their hits. Picture from forbes.
2013: Beyonce
You’re under arrest, Charlie Brown
By Brandon Fierke
Staff Writer
As children we always knew the characters of the
Peanuts movies: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock. However, the voice of the beloved Charlie Brown,
Peter Robbins, has been arrested on charges of harassment, criminal threats, and stalking.
He was arrested and his bond was set at $550,000. His
court appearance was on January 30 and was released
after his bond was met. Robbins was only 9 years old when he began with the
peanuts series. Playing roles in “It’s the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown,” “You’re In Love Charlie Brown,” and
“A Boy Named Charlie Brown,” which all aired in the
1960s. He was later replaced.
Courts have not released further information about the
case, and Robbins attorney declined to discuss the case
further.
Peter Robbins, Charlie Brown’s voice actor, was arrested.
Photo courtesy of CNN.
JUMP 13
February 15, 2013
“Armstrong” continued from page 5
“Let’s be honest, nobody really
watches cycling. When you turn on your
TV, you’re not like ‘oh my god, cycling
is on!’ So why not concentrate on other
sports, too? With the big deal they’re
making out of Armstrong, I’m sure they
could use the time to research other athletes who have been using performance
enhancers for just as long as he has,”
Thompson said.
However, Taylor St. Paul, senior,
looks at it a different way.
“It was really shady for Lance Armstrong to dope. I don’t like him at all after I found out,” St. Paul said.
Although at MCHS the opinions seem
pretty one-sided, you have to give Armstrong the benefit of the doubt because
studies show that a majority of cyclists
do take some sort of performing enhancer. The idea of performance enhancers
has traced back all the way to 1886 when
a Welsh cyclist drank a mix of cocaine,
caffeine, and strychnine before a race.
So this brings up the question: Are we
being too harsh on Armstrong, or is he
getting what he deserves?
“I’m a big believer in karma. I find it hard
to feel sorry for him when he was a jerk
to so many people. What goes around
comes around,” Sara Novak, senior, said.
Watch Minooka Sports
Live at
IHIGH.COM
Live Streaming www.ihigh.com/ minooka
peacepipechatter.com
“NASCAR” continued from page 14
the first race to the cup. Another fan favorite courses include Talladega where
cars can go 4 wide at some points. When
cars go four wide the chances of wrecks r
even more. This season will be a hard and
long season but the winner of the spirt
cup will be Kasey Kahne as he a young
driver and now with some experience he
will come out on top.
“Shooting” continued from page 5
The shooting took place outdoors in the
afternoon, and many say they are extremely happy the situation did not escalate any
further.
Foster got into a verbal altercation that
turned physical with student Jody Neal,
and when the anger ensued, Foster opened
fire and wounded three other people, including a maintenance worker.
However, no one was murdered, the
victims only faced minor injuries. Foster
shot himself in the leg upon taking the gun
out, and the maintenance worker as well
as the other student were not shot in a fatal
spot.
peacepipechatter.com
Designed by Baylee Dibble
“I have a CHL, but I never carry on
campus,” Steve Sanders, president of a
gun rights group at Lone Star College,
said.
Though many of the students may have
had Concealed Handgun License (CHL),7
Sanders says that it was not a justifiable
reason as to why a gun was on campus.
Upon the shooting, the school went into
lockdown and was evacuated. Classes did
not resume until the next day.
Though the school faced a major tragedy, fortunately no one was fatally harmed
and nobody lost a life.
Check out
issues of
the PPC
from the
1950s
r
14
peacepipechatter.com
SPORTS
February 15,2013
Designed by Aaron Ladzinski
Love in Sports
By Aaron Ladzinski
Sports Editor
Due to the Valentines day
coming up there isn’t much to
love in sports but there many
NASCAR
Roaring
Again
Soon
By Aaron Ladzinski
Sports Editor
To hear the roar of engine,
to smell rubber burring off the
tires, do you hear that it’s the
sound and smell of Nascar coming back. Last year the chase
was as close as it could be with
Brad Keslowski coming out
on top beating Jimmy Johnson
and Clint Bowyer for the cup.
This year is already back with
changes to teams and cars.
The changes to the car include a reinforced roof and
another roll bar. This will help
the drivers if they end up crashing. Another changes are brand
new windshield that will be reinforced even more to the old
ones.
Last year the chase was very
close as Keselowski only won
by a few points. The standings
also were Kasey Kahne who
was very close rounded out to
fourth. Kahne won three races
last year and is hoping to come
out on top this year. Also the 5
time champion jimmy Johnson
won 3 races last year as well.
Jeff Gordon did well last
year as well as the number 24
car won 2 races through out the
year but did make the top 5 this
year. Another winners are Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and
Tony Stewart.
The season will be long after
the start in Daytona on February 24th. There will be races
through out the world including
only a few miles away at Chica-
“NASCAR” continued on page 13
sports couples in the sporting
world.
Mike Fisher and Carrie
Underwood as Mike is a defensemen who plays for Nashville
Predators. Predator fans hope
that Taylor swift will date
Sidney Crosby so he would
move to Nashville and win
them a cup. Carrie is a famous country music singer .
Dario Franchitti and
Ashley Judd. Dario won
two Indy 500 and a three
time IndayCar series champion. Ashley Judd is famous
actor and she stared in Double jeopardy.
Jay Culter and Kristin Cavallari. Jay Cutler is
everyone’s favorite quarterback in Chicago and Kristin is
the original cast member of Laguna Beach.
A. J. McCarron and Katherine Webb. McCarron is a three
national champion and quarterback for the Alabama Crimson
Tide. Katherine Webb is miss
Alabama for the miss America
pageant.
Matt Grevers and Annie
Chandler. Both are Olympic
swimmers as Matt pooped the
question last year on valentines
day while she was on the medal
stand.
David Beckham and Victoria Beckham. David plays for
L.A. Galaxy and has won many
championships for other teams
in the world including his home
country England. Victoria is a famous fashion designer.
Gordon Beckham
and Brittany Fletcher. Gordon plays for
the white sox as he is
the second basemen.
Fletcher is a reality star.
They are recently engaged
Tom Brady and
Gisele Bundchen. Tom
Brady is the patriots
quarter back and is a 3
time super bowl champion. Gisele is a famous
model
Theese are all famous sports couples that
affect the sports world
with gossip. Such as
Gisele Bundchen calling
out some of Bradys teammates at the super bowl.
Jay Culter and Kristin Cavalari are still
together and pose for a picture.
To the left, A.J McCarron and Katherine webb are also famous for their
recent relationship. Photos courtesy for
both to WashingtonPost.com
Ray Lewis’ Legacy
By Austin Hough
Sports Editor
He is considered one of the
greatest linebackers in NFL history. Playing an
incredible 17 seasons with only one
team, the Baltimore Ravens, Ray
Lewis sure has had
an eventful career,
albeit with much
controversy.
There’s no denying that Lewis’
on field performance has been
incredible. Since
coming into the
league in 1996, the
middle linebacker
has totaled 1,336
tackles, 31 interceptions, and 17
forced
fumbles.
His performance
in Super Bowl Ray Lewis is agruably one of the greatest of all time. His off the field actions should be accounted for .Photo courtesy to ibtimes.
XXXV
earned com.
him game MVP
career, though. Before the tence and a $250,000 fine amongst all athletes, as also had four kids with six
honors, as his three tack- 2000-2001 season, the from the NFL. The murder numerous coaches use wives. Something should
les, four deflected passes, year the Ravens won the trial is an important part in Lewis’ words as motiva- be contributed to that as
and incredible leadership Super Bowl, Lewis was the way Ray Lewis is per- tion for his players.
well, as he hasn’t neceshelped the Ravens defeat involved in a murder in an ceived around the country.
His murder trial, how- sarily been the cleanest
the New York Giants 34- Atlanta night club. Lewis
So the question is: what ever, should also be talk- man off the field of foot7.
and two of his friends will truly be Ray Lewis’ ed about more often. It ball.
Lewis also capped off stabbed two men, who legacy? Just like how wasn’t like Lewis comNow that his career is
his career in style, bring- later bled to death. The Kobe Bryant re-did his mitted some small crime over, there is no doubt that
ing home his second Lom- three men were indicted image after a scandalous of robbery or something. the next stop for Lewis
bardi Trophy with a 34-31 on murder and aggravated rape trial in 2003, Lewis He committed murder, is Canton, OH to be invictory over the San Fran- assault charges 11 days af- completely changed the which is about as severe ducted into the NFL Hall
cisco 49ers in Super Bowl ter the incident, which led way people looked at him a crime as you can face. of Fame. Although his inXLVII. Lewis recorded to a trail. Both of Lewis’ following the murder trial. There’s no denying his on field play ranks amongst
seven tackles in his final friends were acquitted, He became more involved field talents, but his off the all-time greats, that
career game as an NFL while Lewis admitted in the Baltimore commu- field actions should also infamous night in Atlanta
player.
to giving a misleading nity and a vocal leader be in play.
also plays a factor in the
There’s another side statement, resulting in a of his team. His speeches
Not only did he mur- overall legacy of Lewis’
not as talked about Lewis’ 12-month probation sen- have become legendary der someone, but he has career.
Designed by Austin Hough
SPORTS 15
February 15, 2012
peacepipechatter.com
Track Is Back
By Austin Hough
Sports Editor
The past couple of years for the track
programs at Minooka have been pretty impressive. Both the boys and girls squads
won the Southwest Prairie Conference
title last year with the boy’s team also taking home their first ever sectional championship, sending the entire team down to
state.
This year, both programs look to find
success once again. New challenges await
both teams this year, as new athletes and
coaches will provide a different feel for
both the boys and girls track teams.
Boys Track Preview
There’s a lot to build off of from last
year for the boys track team, as they
brought home their first ever sectional
crown. Although it was a very successful
campaign for the Indians, 2013 brings a lot
of new changes to the program.
First off, there’s a new head man in
charge, as Driver’s Ed teacher Nick Lundin replaces the retired Joe Urbelis from
head coaching duties. Lundin had been an
assistant under Urbelis for the past seven
years, so his experience around the program should be very beneficial.
“Coach Urbelis was a great guy. He
loved this program and had been here
for many years,” Lundin said. “Everyone
loved being around him. Everyone knew
who he was. He just kept things very happy around here. So when you lose a coach
like that, you bring in a lot of coaches to
help move this program in the right direction, and I think we’ve done that.”
Some of those big coaches that have
come in are English teacher Derrick Johnston to help with sprints and P.E./health
Urbelis receives a commerative
plaque for his efforts last year at the
Minooka Invite. Urbelis retired after
22 years of coaching the Indians.
Photo courtesy of runminooka.com
instructional leader Bert Kooi to coach
hurdles. Kooi is new to coaching track this
season.
“He (Kooi) hired me, so I approached
him in the offseason. I got to watch him
for seven years as a football coach, and I
just knew he’d be good,” Lundin said. “I
didn’t need someone that knew long jump
and triple jump well. I just needed someone with the desire to coach, and that’s
what he has.”
There are a lot of strong individuals
coming back this year, especially in the
tried to get a young guy out of it. It’s easy
to look from the outside and think that the
team is all on him, but we have a lot of
guys returning with state experience.”
Other returning medalists are senior
Ethan Cane (long jump), the 4x400 team
of Jake Smith, Daniel Ingram, and Chris
Wilson; the 4x800 team of Alex Pierce,
Chris Wilson, and Santillo; and high
jumper Kurt Zumbahlen. No matter what
happens, it seems to be a promising year
for the boys squad as they try to bring
home a state title.
“Coach Urbelis was a great guy.
He loved this program and had
been here for many years,” head
coach Nick Lundin said. “Everyone
loved being around him. Everyone
knew who he was. He just kept
things very happy around here. So
when you lose a coach like that,
you bring in a lot of coaches to
help move this program in the right
direction, and I think we’ve done
that.”
distance running. Seniors Joe Santillo,
Alex Pierce, and Cam Kndusen are poised
to have big years after having strong
cross-country seasons. Santillo probably
faces the most pressure, as he has won a
state title in track before, a 4x800-meter
relay trophy his sophomore year.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure
on him (Santillo). He won a state title his
sophomore year, and I really only think
that’s experience,” Lundin said. “I’ve had
a sophomore on that relay the past three
years in the state finals and I’ve always
Girls Track Preview
The girls team had equal success as the
boys last year, as they took home their second straight SPC title, edging out Plainfield North to take home the crown. 2013
is a new year, though, and head coach
Kevin Gummerson knows he has his work
cut out for him this year.
“It takes a full team to bring home a
conference title, and that’s what they did
last year. But the past is the past now,”
Gummerson said. “This is a whole new
team. You don’t get credit for what you did
The girls track team has been preparing all winter for their upcoming
season. They look to three-peat as
conference champions. Photo courtesy
of runminooka.com
in the past, and conference is definitely a
goal of ours this year.”
“Our focus is to get as many kids down
to state, so you might pull a kid from one
event so that they’re fresher for another
event,” Gummerson continued. “It might
cost you some team points, but it gives
that athlete a better opportunity to get
down to state.”
Many of those state runners are coming back this year, as the relay teams for
the lady Indians appear to be stronger than
ever.
“We got a strong group of returners
coming back. Our 4X800 and our 4X200
will both be back for us,” Gummerson
said. “There’s going to be competition for
the rest of those spots, which should only
make us better.”
Those big returners on the 4x800 team
are senior Lucia Rossi as well as juniors
Hayley Rensen and Moira McAsey. The
4x400 returns both McAsey and junior
Bethany Bachman, and junior Janile Rogers returns for the 4x200 and triple jump
teams.
With a lot of young talent coming in,
Gummerson is excited for then upcoming
season and ensuing postseason run.
“It’s not much of a different attitude,
but there’s more excitement around this
group,” Gummerson said. “I think there’s
more confidence that they can be successful and they can see that they can succeed
at the state level. And I think it’s become
the expectation that we’re going to go
down and compete well at state.”
Hockey: Not just a man’s sport
By Tara Schumal
Asst. Sports Editor
Skating down the ice faster than a
freight train, the puck slices up the middle
back and forth between the worn down
hockey stick. The decision now is which
way to shoot. Making a quick sharp decision in the next 2.5 seconds, the puck goes
flying into the goal without the goalie even
seeing it coming, and with that, the team
has another win. Pushing a strand of her
hair out of her face, she skates to the mid-
dle of the ice to celebrate the winning shot
she just made. It’s no longer boys hockey
teams that sweep the nation on the ice, it’s
time for the takeover of girl power.
When it comes to MCHS, three girls
play hockey for local teams. And no, they
aren’t afraid get into the game.
“When I was little, I used to figure skate, but years ago my sister and I
switched to hockey. I’ve been playing
hockey for seven years now,” Megan
Ondrick, junior said. Ondrick plays girls
hockey on the 16U Chicago Missions
team. Also on the same league but on the
19U is junior Kayla Pierson.
It doesn’t just end there. Kallies
Hayden, freshman, is the third amongst
the girls who also joins into the hockey
level. But she doesn’t play girls hockey,
she plays on the JCA boys high school
varsity hockey team.
“It’s a lot of fun playing on a boys
hockey team actually. I enjoy it being so competitive and I always play
my best. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t
mean I don’t back down. I go right back
at the boys checking and staying tough,”
Hayden said.
Hayden started playing hockey 5 years
ago when her best friend Alexis wanted to
make a team.
“The favorite thing about hockey
would probably just be the team and the
sport in general. I just love the sport,”
Hayden said. “If I ever got accused of
playing a “boy’s sport”, I’d go back at
them. It’s competitive for sure but I don’t
say anything. I get looks but I just fight
back and show them up.”
16
peacepipechatter.com
SPORTS
February 15, 2012
Inside Sports
Track is Back!
Page 15
Designed by Tara Schumal
Girls Hockey
Page 15
Sports Couples
Page 14
Winter Sports Updates
Boys Basketball
Girls Bowling
Record: 15-12
Conf. Record: 6-6
Season Highlight: MLK
Galesburg Tournament
Weekend
Season Expectations: Playing as a team and giving
maximum effort.
Key Performer: Everyone
has played well this year.
Record: 8-2
Conf. Record: 6-1
Season Highlight: Winning the
44 team Plainfield Strike Fest and
qualifying for the State Tournament.
Finished in the top 3 of every
tournament winning Strike Fest,
and Palatine invites.
Key Performer: “Don’t know if
we had “one” key performer as
the team was deep and when we
bowled well as a team, we did
well in tournaments. Example;
we won the Plainfield North Strike
Fest and didn’t have a girl finish
in the top 10. We had four girls
in the top 17 and a fifth was 28th
respectively,” said Coach Frank
Yudzentis.
Girls Basketball
Record: 11-17
Conf. Record: 8-6
Season Highlight: 3rd place
finish in conference.
Season Expectation: Key to
playoffs - Offensively Limit
Turnovers & making layups &
free throws.
Defensively -Only giving up 1
shot- Rebounding.
Key Performer: ”Larissa
McLemen -All Conference- She
is leading scorer & rebounder.
Sydney Lilly leads the team in
assists Sam Wurtz is the 3 pt
shooting leader. Sydney Arlis
has been our best defender all
year,” said Coach Ray Liberatore.
Wrestling
Record: 14-7
Conf. Record: 6-1
Season Highlight: Winning
conference, winning regionals,
and qualifying two athletes to
state.
Jake Hogan, senior, looks to pass the ball to freshman Joe Butler
against Plainfield South. Photo courtesy of Aaron Ladzinski.
Who’s Hot? The Oughton Brothers
Carson Oughton,
freshman, won the 145
pound sectional this
past Saturday at Moline
High School. He will be
competitng for the state
title at the Unviersity of
Illinois in Champaign
this weekend.
Photo courtesy of the
Morris Daily Herald.
Corbett Oughton, senior,
took second in the 152
pound sectional this past
weekend at