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Yutan High School
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Construction

By Shelby Johnson

 Locker rooms = 2, classrooms = 4, tax levy = raised about $.06, additions to the school = about $2.6 million. A better learning environment = priceless.

On August 17, the first day of school, the construction for the additions began. Students and staff were excited to see the bulldozers moving the dirt and the ground packer smoothing out the land.

“I’m excited about having a new school,” said sophomore Gary Grinvalds.

Superintendent Kevin Johnson is thrilled to see the walls go up and to see the finished look of the school next September. Yutan High School was built in 1974 and, according to Johnson, was the last time any major issue was approved by the district tax payers for school additions.

The exterior of the school should be done by March and the interior will begin once the exterior is done and continue through the summer.

Johnson is striving to have the school finished by next September. Because of permits, planning and designing of the school during the summer, the first day of school was the earliest the construction company could start.

“Hopefully everything will be done by next school year,” Johnson said.

Dan Schnoes, the principal at Yutan, is thankful for the new classrooms because these rooms will give students more space and opportunities to become superior students. Schnoes would like to keep all distractions at a minimum by having the construction only be done on the outside during school and working on the interior during the summer.

Schnoes will also enjoy having more security and organization during school and during events. Having extra locker rooms gives teams their own doors to enter and leave the gym in an easier flow than leaving and entering the same door. Also, the hall ways and front entrance will be easier to monitor.

By building new classrooms, each subject will have its own section in the school. English and the technology and business rooms will be in the new classrooms to the west, the remodeled and larger science rooms will stay in the south and the new locker rooms and music room will be located in the new area in the east.

The superintendent’s and principal’s offices will be relocated into the existing music room. The old superintendent office will become a meeting room, counselor’s room, a teachers’ work area and a staff restroom. The old principal office will become an activity director’s office, an extended storage room, and a student store with Yutan merchandise.

Doug Ramsey, Yutan band director, is glad to receive a bigger and better music room, which will hopefully be done by February. Ramsey is hoping for a more enhanced acoustic room.

The music room will consist of roomier offices, more storage for instruments, larger practice rooms and doors that will lead directly outside and to the gym. The doors will be wider so the larger instruments and drum set will be able to fit through them. Ramsey feels the additions to the school are beneficial and necessary.

“Yutan will be bigger and better,” Ramsey said.

Giving the students and staff more space to function is important. But according to Johnson, improving the students’ education and preparing them for the future is the main difference the new school will bring.



Two-Hour Late Starts

By Kelsey Landgren 

Starting this year Yutan Public Schools will be taking part in a new program. Elementary principal Ryan Knippelmeyer introduced the idea of using Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to improve the learning environment at Yutan.     

Teachers will take time, out of school, to learn about PLC for two hours once a month. When teachers plan to meet, students will not need to show up for school until around 10 a.m.

Knippelmeyer was involved with PLC at a former school and thought it was a good program to bring to Yutan. High school principal Dan Schnoes said that Yutan officials have previously heard about PLC, but did not decide to introduce the idea to the school board until last year. The school board approved it and throughout this upcoming year it will be put together.

“Having two-hour late starts will allow teachers to get together and work on putting this program to use,” Schnoes said.

Art teacher Dustin Nielsen has previously worked with the PLC program. He started learning about it last year and agreed that it was a good program to introduce at Yutan.

 According to Schnoes, PLC focuses on improving student learning and class work. It also gives teachers time to come together and discuss teaching styles. Teachers learn better ways to instruct students and work on improving students’ reading abilities.

“It is a good way for teachers to share information and ask each other questions,” Nielsen said.    

This year will be a test to see what teachers think of it and how it seems to benefit students. The program will be evaluated in December and May. After those evaluations, Yutan’s teachers and administrators will decide whether the program helped achieve the goals of the school.

“Very successful schools use this program and hopefully it will benefit Yutan just as much,” Schnoes said.

Schnoes, along with other officials, are still working to decide how the late starts will affect schedules.  Ideas discussed include having a full day but just with shortened class periods or starting with different hours each time to balance out the schedules. The schedule will also be based off of what hours are missed because of half days.

Nielsen doesn’t think that this program will have many negatives. He said that since teachers meet during regular school hours it won’t really affect anyone. The only thing will be adjusting to the schedule changes. Some schools meet weekly where as Yutan teachers will only meet once a month or so.

Schnoes agrees. “The only negative will be working to find a schedule that will work best for everyone.”

This school year will not be any longer than previous years and has approximately the same number of half days for teacher in-services.

4-H and Rodeo Story

By Laine Greblunas 

For most students, summer means swimming, hanging out with friends, or even preparing for fall sports. But to the students involved with high school rodeo and 4-H, it means a lot of hard work and dedication.

 Three Yutan students, Marshal Peterson, Grace Eliason and Mary Greblunas, spend their summers riding their horses, spending time with their animals and competing in shows and rodeos.

Greblunas spends her summer not only preparing for volleyball and basketball, but riding and training her horse in 4-H events. She competes in, roughly, 10 shows a summer at such locations as Wahoo, Ashland, Oakland, Fremont and the Qwest Center.

 Greblunas competes in horsemanship, pleasure riding, western riding, barrel racing and pole bending. Horsemanship simply can be explained by how well the rider can ride, train, manage and communicate with his or her horse. In the arena, the rider is given a pattern to follow. They must complete the pattern skillfully in order to place or win.

 Pleasure riding is the opposite. The rider is in a class with other riders and their horse is judged on how well it moves. In order to place, the horse needs to look like it’s a pleasure to ride.  Western riding is like horsemanship. The competitor is given a pattern and the horse is judged on how well it can pick up commands.

 Barrel racing and pole bending are speed events. The riders are judged on how fast their horse can complete the pattern. The horse with the fastest time, wins.

Greblunas prepares for these shows by riding and training her horse in the right events. As the shows draw closer, she cleans her horse and her tack, making sure everything is ready for the upcoming show.

This season Greblunas won western riding at the Saunders County Fair in Wahoo. She also placed and won ribbons at other shows this past summer. Greblunas’ last show of the season is the Ak-Sar-Ben Horse Show, which is Tuesday Sept. 22. She will be competing in barrel racing and pole bending with her horse Two Shot Smoke Bomb.

Peterson spends summers riding and training his horse, only he is practicing for a different event. Peterson competes in calf roping and team roping at high school rodeos and other events throughout the state.

Peterson works on the farm for his dad during the day, roping at night and rodeoing on the weekends. There are 23 rodeos throughout the year with state finals in the end of June.

Calf roping is exactly how it sounds. The rider chases a calf down the arena and is timed by how fast he can rope and tie the calf’s legs together. Team roping is like calf roping only two people are involved. The first rider, the header, ropes the steer’s horns. The second rider, the heeler, ropes the steer’s back legs. This event is also timed.

Peterson prepares for these events by roping at home as much as possible and riding every day to get him, and his horse, into shape. “Having horses takes a lot of hard work and time,” Peterson said. “You have very limited free time.”

Peterson’s accomplishments include numerous buckles for calf roping, sixth in the State Finals, and second in USTRC (United States Team Roping Championships) with his dad, Mark Peterson. They won $2,500 for their win. Peterson will be competing in the USTRC again at the end of October with his horses T and King.

Eliason, and eighth grader, showed two animals this past summer - her rabbit, Thumper Cornelius Eliason, and her hog, Shequille O’Squeal.

4-H is important to Eliason because it helps her understand agricultural life.

Eliason has been in 4-H off and on for nine years. In those nine years, she has won bronze medals, purple ribbons and blue ribbons.

Eliason prepares for shows by raising the animals, going to clinics and weighing her hogs. Hogs need to weigh between 240 to 260 pounds to place.

“I like 4-H because I make a lot of new friends and it gives me a lot of responsibility,” said Eliason.        

4-H and rodeo requires a lot of hard work and dedication. But to the individuals who participate in these activities, their hard work is rewarded with money, buckles, ribbons, and a lot of new friends.

 

 

Archives 2008-2009

Soup and Song Story 
Nikki Karloff 

What do you think of when you hear “Soup and Song”?  If you are from Yutan you may think of the concert the school holds every year.

The band, choir and art departments came together Feb. 28 to put on this year’s annual “Soup and Song” concert and art show.  Everyone who came to the performance could have paid for a complete dinner including soup, drinks and desserts. 

As the audience enjoyed its meals, the bands and choir groups performed.  The parents of former choir director Jon Gathje and math teacher Christina Modrell provided the meal.

For one of the choir pieces, junior Kayla Ambrose led the group with a solo.  She said the pressure of starting off a song was a lot to handle. 

“I was shaking so bad,” she said. “But I loved my solo.”

Ambrose may have been nervous, but the crowd didn’t seem to notice at all. They all cheered her on and applauded her performance.

Choir director Michaela Babic was proud of her group and said she thought the concert went well.  The full choir sang five songs and its favorite was titled “New York State of Mind”.  The men and women groups also sang one song a piece.

“I wouldn’t have changed anything at this point,” she said. “I’m just very proud of how it went.”

Ambrose agreed that the concert went well and all of the groups performed at their best.

“Everyone seemed well prepared,” she said.

Band director Doug Ramsey said the level of music the band played was difficult and the students pulled it off great.  The full band played three songs including “Chicago”, “Thunderer” and “Band of Brothers.”  The jazz band performed two pieces: “In the Mood” and the theme From New York, New York.

“We performed pretty darn good,” he said.

Along with the music performances, the art students also had a chance to show their talent.  The artwork was displayed for people to enjoy and admire, but it was also set out to be judged.  Artist Wendy Hall from Ashland judged the artwork.

“The main goal was to be able to give the students more feedback on their work,” said art instructor Dustin Nielsen.

He said it’s nice to be able to show off the art and give students more opportunities to be involved through school



Mrs. Eikmeier Feature
By Katelyn Landgren

Many know Ginger Eikmeier as an English teacher at Yutan High School, but the juniors and the students involved in speech and one act know she does much more.

“She does a lot for her students and the school,” Sara Timperley said.

Eikmeier, who has been at Yutan for four years, co-directed the school’s one-act play this fall with another English teacher, Carey Starns. Eikmeier and Starns were in their first year of directing together.

Unlike one act, Eikmeier brings experience when it comes to her involvement in speech. Eikmeier participated on the speech team at Creighton University for four years. Now she teaches a speech class, which is required by all sophomores, and she also sponsors the speech team. Eikmeier said that she finds speech team creates the most stress because it is a big commitment with all-day events.

The speech team usually competes on Saturdays so those days become busy. Eikmeier also arrives early in the morning before school, and then sometimes stays late, in order to help students practice their speeches. It takes a lot of time to make sure things are ready and prepared.

When the day of the meet arrives, Eikmeier remains stressed because she wants her students to do as well as she knows they can.
“It can be overwhelming, especially when speech and one act overlapped,” Eikmeier said.

Even though Eikmeier finds speech to be the most stressful, she feels being the junior class sponsor takes the most planning. She doesn’t have too much to do in the fall once Homecoming week ends, but as soon as January hits, prom becomes a main focus.

Being the junior class sponsor and the speech team sponsor for four years now, Eikmeier knows what needs to be done early in the year to make sure everything goes perfectly. Prom requires that every little detail is planned out and it’s not something that can be done in a few days. Eikmeier pays close attention to the little details and remains organized, which make her a good choice when it comes to being in charge of prom, Timperley said.

Eikmeier said that she tries to not let these extra activities get in the way of her teaching. She knows how to prioritize her time in order to get everything for her classes done first, then she focuses on the other stuff.

 “I think it sometimes makes me short in class because I'm stressed,” Eikmeier said. “But I try to not let it.”

 Eikmeier said that she is fine with having such a big commitment to the school and plans to keep it that way, for now at least. When the time comes and she decides to have kids, she said she will probably cut back so she can spend time with them.


Archives 2008-2009




Feature on JD Schulz
By Nikki Karloff 

Who do you know that wrestles, is in band and enjoys Christian and rock music? This student’s close friends or classmates could tell you this has to be JD Schulz.

As a junior, Schulz keeps busy by staying involved in two school activities: band and wrestling.  This year he finished his first season of wrestling and he said he had fun.

Schulz said even before he gave the sport a shot himself, he liked watching it and it seemed like it fun. 

One of his highlights this year was the championship bracket he won at the Yutan Invite.  Schulz was 3-0 for the day and won the 120-pound weight class.

“JD absolutely learned a ton for not wrestling before,” coach Rick Henry said. “He did well and had eight to nine wins for the season.”

In the band, Schulz is one of the five percussionists who all play a variety of instruments.  Each arrangement calls for different parts so all percussionists have to be able to switch around and cover every part.  Schulz said his favorite instrument has to be the trap set.

When Schulz has free time he enjoys hanging out with his friends and listening to music.

“I mainly listen to rock and Christian music,” he said.

Schulz has attended two concerts so far, In Flames and REO Speedwagon.  He hopes he can make it to more because he finds them enjoyable.

He said he doesn’t watch much television in his spare time, but if he does it is usually his one favorite show, “Scrubs”.

Between being busy with school, extra-curricular activities, and hanging out with friends, Schulz also has to balance a job.  He has worked at Yutan’s Godfathers Pizza for about the last six months.  Schulz typically works on weekends, so with all of this on his shoulders, you can tell why this busy junior doesn’t have much extra time to spare.

Schulz said if he could sum up his personality it would most likely be shy.

“I’m pretty shy unless I really know the people I’m around,” he said.


Mike Luers Story
By Amanda O’Malley
           
If asked who Michael Luers was, most Yutan students would know.  He makes everyone laugh, but admits he is still shy and soft spoken.  Luers can be seen around school with many different groups of people. 

He has not participated in many things, yet he still seems to grab everyone’s attention.  His natural humor and laid back style attracts everyone.  Luers was even a popular candidate for Homecoming royalty, and has attended his first school dance this year.

At home, Luers is constantly on his computer.  Building things, playing games and doing anything with graphics keep him busy.  This has led him to want to work with computers in the future.

As a senior, Luers said he has never before been to a school dance.  This year, he decided to go to prom and found an outside date.

“It will be my first dance,” Luers said before the event. “I am a little freaked out.”

Luers can also be seen eating cereal at lunch.  Luers said his favorite cereal is blueberry Mini Wheats.

“I like to eat healthy, and I don’t like fast food,” Luers said.  “I also found a spider in my Jell-O, and that was my last straw for school lunches.”

Luers is also known for making people laugh.  He said he enjoys doing this.  Seniors Trevor Howe and Andrea Neukirch said that Luers is completely random, but described him as “The Man”.

“I am still quiet and soft spoken,” Luers said.  “I can’t get mad or yell.  I am not that type of person.”

Many students voted for Luers for Homecoming royalty this year.

“I guess I would’ve liked to get it,” Luers said, “but I thought it was really funny.”

Luers does not participate in any extra-curricular activities or sports, but likes to do things when he is at home.

“I have thought about doing sports, but I never felt I qualified,” Luers said.

At home, Luers is a farmhand for his family, but is mostly on his computer.  Luers loves doing anything from games to graphics on his computer.  Luers has his sister Lindsey around the house as well, and has several other siblings: Daniel, Kim, Brenda and Ramone.

“I actually built my computer myself,” Luers said. “I like to build anything that involves computers.”

Next year, Luers will attend Central Community College in Columbus. 

“I got to job shadow the Geek Squad at Best Buy,” Luers said.  “I know I would like to major in something computer related.”

Luers said he has also thought about being an electrician.  He has learned many things from watching his dad.

Donated Truck
By Kyley Schroeder

Fixing a truck may not sound fun or exciting to some students, but to others, it is what they like to do. Yutan High School’s shop classes are ready to start a project by fixing an old truck.

Atchley Ford donated a 1989 F250 Ford truck to Yutan High School. The person to make it all happen was Jim Lathrop from Atchley Ford.


The first and second hour shop classes, taught by Bob Wittry, will work on the truck. Even though two different classes work on the truck, Wittry says the students pick up where the other class leaves off and work.  The shop classes include mainly juniors and seniors along with a couple freshmen and sophomores.


“I think it’s a good opportunity to use a lot of different skills by working on old cars,” Wittry said.


Wittry said students will use problem-solving skills to fix the truck. They will apply mechanical and fabrication techniques along with welding, grinding and wiring.

According to senior Angel Hull, more experience will come with working on the truck.

To build up the student’s abilities, they have worked on other smaller projects. They welded little metal projects to practice, which will be beneficial in body work on the truck. Students also became familiar with the tools and did basic maintenance reviews.   


“I will learn how to do body work on trucks,” said junior Brauk Thomas. 


Wittry hopes that working on the truck will encourage students to continue fixing old cars after high school. According to Thomas, repairing cars will hopefully be his job.


“I will probably work on my own cars on my own time after high school,” Hull said.

The shop classes will be working on the truck for the majority of the fourth quarter. They will remove rust and add new metal to the box and fender, fix the starting system, replace exterior paint and the rear bumper and more.


“Every time we get something done we look for something else to work on,” Hull said.

Senior Ryan Fuller believes the class needs more time to work than the rest of the school year allows.  


“We might use about $500 on the parts and repairs for the truck,” Wittry said.


He plans to try and use the least amount of money, but achieve the most amount of work.

Once the students finish the truck, Wittry plans to sell it. The money made from the sale will be put into the class account to be used on other projects.


Fine Arts Boosters
 By Cheyenne Nelson

Whipped cream splattered the gym floor Feb. 12 as three teachers were pied by students and staff. The Fine Arts Boosters held the “Pie a Teacher in the Face” fundraiser. This event recently put the Fine Arts Boosters in the center of attention, making students wonder who they are and what they do.“The Athletic Boosters has supported sports for a long time, and we decided that the fine arts should also be supported,” said founding member Suzi Nelson. “So, we created the Fine Arts Boosters.”

 According to Michelle Dooley, president of the Fine Arts Boosters, it actually started out as the Music Boosters and provided support for only band and choir.

“Then, Mr. Nielson asked to allow art in,” Dooley said. “So, we changed to the Fine Arts Boosters so art students could also be included.”One of the many things the Fine Arts Boosters do to show support is coordinating fundraising. According to band director Doug Ramsey, the band and choir take trips every two years. One of their methods to help fundraise for these trips is selling cookie dough.

 “The Fine Arts Boosters keep track of all the money the students raise,” Ramsey said.Dooley added that they more specifically collect, sort and count the money. They also send in all of the cookie dough orders and make sure to double check everything. Once the cookie dough has been delivered, they sort it, hand it out to the students and fix any errors that have been made. According to Ramsey, they are similarly helping keep track of all money made from their current fundraiser—selling coupon booklets.The Fine Arts Boosters also help the fine arts programs with purchasing equipment.

“They give us money to purchase something not covered in the budget,” Ramsey said.Dooley remembered that one of their most recent purchases helped former choir director Jon Gathje buy new microphones and other sound equipment. Nelson added that in the past, they have helped buy instruments, music and several different types of equipment.

 Just like the Athletic Boosters, the Fine Arts Boosters also organize an end-of-the-year banquet and pay for all of the students’ meals, which puts strain on their budget. According to Dooley, they raise money to compensate for their loss by selling umbrellas, selling soup dinners at the annual Soup and Song concert and by selling bracelets from Threads of Hope, which help keep girls in the Philippines off the street.“We sell the bracelets for a dollar but only get 40 cents back,” Dooley said. “The other 60 cents go to the Philippine girls.”

 According to Dooley, the Fine Arts Boosters also provide two scholarships totaling $250 each for graduating seniors, so they have to raise even more money to balance out their loss. That is why they created the “Pie a Teacher in the Face” fundraiser.

Dooley said that students paid 50 cents for a ticket. They could choose to put their name on the back of the ticket or leave it anonymous and put it in the bucket of the teacher they wished to see pied. The top three teachers with the most votes were selected to be the victims, and the student whose name appeared on the ticket pulled out of each teacher’s bucket won the chance to pie their teacher in the face.

 Ironically, Ramsey received 86 votes and, therefore, was the winner. Because so many students voted for him, two lucky winners, instead of one, won the chance to pie Ramsey.

 “It felt pretty good having the most votes and that a lot of people like me, or I hope it meant they like me,” Ramsey said.Dooley said that the fundraiser was a success, raising $144. They hope to hold the “Pie a Teacher in the Face” in years to come.

Teaching While Pregnant
By Kaylea Kult

There is a noticeable difference in math teacher Brenda Houser as she is seen walking around the high school.  This difference causes her to appear a little bigger than before.  She’s pregnant. 

Women like Houser face many challenges while being pregnant, especially while continuing to teach during the process.Houser’s due date for her third child is April 20.  She said it’s easier the third time around. 

“Now I know how much work it takes,” she said. 

Even though it is easier, it is still definitely stressful. 

“I have less energy. I’m more tired and my hormones go wooo,” she said.  

Houser said she is probably guilty of being less patient with students while pregnant.  On the other hand, Gloria McDaniel said while she was pregnant with her daughter she thought she was in a pretty good mood most of the time.

 “I was just excited about being pregnant,” she said.

McDaniel didn’t teach for the first semester of her first pregnancy.  She experienced really bad morning sickness and wasn’t able to return until the second semester.  On the other extreme, Amy Arensberg, another teacher who has experienced pregnancy while teaching, coached softball way up until the ninth month.

“I was a very active pregnant lady,” she said.

She only took five coaching days off before she returned for the Bennington, Yutan- Mead softball game.

McDaniel has been pregnant twice while teaching.  One of these times before she knew she was pregnant she helped coach basketball. It was normal for her to join the athletes in line drills. 

“One day I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard,” she said. “Sure enough I was pregnant.”

Along with the demanding everyday tasks, pregnant teachers must spend much time preparing for the substitute teacher.  This substitute takes their place while they are on leave.  Houser said that her last day is April 9 and she has to have all the lesson plans ready to go for the rest of the year by then.  Her goal is to have them ready by the first of April so the transition with the substitute is as smooth as possible.

Houser and McDaniel agree that they are treated differently by students while pregnant. Houser said that the students are more concerned about her well being and volunteer to do more stuff around the classroom. 

McDaniel said that while she was pregnant, students were much more respectful.  Arensberg said that her students didn’t treat her any differently.

She did, however, state that her eating habits changed during her pregnancy.

“I definitely brought snacks, definitely ate more,” Arensberg said. “I hid food in my desk.”            

Ice Fishing Story
By Katelyn Landgren

A little family bonding time - everyone has those days where they are stuck spending time with their family. For the Davis family it’s not usually a dreaded time.  

Mike Davis and his daughter Morgan spend these days out on a lake near Columbus, Neb. Here they join Mike’s dad for some ice fishing. Davis has been ice fishing since he was about eight or nine. His dad took him along one time and from then on it has been something he enjoys doing with his father.  

The tradition continued when Davis took Morgan fishing a few years ago. Morgan, who is a freshman, and her father both enjoy fishing year round. Morgan and her sisters even bought their dad a bass fishing game for their Nintendo Wii this Christmas. The Davis family also spends time in Minnesota at their cabin during the summer. 

“I enjoy ice fishing because it doesn’t take too much patience,” Morgan said. 

The sport of ice fishing doesn’t have too many requirements, either. It all depends mainly on the thickness of the ice. Mike especially likes going ice fishing right after the first ice of the season. The ice needs to be four inches thick in order to walk on it.   If eight inches of ice has accumulated you can drive on it. Davis has never done that though.  

Some fishermen make a big mistake by going ice fishing too late in the season, Davis said. If you question if it’s too late, then just don’t go. Davis learned first hand from this mistake. He decided to go out on the lake at the end of February about four years ago. The ice was still four inches thick, but since it was later in the year, the ice had become weak. Davis fell in about up to his ribs near the bank of the lake.

 “The cold water sends a shock through your system,” said Davis. 

The air along with the water can be cold, but lately it hasn’t been too bad, said Davis. Some years have been a different story. On those cold days, fishermen erect huts to battle the cold weather; heaters are also placed inside the hut. 

“You can sit in the hut with just a short -sleeve shirt on if there’s a heater,” Davis said.   

When the air reaches about 30 degrees, and the sun is out with no wind, Davis considers this to be ideal weather for ice fishing. With pleasant weather, the need for a hut disappears. 

Many outdoor activities, similar to ice fishing, require you to wake up early in the morning, but ice fishing doesn’t. You can but it’s not really necessary. Davis said he usually goes ice fishing around 10 a.m. and you can continue until it gets dark. Any time from mid-morning to early afternoon are ok times to start, he said..  

During the long winter months, Davis enjoy have something to do such as ice fishing.

“It’s better than nothing during the winter and I can spend time with my family,” Davis said.

Megan Schulz- Voice of Democracy
By Kelsey Landgren 

Service and sacrifice by America’s veterans benefit today’s youth by…This was the topic that the sophomore class was assigned to write about in October as part of a state-wide writing competition.  

Every year the sophomores and eighth graders write an essay related to America and its veterans. The sophomores write for the Voice of Democracy contest, while the eighth graders write for the Patriots Pen.  The Yutan Auxiliary Legion hosts both contests. 

Both grades compete among fellow classmates to win a savings bond. Yutan’s veterans select the winners for this part of the competition. Each contest has three place-winners. First-place winners receive a $100 savings bond, second place wins a $75 bond and third wins a $50 bond.  

Sophomore Megan Schulz not only won the school competition this year, she also won districts and went to the state competition. She and 11 other students were selected out of 1,000 contestants to go to Grand Island, Neb., for the state competition.  

Schulz received two $100 saving bonds. She received one for winning the school competition and the other for winning the District 9 competition. She was rewarded with a $100 check for making it to the state level. If she would have won the state competition, she would have received a trip to Washington, D.C. 

Schulz said that she never expected to win, but was excited when she did. After winning the school competition, she was surprised to find out that she won the district level also and that her paper was going to state.

 “It would have been really cool to win the state competition, but I was surprised to even make it to districts,” Schulz said. 

With never winning a writing contest before, it came as a shock to Schulz to find out that she had won all this.  

Schulz said she doesn’t love to write, but she said she doesn’t mind it too much. 

“If I had to choose between writing and reading, I would definitely choose writing,” Schulz said.           

Feature story on Blake Feller
By Nicole Karloff

Yutan’s top student to compete in Math Day this year was Blake Feller.  With his many academic accomplishments, this sophomore has a lot to be proud of.

A group of students attended Math Day at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln for the tests and tours.

“Math Day was pretty fun,” Feller said, “The tours were great and I got to see my brother Dustin while I was there.

”Feller’s academics come naturally to him, evidence of this is him being a top student in his class, on the honor roll of distinction, and achieving high grades.

“School is pretty easy for me,” he said, “It was always the same for Dustin, too.

”Even though school and academics come easy to these two, Feller said he and his brother aren’t really the same.  He doesn’t feel that he has big shoes to fill because Dustin was successful in school and in sports and competed in state track.  They are different people and have their own ways of doing things.       

 “Dustin is more of a skater type and I’m not really into that,” he said.Feller admits that his favorite class in school is not academically based. It’s gym. 


“I like just being able to mess around and have a little break from all the work in other classes,” he said.

When Feller is joking around, he enjoys playing video games and basketball and hanging out with friends.

Perhaps he enjoys his time off, but Feller takes the rest of his education seriously.  He could see himself possibly going into some type of engineering.  He said it would be challenging and something he would enjoy.

In many ways, Feller is just a normal teenager.  But not many teens have their mom teaching at the same school they attend.  He said it’s a positive thing, but a bit difficult at times.  He said it is helpful when he forgets something at school because he always has his mom and her keys to help gather whatever he has forgotten.


Chris Feller, a health and gym teacher at Yutan, enjoys being in the same school as her son.

“It’s fun to be able to see him during the day,” Chris Feller said.


In two and a half years from now Blake will graduate.  Chris Feller knows what it is like to have one son graduate.  But it will be odd not seeing Blake around school every day, she said.

Some people who aren’t around Blake much may say that he is quiet and reserved.  Who he is around determines how much he talks.  When he is around his best friends, there is nothing quiet about him and he can become quite talkative.

“Blake talks a ton when he is around his friends, but not very often around other people,” Tyler Christensen said.

Recently, Feller had a bad case of mononucleosis that left him out of basketball and any physical activities for six weeks.  It was difficult and bad timing because he missed the week of school before finals.  Fortunately, his high academic skills and understanding teachers allowed him the time to review and prepare for all of the exams.

Both Feller and his mom agree that the most difficult part of the sickness for him was to be out of sports and activities.  Chris Feller said that at first it really didn’t bother him too much that he was missing out on basketball because he was so tired.  It was more difficult for Feller to sit out of activities as he started to feel better.


Weight Room Open to Public
By Cheyenne Nelson

When you walk into a weight room, you would expect to see athletes working hard to stay in top condition. However, athletes aren’t the only ones using the weight room recently built at Yutan High School to theiradvantage. Community members are also reaping the benefits of the new facility.

The new weight room was completed just in time for the beginning of winter sports practices. According to Superintendant Kevin Johnson, the weight room was furnished with equipment donated by Stodden Physical Therapy, used equipment purchased from Creighton Prep High School and new and used equipment purchased from a vendor in Des Moines, Iowa. The new equipment and spacious area create an optimal exercise environment. Sophomore varsity basketball starter Parker Rew is happy with the new weight room.

“It’s a lot bigger, and the equipment is a lot nicer,” Rew said. “It feels like we get more work done.”

Johnson is also satisfied with the way the new facility turned out and is enthusiastic about its prospects. Earlier this January, the weight room was opened to the public.

“We’re very excited about it,” Johnson said. “We hope that with interest in the community, it will be big enough for all people excited about using it.”  

According to Johnson, community members can use the center by checking out a key to the weight room for an annual fee of $50. The money collected will help defray the cost of equipment purchases and upkeep.

“We have about, at this point, 25 community people that have checked out a key,” Johnson said. One particular person is local resident Lori Grinvalds.

Grinvalds belonged to a gym outside of Yutan, but wanted to go to some place closer.

“I got tired of going from place to place, but now there’s no excuse not to go work out,” Grinvalds said.

Grinvalds exercises whenever she can. She normally works out everyday from 6 to 8 p.m. except for one day which she takes off to rest. But for Grinvalds, the weight room is more than just a place to work out.

 “My goal is weight loss,” Grinvalds said, “and this helps me maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Community use of the weight room could lead to conflicts with after-school practices. The weight room is open to the public from 5 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. But according to senior varsity basketball player Paige Schnoes, the girls basketball team has used the weight room as late as 6:30 p.m.

“Opening up the weight room is a good idea, but I wish they would pick up after themselves better,” Schnoes said.

Schnoes explained that weights and other equipment often are not put back to normal, which slows down the basketball team’s lifting process.

“We have to pick up after them before we start,” Schnoes said.

Schnoes also added that weight lifting would go faster without community members in there at the same time.

According to Johnson, after-school practices should not be affected by the usage of the weight room for any reason.

“The rules established give all school programs priority,” Johnson said. And Grinvalds follows those rules.

“Conflicts are normally worked out,” Grinvalds said. “If kids are in there, we let them go before we do.”

Grinvalds would absolutely recommend others to check a key out to the weight room.

“Our whole nation is overweight, and we need to start doing something to make ourselves healthier,” Grinvalds said.

Feature on Mary Jo Wolf
Shelby Johnson
Going to a new school can be tough even for adults. Mary Jo Wolf, superintendent Kevin Johnson’s secretary, worked at Wauneta-Palisade Schools before she came to work at Yutan Public Schools this fall.Wolf lives in Wahoo with her husband Frank, a retired electrical contractor. She moved to Wahoo because her husband’s doctors are here and her children live close to Wahoo.

Wolf’s two sons live in Lincoln and in Omaha. Two out of her three grandchildren are boys.

Wolf has been working at schools for 17 years. Wolf said she became a secretary by applying for the job and was taught how to do everything that was needed to be a secretary.

Her favorite part of being a secretary is payroll because it is challenging and must be correct. But the hardest thing to adjust to at Yutan High School, she said, is getting to know everyone.

“It’s hard, but fun,” Wolf said.

Wolf’s tricks to learning about co-workers are watching their faces and listening to how they talk. Listening is the main thing, she said.

Wolf doesn’t have a least favorite task at work. She said she likes everything about it, but driving home in a snow storm would probably be her least favorite task in the winter.

Her opinion on Yutan is that it is a small community and people are friendly and willing to help. According to Wolf, the people of Yutan accept her. She said it’s hard to be accepted sometimes, but it was easier at Yutan.

Wauneta-Palisade and Yutan are fairly similar to Wolf. The only two differences are Yutan consists of one town and lies in one time zone, while Wauneta-Palisade includes two towns and is located in two time zones.

Wolf has been bookkeeping for 25 years. She began after she finished high school. Before she worked at schools, she kept books at a grain elevator, at JC Penney, and at a Chevrolet motor company.

Wolf has three hobbies: sewing, grandchildren and carving. She and her husband Frank started carving five years ago when they went to a show and their friends handed them a knife to start carving. Wolf carves because it’s creative, relaxing and something to share with her husband. She enjoys finishing a project and feeling happy about how it turned out.
            Johnson said she has years of experience working in schools.
            “She has a nice personality which is welcoming to teachers and staff,” Johnson said.
            Wolf’s strength at her job is understanding school finance and business, said Johnson. He also said she is excellent at working with people.

Job Shadowing

By Cheyenne Nelson

Many students face the same problem when planning their college careers—figuring out what exactly to study. Yutan Junior-Senior High School is easing the stress of planning for the future by setting up job shadows for students.

The halls were less congested on Nov. 12 as several seniors took different parts of the day off to go on job shadows. This is Yutan’s first year of job shadowing, but according to guidance counselor Becky O’Malley, the idea isn’t new.

 “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” O’Malley said.

 O’Malley, with the help of guidance assistants Sandy Rew and Amy Lewis, spent the previous three weeks preparing job shadows for students. O’Malley said they took the seniors’ top three profession choices and started contacting people. English and speech teacher Ginger Eikmeier, who uses the job shadowing experience for one of her English classes, added that the guidance office sent out a list of careers to all the teachers to see if they knew anybody in those professions. Along with the teachers’ referrals, the community also provided assistance.

“The community really came through to help find jobs to shadow,” O’Malley said.

 According to O’Malley, many phone calls were made. Eikmeier recalled that they sometimes ended up calling at least three times: once to set up the job shadow, again to double check the appointment, and a third time to set up a new job shadow if the other one fell through.

 “We were scrambling, but we ended up finding someone for everyone,” O’Malley said.

Everyone being all of the seniors who wanted to job shadow, that is. Not every senior was involved in job shadows, O’Malley said. Only the students who turned in their permission slips were allowed to go on job shadows, and a handful of students did not.

 “We knew it wouldn’t be a good experience for them if they were forced, but it was their choice not to,” O’Malley said.

Students who job shadowed answered the age-old question—is this career right for me? According to O’Malley, a lot of students change their major several times. Job shadowing can confirm students’ thoughts on a career, or it can show them that it isn’t for them. Either way, it helps a student discover sooner what they want to do.

Senior Megan Swanson chose early childhood education as her profession and job shadowed Diane Kramer, a teacher at Montclair Elementary.

“I’ve always liked little kids, and I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to teach,” Swanson said.

For Swanson, the experience was a positive one. She had nothing negative to say.

 “I was around little kids all day, and they got to read to me which was fun because they had just learned how to read,” Swanson said.

Swanson’s experience helped her confirm what she wants to do later in life

 “I really want to be a teacher now,” Swanson said. “I know I have the drive to pursue it.”

Job shadows helped give students hands-on experience in their chosen career, but it also helped them in the classroom. Eikmeier’s English IV class is writing career I-search papers, and an interview with a person in a student’s chosen profession is required as a source for his or her paper. According to Eikmeier, job shadowing gives students unique insight on the career they are interested in, and they can use their experiences to improve their research papers.

 “They can describe the things they did and include quotes and other information from the person they interviewed,” Eikmeier said. “They’ll also have more to talk about and will be able to have more colorful descriptions.”

Eikmeier knows job shadowing is beneficial to her class, but she also believes it is helpful in other ways.

 “I was excited when I found out about the job shadowing because I know how they can make a difference,” Eikmeier said. “When I job shadowed at my high school, I shadowed a pharmaceutical sales representative, and I learned that it wasn’t the job for me.” 

O’Malley plans on continuing job shadowing in years to come. In fact, the juniors will be job shadowing this spring. However, O’Malley admits that she will do things differently next time.

 We'll start searching sooner,” O’Malley said.
  
November 4th Assembly

By JessicaKeith

Keith Becker recently came and talked to about 200 high school students about his brother Todd’s death. Even though no one from Yutan knew Todd, everyone was impacted by his story.

Becker started the Nov. 4 assembly by showing the students Todd’s senior pictures. He did this to show that Todd was an ordinary student and what happened to him can happen to anyone. Todd died in 2005 in a car accident. His friend was driving drunk.

After the accident, Becker wanted to ward students away from going down the wrong path like his brother did. Becker said that there is a narrow road and once you take a step off that narrow road you can’t help but take another step and another until you are someone you would never have thought you would be. Becker also said you can turn back around and try to go back to that narrow road.

Becker also shared pictures of the accident. He put the stool that he was sitting on on top of the basketball end line and said that was the narrow road his brother once was on. He then shared the steps his brother took off that narrow road.

While some students were in tears, others were in shock. Students could relate to what Becker was saying because of their own experiences

“It made me realize how I was leading my life in the wrong way,” said sophomore Becca Miller. “It made me realize that by stealing, I’m just hurting myself and others.”

But some students had already started the journey back to the narrow road before the assembly.

“It reminded me of when I was going down that path,” said junior Ellie Sauer. “And it reminded me about making steps back to the narrow road.”

Some students had family members who died under similar circumstances.

“It affected me a lot,” said freshman Dillon Harnish. “I had a couple of cousins that died while drinking and driving.”

The assembly brought up memories of a friend for one student.

“It made me think about my friend who died,” said senior Tiara Ramsey. “He was a senior also.”          

At the end of the assembly, Becker asked the students who wanted to change their life and go back toward the narrow road to get off the bleachers and stand on the narrow road with him. Many students got up from where they were sitting and stood on that road.

Becker couldn’t believe how many students stood up. He knew that not everyone who stood up did so because they want to change. They just did it because their friends did. Some students felt the same way.

 “It made me mad when a bunch of the people I know went up there because I know them and they probably just did it to make people laugh,” Sauer said.

Becker wasn’t the only person working the assembly. There was also a band called Ear to See. They played one faster song at the beginning of the assembly to get the crowd interested and a slower song toward the end after the pictures of the accident were shown.

Becker has been to 105 schools around the state. He chooses an area and goes to the schools that will let them in.

 " It shows that the administration really cares for the students,” Becker said.       


Kaylee McCuen Story

 By Amanda O’Malley

Buying cigarettes seems like a simple task for adults.  What if it was a simple task for teenagers too?  The “Buy and Bust” operation prevents this from happening.

Sophomore Kaylee McCuen takes part in the “Buy and Bust” operation with the Omaha police department.  The purpose of the operation is to catch clerks selling cigarettes to underage kids.
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 “My step-dad is a cop, and his lieutenant asked if I would like to participate,” McCuen said.

Every weekend since school started, she and four other teenagers visit about 40 grocery stores, bars and gas stations.  McCuen said they dress like normal teenagers, and two lieutenants wait in the car.  They try and purchase cigarettes, even though they are under age.  McCuen said they even show the cashiers their ID’s, and sometimes, they will still give them cigarettes.

 “I get nervous,” McCuen said.  “It feels like I’m breaking the law.”

Each time they go out, McCuen said they purchase cigarettes about five times.

 “It’s fun,” McCuen said, “especially when I get paid $20 an hour.”

McCuen has experienced many different reactions from the clerks when she has tried to buy cigarettes.  McCuen said some get angry with her and yell at her to get out, and some are apologetic that they can’t sell them to her.

“I have had people throw my ID on the ground, and some people have even chased me out of the store,” McCuen said.

 If a cashier sells her cigarettes, McCuen takes them out to the lieutenants and they go in and give the cashier a ticket.  If the cashier won’t let her buy the cigarettes, McCuen explains the operation to them. 

Sometimes, McCuen said that the clerks will try and argue that they didn’t sell her the cigarettes.  McCuen then has to appear in court and testify against these people.

 “I have gone to court twice,” McCuen said, “and usually they plead guilty.  If I don’t go, the charges are dropped most of the time.”

McCuen said she thinks she is making somewhat of a difference in stopping places from selling cigarettes to underage kids.

 “After they get a ticket, I think they will be more cautious and check people’s ID’s better,” McCuen said.
Feature on Nate Shepard

By Nicole KarloffListening to death metal, skating and watching Heroes are only a few things that Nate Shepard enjoys in his free time.  This Yutan sophomore has his own taste for clothes and music.

His favorite stores are Hot Topic, Pac Sun and BC.  These may not be the typical places where students would shop, but it all has to do with personal style. And that is one thing that Shepard has.

Shepard describes his style as random. 

“I don’t really care if it matches, as long as it’s slim fitting,” he said.

He claims that he doesn’t exactly have any direct inspiration. 

“I just come up with it all on my own,” Shepard said. 

He doesn’t let opinions keep him from dressing the way he wants. 

Shepard may be the only one at Yutan High who dresses like this, but this doesn’t stop him from having his own style. 

“People probably don’t like my style because it’s different, but I don’t care,” he said. 

Jax Miller is a new student here at Yutan High who came from Mead this past year.   She noticed Shepard’s different and creative style when she first transferred.

“His style was hard to get used to at first, but really, it just fits his personality,” said Miller, a classmate of Shepard’s.

Even though he might have a different style than other students, he is just the same in that he has to get ready for school in the mornings, too.  Some kids have their morning routines, but not Shepard. He says each day is different for him. 

The time he gets up just depends on who is giving him a ride to school.  Some days he is up bright and early by 5 a.m. and others by 6:30.  Even though he doesn’t quite have a set morning routine, it always seems to take him about 20 minutes to get ready.

To do his hair for the upcoming day, he straightens it at night so he won’t have to worry about fixing it up in the morning.  This way he is prepared for the next day when he wakes up.

Shepard says his style is somewhat new to him.  He started his trend about four years ago.  A few of his favorite articles of clothing include his Social Collision jeans and his Black Danalia Murder shirt.

These are a few of his favorite things to wear on a day-to-day basis.  Other things
Shepard enjoys include listening to music, skating and watching the occasional television shows.  He considers music an enjoyable pastime and listens to it often.  The genre he prefers is death metal. 

Skating is just all about a good challenge and to have fun when there is nothing else for Shepard to do.  When Shepard isn’t skating or jamming out to music, he can typically be found at the television watching Heroes. 

So whether it’s “different” or not, one thing is for certain. Shepard has his own personal style.

Cheyenne Nelson

By Katelyn Landgren

Practice makes perfect. People say this all the time, but is it really the truth? For senior Cheyenne Nelson, practice did pay off in one extraordinary way. Nelson’s dedication and will to practice earned her a spot in the Nebraska All-State choir. Choir instructor Michaela Babic, who was also selected for the choir when she was in high school, knew what Nelson had to do to rank in the top 400 out of the 1,000 high school students who tried out for this prestigious choir. “One little mistake would knock you out,”Babic said.       Nelson worked on learning all the selected pieces by herself, but when she did have a question, she asked Babic. She received the music this summer, while the CD with the recorded music arrived around the time school started. Since Nelson didn’t play softball this year, she was able to spend more time working to reach her goal.

"I took a workshop at UNO that taught me how to speak German," Nelson said.

This helped her at the auditions because the German piece was one of the ones selected for her to sing. Along with practicing the selected pieces of music, she also had to be able to perform scales and arpeggios, which are broken chords that are sung in sequence.

Nelson spent four or more hours a week working on the music until the week before auditions when she practiced every day. 

"If you don’t spend a lot of personal time on it, you don’t even have a shot," Babic said.

Nelson became the first girl from Yutan to make the choir in several years. It has always been a goal of hers to make it, but she has had other things limiting her time to practice. Being her senior year, it was her last chance to make the choir so she focused and strived for the best. Her goal was reached this year and she will now be performing on Nov. 22 at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the Nebraska All-State choir.

"This has been the highlight of my senior year, so far," Nelson said. 

Jake’s Hunting and Fishing

By Emily PerkinsFor as long as he can remember, junior Jake Koenig has been spending his time hunting and fishing. Some people have too short of an attention span for such activities, but not Koenig.

He said he has plenty of patience for these activities.

“I like it so much because it’s relaxing, quiet, and it gives me time to think,” Koenig said. “Also, it is also just a good time.”

Koenig doesn’t have a favorite out of the two; they both rank in the same position on his scale of one to 10. He also doesn’t have a preference between those activities and sports.

“I love hunting, fishing and playing sports. I can’t pick just one,” Koenig said.


 Koenig participates in football and baseball. But due to an injury, he won’t be able to play baseball this year.

Koenig can still remember the first time shooting a deer. And it just so happened to be on the last day of the hunting season, within the last half hour of daylight.

“My first one ever was a 4x4 buck,” Koenig said.

He also has a funny memory from one of his many fishing trips. When Koenig was 12, he was trying to snag a spoonbill, but it tried to drag him into the river.

Koenig has won four Master Angler Awards from fishing, one of which being from a skipjack.

Although Koenig has never been hunting outside of Nebraska, he said his favorite place to go is up in northeast Nebraska by Hartington. He hunts quite a wide variety of animals, but his favorite is hunting deer.

He enjoys fishing in two different locations, however. The first is in Calamus, while the second is at Gaven’s Point Dam on the Missouri River.

According to Koenig, his favorite people to hunt and fish with are classmates Brauk Thomas, Kody Liermann and Jake Vencil, as well as his dad and brothers.

Koenig also traps beavers and muskrats in his free time.

So while Koenig has been hunting and fishing for as long as he can remember, he has no intentions of ever stopping. These are things he hopes to continue for the rest of his life.

Nile Limbach

By Kaylee Mccuen  To ride on the world’s largest farris wheel or even go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Most students at Yutan High school will not have the opportunity to do either, but sophomore Nile Limbach has done both. 

In 2004, Limbach went on a two-week trip to Europe with the ‘People to People International’ group. 

“It was a great experience,” Limbach said. “I met so many people and learned a lot about World War II.”

 Limbach’s trip was definitely a unique experience, but so are other aspects of his life compared to most Yutan High School students.
 
He isn’t involved with any of Yutan’s fall sports because every weekend Limbach is traveling to Omaha, York and Blair to participate in Elkhorn’s soccer league.  He has done so since he was 5 years old.

“Soccer is awesome,” Limbach said. “I have made so many new friends from it.”
 
Since age 7, Limbach has been experimenting with new hair ideas; it started with dying his hair blue.

 “It’s really fun,” he says. “People are always asking to touch it.”   

 Limbach’s parents have always encouraged him to change his hairstyles.  Currently,  Nile Limbach is ‘rocking’ the Mohawk. 

“I think that they really like it, because it is different from everybody else,” Limbach said.

During Homecoming week, Nate Jones described Limbach’s hair as “psychedelic,” because of the red tips.              

Limbach is also the only male flutist in Yutan’s Senior High Band.  In fifth grade, former band director Kevin Koopmann made the suggestion for Limbach to try the flute, and now, he really enjoys it.

Limbach has been in about four honor bands and five competitions.  He says during preparation for those are when he will take time at home to practice.

“Nile is an excellent student, and has always been at the top of the section,” director Doug Ramsey said,   “While playing the flute, it doesn’t matter if you are male or female, it only depends on how good you are.”

Carl Retiring

By Emily Perkins

Whenever you hear the lawnmower start up at Yutan High School, one man comesCarl to mind. Carl Michel. But once 2009 hits, he won’t work at the school anymore. He is 62 and thinks it is time to retire.

Superintendent Kevin Johnson said for the past six years Michel has had a few primary jobs, which include inspecting the buses and other school vehicles and making sure they are maintained appropriately. He is also in charge of taking care of the grounds.

“The yard always looks really nice, which reflects Yutan nicely,” Johnson said.

Michel also oversees the maintenance of all the buildings on the property. Johnson said Michel listens to the patrons of his barber shop comment on the school and then bring them back to him. He also said that Michel has good relations with the students as well as his co-workers and has a positive attitude about work and life.

According to Johnson, interviews to take over Michel’s position will begin in November.

According to Michel, the part he will miss most is all the joking around he does with the students. He is known around the school for always having a funny story to share, or something funny to add to yours.

What will Michel do with all his new-found freedom?

He has many projects going on at home, which include re-painting and re-staining some rooms along with some handy-work. Michel also has plans to help out in his mother-in-law’s house as well as his niece and her husband’s house.

Michel said the main reason he is retiring is because he feels he is tired of working. He also wants to spend more time with his family and he has a few other things that need to be done.

“Do I have any second thoughts about retiring? No, of course not,” Michel said.

Even though Michel may not be working at Yutan High School anymore, he will still work at the barber shop he owns in downtown Yutan.

So while Michel is retiring after six years of working for the school, he will still be around town.

Robin Nagle

By Shelby Johnson

How do you decide what to wear during Homecoming week? Do you still dress up if you don’t like the choice of that day? What if you can’t find a thing to wear?

These are only a few questions that Robin Nagle, a sophomore who dressed up each day, used to find her attire for Homecoming week.

“I didn’t really like a few days, but I dressed up for all of them anyway,” Nagle said after the week was over.

Nagle shopped at Wal-Mart for her Homecoming needs. Each day had separate accessories to purchase. Nagle bought suspenders (Nerd Day), bright colored headband, pink and black tights (80s Day), blue tights and clear blue shoes (the color for sophomores on Color Day was blue).

Nerd Day was easy for Nagle because she knew how to dress similar to a nerd from television series and movies. Her hairstyle was pigtails. She wore her own glasses and her own white, shin-high socks.

For 80s Day, Nagle looked in her mom’s yearbooks. She wore a bright colored headband to go across her forehead and pink and black tights to finish the look.
With bright makeup, a lot of blush and big hair, Nagle won best dressed out of the high school girls for 80s Day.

“My hair took an hour!” Nagle said.

Color Day happens every year for Homecoming week. This year the sophomore’s color was blue. Nagle wore blue tights, clear blue shoes, jean shorts and a blue T-shirt. She had on blue eye shadow, which was on her eyelids and cheekbones.
Instead of a red jumpsuit for Thriller Day, she decided to dress dead and have scary makeup to exaggerate the look.

“I couldn’t find a red jumpsuit in order to be Michael Jackson,” Nagle said.

The last day of Homecoming week was Spirit Day. Nagle had on a black shirt with a silver skull and cross bones, jean shorts, a red plaid vest, eye patch and a sword connected to her belt loop. She dressed like a pirate because the softball team has been called the Pirates instead of the Patriots.

“We were in Nehawka for a triangular and the announcer pronounced our team as the
Pirates instead of the Patriots,” Nagle said.

Nagle was excited for Homecoming week, but sad that it’s over.
“I saw a lot of cool costumes during this week. I can’t believe it’s over,” Nagle said.

Feature on: Adrienne Miller – Gymnastics and Olympic Opinions

By Shelby JohnsonKeeping balance, holding on, sticking the landing.  These are just a few things only gymnasts strive for.Since she was four years old, Adrienne Miller, an eighth grader at Yutan High School who participates in many school activities, has been involved in gymnastics.  She trains 16-18 hours a week.  Gymnasts compete at 10 different levels, with each higher level having more advanced requirements. She is competing at level eight and working up to level nine.
Miller’s mom placed her in a gymnastics class at the YMCA. Miller said her coach told her she needed to go to a real gym.The balance beam is Miller’s favorite event in gymnastics. Although she is terrified of it, she overcomes her fear.“It’s scary,” Miller said, “but when you know what you are doing, it’s fun.”
Training hard in the summer for competitions, Miller learns new skills, leaps and types of tumbling to put into her routines, with each one having certain requirements.Miller has traveled to such places as San Diego, Milwaukee, Disneyland and South Dakota for competitions.Miller’s favorite part of the Olympics was when Shawn Johnson won gold on the balance beam.“She stuck everything,” Miller said.Miller met Shawn Johnson at Nebraska Gold, Miller’s gym.“She’s nice, short, loves what she does, and is very inspiring,” Miller said.
Olympic gymnasts and Miller are similar in many ways. They have the same skills, but for the Olympians, the skills are more advanced and at higher requirements.
Like U.S. gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, who won gold and silver at the 2008 Olympics, Miller and her teammate were awarded first and second all around at the Denver, Colorado meet. Miller took first.
Senior Pictures

By Nicole KarloffWhat better way to capture the memories of your senior year of high school than through senior pictures?  Students can be as creative and unique as their imagination allows.
Many more steps are involved in arranging senior pictures than some may realize. 

Students must look for where they want thier pictures taken and also who they would like their photographer to be.

Two of this year’s seniors, Derek Rogers and Cierra Mumme, took different approaches to this task.  Mumme went to the internet for sources and examples, while Rogers sought guidance from his mom.

If students or their parents don’t have a definite idea, Mumme suggests looking online.

“It helps a lot, just looking for the types of pictures you like,” she said.

If underclassmen are wondering when to take senior pictures, perhaps take a senior’s advice.  Mumme and Rogers both agree and recommend taking them during the summer.  This gives the opportunity for better weather and also makes for colorful, summer scenery.

Rogers had Mary Ranard with Hidden Expressions in Yutan take his photos.  He said that Ranard made the process simple by providing a wide variety of poses and ideas.

“The pictures were fun,” Rogers said. “The only bad part was how long it took.”

Mumme found a Cedar Bluffs photographer, Sandy Michaels, from her web site and fell in love with her photography style.  She also said that her photographer was helpful. 
“Overall, getting the pictures taken was a great experience and a lot of fun,” Mumme said.

Price is also a big concern for students and their parents as they determine where to go. 

Rogers suggests finding a cheaper place that will still provide quality pictures.  Mumme agreed and said to look for photographers who will offer many options with package pricing.

Senior pictures are all about memories.  Mumme said her best memory while getting hers taken was a picture with her mom. 

“Somehow she just showed up out of nowhere in one of my pictures with an umbrella,” she said.  Mumme laughed at the memory and said that she would always remember this special time.

Feature: Grace
By Amanda O’Malley  

The tasks of opening a door or carrying your books to class seem pretty simple to most students.  But for seventh grader Grace Eliason, it’s a little different. 

On June 3, 1999, Eliason was being pulled behind the lawn mower in a wagon.  In an attempt to climb up and get her mom’s attention, she fell behind the mower and lost her left arm.  It was severed just below the elbow.

Adjusting after the accident took a while, according to Eliason.

“I had therapy for five years,” Eliason, “and I still haven’t completely adjusted.”

Wearing a prosthetic arm doesn’t appeal to Eliason, though.

“I have one, but I don’t wear it a lot,” Eliason said.  “It gets in the way and is really uncomfortable.”

Eliason said she usually asks a friend to help her open her locker.

“If I am behind a bunch of people going into class I usually stop the door with my foot to keep it open,” Eliason said.

Being in front of people seems to be no problem for Eliason.  She gave a speech in front of the seventh grade when she ran for student council.

“I am really comfortable with it, and I don’t really think about it,” Eliason said.

Eliason’s P.E. and Health teacher Chris Feller said Eliason is outgoing and refuses to let her arm be an excuse.  During warm-ups, Eliason willingly does one-handed push-ups without excuses Feller said.

“She is very bright and handles her arm very well,” Feller said.  “She has a great spirit.”

Eliason said one of her favorite things to do is sing.  Performing at the Elkhorn Valley Community Theatre is normal for Eliason.  Practicing once a week at the theatre and every night at home, Eliason cares a lot about her performances. 

“I love to sing and perform,” Eliason said.  “I have been doing it my whole life.”

Along with singing, Eliason plays volleyball, does dance, and used to play soccer.  Eliason has to use her own techniques for volleyball to get the ball where she wants it.

“If I wear my arm during volleyball, I have trouble with balancing,” Eliason said, “but if I don’t wear my arm, the ball goes everywhere.”

Band, choir, watching old movies and reading to her siblings Margarate and Ben are just more things to add to the list of Eliason’s activities.   Playing the baritone doesn’t seem to be difficult for Eliason.  She says she uses a guitar strap to help hold it up and it makes it a lot easier to march, too. 

        
 
 
New Teacher Story

By Lydia Ranard

This year four new faces have joined the Yutan High School Staff. Each of these members comes ready to give something back to the school.

Michaela Babic is Yutan’s new vocal music director. Babic hails from a small town in the western part of Nebraska called Bayard. This year is Babic’s first year of actually teaching, although she has had many student teaching jobs including a job in Elkhorn High School.

She has a good background in singing. Babic’s mother, sister and brother all have careers or future careers in music education. Babic received several awards and high positions such as soprano section leader in the UNO choir, outstanding soloist award at Greeley Jazz festival, part of the UNO chamber choir and has taken part in several band ensembles.

would like to see more people interested in the arts.

“I’m actually pretty impressed with Yutan. There’s not a whole lot I’d like to change.” Babic said, “But I’d like to get a larger number of people in choir.”

The whole school will be able to participate in the show choir program she will be starting this year. The show choir program will perform a variety of pop, Broadway and jazz tunes along with choreography and getting some type of uniform.

“It’s awesome; it’s going to be fun,” Babic said. “I really hope to compete this year.”

She said that she would like to see Yutan achieve record numbers in the choir program during her time here. This year she’s working on building up the confidence of her students.

“My main focus right now is getting people to enjoy singing,” Babic said. “I want people to feel comfortable with their voices.”

One of the obstacles Babic sees in her way this year is dealing with the stereotypes of musicians.

“I think the hardest thing will be getting the males involved in the arts and getting people to give it a chance with an open mind,” Babic said.

Shannon Coleman, Yutan’s new media specialist, joins Babic as a new staff member. Coleman has been moving around with her husband, who has recently retired from the army, before settling in Yutan.

According to Coleman, she’s had several teaching jobs before Yutan.

“I’ve taught sixth grade, fifth grade and fourth grade,” Coleman said. “This is my 12th year teaching.”

Coleman helps in the library by analyzing the library collection and keeping record of what books are used.

“I pay attention to student interests to try and maintain a balanced assortment for students and teachers,” Coleman said.

She has a master’s degree in library education, which helps when she’s assisting students with their research skills.

Helping out Coleman this year is Michelle Dooley. Dooley grew up in Yutan and graduated here. She had a prior job in Elkhorn as a teacher’s assistant.

Dooley also has a child in school with her. This is convenient because she can easily pick up her kids and drop them off in school.

“It’s great,” Dooley said. “I absolutely love it.”

Like Coleman, she is working on creating a better studying environment by organizing the library.

“I’d like to get it so more people can come and enjoy the library.” Dooley said.

Overall, Dooley has some long-term goals for Yutan. Dooley wants to see the school continue to grow. “I want the kids to get the best education they can get,” Dooley said.

Mary Jo Wolf is Superintendent Kevin Johnson’s new secretary and business manager. She comes from the small farming community of Palisade, Nebraska.

Wolf is in charge of paying the bills and payroll. She worked in a school at Palisade as a business manager.

 

 
New Cheerleaders and Sponsors

 By Kyley Schroeder

Who is that driving the school van? Do they work at the school? Many people think this when they see the cheerleaders on the way to games.

The cheerleaders this year have to adjust to new sponsors or even the activity itself. Amy Arensberg took the job of coaching the cheerleaders this year. Since high school officials knew that the fall would be the busiest time for Arensberg because she coaches softball, they decided to have two other sponsors instead of just one.

Tisha Sellin and Kristin Gochenour help Arensberg teach the cheerleaders. Sellin and Gochenour also help by driving the cheerleaders to away games that Arensberg cannot attend.       

Along with the new coaches, the squad gained six new cheerleaders. Juniors Nicole Karloff, Morgan Remm and Sara Timperley, sophomores Kellyn Mattheis and Shawnee Peterson and freshman Shelby Anderson all joined the squad this year.  The squad has six returning cheerleaders in juniors Steph Roll the captain, and Lydia Ranard and sophomores Andie Root, Shauna Parker, co-captain Mary Greblunas and Megan Schulz. Even with the even numbers of rookies and veterans, they all mesh together well and have the same ideas, according to Roll. 

“In the beginning, I didn’t know how this year would go,” Arensberg said. “But I like it because the girls are good with constructive criticism, and they are getting better.”

The cheerleaders practiced many times during the summer. Normally, practices were on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday nights. But since the school year started, the squad has only practiced once due to busy schedules. During practices the cheerleaders worked on learning the cheers and even changing some of the old ones. According to Ranard, the cheerleaders changed the cheers because Arensberg didn’t like them and wanted them to be more bouncy. After all the practicing, the cheerleaders finally get to cheer at games. The sports they cheer for are football, basketball and wrestling. 

Another new thing everyone is adjusting to is their uniforms for this year. The cheerleaders all fundraised for the uniforms.

“We wanted to bring back the gold,” Timperley said.

Which is exactly what they did. The uniforms are red with gold trim. According to Greblunas, the cheerleaders just wanted to be different.

Even with the new uniforms, some cheerleaders agree they do it because it’s fun.

“I wanted to help get the crowd pumped up,” Timperley said. “Because as an athlete I know that cheering from the fans helps.”     

 New Class Schedule
By Cheyenne Nelson

The same routine for five years can become a little boring, but Yutan Junior-Senior High School has shaken up the normal routine by creating a new class schedule.

The old schedule created problems for many students when it came to signing up for classes. According to guidance counselor Becky O’Malley, band and advanced biology have always been a difficulty. Students who wanted to take both band and advanced biology were forced to choose between the two because they were only offered during the same hour.

The idea for a new schedule was based off of O’Malley’s past experiences.

“I came from a school where we redid the schedule every year around the students’ needs,” O’Malley said. “Students’ needs change so it’s good to change the schedule every so often.”

The new schedule was developed last year when students registered for classes. According to O’Malley, all of the juniors and seniors-to-be signed up for the classes they wanted to take without using a schedule. After looking at which classes students preferred, the best possible schedule was mapped out.

O’Malley said one important aspect of the schedule was to put more of the core classes in the morning and electives in the afternoon. That way if students have to miss their afternoon classes for sports or appointments, they won’t have to worry so much about the homework they missed. O’Malley added that several students like to take study halls in the afternoon.

Overall, O’Malley thinks the students’ reactions to the new schedule have been pretty good.

           

“So many students were able to get what they wanted,” O’Malley said.

Senior Kyle Nelson enjoys the new class schedule.

“It allowed me to get what I wanted when I wanted it,” Nelson said. “There was also less competition for the classes.”

Most students agreed with Nelson and believe the changing of the schedule is a good experience, but the new schedule has its ups as well as its downs. For junior Jordan Zauha, the schedule was more hurtful than helpful.

“I wanted to take modern literature this year but couldn’t because pre-calculus was changed to the same hour,” Zauha said.

Students aren’t the only ones affected by this new schedule. Teachers have also had to adjust.

English teacher Carey Starns is feeling the impact of the schedule. Starns said her modern literature and junior high reading classes were switched around giving more opportunities for junior high students to take her reading class. The schedule also split up her English III classes with one before lunch and one afterwards.

“On shorter days, I won’t have my afternoon English III class, so I have to plan accordingly,” Starns said.

In general, Starns is happy with the new schedule.

“It give me a good break between classes,” Starns said.
Breakfast Story
By Kaylea Kult

Remember last year when paying a dollar at the high school got you a pop tart?  Now, instead of using that dollar to hit up the vending machines in the morning, students are choosing to eat a hot breakfast that the high school now serves.

Due to interest shown on a survey given to the high school students, the school’s officials chose to follow the elementary’s path and serve hot breakfast in the mornings.

Students are taking advantage and think it was a great idea.  A lot of students are dropped off early in the morning because their parents need to get to their jobs.  Now, instead of having to get something out of the vending machines to eat, they can sit down and have a nice breakfast. 

Eighth grader Kolten Root said that last year he would eat candy in the mornings and now he eats the breakfast every day.

The vending machines are turned off during the time breakfast is being served due to a federal law.  Root said he doesn’t mind because he doesn’t even use them anymore.

“I don’t see the need for vending machines when you get biscuits and gravy,” senior Jarrod Wagner said. 

Junior Jacob Nelson said that before school served a morning meal he never ate breakfast and now he does every other day. 

“I eat breakfast Monday, Wednesday and Friday because those are my favorite,” he said.

The cooks now come in an hour earlier and make an extra meal.  They don’t mind too much. 

“In the morning, the kids like something hot to eat,” Trish Barta said.

She thinks it’s a good idea and that the kids really benefit from it.  “It has to be done and it’s worthwhile.”

Superintendent Kevin Johnson said that a downfall is that the kids who ride the bus are being left out and the new program cannot accommodate them.  He said the school officials haven’t quite worked through that yet.

In order to break even with the expenses for the breakfast, 40-50 students need to be attending.  Johnson said that the average after only one month of school is about 30 and the cooks said on some days they get 40. 

“We’re pretty optimistic that we’ll reach it,” Johnson said.

 

   

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