Monthly Archives: September 2010

The support of the country is very important to our soldiers,  more important than people realize.  I recently signed up for a website called Adopt A US Soldier. When you “adopt” one, you become their penpal, their connection with the outside world, but most importantly, their support. You can send your soldiers care packages full of things that they miss or things that you know they like once you get to know them better. You can also send them letters. The soldiers have been known to take their letters and put them in their pockets before going out on a big mission. It’s very important for them to know that they have support from the country that they’re fighting for. One soldier was asked what he wanted and he replied “I just don’t want to be forgotten.” That is just one example of how much one person thinking about them means to them. It helps so much so please get on the website and sign up to adopt your own solider. www.adoptaussoldier.org  When you get online, if you are under 18, the website will contact you for your parent or guardian to email and give them permission to assign you a solider. Please do this! It’ll help more than you can even imagine! Even if you can’t mail them care packages, they enjoy having someone to talk to in their down time.

Why do most Colorado students want to go out of state for college? Elaine Collins, the counselor at the Meeker High School stated “It is now more possible to go to an out of state college than it was in the past.”  She also said there are now  exchange programs where a student can go most anywhere in the United States for the same cost as it would to a college in state. The average cost for a college in Colorado is $ 19,000, whereas in Kansas it is  $17,000; however in Virginia it goes up to about $32,000 and in California tuition is around $23,000.  So, of the states listed, Colorado is one of the cheapest annual tuitions, but students would still rather go out of state.

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A Canadian Medical Journal says “Energy drinks have crossed the line from a beverage to a drug.”  Some energy drinks are more popular then others, but the fact is they are all bad for your health.  A lot of kids say that there is nothing wrong with drinking them but they are wrong.  Energy drinks are very bad for your health and can pose serious health hazards.  There are energy drinks that have association with alcoholic beverages.  This means that some energy drinks may actually contain alcohol content in them.  France has actually banned Red Bull because it has lead to sports related deaths.  A lot of your popular energy drinks like Monster, Red Bull, Amp, Full Throttle, and Rock Star contain really high amounts of caffeine.  A lot of people will say that there should be a age limit on who can buy energy drinks.   Do you think there should be an age limit on who can buy energy drinks?

The Meeker Cowboys brought it to Sorocco showing them who’s better, so beware because the cowboys are steppin’ it up! The freshman creamed the Rams in the first game 25 to 18, but the second went a little downhill as they lost by 7 points.

The J.V. team was ready to go when they tried their hardest to win the first game and had succeeded but the second game was a little devastating with the score being 25 to 23.

Pumped, the Varsity team smashed Sorocco 25 to 17 their first game. The games were intense as it was at one time 25 to 25, and in volleyball we must win by 2 points. The Rams were up by 1. Aly Ridings spiked the ball on the floor, leaving the rams devastated.

The crowd was silent until the rest of the team yelled,  “she’s a freshman!” the look on the Rams’ faces was astonishment.  They were embarrassed– burned down by a freshman!

That’s not where the excitement stops though; Katie Morgan was up to serve and it was game point.  The audience could feel the pressure rising within them as the rams yelled, “It’s up!” It was over the net and Sorocco went for it and hit it over, but as they thought they had won, Meeker recovered the ball and spiked it over, Sorocco recovered the ball once again. The audience was on their feet clapping, and waiting for the last point to come.

The cowboys didn’t respond on the pass and let it hit the floor! It was officially over and time to head back home.

Great job Cowboys, keep it up.

Meeker quarterback Trevor Matrisciano was tackled and injured on Saturday’s game. He says that he will basically be out all school year. He was asked if he could play basketball or baseball and he said he may be able to play baseball. A couple years ago his brother Tyler Matrisciano, who was also a quarterback, was injured with the same problem. They both tore their ACL, anterior cruciate ligament, which basically means that it stops all the muscles in your hamstring from falling down, so when he tore it, it locked up. Matrisciano will be having surgery next Tuesday. Get well soon Trevor!!!

With the football season well on its way, the injuries of the players seem to be stacking up. At the first football game John Abbott was taken off the field on a stretcher due to an injury in his rib. The next week during practice Ohana Mataia sprained an ankle. Lathrop Hughes is out for an injury in his knee. At the varsity game in Olathe, we had three players sit out for the second half of the game.  Toby Casias with an injury in his foot, Justin Hardy with an injury in his knee and Victor Villipando , with an injury in his foot. In last weeks game against Fruita starting quarter back, Trevor Matriciano was sacked in the backfield suffering a torn acl. Then just yesterday Kevin Eli passed out in the locker room. If you haven’t been keeping count that is 7 players.

Also, in girls volleyball the injured list is growing. Stephany Joos fell during practice and almost got a concussion and had problems with her ankle in one day. Sydney Boes suffered a concussion during practice.

This is an epidemic and is conquering not only our school but our nation. Reports have been coming from everywhere talking about concussion in high school athletics in boys and girls.  What does this mean? How can we fix it?

There is no specific answer but one thing is known. Students need to stay in shape.  They need to watch what they do and be careful.

Shameful faces,

Unforgetable mistakes,

Unacceptable losses,

All these words can summarize what our  junior varsity football team does when we play. “They lose all the time,” students in our hallways whisper. That all changed Monday afternoon after a big win against the Grand Valley Cardinals. Our team went on the field with as many as 14 people playing that afternoon. “Were gonna lose!” “We don’t even have enough people to sub!” “We dont even have a f****** line!” The frustration in our minds was getting to us before we even got onto the field.

We were hungering for a win, but couldn’t find the will to pull it together. “Alright, we have been on a losing streak for quite a while, but that ends now! Forget about what happened in the past and think about now, NOW IS A NEW DAY!! You will not accept defeat any longer, forget what everybody says about you, and show that we can win a game,” as assistant coach Zalinsky  yells with motivation in his heart. We kicked off  and stopped the Cardinals at there 40 yard line.

“Alright boys come on, come on, we can do this!!,” as our cowboy defense eager with excitement to get a stop.

“Ready!”

“Set!”

“Go!”

PASS! PASS! Wooosshhh. Ball! The reciever catches it and brings it down…BOOOM!! As strong safety Scott Smith hammers the reciever with great power and persuit. Going back and fourth, the pounding on each side never stopted. All the first half Cowboys and Cardinals were roaring with rage and engaging each play fighting for their glory and their chance to be on top. BEEEEEP! Halftime.

The cowboys got the ball the second half and were stopped at there 40 yard line. The second half was no different than the first. Booom, paw, the pounding never stopped and the heat got hot.

“Alright Kevin!”

“You got this!”

“Pro left, 42 power!”

Nathaniel Wash was eager to get a touchdown.

“Now!”

“Black 8!”

“Black 8!”

“Set!”

“Go!”

Nathaniel Walsh hands the ball off to number 10 freshman wide reciever (playing as runningback) Pa!Pa! Non-stop pounding up on the line as helmets clash. Kevin Eli hits the hole but the gap gets collapsed as Kevin quickly jumps outside to hit the corner. He gets a great block by Walsh on the outside linebacker as he rushes to the outside juking the man in front of him, and burns a safety for the first touchdown of the game. The team was excited but the rush was on. Their couldn’t be any more penalties, or any more mistakes; the defense “had” to win the fight.

It was all or nothing for the Cowboys from now on. Our defense was unstoppable against the Cardinals offense.  The bad thing was, the Cardinals defense was beating us to the punch also. Two minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

” Trips right!”

“3!”

“3!”

“Arrow!”

“On quick!”

Now! Dylan Mobley steps back, quickly trying to vision an open receiver. He finds Kevin Eli wide open in the corner and hits him with a bullet pass. Eli catches the ball and gets away from a missed tackle by the corner-back. He runs inside of the field with freshman wide out Justin Giao lead blocking him. Giao gets a great block on a defender which gave Eli the chance to beat only three more people. Eli uses his incredible speed and rushes straight down the middle of the field and scores with another touchdown. We did not score the P.A.T but we did score a win at the end of the game. The team was very excited for the win and was pumped for another game. As for the Cardinals, they brought everything they had, but came up short and took nothing back. As they say, to give something is to lose something.

The last non-league game of the season was a success for Meeker Cowboys.  Jake Nieslanik was the first person of the game to score,  followed by a field goal by Victor Villalpando.   Alema Atoafa made a beautiful pick in the backfield, along with a long interception.  We played the field and entered half time with the score 35-0.  After half time Coach Palmer put in the teams JV for a little bit of practice.   Fruita scored 3 times on our JV team.   The Last touchdown of the game was made by Kevin Eli finalizing the score at 50-19

All I can say is, wow! This movie is completely awesome! The movie is a sci-fi thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.  The special effects are very good, the acting is fantastic, and the setting is very convincing. It reminds me of those old-school sci-fi flicks, like Alien, Predator, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers; and it’s in a good way, almost like its bringing back good memories. It also has a great cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, and Cam Gigandet. The story is great, and it has plot twists throughout the entire movie, making it so unpredictable that you are waiting eagerly to see what happens next! So, I recommend this movie to any sci-fi fans looking for a good flick!

This Monday morning 23-year-old Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Kenny McKinley, was found dead in his second story master bedroom by his friend who was returning McKinley’s  son from a special trip. The Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson believes that he was killed by self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The authorities will not release any information about a suicide note. This is one of the many deaths in the recent Broncos line up. Damien Nash collasped and died at a St. Louis basketball game three months before the Broncos corner back Darrent Williams died in a drive-by on New Years Eve in 2007. This basketball game that Nash attended was for heart foundation which was decaded to his brother who had a heart transplant. He was 24 years old and left behind a infientdaughter.  Williams was outside a Night Club when a stretch Hummer limo drove by and sprayed bullets. He was also 24. The Broncos have had some less than okay seasons, and have lost a lot of their fans. Could this be the reason why?

Last Saturday senior cross country runner Joe McPhail finished stong after a nasty fall. Rules of cross country state that if anyone falls within the first 100 meters the race is to restart, unfortunately for Joe he had just passed that hundred meter mark when he was tripped up and trampled by one hundrfed and 30 some cross country runners. Joe quickly got up and continued the race as if nothing had happened. Go Joe! As he was being trampled Joe McPhail thought to himself ” Holy  s***  there’s a foot next to my grill.” When he returned to his feet he said “Oh shucks” with a capital f and no s. At the end of school this year Joe McPhail will be attending the Navy Recruitment Training Center in Great Lakes Illinois to become a machinist mate. We wish Joe a great rest of the cross country season and good luck in Illinois Joe we’re proud to have you be a part of our school.

The Internet: what a wonderful resource for everyone, but there are some people who misuse it.  The first thing you must know is, that millions of people use the internet, so do not post anything that could cause you trouble.  You must be careful what you post on the Internet.

When you meet someone on the Internet, you should never give them any personal information.  They could use the information you tell them to find out where you live.  They could also use it to hurt you socially on sites like Facebook and Myspace.  Never give out any personal information.

If you follow these simple rules you can protect yourself on the Internet.  If you choose not to follow these rules you can probably get in trouble later.  If you just follow these simple rules, you will not get into trouble.

Colorado Permit Law: The Driver Education permit is for teen drivers 15 years to 15 years and 6 months of age. Teen drivers under the age of 18 must apply for a permit and keep the permit in good standing for 12 months and be at least 16 years of age before taking the driving test. Don’t you think that we should be on par with the rest of the nation? Numerous other states require teens to be minimum of 14 1/2 years of age icluding Montana, Michigan, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Alaska, and more.  Every state has their own laws right? So why do kids in Colorado complain? Most states also require teens to be at least 16 years of age.  ”It kind of sucks, I wish the age was younger, but I guess it is a good idea for some people who can’t drive.” – Kaitlyn Dinwiddie

Last year, some of the Meeker High School students started a football shed and never finished. This year, the Mechanical Career Clusters Class will be finishing what they started. The students that are finishing it are hoping to have it done before the weather gets bad this winter. They have learned what different terms are in walls and how the structure supports the weight of the roof and the snow in winter. They will learn more while building the rest of the shed. At the beginning of the year, it was questionable to see if there would be any building or “hands-on” work in the class, because of the size of the class. But since people have switched out of the class, they have more of an opportunity to learn by hands on working. As of now, they have not yet started, but they will soon and they are excited to begin. Waiting to learn what they need to before, seems to drag on for them as they are being prepared for building.

The interview with the Freshmen Class President, Aly Ridings, went well, but was very mysterious. The interview started with the question: What were you thinking when you were nominated? She answered by saying ” Don’t lose when nominated so we can have a good group.” Ms. Ridings must have been worried about the student council and who was in it. Next was the question:  Why do you think you were nominated? She answered after asking Mrs. Urenda the question saying that she had good leadership skills. This is where it gets weird, she was asked the question  How do you plan to run this school year? She answered “Very carefully. ” Then she quickly turned and walked away. Did she have other plans for the school year that she could not share with the press? What were these plans? Aly is been claimed by many people that she would be a good president. Even people who are not in the freshmen class think that she will be a good president. But what is she hiding?

With Homecoming right around the corner, we have to nominate our royalty.  Last year we had a freshmen, Nate Walsh and Sophomore, Adrienne Wix win Homecoming King and Queen.  This year we have a great line-up of nominees.

Freshmen Class :    Jake Boesh    &     Cody McLaughlin

Shelby Burke   &    Taylor Morris

Sophomore Class:    Alex Smith   &    Tala Atoafa

Cassie    &    Justine Fronatt

Junior Class:     Evan Jordan     &      Cameron Tedeger

Annie Cook    &    Kathryn Doll

Senior Class:     Alema Atoafa    &   Jake Nieslanik

Chandler May   &   Elissa McLaughlin

DON”T FORGET TO GET YOUR VOTE IN!

A recent study shows that the average teenager needs at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep. Although it would appear that the average teen receives around 7 and half hours. Thus it leads us to think there just isn’t enough hours in the day, that or we spend a way to much time on unimportant things instead of going to bed. Effective immediately coffee will now replace all water fountains to increase productivity, ha. Though maybe that’s an idea however, starting school later sounds like an even better idea and could and would improve grades across the board. Just maybe one of our seven periods should be nap time. Now that’s a day dream. Unfortunately this dream is exactly that and nothing more.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the Recreation District is proud to present you with their own production of Annie the Musical! This Grand event will be showing on Tuesday of  November 20th. The Rec District will gladly invite all young and old to come and see the magnificent production taking place at the high school auditorium. Directors Lori Zeller and Kim Kummer are working together to assemble children of all ages to perform for the audience.  The cast on the other hand is studying hard to remember their lines.

Kynzie Turner is proudly playing Annie, the main character.

Stephany Joos was selected to play Miss Hanigan,  the Principal of the orphanage who hates children.

Mariah Jensen is Lily St. Regis, Lily is Rooster’s airhead girlfriend, a young girl that attends the orphanage.

Mckenna Kummer is chosen to play Grace Ferrell, she is the beautiful and loyal private secretary to Oliver Warbucks.

Caleb Dodds as Oliver Warbucks,  is a powerful, self‐assured billionaire who always has his mind on business.

Amanda Kendall is playing Cecille, a French maid.

Sydney Boes is playing the role of Annette, another French Maid.

Collin Cochran as Rooster Hannigan, Miss Hannigan’s despicable brother, Rooster is flashy and self‐assured. His “moves” are as smooth as a gambler’s, sly, and deceiving personality.

For more information contact:

Kim Kummer or Lori Zeller

Each day Mrs. Smith has 60 students, that are all members of the FFA, Future Farmers of America. There are six different classes these students can choose from. They must all start with The Introduction to Agriculture Education, then they can move on to Life Science/Animals, Metallurgy, Communication and Leadership Skills, or Professional Speaking and Communication.

In The Introduction to Agriculture Education, Ag 1, Mrs. Smith is teaching the importance of Colorado agriculture, along with the history and development of of FFA. Then in Life Science/Animals they are learning about the history behind Animal Science and also the challenges of animal science people face each and every day. Also there is Metallurgy where they are taking safety tests, and performing arc welding, as well as taxonomy and the scientific method. For another class, Communication and Leadership skills, they hear their teacher talking about the principles of journalism. The last class that is taught in the Ag. room is Professional Speaking and Communication when they learn about impromptu speaking and speech analysis. As a grand total there are 60 members of the Meeker FFA Club, with fifteen seniors, nine juniors, twenty three sophomores, and fourteen freshmen making up the population.

On September 9th- 12th, most of the FFA members were a the sheep dog trials, where they had a petting zoo consisting of horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and goats. Another upcoming event is a FFA meeting September 14, 2010 at 7:00 pm. The next event coming up will be the Fall Festival, on September 24,2010, the FFA Chapter will be having a corn roast, also they will be having a roping dummy.

For all the members they will have a creed speaking contest. This is where each student stands up and read 5 paragraphs, by memory. This  event has two possible dates, October 12,2010 could be one of the days, but most of the students need more than one month to prepare. Also it could be held November 9,2010 so that each student has an enough time to prpare themselves, and each one has an equal opportunity to succeed.

With all of the 60 members Mrs. Smith has a lot to handle, and keep in order. She does a great job to keep us in line. She has a lot to plan, but she does it. There are many opportunities in FFA that you can make a career.

A journalist from the Meeker High School  newspaper was investigating a rumor about sophomores coming to prom, when he was abruptly shut down. The journalist was entering his class room when the President of the Junior class, Leilani Mataia, and the class Sponsor, Naomi Etchart, were dicussing the journalist interest in the story.

“There is no story sophomore…”  shouts Lani.

“Yeah, Tala” said Mrs. Etchart.”Tell him.. Tell him what we, what we talked about ”

“If you weren’t there, then you don’t need to know.”  said Lani in agreement.

What does this mean? Are the rumors true? Is their something that they are hiding?

Days after this confrontation, the journalist with the support of his editors and teacher, jumps right back into the story. Only this time, Lani had a lot to say.

“As Junior class president I hated the idea..” says Lani. “I mean I waited my sophomore year, as did the seniors and the classes before.  As a result we [junior class] voted and it was a definite no..It would ultimately be an everybody, but freshmen dance and I’m all for picking on freshmen but it would just be unfair. So yeah, no sophomores.”

So we now can put the rumors to rest. Sorry sophomores, you’re going to have to wait until your junior year, just like the rest of them.