The self funding program of 14 years is still going strong as it completed its year in the final race in Clearwater.  The program paid for its own trailer and insurance, and they raised their own money by screen printing t-shirts for many events.  There are 20 active members in the program that is ran by teacher Chris Dinkel.

At the race in Clearwater the group entered three cars; one in the experimental class driven by senior Adam Goetz, and two cars in the standard class driven by freshman Lane Smith and junior Mitchell Dickinson.

The experimental car (120x) was completely rebuilt this year.

“This is the first year we are running in the experimental class, we are still learning,” Dinkel said.

Goetz was the first driver in the race at Clearwater, and with a few forgotten supplies, the hour-long race went by rather smoothly according to senior Copland Wickham.

“The race went well, and the car ran fairly well, for the first half and then dropped down in the end,” Wickham said.

Goetz agreed, saying, “I ran out of battery but at least I finished the race.”

After the short break for lunch and the last minute races comments from Dinkel, telling the racers to make sure the battery terminals were tight, Smith and Dickinson were off.  After Smith’s first race for his HHITA career he said, “It was good for my first race, I’d love to do it again.”

Both cars did very well in the standard class.

“Our cars performed better than they had been,” Dickinson said after completing his race where the car malfunctioned and he had to basically “Flintstone drive the car.”

A lot of hard work on the students and teacher go into preparing for the race and everyone has a specific job such as lap counters, race manager or tool man.  To prepare for the events, they have work nights once or twice a week to build the cars and make sure they are ready to race.

Ben Davidson – woodworking

Entry description: bed

Adam Goetz – woodworking

Entry description: dining table

Chase Polifka – woodworking

Entry description: gun cabinet

Dakota Schmidt – woodworking

Entry description: entertainment center

Copeland Wickham – woodworking

Entry description: drafting desk

“A tornado is a rotating column of air that reaches between a cloud and the Earth,” first responder Michael Murphy of the EMSA (Emergency Medical Service Authority) said. “Tornadoes are associated with lots of humidity and a strong easterly moving system. They develop along a dry line and usually accompany a severe thunderstorm.”

According to Murphy, the safest place to be if you’re in a house or building is a basement, cellar, or storm shelter. If you’re in a building with no basement it is best to go to an interior room on the lowest level with no windows, such as a bathroom, stairwell, or closet. Getting under heavy furniture or protecting your head with your arms can help keep you safe.

“During a tornado my family will usually head into the middle room in our house that has no windows because we don’t have a basement,” freshman Ashly Arthur said. “If the weather is looking really bad, though, we go to our neighbor’s house and stay in their basement.”

“If you’re driving in the country, don’t try to outrun the tornado. Many people get killed this way,” Murphy said. “Get out of the car and lie down in a ditch or a low lying area and protect your head with your arms. If you are in a city, get to the nearest building and go to the lowest floor, away from windows, and protect yourself with heavy furniture. If there’s not enough time to get into a building, get into a storm drain or crouch next to a strong building. Never spend time opening windows. This is a myth. It puts you near glass. The storm will open them for you.”

“There’s only one time that I was a bit worried about the tornado hitting Hays but then it passed over,” Arthur said. “I think that I’m safe if something were to happen like that. I believe in God and I believe He will protect my family and me.”

Pepsi Co. enterprises like KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, all have Twitter accounts enabling customers to make comments or complaints about their dining experiences. Many other large chains have Facebook fan pages where customers can get information on sales or receive coupons.

Universities and business organizations use social networking sites to alert the public of events and deadlines.

Even politicians have Facebook and Twitter accounts along with YouTube videos asking people for their opinions and support.

Just last week, local representative Jerry Moran asked on Facebook what people thought of the Health Care Reform Bill. He instantly received comments and concerns about the passing of the bill.

For entrepreneurs, the internet has now become an essential tool for a successful business. Most local and non-corporate businesses have internet sites that allow people to view and order products via the internet. The web can make a small town business a major enterprise. Social networking sites help track the popularity of a product or brand and help market certain products towards a specific target audience.

Some claim that we are in the Attention Age which is characterized by the ability of individuals to create and consume information instantly while catering to their own taste. The free reigning consumer controls what is popular and successful and 2010 will bring even further expansion within the social networking realm.

There are four types of scholarships awarded to high school students:
• $5,000 Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships, renewable for up to three years; 10 were awarded.
• $3,000 Hansen Scholar awards, renewable for one year; 50 were awarded.
• $2,000 Hansen Student awards, renewable for one year; 100 were awareded.
• $2,000 Vocational education scholarships are a one-time award; 91 were given.

Leaders of Tomorrow:
Anne Bannister

Hansen Scholar:
Bryant Bombardier, Matthew Dinkel, Amanda Groff, Michelle Harris, Natalie Webb

Hansen Student:
Tarryn Andrews, Calie Borthwick, Christian Burd, Rachel Cunningham, Jayme Hansen, Ellie Kasra, Tyler Krizek, Jordan Matlock, Luke McCampbell, Alyssa Murray, Jordan Niernberger, Brock Riedel, Amanda Schneider, Shelby Staab, Sarah Wiesner

Vocational education:
Nathan Arrington, Kylie Basgall, Nathan Hoffman, Brandon Riedel, Michael Sterling, Mason Younger

A few short months ago, Celebration Community Church invited me to go on a mission trip to New Mexico to work with the Navajo people. Of course, I immediately knew my heart was all for this trip. I prepared myself mentally and expected the best out of learning and working my hardest for the Navajos.

The first day we arrived at Cornerstone Ministries Inc. we directly went into training. Training consisted of team building skills and how to act around the Navajos: be generous, don’t offend them, etc.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we started to work early in the morning. We cleaned bathrooms, washed gym floors, aired up balls, and made an entire baseball field. In the afternoon, kids from age two to high school students arrived to play and be entertained. We had a face painting station, basketball court, baseball field, soccer goals, and a playground.

There was one little girl I was completely attached to. Danielle was three and had very short hair. Her mother dressed her in her brother’s hand-me-down sweats and jackets and everyone mistook her for a little boy. She followed me around and I’d throw her over my shoulders and spin her. She called me “teacher.”

By the end of the week, I had become attached to the Navajo nation and was terribly heartbroken to let it go. I made many new relationships with college students who I can say will be with me through it all. I also experienced an event of a lifetime.

Who knew that giving up a one-week break would be so worthwhile.

“My family recalls when we were on vacation in Africa and I started to sleep walk and talk.” sophomore Travis Wright said. “We were in an apartment-like canvas tent and Lauren, my sister, was waking everyone up. There was a screen door between each of the rooms and Lauren was telling me to wake up. I got up and told her that I couldn’t fight for the conditions were not right and various other nonsensical phrases. In order to vacation in Africa, I had to get a malaria shot and I figure that was the cause of my sleep talking.”

“Usually excessive stress is a common cause for sleep walking,” clinical and school psychologist Carol Murray said. “Illnesses, medication changes, and genetics also are factors that cause this sleep disorder. Most sleep walkers are just acting out their dreams and stressors.”

Stress and sleep definitely correlate with each other. A study from Tel Aviv University found that people who tend to focus on their emotions during a stress period lessen their quality of sleep while those who ignore emotions and focus on the task at hand use their sleep to shut themselves off from stress.

“When I worked at Parsons State Mental Health Hospital, I remember a family who brought in their 12-year-old daughter who was having an extreme case of night terrors,” Murray said. “She’d wake up and run around their house in complete panic and even run out the door sometimes. A lot of cases like these are easily fixed with medications, usually anti-depressants.”

Night terrors are usually seen in small children under the age of eight and are fairly common. Children that have night terrors are usually described as bolting upright from their sleep screaming in panic and fear. Once a person has awakened them from his or her episode, they are likely to be disoriented and might even struggle with whoever is waking them. Night terrors are completely normal and should stop occurring around the age of seven.

Sleep disorders can severely affect a person’s well-being and professional help should be sought to prevent any harm from being done to oneself and others.

With technological advances occurring faster than the next celebrity going to rehab, teens are being handed new ways to communicate with less parent supervision. The result, a cesspit of bad decisions lurking over teenagers’ heads like a vulture at feeding time.

Just about 20 percent of teenagers admit to taking part in sexting according to a nationwide survey by the National Campaign to support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

While the X-rated offering is usually meant for a significant other, the forward button seems to be just a little too hard for some people to pass up.

“If you really want to be like that, do it in person,” senior Skylin Moeder said.

“It’s just way too easy for people to forward, and then everyone sees whatever you were doing.”

On the other hand, some people think it’s a tech-savy way of being intimate with your significant other.

“Everyone should express the way they feel towards others, if that’s the way they feel they need to do it, then more power to them,” senior Corbin Albert said.

However, some teens don’t realize the serious consequences that could follow. ABC News reported that in Feb. of 2009, six Massachusetts students were facing child pornography charges after forwarding a nude picture of another girl at their school. The students faced two felony charges that would be on their record for the entirety of their lives and possibly being labeled as registered sex offenders.

In May of last year, a Cincinnati teen committed suicide allegedly because of taunting she faced after her nude photo was forwarded around her high school via text message. Now the parents have filed a lawsuit against the school. And with celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens getting caught up in sexting scandals teens are more apt to participate in their own self-fulfilling prophecies.

“Yes, I think it’s completely inappropriate, but obviously everyone does it,” junior Andrew Kroll said.  “I know girls who do it, but then again so does everyone, it’s not a problem because no one has gotten caught or in trouble for it.”

Several incidents such as this have been popping up around the nation, forcing some states to adjust the laws according to teens sending pictures or messages to other teens.

However, criminal charges still might not be the worst consequences. It’s difficult to see why any teenager would continue participating in such an activity, when they have an entire future ahead of them.

“You never know who’s going to see those photos,” junior Karassa Prochaska said. “It might affect you getting a job or getting into college, and your parents might see it.”

Academic Advice

“The best piece of advice that I can give is first and foremost don’t be afraid to ask questions especially if it challenges conventional wisdom.” – Zach Butte

“Take the initiative to build rapport with professors–seek out their expertise. Unlike high school where most instructors concern themselves with connecting to students, professors most likely will not take a personal interest in you. There will not be phone calls/e-mails to parents and counselors when you bomb a test or fail to turn an assignment in. You will have to advocate for your own education, and a good way to do this is to let professors know who you are.” – Diane Mason

“Be early for all appointments.” – Jerett Pfannenstiel

“Never miss class and don’t be afraid to ask questions.” – Mona Chapman

“Enjoy the experience but stay focused on your ending goal of obtaining your degree.” – Jerold Harris

“Put yourself on a study schedule, such as:
Monday – Thursday…study in the evenings (about 3-5 hours)
Friday – relax with friends
Saturday – study in the morning and/or afternoon, relax with friends in the evening
Sunday – enjoy the day, study in the evening, and don’t skip classes. Make sure you have befriended someone so that when you are ill, you have a source for notes.” – Kathy Wagoner

“Approach the required general education classes with delight, not dread; you never know what you might learn.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Enjoy college life, but make classes (your education) your top priority.” – Jill Blurton

“When planning your class schedule, make sure you know the locations of all the buildings that you travel from and to when they are back-to-back classes. With only ten minutes in between, you want to make sure you arrive to class on time. Some professors lock the doors and will not allow in students who are tardy.” – Kathy Wagoner

“Become an expert at time management and do not procrastinate. College deadlines will sneak up on you in a hurry.” – Jerold Harris

“Stay focused on “the prize” but enjoy being in college. So many students (as was I) are so anxious to get out of school and are so worried about the financial aspect of paying for college that they don’t take the time to find the college that fits them, foster relationships, take classes for fun, enjoy college.” – Elise Peterson

“Never stop learning. Always challenge yourself to learn something new every day.” – Zach Butte

Social Advice

“Learn to make your own decisions – meaning…have a good idea of what is important to you and stick to those ideals because you will meet many kids who came from totally different backgrounds from you and you need to know what you believe. If you are not sure then you will end up following someone else’s ideas.” – Corina Beam

“Study first, socialize second.” – Jerett Pfannenstiel

“Stay true to your values.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Remain devoted to your ideals.” – Ron Leikam

“Do not move in with nor choose to live with a friend. In my college experiences, friendships were negatively impacted when the person also became a roommate.” –Diane Mason

“I know it is probably very cheesy of me saying this but the inspirational saying by Mark Twain of ‘Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth’ is something everybody should live by.” – Zach Butte

“Budget your money – you might think you have enough – but it is so easy to spend like your friends are spending – and like you are used to spending at home. You don’t want to run out of money and have to eat Ramen noodles for the last six weeks of the semester. Calling your parents for more money might work, but it won’t do a lot for showing your independence.” – Corina Beam

“Take care of your health as you enjoy life.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Don’t let the freedom of being away from Mom and Dad make you forget your morals and values. Regret is a tough thing to live with.” – Jill Blurton

“It is inappropriate to blame your future on your past.” – Ron Leikam