Operation Prom 2012

By Ashley Campbell

Operation Prom 2012 started with a crash and ended with a bang of emotions throughout the staff and student body on April seventeenth at Muscatine High school! Operation Prom is an event held every two years at MHS to help prevent teen drunk driving throughout the junior and senior class and also show awareness to not drink on prom night. Staff, students, police and fire, and multiple other community members all pitched in with Operation Prom to make it memorable among the sight of the junior and senior body and also a chance to see the harsh side of drunk driving. It started with a crash, a car crash that is, that set the whole effect. It only took two cars to take the lives of two students from Muscatine High; Seniors Sabra Cacho and Sarah Turner. Davis Schrock, senior, was the fellow drunk driver who had head on hit the opposite car that held inside a father and his two children. Schrock took the stage, or street, to show his true emotions of devastatingly killing two of his close friends and harming his third friend, Drake Kullick.

    “As soon as the flash bang went off, it wasn’t a simulation for me, I was drunk and had just killed one of my closest friends. I put myself in the situation and reacted, not acted. I was still shook up even after it happened. This was probably the only time you will see me A: drunk and B: Inside the back of a cop car”, replied Schrock.

   ”I was really nervous at first, I was afraid that people wouldn’t take it seriously, but I would definitely do it again”, answered Cacho.

After all hurt passengers were safely taken by helicopter or ambulance, Schrock was shortly arrested for drunk driving and Turner was put into a body bag to be taken away for her funeral. Following up after the crash, students and staff had a look at the sudden death that had taken Cacho’s life when she was rushed to the “hospital”, held in the MHS gymnasium to be observed. Shortly after many citizens who perform everyday duties in Muscatine, including police and fire and rescue, took turns to speak to the MHS body to share their own personal stories and to help prevent drunk driving. Then the whole event was ended with Turner’s funeral, with Mrs. Hendrik’s gave a speech towards Turner that was so heartwarming it seemed almost real. Overall, it was an experience that had to be seen first hand in order to understand the negative effects that can happen from drunk driving.

        “I know it made an impact on at least those involved. Sarah saw her own funeral which I’m sure seemed a bit taboo for her. I think that this will show everyone that their actions don’t affect them, they affect everyone around them.
Even if you’re a good kid, it only takes one time to change your life for good. Being in that situation, even though it was just a stimulation, I felt guilty. I can’t imagine the amount of guilt anyone has in the real version”, said Schrock.

         ”I believe it did make an impact on the staff and student body, I even got a couple texts later in the day from friends who said it was life changing”, Cacho.

   So to all students and staff attending prom next week, have the time of your life but be safe doing it!

Watch your back, Win The Day

            When you think about the NCAA basketball tournament, you think of the Cinderellas, the incredible stories of small teams we haven’t heard of taking down the perennial power houses. We fall in love with the teams that no one gives a chance to win. Some years, these teams go on to make a deep run in the tournament, these are the teams and tournaments we will never forget. From George Mason making it to the final four, to Butler’s back-to-back final four appearances. The upsets make the tournament and every basketball fan anxiously awaiting to see which team will slay Goliath this year.

In the 2012 March Madness basketball tournament, there were two historical upsets within three hours of each other. Number 15 Norfolk State took down number 2 Missouri and also number 15 Lehigh defeated number 2 Duke. This feat happened just four times since the expansion in 1965, the fact that two happened in the same day is mind blowing. However, there have been several big upsets this year, including a run by 2 different teams.

Number 13 Ohio and number 11 North Carolina State are both on to the sweet sixteen. Ohio took out Michigan and then beat South Florida, both solid basketball teams. North Carolina State convincingly beat San Diego State, and then snuck by Georgetown by three points in a last minute thriller. Both teams have a tough match up in their next game. Ohio plays UNC and North Carolina State is matched up against Kansas, if they win, they will have a big time match-up against each other to get to the final four. Some other notable upsets are Colorado over University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Virginia Commonwealth University over Wichita State. No matter what the difference of the seeds is, the world of college basketball watches each game, just waiting to be amazed.

Behind a Brilliant Mind With Kory O’Kelly

By Sabra Cacho

The infamous Kory O’Kelly, Muscatine high school junior, widely known for his swag and soccer ability, started playing “foot” as O’Kelly calls it, at the young age of 10. He started off watching his favorite team, Manchester United, on television sparking his love of the game. This 16 year olds’ undeniable passion, and love for the game makes him strive to get better as mid fielder and leaser on the Muscatine soccer team.

His soccer hero, not a big television hot shot but a Muscatine resident and O’Kelly’s coach, “Oscar Alvarez Sr.,” O’Kelly says clearly, “I’ve known him since I was little, and he’s always given me little tips to get better, like on shooting”

Soccer has taught O’Kelly that “hard work can get you places,” as he dribbles a ball around his living room, with the Barcelona game on the television. His advice for new soccer players is “Get a ball to your feet and start experimenting,” O’Kelly states still dribbling his ball around and showing his new custom cleats, with Muscatine embroidered in the side.

In spite of the fact that most field players in soccer are known to be around 5’11, O’Kelly stands at a “5’15 and a half” as he puts it. O’Kelly shows all other characteristics of a soccer player: lots of stamina, being a good leader in the game, and most of all devotion for the game. Granted O’Kelly has begun to make his mark in soccer, there is much more to his story.

O’Kelly Born in Cedar Rapids, and home grown in Muscatine, has many talents other than soccer. Ranging from Wii bowling to staying calm, and not sweating the small stuff. Although O’Kelly seams to be a man of small words, he plans to do big things with his life, such as moving out of Muscatine as soon as possible.

A favorite quote of O‘Kelly’s is “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set we’d have peace,” by John Lenon, someone who is not only brilliant but both inspiring and fascinating to O’Kelly.  Describing himself as “quietly brilliant” O’Kelly balances soccer, work, school and people who are important to him.

“My mom’s really important to me because of the sacrifices she makes, I really appreciate them, my brother because he reminds me someone is always looking up to me, and my friends because they put me in a good mood.” His childhood hero would be his grandpa because he had a love for family that O’Kelly envy’s and gave the best advice saying, “Always be thankful for people, you never know when they’ll be gone.”

O’Kelly would like his generation and himself to tolerate people more saying, “advice I would give to our generation would be to learn to love and respect others.” A lesson every walk of life could learn.

Nevertheless there are many things people don’t know about O’Kelly like, his favorite color being purple, his love to climb trees, or how he likes to walk or run in the middle of the night, his story always comes back to soccer.

His favorite weekend activities includes playing soccer with his friends in his backyard with a goal he made as a summer project. The best compliment O”Kelly ever received was from his soccer coach Jose who said “You work harder then anyone else and you deserve to be the leader of this team.”

O’Kelly would love to play college soccer, just about anywhere they would be willing to pay, though he’d prefer to play somewhere close to home. His favorite memory was a hat trick goal on Davenport West.

O’Kelly’s life is mainly soccer, but what’s in his “quietly brilliant” mind would truly surprise people, and shatter the mold of any soccer player.

The Heather Story

By:  Bryson Cale

Heather Renee France was born in the small town of Fontanelle, Iowa, a town with a population of under a thousand.

In high school, many teachers had an influence on France’s life, including her English teachers Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Wilson in high school.  They both helped her with her English class work, and helped her achieve at a high level.

In college at the University of Iowa, she decided to become an English teacher.  “I decided my favorite classes were my English classes in college”, said France.  She went on to get her Bachelor’s degree and then her Masters in English at the University.  France really enjoyed college.  “I enjoyed the independents I had and especially my English classes,” she states.

Since she graduated in December, it was hard to find jobs in January;  therefore, France started subbing back in her home town of Fontanelle. After spending a few years in her hometown subbing, France found a job in Muscatine, Iowa as an English teacher.  “I liked the school district,” said France.

Throughout her career at Muscatine High School, France has taught nine different classes.  AP Language is her favorite because of its intensity level and student interest.

This year, France got involved in a new form a teaching called G squared.  It is a project based way of teaching that gives hands on experiences.  “I like the idea of working closely with my colleagues,” said France France.  In G squared, many classes tie ideas together, thus allowing teachers to work together and collaborate with the other subjects.  For example, the projects students do tie together ideas from all four core subjects: Math, English, Science, and Social Studies.

Compared to general English classes, France feels like she works more, but the work load for the students is less.  For freshmen, class sizes are generally bigger and the sophomore classes are smaller.

Aside from her teaching, France also has a job being a waitress.  Also, she enjoys reading, running, and going to Iowa State football games.

One person who really motivates France is her husband.  “He keeps suggesting I go back to school,” said France.  In the next few years, she want to go back and get her Ph.D.  She really enjoys her job.  “It’s different every day and I like teaching what I enjoy,” said France.

How Much is Too Much Tyler?

        Sixteen year old, Tyler Much, a sophomore at Muscatine High School, is one of the many kids who is perceived as a natural leader. Much is a star varsity football player as a sophomore. Much says, “My daily schedule during football season gets very busy, because every day is practice until 6:30, and then after I have homework, and I’m completely exhausted.” Much began playing football with Muscatine’s Youth Sports Foundation in fifth grade. Much said, “My favorite thing about football is being a part of a team.”

Although football isn’t Tyler’s only high school priority, Much said his teachers and friends would describe him as a smart, funny, and a crazy kid. He said over his few years of Muscatine High School he has changed a fair amount. “Attending Muscatine high school gives me a lot of opportunities to be involved, such as football and engineering.” said Much. He likes Muscatine high school for its amazing extra-curricular activities, but one thing he would change about it is he would make the school day shorter. Unlike most kids worrying about grades and horrible teachers, Tyler says, “One thing that worries me about high school is somebody hitting my car in the parking lot.”

After high school, Much wants to go to college, and major in software and system engineering. He isn’t quite sure where he wants to attend college. In ten years Much see’s himself in California, working as an engineer. Much says, “Being able to take criticism is one lesson from football I can use later in life.”

Coaching From the Heart

By Marcus Schupp

            Brandon Welsch, a MHS counselor, is more then meets the eye. He is a quiet and devoted family man. Welsch is married to his wife Lindsay and they have two kids, four year oldCantonand new born Parker Jayne.

Welsch has lived in Muscatinehis whole life. He also has always been around sports, playing everything from soccer to basketball. He turned out alright in sports, receiving 1^st team Allstate honors in basketball and team defensive MVP in soccer. In college he received a BA in Business and majored in Sports Management from Robert Morris University. To top it all off, he got his Masters in School Counseling from the University of Iowa.

In the fall of 2008, he became the MHS varsity head basketball coach, taking over for his high school coach, Terry Youngbauer. When asked why he ended up back inMuscatine, he simply said, “Well, I wanted to give my experiences to the kids of this town. I also wanted to make theMuscatinebasketball program more consistent.” He also brought up that the leadership and sports psychology is what attracted him to coaching. He got most of his coaching influences from his former coach atRobertMorrisUniversity, Jim Boone.

He’s found that coaching definitely has its pluses and minuses. What he found most enjoyable is teaching the kids the game and helping them reach their potential, but more than that the satisfaction that comes with seeing the results of our program when they come back from college. On the lesser side, he has discovered coaching takes a lot of time from his family and he has had to teach himself to let the players play and that his job is to guide them, not do it for them.

Off the court, his focus is on family and religion. When not coaching, he spends as much time as possible with his wife and kids. “Now that I have a family of my own I’m really trying to live more in the moment and cherish it all,” said Welsch. He adds that Mountain Dew always helps too.

In his spare time you can find him fishing or hunting, where he does his best thinking. He also has become a big Disney, his favorite one is the Song of the South because it reminds him of his grandpa when he was growing up. Another favorite of his is the Simpsons and always finds the time to fit them in to his busy and sometimes hectic day.

The Movie Theatre Moving on Up
By Marcus Schupp

With all the new businesses that have come to Muscatine in the last year, the entertainment field has lagged behind in recent additions. But that is about to change, with last week’s announcement that Fridley Theatres has purchased ground to build a new multiplex on the corner of Highway 61 and Mulberry Street. Early indications point to strong support of this proposal at Muscatine High School.
One common theme that quickly emerged at MHS was the agreement a new theatre would definitely bring out more movie goers. Yesenia Darting, a junior at MHS, said that she would probably spend more movie dollars in Muscatine after the new theatre opens.
“I usually go to a movie about every other weekend,” Darting said, “but with this new one opening I may go more often here in Muscatine.”
It also seemed that, more often then not, MHS students tend to go other places then Muscatine to see their movies. They also seemed to feel that the new theatre will keep more people local and support Muscatine business here at home.
David Miller, a MHS sophomore who does not see movies frequently, said he was excited and looking forward to a new place to see a good film in town.
Ryan Castle, a science teacher at MHS, also voiced his opinions on getting this new attraction here in Muscatine. He felt that it will be good for the city and also give kids a better place to gather and socialize.
“I think it is a good idea, this town has needed a better movie theatre for awhile,” said Castle.
To see the business aspect of this project, Chris Kottman, a manager at Plaza 4 Theatres, offered his thoughts on the coming move. He said that everyone is looking forward to moving to the new location this fall. He is sure that the bigger facility will provide a more enjoyable experience for everyone.
With all these opinions, the consensus seems to be that a new movie theatre will be welcomed in Muscatine. If this is true, MHS students will not have to wait long to see the finished product.