Varsity Cheer Team Travels to NCA Cheer Camp at Husson

Andrew Smith ~ August 25, 2019

At the end of July the Varsity cheer team, as well as a few members of the middle school cheer team, traveled to Husson University in Bangor Maine to participate in the National Cheerleaders Association Cheer camp that has been hosted there for years. The team has been going for many summers now and brings home amazing achievements every year. The 2019 summer brought home lots of awards from team awards to individual awards.

An example of individual awards would be the fact that the team had 8 athletes nominated to join the NCA All American team by the NCA Staff. Another award handed out was the Leadership award which was awarded to Austin Hastings. Tori Fullam made the All American Team after completing a tumbling pass, a cheer, and three consecutive jumps. Fullam also received the Top Gun Jumper award which is an award handed out to the athlete who was able to complete 5 consecutive jumps with Height, flexibility and technique. Finally, Fullam as well as Kaylee Quinones both received applications for NCA Staff.

Team wise, they received lots of awards. In the top team competition Littleton came in second, and the team also received best all around spirited, or the Spirit Award. The NCA Staff (All 21 instructors) Voted for the Littleton Cheer team and thought the team was amazing all week. Another award received by the team was the herkie award. This award is chosen by the other athletes at camp and is awarded to teams who work together the best. Also received by the team was the stunting technique award which was awarded to the teams with great stunting technique. Lastly, the Team received a Bid to Attend Nationals In Dallas Texas. This bid showed that the team hit all the areas skill wise to attend nationals.

This experience improved the teams skill and ability to work together. Could this make future state champions or even national champions? I guess we will have to wait and see!

Pugs for Everyone!

Sadie Lucas ~ September 11, 2019

October is adopt a dog month. The American Humane Society recommends adopting a dog nearby or from a rescue group. On October 5th, 2019, there will be a pug social in Westford, MA. Registration is from 9:30 - 11:30am. When registered, it allows your pug to be involved in games and contests. It is $5.00 to register a pug and $5.00 admission for people. The schedule of events can be found on the website https://pugrescueofnewengland.org/pug-social-page/.

Why are pugs popular? Where do pugs come from? What are pugs known for? Where did the breed start? Can you get pugs at shelters? How much do pugs cost? Where are pugs originate from? How many years can they live up to?

Pugs are very popular because of how cute they are and their loyalty. They are very playful as puppies and make the cutest noises. Pugs are from China, and are highly valued. Pugs are well known for their fun-filled personality, their cute short nose, curly tail, head, and their big eyes. They are excellent companion dogs, and they require constant interaction with humans. Your pug will follow you everywhere you go. This breed of dog originated in China. Buddhist monks were the first known to keep pugs as pets, and this breed spread across Asia. Before thinking about buying a pug, you should go to an animal shelter. Pugs from shelters need to be brought home by a family more than a newborn puppy. Pugs are usually around $350 - $600, and some are up to about $1,500. These dogs have a pretty long life-span, depending on their health they can live up to 12-15 years. Pugs are very hard to housebreak and are very stubborn. With their nose, they cannot be in the heat for long.

They weigh 14-18 pounds, and if they don’t get enough exercise, they can become obese. A pug being overweight is not suitable for them, as because they already have a hard time breathing because of their short snout. They may look very cute chubby with all their wrinkles, but it is not healthy for them to be obese. Owning a pug is a lot of responsibility, you have to watch them because of their noses, they shed a lot, and always want to be loved.

The Humane Society investigated the horror of puppy mills. Puppy mills are inhumane commercial dog breeding facilities. They do not care for the animals, but for the profit of money they make. They sell puppies to pet stores, or they sell them online, and sometimes even on ads. There are at least 10,000 puppy mills in the United States. Dogs from puppy mills are often sick and very unsocialized. There is a lack of veterinary care in these mills. Mother of puppies lives in cramped cages with no room to move around. It is unfortunate to see animals go through this when they haven’t done anything wrong.

Ms. Goff from Littleton High School has strong feelings against puppy mills. She believes there are so many animals that need good homes, and which can be found in shelters and rescue groups. She wishes that anyone who wants a puppy or dog during October should go to their local shelter, or contact their local rescue group to find a forever friend.

Busy Start to the

Boys Soccer Season

Austin Marquis ~ September 11, 2019

After losing five key starting seniors and one of their star players due to an injury from last season, the Littleton Crusader Boys soccer team had many holes to fill. With only one freshman coming up, a couple of players would have to step up for their 2019 season.

The Crusaders started their season strong, hosting Groveton for the season opener on August 30. The Crusaders scored in the first minute off a corner kick. After scoring it just got easier and easier and they ended up beating them by a whopping ten goals, giving them a significant boost of confidence. Sophomore, Micheal Hampson and junior, Parker Paradice led the Crusaders to the win with each of them scoring a hat trick.

A week later the Crusaders traveled down to Newmarket for both team's second game. After beating Newmarket in the Division IV, Basketball Final Four, they were ready for their revenge. The Crusaders had a slow start after coming straight off an over two-hour bus ride. Todd Corliss was missing from the starting lineup as well because of a groin injury that had been bothering him. The Newmarket Mules were up by two goals at half time and eventually won 3-0.

The Crusader's next game was against the undefeated Woodsville Engineers. They had beaten them last year in the playoffs 6-0. This year the teams were more evenly matched and with Todd having decided to rest up so he could hopefully play at the Profile homecoming that weekend getting the Engineers hopes up. The Crusaders dominated the first 30 minutes but were not able to score. On one of the Engineer's counter-attack, a new player, Cambden Burt, crossed a perfect ball over to Conner Maccini. Maccini headed it in. Putting them up by one and ending the half. Twenty minutes into the second half the Crusaders earned a penalty kick due to a bad defensive play by the Engineers. With ease Parker Paradice found the back of the net, tying it up 1-1. The ball went from end to end, but neither team scored. With time ticking down the Crusaders needed to score, with only thirty seconds, Parker Paradice took matters into his own hands. He received the ball at the top of the 18 and took a few touches that faked the defense out. Paradice saw an opening and blasted a shot past everyone right into the back of the net. There was no time left for the Engineers, so the Crusaders ended up winning thanks to Paradice. After the game, Paradice said, "I knew I could beat my defender, and when I did, I shot as hard as I could."

The Crusaders' next game was against also undefeated Profile Patriots. The Patriots had lost their goalie from last season, so they had a first-year goalie in net. For the Crusaders, Todd Corliss was planning on sitting out but decided to warm up just in case they needed him. From the whistle, the Crusaders started strong. Micheal Hampson scored in the first five minutes and then scored again a couple of minutes later putting the Crusaders up by two. Not even five minutes later, Parker Paradice scored giving the Crusaders a 3-0 lead. Then the Patriots answered back and scored two goals of their own, making it 3-2. Time ran out, and at half time the Crusaders were up by one goal. About fifteen minutes into the second half, Matthew Kelly scored off a great through ball to put the Crusaders up by two. However, the Patriots answered back again and scored two consecutive goals on penalty kicks. With around ten minutes left, Corliss started warming up and was getting ready to sub in, when the Crusaders defense cleared the ball out and launched a counter-attack. With Paradice with the at ball his feet and multiple supporting players, it looked like a great scoring opportunity, but then the Crusaders lost possession. The Patriots defense had cleared the ball to the midfield, right where Austin Marquis was playing. As the ball came bouncing towards him, he winded up for a half volley. At nearly 40 yards out Marquis one-timed the ball rifling it towards the goal. The crowd lost it as the ball skimmed off the bottom crossbar in the top left corner and dropped to the back of the net. With only eight minutes left the Patriots failed to score and the Crusaders ended up winning 5-4 in a thrilling high scoring game.

Three days after their win against Profile, the Crusaders traveled to Lincoln. There seemed to be something going around the school. Micheal Hampson, Parker Paradice, and Stephen Lucas were out due to the cold. Parker Briggs had pulled his hamstring, making the missing number of starters four. The game started pretty slow, but about twenty minutes into the match the Lincoln Lumberjacks scored off a miscommunication by the Crusaders defense. The Crusaders scored a couple of minutes later, off a header from Marquis. After that, both teams had multiple opportunities but did not capitalize. With the score tied up 1-1 at half time, it was anyone's game. Both sides were unable to score in the last 40 minutes, so the game headed to overtime. The Crusaders kicked the ball, off dropping it back to Marquis. He sent a through ball to Corliss who was making a run through the defense. Corliss took a touch then blasted a shot into the goal, quickly ending the game.

The next day the Crusaders faced the White Mountain Spartans. Briggs, Hampson, and Lucas were out again. This season the Spartans team was pretty young since they had lost so many seniors last year. Not knowing much about the Spartans, the Crusaders started in a more neutral formation, the 4-4-2. As soon as the game began, the Crusaders noticed that the Spartans' offense was not a problem, so they switched to a 4-3-3. About 10 minutes into the game, Marquis hit a through ball to Paradice, who then passed the ball into the lower-left corner. Right after that Will Skidmore shot a ball from the side of the eighteen that went right over the Spartans goalies hands, giving them a 2-0 lead. Moments later the Crusaders were down at the Spartans’ end again. Skidmore took a shot, but the goalie saved it this time, hitting it out. Marquis grabbed the ball and took a quick shot to make the score 3-0. After that, neither of the teams scored and the game ended early because of the darkness.

The Crusaders' next game is against Profile at homecoming. Everyone is expected to be back and healthy for the big game. The game should be another battle between the evenly matched teams. After the Profile game, the Crusaders’ schedule does not get any easier. All players agreed, saying that they will really have to work if they want to be a high seed going into the playoffs.

Vets Helping Vets

Patrick McNail ~ September 3, 2019

One day I woke up and I found a shipping container in my yard. Now this is pretty surprising for a Monday morning, but little did I know that that container involved in something amazing. My father is a veteran who was medically discharged for a brain tumor that he had an 11% chance to live through. My dad is alive and well today. He is not only doing great, but he is taking every opportunity to make a difference in our community. My dad and other veterans have started a Veteran to Veteran group known as V2VG.

I have gone on many trips to all types of military veteran's houses from Afghanistan to World War 2 to provide help and assistance to these veterans to do what they can't do themselves. That shipping container in my yard is where we keep all donations and where we give away clothes and food to veterans in need. What my dad showed me is that if you want to make a difference, you have to put your best foot forward and go for it.

With the help of the Littleton community, V2VG is growing bigger and bigger helping more and more. This shows what we as a united community can do and accomplish. From just an idea, my dad made a whole network of hard-working people willing to spare time to help veterans in need. That's why I think that this news is important and should be in our papers because of the impact that this group is doing. I think our community would love to know about this organization so that they too may donate and help homeless or in-need veterans who have done their best to protect our entire country.

This story is important because veterans don't always get treated as they should when they come home, that's why this group was made and that's why I think that what they do is important to be shared. Everything about this community is for the people and about the people. I find what we do can have an impact on people's lives and this group has just proved if you have a motive you can do anything. People who need help are so grateful for the help and the dedication this group has to help the homeless veteran. People are amazing and if this teaches us anything is that if you want to make a change you can.

My dad has done amazing things for amazing people. No matter what it is and how it helps a community charity is one of the biggest tools to help and provide to a community in need. So many people need help and if we all contribute we can not only save lives but we can give them a new life for the better. The change that I can see how this group changes lives is absolutely a sight to see. Charity groups, no matter how big, can not only change lives but can show the goodwill of good people.