From Behind Bars to Speaking in Front of Congress
By Angelica Moore
For those who don’t know, Jelly Roll (Jason Bradley DeFord) is a rapper, singer, and songwriter. He went to prison for distribution of narcotics and violating multiple probation violations. Jason caught his first charges at the young age of only 14. In some dark times when Jelly Roll was feeling low he would come up with some rhymes. This is how he eased into his music career after he got out of prison.
Here recently Jason has gone in front of Congress to do an anti-fentanyl hearing. He said it is time to "proactive", not "reactive" towards the crisis. He also said "I am not here to defend the use of illegal drugs." He also went and performed for inmates at the jail he served time at. He sang one of his top award winning songs “Need A Favor.”
The song says things along the lines of “I only talk to God when I need a favor.” “Hangin' in there, just barely, Throwin' up prayers, like Hail Mary's, If You're still there, Lord, spare me, Oh my God, oh my God, Hail Mary.” Jason was born in Nashville, Tennessee and his stage name actually came from his mother. She gave him this name when he was a young and “chubby kid.”
The artist said in his plea to make an anti-fentanyl bill "I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I've carried of people I love dearly, deeply, in my soul." Stating "I've attended more funerals than I care to share with y'all” According to the US Drug administration six out of ten fake prescription pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Jason asked the congress "Could you imagine the national media attention it would get if they were reporting that a plane was crashing every single day and killing 190 people?"
Jumping on the Judge
By Meadow Wayne
Information on the man who allegedly jumped on the judge has not all been uncovered, as there is only so much that is known of the man known as Deobra Redden. This man had violently attacked judge Mary Kay Holthus during a court hearing on wednesday, January 3rd. Deobra Redden was in court, attending a hearing. He was Sentenced to 19 months to 4 years in prison for attempted battery assault, and with what was said to be substantial bodily harm on Mary Kay, along with murder charges.
He has had history with his mother, and sister. Deobras sister claimed that the system failed her brother¨ and the court should have not been so cruel on his hearing day. Deobra Redden's next hearing was not the same, showing that Deobra came into the courtroom locked in chains, to prevent another battery assault case. Deobra will remain in custody with a $54000 bond, and therefore will most likely never get out. Deobra Redden had jumped onto the judge, and claimed he did it because he had a bad day. Although this could have been the case, Attorneys say he had refused to show in court on his trial day. And Deobra would have never jumped on the judge if he hadn't refused to go to court that day, therefore Deobra Reddens case was no mistake.
Nikki Haley
By Hunter Greene
Republican party candidate Nikki Haley stated that she wanted to raise the retirement age to 70 years and this will only apply to the younger generation of people, so the adults still hopeful to retire can still retire at the age of 65 years of age. Nikki’s hopes to increase social security for fear one day it will dry up. She wants to limit benefits of social security for the young generation. Nikki also took a massive and quite embarrassing loss in Nevada where she was out voted to nothing. Trump was the frontrunner for the republican nomination in the state but his name was not on the ballot so everyone in the state checked the box “none of these candidates”. But Haley claims that her campaign did not focus on Nevada Haley claiming “ the state is a tank for Trump supporters” but the numbers speak louder than her words she is falling well behind trump only placing second in New Hampshire and only placing third in Iowa. Nikki’s goal for her campaign is to increase numbers in New Hampshire and in South Carolina. Amid her losing to nothing, she claims that the ballot was rigged by the Nevada republicans. Sense she lost to nothing she will have to go through caucus with the no candidate's option where she will be awarded the state nomination.
Nikki might actually be able to win the election if she focuses most of her campaign in the South Carolina area she may be able to partake in the presidential debate. But in doing so, Nikki will have to go up against Donold trump who is notorious for silencing his opponents and not giving his opponents chances to speak just like in the 2019 election with him and his opponent Joe Biden when he wouldn’t give him chances to speak and kept interrupting him. Trump also fired shots at Nikki during a rally asking her where her husband is. He is presumably overseas serving his country after Trump fired his shots at Haley. She remarked back saying that she was proud of her husband serving overseas she also said that if you mock a combat veteran you should not have and let alone not be the future president of the United States. Trump's attacks had gotten so bad that Joe Biden stepped in and defended Nikki Haley saying that Trump wouldn't know service if it slapped him in the face. We’ll all have to stay watch and see how this battle between Nikki Haley and Donold Trump will be and we’ll see if Nikki Haley can come out on Trump and beat him.
National Snow Coverage
By Alyson Gillenwater
There are 3 months in winter: December, January, and February. Out of all of those months we only had 1 snow that got us out of school for 3 days. There was a lot of snow but it somehow seemed to miss us. The weather was cold enough that it could snow but it chose not to snow. Students and teachers were wishing that we didn’t have to go to school. Some people didn’t like that we had to come to school when there was still ice on the roads. There are 180 days in school and we still don’t have snow on the ground. Over the past few years we have barely been getting any snow. People have been upset that there hasn’t been any snow because most people don’t want to go to school or even work. Personally I think that we should be out for snow because we don’t have many mental health days, and some people are new at driving and still ain’t comfortable with driving on the road. I feel that even if we do have a snow day we shouldn’t do work because it is our time to go out and play in the snow. We won’t be able to do that if we have school work. If we did have snow days we should only have to do work if we are getting close to having more days in the school year. I think that having a time that we have to check in is a little crazy because some people don’t get up until 11 & if we don’t check in until 10 then we are counted absent, which there shouldn’t be a time that we have to check in. This year Montgomery County was one of the last schools to get closed while every other school canceled for snow days. If the weather is below a certain temperature then we should close school because the roads might not be safe & kids could get cold and sick or even be in danger. Many of the teachers also enjoy the snow days we get off. It's not just students enjoying days off teachers enjoy them too because they could spend time with their kids & even pets. Winter is the time that people's mental health goes down & that is why we should get breaks so we could take advantage of that time when we can. We are at school more than we are at our house & that affects a lot of relationships with our family because some people go home & either have to do homework or have to get ready to go to work & we don’t have time to spend with family. Snow days should be a day that students could check up on missing work. The days that we do go to school when we shouldn’t be at school the attendance is low because some people either don’t feel comfortable driving or don’t have a way to get to school or don’t even want to come.
By: Kira Crocket
Over the years we as a world have advanced a ton. Not only have we advanced with what we consider acceptable but also technology, social media, and people as a whole. The question comes down to, did this upgrade” cause good or more harm? We are going to focus on the social media part for now. There has been research done and data collected about the pros and cons of social media on the world as a whole and then specifically teens. Teens are usually the most affected because they use social media the most, are on their phones the most, know how to use technology better, and have many interests in social media. There are hardly any limits to what you can do and reach on the internet, this can be a good thing and a bad thing. The good in these instances are that you can learn anything online, you can find the answer to almost everything on the internet, you can keep in contact with everyone, and you can talk to anyone no matter where they are in the world with some limits of course. The bad in these instances are you can become addicted to your technology or social media, you can become depressed because of things you see on social media, you could end up hurting yourself or others because of things you see on social media, social media doesn't only affect you but also affects your friends and family. Obviously we can see that there are good and bad things that have resulted from social media, but is it worth it? Is social media worth the amount of sicknesses, and deaths that result in it. I personally don't think that social media is worth all the bad that has come out of it. We have come too far to end it though, I believe. What would any of us do without social media? It is how we stay in contact with people, how we receive entertainment, even for some how they make it through the day is due to social media. Some people have even made a living off of social media, some have made social media their job. So I think we have come too far to abolish social media, even if we could I wouldn't want that to happen, nor would a lot of people, because we are so used to it. I do think that social media is ruining our world though. So many people including myself can't even communicate correctly because we are just so used to doing it through social media. It's not completely our fault because we had covid which weakened our social skills. Social media is causing a lot of harm to society so that's why I believe it's destroying our world because eventually I think it will take over the world. I believe we should slow down on advancing technology and social media so it doesn't become too powerful. I think we have come way too far to stop social media but I believe that we as a whole can better it by making a positive environment and as well working on our social skills outside of social media.
By: Rylee Lyons
Performance Based Assessments are a testing system that is supposed to be a reformed, less harsh alternative to the SOLs. Many students from AHS have been taking PBAs lately, the tests are for each subject, and many students have had to take several of these assessments. Obviously, no student likes to take tests, but the issue with PBAs and similar testing systems is much larger than just not wanting to study for a test. Standardized testing is one of the largest issues that the education system faces. Are they necessary? And more importantly, are they even beneficial to teachers or students?
Standardized testing can be argued to be very harmful for students and teachers. As for students, the tests put an immense amount of pressure on them, knowing if they fail, they may have to retake the test or even a class. Another negative aspect of these tests is that many students end up viewing their intelligence level based on their test scores, while really, it has nothing to do with how smart they are or how well they know the material, and maybe more to do with how well a student can perform in a testing environment. For teachers, these tests can be stressful because the material they focus on is specific, leaving teachers feeling like they could possibly teach more valuable material if they didn’t have to spend their class time preparing students for one test.
To pose a new question though, if there was no standardized testing, how would school’s track students’ learning and growth? While it is an easy, somewhat effective way to see the performance of students in all subjects, when looking at the bigger picture, standardized testing is not something you commonly see in higher level education. If it weren’t for the pressure that PBAs, SOLs, and similar tests put on teachers and students, teachers could evaluate their student’s growth in ways they feel appropriate for the class, whether it be in class testing, or project based exams, these types of assignments could be much more impactful to the student’s learning than trying to specialize their knowledge for one test.
Even if the intentions are not so, standardized testing is seen by most students and teachers to do more harm than good. There are good things about standardized testing, like the fact that it gives students with less opportunity to participate in extracurriculars or many specialized activities a way to prove themselves, which can help them seek higher education. With this said, it also goes the other way with students who have much to offer in the realm of higher education, but may not be able to go as far as they’d like because of poor test scores. While it would take a drastic change, many teachers and students would like to get rid of standardized testing. No one should feel that their intelligence is based on a test score, when there are so many more factors involved than knowing the material.
by: Alyson Gillenwater
Here at Auburn High School We wanted to know what some people are looking forward to doing over the summer. So we interviewed 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders and staff to hear what they had to say, here is what the students had to say. Alyson G. (11th) “Something that I am looking forward to during the summer and spending time with friends and family”. Jade(11th) “To go swimming, I love swimming..” Corrina (12th) “Going to the river and being with my grandma”. Hannah (12th) “Moving out and going to Roanoke College”. Alyson B. (11th) Said “To go out and hang with family and friends.” We have noticed that a lot of students like to go swimming during summer break. Our staff here at Auburn high school said that they were looking forward to doing activities over the summer.
By: Jaxon Mundy
The boys Auburn basketball team has always been fun to watch, and every year they make it pretty far. Such as in the 2021 and 2022 season, they won the VHSL Class 1 Region C State Championship. Their 2022 and 2023 season they went all the way to the state semifinals but lost to the George Wythe Maroons. This year they went undefeated going 14 and 0 claiming first seed in Regions. They beat Galax High school in the district semi finals winning them a spot in the district championship where they beat the George Wythe maroons claiming the District Title. They played Eastern Montgomery at Home in the quarter finals of the Region C tournament. The game ended up a blow out and Auburn had to play Grayson at Virginia Tech Coliseum for the chance at Regions. Grayson ended up falling as the Eagles went on to the Region Championship where they went into a 4 overtime game with the George Wythe Maroons once again, where the Eagles ended up winning.. again. After they won regions, they had to play Chilhowie at Home in the Quarterfinals of states. The game started off slow with not a lot of action. Then before halftime the Eagles turned up. The Eagles had the lead 40 to 26 going into the half and kept the momentum with the final score being 78 to 56. With the win over Chilhowie, the Eagles had to travel 2 hours to Lebanon High School to play against Honaker High School. The game wasn’t that eventful in the first half with the score being 24-17 Eagles. The Eagles got into a rhythm near the 4th quarter winning the State Semifinals 56 to 44 and Nick Millirons hit 1,000 career points. The Eagles traveled to VCU in Richmond to play against the defending champions Lancaster. Lancaster was down the whole game until the end of the fourth quarter where they finally took the lead and ended up winning 65 to 59. Auburn had a good season and sadly ended as state runner ups.
By: Lauren Beth Garnand
Arthur Ernest Schlichter was born April 25, 1960. He is a former American Football Quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise. He also played one season with the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Ottawa Rough Riders and three seasons with Arena Football League (AFL) where he played for the Detroit Drive and Cincinnati Rockers. A highly-touted college football prospect with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Schlichter's professional career was cut short by a gambling addiction that resulted in him facing legal trouble for nearly four decades. Football fans often hear about morality clauses as being part of players’ contracts, the NFL has a standard personal conduct policy. There were many red flags surrounding Art Schlichter’s behavior, specifically his apparent gambling addiction, but the people who wanted him in the league looked the other way. Before he was drafted in 1982, Schlichter was seen several times at an Ohio horse track. After he was selected for the NFL, he became involved with a gambling ring then acted as an FBI informant when he got deep into debt, The New York Times reported in 1983. The NFL promptly suspended him for the rest of his first season and the Colts later released Schlichter in 1985 after he was caught gambling again. In the games he actually played as an NFL quarterback, Schlichter started only six times, and he completed a mere 45% of his passes; he never won a game for the team. Most recently, Schlichter spent about 10 years in prison for ticket fraud, conning millions of dollars from his victims. Indianapolis news site IndyStar reports that he was released in the summer of 2021. Schlichter said years later that he was distracted for much of his NFL career. He went through a messy break-up with his girlfriend before his rookie season, and the ensuing depression led him to gamble more. He believed the accolades he received after his sophomore year at Ohio State diminished his drive, and the pressure of living up to that praise led him to gamble as an outlet. After spending 1987 out of football, Schlichter signed a contract with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1988. He was named the starter out of camp and saw his first meaningful game action in three years. However, he suffered broken ribs from a hit midway through the season. The Rough Riders placed him on injured reserve for 30 days then released him. Between 1995 and 2006, Schlichter served the equivalent of 10 years in 44 different county jails and federal prisons. Counting time served while awaiting sentencing, he spent all but 358 days between November 1994 and June 2006 behind bars. During that time, he also had his public defender, Linda Wagoner, smuggle a cell phone into the Marion County, Indiana jail so he could place bets. Wagoner was sentenced to two years' probation and had her law license suspended for 90 days. This NFL draft pick definitely blew his big shot, but even the ones who make it on the field can mess up in real life.
By: Delayna Mitcham
The 2024 softball season has finally kicked off! There are quite a few changes this year. Starting off there is no JV team. There are 16 people on the varsity team. Some of us moved up and some of us are waiting to play until next year. The team this year is, Kaylee Ramratten (9), Johnnie Gaynor (9), Hope and Faith Wilson (9), Ariel Mullins (10), Carli Christian (10), Leah Wimmer (10), Mallory Akers (11) Maddie and Kenzie Booth (11), Delayna Mitcham (11), Samantha Anderson (11), Haley Greenhalgh (11), Harley Hurd (12), and Madison Litton (12). The coaches for this season are Tim Smoot (head coach), Ben Kratz (assistant coach), as well as Ragan Halsey and Trena and Jason Booth.
We were planning on playing Floyd Tuesday (3-5-24), Wednesday (3-6-24), and Thursday (3-7-24) but they all got canceled due to the weather. We play Pulaski on Friday (3-8-24) if the weather stays good. Our season kicks off on March 11, 2024, when we play Blacksburg away. We are all excited for this new season with new changes and a new team. We believe if we all work as a team we are definitely capable of making it to states this year.
I think this season is going to go really well. All of us get along really well and we all support and love each other like family. I think no matter what, win or lose, I couldn’t ask for a better team and a better family and that's all I can ask for.
Iconic songs by black artist
Many songs that have paved the way now have been written or sung by black artists, many of which are artists like Beyonce or TLC, ect. I’m going to name some songs that i like and many of which are popular or were popular which were written or Sung by Black artists:
It's raining men by The weather girls
Killing me softly with his song by Fugees
Diamonds by Rhiana
Crazy in love by Beyonce
Kiss from a rose by Seal
Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
No scrubs by TLC
Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
I want you back by The Jackson 5
Bad by Michael Jackson
Say my name by Destiny’s child
Bills,Bills,Bills by Destiny’s child
Survivor by Destiny’s child(Super iconic)
I will always love you by Whitney Houston
Human Nature by Michael Jackson
Run the World by Beyonce
Butterflies by Zendeya
All for Us by Labyrinth and Zendaya(In Euphoria)
Nothings gonna change my love for you by George Benson
I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston
Poison by Bell Biv Devoe
Baby got back by Sir Mix A Lot(SUPER iconic)
Anaconda by Nicki Minaj
I like it by Cardi B
Please Me by Cardi B and Bruno Mars
WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion(Inappropriate but had to be mentioned)
Hit the road jack by Ray Charles
I just called to say i love you by Stevie Wonder
Hello by Lionel Richie
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World
Under The Influence by Chris brown
This is what you came for by Rhiana and Calvin Harris
B*tch better have my money by Rhiana
Single Ladies by Beyonce
All i want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey(Speaks for itself)
Obsessed by Mariah Carey
Endless love by Diana ross and Lionel Richie
I will survive by Gloria Gaynor
Forget you by CeeLo Green(Appropriate version)
Many songs that have paved the way now have been written or sung by black artists, many of which are artists like Beyonce or TLC, ect. I’m going to name some songs that i like and many of which are popular or were popular which were written or Sung by Black artists:
It's raining men by The weather girls
Killing me softly with his song by Fugees
Diamonds by Rhiana
Crazy in love by Beyonce
Kiss from a rose by Seal
Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
No scrubs by TLC
Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
I want you back by The Jackson 5
Bad by Michael Jackson
Say my name by Destiny’s child
Bills,Bills,Bills by Destiny’s child
Survivor by Destiny’s child(Super iconic)
I will always love you by Whitney Houston
Human Nature by Michael Jackson
Run the World by Beyonce
Butterflies by Zendeya
All for Us by Labyrinth and Zendaya(In Euphoria)
Nothings gonna change my love for you by George Benson
I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston
Poison by Bell Biv Devoe
Baby got back by Sir Mix A Lot(SUPER iconic)
Anaconda by Nicki Minaj
I like it by Cardi B
Please Me by Cardi B and Bruno Mars
WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion(Inappropriate but had to be mentioned)
Hit the road jack by Ray Charles
I just called to say i love you by Stevie Wonder
Hello by Lionel Richie
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World
Under The Influence by Chris brown
This is what you came for by Rhiana and Calvin Harris
B*tch better have my money by Rhiana
Single Ladies by Beyonce
All i want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey(Speaks for itself)
Obsessed by Mariah Carey
Endless love by Diana ross and Lionel Richie
I will survive by Gloria Gaynor
Forget you by CeeLo Green(Appropriate version)
Many songs that have paved the way now have been written or sung by black artists, many of which are artists like Beyonce or TLC, ect. I’m going to name some songs that i like and many of which are popular or were popular which were written or Sung by Black artists:
It's raining men by The weather girls
Killing me softly with his song by Fugees
Diamonds by Rhiana
Crazy in love by Beyonce
Kiss from a rose by Seal
Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
No scrubs by TLC
Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
I want you back by The Jackson 5
Bad by Michael Jackson
Say my name by Destiny’s child
Bills,Bills,Bills by Destiny’s child
Survivor by Destiny’s child(Super iconic)
I will always love you by Whitney Houston
Human Nature by Michael Jackson
Run the World by Beyonce
Butterflies by Zendeya
All for Us by Labyrinth and Zendaya(In Euphoria)
Nothings gonna change my love for you by George Benson
I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston
Poison by Bell Biv Devoe
Baby got back by Sir Mix A Lot(SUPER iconic)
Anaconda by Nicki Minaj
I like it by Cardi B
Please Me by Cardi B and Bruno Mars
WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion(Inappropriate but had to be mentioned)
Hit the road jack by Ray Charles
I just called to say i love you by Stevie Wonder
Hello by Lionel Richie
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World
Under The Influence by Chris brown
This is what you came for by Rhiana and Calvin Harris
B*tch better have my money by Rhiana
Single Ladies by Beyonce
All i want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey(Speaks for itself)
Obsessed by Mariah Carey
Endless love by Diana ross and Lionel Richie
I will survive by Gloria Gaynor
Forget you by CeeLo Green(Appropriate version)
By Maya spero