The class of 2017 say final goodbyes to MVHS

By Kenzie Dalmas

Friday, May 12, the graduating class of 2017 made their appearances to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. It was a night full of bittersweetness; families, friends, students, and staff workers filled the seats in support of the students. These are the students that have invested their last four years attending all the stressful math classes, Friday night football games, homecoming dances, science labs, and In-It-To-Win-It assemblies.

Seth Ezell was one senior to say his final goodbyes to MVHS at graduation. Ezell spent his time in school participating in Ag classes such as Advanced Animal Sciences, Conservation Wildlife, and Ag Power. “Competing in forestry will be what I remember most,” he shared; however, he also competed in soils and dairy cattle within his FFA career. After high school, Ezell is joining the army and leaves for basic training on May 22.

Needless to say, The Class of 2017 will be remembered as a pretty wild bunch that managed to make some pretty grand accomplishments.

Ancestral Voices: A family story

By Jesse Wells

The third play production of the year for the drama department, under the direction of Jordan Merritt and Stage Management of Jenna Shuster, is composed of two casts of 5 five people each, showcasing a great mix of ages, talents and experience.

Eddie, an 8 year old at the start of the story, lives within a small-town neighborhood and feels the stress of the World War II, girl problems, and the divorce of his grandparents. For a childhood like that, staying together as a family can be hard. Ancestral Voices is a story of a family keeping themselves together as the world seems to fall apart.

It all starts with the split of the grandparents. The family, Timmy (not played by anyone), Eddie (played by Donald Trotter and Sage Moser), Harvey, Eddie’s father (played by Braidy Calhoun and Spencer Jones), and Jane, Eddie’s mother (played by Capri Dalmas and Jordan Hull). They start to visit their Eddie’s grandparents often to try to intervene and heal the wounds the whole family is suffering from.

Meanwhile, they face the hardships of living in the country with the world at war. The story is not entirely tragic, however; the story has great aspects of comedy and features a new style of “reader’s theater," or acting with a script in hand that requires no line memorization or props.

Moser says, “At first, I thought it wouldn’t be any good at all, but the more we did it, the more me and the cast developed characters. It soon got better. It had a better outcome than I thought it would be.”

Moser says Mr. Merritt's direction was key to the production's success. He says, “It was supposed to be just a cast of people sitting in a row of chairs, the cast wouldn’t even be able to look at each other, there was NO blocking and it sounded dreadful. The more [Mr.] Merritt worked on it though, we made it better by adding the blocking into the script with more movements and such. The features made the show much, much better.”

Moser says, “I didn’t know what to expect at the start. It ended better than what I thought, and I feel the show was enjoyable towards the end.” Moser says if he could have another year in high school that would include more experience with reader's theater, he would love the chance. "I definitely wish I could have also auditioned for all the other plays before this one, I regret not doing the others now because I wish this was more like my first play instead of my last.”

Though the Drama Club is done now with their projects, they are now looking ahead to their future projects next school year, such as Elf Jr.: The Musical and another play in the Greater Tuna series they recently started a few years ago. Stay tuned next year to know the audition dates and other plays planned.

State FFA Convention

by Jaedyn Thrasher

In April the FFA chapter made the journey to Columbia, Missouri, to compete at the State FFA Convention. Of the seven career development events, two teams placed in Group 1. Those teams were Floriculture in 7th and Agronomy in 9th. The Floriculture team consisted of senior team members Leesa Barnett, Chelsea Collins, Josh Tebow, and Jaedyn Thrasher. The Agronomy team included Tucker Bittick, Mckenna Grider, Colton Hicks, and Jordan Pitre.

On the leadership side, Conduct of Chapter Meetings placed 4th in the state. “Every team of mine has placed 4th or higher,” says advisor Steven Prewitt. Also, freshman Olivia Carnes is the Champion Creed Speaker. Carnes won the State in Creed Speaking and will go on to compete again at Nationals in October. This is the second time in Mt. Vernon history. The first was in 2003 with Jamie Bellis.

This year was Missouri’s 89th State FFA Convention. In the fourth and final session, the auditorium was packed with 8,339 FFA members and guests. They heard from the state's very best in the FFA Choir and FFA talent and then had the honor to hear some very inspiring speakers. Freshman Isabelle Fox says she enjoyed the freedom of getting together and meeting new people.

Before having the privilege to go to Mizzou, students have to qualify out of districts. From Friday, March 31 to Tuesday, April 4, the FFA chapter took 23 teams to compete at the district level. Of those teams, seven Leadership Development Events and seven CDE’s qualified for the State Contest in Columbia, Missouri.

Olivia Carnes placed first in FFA Creed Speaking at the district level. She decided to do the creed because of her older sister's success with the competition. She wants to be active in the FFA and succeed. To prepare for state, she is working on oral questions and just saying it over and over again. Carnes says, “It helped a lot with getting up in front of the class. I don't get nervous anymore.”

Another team that dominated at districts was the all-freshman Novice Parli team of Logan Johnston, Olivia Carnes, Cale Miller, Grant Wilke, Lilly Garner, Isabelle Fox, and Dustin Schmidt. The team placed first out of four. Novice Parli, better known as Conduct of Chapter Meetings is a group of freshmen that do the opening and closing ceremonies of the FFA Parliamentary Procedure. This is advisor Steven Prewitt’s fourth State qualifying team.

Students strive to make the community a better place through Hope Center

by Jaedyn Thrasher

Tina Mulleady has been the director of the Hope Center since September 2016. Mulleady feels that she needs a job that makes her feel like she is doing good for others. She believes the Hope Center’s mission is to help people in need.

The Hope Center is a place where people can donate their items of clothing, books, toys, and really anything that the community might need. People in the community also are able to come and buy decent clothes at a decent price. They carry up-to-date and modern clothing.

Students often go to the Hope Center for community service. Monthly, the Hope Center receives about three regular volunteers and about 20 to 25 others throughout the month. Because community service is one of the essential parts of becoming a member of National Honor Society in high school, NHS's Hope Center Committee, headed by senior Jennifer Buffington, has served the Hope Center on two occasions. Committee member and senior Leesa Barnett says, “Community service makes the community itself stronger. It gives kids a chance to reach out and connect and serve with others in our community.”

Mt.Vernon keeps a Watchful Eye on Schools

By Michael Huggins

Somewhere along I-44 between Joplin and Springfield lays our little town called, Mt.Vernon. Here we have quite a bit that goes on with Apple Butter Makin Days, Red White and Boom, movie nights down at the Spirit Of 76’, some come down to the schools for the DARE program at the school, and even Tuesday night Bingo. However, it doesn’t matter what the event is we will always have our honorable, loyal, and trusted Police department.

On May 5 2017, officer Detective Lacey who is currently the Assistant Chief of Police. He started out over in Monnet and severed there for two years, and now he has stayed with Mt.Vernon the past 20 years in counting. Now he is the brain behind our DARE program, and is the one who puts forth time and effort to teach the younger students of Mt.Vernon about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. He does it not because he was chosen to do it, but because he loves to just be himself and interacting with the children. “I’d have to say the my favorite part about doing what I do is that I am able to help those that can’t help themselves and stand up for them,” Lacey said.

Now with officers Corporal Shaun Cobb and SRO Chance Cornell have been keeping a good watch on the school this past year. They get to the school earlier than most students and watch us come in everyday and during school they float classroom to classroom to make sure everything is safe. Officer Cobb has been on the force here in Mt.Vernon for 12 years and Officer Cornell has been on the force for 9 years.

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s department also managed to dispatch a few officers at the high school during the Lib Dub video to make sure that all of the students are where they’re supposed to be. They have done a spectacular job on keeping a close eye on our school with the homicide back in September. Nevertheless, our local police have been doing more than an amazing job on watching over our community and our schools.

Road to Eldorado begins in California

By Tatum Watts

Eldorado games, located just off the square and best known for pinball tournaments and Apple Butter Makin’ Days, is owned and operated by John Typaldos. The business has been up since the 70’s and started off with his grandfather who had it set up with coin-operated TV’s. His father then started it up as an arcade in the 80’s, buying arcade games and pinball machines to fill up the showroom.

Business really took off when it was passed on to John, who decided in the new era to focus more on the board repair and less on the arcade games. A big part of his success may have been when he moved his base of operations from his home in California to Mount Vernon, where costs and convenience were in his favor. Since then he has stayed here in Mount Vernon doing repairs for people from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Typaldos contributes to the community by giving the kids something to do during every ABMD: “We meet a lot of people from the community, which is nice. We get a lot of kids that thank us for opening and it makes us feel good. It’s a good time had by all.” Regulars of the arcade on ABMD wonder why they aren’t open year 'round. Typaldos says, “We have the showroom full of games and of course on every ABMD we leave them on free play, like a little community service, but other than that we’re just a repair shop.”

Having a showroom full of games has its perks, though. Typaldos says, “We do tournaments and so does Meta Games in Springfield and other arcades in Kansas.” Pinball tournaments are held at Eldorado as well. "We have the Eldorado fall classic every fall and the point that people get towards that go towards the overall ranking in the state and then they play on to go to regionals and so on and so forth.” His son Christopher Typaldos also helps out around the arcade from time to time.

Students are Keen to work at the Bean

Mary Cowherd

Now in its twelfth year of business, Keen Bean has been a popular Mount Vernon venue for everything from graduation parties to small church groups. Walking up to Keen Bean, customers immediately know how cool it is, but its often the baristas who seal the deal. The baristas are often people who have grown up in the area and may even be kids from your history class. Owner Tracy Bradshaw says, “We have been blessed to watch so many young people (and) students grow over[…]time.”

Keen Bean makes it a practice to hire employees like junior Luke Palmquist and 2016 graduate Whitney Mosley. Working at Keen Bean connects its workers with both students and the community. “I enjoy working there because I’ve become a lot closer with my community and people I wouldn’t normally know, but get to talk to through [the purchase of] coffee and a cinnamon roll,” says Palmquist.

Keen Bean puts their workers into direct contact with most of the caffeine-deficient people in Mount Vernon. “What I love about Keen Bean is that we know our customers and they know us. We care about each other,” Bradshaw says.

“I love the work environment; it’s very chill but fast-paced at the same time. I love that I get to work in such a cultural and [artistic] place,” says Palmquist. Keen Bean is a place for everyone in Mount Vernon and that is reflected in the close staff. “All of the employees are part of the Keen Bean family,” Mosley says, “... it turned out to be the coolest place to work, with the best bosses and coworkers.”

Working comes with drawbacks even with the great bosses and coworkers. “It’s very hard to be a student and have a job and prioritizing work and family, band, friends, and homework,” says Palmquist. Many students are very busy. Bradshaw says, “Not being able to utilize students at all times do to their schedule is frustrating when I need them during the day or on a weekend when they have an event.” Both students agree Bradshaw is very gracious and works around their hectic schedules.

Experience in the workplace has taught valuable lessons, too. Mosley explains she has learned communication and leadership skills along with customer service. Palmquist says he is now better able to multitask. These are skills that will benefit the students long after their tenure at Keen Bean is over. While the students get these skills from their jobs, Bradshaw says the business gets other benefits like a fresher perspective.

Pushing the door open into the coffee house, almost everyone there is likely someone you know, whether from church, school, or the football game. The sense of community is present among everyone there, from staff to customers. Bradshaw adds, “We have had our lives touched by them and hopefully have touched some of theirs I wouldn’t change that for anything.”

Right: Luke Palmquist smiles while greeting a frequent customer (me) on April 18, 2017. Left: Palmquist makes a 16 oz. frozen drink of the day, white chocolate with pumpkin and whipped cream. Photo by Mary Cowherd.

School board elections loom

By Mary Cowherd

The Mt. Vernon school board elections will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2017. The candidate filing period ended Tuesday, January 17, 2017. The candidates include incumbents Ron Schmidly and Gene Ingle, along with newcomers David Bartelsmeyer, Matt Ells, and John Cowherd.

The school board hires the superintendent , makes policies, and budget, and oversees facilities and issues.

Superintendent Scott Cook said that one of the most important qualifications for a school board member is to be an engaged community member. The school board makes sure the values of the community are reflected in the school. The school board connects the community to the school so the candidate must be part of the community.

One of the most important issues facing our school board is state funding, according to Mr. Cook. The state funding can be inconsistent, so the school board will have to plan for good and bad financial years in the state.

The school administration is looking for more ways to include high school students in the school board. Mr. Cook says that within the next year we will have a student liaison to the school board to express our views in decisions.

Teacher and Staff Retirements

By Tatum Watts

Teachers--like students--come and go. Some transfer to other schools, but others decide that after many years of teaching it’s time to settle down and take a break. Rene Spencer is one of the latter. After 31 years teaching, Mrs. Spencer retires with a heavy heart. “Thirty-One years, and I’m really not tired of teaching at all,” she said.

“Honestly, “ said Mrs. Spencer, “My children want me to spend time with them, and I can’t because I’m always working.” She added, “When they were living at home and in my class it didn’t matter, but now that Mary’s graduating and all of them are going to live in different places, they want me to spend more time with them.”

For many students, especially those in choir and show choir and even those in band, this is a rather large loss for them, but Mrs. Spencer will not soon forget them. “For me teaching is the fun way to help kids grow into, responsible, interesting, awesome adults, we aren’t just teaching a subject; we’re teaching life prep. We teach them how to be thoughtful and considerable and good people.”

After teaching for so many years teachers, after they retire, miss and even sometimes regret that they have retired and left behind teaching. Mrs. Spencer said, “Oh gosh yes I am going to miss teaching. I kind of feel like my heart’s getting ripped out in some ways, but it’s the best decision. Teaching is a wonderful career if you’re in it for the kids.” Though she said she will definitely miss it, she said, “No regrets, you gotta be all-in, like a man on a mission.”

Middle school principal Bob Senninger, also known as Mr. S, and Carla Bellis, the high school counselor, have also declared their intentions to retire at the end of this school year.

Above: The MVHS student body comes together as a whole at the end of the Lip Dub filming in celebration, yelling "Green Machine!" The event served as a fitting way to end the week and begin spring break.

Photo by Tanya Hannaford

FFA Week Primes Members for Contest Season

By Jaedyn Thrasher

This year marks the 74th annual FFA Week in Mount Vernon. Steven Prewitt, FFA advisor, says, “FFA week was good this year. It had lots of participation and some exciting new events.”

To start the week, FFA members visited the middle schoolers and talked to them about the agriculture program and encouraged them to join. Senior Samantha Schnake headed the committee, which included Josh Tebow, Kimberley Pendleton, Logan Johnston, McKenzie Loftis, Hailea Schubert, and Madison McCann.

The following Friday, the chapter held a dodge ball tournament organized by Tucker Bittick. The winning team included freshmen Victor Castro, Aaron Day, Malachi Hale, Timothy Barnett, and Logan Johnston, as well as sophomore Cydney Short.

The following Sunday, FFA members joined together in worship at the Church of Christ in Mt. Vernon. About ten members showed up, ate a lunch of pulled pork provided by the church, and had “a good day of worship,” says Jay Shepherd, FFA advisor.

The next week, which featured speaker day and FFA jacket day, ag advisors Jay Shepherd and Steven Prewitt invited people from the community to speak to the classes, offering advice and giving insight to their ag-related jobs. Guests included Jim Bellis from Missouri State University, Scott Hill, owner of Hills Feed and More, and Randy Garrett from Lincoln University. They talked about things such as the agriculture department at Missouri State, poster board designs, ag communications, self esteem, and many other topics to engage the students.

The following day, the students were invited to go on an industry tour and wear their FFA T-shirts. The Ag chapter went to Positronics, Marco, and T & C Stainless. Chelsea Collins said, “I got to see my mom at Positronics. That was fun. We learned a lot about jobs and that was nice. We had a hoot that day.” The FFA members did things such as walk around and check out all of the positions and learn about what each position does. McKenzie Loftis said, “It was cool to see that there were opportunities that you could pursue without a college degree.”

To wrap up the busy week, the FFA members arrived at school extra early to make pancakes and sausage for the community as just a “thank you.” For lunch, steak was served to members and faculty who wished to attend. About one hundred students, faculty, and members of the community showed up that morning for the breakfast and about sixty more for the steak lunch.

In its recent blood drive, Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) helped the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO) to collect 114 donations, which included 90 units of whole blood, eight units of red blood cells, and seven units of plasma. Among those donations, 37 were first-time donors.

In the middle of this drive, the blood center called a code yellow, signifying a low blood supply. Upon receiving this news, the school office called an “all call” for donations from anyone 17 years of age or older, weighing at least 110 pounds, and carrying a photo ID. Twenty-five additional people made a donation. This marked the first time in MVHS history that emergency donations had been taken from students who had not signed up for the event.

Freshman FCCLA member Taylor Rinker has worked the blood drive twice this year. Seeing the process, Rinker says she would be interested in making a donation when she is old enough. Her job duties included walking around and talking to the donors. FCCLA treasurer Kenzie Dalmas says, “I think it’s a really great way to get the community involved and to get high school students interested in helping others and support a cause.”

CBCO supplies all 36 hospitals in southwest Missouri and some of Arkansas with blood, over 250 units per day.

Mr. Merritt before he was Mr. Merritt

By Kenzie Dalmas

Drama department head Jordan Merritt began his first job at a young age, working on a farm. Having grown up in Pierce City, he contributed to the building of his hometown's City Hall, as well as the town’s library and senior citizen center.

As a young adult, Mr. Merritt worked in construction. Not long after, he took a short break from small town life and moved to Wyoming, where he got his first start in theater as technical director. This career path would prove to stick with him.

For the past five years Mr. Merritt has been teaching drama and speech and directing MVHS plays, but before this he taught in his hometown and at Reeds Spring as an English teacher, one year with freshmen and another with seniors. Now at Mount Vernon, he teaches ninth through twelfth grades in a variety of courses.

But did you know Mr. Merritt also breeds dogs? When he isn’t busy grading student work or directing a play, he’s occupied with all of the golden retrievers he sells. For his business, Timber Creek Golden Retrievers, Mr. Merritt runs an Instagram account where he shares pictures of the cute pups.

Senior Showcase

By Kenzie Dalmas

An involved senior, Josh Tebow, encourages upcoming seniors to be overly aware of scholarship opportunities and applying for as much as possible as soon as possible. Tebow followed this advice for himself when looking into colleges. He will be attending the University of Arkansas to major in crop science. Currently, he’s involved in National Honor Society (NHS), Mountaineer golf, and quiz bowl. As a senior he’s happiest about the “easier work load,” Tebow explained.

Mary Spencer is also a senior this year. Spencer has set plans to major in music performance in college. She takes part in the extracurriculars involving music and theater. “I’ll probably miss the various activities high school offers,” Spencer shared. Spencer advises all upcoming seniors to “just plow through the senioritis,” because she, herself, knows it can be a struggle.

Colorado native replaces Jones

By Jesse Wells

With Mr. Wayne Jones making a sudden decision to retire, MVHS needed a new math teacher, stat. The replacement, Ms. Chelsea Price, is currently leading the math class in room 208.

Ms. Price, a former teacher from a private Colorado school, recently moved to Mt. Vernon and had been substituting around the district before the job opened.

Ms. Price said she’d love to work for a full-term contract here in Mt. Vernon, where the school climate is open and welcoming. She also mentioned the kind support she has received from the school staff.

Show Choir Wraps Up a Winning Season

By Michael Huggins

The show choir season, now finished, will be fondly remembered by members of Vocal Motion and Vivace, show choirs under the direction of Rene Spencer.

The season kicked off in nearby Joplin, where Vivace enjoyed a third-place finish in their division and Vocal Motion placed first.

Unfortunately, the following two-week rest period brought illnesses into the classroom, keeping the group at a less-than-peak performance level. Despite these limitations, Vocal Motion came to the Nevada competition with high hopes and high expectations and sneaked into third place. Sophomore Luke McKinzie was also bestowed with the “Best Stage Presence” award.

Vocal Motion finished the season with first-place wins at both the Carthage and Webb City festivals.

The choirs now face district solos and ensembles and have begun working to recruit for next year's choir. Junior Allison Barker said, “We would love to see you try out and become a part something greater!"

Travel Review: Eureka Springs

By Tatum Watts

Imagine sitting in a nice cafe, sipping coffee and looking at the bustling tourists that walk among the citizens of a cute little town called Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Imagine then walking through the streets and looking at the different shops, smelling the different foods and sweets that waft through the air.

If you're looking for a place to travel to this summer or for just a little day trip, Eureka Springs is the place to go. Not only does this town have a rich history filled with haunted hotels and different artifacts from the Civil War, but it also carries a lot of culture. Art and music are welcomed with open arms, and so are tourists.

If you travel to Eureka Springs and leave hungry, it’s your own fault. There are a number of restaurants off the main drag and even more around the town. One that tourists typically love is an authentic Italian restaurant called Cafe Amore. If you have a sweet tooth, the shops and bakeries have got you covered with a variety of treats, including delicious pastries and chocolates ranging from truffles to turtles. If you take the tram, you can also learn about the different people who live there and a little history about the town.

Another place that is rather unique is Turpentine Creek. Turpentine is a big cat refuge that actually takes in tigers, lions, cougars, and even bears. You can walk around or take a bus and a tour and meet all of the animals that have been rescued as well. All of the animals have names and different stories that are awesome to hear but also somewhat tragic for some. Turpentine also takes donations so that they can get what they need for the animals such as medication and housing.

So if you want to visit a new place for a vacation one that is so enveloped in history, stories, and tourists shops Eureka Springs Arkansas might be your place.

Balancing Work While In High School

By Kenzie Dalmas

Jobs leave little time for extracurricular activities, homework, a social life, family time, and anything else that should be included in a teenagers life. However, with a lot of planning the picking and choosing of which to keep and which to toss can mean less tossing. Keep close eyes on your schedule. A planner or agenda would be a great idea, write down personal events and times to know.

School should be a priority in these agendas; test and quiz dates, homework assignments, then work hours; find a way to keep all of this aware to you and well balanced. Other tips to keep close by may include: a strong support system, a job with flexibility, schedule proactively, and prioritize.

Maintaining good grades and getting enough sleep is a large enough struggle as a high school student, those who put work into the mix are practically forced to settle on something. Joely Longley, a junior and part time worker at True Value, struggles to find balance between her school and work life. She works Monday through Friday, as well as on weekends. This causes problems when it comes to getting homework done. “Excel is the only time I can find to get my schoolwork completed,” Longley sighed.

The hours you will work with the high school level job options usually go directly from the time you get out of school until the time you should be going to sleep. Lack of sleep was another problem Longley mentioned she’s experienced with being a student and part time worker. Often times she wouldn’t get home until later on in the evening, and she still had to find time to get all other outside responsibilities done; which she could accomplish- it was just at the expense of her rest. Despite all of the obstacles students face with adding work into the equation, it can be done. Remember to work smarter, not harder.

Boys' Basketball

By Michael Huggins

As the season pushes on, so does our boys basketball team as they propel themselves higher in the winning bracket. With a 13-11 record, our boys still practice as hard as they can. Late last January, the boys went 2 in 1 at Bolivar’s tournament, winning against West Plains and Branson, yet losing to Sevanna.

However, February 11, we played against Lamar and after a hard fought game from our Varsity Boys the game concluded to 57 Mt. Vernon and 59 Lamar. Now we look forward to February 20-25 for the boys' and girls' district tournament.

Girls' Basketball

By Mary Cowherd

The girls’ basketball district tournament, scheduled February 20, is on the mind of every Lady Mountaineer basketball player.

The team is now 18-5 on the season. Maddy Mosley, sophomore, said the team is ramping up for the big tournament.

She said the team is rallying behind senior Mikala Veith and the team’s motto this year is “One Family,” which the team is working on--both on and off the court. “We laugh and have a lot of fun together” said Mosley. But team members can also give constructive criticism to each other knowing that it’s for the greater good of the team.

In practice, the team is focusing on the fundamentals, especially rebounding. Mosley said the team’s strength is outside shooting and speed on both offense and defense.

Coach Dusty Killingsworth’s scouting reports help the team understand and prepare for each opponent’s strengths. New plays are designed to what the other team's strengths are. “[The coaches] do their jobs and they coach us. They don’t play favorites, they play who they know will win the ballgame.”

The team’s goals are to win both conference and districts titles and the team knows that the whole school is behind them.

Springfield Symphony Orchestra

By Tom Cox

We only had the tickets because I won them in a drawing--date night at Hammons Hall to hear the Springfield Symphony Orchestra! It would be a nice, relaxing evening listening to Christmas music with my wife, my daughter and her husband. Something different; and besides, there were no football games on TV the night of the performance.

Our seats were excellent! Right in the middle of the lower half of the mezzanine, precisely from where I like to watch a football game. We arrived early enough to listen to some of the musicians warm up. It reminded me of how some football players like to come out early and warm up on their own also. As the other musicians began to take their seats and tune up, it really hit me how similar it was to our own pre-game routine on Friday nights.

Each section had its own little area of the stage and they seemed to only be playing notes specific to their instruments. This was a lot like our individual offensive and defensive position groups. After a few minutes, it was time for the entire orchestra to play a few notes together as a final preparation for the performance; exactly how we conclude pre-game with a few plays of team offense. This night was shaping up to be very interesting and the concert hadn’t even begun.

All of the musicians’ seats were filled, except one: the first chair violin. Then, from stage left, he appeared, wearing a black suit and red tie much like the others. But there was something different about him. He also wore a look of self confidence that let everyone know he was the star of this team. The applause of the audience certainly confirmed this fact. And finally, the conductor took his platform. The concert was about to begin!

Much like the press box at Mountaineer stadium, the mezzanine offers the best view of the musicians. Field level during a game and the orchestra section of the hall gets you closer to the action, but the sight lines are poor. From above the stage, each section and its performers are clearly visible. As the concert opened with the orchestra performing “Sleigh Ride,” I was fascinated by the similarities between these musicians and the athletes I coach.

A football team is made up of several different positions: quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and linemen. There are subgroups within each of these as well. This team of musicians also had different “positions,” each one comprised of smaller subgroups. Easily, the largest group was the string section. There were 24 violins, six cellos, five bass and a harp. This group was seated closest to the conductor. I imagined the violins as wide receivers--very talented, very high maintenance: the prima donnas of the team.

The next largest group was the brass section with eleven members. They were seated at the rear of the stage where they could see all of the other performers. To me, they were like quarterbacks. These instruments commanded respect. They were solid leaders of the team who were loud and vocal at times.

The woodwinds were comprised of nine performers playing some of the most diverse instruments. I felt sure they were the running backs of the team. They are very talented and play a key role, but don’t demand the attention that the strings do.

And last, but not least, were the four percussionists. These musicians are like the offensive linemen. They pretty much go unnoticed, but do the real “work” of the performance. This section was made up of two women and two men, and unlike the other musicians, they played multiple instruments. I loved watching them go about their business. They rarely sat down and carried their music from area to area. They were very unassuming and appeared only interested in doing their job and doing it well.

The conductor is clearly the head coach of this team. With the wave of his baton, he not only controls who does what and when, he also determines the tempo and volume of the music. Talk about power!

But the thing that impressed me most about this eclectic group of individuals was how they came together as a team for a common purpose: to make beautiful music. There are so many similarities between music and athletics. People are quick to point out the differences, and there are many. But both of these pursuits require discipline, effort, focus, talent, energy, cooperation, sacrifice, self-control, drive and an appreciation of the art and the sport itself. I have always been inspired by the amount of work both musicians and athletes are willing to put in to prepare for a relatively short performance. The rewards can be great, but the risk of failure always looms on the horizon.

It was a great night with an excellent performance by the orchestra! I had hoped to escape from the world of sports and dive head-first into the arts for just a couple of hours. I almost made it, too. Then they started to warm up.

Youth Share Vision for the Vern

February 16, 2017

By Jesse Wells

In this new year, Mt. Vernon is ready for a change, and MVHS students have the opportunity to change it with their voices and minds. Those two important things can create a game-changer for the future of Mt. Vernon.

It all started with an idea from the Architectural Department of Drury University as a project over the whole semester. The project begins with college students in the department visiting a town that needs improvements. These college students then visit with town and youth leaders to field ideas and help them make plans for change.

Drury students asked the faculty of MVHS to choose some of the students to represent the school. They invited an impressive roster of students that had plenty to share with the people at the meetings, including Jesse Delk, Amanda Milsop, Katelyn Grider, Ethan Johnston, Josh Tebow, Madeline Roberts, McKenzie Loftis, Emma Oehlschlager, and Spencer Jones.

Jones, a junior, said his goal was to help the town "thrive" and to make it a place "people want to come back to after they finish college and education.”

Jones also said, “I’m really excited that the youth can voice their opinions in this kind of topic, that the youth’s opinion can be heard. It’s great to be out there and heard.”

Jones said that a major goal of the group was to better use the roadways and to bring “more entertainment to the community.”

Media center specialist Mrs. Trish Johnston and business teacher Mrs. Jacquie Farmer also attended these meetings, and all from the community are welcome. The next meetings are scheduled March 2, April 6, and May 11 in the MARC gymnasium.

Veterans' Home: A place to honor forgotten heroes

By Tatum Watts

How many people actually go up to a veteran in a store or a public place and shake their hand?

How many times have you walked past them? How many times have you actually taken the time to say, “Thank you.” They gave you your freedom, why not shake their hand?

How many of you have actually taken the time to go up to the veterans home to just visit? Or go and fill up an application to volunteer?

They are always looking for new volunteers to help out around the facility, if you wish to volunteer you can always go in and request to speak with David Kloppenborg, who is the volunteer coordinator at the veterans home. Some things that you could do when you volunteer is work in the canteen selling sweets and soda to the veterans and staff, or you could take the training to work behind the desk and answer the phones, or take training to work in the dining room.

Community comes together at the MARC

By Kenzie Dalmas

The Marc, a recreational center used by members of the community, brings opportunity to the surface in Mount Vernon. For high school students, The Marc is a saving grace at times. Events held within the school’s extra-curricular programs such as: the drama department, vocal music department, the art kiddos, or even attendees of Prom in the past, have all been there.

Mrs. Buffington, the Art teacher, has used The Marc for the Not-so-Square Arts Festival in the past, and was given the chance to showcase the artwork of students inside the building. “It’s nice,” Mrs. Buffington expressed, “you hear lots of nice comments from the community.” These comments happen because The Marc offers something for almost anybody around the town.

The Drama Department Director, Mr. Merritt, only has one concern. It is such a popular place that it can be difficult to schedule a time for an event. “A lot of people use it, which is a good problem to have,” Mr. Merritt commented towards the success of the The Marc. MVHS is not the only group of performers to use it, either. The building also has three different theater groups from around the area that show off on the same stage. Not to mention that the Elementary School has their Christmas concerts here, as well.

The Mount Vernon schools are not the only education programs to take advantage of the site. Adults and students have the ability to take classes that Crowder College offer at The Marc, too. However, some of Crowder’s classes are coming to an end soon, but the upstairs portion of the building will still be in classroom session.

The Marc provides a location for a series of events in the community. “Anybody can rent a room at any time,” Mike Tebow announced. The building was sold to the city five and a half years ago where Tebow applied for the job that runs the place. Mr. Merritt added that the building is always making improvements, it is great at accommodating, and Mike is awesome to work with.

There’s no place that has seen all sides of the community quite like The Marc; it is one of few places in town that still provides reasons to bring us all together.

MV Show Choir Kicks off their Season at Home.

By Michael Huggins

Last month, MVHS held their third annual show choir competition. Twenty-seven neighboring high schools infiltrated the school, beginning at 8:30 a.m. sharp. The new girls group, Vivace, performed in the morning, while the mixed (boys and girls) group, Vocal Motion, performed as the last act of the evening.

For the past 3 years, Rene Spencer, has put in more hours in preparation for that one day than any other event. Not everyone can host a festival. It takes a lot of requirements put into it, such as careful planning, budgeting, researching, strong powered leadership, and the occasional stress build-up. However, Mrs. Spencer and her trusted choir kids pulled it off with nothing less than success. We had over 11,000 people in our little 3A school and raised at least $12,000 from schools, students, family, friends, concessions, and shout-outs to featuring show choirs.

In the most recent competition at Joplin, Vocal Motion placed first among seven 3A schools while Vivace placed second in their category. Upcoming competitions include Nevada, Carthage, and Webb City.

Mrs. Spencer, who has put nine years of her expertise into our music department at MVHS and has been teaching for 31 years total, has built winning choirs single-handedly. However, because Mrs. Spencer had the help of student teacher Ms. Renea Hellman first semester, Mrs. Spencer was able to push all three of our choirs, Concert Choir, Vivace, and Vocal Motion, to new heights.

Cautious Consumption: How to Protect Your Food and Drink Against Tampering

Dedicated to my sister Kirsten.

By Tatum Watts

Bath salts, ecstasy, cocaine and meth--from liquids to crystals to things that must be smoked--can cause extreme problems to the user, such as disorientation, rising temperature, lack of body function--and in some cases, death.

Sometimes the people who use these drugs don't know they're using them because they've been "roofied," meaning that someone has slipped a drug into their food or drink without their knowledge. But there are ways to get out of a bad situation if you happen to be out and around a suspicious character.

If you happen to go out somewhere to a party or a club or where there is going to be a rather large gathering of people, make sure to always get your own drink and never leave it out where someone can tamper with it. It doesn't even have to be alcohol. It can be any drink, from juice to soda--always keep your eyes open.

If you have a normal glass or cup, keep your hand over the top of the glass and don’t let anyone you barely know, met, or do not trust near your drink. Do not accept bottles or cans that have already been opened as well. Do not share drinks with others and if offered a drink that is in a cup never accept it.

If you leave your drink unattended, look for signs of tampering such as discoloration, the removal or addition of a straw, odd bubbling or fizzing, or if your drink has been moved from where you had left it, less or more liquid can also be a sign. If you happen to take a sip and your drink tastes odd then stop drinking it immediately, and leave or tell a friend or family member.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be in drinks--it can just as easily be in food, too. Take caution when you're out at a party with people you don’t know all that well, “It could even be someone you know thinking it’s funny, when it really isn’t. It can have lasting effects on the victim both physically and emotionally,” said health teacher Coach Michelle Rust.

“Most of the time when people use these drugs on someone is to commit either a crime or assault,” Rust stated.

If you see someone being roofied or see someone put something in a drink or food, say something. Don’t be a bystander to the problem that you have been faced with. Be a hero.

Tough stuff: Early struggle expected to yield future gain