Ms. Brook Olinger’s fresh perspective as the new drama teacher here at MVHS is guaranteed to bring a lot of new elements to the drama department.

Ms. Olinger’s impressive background and interest in theater began on her fourteenth birthday when she saw the musical Wicked in Austin, Texas. She loved the production and knew that she absolutely had to do something in theater.

Two years later, she joined her high school’s Drama Club. After graduating, she went to college for her passion at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. She graduated this May, and received a BA in musical theater. Olinger has performed in productions in high school, college, and community theater. She has also directed for youth camps and community theater.

Ms. Olinger’s husband received a job as a first generation youth pastor at First Baptist Church here in Mt.Vernon. When he told her that there were only around 4,000 residents in Mt.Vernon, she was convinced she would hate it, but to her surprise, she actually loves living in a small town. It was friends at her church that told her about the open position as a drama teacher here at MVHS. She knew immediately that she would be taking it.

Olinger has several things planned for the drama department. She hopes to make it a force in the community. She wants everyone to know that they mean business. She hopes to “create strong actors, designers, and lovers of theater”, even if they don’t necessarily want to be in the business, and to inspire an appreciation for theater in everyone.

She has had less training in the area of speech and debate, but she is a very quick learner. Her goal is to progressively get better, both in how she teaches and how the students perform. Ms. Olinger hopes for them to advance in the speech and debate ranks with each of their five competitions. They have gone from two students competing to six within just three competitions, so improvements are already happening.

Some fun facts about Ms. Olinger are that her favorite plays are Wicked, of course, and Eclipsed by Danai Gurira, and she prefers scripted performance over improvisation. Though she loves to watch improv, she doesn’t yet feel as comfortable with it as a performer. Her goal is to use Improv Club, which happens every Wednesday after school, to grow with students as they all work on the skill together. All who are interested are welcome to join.

Ms. Olinger is very excited to be here and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with kids who have a desire to be successful and can’t wait to help students do more than they think is possible.

Have you ever found yourself stressed out and in need of a book? The MVHS library has been a great source of comfort for many last-minute weekend preparations and is a must-see spot for any avid reader, but Media Center Specialist Ms. Trish Johnston says the library is good for anything from “computer use,” to just finding a book.

Those who like to make book reading a social event will also find the MVHS Book Club a great option, Book Club starts, “at the beginning of the school year,” states Ms. Johnston. There are no requirements to get in. It’s just a fun way to get into a book and share ideas with other members. “We don’t have officers this year, but student aides usually help with it,” explained Ms. Johnston.

The library gets, “about 300 new books a year,” said Ms. Johnston. However, she says, “‘fiction,’ is the most commonly gone to part of the library.” Students will miss out if they never visit the library. Let’s make this year different by going into the library more often and increase the amount of books the library lends out to students. Ms. Johnston’s book circulation numbers are counting on it.

This basketball season, the Lady Mountaineers’ have played 19 games. Out of the 19 games they have won 13, keeping a good track record. They will be playing their biggest rival, Aurora, on February 10 in Aurora.

Head coach of the Mount Vernon girls basketball team, Grant Berendt, says that the most rewarding part of being a coach is “seeing the growth in the players and seeing them develop new roles and skills.” Growth in players allows them to see the mistakes of the past and change the perspective of the game. But he also agrees that, “to get a group of kids to all buy into the same goal and to help them understand that to accomplish that goal they all have to be on the same page,” is probably the most challenging aspects of coaching.

Reviewing film, discussing the opposing team’s starters, and going through board talk is how the teams prepare before each game. As they move forward into the season, the girls’ basketball team takes small steps into improving the team individually and as a whole.

Sports have played an important role in the school and country for many generations, and so many students tend to be involved. Usually, they either start very young, or as late as their freshman year of high school (rarely later). It just depends on who you are. There are also the ones who don’t care about sports and only are involved with certain clubs. The major sports including football, basketball, volleyball, and track.

Sports change from elementary school years to when you get into middle school. Freshman Ezra Groves explains, “In middle school, the coaches didn’t care what we did. Now that I am in highschool, the coaches are more lenient with things and push us to do more.” The reason coaches push their team hard and make them do more is because they want to be able to be known as a succeeding team. The coaches also love winning. It makes them feel like they have accomplished something, and that their coaches had done well to their team.

The coaches at our school, along with the staff and students, absolutely love the feeling we all get when one of the teams wins a trophy or goes to state competition. The student section always roars with loudness after a point is scored or after something good happens. “From past experiences, winning always felt good to me. Winning has always made me feel happy with myself and with my team especially if I know I scored some points,” Ezra Groves says. While the students play the games, the focus is in that moment, and not in the way it changes.

February is famously the month of romance, chocolate, and heartbreak. Teen dating will always have its stresses, but sometimes, young romance takes a darker turn. For the past ten years, February has been known as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. In the U.S. alone, 1.5 million high school students experience an abusive relationship each year.

School counselor Stephanie Smith tells us that, “According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 11 females and 1 in 15 male high school students report having experienced physical dating violence in the last year.” She adds, “I am very saddened by these statistics and by the fact that there are teens experiencing any type of dating violence.”

The actual number of students experiencing dating violence could be much different from the numbers the CDC reports. The CDC’s numbers only deal with teens who have reported being in an abusive relationship. There could be many more who suffer in silence. 26% of women and 15% of men who have experienced dating violence first experienced it under the age of eighteen. Physical violence is not the only form of dating violence alarmingly high. One in nine female high school students and one in 36 male students have reported sexual violence in their relationships.

Shocking statistics, right? Again, these may not be accurate because not everyone wants to talk about their abuse, and that’s perfectly okay. It can take a lot of courage to come forward with trauma, especially since it seems like there is a lack of awareness about teen dating violence. Some people, for instance, don't realize it's a problem.

“I think there can always be more awareness. At this age, peers are usually the first to realize a friend is in an abusive relationship,” Ms. Smith states. “I value confidentiality, but if someone is being hurt, I cannot promise to keep it a secret. I can work with the student to talk to his/her parent/guardian. If you have a friend who you feel is in an abusive relationship, it is better to tell a trusted adult and let him/ her work with the student. Sometimes it is difficult for the student to make the initial move to tell someone, so if you know of a circumstance of an abusive relationship, you should tell an adult you trust.”

To begin, President Donald Trump has been charged with two articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives: one count of obstruction of Congress and one count abuse of power. This is historic, as only two other sitting U.S. presidents have been charged with impeachment, and none of them were removed from office. President Andrew Johnson and President Bill Clinton were both impeached. President Richard Nixon was set to be impeached, but he resigned before the House could vote on it. The articles of impeachment President Trump has been charged with were raised in response to his actions regarding the Ukraine investigation.

For those who haven’t been following this story, this investigation was launched after an anonymous whistleblower complaint, which detailed concerns that a quid pro quo was taking place between the President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. What it boiled down to was that Trump “wanted dirt” on Hunter Biden and that he would not give Ukraine roughly 40 million in military aid that Congress had already approved until he had that information.

The intel Trump supposedly wanted had to do investigations by the Ukraine Government into a Ukrainian company where Hunter Biden sat on the board. At the time, Hunter Biden’s father, Joe Biden, was the frontrunner in the Democratic Presidential primary. Ukraine did eventually get their aid, but that is not the issue here. The issue is that the President went behind Congress’s back and undermined a decision that had already been made to potentially bolster his 2020 presidential campaign, which potentially cost Ukrainian soldiers their lives and allowed Russia to further their military presence in Crimea.

Now, it is up to the Senate to vote on whether or not to remove President Trump from office. Both sides will present information to Senators, who are forbidden from talking for most of the process. Instead, they will submit written questions. The official hearings have been happening over the past week, and the final vote is nearing.

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Australia is seeing its worst fires in decades. The wildfires are ravaging the continent, but the Australian state of New South Wales has been hit the hardest. In that state alone, over 3,000 homes have been destroyed. At least 28 deaths have been confirmed nationwide. The fires have been bad since fire season started last July, and have been exacerbated by drought and climate change, even though they are receiving fire-fighting assistance from other countries.

Urban areas of Australia are also heavily affected by these wildfires. For example, last December the smoke level around Sydney was measured at eleven times the hazardous level. Suburbs around Sydney and other large cities are where the most homes have been destroyed.

Australia’s national park the Blue Mountains, known for its dramatic scenery and located in New South Wales

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A new and deadly outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan China has people around the world on edge. Already having claimed many lives, Hong Kong is limiting visitors from mainland China, Starbucks in China are closing their doors, Russia has closed its southern border, and at least twenty airports in the U.S. are screening people for the virus. In addition, a 6,000-passenger Italian cruise ship with a potential case of coronavirus has been docked in Rome. The passenger who potentially has the Wuhan Coronavirus has been isolated along with her travel-mate. The 1,143 passengers scheduled to end their cruise in a port city 53 miles Northwest of Rome are allowed to leave the ship, but due to health concerns, their disembarkment has been delayed. According to the CDC, coronavirus causes cold-like symptoms; however, it can also cause bronchitis or pneumonia. In order to detect human coronavirus, a part of the human blood called serum must be tested.

As of January 30, 2020, the death toll is 170, and total reported cases are over 7,000. The only confirmed deaths have occurred in China, as have the bulk of the infections. There are currently five confirmed cases in the U.S., although there have been a grand total of 165 suspected cases her. Sixty-eight have come up negative. Other countries have reported cases as well, for a grand total of 21 infected countries.

One day you are gonna fall madly in love with someone.

They are gonna make you their everything.

He will introduce you to everyone.

He will make you feel extra special.

He will tell you he loves you more than anything.

Then one day he is going to stop.

He is going to stop making you feel special.

He is gonna stop introducing you to his new friends.

He is going to lie about loving you.

Then it will be all over.

There will be nothing left.

You’re just going to be empty.

You don’t have to deal with that problem anymore.

That will be your first heartbreak.

Your first love.

Your mother will tell you are better off without him.

Your father will ask you if he can kill them.

You’ll laugh but cry even more from the heartbreak.

But the last love will be the best one.

It will be the most surprising.

The last one will really be for real.

He will introduce you to more than his friend.

This time it will be his family.

His parents are gonna adore you.

His sister is gonna look up to you.

He will shower you with love and affection.

He will tell you he loves you every day.

And he will mean it.

You will one day be so madly in love with him.

You want to spend the rest of your life with him.

You’ll walk down the aisle with your doting father on your side.

You’ll look over to see your crying mother in the first row.

And at the end of the stroll will be your future.

Your future memories.

Your future kids.

And just maybe you get a dog to go along with those smelly kids of yours.

But most importantly—

He will love you unconditionally.

You will grow old together.

That is what type of love I want.

But somehow,

it’s so far,

I can’t reach it.