Lizzie Eriksonsophomore

The WHS Drama Club transported audience members back to the 1960s with “The Middleton Zephyr.”

“The Middleton Zephyr” by Pat Cook, is about being a se-nior in high school back in the ‘60s. Enter an era before cell phones, internet and social me-dia. Dive into the world of sim-plicity and get a taste of history. It illustrates a whole new per-spective of life in high school.

The play started out with character Connor Murphy, played by senior Brendan Mil-roy, flipping through his year-book and reliving his high school memories. “In the be-ginning he’s just worried about getting out of high school. As he’s remembering the fun times he had, he realizes he’s going to miss high school,” Milroy said.

There’s a lot of common scenes from high school, like prom and graduation and days

in class. “Even though these ex-periences happened in the ‘60s they’re still common today, so I think a lot of people will be able to relate to it,” drama teacher Brendan Praeger said.

All semester actors have pre-pared for their roles. “I’ve been practicing my lines and been getting ready. Acting isn’t just a physical activity, it requires a lot of mental preparation,” ju-nior Heath Hier said. “It’s nerve wracking but at the end of the day you’re usually satisfied with your performance.”

The WHS Drama Club has learned a lot since the first pro-duction they did earlier this year. “Although this is a whole new play, we’ve learned what challenges to expect and how to avoid them,” Praeger said.

The production premiered Saturday at 7 p.m. WHS FC-CLA chapter members served dinner beforehand to raise money to attend the National Leadership Conference in San Diego this summer.

THE CHARGERWabaunsee High School

Issue 26 April 21, 2016

Katie Mayersenior

Seniors Alison Johnson and Britany Buchanan received first for the 2016 National Program STOP the Violence Award and will get to travel to San Diego this summer to display their project and receive their prize of $1,000 for the WHS FCCLA chapter.

“Words can’t describe how proud I am of them,” FCCLA adviser Ashley Weber said. “I’m

amazed by their determination for not giving up in February when things didn’t go their way. Their project will still be recog-nized at the national level from winning this award.”

Johnson and Buchanan de-cided to do a project about dating violence for FCCLA. In October they sponsored Week Without Violence and planned activities for students to partici-pate in. In February they took control of weekly Character Ed and educated students about

healthy relationships. They also had speakers come in through-out the year. “I’m glad that I get to experience this in San Diego. It’s nice to be awarded for all of our hard work and dedication. I’m proud to end my senior year on top,” Buchanan said.

“I’m super excited about winning this award. I’m glad we get to be recognized for all our hard work,” Johnson said. Johnson and Buchanan were chosen among other projects by a panel of judges to receive

this national award. This isn’t the first time Wabaunsee has been selected for a national program award. Back in 2013, graduates Kayla Schmitz and Haley Turner received the Na-tional Student Body Award for their fitness day, where all the students worked out and did activities all day.

The girls get to travel with the other FCCLA members at-tending nationals on July 2-7.

BACK IN TIME

Cast and Crew

Conner Murphy: Brendan MilroyNeil Garner: Trent ArcherTater Taggert: Heath HierPrincipal Wallace: Robert SmithMrs. Friedek: Amber HundWiley Linden: Andrew WarnerRose Baines: Sammy MoegeSusie Montrose: Sania HudaSandra Jeffers: Rayann JohnsonCarl Humphries: Hunter WittMiss Sherwood: Abigail McDan-ielMom: Zarya FloresBackstage: Michaela Butts, Mason Schwemmer

FCCLA wins National Program STOP the Violence Award

Spring play shows high school life in the 1960s

Top: Student rehearse for the spring play. From Left: Sammy Moege, Rayann Johnson, Sania Huda, Andrew Warner, Trent Archer, Heath Hier and director Brendan Praeger. Photo by Zarah Flores. Above: Juniors Andrew Warner and Heath Hier fight during dress rehearsal.

Page 3 April 21, 2016The Charger | Features

PROM!

Left to Right: (Above) Heather Bouiteau, Nick Carroll, Madelyn Muller, Katie Mayer, Britany Buchanan, Alison Johnson and Tristan Anderson all pose for a silly picture to show their excitement for prom.

Left to Right: (Above) Britt Michaelis, Emily Schmitz, Maddy Michae-lis, Taylor Falk and Karsen Shultz say peace out to the camera during pictures.

Top to Bottom: (Above) Josh Wurtz, Cooper Imthurn, Kolby Droegemeier, Mitchell Wertzberger, Heath Heir and Camerson Wurtz all for a pyramid before prom.

Back to Front: (Above) Devin Mclayland, Britt Mi-chaelis, Mitchell Wertzberger, Karsen Shultz, Cooper Imthurn, Alison Herren, Heath Heir and Rayann Johnson take a double-truck selfie.

Left to Right: (Far left) Kameron Wurtz and Emily Schmitz.Middle: Abigail Anderson and Kolby Droegemeier.Right: Hayden Hotchkiss, Madelyn Hess and Louis Vopata are not ready for their group picture.

Page 2 April 21, 2016The Charger | Opinion

The federal government is thinking of lifting the protec-tion rights to grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park.

Officials from Wyoming are interested in the proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as it is helping the life-threatened species. The Obama administration claims that the bears are recovering from the near-extinction they suffered in the past and are considered to have their protection lifted in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Other animals are also given the same treatment like the fly-ing squirrel and the gray wolf. Officials from all the states are supportive of the lift be-cause they see it as progress to the hard work they’ve accom-plished of helping the bears

out. The state officials have also pressured the federal govern-ment to allow trophy hunting depending on the population.

Advocates for wildlife are not thrilled at the proposed bill. Some, like executive direc-tor Michael Brune of the SIerra Club, say that bill does not help the bear population one bit and will only have the bears slide back on the endangered species list. Others say that it will halt the growth of the bear’s popu-lation and prevent them from spreading.

The bears should remain protected because of the ha-tred people have for them up north. There are somewhere between 700 to 1,000 bears in yellowstone and the state of-ficials would step in if their population starts to get below 600. That’s a bad idea because hunters, farmers, and trappers are going to abuse this lift and be hunting the animals all the time. The bears were numbered to be up to at least 50,000 strong before having to be put on the

endangered species list in 1975 when their numbers were at about 1,800.

The only reason farmers and ranchers are for this lift is be-cause the bears are viewed as a menace toward livestock. These ranchers shoot them because they think the bears will at-tack and kill livestock, but bears hardly attack, let alone kill any livestock. Farmers need to un-derstand that where they live

has large predators like wolves, mountain lions and bears. These people need to under-stand that if you have cattle in an area filled with hungry crea-tures, you need a bigger fence.

These animals have been here longer than us and it’s our duty as the dominant species to protect these animals for gener-ations to come before bears and other animals will be a long lost species like the dinosaurs.

Yellowstone action unbearable

What if I told you that there is a cheap, fun and entertaining game that has been right under your nose for a long time?

I was about 10, going home from a fishing trip with my brother one night. He was talk-ing about this “game” he and his friends would play. We stopped at the top of a hill not very far from my house. He then pulled out his phone, we navigated to the coordinates and he pulled up a brown aluminum contain-

er. We logged our names on the paper, sealed it back up, placed it where we found it, then con-tinued on our way home.

The game is called geocach-ing: a hobby of many people worldwide that is gaining popularity. There are currently 2,815,485 caches worldwide placed upon all 7 continents, including several in Wabaunsee County. They could be in places you drive past everyday and would never think about. This game takes you to places you’ve never been before and never thought you would ever have any reason to go.

Geocaching is super simple, all that is needed is a mode of transportation (some can be in walking distance) and a GPS

enabled device like a smart phone (with the app). Some caches are placed on nature trails on some placed on gravel roads. Most caches are relative-ly small so make sure to take a pencil with you. Caches are rated on a difficulty from 1-5, Terrain difficulty from 1-5, and a size difficulty from 1-5. There are many locations of caches that you may recognize. Mount Mitchell for instance has one on the trail leading to the top. People also have placed caches in every cemetery in Wabaun-see County.

So branch out, drive that gravel road and find that geo-cache, cause you never know. You might just get hooked like I did.

Geocaching a fun and exciting hobbyThe Charger Staff

Adviser: Brendan PraegerThe Charger is an open forum for student

free speech. Send letters to the editor, story ideas or pictures to whscharger@gmail.com or The Charger, Wabaunsee High School, 912 Missouri, Alma, KS

66401, Phone: (785) 765-3315

The Charger is distributed free to WHS stu-dents and faculty. Read online at usd329.

com or follow @whscharger on Twitter.

Editor in ChiefKatie Mayer

Staff WritersTristan Anderson

Britany BuchananElizabeth Erikson

Justin FagerHeath Hier

Rayann JohnsonMagdaline McCall

Jordyn SavageRobert Smith

Jonathon Walker

News EditorNick Carroll

Sports Editor Abigail Anderson

Opinion Editor Alison JohnsonFeatures Editor Lauren Brovont

TristanAnderson

Yellowstone bears offer a glimpse into the life of a grizzly. Tourist and photogrphers alike can see the beauty in these powerful creatures. Photo by Dave Shumway.

HeathHier

Page 4 April 21, 2016The Charger | News

GETTIN’ WET N’ WILD

Justin Fagersophomore

Changes to state assessments make process more convenient and fair.

“State assessments are sup-posed to show how well you have mastered the standards,” math teacher and assessment coordinator Roger Alderman said. Sophomores are required to take English and math as-sessments while juniors take science and social studies.

In past years, State assess-ments have been taken in the computer lab. With that comes problems, for example, reserv-

ing the computer lab and setting up a schedule for when each class take its tests. These prob-lems have mostly been solved with the use of iPads. “We don’t have to reserve the computer lab now because we can take them in our classrooms which is nice,” Alderman said.

A new perk with the state assessments is that they now adapt to how students did on previous tests. Based on the previous test, the next test takes about 10 minutes to adjust to what it thinks the performance level of the student is. This way the test is challenging, but not overwhelming. This new fea-

ture helps balance out the play-ing field so each student has a fair chance to do well.

With the advantages, though, comes disadvantages. “I think the biggest problems have been that students haven’t been able to access the test, there has been a lot of misun-derstanding, and a lot of web-site issues,” English teacher Ei-leen Wertzberger said.

When transferring from one test to another, there is a waiting period due to the test adapting makes it even more time consuming. This creates a problem by taking even more time out of class that teachers

could be spending teaching the students something new.

“State assessments took a lot longer this year so I wasn’t able to teach as much content because it is time that you don’t have anymore, but it is like any-thing else I show my kids, so if they have a chance to show what they know, it is a good thing.” Wertzberger said.

“I guess if there is any bene-fit, it helps you plan for the next year but it doesn’t help those students who took it because I don’t have them in class any-more,” Wertzberger said.

Kansas state assessments change for easier use

Tristan AndersonSenior

Last Wednesday, Wabaun-see Conservation and Wildlife hosted another year of Wet 'n' Wild.

Wet 'n' Wild is an envi-ronmental educational fun day where students can learn about how to protect the envi-ronment. The event was at the fairgrounds for the third and

fourth graders from Alma and Maple Hill elementary schools. Mission Valley and Mill Creek Valley fifth and sixth graders also attended.

There were nine stations that hosted a variety of activi-ties and games, some of which were manned by Danny Davis’ high school Ag students. The other stations were led by vol-unteers from KSU Extension, Watershed Institute, Watershed

Milford and Westar. The event had activities in-

cluding a river simulator, fish and owl exhibits, and mazes.

Tom Watkins coordinated and planned the whole event and has been doing it for 10 years. “We hope they learn about natural resources,” Wat-kins said “and how to protect them as well.”

Watkins decided to do the job because he believed that

there was an opportunity there for the youth.

“We have a pristine envi-ronmental area,” Watkins said. “Landowners do a good job keeping it clean, but young peo-ple aren’t as exposed because they leave and head to the city. They need to know rural Amer-ica and as they get older they will learn to appreciate it.”

Left: Students attend an exhibit on water erosion during Wet 'n' Wild at the Wabaunsee County fairgrounds. The demonstration uses sand and a water pump to show how water can erode the banks of a creek. Right: Junior Heath Hier oversees a water relay workshop at the Wet n’ Wild day event. WHS FFA members have helped with this day for many years. Photos by Tristan Anderson.

Students learn about water conservation, natural resources