THE TIMESOAKWOOD

December 17, 2010Volume: 25 Issue: 4

WHAT’SINSIDE

OHS students giving to

needy this season

Sports look to holiday

tourneys

Trainer to end his

tenure with OHS

Newest board member a

1998 graduate

... to not be wasteful

Tis the season

This is the season of giving, and wasting, but we have some tips to have a “green” Christmas

Getting a real tree for Christmas, instead of an artificial one, like the students shown above, is a good way of going “green” for the holidays. (Photo by staff)

2 NEWS

DECEMBER 17, 2010OT

By Haleigh DurbinJingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the

way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh, HEY!

Christmas is here and it’s time to give back to those who give to you. The holiday season has arrived with a jolly bound this year.

The thing to do during the holiday sea-son is to give back, help others, and show your appreciation to everyone around you.

The OHS National Honor Society did

By Karissa NelsonThis season is a busy season of giving for the students as

they help out with the holiday dinner and put on a blood drive. There was a very good turnout for both. The holiday

dinner had a total of 95 senior citizens attend. This is about the usual turnout for every year. To attend this, you have to be a senior citizen of the Oakwood district.

The holiday dinner is actually put on by the high school and Student Council helps out by serving the guests. The cooks prepare the turkey, mashed po-tatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cran-berries, stuffing, hot rolls, and cookies. They also serve tea, coffee, and water.

The dinner usually takes the cooks about 10 hours total to prepare the meal.

“The senior citizens really ap-preciate it and are always thankful,” said OHS Cook Vicki Baker. “It is a lot of work for us, but we know they are thankful.”

This year there was a couple different things switched. The dinner is usually held in the gym, but this year they held it in the cafeteria.

“Everybody was together in a smaller area,” said senior Paige Frerichs. “It seemed like there was a lot more social-izing and meeting new people.”

The other change was that our Student Council advi-

sor, Ms. Deb Clow, was away for a Student Council Fall Workshop.

“It was a little different without Ms. Clow,” said Frerichs. “We still managed to have a really good turnout.”

The Student Council’s blood drive was also a success. There were 52 students that attempted at donating and

a total of 40 units of blood from the people who did donate. The complete process takes about 45 minutes with the

actual blood collection taking 10-15 minutes.They use a sterile needle used

only once, then destroyed. It takes one pint of blood from every indi-vidual. The human body balances out the donated blood.

The blood donated is used within a week of the donation.

There are a lot of qualifications to be able to donate. You have to be 16, weigh over 110 pounds, and your iron level had to be above 12.5.

“I was disappointed I wasn’t able to help out,” said junior Tessa England. “I understand the reason why I couldn’t.”

There were only a couple of people who had minor side effects.

“I felt good knowing that I was saving a life or two,” said junior Brayden Turner. “It was worth what I went through.”

Students give back during holiday dinner and blood driveSenior Paige Frerichs (left) pours coffee for a woman

at the recent holiday dinner, and junior Aaron Plotner (below) is all smiles while giving blood at the annual blood drive. Student Council was recently busy with both of these events. (Photos by Kendra Ford and Michaela Eickhoff)

just this by giving back to the community this year for the holidays.

The members for this year’s NHS are, President Michaela Eickhoff, Vice President Paige Frerichs, Secretary Kendra Ford, and Zach Carnahan.

The NHS Advisor is Ms. Ali Lambert. This is Lambert’s third year of being the advisor.

“Being on NHS is very important to me and I feel honored to be a member,” said Fr-

erichs. “It’s a great thing to be a part of, and we do great things throughout the year that I look forward to.”

NHS hosted a food drive this year for the high school. The food drive was a perfect way to give back during the holiday season. The food raised was donated to the Oakwood Food Pantry. It helped them “stock up” for Christmas time.

“I am very proud of how Oakwood High School is always willing to support the people

NHS holds annual holiday food drivein need,” said Lambert.

The food drive was held during the week of December 6-10. NHS held the fundraiser as a competition between the RTI homerooms. The homerooms had a race to see who could raise the most items. The goal this year was 500 items. The winners received ice cream sundaes during lunch.

This is one of many things NHS does to show their appreciation of the people around them.

“The senior citizens really appreciate it and are always thanful.” -- OHS Cook Vicki Baker

“I felt good knowing that I was saving a life or two. It was worth what I went through.” -- Junior Brayden Turner

3 NEWS

DECEMBER 17, 2010 OT

By Heidi GreenIn the summers of 2011 and

2012, OHS students will have the ability to visit many historical land-marks in the U.S. and Europe.

Next summer, OHS students from the Europe Club will be travel-ing to England. The club takes a trip to Europe every other year.

The trip will be nine days long, in early or mid June, with approxi-mately 25 students attending.

They will visit many educa-tional sites such as Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Houses of Par-liament, Big Ben, a wax museum, Charles Darwin’s home, the Cabinet War rooms, and various other his-torical sites. They will also have the opportunity to watch a Shakespeare

Seniors Kendra Ford and Brad Miller are showing their school spirit with their Student Council senior project.

After weeks of sign-ups, collecting money, ordering T-shirts, and getting the calendar ready, the Pit Crew is ready with a lot of student participation.

The Pit Crew got together for the first time this season to cheer on their OHS boys’ basketball team at their first home game on December 7. As of now, there are 31 Pit Crew Members, and even more are signing up.

“I go to as many games as I can to support the girls’ and boys’ teams as a member of the Pit Crew,” said Ford.

There are 13 more home games scheduled for the Pit Crew to get together at. Students are still encouraged to join and show their spirit with the other students and members.

NEWSSHORTS By Paige Frerichs

The OHS Pitch-in-Posse (PIPs) is preparing for their major events this holiday season.

The advisor, Ms. Kelly Ferdinand, and seven students are ready to contribute their time to PIPs. The members include senior Lynzie Corzine, and juniors Cassie Schultz, Kelsey Ward, Morgan Thilmony, Annie Schell, Heidi Parker, Danielle Rodriguez, and Kirsten Colombo.

“We’re small but mighty,” said Ferdinand.Two big events that PIPs has put on in the past years are the candy

cane sales and letters to Santa. The candy cane sales allow students to buy a candy cane for a

special someone, which will be delivered to them throughout the day before Christmas Break. Letters to Santa asks students at OHS to write letters which will then go to Macy’s. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Scholastic Bowl team began their season practices in early November. Along with head coach, Ms. Kelly Ferdinand, and assistant coach, Ms. Sarah Heller there will be a junior varsity and varsity team with about 13 members.

There are four new members to the team and the remain-ing nine are returning.

“I am hoping that we will do as good as or even better than last season,” said Ferdinand.

Last year, the team was extremely successful, only losing one match.

The first match of the season will be February 3. Until then, the team will be preparing for what they hope will be a good year once again.

OHS clubs preparing for busy, active winterPitch-in-Posse Scholastic Bowl The Pit Crew

By Anthony WilderChristmas time normally brings family,

food, and presents. For OHS band and choir, it brings one

of the biggest concerts of the year. The OHS music department put on their annual holiday concert this December in front of crowded bleachers at OHS.

“I love Christmas music,” said band and choir teacher Mrs. Brittany Dye. “It’s also a lot more fun for the audience because they know most the songs.”

The OHS choir and band performed many songs with the help of the Oakwood Junior High and Oakwood Grade School bands. With the combination of schools playing, many were able to see future talent of Oakwood put on stage.

Halee Leonard, Elizabeth Reynolds, Kassie Jenkins, and Elizabeth Gutterridge sing during this year’s annual holiday concert. The concert was held at OHS, and music was played by groups from all three district schools. (Photo by Michaela Eickhoff)

Music department’s concert spreads Christmas cheer“With seeing the junior high students per-

form, I’m really excited for upcoming years,” said Dye. “Instrumentations were limited with our band this year, and the junior high students should fill in the needs for next year.”

Some songs were performed just by the choir while others were performed just by the bands. They saved the best for last as the finale was a combination of the choir and bands.

“The music I gave them was very chal-lenging, but they rose to the occasion and did great,” said Dye. “I’m so proud of them.”

Sophomore Brandon Wittig was multi-tasking throughout the event as he is in both choir and band.

“We’ve really improved from last year, and everyone is doing well,” said Wittig.

play and learn a lot of history related to him as well.

They are able to take this trip through ACIS, and it is Europe Club Advisor, Mrs. Norma Anderson’s last year leading this trip. Students get to experience so many different and new things, whether it be flying on a plane or taking the subway system.

“I just think it’s an unbelievable opportunity, and they will find other ways [the people in England] to do things,” said Anderson, “but just because they are different doesn’t make them wrong.”

Virtually everything done on this trip helps the student in one edu-cational area or another, especially in things such as English, literature,

history, geography, and arts.Along with being very educa-

tional, the trip is also a great bonding experience for everyone.

“Even though it’s a different society, everyone is really alike,” said Anderson. “We are not all that different.”

Anyone interested in signing up can talk to Mrs. Anderson. The opportunity will be present until mid-February.

In the summer of 2012, students will have the chance to travel to Philadelphia and New York. The trip will take place from June 5 to 9. Approximately 35 students need to sign up for the trip in order for the school to be able to take it.

This trip was planned based

off of the trip taken to Washington, D.C., last year.

“All the kids that went last year were all well behaved and had a fun time,” said chaperone Dr. Kam-mie Richter. “They stayed with the group and understood the amount of respect that was deserved.”

Some highlights of the New York part of the trip include the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Central Park, Ground Zero, a high class dinner, and a Broadway show.

Some places of interest for the Pennsylvania half of the trip include guided sightseeing of the Washing-ton Square District, the Betsy Ross House, Independence Hall, Consti-tution Center, Liberty Bell Center,

and a tour of Gettysburg.The Constitution Center is es-

pecially interesting for Richter and OHS Contemporary Social Studies teacher, Mr. Jesse Johnson, who both teach about the Constitution.

“I think these trips give [the stu-dents] a piece of history other than just seeing it on TV or reading about it in a book,” said Richter.

A future trip following this one may be planned, depending on how well this trip plays out.

This trip is sponsored by Smith-sonian Student Travel, and payment plans can be set up through them.

For more information or if in-terested in attending, students should talk to Johnson or Richter.

Students get the opportunity to see England, NYC, Philly

4 SPORTS

DECEMBER 17, 2010OT

By Brad MillerThe Oakwood Comets boys’ basketball

team is off to their best start in years, winning two games in the Topper Classic.

This year’s team brings back an abun-dance of talent from last year with eight seniors -- Austin Buckley, Zach Carnahan, Logan Cronk, Adam Cundiff, Casey Fletcher, John Garrett, Joseph Garrett and Jimmy Rut-ledge -- and returning junior starter Cameron Lee.

The Comets reached three wins on the season on December 6. This is half of what they were able to accomplish all of last season, but, according to Coach Doug Robinson, they still have a long way to go.

The Comets had early wins over Schlar-man, St. Thomas More, and Villa Grove.

“We have had a lot of success so far this year purely based upon improvement,” said Robinson. “At the same time, this team has a lot more that they can accomplish.”

The Comets are looking to change the expectations that people have for a program that has not had a great amount of success over the past few years. This year’s Comets will be trying to break a seven-year streak of below .500 seasons.

“We have been stressing hard work and attention to detail,” said Robinson. “I just want our kids to truly learn to play the game of basketball.”

To this point, the team has come together and is working to prove people wrong about OHS basketball.

“Our entire high school career we have been looked down on by the rest of the [Vermilion Valley] Conference as a losing team,” said senior

Comets trying to change expectations of program

By Cameron LeeYou may have noticed that the OHS

boys’ basketball has been sporting brand new travel suits. These new suits were paid for by the OHS Booster Club.

The idea was proposed to Coach Doug Robinson to get new travel suits by senior Casey Fletcher. The Booster Club then purchased twenty suits for the team.

“I really like the travel suits,” said Robinson. “I like that everyone looks the same on game day.”

The Booster Club also pitched in to help raise money for the basketball team with the Funds for Free Throws program. Kim Rutledge, the President of the Booster Club, came up with the idea.

“It should be a good fundraiser,” said Robinson. “We should be able to make at least 300 free throws.”

The Booster Club hasn’t only helped out with basketball. They have come up with other fundraisers such as Aces for Athletes for volleyball and Funds for Runs in baseball. The wrestling team may even start their own fundraiser called the Pin Club.

“I think the Pin Club is a good idea.” said Coach Nic Wright. “I’m hoping for around 100 pins this season.”

Boosters help winter sports

Senior John Garrett drives the lane in the season opener at OHS against Villa Grove. The Comets won new coach Doug Robinson’s first game in the Pit, 66-47. (Photo by Kendra Ford)

Logan Cronk, “but this year’s team is really working to change that.”The basketball team has started the year on a postive note and

will be looking to carry the momentum from their early season suc-cess into VVC play.

By Zack GirtonThe Oakwood Comets girls’ basketball team has started their first

nine games with a record of 4-5. After losing five seniors from the previous season, the Comets are

coming in as a young team with not a lot of experience. The Comets have two seniors in Michaela Eickhoff and Kendra Ford.

The Comets have one player averaging in double figures. Junior Makenzie Baker is averaging 19.9 points a game to go along with 13 rebounds a game.

“I credit my numbers to my teammates,” said Baker. “Without them, it wouldn’t be possible for me to be scoring this much.”

Baker’s high game so far this season was 35 points against Chrisman.

“In that game I wanted to come out and be aggressive with my defense, and it turned into points for me,” said Baker.

The Comets second main contributor is junior Angela Elliott. “Angela has played well for us this year she is a good leader and

an all around good player,” said Baker. Elliott is averaging 9.3 points a game along with 4.7 assists and

5.9 steals. Her high scoring game of the season was 20 points for the Comets.

The Comets have a streak of four straight 20-win seasons on the line.

“My goal is to win 20 games all four years of my high school career,” Baker said. “I want to extend this streak to six seasons.”

The Comets have beaten the Westville Tigers twice already, once in the Comet Classic and once on the road. They have also added wins against the Chrisman Cardinals and the Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers.

The Comets will return to action on December 20. They will be traveling out of

the Vermillion Valley Conference to Watseka to take on the Warriors.The Comets will be participating in the Chrisman Casey’s Classic

over Christmas break. The tournament will start on December 28 and run through December 30.

The Comets will play Villa Grove and Tri-County on December 28. They will play Shiloh and Heritage on December 29, and they will play Armstrong on December 30

Junior Makenzie Baker goes up for a shot over a Chrisman defender at OHS. Baker leads the Comets averaging nearly 20 points per game. (Photo by Ashley Wahlfeldt)

Baker, Elliott stepping to front of girls’ team

“I wanted to come out and be aggressive with my defense and it turned in to points for me.” -- Makenzie Baker

5 SPORTS

DECEMBER 17, 2010 OT

By Morgan ThilmonyThe IHSA changed the bat certifica-

tion rules for this year and next year.This year, there are only nine bats

that qualify to be used during a game. These are the only bats that meet BESR and ABI certification.

Next year, bats with a BCOR stamp will be the only ones allowed. This means that bats that are acceptable this year will not be acceptable next year. The number

of accept-able bats is decreasing quickly.

T h e B C O R s t a m p means that when the b a l l h i t s the bat, it will come off similar to the way it would if it were hit with wood.

“With-out our old b a t s , w e aren’t going to be able to hit the ball as far or as hard,” said

senior Andy Rutledge.These new bat certification rules are

coming into effect because the bats being made today are giving the ball too much velocity. It puts all the players in danger, especially the pitchers. The new rules are trying to put a stop to the many baseball related injuries.

“Me being a pitcher, I had no time to react when the ball was hit,” said senior Casey Fletcher, “At least now, it will limit some of that.”

Coach Bob Sermak held a meeting with the players in early December. He advised them to make sure the bats meet all the requirements before buying one.

If you have any questions about this, you may contact Sermak at the high school and he will do his best to answer your questions.

Texas BowlIllinois

vs. Baylor

Rose BowlWisconsin

vs. TCU

Sugar BowlOhio State vs.

Arkansas

It’s that time of year again for The Oakwood Times’ annual Bowl game contest. This year it will be football coach Gary Denhart against some of The Oakwood Times’ staff members.

Experts pick the Bowl winners

Football Coach Gary Denhart

Sports WriterCasey Fletcher

Sports WriterZack Girton

Sports EditorAnthony Wilder

Sports WriterBrad Miller

Capital One Bowl

Michigan State vs. Alabama

BCS Championship Oregon

vs. Auburn

IHSA changes bat

requirements

Bats like the one above being used by Tyler Knight will be illegal this year in high school games. Players are scrambling to find bats that will be acceptable according to the IHSA this year. (Photo by staff)

Wright having trouble filling weight classesBy Casey Fletcher

With the depleted amount of wrestlers, the OAP wrestling team is struggling to compete in meets.

Since the OAP squad is not able to fill the 103, 135, 140, 145, and 152 weight classes, they are forfeiting all of those matches. With each match that is forfeited the opposing team is rewarded with six points. Giving up these points has crucial to the team in winning matches.

“It has been disappointing for the team,” said Coach Nic Wright. “We have the talent to win a lot of meets, but when you’re giving up 36 points to the opposing team because of our little number of wrestlers, it’s going to be hard to win.”

Even with the disappointing number of wrestlers, the OAP team is hoping to return two of its State qualifiers from last year. Junior Dacian Alvarez and senior Wesley Patton are prepping to make another run for a trip to Assembly Hall.

“It’s frustrating going to meets and knowing that we are giving up all of those points to the other team,” said Patton. “If we were to at least have someone wrestle in the weight classes we need, it would help us limit the damage, even if the wrestler was to get pinned. At least then we would only give up four points.”

In last year’s run, Alvarez who qualified

for state in the 103-weight class acquired MRSA and was not able to wrestle in State. Patton who wrestled in the 119-weight class made his run all the way to the first round of State and was beaten.

The OAP team will travel to Cumberland High School to wrestle in the Skull and Bones Invitational tomorrow starting at 9 a.m.

Senior Wesley Patton wrestles a Hoopeston Area opponent at OHS. Patton is hoping to return to State for the third straight year. (Photo by staff)

6 PEOPLE

DECEMBER 17, 2010OT

ALUMNISPOTLIGHT

By Danielle RodriguezWhen a position opened up on the Unit 76 school board,

alumna Jessica (McMasters) Bradford stepped up to take the spot. Bradford graduated with the class of 1998.

When she graduated she went to college to study educa-tion.

The position opened in June because former member Mike Wombles resigned. Bradford saw the opening in the paper and applied to fill the job.

The school board is an important part of the school system. They make the final decisions about any-thing the school dis-trict does. Last year when the school had to cut jobs to save money, the school board was the one that had to make that choice.

When Bradford was in high school, she knew what the school board was because her mother served on the board. She didn’t know for sure what they did but she knew her mom would go to meeting and make important decisions.

While a student at OHS, Bradford was active in student council and cheerleading.

Since leaving high school, Bradford had gotten her Bach-elor’s degree from Illinois State University. She has also earned her Master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University.

Next year, her term on the school board is over. There are four-year terms and two-year terms that are available. In April, an election will be held. The community will vote who the school board members will be.

Since leaving OHS, Bradford has married. She has a three year old daughter, and she moved back into the area about a year and a half ago.

Bradford likes the board so much that she plans to apply for another year when her term is over.

SPOTLIGHTSTAFF

By Erinn BrimburyIf you are an athlete, you probably know who Mr.

Matt Sabin is. For the rest of you, he is the athletic trainer for OHS sports, but there is more to Sabin than just merely sports training.

Sabin grew up locally in Rantoul and attended Rantoul Township High School. He moved there in 1990 from Michi-gan. After graduation, he went to Anderson University in Indiana. He graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree and came out of school with a job working with the local hospital as their Return to Work Coordinator.

There, he worked with individuals injured on their jobs with the goal of rehabilitating them to the point where they could meet the job’s demands. After 18 months of doing this, he decided that it was time to go back to school and get more of an education.

Sabin then came to the University of Il-linois to get a Master’s degree, and that turned into a longer term goal of getting a Ph.D. in Kinesiology. While at the U of I, he has been studying muscular func-tion and more recently concussion injuries in athletes. This has led to the study he worked on with the football and cross country teams.

Sabin’s position at the U of I didn’t allow him to work directly with teams, so he applied for a job at Carle Hospital

Carle athletic trainer Matt Sabin works with Angela Elliott before a recent basketball game. Sabin has been OHS’ trainer for the past four years working with the fall and winter athletes. (Photo by Michaela Eickhoff)

Sabin heals injuries one athlete at a time

to work part-time in 2007. He was assigned to OHS because it was the best fit for his busy schedule. He has been the athletic trainer at OHS for four years now.

“Working with the staff and coaches at Oakwood has been, perhaps, the highlight of the position,” said Sabin. “When other athletic trainers complain about coaches fighting with them about injury management, I never have to worry about it.”

Sabin is in the final stages of finishing his degree so he is in the process of looking for a job right now. His hope is to teach within an athletic training program at a college somewhere.

“If I can have a position where I get to teach, work with sports, and continue researching the questions I have, life would be perfect,” said Sabin.

Sabin has a wife, two kids, and two dogs to keep the family part of his life interesting. His kids are two and a half and one.

With work, fam-ily, and still attending school, it doesn’t allow him much free time for

other things. So as of right now, hobbies are out of the question.

Although Sabin won’t be working for OHS next year, we have been lucky to have him on the sidelines for the past four years.

“If I can have a position where I get to teach, work with sports, and continue researching the questions I have, life would be perfect,” said Sabin.

F o r m e r OHS alumna, Jessica B r a d f o rd i s n o w currently a member on the Oakwood School B o a r d . B r a d f o r d graduated in the class of ‘98. (Top photo by staff and bottom photo courtesy of The Acorn)

Newest school board member is ‘98 grad

7 PEOPLE

STUDENT

DECEMBER 17, 2010 OT

SPOTLIGHT

Name: Brandon WittigFact: He was accepted for the Illinois Music Educator’s

Association All District/All State, Symphonic Band for the fourth time in a row since the seventh grade.

Date of Birth: November 24, 1994Middle Name: Mathew

What do you want to go to college for?: I plan on double majoring in Musics Composition, and either Cell Biology or

Music EducationFavorite food: Anything in large portions, with hot sauce of courseWhat would be the best Christmas

present: a carHero: John Williams, the composer of movies such as Star Wars and the Harry Potter series

Favorite video game: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Favorite Christmas dessert: Strawberry CheesecakeWhat do you not want to find in your stocking: Coal, because I am a good boyYour worst fear: RejectionWhat would you name a reindeer: BillWhat do you do on Christmas day: eat, sleep, eat, open presents (you get the idea)If you were Santa, what would be your favorite cookie: peanut butter with chocolate and butterscotch chipsDo you have an obsession, if so what is it: AchievingFavorite TV show: World’s DumbestWhat’s one thing that you miss about being a little kid: I didn’t need to try at anythingIf you were famous, what would you be famous for: Either for writing well-known pieces of music, developing a new kind of medicine, or a breakthrough in cellular researchShout outs: Nathan Baker and Wesley Day

Wittig earns state recognition for music talents

By Breanna HargroveThe students of the month for November

and December have been decided. The Student of the month for November

is senior Michaela Eickhoff. Eickhoff has an outstanding list of accom-

plishments, and she is involved in a variety of sports and clubs. Eickhoff has played basket-ball and volleyball for four years.

She is the President of Student Council, and also the President of National Honor Society. Over the summer she participates in the Appalachia Service Project. She also won Homecoming Queen and was the Daughter of the American Revolution representative of her senior class this year.

“It feels awesome,” said Eickhoff. “I’ve always taken school seriously, and receiving this honor gives me more motivation to con-tinue my hard work for the rest of the year and into college.”

Eickhoff takes demanding classes like AP Calculus and Biology IV. She has been on the high honor roll all four years of high school.

“She is one of the most organized students I’ve ever had,” said Mrs. Norma Anderson. “She always has her work in on time and near perfect. She is always ahead.”

Anderson has had Eickhoff in Spanish for three years, and Biology for four. Eickhoff also went on the Europe trip with Anderson over

the summer of 2009. “I really enjoyed getting to know her

outside of school,” said AndersonThe December student of the month is

Ryan Stone. He has been on the honor roll all four years of his high school career. He has also taken challenging courses like Biology, Chemistry, and Algebra II.

Stone was a part of Spacedog TV, and he also is a part of the Drama Club. In his spare time, Stone likes eating, hanging out with his friends, watching movies and surfing the web.

“I didn’t know him very well before this year,” said senior social studies teacher Mr. Jesse Johnson. “He doesn’t draw a lot of at-tention to himself, and he lets his work show his capabilities.”

Stone has “blown teachers away” with his work ethic. He doesn’t talk much, but he works hard in the classroom.

“He has impressed me with his knowl-edge,” said Johnson. “He is always writing ex-tra. If you ask for one sentence, he writes six.”

Stone is always trying to improve in any way possible. His grades are better this year than they have ever been before. His goal is to have all A’s.

“I never expected to win this award,” said Stone. “Even though I get my homework done on time, I procrastinate a lot.”

Eickhoff, Stone chosen as November, December SOMs

Seniors Michaela Eickhoff and Ryan Stone pose outside the school recently. Eickhoff and Stone were named as the November and December Students of the Month. (Photo by Karissa Nelson)

By Ashley Wahlfeldt

8 BUZZ

DECEMBER 17, 2010OT

2010 popular

Christmas gifts

1. iPod Touch

2. XBOX 360

3. Android

4. iPad

5.X-Box Kinect

6. Playstation 3

7. Phiten Apparel

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops

9. Laptop

10. Segway

By Michaela Eickhoff The holiday season is a time for giving and thinking of others, but

there is one thing we usually forget to think about. The Earth. According to www.recycleworks.com, household waste increases by more than 25% from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

We all know that we should be making an effort to be more eco-friendly, but the problem comes with finding a way to fit it into your usual holiday traditions. There are many easy and simple ways to help you feel a little less guilty as you set out the trash on December 26.

In the United States, annual trash from gift-wrap and shop-ping bags totals 4 million tons, and half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products.

“People get carefree because it’s the holidays,” said junior Brayden Turner. “We aren’t worried about the environment.”

Although deciding to stop using gift wrap may be the most green decision, it will most likely not go over very well with your family. There are a few other options for gift-wrap that are still eco-friendly, though.

The first thing that you can do is to buy recycled wrapping paper. It is just as attractive and festive as normal paper and is usually around the same price. You can find many varieties of recycled gift-wrap online and at some stores.

Another green option for wrap-ping presents involves using your creativ-ity. Use what you have on hand. The brown paper bags from the grocery store or glossy photos from a magazine can be a great way to wrap a gift. After they are wrapped, you can get creative decorating it with markers or whatever else you can find. The newspaper comics are also fun to use because of their bright colors and optional humor while waiting to open the gift.

Also, remember to recycle all the paper afterwards. If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. Tucking away gift boxes and gift bags for the next year can help save you money and prevent a few more things from ending up in a landfill.

“My family always reuses our gift bags,” said freshman Allison Piatt. “We also try not to use a lot of tape.”

What do you do when you receive a Christmas card? Most people keep them for the holiday season, but eventually, they end up in the trash. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. With the technology we have today, it is possible to

Did you know?• Elves which are part of the Christmas mythology are modern day ver-

sions of the Pagan creatures called “Nature folk”?• Fun movies to watch that take place during Christmas are – Die Hard,

Gremlins, and Jingle All the Way.• Oklahoma was the last U.S state to declare Christmas a holiday.• The company that made Santa Claus famous in the U.S. was

Coca Cola. • There is a universally-panned movie called Santa Claus Con-

quers the Martians in which Santa Claus is kidnapped by aliens.

Christmas Trivia1. Who was the star of the Christmas movie Jingle All The Way? 2. How many reindeer are said to drive Santa’s sleigh (in-cluding Rudolph)? 3. What famous Dr. Seuss Character once stole Christmas?4. How many ghosts are there in A Christmas Carol?5. What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time?

Answers will be posted on today’s Daily Oakwood Times

go paper free with your Christmas cards. Create a colorful email with fes-tive photos and fonts, or send a pre-made e-card using websites like www.americangreetings.com or www.jibjab.com. Your friends and family are sure to love a personalized JibJab video just as much if not more than the traditional greeting cards you mail.

Here’s a trivia question. Which is more eco-friendly, a real or fake Christmas tree?

“I would say a fake tree,” said Turner, “that way you aren’t cutting down a tree each year.”

If you said a fake tree like Turner, unfortunately, you are in-correct. Your logic may be that you aren’t cutting down a tree,

and a fake tree can be used every year. Actually, since most Christmas trees are grown at a local farm, cutting them

down does not destroy our forests. The farms replant the same amount of trees each year so the environment is

not being harmed. The reason that fake trees are not the better

choice is because they are not biodegradable. When they start looking rough or the lights

stop working, they usually end up in our landfills. Even if you keep them for 10

years, they will eventually end up sitting in a landfill.

Out of the 50 million real Christ-mas trees sold every year, 30 million end up in landfills. To prevent this, after Christmas, take yours to a recy-cling facility to be turned into mulch.

Another wasteful part of Christ-mas is the lights. To help save energy, invest in a timer. Only keep your lights

for the five hours of the day when you will enjoy them the most. LED lights are

another great option. They use 80 to 90 percent less energy and last longer.

A step to be greener that we should all be taking throughout the year is using our own shop-

ping bags. This is especially important during the holiday season when most people spend more of their time shopping.

When Christmas finally arrives with all of the family get-togethers and parties, take an eco-friendly step by not using paper or plastic plates, cups, and silverware. If you have a dishwasher, this should not be such a hassle. Ask your guests to put their dishware in it when they are finished. If you do not have a dishwasher, the small amount of time that you will take to wash the dishes can make an impact on our environment.

“Even though it is the holidays, people still need to think about the environment,” said freshman Lane Bennett. “There is only one Earth, and we need to take care of it.”

Christmas Fun & Games By Mace Mackiewicz

Most wonderful time of year is most wasteful

By Griffin DeYoung

9 BUZZ

What is your favorite holiday movie?

Senior

Teacher

By Austin Haskins

If you could have anything for Christmas, what would

it be?

Junior

Sophomore

Freshman

“A Gibson custom 1959 Les Paul

electric guitar.”-Mr. Doug Robinson

-Kyle Beaver

“I want the Batmobile.”

-Andra Wilt

“Carnahan’s mad soccer

skills.”-Nathan Baker

“A rainbow-colored unicorn.”

-Allison Piatt

INTHEHALL

“My grandma isMediterranean... Oh, I

mean Methodist.” -- Haley Shaw

DECEMBER 17, 2010 OT

“Betty White in a surprise cake with

bottle rockets, strobe lights, and pigeons.”

OVERHEARD POLL

REVIEW

By Griffin DeYoung

52%

16%28%

4%

The Grinch

Rudolph

Jingle All the WayA Christmas Story

5By Logan Cronk

The most “epic “ game of the year came out on Nov. 9, 2010.

But, I’m sorry to say that Call of Duty: Black Ops is not worth the $60.

Starting out in the campaign mode, you play almost exclusively as Alex Mason (a special op-erations verteran caught up in the Cold War). The three countries fighting are between Cuba, Viet-nam, and Russia. The plot line of the game is concerning CIA dealings, Nazi experiments, and communist expansion.

The story line of the game is very similar to the much better game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in that you have a classic manhunt in the end. In the new version, some elements get lost in the rush while you’re traveling through the Vietnamese jungles and the inner chambers of the Pentagon.

In the Call of Duty ways, you are always operating within several constraints. Whether you are busting out of Russian prison camps or creeping through dark tunnels with just a flashlight and revolver, there is always a challenge. Within each mission, you will find the usual weapons which are another negative aspect added to the game. We are tired of

having the same weapons in each and every game.For many reasons, the online play in my opinion is way

worse than any Call of Duty ever made. Treyarch (the maker of all Call of Duties besides Modern Warfare) tried doing the right thing by expanding the map variety to 14 maps. The more popular maps of the 14 are Nuketown, designed to re-

semble one of the effects of nuclear weapons, and the Jungle, with its wind-ing paths, tree houses and hanging vines. Other than these two maps, the oth-ers are terribly designed.

I can play a video game if it has some bad maps I’ll get over that, but there has to be some-thing else fun to the game then. In Call of Duty: Black Ops, there is noth-ing to look forward to. The graphics are terrible, the story line is the same old thing, and us video gamers like to see NEW weapons in the game.

All of the awesome commercials and pub-licity for the game was really misleading. Kobe Bryant shooting a ma-

chine gun seems pretty great. It’s too bad they didn’t have him as the main character in the game, then they would have had something working for them.

Everybody in the world was looking forward for this game to come out, and I can respectfully say Treyarch did not make a game that live up to their expectations.

Black Ops doesn’t live up to reputationNew version of Call of Duty not as good as others

10 OPINION

DECEMBER 17, 2010OT

Stone Cold StoryBy Ryan Stone

EDITORIAL

THE

Oakwood High School5870 U.S. Route. 150

Fithian, IL 61844Members of the staff are enrolled in the Journalism class. The paper

is published by The Oakwood Times staff.Subscriptions are $12 per year and may be purchased by contacting

the staff at OHS, 217-354-2358.The Oakwood Times encourages signed letters, comments, art, or

columns from its readers. The Oakwood Times reserves the right to edit all submissions for length and clarity. No submissions will be printed that are considered libelous, in poor taste, or are intended solely as a personal attack. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire staff or the district employees.

Editors-in-Chief: Michaela Eickhoff, Kendra FordManaging Editors: Logan Cronk, Paige FrerichsSports Director: Anthony Wilder Opinion Director: Seth McBride Business Manager: Danielle Rodriguez Assistant Business Manager: Karissa NelsonPhoto Editor: Erinn BrimburyAssistant Photo Editor: Morgan ThilmonyCopy Editors: Heidi Green, Katherine ZitelloBackpage Directors: Cameron Lee, Brad MillerReporters: Griffin DeYoung, Haleigh Durbin, Casey Fletcher, Zach Girton, Breanna Hargrove, Austin Haskins, Mace Mackiewicz, Angelina Ritter, Ryan Stone, and Ashley Wahlfeldt

Volume 25Issue 4

December 17, 2010

TIMESOAKWOOD

Cold weather, warm clothing, and snow on the ground; yep, that means that the holidays are finally here. It feels like summer had just passed a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s because of the relatively warm weather over-staying its welcome and lasting a few months too long. Maybe it’s because I’m having a hard time believing that my senior year is halfway over. Whatever the case may be, all I can say is that I’m ready for Christmas to get here.

The holiday season al-ways starts around Thanks-giving weekend for me. I like to think of it as just a taste (no pun intended) of what Christmas break has to offer. My Thanksgiving was spent eating way too much food, spending time with friends and family members, and watching some good old American football.

It may sound boring, but that’s enough to satisfy me on a short, four day weekend. So when Christmas break gets here, I hope to do the same things and more, since the break is stretched into two weeks.

There are two movies I want to see this winter before break is over. There is nowhere near the amount of blockbusters as there are during the summer, but the closest thing that there is to a summer movie is Tron: Legacy. This movie is full of special effects and is sure to be a sellout when December 17 rolls around. I’m not a fan of 3D, but I think I’ll see this one in all dimensions possible, I just hope I don’t get a headache.

The other movie I will attempt to see is the western True Grit. The western genre isn’t my favorite but this movie has Matt Damon and Josh Brolin and is directed by the Coen broth-ers, which happen to be two of my favorites.

I’m looking forward to a holiday in ... IllinoisI would also point out that Jeff Bridges is not in both of these movies, so that’s pretty cool.

Having two weeks off also means that I will be able to catch up on my favorite sports teams. I hope to see the Chicago Bears improve their record and get as many wins as they can as their season ends. The Boston Celtics have a lot of challenging teams coming up soon, and if they want to get to the NBA Finals again

t h e y m u s t keep playing consistently.

But I’m mostly look-ing forward to watching the Fighting Il-lini in college baske tba l l . I can’t stop talking about them, but as they get far-ther into the s ea son t he bet ter they will become as a team.

Traveling out of state is probably the big-gest thing I’ve done over break. Every other year, my family and I take a trip down to Florida to get together with my grandparents. Driving to the Indianapolis airport at six in the morning isn’t necessarily the greatest idea of fun, but as soon as I see beaches as I’m look-ing outside the window of the plane I know that the payoff is going to be great. Christmas in Florida is the best, I get to wear shorts in December … wait I already do that.

Anyways, I remember the first time we went back in 2007 during my freshman year. I refused to go because I didn’t want to miss taking finals. Call me nerdy, but I feel like my schedule is ruined if I miss a day of school, especially if it’s one of the biggest days at the

end of the semester.I finally gave in and decided that I would

go, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how I would have to make up almost all of my finals when I got back. Luckily I forgot about everything school related once I arrived in the Sunshine State. I was having a blast, and I was trying to have as much fun as possible since my parents hadn’t officially decided that we were going to travel like this every other year. When December 2009 came around, we did the same exact thing. The bad part about doing it every other year means that it’s not going to happen for this year.

Yes I know, I just spent two whole para-graphs talking about how exciting it is going to Florida for the holidays, but this year I have to spend it in cold, snowy Illinois. But to me it’s not always about the warm weather or all the gifts during the holidays, it’s my family. I know what you’re thinking, “Oh great we have to read about Ryan’s little Hallmark movie moral about the real things that matter in life, how cliché.”

I’m here to say that that’s not the case. Sure, getting gifts is fun and being in 80 degree weather is a lot better than being stuck inside the house when there’s six inches of snow outside, but being with my family is the best part of the holidays. The main reason for this is because I don’t have any family members that live nearby, they’re all scattered around the United States.

It’s kind of heartbreaking that I’m not going to Florida this year. I love that place so much. That also means I will miss out seeing my grandparents until next summer because I doubt they’ll be able to travel here.

Whatever you are doing this Christmas -- hanging out with friends, going to a movie, spending time with family, eating lots of food, watching sports, or all of the above -- make sure you’re having fun. I’m going to try to make things as fun as possible this Christmas even if that means I’m stuck in Illinois.

We, the staff of The Oak-wood Times, want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. This is the time of year where you are expected to write your letters to Santa and wait up until midnight to greet the New Year.

This year has been a tough financial year due to the in-flated prices. This can make many people nervous, especial-ly parents around the holiday season. Always make sure you look for stores with the biggest sales, whether you are search-ing for toys, books, or any other obscure item your child may want.

Also make sure you are safe by stocking up on the ice melt and bags of sand, so if the road crew isn’t doing a good enough job, you can make sure you don’t get in a wreck.

If you do happen to drive during the rough weather, take it slow. If you arrive at your destination a few minutes late, it is better to arrive safely, than not at all.

Be sure to spend the holi-days with your families. These are two of the three holidays each year, where you actually have valuable family time. Whether you celebrate Christ-mas for religious purposes or just to see relatives you haven’t seen in a year, set aside any dif-ferences because this is a very special time.

New Year’s is the time of the year for fun, friends, and family. Finally, when the clock strikes twelve, raise a glass of sparkling grape juice, and toast to the New Year.

Enjoy a safe winter break

It’s that time of year when all of the seniors across the globe are saying goodbye to high school and hello to college. I am one of those seniors this year, and I never would have dreamt it being this difficult to find just the right college for me.

There are so many things that you have to do to pre-pare yourself for taking one of the biggest steps in your life. First, is the ACT, which I’ve already gotten out of the way, thank goodness! I didn’t get the score I wanted to get, but with it, I can get into the college I wanted to get in, which is Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.

This leads to my next step: finding the right college for you and being able to get into it. There are so many different colleges out there that have so much to offer. Once you find the right one, the question is, do I have the smarts to get into this college? Or, what I mean is, do I have a high enough ACT score? And then the last thing to think about is can I afford the college that I want to go to? These are all things that have been popping into my head for the past … oh … eight months.

I was exc i t ed when the thought came to my mind about leav-ing my house, living on my own, in a dorm and being independent. Recently, the more I think about it, the more I question whether I re-ally am ready to be on my own. The idea of going to a community college for the first two years was starting to not sound bad at all.

At first, when my parents brought up the idea of Dan-ville Area Community College, I wasn’t too sure about it, actually I hated the idea. Now, the more I think about it, the more it sounds like a grand plan.

I wouldn’t have to eat nasty dorm food. Instead, I could enjoy the luxury of having home-cooked meals by my mommy. I would be able to sleep in my own bed and not have to worry about an annoying roommate. On top of all that, it would save me around $30,000 by just going to DACC my first two years of college, instead of starting out at EIU.

As of right now, my plan is to enroll at DACC for the 2011-2012 school year. After my two years there, I will then transfer to EIU and major in Marketing.

You better believe when I get to Charleston, I will be sharing an apartment with the one and only Erica Young, who is currently a freshman at EIU this year.

Right now, everything seems to be planned out perfectly, just the way I want it to be, but it wasn’t easy getting here.

11

DECEMBER 17, 2010

OPINION

By Katherine ZitelloThe End of a Legacy

Built Ford ToughBy Kendra Ford

OT

CARTOONMaybe DACC isn’t

such a bad idea

Many people don’t realize how strong they are, what they can accomplish, or what they can overcome. Many people live in fear of many things in life because they haven’t realized their full potential to get past it. It’s only when forced to do what seems impossible do most people come to terms with their full strength.

The best example I can think of, especially at this age and maturity level, is that people jump from relationship to relationship with people who don’t really love them and don’t treat them very well just of out fear of being alone: forever or just for a moment.

There’s a certain teenage mentality that life without a romantic partner is a bad thing, like you’re missing out on something and that you need someone to be there for you at all times: to be texting someone, to be hanging out with someone, or just to be claiming someone. It starts way too much drama and in reality being without a significant other is not terrible, and if you try, it’s not hard.

Unfortunately, many people are just too scared to try. They don’t realize that they can be independent and even better off alone. Anyone in a relationship fears the end, it’s only human, but anyone who’s been through a breakup can tell you that no matter what, you will survive and move on. So why be afraid?

Most people just jump right into another relationship anyway. But when you don’t, and you adapt to life on your own, you might discover you’re happier that way eventually. I encourage everyone to try it at some point in time, to be on their own. It is possible and it can be a great thing, if you can just get over your fear.

But what affects me more is the application of strength in life in general. Everyone encounters some kind of trial in life. It’s best to just jump right in and tackle the problem head-on as opposed to running away and hiding from it.

If you face it, you can get through it, but if you don’t,

nothing will ever change. Even if you don’t feel like you have the strength to go on, I can promise you that you do, somewhere inside of you.

The best thing to help you realize your full potential is a best friend. Someone you know and trust, someone to keep all your secrets and support you no matter what, someone to give you advice (no matter how bad it is) and someone who will never give up on you, regardless of what happens.

It’s very difficult to find this person, but once you do, you can get through basi-cally anything, as long as you have the will to try, and the will to keep fighting whatever struggles you have in life.

The most important thing is just to remember that you can overcome anything. If you have the willpower to do something, you can do it. It’s just mind over matter.

Remember that the brain is the most powerful thing out there, and use that to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to go out there and make mistakes and go through horrible things.

Know that you can just build a bridge and get over it, if only you try.

All the bad things people go through, all the battle scars from life, make people who they are. It makes them better, makes them wiser and makes them stronger.

If you live life always skippy-happy, you’ll be very shallow. You won’t have any experiences, any shadows in your life to give you depth, no knowledge of what you can do, so you’ll always be fearing something bad because you won’t know what to do.

So take it from someone who’s been there and done that: don’t be afraid to jump into the darkness without a candle; you’ll find your way out. If I can do it, you can do it.

Now get out there and live.

Don’t be afraid to go out on your own

If you have the will-power to do something, you can do it. It’s just mind over matter.

AT RANDOM(at the Christmas Program)

I wanna Rock!

Twas the ...

The Six Most Popular Christmas Carols

(According to the Journalism class)

1 -- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2 -- Frosty the Snowman

3 -- Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer

4 -- Feliz Navidad

5 -- Jingle Bells

6 -- I’ll Be Home For Christmas

I’m lost

You

want

me to

play

this?