Concerts scheduled for next week
December 1, 2009
Orchestra and concert bands will have performances next week.
Band performs Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Orchestra performs Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. The orchestra concert also features students from Prairie Star and Blue Valley Middle Schools accompanying them.
Both concerts are in the PAC.
By Maegan Kabel
Relay for Life update
December 4, 2009
The Relay for Life Committee is in the midst of planning the all-night event, scheduled for March 26-27. Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society, strives to remember loved ones lost to cancer and raise awareness within the community. This year, the committee hopes Relay can raise $30,000.
“Relay for Life is a great way for people of all different backgrounds to get together to celebrate for a good cause,” event chair Monica Roy Chowdhury said.
Those invovled in Relay for Life, both team captains and members, must turn in all registration forms by Jan. 29 to Roy Chowdhury or the event underchairs junior Ryan Jaspal and senior Erin Pham. The Relay Committee is offering incentives for the teams that turn in all forms and money before the deadline.
Important Bank Nights for this year’s event:
Jan. 13
Feb. 17
March 10
by Allison Kohn
FEA Loose Change Drive
December 4, 2009
Future Educators of America(FEA) is sponsoring ‘Loose Change to Loosen Chains’. During the month of January, students can collect their loose change and bring it in. It will be sent to International Justice Missions, where it will be used to save slaves from all over the world. The club will also be selling shirts and bracelets to benefit this organization. This is a class competition, so the grade that brings in the most change will be awarded spirit points.
by Maegan Kabel
Della Lamb toy drive continues through Dec. 9
December 4, 2009
The football team will start collecting presents for the Della Lamb Charter School.
The Della Lamb elementary school is located in the Kansas City area and seeks to educate low-income, at risk, and disadvantaged children.
Contributors will receive one hour of community service for each present brought in but only up to four hours of community service will be given.
They are looking for new, non-violent gifts with no batteries and the minimum price range is $10.
Toys can be brought into the library, Room 508, or the coaches’ office.
The collection will end on Wednesday, Dec. 9.
This toy collection started nine years ago because of a message said on the radio.
“When we heard that some kids would not have Christmas, that touched our hearts,” football coach Steve Rampy said. “We just could not fathom this.”
All donations are welcome and will be displayed in front of the library.
by Emily Brown
Girls basketball team takes win over Olathe East
December 4, 2009
The girls basketball team uprooted a strong Olathe East team 50-38 Thurs. night in front of a packed house in the BV gym. With several minutes played at a 10-point deficit, the team found consistency in their shots and defense before getting the win.
Senior Lauren Wormington held the spotlight on the night after draining numerous three-pointers to help anchor the team’s second half comeback.
Coach Andy Unrien believes that the team struggled in the first half, but showed their true potential as the game went on.
“I thought that the second half was really indicative of what we can do as a team,” he said. “We started to get great pressure on defense and we got more energy.”
After asking for a large crowd in the Winter Activities assembly, the student body responded by packing the student section with many in costume for “Lifeguard Night”.
Unrien is greatly appreciative of the fans’ role in the win.
“It was huge once we got into that run,” he said. “[Olathe East] really wasn’t expecting it. It really knocked them on their heels.”
The team will play at the Olathe South Invitational on Tuesday.
by AJ Barbosa
Power outage cuts school day short
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December 7, 2009
Photo by Jill Chittum.
Due to an electricity shortage, school was released early. Power went out in the middle of second hour and had not been restored.
At 9:33 on Monday morning the administrators sent out an email informing parents about the power outage. They were working with KCPL to figure out the problem.
We will send out an update when more information is made available.
by Stephanie Roche
Tiger Wood's personal life doesn't affect his athleticism
December 11, 2009
So. He’s the best golfer we’re likely to ever see. He’s provided some of the most exhilarating sports moments with those long-range putts followed by those signature fist pumps.
Within the past few weeks he’s crashed his car into a fire hydrant in the wee hours of the morning and supposedly cheated on his wife. I went to buy some bread for my mom at Price Chopper last night, and nearly every magazine on the shelf had a picture of him and numerous negative allegations.
Upon watching Sportscenter this morning, I found out that Gatorade is pulling their Tiger line of sports drinks. Even though the company says that the decision was made before the incidents, it seems strange that the announcement would be made only a few weeks after.
You’d think he shot someone.
Let’s sit back and look at this from a rational point of view. The guy gets into his SUV a few hours after Thanksgiving and drives it a short distance before hitting a fire hydrant. The details are fuzzy, but several of his neighbors testified they saw Woods on the ground, unconscious. They soon phoned authorities. Woods’ wife, Elin, then proceeded to bash out the back window of the SUV with one of Woods’ irons, and waited with her husband until the paramedics arrived.
It’s embarassing to say, but I have personally introduced my car to a fire hydrant before. I hit it at about 35 miles an hour, topped it and completely removed it from its base. I drive a small sedan, and I was more than fine. I hit the sucker head on too. I am a bit curious as to how Woods sustained the injuries that he allegedly did, provided he was driving a large car, hit the hydrant at low speed, and at an angle. Who knows, maybe something happened to him in the car that didn’t happen to me. He’s been vague about the details of the accident so it’s hard to tell if we’ll ever know.
So immediately, the sick excuses for reporters at TMZ and other shock-and-awe sources tied in the allegations of Woods’ infidelity into the accident. The dim lightbulb must have clicked on above their heads, screaming ‘Forget the likelihood that he was just going for a drive, possibly to pick up some food or something else, he had to have been drunk, and he had to have been going to cheat!’
Are you kidding me?
So suppose he did do it. Suppose he sits down on 60 Minutes and tearfully confesses to cheating on his bombshell wife. The tabloid world will tear him a new one, and he’ll never hear the end of it. Dumb parents will cease buying his video game, feminist protesters will flock to the outskirts of golf tournaments and everyone will see him as the villain.
But you’re forgetting something.
He’s still the best golfer in the world.
Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress carried an unlicensed gun into a nightclub FULL of people and accidentally shot himself in the leg. Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall has been accused of beating his ex-girlfriend for years. She has proof to back her case up as well. Shoot, former Chief Jared Allen got a DUI right in front of the Chick-Fil-A on 135th street two years ago. The story was all over the Kansas City Star and all the local news channels. With the exception of Burress, whose endorsement deals were revoked, the sports community has seemed to forgive and forget the issues Marshall and Allen have. They still continued to play every Sunday. Yet, Tiger Woods drives into a fire hydrant and supposedly cheats on his wife, and the world is in an uproar.
When the nation turns on the television to watch Tiger Woods, they aren’t watching him at home with his wife or seeing him drive his luxury SUV. They’re watching him play golf.
The outside world doesn’t matter during those tournaments, which is why I’m appalled to see that Gatorade is pulling his line of drinks right after these incidents. Michael Jordan didn’t get his drinks yanked after he embarassed the basketball world by demoralizing his former teammates and competitors at his induction into the Hall of Fame earlier this year. I watched that on my living room couch. I couldn’t have watched Woods cheat on his wife from there, because it’s a private matter. That’s the way it should stay.
Scarring Woods’ reputation with these pointless stories only hinders the stellar credibility of ESPN. They are well-known for being the pound-for-pound best in sports coverage, and they’re ruining that by running stories about what Woods does with his own free time. He wasn’t hurt in the crash and he can still golf. That’s where it should end for them. America looks up to him as a golfer and a hard-worker, and he still is both.
Give the accusations a rest, justice will serve itself. For now, just let him continue playing the game.
by AJ Barbosa
Tigers take DeSoto game 57-47, "cheer-off" surprises fans
December 12, 2009
The BV varsity boys basketball team defeated the DeSoto Wildcats 57-47 Friday night.
Fans supported the team by dressing in pirate attire.
The BV starters were juniors Hayden Murray, Steven Stinson, Alex Newell and Paul DeBey Jr. and senior Anthony Abenoja.
The first quarter ended with a 10-10 tie after senior Connor Janes made a three-pointer with less than a minute left.
The Tigers led at the half, up 26-15.
BV came out strong in the second half, leading 43-26 at the end of the third quarter.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, a “cheer-off” occurred between BV cheerleader, junior Sarah Leslie and one of the DeSoto cheerleaders.
This caused chanting and excitement from both team’s fans.
by Jordan McEntee
Blue Valley Shootout championship game statistics
December 14, 2009
The boys varsity basketball team lost to Sumner Academy Saturday night 59-44. The Tigers took seccond place in the tournament. The team’s leading scorers were:
Junior Alex Newell: 11
Junior Hayden Murray: 7
Senior Connor Janes: 7
Junior Paul DeBey Jr.: 6
