The Hilltop Echo Chardon High School News

Issue 3, Volume LXXII November 19, 2010

In this issue:News

• GirlsvarsitysoccerteammakesschoolhistorywithP.A.C.win

Editorial• EchowriterEvanMorrissetteoffershisopiniononthebenefitsofhomework

Entertainment• HarryPotterandtheDeathlyHallowstobereleasedtoday

• ReadaboutthelocalbandAMinorBird

• GeaugaMusicCenterprovidesmusicandentertainmentforthewholecounty

Feature• NewFCSclassislearningaboutcommunityservice

• AlocalgroupistryingtoimproveconditionsattheChardonskatepark

• EchowriterSarahBrowninterviewsRaquelRodriguez,anewstudentatCHS

Sports• HuntingseasonisgearingupinChardon

• TaylorHetrickholdseightnationalswimmingrecords

• TheChardonwrestlingteamispreparingforagoodseason

• Chardonseniorsandfacultymembersarepreparingforcharityvolleyballgame

Chardon schools levy fails at pollsDistrictwillmakebudgetcutswhiletryingtomaintainqualityofeducationforstudents

Chardon BrewWorks and EateryBy Brooke Bender The Chardon BrewWorks and Eatery was opened on March 15th last spring on the Chardon square. Mike and Donna Nedrow, the owners, have two children that go to CHS: Senior Alyssa Nedrow and Sophomore G a b b y N e d r o w . Gabby said that her dad wanted to open C h a r d o n Brewworks because he wanted to brew craft beer and also wanted to provide our community with “a family-friendly place to go.” Although the BrewWorks offers adults selections of handcrafted beer, they are also a partner in the prevention of underage alcohol use. The BrewWorks serves much more than just beer. They offer a wide variety

of appetizers, soups and salads, burgers, wraps, sandwiches, seafood, steaks, pasta, and more. Many unique appetizers like the baked jalapeno pretzel bites, beer cheese dip, and tasty sweet potato fries accompany the classic onion rings, many

v a r i a t i on s of potatoes and fries, and mozzarel la s t i c k s . They also have eight o p t i o n s of sauce for wings. There are six different s a l a d s ,

including an unorthodox yet brilliant tropical salad. The collection of many creative types of burgers accompanies a build-your-own-burger option. Limited seafood, steaks, pork chops, and pastas are available, and the chicken broccoli alfredo is distinctly savory.

See ‘BrewWorks’ page 6

Chardon High students go to the “Extreme”By Kelly Bergenstein Chardon High School, as all students know, is full of surprises. Whether it’s the newly redone cafeteria, or the new assistant princi-pal, Mr. Sedlak, there’s always something happening that the majority of us don’t see com-ing. A group of rambunctious sophomores (and one junior), for instance, are starting to appear on the student radar for their YouTube account, Ex-tremeChardon, featuring them doing “anything extreme,” says sophomore Roger Davis. Featuring the three founding sophomores, Adam Benjamin, Travis Ritt, and Roger Davis, there are videos posted of them attempting Parkour, gymnastics, skateboarding, biking, and the occasional jump over a wheel barrow or two. Some of the other members of this group are junior Robby Vallarelli, and sophomores Mason Bender, Brandon LeScoezec, and Jeff Vlk. With committing a fraction of their free time to doing “anything involving going fast,

and/or hurting themselves,” according to Davis, some minor road blocks have come up. When asked about the injuries the team has sustained, Travis Ritt replied, “Here at ExtremeChardon, we put our life on the line to get the shots. Obviously the constant falling doesn’t feel all that great, and we have gotten many scratches and bruises from all of our stunts, but more recently one of our members, Adam Benjamin, has hyperextended his ankle trying to do a back flip onto a mat.” With a laugh, he added, “I personally think he is just being a big baby about it, but that’s just me. Other than that though, no serious injuries have occurred.” Coming up within the next month, the boys of ExtremeChardon will be performing at an elementary school in Mentor—the boys cannot recall the name—that has seen some of their crazy antics while surfing the internet.

See ‘Extreme’ page 6

By Laura Louden Most often, levies and Chardonians don’t get along; take the example from last year, when the one-percent income tax put up in May failed miserably. Since then, the Chardon Local School District has made reductions in staff, programs, and services to eliminate extra spending. These reductions are still not enough and money is still needed for additional operating funds. The Chardon Local School District put another on the ballot this year, a five-year 4.29 Mill emergency operating levy, which, if approved by voters, would have created funds of 2.85 million dollars per year for the next five years. This levy was the district’s smallest stand-alone request in over 35 years. But the verdict is in, ladies and gentleman. The levy has failed with an overwhelming vote of 62.51% (5,585 votes) against, and a mere 37.49% (3,350 votes) for it. What does this mean for Chardon Schools? Certainly nothing good. There

may be no creative way around the now-needed $1,489,885 in budgetary cuts that the failure of the levy has presented. According to the Chardon Local School’s response to an issue endorsement

questionnaire from The Plain Dealer, potential cuts proposed are eight people in elementary and fifteen in the secondary level, and five classified personnel positions district-wide. Cuts must be approved by the school board in April. Activity fees for athletics and cheerleading will

go up next year, from $150 per sport to $225. Class sizes will be bigger and there may be a reduction in special outings. Another important factor to mention is the possibility in a 20 – 30% reduction in state

funding to schools because of a transition to a new state governor in January. Chardon High School principal Mr. Andy Fetchik discussed the effects of the levy failure with a cool, professional calmness. “Nothing has been proposed or approved yet,” he said. “We will meet as a

committee of administrators and discuss things that we can live without.” When asked if there could be any way of avoiding staff cuts, the answer back was no. “We definitely have to,” Fetchik said. “Budgets are made a year in advance, and have also to be approved a year in advance. If another levy is put up and it passes, it won’t bring money in ‘till 2012.” There is no way to avoid this lack of funds in the high school. “I think the effect on the high school, the reduction of certain classes and services, will be detrimental,” he said, “but I know the current staff we have will take this on as a challenge and continue to provide an excellent education as they have for years.” Mr. Fetchik is particularly focused on minimizing the impact of the levy failure on the students. “We will make cuts in the best interests of the kids. Our number one priority is the children in Chardon High School. We will do our best to maintain the excellent education students have been receiving for years.”

AgreatplacetomeetonChardonSquare

Picturecourtesyofwww.chardonbrewworks.com

Local School Levies:• Chardon: 63% against, 37% for

• Cardinal: 53% against, 47% for

• Newbury: 55% for, 45% against

• Riverside: 67% against, 33 for

NewsThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

2Local store provides musical opportunities of all kindsBy Brian Vadakin Many of us have, at one time or another, sat down at the bench of a piano or picked up a guitar and started to play, even if we didn’t know how. When a popular song comes on the radio, many find themselves tapping out a beat on whatever surface they can find. And who hasn’t sung a song to themselves that they couldn’t get out of their head? Music is everywhere, especially for the teenage gen-eration. It pervades our daily lives through the earphones of our iPods, the stereos of our cars, and even some of the commercials we watch after the morning announcements. Musical instruments intrigue us because of their potential. With musical instruments, one has the possibility to create or recreate any and every kind of music; the only thing miss-ing is training. While many of us have dabbled in an instru-ment or two, fewer can claim to be proficient in the playing of an instrument. Childhood lessons or middle school band and choir provided an intro-duction to playing or singing music, but many people aban-doned the effort the moment they were allowed to. The question is why? The ability to play a musical instrument or sing well has numerous advantages. Not only does it open up a whole new range of extracurricular activities, like Chardon High School’s differ-ent bands and choirs, but by accompanying people in audi-tions and contests, it can also provide a job opportunity. Geauga Music Center (GMC) is a local store that provides lessons and sells mu-sical instruments and accesso-ries. The store has been owned and operated for four years by Anne Marie Wolfe, although it has existed previously under the name of “Village Music.” When she reopened the busi-ness, she changed the name to tout the store as a music cen-

ter for all of Geauga County, not just the City of Chardon. They sell acoustic and electric guitars and some string instru-ments, but they don’t carry a lot of instruments so that they have more capital to spend on events in the community. GMC offers lessons for the following types of instruments: wood-wind, brass, string, percussion, drum set, piano, and guitar. They also offer voice lessons. “Usually what most people notice and comment about is how many lessons we have and how many teachers we have,” remarked Anne Marie. GMC employs fifteen teachers, and about twenty people in total. Geauga Music Center is not only a convenient busi-ness that offers musical sup-plies and a wide variety of les-sons; it also contributes to the community in a variety of ways. GMC has organized open-mic nights at Chardon BrewWorks, Guitar Hero contests, and even summer music programs that cater to teenage bands. GMC is not just somewhere to go for lessons; it is a place for anyone inter-ested in music. “I wanted us to be where people would go if they wanted to be involved with music,” said Anne Marie. She has tried urgently to cre-ate this image by trying to ap-peal to all people interested in music, instead of just people interested in being classically trained on an instrument. Here is the problem: Chardon is in danger of los-ing this unique business. The

economic condition of the past two years caused many people to drop out of lessons, and lack of awareness is mak-ing it difficult to gain back stu-dents. “At least three times a week, I get people who come in here and say, ‘I didn’t know you were here,’” lamented Anne Marie. Without a signifi-cant increase in students, they may have to close. She encour-ages students to take lessons over learning by themselves because, on your own, “there’s no one there to give you feed-back… how do you improve when there’s no feedback?” Anne Marie believes there is little difference between learn-ing music and learning a school subject like math and science.GMC provides good lessons for multiple reasons, one being the dedication of the teachers to the students. The student – teacher ratio is approximately 14:1. Each teacher goes above and beyond to help their stu-dents and prepare them for recitals. Lorey Kozsey, who has been teaching at the store since 1991, put it best. When asked what her favorite part about teaching was, she re-plied simply, “my students.”So whether or not you have any intentions of playing a mu-sical instrument, you should stop by Geauga Music Center. It is located at 131 Wilson Mills Road, on the right-hand side after you pass Dairy Queen / Orange Julius. At the very least, you will have learned more about a Chardon business you may have never heard of before.

Girls soccer team makes history with winBy Caitlin Merz Tuesday, October 12, 2010 will forever be a night remembered by the 2010 CHS varsity girls’ soccer team. On that chilly autumn evening, the girls made his-tory when they beat The Wil-loughby South High School Rebels, securing their title of Premiere Athletic Con-ference (PAC) champions. The mood of the night was set after the junior varsity team ended with a 1-0 victory- the sole scor-er being freshman Chantal Daugherty, #23. The Toppers were nervous and anxious to begin the game. To add to the excitement, it was their senior night where nine se-niors were highlighted: Vanni Pikus #1, Rachel Gilbert #6, Kristen Morgan #8, Megan Keppler#10, Kristen Liggett

#15, Colleen O’Brien #22, Devon Beck-with #24, Co-rey Baumgart #26, and Laura Loud-en #44. The first half started with a Char-don goal by senior Devon Beckwith within the first fif-teen minutes of the game. As predicted, the first half proved to be fast-paced and intense. Senior Corey Baumgart focused on “playing to feet,” keeping the ball on the ground, as she said they had keyed in on at their last practice the night before. As the whistle was blown for the end of the first half, the Top-pers remained on top with a 1-0 lead over the Rebels. The second half start-ed, and right away, Chardon

made it clear that they were not going to let their lead af-fect their playing at all; they continued playing hard from the second they got back on the field. A mere three min-utes back into the game goal number two was scored: a favorite highlight of seniors Megan Keppler and Corey Baumgart. Baumgart said that the team really capitalized on the excitement it brought and that likewise, it seemed that Willoughby South’s discour-agement began around this time. The Topper energy per-sisted and three more goals were scored, ending with a fi-nal score of 5-0. Second-half goals were contributed by seniors Colleen O’Brien and Corey Baumgart and fresh-man goalie Lindsey Lyons had an impressive 15 saves. Both teams, just as they did last

year, lined up at the end to shake their opponen t ’s hand, but this year the Top-pers were tr iumphant . To beat Wil-loughby alone was an ac-c o m p l i s h -

ment for Chardon as they have lost to the Rebels for the last three years; but this game was an exceptionally great accomplishment. With this victory, the girls claimed the title of 2010 PAC champi-ons: something that has never been done in Chardon’s his-tory! The girls worked very hard to achieve this and do not take it for granted at all. “It’s pretty incred-ible to say you started the legacy- to give the program something to look forward to,” comments Baumgart.

GAME STATS

• Finalscore:5-0CHS• GoalsscoredbyDevonBeckwith,ColleenO’Brien,andCoreyBaumgart

• LindseyLyons(goalie)had15saves

PhotocourtesyofBrianVadakin

PhotocourtesyofJimPastor

FeatureThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

3Editorial

By Evan Morrissette There are many argu-ments to be made on the use-fulness of homework. Many would call it the spawn of hell, others a thoughtful lesson that engages kids in learning at times they would otherwise be “slacking off.” The exact nature of homework has been tossed back and forth, and has changed acutely through-out the years. For example, during the forties, there was a decrease in homework as educator opinion was that problem solving was more im-portant than drilling. However, when Sputnik was launched in the fifties, the view shifted as teachers believed that kids needed more stimulation to comprehend the rapidly evolv-ing world. Yet when the six-ties came, the homework be-came lax again as the general populace saw homework as stress on students. What state we are in today is debatable. First to be argued are the cons, as these will likely be more familiar to students. Just about anyone would say that they wouldn’t like to bring work home with them. In essence, homework is a form of work, which is prob-ably why it’s called homework. Homework has shown been to cause stress and frustration in individuals (but then what is school?). To back it up, a study conducted by the Academic Exchange Quarterly involved 247 teachers brought this to light. Most (if not all) teachers believed homework was ben-eficial to the school system, but many worried it caused stress and cut into family time. I was unable to find any EKG tests on homework-induced stress, but judging by how I feel with a night’s worth of homework in my backpack, I’d guess this is pretty true. Per-haps more importantly, bulky amounts of homework and subsequent loss of free-time will discourage the student, and/or bore them with school (and therefore learning). The flip side of home-work is as straight forward as it is important: people with more homework tend to get better grades. Furthermore, the correlation between homework done and aca-demic achievement is stron-ger in higher grades (about 8-12) than in lower ones.

See ‘Homework’ page 6

Homework: harmful or helpful?

New FCS class learns about leadership and community service

By Kristen Morgan A new Family Con-sumer Science (FCS) class called Leadership and Service Learning has been added to Chardon’s course curriculum this year. The course layout consists of service learning, character building, communi-cation, and leadership roles. Mrs. Butala has done a great job taking on the task of teaching this new course. “The class has been going great so far! I can already tell that the

students are enhancing their public speaking skills because of this class,” Mrs. B. said. It is clear that she spent a lot of time plan-ning and prepar-ing for the new FCS class. “I had a lot of help from Mrs. Hall. She provided many resources and books that helped plan the c u r r i c u l u m ,” Mrs. B. explained. The students have been learn-ing all about leadership roles and different aspects of char-

acter. Every Friday, a student leads the class in an activity to about character, team building, personalities, and communi-cation skills. These lessons are called “Activities That Teach,” but Mrs. Butala has cleverly abbreviated this to “ATT.” She is very famous for her abbre-viating during class and has even abbreviated whole sen-tences like, “Meli, ya rea for ATT?” (Melissa, are you ready to present your Activities That

Teach?) The class’ other hab-its include snapping instead of clapping, saying phrases such as, “Don’t be a shm-agnoid,” and using “silent coy-ote” to minimize idle chatter. The majority of the class has been focused on community service though. The FCS class was in charge of the food during the Char-don Service Day that took place at Highbrook Lodge. The students contacted nu-merous businesses and suc-cessfully obtained enough donations to feed all the students who volunteered. The Leadership and Commu-nity Service class is helping to maintain the NHS courtyard as well. They have been busy weeding and doing anything necessary to help NHS in their cleanup efforts. The class has set a goal of earning the President’s Award for service hours. Senior Alisha Fern has taken charge and led the class in this project. Once the class reaches 200 hours of com-munity service, they will be eligible for the Bronze Award. As a final grade for the class, students are ex-pected to do a community service project. Some of the final projects include recy-cling, Compassion Month,

and volunteering at senior centers. Seniors Alisha Fern, Tierney Izar, and Megan Kep-pler are planning on getting donations for the troops over seas. They hope to organize a project that will involve the whole school collecting items to send to the troops. Juniors Rachel Considder and Lizzy Golias as well as sophomores Marisa Senibello and Shelby Bukovec are organizing Com-passion Month. Compassion Month takes place during De-cember and involves the giv-ing trees. Each classroom has a tree full of items to donate to families in need. The girls have been busy making the trees and contacting families. Senior Tom Diehl and sopho-more Alec Bost plan on pick-ing up litter in the local parks for their service project. While the class has been busy helping others, they still manage to have a fun time. “I really like the class. It’s always very entertaining,” said senior Nick Molnar. Sopho-more Marisa Senibello added, “It’s one of my favorite classes. I look forward to it every day.” Through discussions, presen-tations, and community ser-vice, the class has really bond-ed and become closer friends.

Local group aims to improve Chardon skate parkBy Megan Whitney The Chardon skate park has been subjected to vandalism, litter, and mis-chievious behavior, but twenty-three year old skater Charlie Carney is attempt-ing to improve the skate park by encouraging teens to keep the peace in return for skate park improvements. The skate park is lo-cated between the pool and volleyball courts across Maple Avenue from Chardon High School and has been there for many years. It was originally built by H.A.N.D.S, a local non-profit organization, but now the skate park is in danger of becoming unusable. The van-dalism and bad behavior of the teens are becoming too much of a danger and cost to the city and the antics are getting old. The city already closed the park once for a week to try and send the skaters a mes-sage; unfortunately, the rowdy behavior continues despite the warning signs. Chardon City Council is considering leaving the teens to their own devic-es and not funding the skate

park until skaters do their part and respect the park. Charlie Carney of Chardon Township decided to start a non-profit organization called Support Our Ramps, or S.O.R. for short. Through S.O.R, Charlie plans to put down asphalt and to install lights and new ramps. In return, he hopes for better behavior and more respect on the part of the teenage skaters. Char-lie asks that the youth of the area support S.O.R. by coming to the various events and join-ing the street team. Everyone wants the skate park to be re-done. Giving teens new ramps and material will improve the riding quality and keep them away from high activ-ity places, such as the square and other prohibited areas. Charlie doesn’t plan on stop-ping there; he wants to com-pletely remodel the park. Cur-rently, the skate park is free and open to everyone except people with bikes, but through S.O.R., Charlie plans on letting bikers and skateboarders alike enjoy the park. The skate park reform will happen as soon

as teens start taking an active part in the park’s well being and when S.O.R. has raised the money amount needed, estimated to be around ten thousand to twenty thousand dollars. Charlie plans to raise the money by tax exemp-tions and by receiving dona-tions and fundraisers, selling merchandise, car washes, ben-efit concerts and art shows just for some of the ideas. S.O.R. has been in ac-tion since May and has seen improvement within the skate park already. “The develop-ment is going better than planned!” Charlie said proudly. There was less litter and van-dalism since S.O.R.’s start, but there has also been less skat-ers. He has been traveling around asking for supporters and members that will help the program. He is still look-ing for members. If you would like to be a part of S.O.R. you can often find Charlie at the skate park or email him. “If anyone needs to contact me with questions about posi-tions available or ideas for fundraising, my email address

is charliesor@gmail.com.” Charlie says. “Also, working for a non-profit [organization] looks so good on resumes and applications for school loans. It also offers a network of people that are positive, which may open windows of oppor-tunity for things outside of the non-profit [organization].” Charlie is striving so hard for this reform because skating has affected his life so much. He feels skateboarding along with BMXing and roll-erblading is a creative out-let in which you can express how you feel with movement. Charlie strives so hard for this reform because of how skate-boarding has effected him. He said, “The people I have met through skateboarding, the places I have gone to skate, and the hours of enjoyment spent skating all shaped my understanding of life. I have learned that everyone can take life to the highest level. It’s up to the person to seize oppor-tunities, because life is what you make it and everyday is just as important as the next.”

FeatureThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

4Nuggeting: annoying yet entertaining backpack phenomenonBy Gabby Hollowell Students at Chardon High School have found a new form of entertainment during free time in class: “nuggeting,” a phenomenon that is sweep-ing the nation and quickly gain-ing steam as a popular prank. So what exactly is nuggeting? Nuggeting is when someone takes another stu-dent’s book bag without them knowing it, takes out their be-longings, turns the bag inside out, puts the belongings back in, and zips it back up. If the “nuggeter” zips the zippers to-gether on the inside of the bag, then the “nuggetee” will have a difficult time opening it before class is over. Some students end up carrying their bags in their arms because the bag straps are zipped up on the in-side. This may sound funny, but it can have consequences, so be careful. English teacher Mr. Allen Herner has a new rule: if he finds anyone nuggeting another student’s backpack in class, he gives out detentions. Many students at CHS have not yet heard of the term nuggeting, but sophomore Kali Blankenship has. Her book bag has been nuggeted be-fore and she didn’t like it very much. “It was very annoying and aggravating,” Kali said. “I was sitting in class at the end of the day, and someone nug-

geted my book bag. Then I had to walk holding my nuggeted bag in front of me.” On the other hand, freshman Anthony Adamic has never had his bag nuggeted, but he has been a nuggeter. “I nuggeted one of my friends one time, but it was just to be funny,” Anthony said. Excessive nuggeting led Bronxville High School, in Bronxville, New York, to de-clare nuggeting a varsity sport. How can this be possible? The school’s plan is to have nuggeting set up like a track meet, having different events of what students do with the book bag. Speed Nuggeting would have contestants rac-ing to see who can complete the nugget the fastest and the Nugget Toss would have com-petitors trying to land the nuggeted book bags as close as they can to a target’s desk. When Anthony was asked what he thought about nug-geting as a sport, he said, ”It sounds like a very dumb idea, but I would join the nuggeting team [if CHS had one].” Imag-ine having “Nuggeting” on the back of your varsity jacket! Entertaining or ag-gravating, if your bag gets nuggeted, don’t get mad. Take it as a light-hearted joke, laugh it off with the class-mates, and watch your book bag more closely next time.

TWLOHA AwarenessBy Karli SensibelloThere’s no doubt that Taylor Swift is on a roll—wherever you are, whenever the time, she can get brought up in al-most any situation. On Octo-ber 25, she released her new highly anticipated album Speak Now. This fourteen-track al-bum whispers the anticipated secrets of her life and her loves into the fervent ears of millions of teenagers everywhere. The CD features two of the popu-lar singles “Mine” and “Mean,” both of which appeared in the Billboard’s Top 10 during the week of their releases. Magazines like Bill-board have predicted that Taylor Swift’s new CD could sell at least 800,000 cop-ies in the first week after its release—easily beating Emi-nem’s Recovery, which sold 741,000 copies. Freshman Emily Pektosek says, “I might buy the CD—I definitely like the songs I’ve heard so far.” Billboard also says that they wouldn’t be surprised if she sold 1,000,000 copies, a feat that hasn’t been done since Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III (which sold 1,006,000 copies in 2008). With Taylor Swift’s sopho-

Censorship declines but still exists

more set, Fearless, being the best-selling CD in 2009, she has some high expectations to fill. This doesn’t seem like a huge problem for Swift, con-sidering the music video for her single “Mine” has already gotten over seventeen-million

views and counting, just weeks after its debut on YouTube. The songs on her CD also give an insight into relationships and encounters she’s had with several people. This includes her thoughts on the infamous Kanye West incident in 2009 with politely spiteful lyrics in her song “Innocent.” In “Dear John,” she sheds a light on her

relationship with John Mayer, and “Back to December” has been rumored to show the relationship between her and Twilight star Taylor Lautner. The musical diversity of Speak Now breaks beyond the pop-country walls that once held her. Although a major-ity of the songs relate to love, some songs, such as “Never Grow Up,” can reach out to others who have never been into her music. “Never Grow Up,” has been described as “a gentle tear jerker by a nar-rator digging up underval-ued memories,” according to The L.A. Times Music Blog. Whether you deny it or ad-mit it, you always are going to think of that ‘’special some-one’’ when you listen to a Taylor Swift song. It’s the way she captivates her audiences into her story. Her lyrics are everlastingly relatable, taste-fully written, and appear that way throughout all of the CDs she’s created, including Speak Now. “They remind me of ex-boyfriends,” Pektosek laughs. Swift fans will not be let down with this album, and non-Swift fans may end up buying a few songs for their iPods.

By Andrew Blackley Censorship is very strange; somehow intense vio-lence is just fine, but dropping swear words is like the plague. In the 1950s they couldn’t say “pregnant” on television, but even sixty years later there is still censorship on TV. Television in the 1950s is synonymous with be-ing sheltered; it was a big deal when a 1957 episode of Leave it to Beaver showed the first toilet on TV. A famous case of censorship is in 1952 when Lucille Ball, star of I Love Lucy, became pregnant. There was one big problem with this, they couldn’t say “pregnant” on the air. Instead they were forced to

use phrases like “with child,” and, “having a baby.” Another extremely famous case of cen-sorship was in 1956 on The Ed Sullivan Show, where Elvis Presley was making his first appearance singing a cover of “Ready Teddy”. Sixty million people watched, and 60 mil-lion people saw Elvis’s “trade-mark gyrations.” Apparently, his hip shaking was not ap-propriate, since they switched cameras to show a close-up on his face the soon after. By his third appearance on the show in 1957, he was only ever shown from the waist up. Perhaps the most fa-mous case of censorship in television was Janet Jackson’s

“wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl XXXVIII. It’s common knowledge that Ja-net Jackson and Justin Tim-berlake’s incident occurred during the halftime show of the Panthers vs. the Patri-ots. It may not be common knowledge; however, that the incident is Tivo’s #1 most “re-wound moments” and it’s also 2004’s #1 most searched for thing on the internet. Though the “incident” was only caught on camera for 1.01 seconds, it did hurt the NFL, causing them to lose 10 million dollars in sponsorship. Also, the FCC fined CBS for 550,000 dollars. America made a big deal about the short clip and the FCC got

500,000 American complaints and calls, and about 50 Cana-dian complaints and calls. Tele-vision still has not been the same since; FCC has increased its censorship on TV, which is still going on today. “I think they made a huge deal out of it,” Mitch Weber said, “When it really wasn’t a big deal.” Modern day censor-ship is just as prevalent as ever, though they are allowed to say “pregnant” and can have toi-lets flushing, as times changed

so does the nature of censor-ship. The most recent case of the FCC trying to censor tele-vision is the new CBS sitcom literally called $h*! My dad Says, starring William Shatner. The show is not only coming under fire by the FCC, but the Parents Television Council (PTC) is now protesting the show and trying to remove it from its prime time slot. Though critics of the show say the PTC protest is just giving the show more publicity and higher ratings. . “I think they shouldn’t say bad things on ba-sic cable,” tenth grader Danny Parmertor said, “Little kids could be watching and repeat them.” Which brings up the argument; shouldn’t parents be the “censorship” and mon-itor what their kids watch?Though censorship has changed over the years, “preg-nant” can be said on TV, musi-cians aren’t shown from the waist up, and intense violence is just fine. As long as there’s no swearing, they still face modern cases of censorship.

 

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EntertainmentThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010 5

Raquel Rodriguez: from Mexico to Chardon

New Harry Potter movie to be released today

By Madeline VanScoyoc Are you afraid of unexplainable, paranormal events? If that’s the case, then the horror movie Paranormal Activity 2 released in theaters on October 22nd, will surely startle you. The movie stars Katie Featherston (Katie), Sprague Grayden (Kristi) Brian Boland (Daniel) and Molly Ephraim (Ali). Paranormal Activity 2 is a sequel to the 2007 hit movie Paranormal Activity. Both movies are from the view of a home camcorder, making them look even more realistic and scarier. As you sit in the audience, you almost feel like you are in the movie and experiencing the events with the characters. The suspenseful, sinister plot is truly terrifying.

Junior Alison Knop recently went to the theaters to see Paranormal Activity 2. She said the movie was so startling that she couldn’t help screaming along with others in the theater. This past weekend, junior Garret Szalay went out to see a late night screening of Paranormal Activity 2. He

said that he really enjoyed the movie. Paranormal Activity 2 focuses around an ordinary family, with a mom, dad, sister, a new baby brother, and their beloved dog. After the arrival of the new baby, Hunter, the family seems to have a pretty happy and normal family life. Everything changes though when the family returns home one night to find every room in their house trashed, except the baby’s room. It appeared that robbers had trashed the house, but the family finds that nothing is stolen. The family starts to worry about their safety so the dad installs security cameras in the house. That is when the family starts to notice strange and startling events happening in their home. Inanimate objects start to move all on their own, and they hear unexplainable noises. The spookiness doesn’t stop there, but you’ll have to experience the movie yourself if you want to be truly frightened.

By Rachel Teuscher Ask any student who goes to Chardon High School; they’re most likely a Harry Potter fan—or at least a closet Harry Potter fan. Whether or not they have read the entire series more than once or have just seen the movies that seem to be constantly playing on ABC Family, there is no ques-tion that the majority of the school’s population is pumped up for the newest installment of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows: Part One, which will be arrive in theaters today.

Daniel Radcliffe will be returning as the legendary Harry Potter, along with the cast that most of us have grown up watching. Sophomore Sanja Milic, who is a huge fan of the series, claims she cannot wait to see the new film and hopes to go to the midnight premiere.

In the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) power continues to grow stronger and stronger while he

gains control of both the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. The famous trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione beginS to finish Albus Dumbledore’s (Michael Gambon) work and find the remaining Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort.

The school seems to be divided among two main teams on whether or not they want Harry to defeat Voldemort. Sophomore Colin Gower and senior Doug Free said they are “without a doubt” on Team Voldemort, while

sophomore Connor Ingram and senior Mayim Hamblen believe Harry Potter is the way to go. But there are also the few nonconformists like senior Brandon Ferris and freshman Anna Cunningham who are on Team Ron Weasley and the uninformed students like junior Ben Peace, who plans on wearing a Darth Vader costume to the premiere of the movie. Many fans of the series are hoping the newest movie will follow the book precisely since the seventh installment will be split into two separate movies. Sophomore Deanne Nockowski said, “Some of the previous movies haven’t been up to par with the books when it comes to detail. I understand that the movies can’t be 100 hours long, but hopefully with splitting the movie into two parts it will help create a more accurate adaption of the story.”

Another diehard fan of the series, sophomore Allie Ruddock, agreed with Deanne saying, “They always seem to leave out the very parts I love about the books. I just want them to pay a little bit more attention to specifics since that’s what makes the books what they are in the first place.”

Local band review: A Minor BirdBy Chris Skiba A Minor Bird started a few years ago as a jam band between four roommates at Malone University in Canton, Ohio. Front man Kevin Embleton was sick of his solo career and wanted to play with other people and start a serious band. He preformed at open-mic nights at Muggswigz coffee shop near campus a few times a week. It was here that he met future A Minor Bird drummer, Nate Netti. Embleton and Netti spent one night talking about their dreams of making music. They both agreed that they wanted to create deep music that inspires and moves people. After discussing a vision for the band, they became very excited and wanted to get right to work. However, lead guitarist and vocalist John King did not share the same enthusiasm at first. After dropping out of a prior music project, he wasn’t so fond of the “band” idea and when he was approached by Embleton, he wasn’t sure if he would go through with it. After

finding bass player, Dave Judy (who Embleton was already friends with), the group that would soon become A Minor Bird started practicing.

At first practices were awkward and the band was just trying to see what everyone else was capable of. After a few practices they started to discover their sound and everything started to click. Since forming in June 2008, A Minor Bird has played shows in Cleveland at Peabody’s, the Grog Shop and the Hi-Five, in Akron at Musica, and in Pittsburgh at Club Diesel. The band even opened for Switchfoot at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. They also had an album release show at the Canton Theatre that brought in surprising numbers of fans. The show was covered by a Canton newspaper that gave A Minor

Bird great reviews. I have attended four

of the band’s shows and can honestly say that this band will be doing amazing things in the future. Since their album release they have been flown to Nashville where they discussed being signed with a number of record labels. A Minor Bird has accomplished so much in such a short matter of time. Knowing them personally, I can say that they show no signs of slowing down. They go to school together, eat with each other, and have created a unique sound that will definitely not go unheard. Their album was released this past spring entitled, “Where the River Breaks Free.”

By Sarah BrownImagine what life

moving to another country and couldn’t speak a word of their language. One might be lonely, scared, and sad. It would be hard to find friends or a childhood pet for company. That’s what one new CHS student has been going through. Raquel R o d r i g u e z , a freshman, moved to Chardon from Mexico at the beginning of the school year.

Raquel is 15, and used to live in Ecatepec, a city near the center of Mexico close to Mexico City. Raquel’s parents moved to the United States to find a better life for Raquel. Raquel says that school is different here than in Mexico. In Mexico, there isn’t a cafeteria for lunch because the students go home for lunch everyday. There also isn’t a football team, since American Football isn’t popular in Mexico. School lockers are also new to Raquel, since they don’t have them in Mexican schools. She’s

taking English classes but they are difficult for her, though she is enjoying them. Right now, Raquel, doesn’t know much English, so sometimes classes here are much harder for her. Raquel misses her friends, and her dog, which she had to leave

him in Mexico when she moved. Most of all, Raquel misses being able to talk to other people. However, school in the United States is more fun than school in Mexico.

M o v i n g from Mexico has been hard for Raquel. She didn’t have any friends when she first moved here, and the language barrier makes it difficult to make new ones. When you see her around school, give her a friendly wave and say hi, whether its “hola” or just plain “hello.” If you’re a Spanish student, you should talk to Raquel, ask her how her day was or try and explain a class assignment. It can be hard to make new friends in any new school, let alone in a school where you don’t understand the language.

Paranormal Activity 2 has “suspenseful, sinister plot”

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JumpThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

6‘BrewWorks’ continued from page 1Maranda Bailo, a sopho-more at CHS, said that her favorites were the sweet potato french fries and the barbecue chicken dip. The interior is de-signed nicely. While there is a bar upstairs, the main floor carries an atmosphere of an elegant dining area undis-turbed by the distant noise. The walls are covered in his-torical pictures of Chardon, which provide a cozy feeling as well as something to look at. The tables of all sizes are spaced nicely, and it looks as if it would be easy to accommo-date a small couple or a large group. It would be impossible to complain about the service, which is friendly, polite, and timely. Gabby Nedrow said the Chardon BrewWorks and

Eatery is special because “it’s the first brewery in Geauga County and it has really good food as well.” Maranda Bailo thinks it’s worth a visit be-cause “it’s nearby and it’s in a really friendly environment. To fulfill the Brew-Works’ quest to be a fun meeting place for people in Chardon, they provide live entertainment every Satur-day night. This entertainment includes folk, jazz, bluegrass, blues, and rock and roll al-ternating with an “Open Mic Night.” There is also Karaoke every other Friday night. The Chardon BrewWorks and Eatery is open from 11:30 am to 9 pm on Tuesday through Thursday, from 11:30 am to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 8 pm on Sunday.

‘Homework’ continued from page 3This has been speculated as happening because younger grades (and thus younger stu-dents) have less developed study habits and consequently get less out of homework than elder students do. A profes-sor of Duke University, Harris Cooper, performed an experi-ment on students being taught in similar ways during class, and then assigned either no home-work or a set amount. Studies show that homework was in-creasingly helpful up to a cer-tain amount of time spent on it. For the average high school student, this amount was be-tween 1 ½ hours to 2 ½ hours per night. The correlation was quite high: the average home-work-assigned student scored better than 73 percent of the no-homework children. This was consistent throughout the grades. After the time limit was reached, homework-to-grade correlation begins to drop. It’s been also shown that the drilling and focus of homework improves study habits and cognitive abilities, two major elements of college courses (particularly studying ability). Our Algebra II teacher, Mr. Ricci, put it as “homework is the essential practice need-ed to help the learning take place on an individual basis”. Finally, there are argu-ments for both sides. First, the history. In the 1800’s, home-work was not an issue, as too few kids actually went to school, and almost none be-yond fifth grade. During the beginning of the 20th century, the attitude was that the mind was a muscle, and that home-

work exercised it and kept it strong, and an increase in homework in ensued. When the 1940s came around, the opinion was the problem solv-ing was more important than just drilling, so homework as-signments declined. The launch of Sputnik, however, caused uproar for tightened educa-tion to combat the soviets, so the homework was piled on. This view was reversed in the 1960s, as homework was viewed as a symptom of need-less stress on pupils. During the 1980s, the view changed again as the attitude shifted towards a competitive feel of education with the rest of the world, as demonstrated by the article A Nation at Risk writ-ten by the National Council for Education in 1983. This has led us to our current po-sition today. Likewise, there are multiple factors on how homework affects individual students: family involvement, former education, motivation, style of learning, and time (like after-school activities) may fac-tor into how effective it is for individual students. While it might kill one student’s grade, the study time it brings to an-other student may prove to be the second one’s saving grace. In conclusion, as much as we hate it, homework it’s (unfortunately) necessary, and represents the school’s effort for us to learn some-thing and prepare us for col-lege. As a wise (and negative) sage once said “A happy child-hood is the worst possible preparation for adulthood.”

Chardon seniors and faculty play annual volleball game for charityBy Holden Pahr For the last three years, the Chardon faculty and student body have put on a volleyball game to raise money for a deserving charity: The Geauga Hunger Task Force. This is a fun event for the all involved at the school, and it is also a great cause to raise money for. Seniors of the school lace up the sneakers and take a crack at the compet i t ion against their f a v o r i t e teachers. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for the teachers to look back at previous athlete pasts and compete against students they have taught. This year we will be having our game on November 19th. The Chardon High School staff is assembling their best athletes for the game. Mr. Ricci said, “I don’t think I will be allowed to play. I am too good.”

This is a bold

statement by the algebra guru. He told the students to watch out for the teachers spiking all day. He also emphasized growing a large mane of facial hair for the game. The feel amongst the teachers is

similar. They believe they have it under control. Mr. Bartley said, “It will be domination. I hope Eric Pavlick and Bret Zupon’s mamas are there to wipe their tears.”

Obviously there is some heated trash talking going on now, but that is expected for such a big game. Eric Pavlick and Brett Zupon have a different view of the game. They also believe they will “win with ease”. Pavlick even

went on to say the teachers are “old”. This is a bold statement directed towards a very talented team of faculty. One major advantage that the students have is a solid group of volleyball players

who were part of a great team this year. The team had an impressive record of 9-3 in the P.A.C. Many of these players will p a r t i c i p a t e in the game. This includes B r o o k e Suszynski; she also believes the game will

be a blowout in favor of the students. She brought up the “age factor” as well. With so much speculation, the teachers’ endurance and athleticism will be something to watch for in the game. Other seniors who are considered to be impact plays are Shane Swick, Justin McClean, Chad Sanders, Matt O’Hara, and Jake Hollinger all who believe they will be on the high side of the podium come the end of the game.

‘Extreme’ continued from page 1New events on their

calendars have not kept the boys of ExtremeChardon from thinking up new extreme ideas, however. Ritt spoke of new stunts: “During the winter when we get enough snow, we are planning on taking a trip back to the Davis compound, on his dirt bike track. We are planning on being towed on sleds by Roger’s dirt bike and hitting one of his jumps into his lightly iced over pond. Now, the pond is only four feet deep, so drowning is definitely not an issue, but it

still has potential to be very dangerous.”

Adam Benjamin, the man behind the camera, has also alluded to videos soon to be posted. “There may be a new “Best Of” video coming soon, and also, our viewers should stay tuned for Alpine Mountain winter edits. Maybe one or two more videos will be published until then, and I will probably be in these videos. When asked why he tends to stick behind the scenes, he replied, “Normally there’s footage of me, but when I edit

it, I don’t want to make myself look stupid. I don’t typically enjoy embarrassing myself.”

The boys of ExtremeChardon strongly encourage Chardon students to keep an eye out for upcoming videos, promising each will be funnier than the last. With all the current problems facing America and the countries of the world, why not sit back, and enjoy a good laugh? Pop yourself a bowl of popcorn, and see what happens when teenage boys take stunting to the extreme.

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SportsThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

7Taylor Hetrick holds eight U.S. swimming records

By Jacob Hollinger For Taylor Hetrick, swimming is more than just a sport. It is more than just a fun summertime activ-ity. It is a chance for her to show that she can do any-thing a normal teen can do, if she puts her mind to it. Taylor is a senior at Chardon High School. She was born premature, which caused a birth defect that made her completely blind. She has found a special talent, and love, in the sport of swimming. This sport gives her great oppor-tunities to travel, meet great people, and excel at a high

level in a competitive sport. She is one of the best com-pletely blind s w i m m e r s in the world. She has eight A m e r i c a n records for blind female swimmer, in strokes such

as the breast stoke and the back stroke. Not only is she a great swimmer, she is also a very kind and interesting person. Out of the water, Tay-lor can always be seen with a smile on her face. She is a constant source of happi-ness and humor in Chardon High. At the high school she is very involved, and is happy to be a member of CHS. She is a member of the band, she is in the AFS club, she plays the piano, and rides horses for fun. She is a big Cleveland fan, and really likes the Cavs. Her favorite athlete is Shaquille

O’neal (who she has met and taken pictures with) even though he no longer plays for Cleveland. She is also very passionate about Mexican and Spanish culture and language. Her favorite food is anything Mexican, and her favorite sub-ject is Spanish, with her favor-ite teacher Señora Neumann. After high school, Taylor plans to attend college. She is still undecided which college, but she is seriously consider-ing Ashland, Mount Union, Wooster, and John Carroll. At college, Taylor plans to contin-ue swimming. All of these col-leges have very accomplished swimming programs, Taylor will be a fantastic addition to any of these fine institutions. In the pool, Taylor’s favorite stroke is the breast stroke. She is working hard to improve her time. Swimming is very important to Taylor, and Taylor is also very important to swimming. She is redefin-ing the sport, and showing that no matter the circumstances, one can succeed at anything if they put the effort into it.

Hunting season begins in ChardonBy Dan Belliveau For many, Christmas day is looked at as the best day of the entire year. The story behind it, the presents, and the family gatherings are just a few reasons for kids (and sometimes even parents) to stay up all night on Christ-mas Eve. But for a select few, Christmas falls short to one day. Every year the whitetail deer season opens at the end of September. For the 2010 season it was September 25. For the kids at Chardon High School who hunt there is no better day than one with a chance that the buck of a life-time might just come within range. “I just love being out in the woods, even on days when I don’t see deer, I always have a good time hunting,” claimed senior Chad Sanders. The preparation starts early in the year as soon as the snow melts. For the first month and a half, all hunt-ers are required to hunt with a bow. “Hunting with a gun is fun but there is nothing better than going out for opening day with a bow and seeing deer in their nature state having no idea you are so close,” said se-nior Dominic Lucireili. As for the type of bows there are two choices: a compound bow (a bow that must be pulled back and held before the shot) or a crossbow (a bow that is pulled back and locked in place and shot when a trigger is pulled). Both of these take a lot of skill and hunters must prac-tice for many hours to perfect their shot. Kids at Chardon High take hunting very seri-ously and many shoot almost every day to make sure they are ready w h e n the op-portunity c o m e s to shoot that big buck. As the sea-son ap-proaches, hunters have to go scout out the land and decide where they want to hunt. In this process they look for certain signs that show deer are in the area, mainly deer trails. Deer trails are everywhere but certain trails are better than others. If the trail is faint and has little marks, it shows that although there are deer around, they are not using the

trail often and the deer are smaller. On the other hand, if there is a trail that is totally beaten down and has marks everywhere, this shows that deer are consistently using the trail. Hunters also look for nature features to funnel deer into certain spots. If there are ponds or rivers that have only strips of land in-between them, the deer must use this spot because they do not swim. Hunters look for signs like these to set up stands to hunt out of. There are also ways to attract deer such as using a feeder that puts out food on a regular pattern. Once the fall comes around and the season arrives, kids are out in their stand ev-ery chance they get. When hunting with a bow, the lon-gest shot possible is about 40 yards, so the deer are always very close. This makes the way one looks and smells very important. Although deer are colorblind, they have tremen-dous hearing and can pick up movement very well. Hunters must not only wear camo from head to toe (including in most cases a facemask and gloves) but also must not have any smell. The most common way to do this is by spraying your clothes with products that either cover up your sent or eliminate it completely. One of the main products used to cover sent is fox urine. Both the clothing worn and the sent sprayed betters one’s chances. Since he or she is so close to the animal there is such little room for error. Even the slightest movement can ruin a hunter’s chances. After a couple of

months into the season, hunting changes and it becomes legal to hunt with a gun. In Ohio, there is the choice of either hunting with a shotgun or a muzzle-loader. However, the use of a rifle is prohibited be-cause it is con-

sidered too dangerous. Each year in Ohio, about 250,000 deer out of 600,000 are shot. When asked about his take on hunting, Chardon senior citizen Ron Johnson remarked, “Hunting is always something I have enjoyed and it is not just about shooting deer. It is about bonding with family, and enjoying the time out in the woods on a nice fall day.”

Devon Beckwith: Hilltopper to BoilermakerBy Andrew Rebera The Chardon girl’s soccer team has had a great season this year, finishing the season with a 12-3-1 record. The final win was for the P.A.C. title against Willoughby South. The girls won the game 5-0. The team then played and won against North High School for their first game in the postseason playoffs at Chardon on October 20th. The second game, however, ended in a loss to West Geau-ga, resulting in a score of 3-1.Senior Devon Beckwith has been an explosive player dur-ing her four years playing for Chardon. As of now she has accumulated a whopping 124 goals, with more coming. Dev-on has been a beast on the soc-cer field, scoring many of the goals for her team. The most goals Devon has scored in a game were 5 during her fresh-man season. She even scored 3 goals in the P.A.C. champi-onship game in Chardon’s win over South on October 12. During her first senior playoff game against North, Devon scored 2 goals, and during the second playoff game in the loss against West Geauga, Devon had the only goal for her team. Devon has shined so

brightly while playing soccer in her high school years that she has been noticed and has received various scholarship offers from colleges in order to be recruited to their soccer team. After a long decision and several visits to colleges, Dev-on has chosen to continue her soccer career at Purdue Uni-versity. While at Purdue, Dev-on intends to major in Pho-tography and Related Media. Throughout Devon’s life, soc-cer has been one of the most important things to her. When she’s not playing soccer, she is studying hard, spending time with her boyfriend Jeffery, displaying her incredible sing-ing voice, battling it out in her tae-kwon-do classes, or even playing the piano. When asked what got her into soccer, she answered, “My mom wanted me to take ballet lessons, but my dad said, ‘No way’, so I end-ed up taking tae-kwon-do and playing soccer”. Devon was very close to becoming a girly ballerina, instead of a hard-core student athlete; close call. Throughout her high school soccer career, Devon has had the love and support of her teammates to come together to have such great seasons. All the parents and fans support

the team at the majority of the team’s games. The sad side is that the Chardon girl’s soccer games aren’t nearly as attend-ed to as football or basketball games. Despite the atten-dance, the girls still play their hearts out at each and every game, which usually results in a win for the team. When asked what her favorite mem-ory was while playing Char-don soccer, Devon replied, “Having my dad coach me my junior year; hands down.” Devon’s parents both support her in her soccer career, but her father seems to stand out the most because of his influ-ence on Devon to begin play-ing soccer. Nevertheless, Dev-on’s parents have every reason to be proud of their athlete. Devon has had a great four years of Chardon soccer, playing her heart out and earn-ing every win. As previously stated, Devon has decided to go to Indiana where she has been recruited by Purdue Uni-versity to play for their soccer team. Devon will no doubt continue to have an amazing soccer career where she will grow as both a player and as an individual. Wish her luck next year as she brings the heat to the Boilermaker soccer field.

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SportsThe Hilltop Echo November 19, 2010

8By Roger Davis A l t h o u g h wrestling may not always attract the hordes of fans that some other sports do, it requires some of the most intense and unre-lenting work of any sport out there. The dedication of the Chardon wres-tling team contin-ues throughout the year. For the wres-tlers, there truly is no off-season. When you see the post season train-ing schedule on the Chardon wrestling website, the first thing you will notice is the powerful quote that emulates the hilltoper work ethic to a t. “Champions are made in the off-season.” Start-ing right after the end of the season, on March 23, 2010, Thunder Freestyle Wres-tling Club was already un-derway with open mats and workouts twice a week at CMS. However, this is only the beginning of their work. During the season, the intensity steps up in a major way. “The worst part is cutting weight,” said soph-omore wrestler Mathew Chauby. This is obviously a great challenge for all wres-tlers. Mathew is expecting to wrestling in the 130 pound

weight class this season. This means he will have to lose over 20 pounds as his cur-rent football weight is around 155 pounds. This is a mind boggling statistic that proves the work and dedication the wrestlers have for their sport. The training they ded-icate to their sport will pay off big in the upcoming sea-son says Chauby. “The team will be better this year then last.” He continues, “This sea-son we will be more experi-enced with more upperclass-men, and we are also getting some talented freshmen.” If you’re looking to see some great wrestling this season, keep your eyes on John Con-nick. The junior will most likely be wrestling in the 135 pound weight class and will definitely have an incredible season. In the off-season, John placed third in the Freestyle

State Tournament. Connick will be a huge part of the team this year. Joining him as leaders will most likely be Senior Matthew O’Hara and juniors Markus Mytro. Many freshmen will join the roster this year. Mar-cus Znidarsic, Max Menko, and Nick Rockazella are all new to the team this year. If they have a good work ethic and are ready to improve they will do well for sure. Hope-fully, the talents of these young guys will contribute to the team a lot this season. In summary, the up-coming winter season looks very promising for our CHS Hilltoppers. Their hard work is unmatched by any other school around. Surely, this will show on the mats this year when the Toppers dominate their competition.

Chardon Wrestling: not for the faint-hearted

Chardon bocce ball is a new sport open to allBy Adam Benjamin Athletes from any sport will tell you how hard they have to work to achieve their goals. The competitors from bocce ball are no ex-ception. With the upcoming tournament at Kenston High School taking place on No-vember 12, it seemed like the perfect time to get into the heads of some of the par-ticipants. The team of sopho-mores Kristen Novotney, Will Porter, Amanda Monarchino, and junior Robby Vallarelli look to win the entire tour-nament. When asked for her bocce ball strategy, Kristen replied, “The first thing I do is interview players to decide

who is best for me. I look for strength, flexibility, spunk, quick wit, someone light on their feet and streamlined, and with good balance. However, I had to compromise quite a bit for this team.” Kristen went on to mention matching t-shirts as well as dynamic stretches for their pre-game warm-up are part of her plan for victory. “I’m most looking for-ward to our matching shirts,” said Amanda Monarchino.

When asked for his boc-ce ball strategy, Robby asked, “What’s bocce ball?” If you didn’t know that there are specifically designed bocce ball playing fields, or that throwing a ball is known as bowling it, or even what bocce ball is (like Robby), the bocce ball club is still for you. Surprisingly, most teams are not led by a captain as determined as Kristen No-votney. It’s not even required to wear matching uniforms.Mrs. Segulin, who will be head-ing up the Chardon team, says a bocce ball hopeful needs “to be able to aim and throw the ball without injuring any other players...Athleticism is not a

requirement.” On a scale of one to ten, she hopes you will be at least a 3. When asked about her own skill level, Mrs. Segulin ranked herself about a 7, adding that she can beat her husband, “which is a big

deal.” Her husband is, in fact, the Kenston bocce ball coach, making it important for Char-don to emerge victorious.The tournament, as well as the bocce ball club, seems like a great time for anyone interest-ed in bocce ball or even those just looking for a good time doing something new. If you are interested in participating, swing by Mrs. Segulin’s room 308 to pick up some infor-mation and a permission slip.

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