Volume 94, Issue 3 - My High School Journalism

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12 Features Little Dodger, Fort Dodge Senior High Nov. 5, 2010 Fame in Fort Dodge Clark, Ellendson, Nelson all with famous relatives By Colt Butrick Opinion Editor Fame, fortune, platinum records, Superbowl rings and Grammys. Everyone’s dream right? However, a little known fact around the high school is that we have students and teachers here who are related to someone who others aspire to be. Teacher Kristi Clark has a brother-in-law, Dallas Clark, who plays for the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. Clark doesn’t see her brother-in-law any differently even going so far to ask “If your mom became famous would your outlook on her change?” Though she does say “People asking for lots of autographs during the season [causes trouble].” Sophomore Angie Ellendson’s uncle Bobby Petrino is the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. “People are way to hard on coaches nowa- Get to know Zachary Elmquist By Echo Selhaver Staff Reporter Sophomore Zachary Elmquist is a fellow classmate you should get to know. Elmquist has lived in eight different homes not only in Fort Dodge but in North Carolina, Webster City, Clearlake, Mason City, Coalville and Audubon. He was born in North Carolina and lived there for four years. Elmquist is not particularly close to his family but he is closer to his mom than he is to his dad. He has four brothers and sisters, one of them attending the high school and others either to young or too old attend the high school. Outside of school Elmquist likes gaming out on his Xbox and listening to his favorite band Hollywood Undead. His favorite games are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Oblivion. Elmquist also likes to make video clips with his older brother Ian Siedel, a junior. He is also always baby sitting his little brother JR. Elmquist is not involved in any school activities. Elmquist has good relationships with his friends. He talked briefly about his best friend Dillon Johnson but he moved away last year. This year Elmquist is looking forward to passing all of his classes. Elmquist is shy and quiet around new people and in the majority of his classes. When Elmquist is with his friends and in German class he is loud and super outgoing considering German class is his favorite. “He is very smart and motivated to learn German. He has a great future if he sticks to his studies,” said German teacher Timothy O’Brien. Elmquist wants to go on the trip to Germany days, [my uncle] is an offensive mastermind.” says Ellendson who had to hear criticism against her uncle after he left his coaching job for the Atlanta Falcons. “When he left Atlanta, ESPN was saying bad things. I threw my hot dog at the TV,” said Ellendson. On another aspect Seth Nelson’s older sister, Molly Nelson of the Channel 8 news, doesn’t shine as a celebrity in his eyes. “I don’t consider her famous, so it’s not different except she’s more knowledgeable about some things now,” said Nelson. After some people found out that Nelson’s sister is a journalist they don’t see him differently. “Sometimes people expect you [to] have the same goals and I don’t,” said Nelson. Although all three have faced some challenges with the aspect of having a famous relative, they have all had interesting experiences. “I went golfing with Peyton Manning,” said Clark. - Photo by Echo Selhaver Zachary Elmquist takes a break during class. Elmquist is a sophomore this year at the senior high. with school but is unsure if he can go. He also has becoming a German teacher on his list of things he might be in the future. He hopes to attend either Iowa State University or Western Iowa Tech. to work on computers. Elmquist is also taking the new class Intro to Computer Programming. “I like the class, but I don’t know if I’ll take the next one because this one is really hard,” said Elmquist. In ten years, Elmquist sees himself graduated from college and being either a German teacher or a computer tech. Now you know Zachary Elmquist. www.littledodger.net
Nov. 5, 2010 Little Dodger, Fort Dodge Senior High New middle school continued from page 2 The school is not set up right for classes; with a maximum of 31 students in a class the rooms can not be set up in an organized fashion. The plumbing in the bathrooms can cause a problem for both staff and students also. “With the school being the age it is, it is difficult to bring new technology in without putting a hole in a wall or ceiling,” said Terry Madden, Special Education Teacher. The parking and traffic noise is also a problem at the school. The school is located on one of the busiest streets in Fort Dodge, 5th Ave. South. “The traffic noise causes problems in the classroom when you are trying to teach,” commented Leslie Lawrence, language arts teacher. The cost of repairs to the building are not worth what the result would be. The school district would also have to figure out where to put the kids when the repairs and remodels where going. Bennett, Lawrence, Madden, Hatcher, and Sue Hrarbak, the 5th grade counselor are excited about the prospect of a new building and hope -Photo by Jacy Scharf The gym is one of the most damaged places inside Phillips Middle School. The plaster is coming off the brick foundation.It is also happening in other places around the school. To repair, the cost is much more Phillips Middle School Built almost 90 years ago, Phillips Middle School’s problems continue to grow bigger and bigger every day. The roof, windows and heating and cooling in the building are all tied for number one on the list. The roof of the building has been repaired numerous times. “The roof continues to cause problems every year with leaking,” said Mark Johnson, Principal at the middle school. The roof leaks the most during the summer and early spring. It has rock on top of it to hold down the rubber membrane. The rubber membrane is rotten, dried and splitting at the seams. it will better benefit the students. The list of wants for the new building come from both teachers and principals in the school. Classrooms being built larger was a unanimous vote by all teachers interviewed and they also hope to have team areas like they have now that can promote the team system with the students. Having science labs, better technology and media centers is another plus for the teachers and students. “Having better building security would be another thing to have at the new building. Right now parents are able to just walk it to the building and walk around. Many times they are not noticed until later,” commented Hrarbak. Other things that top the list of putting in the new building are wider hallways, better cafeteria and a gym that doesn’t echo as bad as the one now. The staff of the present Fair Oaks are excited about the new building and hope that is not just a figment of their imaginations. They also hope the school board and community let the school be moved to a building with fewer problems. “In some places the roof is so bad, grates replace ceiling tiles because it would have to be constantly replaced,” said Mike Conrad, custodian for the building. As if the roof falling apart wasn’t enough the windows are also causing major problems. The windows are in terrible condition and do not hold in moisture. “Moisture coming in through the windows causes paint to peel and walls to crumble,” said Conrad. The walls have been repainted and fixed numerous times. In some cases the wall had to be completely replaced with plywood. The windows along with the boiler system make it hard to heat and cool the building. Heating and cooling the building is difficult because of the boiler system. “The boilers themselves are in good condition. It’s the system that does not work well,” said Conrad. In the early fall and late spring the building can get up to 90 degrees. In the winter, the building can reach a low of 60 degrees. The top floors the building can be very hot while downstairs classrooms will be very cold. Miguel Badillo, math teacher said, “It is a huge difference between one room to the other.” On top of those major problems the building also has several minor problems. Other problems the building deals with are plumbing, electrical issues, bad flooring, parking, and classroom sizes. Plumbing throughout the building causes problems every year. Conrad said, “Several toilets are very busted up and every winter pipes break and steam pipes crack.” Like the roof and crumbled walls the pipes have been repaired many times. Electrical issues, however, are not as easy to fix. With today’s technology advancements, the old building has a hard time keeping up. “The rooms can’t handle the electrical needs without www.littledodger.net News 13 -Photo by Sam Foster The boiler system is one of the many different problems Fair Oaks faces. It needs to be replaced but it is too complicated to remove and refurbish. blowing fuses,” said Johnson. When the building was built, there was no such thing as computers. All that was needed to learn was a pencil and paper. “We keep wiring up more computer rooms and the building can’t handle these advancements that kids use to learn today,” said Conrad. The building also has other issues because of its age. One of these is the flooring. The flooring in the building is original and in a lot of places the tile is cracking and bubbling up. “We keep on it so it looks nice, but that’s because we fix it,” said Conrad. Although, the floor is able to be repaired, parking is not. Parking for school is so limited that teachers must park on the road between the school and the gym or on side roads around the school. For sporting events and concerts, there isn’t enough parking for parents. Just like parking, the classrooms in the building do not have enough room. A lot of the classrooms in the building are small. “The rooms can be very crowded for classes that have more than 30 students,” said Johnson. “It looks nice when you drive by; it looks nice when your parents come here for programs. The floors are swept and mopped, but the public does not realize how bad of condition the building is in,” said Conrad. The cost to repair and renovate the building would be equivalent to half the price of a brand new middle school. The repairs and renovations would take a long time. “We could not do it over the summer because we would not have room for the kids to come back in the fall. It’s too big of a project,” said Johnson. With all of these problems, the city has decided to build a new middle school, combining both Phillips and Fair Oaks. Plans for the new building are set to be done in the fall of 2013.
Page 1 and 2: Little Dodger Fort Dodge Senior Hig
Page 3 and 4: Nov. 5, 2010 By Chelsie Crouse Feat
Page 5 and 6: 5 Opinion Little Dodger, Fort Dodge
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Page 11: Nov. 5, 2010 By Anna Bowser News Ed
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