Senator Square: Zombies at Carson High School during the holidays

Muscle Powered, Citizens for a Walkable and Bikeable Carson City, recently received a $2,000 grant from Nevada Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board to facilitate a video competition to create public service announcements about the dangers of texting and driving.

CHS students are being asked to put together 30 second PSAs. The video competition deadline is April 10 with the top prize being $750, second $500, and third $250. The goal is for teenagers to create videos that will educate other teenagers on the dangers of texting while driving, especially as they impact walkers and bicyclists.

The name of the video campaign is “No Zombie Texting.” Students and others may see the poster created for the video competition as well as the resource links students are being asked to use for data to use in the videos (up to extra 20 points for creative use of data).

Copies of the video team application and scoring criteria for the competition will be available in yearbook and newspaper adviser Patt Quinn Davis’ classroom or online at www.musclepowered.org. Students are encouraged to form teams now to draft scripts, create a story line, shoot video, and create music. Members of Muscle Powered are coming to CHS classrooms to make presentations on the video competition and provide applications. The winning video will be distributed statewide to television stations. Even seniors who may still need a senior project are being asked to create the event to market the videos and to announce the winners. Kelly Clark, president of MusclePowered, may be reached at 315-2719 so come Walk, come Bike, and come Build with the citizens for a walkable and bikeable Carson City.

SPEECH AND DEBATE

CHS Speech and Debate hosted a multi-high school tournament last weekend and saw great success. The tournament hosted 19 schools, 397 competitive entries, and 78 volunteer judges for the two-day event. CHS Speech and Debate would like to thank the Black Bear Diner, Del Taco, and Port of Subs for their catering. In competition, Cierra Randall placed sixth in novice informative speaking with her piece on “Distractions.” Marion Haffey placed fifth in novice dramatic interpretation with her cutting of “Sharp Objects.” Mary Milburn placed second in novice storytelling with her rendition of “The Lorax,” and Kat Vallejos and Valeria Torres took second in novice duo interpretation portraying “Tangled.” Teammates Alexis McKenzie and Kevin Avila took first with “15 Reasons Why Plays Suck.” Ivy Campbell took seventh in novice Lincoln Douglas speaker points with Marion Haffey claiming fifth in speaker points. CHS Captain Sophia Peterson took ninth in senior Lincoln Douglas speaker points, as well. Kieran Dazzo and Rebecca Trejo took third and first respectively in novice student congress and have advanced to senior level debate competition. Nate Wetzel placed 10th in novice public forum speaker points. Partners, Mary Milburn and Cierra Randall, placed third in novice public forum debate on the topic of “Recognizing NCAA Student Athletes as Employees” with Mary also claiming fourth in speaker points. CHS Captain Evan Cherpeski and his partner Sadie Share tied for second in senior public forum speaker points and placed first in the event. Evan and Sadie went undefeated in the tournament and won their event for the third month in a row.

FCA PURCHASING ANGEL TREE GIFTS AND SELLING CHRISTMAS TREE SALES

FCA went Christmas present shopping at Walmart to purchase gifts and groceries for those in need. In the photos are Josh Ingram, Jessica Preston, Savanna Brown, adviser and teacher Ty McMillen, Andrew Ingram, Gloria Valdenegro, Zach Sever, Kiana Martinez, and Brianna Elliott. Youth Pastor Tim Plummer of First Presbyterian Church purchased another 800 Christmas trees and is continuing to sell them to support FCA. Fresh cut trees from Oregon are benefiting both buyer and supplier as all profit goes directly to the Carson High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes directed by lead adviser and science teacher Ty McMillen. This is what FCA is all about, friendliness with others. The goal of FCA this year is to foster unity and support. FCA members serve the Lord Jesus Christ by sharing Him with students and encouraging students to share Him as well. Lift Christmas Trees is located across from the Ormsby House in downtown Carson City, the corner of Carson Street and 6th Street. Christmas trees are available through Dec. 23, Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

GNCU EDUCATION BRANCH

Greater Nevada Credit Union CHS Branch is sponsoring the CHS Blue Thunder Marching Band again this year and will be at the home-field basketball games fundraising for the band. Stop by and purchase a band T-shirt or play Plinko to win a prize. All monies raised go directly to the band, and GNCU matches all donations, so please make a decision to support the band. The generous contributions of the Carson City Community is one of the main reasons why the band continues to perform. Questions, contact Julie Slocum, GNCU Education Branch Coordinator, 775-886-1440, or jslocum@gncu.net.

SAFE GRAD MEETING

Volunteers are needed for CHS Safe Grad. Meetings happen the second Saturday every month at Remax Realty, 716 N. Carson Street on the second floor. Contact CHS Safe Grad Secretary, Wendy Yang, at 720-6160, President Kyra Hinton at 434-760-0635 with questions, or email carsonhighsafegrad@gmail.com.

FROM THE CHEER COACH

Happy Holidays: To celebrate the holiday season, the CHS Varsity and Junior Varsity cheerleaders are selling mistletoe for $5 each. Please find a cheerleader to purchase some holiday mistletoe. The proceeds will go toward the upcoming cheer competition season. CHS is grateful for the support of its 2017-2018 season, and once again says Happy Holidays to the Carson City community.

A SAFE AND SOBER CELEBRATION

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with Carson City School District and Partnership Carson City, is promoting a safe and sober New Year’s Eve for all youth. This is the second year for this program on New Year’s Eve, and last year was a big success. Any junior high or high school students having a get-together on New Year’s Eve are encouraged to invite a School Resource Officer (SRO) to the party. This program works when any student at any type of youth gathering on New Year’s Eve calls the non-emergency line for dispatch: 775-887-2008 and requests an SRO to stop by for a visit. Students may also email SRO Adams directly for a reserved time. Call dispatch, and request an “SRO check,” and they will know what to do. The SRO will come to the location of the gathering to meet with the kids, making sure the gathering is drug and alcohol free. The SROs will have pizzas and prizes with them (while supplies last) to present them to the kids at the gatherings. The parties should have at least three or more kids present. SRO visits begin at 8 p.m. with dispatch taking calls for visits until midnight. SROs are excited to visit teens this New Year’s Eve. Please note SROs also will be responding to reports of juvenile problems, and appropriate enforcement action will be taken. The Safe and Sober New Years’ is designed to promote and encourage a drug and alcohol free gathering for youth; it also attempts to keep youth in a safe environment for New Year’s Eve, so invite an SRO to a New Year’s Eve party and get a free pizza. Pizzas are paid for by Partnership Carson City, and questions should be directed to SRO Deputy Jarrod Adams at jadams@carson.org.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

The CHS Student of the Week is Valerie Wamsley, a wonderfully welcoming young lady who loves being a student at Carson High. Valerie’s passion is Golf, and she is actually headed to Australia in 2018 to represent Nevada in a golf extravaganza. A simple and enjoyable hobby for Valerie is taking time to walk her two dogs, Keno and Penny, after school. She is also a member of the CHS Psychology Club with psychology and history teacher Will Houk. CHS is well known around the world for its awesomeness because of students like Valerie Wamsley.

Phil Brady is an English teacher at CHS.