Pleasanton High School, Eagle Drive, Pleasanton Tx. 78064

The QuillIssue 4, Volume 2 * February 7, 2014

All towns have a story, some greater than others. The city of Pleasanton, the town of “Live Oaks and Friendly Folks”, has not al-ways been the booming oil field traffic town it is today. However, in the past, Pleas-anton was an attraction in different ways. The loca-tion was just one settlers could not pass up. In 1858 Pleasanton was founded by John Bowen and named after a fellow settler by the name John Pleasants. The current town site had a great location at the juncture of Atascosa River, Bonita Creek. This is also where two old Spanish roads came together. Also the county seat was moved from Amphion to Pleasan-ton due to conflict with the Indians. Pleasanton had some problems with the Indians also, but as it’s known for being the “Birthplace of the Cowboy,” the grow-ing population of cowboys and longhorns were there to ward off many of the attacks. Early on during development, there were a couple of bad raids that the cowboys could not escape, though, and this led to a couple casualties. Attacks were recorded as late as 1873. Pleasanton consists of more than just cowboys, though. Its first settler, E.B. Thomas, built a house and

opened the first general store. After this opening, people were drawn to this area and many other set-tlers started coming around. A few of these new settlers were lawyers and black-smiths, although many are confused by who they could have been servicing. Businesses and services soon started to service the new population. Two churches were es-tablished mid 1800s along with the post office that greatly improving mail de-livery. In 1860, Pleasanton was designated the first Atascosa County school district, and W.J. Pepham was the first schoolteacher. Almost 100 years later in 1957, Pleasanton ISD voted to integrate its schools. The school district made Texas history by enrolling over 30 African American students, because Pleasanton was the only integrated district in the state. Back then the city had two newspapers: One was The Pleasanton Picayune, later becoming The Pleas-anton Express in 1909. For more on this, see story on page 5. In 1912 the Missouri Pacific Railroad linked the town to San Antonio, two years later the railroad was connected to Corpus Chris-ti. Pleasanton was incorpo-rated seven years later in

Past and present: Pleasanton still evolvingby Erica Mia O’Riley and Shelbie Carpenter

The City Manager and the Main Contracter overlooking the Civic Center

1917. The town has recently seen many more businesses popping up. One of the ma-jor things changing in the community is the construc-tion downtown. The city hall has been done in the past couple years and now the public library will soon have a new home on Main Street. The Civic Center and the Library is now go-ing to be in the old Dowdy’s and Ricks’s buildings. Mayor Clint Powell, City Manager Bruce Pearson, and the main contractor for this job were nice enough to lend us a couple hard hats and show us around the center. At the end of the month, the city of Pleasanton will be ready to open the new Community Center down-town. The idea for this project started about 17 years ago and was passed by the City Council two years ago. This was the idea of the Pleasan-ton Women’s Club but they did not have the resources, so it was brought to the city. They finally broke ground at the beginning of this past summer. RVK is one of the top ar-chitect firms in south Texas and were behind the design of the center. They have done many large projects outside of San Antonio such as Heroes Stadium, Cafe

College, The Toyota Family Health Center, The Vistana, and Paesanos. “We are very fortunate to have the team that we have as far as the architects and contractors,” Powell said. The center will be the home of the new and im-proved library and civic center. The “21st century” li-brary will double in size and be equipped with new computers, self-checkout stations, and a reading area for children. This project has given the library a great opportunity to expand and

be more modern. The old library will not be going to waste, though. The town is planning on us-ing the old library for city related functions. The new civic center will be large enough to hold up to about 500 people, which could be rented out for con-ventions, parties, or wed-dings. It will also have a fully equipped kitchen. The whole project itself cost $4.6 million and the majority of that was paid with a bond. Feb. 24 is the scheduled date for the center to open.

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The Quill’s goal and purpose is to provide a forum for student opinion and expression. Views and opinions are not necessarily those of the school district or its administration. Letters to the editor are welcomed and appreciated. However, the editorial staff will determined if they will be printed. All entries are subject to editing. We of the staff want to acknowledge our appreciation to the administration for their trust. We would also like to invite all students and faculty to participate in our major goal.

Policy Staff

Photographers

Assistant Editor

Shelbie Carpenter and Erica Mia O’Riley

ReportersSarah Elmer

Shelbie Carpenter, Erica Mia O’Riley, Sarah Elmer,

Adrianna Fernandez, Jason Mills, Victoria O’Connor, and Jordan Tello

Editors

It is the policy of the Pleasanton Independent School District not to discrimi-nate on the basis of sex, handicap, race, color, age, or national origin and to take steps to assure that the lack of English language skills will not be a barrier in its educational and career and technology programs, services, activities or employment as required by Title IX, Section 504 and Title VI. Es la poliza del districto independiente de la escuela de Pleasanton de no discriminar sobre la base del sexo, alguna inhabilidad o deshabilitacion, raza, color, edad, u origen nacional y para tomar medidas para asequrar la nececidad de que el lenguaje de ingles no seá una barrera en sus programas educativos de carrera y de tecnologia, los servicios, las actividades o el empleo según los requisitos del titulo IX, la sección 504 y el titulo VI.

Shelbie Carpenter, Erica Mia O’Riley, Jordan Tello

There is a huge cheating crisis in America’s schools. Throughout their time in school, the vast majority of students at least once have been guilty of copying off a friend’s paper, exchanging homework, changing an answer while the teacher was not looking, or just not putting forth as much shared effort into a group assignment. Getting the grade is most students main concern in school. They feel embarrassed they are not doing as well as others, and they fear punishment from their parents and/or not reaching the requirements to advance onward. Putting a number grade on the work greatly af-fects students education and how they will continue on in the “real world.” Colleges and universities have been cracking down on cheating and plagiarism and have little to no mercy on student being dishon-est. One unoriginal paper can very easily get a student kicked out of school and ruin a name. Cheating in high school is almost the norm, though. With the help of friends, sneakily placed review sheets, and smart phones, students go to great lengths to make sure they get the grade they want on their work, and they know they don’t have worry about many consequences that come their way if caught. School is supposed to be a place of learning, but with the pres-sure of class rank, report cards, and criticism, actually focusing on the material and remembering the information is not top priority. Students seem to focus more time on getting around doing the work and actually finishing the all their projects, homework, and tests than they do on studying and absorbing knowledge. Once standardized testing comes around, the results of cheat-ing begin to show. Teachers and parents might question how their students do so well in their actual classes but not not so well on the tests that are supposed to show how much they have learned.

It may just be students are just getting their work done to get by, and not in taking the information for when the tests are actually given. Granted, cheating may not be the only reason students are do-ing so miserably. There are many ways for students learn. Some students like to read and listen, while others feel the need to be hands on. All students have different comfort zones, and do bet-ter in different subjects. Some student excel in math, English, history, science, art, or technology. Indeed, students have their strenghts and weaknesses. However, when SATs and ACTs come around, tests that cannot be cheated on, all of their efforts to cheat instead of to learn will do them disservice, no matter their strengths or weaknesses. The pressure to get into college is high, but cheating will be, in the long run, detrimental even for those who do not choose to go to college. For example, for students who choose a vocational area of study, once they make a mistake on the job because they cheated in the classroom, they will most likely lose their job. Not everyone is going to go to college but everyone needs the knowl-edge to secure and keep a job. Students need to learn the consequences of not following the honor code and how it can affect both them and others around them. To accomplish this, teachers and administrators need to take different approaches to cheating. Also, parents need to con-sider being more constructive when confronting their kids and should not worry so much on grades but instead knowledge. But probably most importantly, grades should be used to show where improvement is needed, and not so much as a punishment or reward. If these things happen, then students will back away from cheating.

American school system stressing students outby Erica Mia O’Riley

ThoughtsFebruary 7, 2014 page 2

ThoughtsFebruary 7, 2014 page 3

In light of the unfairness of the current Federal and State Financial Aid programs, the legislature should make changes to make the system more just for all. A study conducted by Jennifer Hutchison in 2011 concluded that an average of two thirds of college students graduate with student loans and the average debt for a graduate of a four-year public university is close to $20,000. A major factor that plays into this is the unjust finan-cial aid program for different social classes in the U.S. The middle class makes up a majority of the population, but the Federal and State Financial aid systems are primarily focused on only helping low-income students. Therefore, the middle class is left to fig-ure out an alternative way to pay for college. Hutchinson’s study gave a realistic financial situation for a middle class student to pursue higher education. ”The average cost of a public four-year university is around $7,500, not including room and board,” Hutchinson said. “Compare that to the average middle-class family income of between $37,000 and $75,000 and it is easy to see that it is impossible for families to pay for college when they have a mortgage and more than one child.” A study conducted by the College Board in 2012 shows how paying for a private university as a middle class student is even more impossi-ble, even with some merit based, ethnic based, or activity based schol-arships. “Tuition and fees climbed 4.2% at four-year private schools to an av-erage of $29,056 this year. Overall prices were 4% higher at $43,289,” the College Board said. “The average private college student will pay a net price of about $27,600 -- a 5.6% increase from last year.”

With the increased expectation for students to enter college directly after the completion of high school, the stress of paying for college has increased tremendously for the middle class. In a way, the system punishes middle class citizens for working hard and earning more by refusing to offer any financial assistance. “I felt like I fell into the trap of making too much to make college af-fordable, yet too little to be able to pay for it,” parent Rachel Dickinson said. While it is very important that lower-class citizens receive finan-cial aid, the system should work to include people of all classes. Just because a family makes a certain amount, that does not mean that all of that will go into a college tuition fund. As Hutchinson pointed out, the system fails to take into account other factors such as mortgages, other children, medical expenses, etc. In addition, the issue of paying for college causes some students to alter their career paths in order to comply with their financial needs. The State Public Interest Research Group’s Higher Education Project reports that 23 percent of students would be faced with impossible financial obligations if they entered teaching with an average starting salary. As a result, people must choose between doing what they love and making enough to pay the bills. Clearly, something needs to change in order to benefit students from all social backgrounds. For starters, the system could become more specialized in order to account for fixed expenses and other family members. As a result, the program would be able to adjust scholarships by monitoring how much each family is required to spend in order to continue day-to-day living.

Middle class students hit hard with financial issuesby Sarah Elmer

Across: 1. Someone might feel this if they don’t have a Valentine 4. God of Love, Son of Venus 5. Beating in your chest 7. Peck or smooch 10. Hershey’s, Ghirardelli, Godiva 12. A feeling of strong affec-tion for a person 13. A plush bear 15. A card or gift given on Feb-ruary 14th

Valentines Crosswordby Erica Mia O’Riley

Down: 2. To hug 3. Someone who has a per ticular regard for someone 6. Bloom or blossom 8. Always & _______ 9. A pink, white, yellow, or red flower that has a sweet smell 11. Sweets 14. “Before anyone else”

February 7, 2014 page 4

Many Americans are beginning to think mari-juana should be treated like tobacco and alcohol. Controlled, regulated, and taxed. It is believed that legalizing the use of mari-juana could in many ways be beneficial in the United States when it comes to the economy, and it just has similar effects as alcohol, althought considered to be helpful when used medi-cally and in regulation. One huge thing about legalizing marijuana is it could help boost the economy. States like Colo-rado and Washington were expected to bring in more than $550 million com-bined when they passed the law legalizing weed. More than 300 economists even estimated that legalizing weed could save the United

Is Mary Jane benefiting or harming America?by Erica Mia O’Riley

News

“What is the cowboy?” During the Christmas break, Pleasanton was mentioned on an episode of Jeopardy! Our growing town may be more well known than we previously thought, but sadly the contestant on the show did not get this question cor-rect.

Pleasanton Fun Fact

States up to $14 billion a year. In California, weed is the state’s most valu-able cash crop accounting up to $14 billion a year in sales alone. They are many things money is being “wasted” on trying to keep weed away from Americans also. Taxpayers money towards marijuana prohibition adds up to bil-lions a year, and inmates incarcerated on marijuana-related charges cost the U.S about a billion annu-ally. It is estimated that illegal marijuana is a $36 billion industry. Although there are plen-ty of ways to save money legalizing weed, there may be some other costs that begin to add up. Just like alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, marijuana can have some negative side effects

and can be abused just like anything other drug. Although many may argue, marijuana is con-sidered somewhat addic-tive. According to research about 10% of users become addicted. This number will continue to increase among those who start using young. Many high school students report smoking daily and are on their way to addiction. Long term us-ers attempting to quit feel withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, sleepiness, anxiety, and cravings. In addition marijuana has an effect on both the brain, lungs, and heart. The main chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetra-hydrocannabinol (THC). THC targets brain cells, called cannabinoid recep-tors. These receptors influ-

ence things such as plea-sure, memory, thinking, and concentration. Weed over activates the endocan-nabinoid system, creating the high experience from smoking and also injesting pot. This includes distorted perceptions, impaired coor-dination, difficulty thinking & problem solving, and disrupted learning & mem-ory. These things shows potential to negatively affect a daily life. Heavy, long term marijuana users report lower satisfaction, poor mental and physical health, relationship prob-lems, with less academic and career success. All the while, the heart rate increases from 20-100 percentage, lasting up to 3 hours, dramati-cally increasing the risk of heart attack within the first

hour of smoking. Also the smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and can cause the same respiratory problems experienced by tobacco smokers. America seems to be split on the situation though. Nationwide 53 percent of Americans are for legalizing marijuana. In Texas alone the percent-ages are slighty higher, the majority still supporting marijuana legalization. 58 percent of support making it legal but regulating just like alcohol. 61 percent were in favor of decrimi-nalizing marijuana posses-sion and violations should be handled with civil citation. 69 percent support critically ill and terminal patients to use medical marijuana.

February 7, 2014 page 5

The year is 1873. America is in a period known as The Long De-pression. The Internet is nonexistent, cars haven’t been manufactured, air conditioning is unheard of, the civil war ended fewer than 10 years ago, Ulysses S. Grant is the President, and the South is in a state of unrest. However, in a small town known as Pleasanton, a newspaper known as the Western Stock Journal was created to serve as a bright spot in a untamed wilderness. Years later, the Journal would become the present-day Pleasanton Express. The Journal was changed to the Pleasanton Monitor and then the Pleasanton Picayune before being renamed the Pleasanton Express in 1909. What started off as a newspaper focused on ranching interests, spe-cifically local cattle brands, cattle owners, cattle drives, and Indian invasions, eventually became one of the largest non-metropolitan newspapers in Texas. With the birth of the Express in 1909, J.T. Williamson began serv-ing as the editor. Before the release of the Express¸ Williamson was known for putting up a notice in Atascosa County that said: “A new newspaper is coming to Pleasanton! I wish to inform the people of Pleasanton that I will be ready to publish my newspaper within the next 30 days. The new paper will be known as the Pleasanton Ex-press. The subscription price will be one dollar per year.” The Express performed exceptionally well under the direction of Williamson with the help of his backer, Dr. John Blake from Flores-ville. The two ran the paper until 1919 when they sold it. Two men only known as Mr. McMurrary and Mr. Whiteman from Victoria leased the paper from an F. McCaleb, and they operated the paper for an unknown amount of time until the paper was bought by Wallace and Don McCoy. The McCoys operated the paper until they leased it to Ernest Dos-sey in 1923. Dossey edited the paper until 1925 with the help of Nena Lauderdale Lyons. In 1929, the Express office had outgrown its small building on Main St. As a result, the Andrews paid to build a brand new 30’x50’ ironclad building on Goodwin St. which still serves as the Express office today. The paper went under numerous ownerships in the 1930s through 1951. Wallace “Wally” K. Daetwyler and his wife Ruth Daetwy-ler of Lamar, Missouri, decided to take a detour through Pleasanton while they were headed to California for a vacation in late 1951. They visited the newspaper and liked it so much that they decided to pur-chase it. They published their first issue in December of 1951. After Wally’s death in 1974, Ruth made the decision to put the paper on the market. Bill and Judy Wilkerson of Comanche, Texas, heard that the Express was on the market, so they sold their other newspapers, The Comanche Chief and The Deleon Free Press, and

Local newspaper reports for over 100 yearsby Sarah Elmer

News

bought the Express in December of 1974. David Wilkerson, the son of Bill and Judy, took over as the editor of the Express 1989 after first joining the newspaper as a business manager. Years later, David decided to open a private law practice and Sue Brown became the new editor. After the purchase of the Express in 1974, the newspaper has in-creased its circulation to 4,000 and has been a frequent winner at the South Texas Press Association and the Texas Press Association Bet-ter Newspaper contests. Editor Sue Brown was asked about certain issues of the Express and how they’ve had an impact on the community in the past. “The one that sticks out in my mind is when the officers were killed in the ambush [on Corgey Road],” Brown said. “We did a special issue and a special section for that. It kind of culminated ev-erything that had gone on from their murders. That was a really dark time for all of us, because it was our own. These were people that we knew.” She emphasizes that the Express was an aid to the community during such a dark time, because it provided the facts of the incident and offered comfort to those left behind. She also remains optimistic that the paper will be around for a long time to keep serving the com-munity. “Everyone keeps saying ‘Oh, the paper’s dead, people don’t read it, young people don’t read it,’” Brown said. “The big guys cover the big stuff, and we cover our stuff. Where else are you going to find the honor roll? We do births, we do deaths, we do engagements, and we do weddings. We do all of that stuff because we are a hyper-local community newspaper. We keep hearing that our breed is okay, be-cause we service a different demographic.” “It’s like we’re the original Facebook,” Brown said with a laugh. “We had faces on paper before they had faces online.” The Express now serves as a source of local news for the citizens of Pleasanton, Jourdanton, Poteet, Charlotte, Leming, Campbellton, Lytle, McMullen County, and parts of Medina, Wilson, Karnes, Frio, Live Oak, and Bexar County. “It’s a new week every week,” Brown said. “I know we do the same thing, reporting news, but it’s different every week and that’s why I think I love it so much. Every day is a new day. There are al-ways different people, different things to cover, and different things to see.” “The Pleasnton Express has always been a great local newspaper that serves the community with professionalism and compassion,” Quill sponsor Bob Rentfro said. “The Wilkersons were some of the first people I met in Pleasanton 39 years ago, and they have always supported The Quill’s publications. Truly, without their generosity, we would not have had The Quill in the past, and it would be very hard to print our paper even today without their support.”

February 7, 2014 page 6Photographs

Rentfro beats Rentfro in a game for the ages Last Friday night, a very rare occurrence took place in Pleasanton: Father and son coached against each other in a girls junior varsity showdown that might be the highest attended junior varsity game in Atascosa history. Pleasanton’s English/journalism teacher and freshman girls basket-ball coach Bob Rentfro (BR) faced a foe who kind of looked like him, and even had the same last name as he, his son Daryl Rentfro (DR) who coached the Poteet squad. As if the Pleasanton vs. Poteet rivalry wasn’t big enough, the game had an even bigger reason to watch, family, friends and fans rocked the stands in a close game that was decided in the last seconds. Poteet won 31-29. “I’m a better coach than Popovich so we should win,” BR said before the game. This seemed a bit far fetched but with the look in his eye, I could see he really meant it. As the game started, the intensity in the gym rose. This was no ordi-nary JV game: It was a game of generations. With a mere 30 seconds remaining in the game, both Rentfro’s stood eye to eye, toe to toe and many other sports cliches. “If I had had another timeout, I would have beaten him,” BR said. “But I didn’t so we didn’t, win, that is.”

BR giving instructions before the game begins.

Sam Garcia dribbles around Poteet opponent.

Jennifer Arevelo looking to pass cross court. Candra Casias setting up the offense.

by Jason Mills

February 7, 2014 page 7Photographs

“FroDown”Pleasanton: 29

Poteet: 31

Montana Rios looking for shot to go up from Tatum Bauer.

Junior Varsity enjoying the game from the sidelines.

Girls crying after loss.

BR making a gentle suggestion.

DR screaming his head off.

February 7, 2014 page 8

Well known artists all around the world improve their talents with the passion of their work and constant practice. The same applies to writers who hope to get their works published to the public. Dedi-cated hobbyist, Savanna Stewart has had a passion for writing ever since she was a child. “I’ve been writing since I was eight. My grandmother was an as-piring author so I got a lot of my writing from her,” Stewart said. “Typically I’ll write anything, short stories, news articles BR gives, fan fiction. I don’t keep a novel of what I do or anything.” Stewart’s writing gained more recognition when she had her first book published when she was in junior high. Through the company KidPub, her book Alaliesia, Book 1: Slaves of Pralesta was published. “I would say it was written pretty well for a 12-year-old, but I be-lieve my writing has matured since then. Looking back on it now, my writing style was very different than it is now,” Stewart said. Though her first book has not been mentioned by her peers as much, her family still recognizes her first publishing. “Sometimes relatives will mention it, but that’s about it,” Stewart said. Though Stewart has been practicing since she was a child, she still faces some difficulties when writing at times. “I’ve been going through a writing block lately but usually I would write short stories or some poetry at least once a week give or take. I’m not on a hiatus, but a constant brainstorm. I write random parts of a story, not exactly a chapter one.” Stewart said. Her current short story is does not yet have a title, but is coming together piece by piece, infusing her love for 80s music along with it. “It’s about an aspiring 70s or 80s band, I haven’t decided yet. But their relationship starts off as a “bromance” but progresses into something more. It’s a weird, relationship type thing,” Stewart said. Stewart’s target audience is young adult to general adult. “My stories would be too mature in content for audiences under that.” Stewart is a fan of Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire, but she also admires Terrance Patrick and Neil Gammon for their sci-fi genre of writing along with James Robert for his comics. One author even encouraged Stewart to keep doing what she loves. “Her name is Sophie Jordan; she emailed me and sent me a copy of her book Firelight that said ‘Keep on Writing.’ The book wasn’t really good though, but to have recognition from a published author is pretty cool, “Stewart said. Stewart does all she can in order to improve her writing, from “reading thesauruses and dictionaries for fun,” to trying new writing styles. “I usually look to other writers and try their style for a while, see-ing if I like it or not,” Stewart said. “Experiment, don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone when writing. Some writers feel obligated to stick to a certain style or genre because it is what they feel they are good at. Keep reading and writing constantly.”

Young aspiring author recognized for talent

by Victoria O’Conner

“We are each the love of someone’s life.” This quote not only begins the novel, but is a consistent theme through-out the story: The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer. Greer successfully writes the romantically heartbreaking memoir of narrator Max Tivoli, a man burdened with the curse of aging backwards. The novel begins in San Francisco during the early 1900s when the narrator is born inhabiting the body of an old man but with the mind of a newborn. From here we follow the process of Max Tivoli’s parallel progression of aging mentally, but becoming younger in physical appear-ance. Another consistent theme in the novel is the usage of unattainable love. The main romantic interest of the narrator is Alice Levy, who is chrono-logically only three years younger than Max. Although the relationship would be theoretically difficult because of the consistently awkward age gap due to Max’s appearance, along with the appearance of Max’s “child-hood” best mate, Hughie, they become entwined into a love-triangle. The romantic interest between characters in this novel is often one-sided, due to the obliviousness of each other’s affections. Despite the novel’s lack-of intricate plot-twists, it does contain a few artfully foreshadowed surprises that are pleasurable to watch unravel progressively, and therefore only small tidbits of the storyline can be di-vulged in a review. Along with themes of unrequited love and other typical love-story ele-ments, Greer also mentions the difficulty of adhering to social norms and the importance of individuality. This is explored through Max’s struggle with trying to “act his age” in public situations, such as behaving like a middle-aged man while internally being a teenager. Greer does an astounding job of incorporating this theme without be-coming the cliché and preachy “be yourself” author. Like the other many themes that are used, Greer is subtle, yet perceptible enough to get the point across to the reader. The Confessions of Max Tivoli is an intriguing and uniquely crafted novel. It is highly recommended to anyone with the capacity to appreciate poetic story telling occupied with peculiar plot lines.

by Savannah Stewart

Beautiful writing makesTivoli a wonderful read

Savannah Stewart writing in her journal

Thoughts

February 7, 2014 page 9

In light of a spectacular performance at Region, the Business Professionals of Amer-ica club will be taking 23 members to State competition to compete on March 7. Thirty-seven students competed on Jan. 18 at Medina Valley High School in the regional competition in both individual and team events, and 20 students qualified for State. A state alternate team was moved up to increase the total number to 23. “This is the biggest group of students we have ever taken from PHS,” sponsor Janie Olivarri said. “I am beyond thrilled and my heart is bursting with pride. All our com-petitors worked long hours putting together such outstanding projects. The results show that Pleasanton truly has some of the best students in the Region!” To add to BPA’s amazing accomplishments, junior Kristyn Leija was elected as Re-gional President of Area 2, Region II at the event with the slogan “Let Leija Lead.” “She was so charming and commanding that it was no surprise she won the elec-tion,” Olivarri said. “[This] is a great leadership opportunity for her. Her sister was Regional President back in 2007, so it’s perfect that she now carries on the legacy.” Olivarri discusses how BPA has impacted her life and how she is so proud to have her daughter as a part of the club. “My daughter, Jillian, is finally a freshman and got to compete at Region,” Olivarri said. “Her team is advancing to State in Economic Research Project Team which sends me soaring! Now she finally gets to be a part of the club I love so much! I am beside myself!” The State qualifiers will travel to Houston in March to compete in their events with a shot at going to Nationals. They will present their projects to the public at the Course Fair on Feb. 6.

BPA Competitors and their Results

Qualifying in Individual Events:Conner Ertel - 1st Place - Interview SkillsShelbie Carpenter - 1st Place - Digital Publishing with InDesignAlyssa Garza - 2nd Place - Interview SkillsJace Llamas - 2nd Place - Presentation Management In-dividualHannah Ward - 4th Place - Fundamental Word Process-ing Skills

Qualifying in Team Events:Vanessa Ortiz, Eric Fernandez, Jacob Rodriguez, Alex Cruz - 1st Place - Global Marketing TeamNoah Karsky, Robert Flores, Conner Ertel, Jace Llamas - 1st Place - Small Business Management TeamTyler Crady, Claire Hubert, Kelsi Reyes, Martin Osorio - 2nd Place - Presentation Management TeamJillian Olivarri, Kaye Hubert, Natalie Carrasco, Kyla Llamas - 2nd Place - Economic Research Project TeamSarah Lotas, Justine Ramos, Sarah Elmer - Move-ups from State Alternate in Global Marketing Team

State Alternates in their events:Kristyn Leija - State Alternate - Extemporaneous SpeechAlyssa Dickson - State Alternate - Medical Office Pro-ceduresManasvi Zaveri - State Alternate - Banking and FinanceEric Fernandez - State Alternate - Fundamental Account-ingNoah Karsky - State Alternate - Advanced Interview SkillsKelsi Reyes - State Alternate - Database ApplicationsSydnie Downs, Kimbrielle Gusman - State Alternate - Presentation Management Team

Other competitors at Regionals:Johanna Martinez - Payroll AccountingRebecca Huizar, Emily Sanchez, Emily Esquivel, Mandy Miller - Video Production Team

Over half of BPA participants qualify for stateby Shelbie Carpenter

1st- Kyler Hardy ( Duct Proof) 2nd-Angel Valdez (The Effect of Time on Short Time Recall )

3rd-Rebekah Pendley/Kelsi Reyes (Does the STAPH clean the gas pumps? )

Honorable Mention- Jillian Olivarri (This Hair Is On Fire)

Science Fair Results

News

First, Second, Third place science fair projects displayed in front of the attendence office

February 7, 2014 page 10

In order to improve student leadership within the school, the Pleas-anton Rotary Club selected three students to attend the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly (RYLA) on Jan. 17. Juniors Sarah Elmer, Matthew Reyes, and foreign exchange student Alberto Domenighini traveled to the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels for the conference. “WhenwefirstarrivedatRYLA,itwasveryawkwardandscary,”Reyes said. “We weren’t allowed to sit next to someone we already knew,andthatbasicallyforcedustointeractwitheveryoneelse.” However, the participants agree that it was only a matter of getting to knowmorepeopleuntilinordertofeelmoreathome. “Imet somanypeople of different backgrounds and all differentpersonalities,”Reyessaid. Thenextmorning,thestudentswokeupat7foranexercisesession.Afterwards, they divided up into their assigned groups and got started the day’s events. RYLA focused on teaching students leadership fundamentals and ethics, communicationskills, communityandglobalcitizenship,andproblemsolvingandconflictmanagement. In order to effectively inform students about these core values, the RYLAstaffbroughtinvariousspeakersandtheattendeesparticipatedinvariousactivitiesandworkshops.Thejuniorsagreethatthedifferentexercisesinleadershipimprovementdefinitelyhadaprofoundimpacton them. “IlovedwhatwedidatRYLA,”Domenighinisaid.“Imetgreatpeo-ple and learned many ways to improve as a leader. To be a better leader, Ineedtofocusonmakingeveryoneengagedinwhatwearedealingwith.SometimesIforgetthisaspect,orI’mnotpatientenough.” His fellow RYLArians agree. “RYLAdoesanamazingjobofensuringyourenjoymentwhilealso

Ryla encourages teens to promote leadershipby Sarah Elmer

News

implementing leadership exercises the entire time,”Reyes said. “ItwasgreattocomebackfromRYLAandstartmysecondsemesterofTeen Leadership class, because now I can use all the things I learned at RYLAtobeabetterleaderinmyclass.” There are many common misconceptions about leadership confer-ences and the activities that the students takepart in.Manypeoplebelievethatstudentsonlysit,listentoguestspeakers,andtakenotes.However, RYLA completely crushed that stereotype. The young lead-ers participated in team building activities such as: low ropes courses, guidingblindfoldedteammatesoutofmazes,andcreatingawallmo-saicasagroupwithouttalking. “RYLAisnotjustaleadershipassembly,”Reyessaid.“It’saplacewhere the brightest, friendliest teens in Texas come together and learn asagrouphowtoextendtheirleadershipcapabilities.” Domenighini and Reyes walked home withAll-Star awards forTeams 2 and 3 respectively for their display of excellent leadership potential throughout the seminar. ThejuniorsagreethatRYLAhadalastingeffectonthemandtheirfuture actions as leaders in the community. “I really thank theRotary for this fantastic opportunity,”Dome-nighinisaid.“I’llbringthisadvicewithmebacktoItaly.” Juniors wishing to attend RYLA are typically given an application, and the counseling department chooses one boy and one girl to attend. So anyone can have the opportunity to participate in this program. Elmer and Reyes may have the chance to return as Teen Leaders (TL’s) next year to conduct the 2015 RYLA seminar.

Juniors Alberto Domenighini, Sarah Elmer, and Matthew Reyes sporting their Ryla shirts

Matthew Reyes with fellow Rylarians working on the water tower project.

February 7, 2014 page 11

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games will begin today and end on Sunday, Feb. 23. Programs will feature 98 events in seven sports, including 12 new events, with over 2,500 athletes from more than 80 nations. Twelve new winter games (three mixed events, four men’s events, and five women’s events) will make their Olympic debut. The games include a biathlon mixed relay, figure skating team event, luge team relay, ski half pipe, ski slope style, snowboard slope style, snowboard parallel slalom, and women’s ski jumping. Not only will there be new events added, this will also be the first time the Russian Federation will have hosted the Winter Games. The Games will be organized in two clusters: a coastal cluster for ice events in Sochi, and a mountain cluster located in the Krasnaya Polyana Moun-tains, making it one of the most compact Games ever. Adding to Olympic firsts, the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay is set to become to longest in Winter Olympic history. Having begun its jour-ney in Moscow on Oct. 7, approximately 14,000 torchbearers will have carried the flame over 65,000 kilometers, through 83 regions of Russia,

Sochi Olympic broadcast kicking off tonightby Adrianna Fernandez

Sports

The Lady Eagles are currently 5-1-3 in their season after a tie against Clemens last Friday, but they’re just getting started. “We are moving the ball really well right now,” head coach Brant Bird said. While Bird commends his team on their good play overall, he agrees that a large part of their success has stemmed from their defensive reliability. “Defensively, we have found a lot of consistency this year,” Bird said. “We have only conceded four goals all season, and three of those were in our first two games.” His players agree that this season is much improved from last year, partially be-cause the team has more experience playing with each other. “Looking at last year’s season and our current season, we have improved greatly,” sophomore Mandy Miller said. “Since we only lost two seniors, our camaraderie is very strong. We play better as a team and are having more success. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings us.” Her teammates agree. “We are playing as if we have played together for years,” junior Kimbrielle Gus-man said. “We all care and look out for each other. The season has just started, but we are doing exceptionally well.” The Lady Eagles are the favorites to take home the district title again, but they’re not letting it affect any part of their performance. “I am excited because we seem to be improving each game,” Bird said. His players agree. “We’re finally figuring things out and playing as a team,” senior captain Emily Es-quivel said. “I look forward to the rest of the year with my extraordinary teammates and expect great things.” The Lady Eagles will face Canyon Lake tonight at 5 here.

Soccer sees improvementby Sarah Elmer

Rebecca Huizar going down the field with the ball

before the cauldron is lit at the Opening Ceremony today in Sochi. Over its 123-day journey, the torch will have traveled by car, train, plane, rein-deer sleigh and Russian troika, and even flown to outer space. There are a few athletes to watch for. French ski jumper Coline Mat-tel, is among favorites to land gold in the first ever women’s Olympic ski jumping competition on the RusSki Gorki hill. French flag bearer Jason Lamy-Chappuis will be the first French athlete to enter Sochi’s Olympic Stadium. American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is widely expected to star be-cause she became the slalom world champion at Schladming in February 2013 at only 17 years old. Figure skater Yuna Kim is much anticipated to watch having been awarded a gold medal with the highest score ever awarded to a figure skater. She is also in the Guinness Book of Records due to her total of 228.56 points. Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams will be participating in their first Winter Olympics in the U.S. Bobsled Team after five combined Summer Olympic in track and field. NBC will not live-stream the opening ceremony, but will broadcast it tonight at 6:30.

February 7, 2014 page 12

Game with Somerset tonight for playoff spotby Jason Mills

Sports

Although having a rough start to the season, the bas-ketball team still has high district hopes and lots of confidence. After a huge win against a very respect-able Lytle team, the Eagles went in to the La Vernia game with something to build on. Coming out hot, the Ea-gles were firing on all cylin-ders. Senior guard Walker Korus said it best, “We just couldn’t miss.” At half time, the Eagles were only down to the state ranked La Vernia Bears by two points. Towards the end of the game, La Vernia got hot, and took the game over. With the final score of 73-53, the Eagles had

nothing to hang their heads about. After the game, Coach Cain had nothing but posi-tive things to say. “We gave La Vernia all they could handle for a while, they just couldn’t miss towards the end.” Cain said. The Eagles then went on an eight-mile road trip to the small town of Poteet. “Just because its Poteet, doesn’t mean a guaranteed win, we have a job to do,” senior guard Jason Mills said. The Eagles took that mentality as they routed the Aggies to a 77-43 win. The Eagle ball club had some company the following Fri-

day night as the top ranked Sam Houston Hurricanes came to town. This seemed to be on point as the Hurricanes came out victorious with a final score of 95-49. Against the Somerset Bulldogs, junior post Ty-ler Crady only had simple thoughts after the game. “It was just like foot-ball,” Crady said. This was nothing but the truth as Pleasanton pre-vailed, 69-66. This victory established the Eagles third in District. After the huge win, Cain was not pleased: “This was a huge trap game for us; I feel as if we aren’t focused at this point.”

This seemed prophetic as the Eagles showed up flat as can be against San Antonio Hawkins who beat the boys 84-76. “We can’t lay an egg like that ever again,” Cain said . The Eagles then got bailed out by the UIL as Hawkins had to forfit due to ineligi-ble players. Pleasanton started the second round of District against state ranked La Vernia Bears with hopes of revenge, and with determi-nation to steal a win in La Vernia, Pleasanton lost the close contest by 2 points. Coming up short, the Ea-gles left La Vernia with a weird feeling in their stom-achs.

Losing by only two points, Pleasanton played the “best game all year,” according to Cain. Feeling a little ticked off, the team had no sympathy for rival Poteet on Tuesday as they won the game with a lop-sided score of 97-48. The Eagles played state ranked Sam Houston on Tuesday and will play Somerset tonight. The game against rival Somer-set is a game that can clinch playoffs for the team, and a must watch game for the fans.

For the first time since 1996, the Lady Eagle basketball team will make the playoffs. With a District record of 4-6, Pleasanton placed fourth in District and will play some-time next week in the first round. The opponent and place were not known at press time. Pleasanton played Sam Houston on Tuesday. These results were also not known at press time. The Eagles clinched their playoff spot last Friday against Poteet in a hard-fought battle that ended 40-38. At one time in the fourth quarter Pleasanton trailed by five, but in the last two minutes, Pleasanton played great defense and made nearly every clutch basket it needed for the victory. Pleasanton beat Poteet twice and San Antonio Hawkins twice in District. The program was taken over three years ago by Coach Katy Palacios. After three years of hard work, especially on the fundamentals, the teams improved every year. The future also looks bright for the Eagles. Only four se-niors are on the varsity, and 23 freshman played basketball this year.

by Jason Mills

Lady Eagles’ workpays off in District

Class 4ADivision 1 Football

District 15: Gonzales, La Vernia, Pleasanton, Beeville, Robstown,

Rockport- Fulton

Basketball and most other sports

District 30: Crystal City, Carrizo Springs, Jourdanton, Poteet,

Pleasanton, Pearsall

Region IV realignment report

GoEagles