Many ideas were rejected from the Haunted House, because they were either too scary or too expensive, such as the Haunted Corn Field or the Room of the Radiation Deformities. However, “the scariest is the Hospital Room, created by Michaela Bowers, where the patients are being operated on alive, awake, and against their will,” said Lea Branyan. Another of the “scariest” rooms will be the Bloody Mary room, created by Kirin Busby, where surprises are promised around every corner.

“I enjoy setting up the Haunted House every year, because the students got to act and design without putting on a whole length play. The students are always enthusiastic about it and it gives the students opportunities that they can be excited about,” said Mrs. Rachel Rosen, the Drama teacher and club advisor.

“The most amazing part of the Haunted House was that over 50 students wanted to come together to be creative and to scare people in a Haunted House. It was their common goal and they just wanted to have fun,” said Lea Branyan.

“The proudest was to see other students participating and their enjoyment in performing for their school. The best thing I contributed was assisting the Drama Club President and organizing the rooms for the Haunted House. But I am just proud of having the opportunity to be a part,” said Alexa Pettyjohn, second in charge of the Haunted House.

This drama performance will cost two dollars for student admission and zero cost to teachers. Season passes are also available for $25 and will allow admission to all Drama productions. The Haunted House will cost the club upwards of $400, so Drama Club’s goal is to sell tickets to 500 attendees and raise $1000 to fund more drama activities.

“Having siblings on the team adds a whole new dynamic to it; they know how to play with each other and they stick up for one another. Plus, they each have their own personality, and when it comes to coaching, especially girls, you have to treat them as the individuals that they are,” said Coach Holzer.

“Being siblings we obviously fight, but we also push each other to work harder, because we know each other’s limits, and when it comes to it, we don’t really fight that much, just the little quarrel about who wears whose clothes,” stated freshman Rikki Jarnigan. However, when transferred to the field, the obvious is stated as coaches and fans alike can see how they come together as a team, and stay on common ground for the sporting event. Rikki and Sydney Jarnigan, on the varsity soccer team, are an excellent example of how siblings both fight, and work together when they’re suppose to. Sydney is a junior and plays forward, while Rikki is a freshman and plays outside midfielder. They play on the same side of the field and compensate for each other’s weaknesses, while they watch each other’s backs. “The great thing about working with Rikki is she knows how to work on the field, so we are always on the same page, also we push each other that much harder,” stated junior Sydney Jarnigan.

It’s not just soccer where the dynamic exists; almost every team at Gilbert has had a pair of siblings that work together the same way Rikki and Sydney do. This relationship is just one of many that has occurred on the soccer teams. Many more examples of sibling camaraderie exemplified this special relationship as it plays out in the sporting world.

February 17

Libyan protesters first take the streets demanding a new, democratic government. Protestors are dispersed through live fire and snipers by security forces.

February 18

Day two of the protest causes 35 protestor deaths. International talks begin of a humanitarian crisis.

February 22

Ghaddafi orders his supporters to fight to their “last drop of blood” and “attack protestors in their lairs”.

February 23

England begins evacuating its citizens from Libya.

March 4

The International Criminal Police Organization, also known as Interpol, issued an Orange Notice, notifying the international community of “disguised weapons, parcel bombs, and other dangerous materials”, against 16 leaders of Libya, including Ghaddafi. This is the 17^th Orange Notice to be issued in history.

March 12

Arab League asks for an international coalition to stop the Libyan government’s airstrikes on citizens.

March 17

The U.N. Security Council approves Resolution 1973, demanding “an immediate ceasefire”. It also implemented a “no-fly zone” over Libya, and granted the international community “to use all means necessary, short of foreign occupation, to protect civilians.”

March 22

Ghaddafi announces “We will not surrender!” over state television and radio during his first speech after Resolution 1973 began its airstrikes.

March 28

Qatar recognizes Libyan rebels as the people’s representative.

President Obama addresses American people and explains how NATO will lead the U.N. enforcement and the United States will step down as leaders.

March 30

NATO takes over UN air control. Fighting continues throughout Libya as civil war continues.

This article will be updated as new information becomes available.

Casey Hegar proves that age is just a number on the court as she starts the 2010-2011 girls varsity basketball season as a freshman. Being a freshman playing on varsity is a big feat in basketball due to the fact that they already have a freshman team. “It feels amazing to be on varsity.  I love the intensity of every game and how I have to push myself to work harder every second,” said Casey when asked how she feels about being the only freshman on varsity. Casey has been playing basketball since she was about six years old. She played at Mesquite Junior High and for various club teams, working harder and harder each year to develop her skills more.

Casey has one of the highest averages for rebounds and scoring. A nearly six-foot tall Casey plays as point guard and center; being in this position has put her point average at 11.29 a game. “Basketball for me is a way to let go and just play. I have fun with it like everyone else, but I also know when it’s time to focus.”

Along with being on varsity, Casey keeps her grades up by doing her homework as soon as she gets home. When she doesn’t have any homework, she studies for an upcoming test, because, like most student athletes, she is hoping for a scholarship. “My hope is to get a scholarship to the University of Tennessee and then hopefully work my way up to being able to play overseas in Spain,” said Casey. “Just turn in your homework. That is my only advice. Getting into a good college relies on how well you do in school, and you’d be surprised on how just turning in assignments on time can push up your grade.”

Varsity coach Brandon Waller couldn’t find enough words to describe Casey when asked about her. “What stuck out about Casey to me was her talent level was that of a varsity player. The fact that she was a freshman had nothing to do with it. She is now a big asset to this team and with her leadership skills coming out in every drill in practice just makes her that much better, knowing that she can step it up when needed. Sure, she needs improvement, but who doesn’t? Casey, though, is definitely an asset to this team,” said Coach Waller.

“We were supposed to put in a clear package what we felt guilty about or like what was our guilty pleasure and it’s supposed to be like a packaged guilt type thing,” said  junior Paulina Pinkard, whose picture was one among the other guilty faces on the English wall.

The teacher and head of the art department, Mr. Bargman, explained that the project started out because the art department was throwing out empty package scraps but decided that instead of recycling them, to turn them into a project. “It’s a packaged guilt like something you can buy,” said Mr. Bargman who participated in the project and had poker chips as his guilty object in his package. “It wasn’t really my guilt, I just picked something that’s visually interesting, but I do play cards,” he admitted.

The initial goal of the project was to encourage students to stop and think about what makes them feel guilty in their life. A student might have stopped and saw the objects below the pictures and connected it with their own guilt or pondered how that object made the person in the picture feel guilty. Sophomore Keauna Quest contemplated the meaning of the artwork as she walked past the display in the hall, “I saw one object with an F on it for a test and I feel guilty whenever I get a bad grade on my test.” The displays raised an emotional response in students walking by making them think about their own guilt.

“The iPhone looks better and sleeker and has a cooler touch screen,” stated freshman, Jonah Gerle. Though many students love the iPhone, there are still several others that are highly impressed by the Droid. “The sliding keyboard is what did it for me. The iPhones’ touch screen is just too hard to work. Also, [I liked] how easy its [Droid] software is to work,” said junior Conner Millard. Freshman Maddie Mays said, “the Droid does almost everything: you can search the web, go on Facebook, YouTube, and also look at where you are on the map.” On the contrary, “the iPhone has the best apps! You can do anything on it and it has way more features than the Droid,” said freshman, Emilia Metidieri.

The decision of many students on whether or not to buy this phone is the payment plan. For a high schooler that looks for a cheaper buy, the iPhone is the better option mostly because the payment plan is cheaper than the Droid. The iPhone’s plan costs $300 including the $200 dollar’s for the phone and $100 to get it activated, while the Droid costs $450, with the phone costing $200 and the payment plan being $250.

For the software, the Droid is the better choice. The fact that it has some of the most advanced software out today, graphics on the Internet, games, and pictures, but the iPhone’s Wi-Fi capabilities are better for the spot surfing.

The book focuses on a small Southern town after the EMP strike. The town is placed under martial law, and the main character, Colonel John Matherson’s, struggles to keep himself and his family alive. Matherson is a realistic character that shows exactly how the situation would be in a post-attack time.

An EMP strike is the result of a nuclear detonation over the earth’s atmosphere. When a nuclear bomb is detonated above the atmosphere, the bomb would hurt no people, and there would be no nuclear fallout. Instead, a gamma ray pulse would be released that would reach the earth’s surface within a second.

Forstchen’s website put it the best: “As the Pulse strikes the earth’s surface, with a power that could range up to hundreds of amps per square yard, it will not affect you directly, at most you’ll feel a slight tingling, the same as when lightning is about to strike close by, and nearly all the energy will just be absorbed into the ground and dissipate. The bad news, however, is wherever it strikes wires, metal surfaces, antennas, or power lines; it will now travel along those metal surfaces (in the same way a lightning bolt will always follow the metal of a lightning rod, or the power line into your house). The longer the wire, the more energy is absorbed. A high tension wire miles long will absorb tens of thousands of amps, and here is where the destruction begins as it slams into any delicate electronic circuits, meaning computer chips, relays, etc. In that instant, they are overloaded by the massive energy surge, short circuit, and fry. Your house via electric, phone and cable wires is connected, like all the rest of us into the power and communications grids. This energy surge will destroy all delicate electronics in your home; even as it destroys all the major components all the way back to the power company’s generators and the phone company’s main relays. In far less than a millisecond the entire power grid of the United States and all that it supports will be destroyed.”

At about 300 miles above the center of the United States, one detonation could impact the entire United States’ infrastructure.

Many people, after learning this information, think, “I could live without my cell phone and TV,” but the effects would hurt more than someone could imagine. Without cars or trucks, no food or medicine could be delivered. Water is now transported through pipes by electricity, except for the few houses that are gravity fed. The average home only has three days worth of food and water stocked in it. According to One Second After, an EMP strike could turn off electricity in the United States for a year, if not longer.

AP World History teacher Andy Murrish, a fan of the book, enjoyed the idea of self-reliance and how realistic it was, but he did not like how the author used fear to sell the book.

Realistically, according to the AZ Central, EMPs are not as bad as feared. “The massive Starfish Prime blast was at least 70 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima in 1945, and it may have blown out streetlights but it left the grid in Hawaii intact,” stated the AZ Central article.

As the book explores a futurist America of death and destruction, it also digs deep into what it means to be an American and what it means to be a family. The book touches your heart and evokes tears, but also leaves thoughts about a future that is near the end. This book, an eye-opening and life-changing dystopia, can be compared to works like 1984, Alas, Babylon, and The Road.

5 out of 5 stars – I recommend this book to everyone, young and old.

“I practice swimming every day except for Sunday and I also do weight training on the side,” said Schultz. Schultz competes in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 4×50 medley, and the 4×100 freestyle. His favorite event to compete in is the butterfly. “Swimming calms me down and I also have fun while swimming.”

Schultz leads an eventful life with swimming in one hand and all honors classes in the other. When he needs help with his homework he can always go to the upperclassmen on the swim team for help. “I love [how] the swim team is really close like a family and that everybody is motivated about swimming,” said Schultz. The team is close and they spend a lot of time together whether it is QT Tuesday or pasta parties the night before each meet. He enjoys hanging out with everybody on the swim team as a whole and not just one person in particular.

“He brings lots of experience to the team even though he is only a sophomore. He has stepped up and became a leader on the team. He has a great personality and has respect for everybody on the team which makes him a good leader,” said swim coach, Brendan Keyes. He hopes to make it to college on a swimming scholarship after he is done with high school.