Combat Challenge prepares Fox Valley students for ‘mental toughness’ of firefighting

by Jessica Corbett and Katie Vitacco
Reporters

“Drag him by his wrists if you have to!” shouted students in the Fox Valley Career Center’s Fire Science class on Feb. 10.

They stood, cheering on a fellow classmate who was completing a strenuous obstacle course. The classmate in question dragged the 200 pound dummy, Randy, to safety.

Elburn expansion good news for KHS students

By Zach Brown
Reporter

The corner of Routes 38 and 47 in Elburn is booming. First came the arrival of the new Jewel. Last month, Munchie P’s opened a sandwich shop, and Elburn Pack & Ship opened a few doors down. In February, a Walgreens will be opening.

Students voice excitement, disappointment after election results

By Krier Staff

The texts started coming just after 11 p.m. on the night of Tues., Nov. 4, as Kaneland students shared the news with each other that Barack Obama had won the election. Others were glued to sources such as Facebook, news websites and YouTube, waiting for the results to pour in.

Seniors at KHS cast their votes for who they believed would be best fit for president. They also participated in the biggest turnout of young voters in American history.

“I voted for Obama because [I] thought he had a lot of good plans for the U.S. and the government, to get the troops out of Iraq,” senior Joshua Bloome said.

Election fever had broken out at KHS as students ran down the hall handing out stickers for their preferred candidates. Some yelled “Obama, Obama!” in the halls while McCain supporters were more subdued.

“I’m really happy he won. I think he’ll make a great president,” senior Patricia Alvarez, an Obama voter, said.

“I think Obama will be a great president. If I could [have voted for Obama] I definitely would,” freshman Josh Rogers said.

Others sat in silence as hey listened to their fellow classmates boast about Obama’s victory.

Senior Mike Jenny said he voted for McCain, but he was not surprised that Obama had won. He said he disagreed with some of  Obama’s views and thinks McCain would have been a better president.

“I was happy at first, but now I don’t know,” junior Chad Diacek said. “Obama is good for [ending the] war, but I’m concerned about more domestic things, like taxes.”

Several students seemed optimistic about the country’s future with Obama and a Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

“I think we’re going to start coming together and they’re going to make things get better in our world,” freshman Katie Taylor said.

KRIER wins national award

By Joe Delgado
Executive Editor

The Kaneland Krier, a public high school newspaper in Maple Park, Illinois, won the 2007-2008 honor rating of First Class with Two Marks of Distinction from the NSPA Publication Critique Service.

The paper was scored based on five different qualities. The Krier scored 150/150 points in policy guidelines, 200/210 points based on coverage, 341/360 for writing and editing, 172/180 for display and design, and 100/100 for business practices. The score totalled 963 out of a thousand points, winning the Krier the International First Place Award for Superior Achievement.

Some comments from the judge included that the Krier was “refreshing…with a delightful personality.” The final comments of the judge were, “[The Krier] performs an indispensable service. It is a service produced by mature and responsible teenagers. It deserves the full support of parents and school officials to achieve its potential.”

Art club paints new murals at KHS

By Zach Brown
Reporter

The Art club has recently been painting several murals in an attempt to bring life and color into the halls of KHS.

“I think they’re fun to look at,” freshman Jack Urquizu said.

“They’re inspirational,” freshmen Courtney Hastings said.

In the past few years, murals have been popping up around the school. Two years ago, the large murals in the cafeteria were installed. Last year, the murals in the vending machine area were installed along with the mural outside of the 3D art room.

“It was all very plain before them [the first murals], and we were happy when we saw them,” junior Trace Chiropolos said.

Now, one mural has been painted outside of the chorus room. This particular mural took about two weeks and was requested by music teacher Brian Kunstman. That is how the majority of murals come about. A teacher will request one, taking a rough sketch to the principal for permission.

After that, the art club may accept it and assign a few people to work on it. For example, the mural outside the chorus room was first assigned to eight people.

“After students see paint on the wall, we get a lot more volunteers,” Patricia Vlieger, Art teacher and Art club sponsor, said. “When a person walks in the school, it’s just white walls. It’s so boring,” Vlieger said.

In the near future, students can expect another mural in the ‘A hallway.’ Also, a mural that has been sitting in the 3D art room for eight years is finally going to be placed in the cafeteria. Vlieger said she would like to do a ceramic tile piece sometime.

“We try to do a mural for each painting class I have,” Vlieger said. In addition to the murals for Art club, this would mean we can expect to see a large amount of murals in the future.

“We hope to continue the mural process and really put some color into our school,” Vlieger said.

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