State Champs
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Black&White STATE CHAMPS the black and white. august 2009. volume 19 issue 1. 5152780449. 6501 NW 62nd ave. johnston. iowa one copy free ON THE COVER photos by Faisal Alabsi and Jordin Robinson designed by Kallen Kramer check us out online www.theblackandwhiteonline.com NEWS ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE 3 New Revenue Tax 7 Inspired artists 10 Marathon atheletes Community votes on new tax Trevor Hall and others compose The rigor and motivation of mara- proposal about more than romance thon training Recreation complex Vote turns down new complex due to expense OPINION FASHION SPORTS 4 Pants 8 Promoting real peace 11 Cross country Philip Mortens rants about pants Summer practice pays off Shirts that make a difference rather index Free Tibet! than displaying a popular icon September calendar Ridding the country of ignorant Don’t miss this fall’s events Americans DOUBLE TRUCK HEALTH BACKPAGE 5/6 STATE CHAMPS 9 Sleep effects 12 World of Warcraft Softball team finishes the season New information about sleep may Gamers unite online with big wins encourage an earlier bedtime i STAFF EDITORS IN CHIEF SUB-EDITORS Julia Manning Catherine Caracci Brennan Winget JM CnewsC BlifestyleW Philip Mortens Kelsey Kruse Kallen Kramer opinion feature layout PM KK KK Eric Oatts Matt Knoedel EentertainmentO MsportsK Lauren Gehrke managing Kelly McGowan Dwight Lykins LG KfashionM DonlineL Aug 09 news p3 Revenue Purpose Statement words & layout Lauren Gehrke Come September 8, citizens are going to be able to vote for upcoming school board members. Along with the regular vote, a vote in favor or against the Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS) will be taken as well. The RPS is a one-cent local-option sales tax that is used for school improvements. This local tax was voted on and approved in 1999. However, in 2008, the Iowa legislature approved a state-wide tax that will replace the local state tax in 2010. The vote will ask if voters wish to continue to use the tax the same way or not. The money has been used to renovate buildings and build new ones such as Timber Ridge. If the voters say Lauren Gehrke/BW yes, the money will continue to be used in a similar way. The Timber Ridge building and its playground equipment was paid for with help from the RPS money. School Board member Tyler Buller sees that approving the RPS would benefit both the taxpayers and the district. feels important to point out that is not a tax increase, Mithelman said that it did not make sense to him for If this was not approved Buller says that it would increase because that is a really common misconception. the school to go into more debt when paying for construc- the likelihood of the district needing to bond for future con- Johnston parent and citizen Todd Mithelman feels that tion projects when this money could be given for this struction projects. If it is not approved, the district still gets the money would be more useful spent on construction exact purpose. the money but they are not allowed to spend it on things than paying off debts. Both Buller and Mithelman agree that it would be ben- outlined in the RPS. “I think it’s important to pay off money that we owe,” eficial to approve the RPS at the vote, that way it would “The most likely “no” vote is someone who thinks this Mithelman said. “But if we don’t use the money (for con- prevent property taxes from going up and the district hav- is a tax increase, which is NOT correct,” Buller said. He struction) property taxes may have to be raised.” ing to take out a bond. Residents turn down recreation complex words & layout Catherine Caracci ing to a flyer they distributed. The committee also believed that the Johnston residents turned down a pro- additional soccer and softball fields would posed $19 million recreation complex, be beneficial to the growing population. which required a 60 percent approval rate Foutch disagreed. “I think that right now, to pass. we have enough soccer fields, although we The proposed complex, which would may need more in the future,” she said. “I have cost residents $16 million in taxes, just don’t think this is the right time.” featured soccer fields, tennis and sand Lisa Cooper, who worked on the com- volleyball courts, softball diamonds and a mittee to promote the complex, was not skate park inside 125 acres. surprised about the result of the vote. “I did Ultimately, 55 percent of voters opposed feel at the time that it was definitely needed the plan, including Meg Foutch, who has but would be a hard sell to the community, three children in the district. “The complex simply because of the cost of the project was too much money for the economy right during a recession,” she said. “Johnston now,” Foutch said. has demonstrated in previous votes that Foutch also believed that the fact that there is a lot of conservatism in the commu- a pool was not included in the plan was a nity, and this was just another example.” drawback for many residents. Cooper does not know of any plans for However, some residents supported the a future complex. “It would require purchas- idea. A committee was formed, which dis- ing a large amount of land, such as what Provided/David Lindeman tributed flyers and set up a web site to pro- was available at this time, and this opportu- Johnston residents voted against a proposed recreation complex, vide additional information to voters. nity may not present itself again,” she said. which would have been located south of NW 70th Avenue and west of One of the reasons the committee cited “It would have to be another 6 months be- NW 100th Street. The sports complex would have included additional for building the recreation complex was fore another referendum could be held in soccer fields, softball diamonds, tennis and sand volleyball courts and a skate park. The vote for the complex took place Aug. 4. “lack of community gathering space com- any case.” pared to other cities in the metro,” accord- The complex vote took place Aug. 4. Aug 09 opinion p4 A Pants-Driven Society A shorts story on pants, no pun intended words & layout Philip Mortens Pants. What a seemly simple topic. Since the subject of pants is such an elementary topic, you would think that shopping for them would fall in the same category. But in reality, shopping for pants is a complicated and strenuous task. Lets take look at just one of the numerous styles of pants, the modern day jeans. If one were to walk into a “hip” clothing store to just purchase a plain pair of jeans, they would be mortified by what they saw. Their eyes would be filled with the hundreds of styles/color combinations. For what reason do we have these styles, just so we Philip Mortens/B&W can try and look stylish in our acid washed, paint stained, it begins to become clear that they are not a solid piece of looks like was pulled out of the dumpster behind your lo- massacred jeans, all with the low-rise boot cut? It just clothing, as many would expect. cal paint and razor blade store, these jeans are still being doesn’t seem intelligent to judge someone by his or her They are riddled with holes, tears, rips, and all sorts of bought. fabric to skin ratio, but that’s not the worst thing about the gashes. Many pairs look like they have been through hell Why is this? Are we so blind to our ambition of having jean market. and back just to reach that cold December day. people think we’re sexy, or attractive, that we’ve gone far Before the story continues, just take a moment and However, that is not the case at all, far from it. The ma- enough to wear clothes that at one time would have been imagine its an average December day, Its cold, the winds jority of these pants were abused long before eager buyers said was the mark devil. Its blasphemy. blowing, there’s generally snow falling to the ground. shopping at an overpriced clothing boutique found them. Next time that you decide to get some jeans, please. Now go ahead and take a walk down our main hall- For some reason the society we live in is plagued by For the sake that is all and good in the world, go for the pair way at JHS, take notice of the broad spectrum of clothing this jean abuse. Everywhere you look you see people with that looks new. You’ll feel a lot better wearing jeans that people are modeling. holes here, and holes there, and in many cases, holes you’ve desecrated yourself due to use than by the ones the Your average high schooler will be showing off the latest where they shouldn’t be. little sweatshop workers destroy for you at $80 a pop. But denim fashion. But if we zoom in on these denim disasters, Despite the fact that people are modeling clothing that regrettably the majority of America just wont listen. Ignoramus anonymous: Insight to the “American” way of life and benightedness words & layout Kevin Hu what we believe, and that is easy to manipulate. Before China occupied Tibet, the United States did not even care “Free Tibet!” so much as to recognize Tibet as an independent coun- The issue of Tibet is very controversial; Nevertheless, try. Once under Chinese rule, the State Department of the it illustrates a very irksome trait of the people in America: U.S.