Fairbanks High School … Panther Pause

Senior of the Month
February’s senior of the month is James Montgomery. James is the son of Tom and Donna Montgomery of Plain City. He has been a part of the Fairbanks band program for eight years. He has also been involved in Mock Trial, Drama Club and Science Club for the last four years. He attends Jerome United Methodist Church where he is actively involved with the praise band, Tech Team, Student Leadership Team, and Upward Basketball Program. After graduation he plans to attend Ohio University and major in Theater Design and Production Management. When asked what advice he has for the underclassmen he replied, “Always put your best effort into everything you do. Push yourself to be the best you can be and never give up.”
FCCLA
By Kira Jones
The past two months have been quite busy for Fairbanks FCCLA.  From Sole Hope Operations to projects for regionals, they have had a lot of work to get done. The January committee joined together with Sole Hope, an organization that collects jeans and turns them into shoes for people in Uganda. Over 40 pairs of jeans were collected, which equaled 26 pairs of shoes for those in need. The members cut out the pattern pieces and sent them to the Sole Hope headquarters in North Carolina.  There they will be made into shoes by tailors to be sent to the people in Uganda.
FCCLA also held another coffee shop.  This one however was much more special than the last.  All the proceeds made were sent to West Liberty High school for the victim in last month’s school shooting, Logan Cole. The money will be used for the Logan’s medical needs. The coffee shop raised $356 for the family.  It was then combined with the National Honor Society’s bake sale and other events head at the homecoming basketball game against West Liberty. In total, over $1000 was raised by Fairbanks for the Cole Family.
Five Minutes for Life
By Kate White
5 Minutes for Life is a drug and alcohol abuse awareness program, organized in the state of Ohio by Governor John Kasich and First Lady Karen Kasich. Fairbanks Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Mr. Joey Newell connected with the State Highway Patrol to bring this program to Fairbanks High School last year. This current year, the Union County Youth 2 Youth program has helped increase the amount of members.  “I think we’ve multiplied by three times with the members we’re working with, which is great,” Newell said Friday morning on Feb. 10. On that morning the program had a meeting, and the students in attendance were given the task of practicing the “what and why” of their 5 minute message. Students paired up, telling personable reasons to stay clean. The homework of the group was to practice their message, share their words on their own with two different organizations, and attend at least one of the 5 Minutes for Life events. They will also attend the “We Are the Majority” rally in April at the Statehouse in Columbus. Students also received shirts that read “I am an Ambassador,” which they plan to wear at their awareness events. “We’re going to step up, and we’re going to do the right thing,” Newell told the students.
Science Club
By Lydia Carter
On Jan. 28, 2017 thirteen members of the Fairbanks Science Club took part in dissecting minks.  Fairbanks had not held a dissection in many years, as Science Club Advisor Crystal Tebbe said,  “‘Back in the day’ would be an appropriate way to describe the last one.”  Tebbe says she was glad to “expose students to another side of science that isn’t covered in the classroom anymore.”  Senior Jack Herbst reflected this sentiment, saying that one of the reasons he chose to participate was because it was “a staple of high school to do a dissection.”
Many of the students enjoyed having the opportunity to participate in the dissection, which allowed them to examine up close the various organs that allow living things to function. Senior Erin Yoder said that it was interesting to see the different organs, and that she was especially surprised by the appearance of the kidneys, which resembled beans.  Herbst agreed, saying that he enjoyed the opportunity to “look at the inner mechanics of something like that.”  Despite the overwhelming smell of formaldehyde, it was overall a rewarding experience for the students who participated.  Tebbe was glad to provide students with this unique experience, saying that she will absolutely consider holding more dissections in the future.
Indoor Track
By Koryn Bosworth
This year, the Fairbanks Panthers have about 10 athletes competing in indoor track. Indoor track is similar to outdoor track, and has many of the same events, but the track itself is only 200 meters long, opposed to 400 meters. Athletes condition outdoors when the weather permits, and also lift weights on Wednesdays. There are meets held all over the state, and the Panthers travel to OSU’s French Fieldhouse to show off their skills. Every year, the state competition for indoor track is held at the University of Akron, and only the top 35 fastest competitors are allowed to compete. This is additionally difficult, because Division 2 and 3 schools compete against each other, so Fairbanks will be racing against much larger schools. In spite of this challenge, the Panthers plan to send runners in four events. Senior Jack Herbst will be running in the 60 meter hurdles, junior Beau Sloan is competing in the 60 meter dash, and both the boys and girls 4×200 relays are hoping to qualify. Indoor track is a good opportunity for students to get ahead for upcoming outdoor track, and to stay fit during the long winter months.
Mock Trial Results
By Shannon Conroy
On Jan. 20, the Fairbanks Mock Trial teams went to the Union County Court house to compete in the district competition.  All eighteen members of the junior and senior team competed. They all did very well. The junior team, many of them first year mock trial members, had strong arguments and put a great amount of time and effort into their work. They faced experienced and strong competition, but emerged fierce and determined not to give in to their competition. Some members of the team even received awards for Most Outstanding Witness and Outstanding Attorney. The senior team, many of whom have been mock trial members all four years of high school, were prepared to face the strong competition that the districts brought. Half of the senior team won awards for Outstanding Witness and Attorney. At the end of the day, the senior team came in first place and advanced to the regional competition. This competition was held on Feb. 10, also at the Union County courthouse. Although this competition was much more difficult than that of the district competition, the team remained determined and strong. In the morning trial, they won against the competition. However, the afternoon trial proved more difficult. The two teams were very well matched, and each had strong points to argue. When scores were totaled to determine a winner of the trial, Fairbanks lost by just a few points and, unfortunately, did not have the opportunity to compete in the statewide competition. All of the mock trial members had a lot of fun bonding with their teammates and improving on their public speaking skills. Although they are losing a lot of graduating seniors, next year’s team will be ready to uphold the Fairbanks Mock Trial name.
FFA Happenings
By Becca Scholl
In January, the FFA the officers were working hard on their officer books. They were proud to say that Rebecca Scholl (treasurer) and Hannah Kutz (secretary) both got gold ratings on their books.  Congratulations to both of them! Savannah walls will be moving on to districts for creed speaking! The officers are also in the process of planning a lock-in for February.
NHS News
By Carlee Rowland
Hard times often bring out the best in people, and that certainly rings true for the students at Fairbanks. Upon the tragic news of a school shooting at West Liberty Salem, students and staff came together to show their support for our neighboring community. Students wore orange to the homecoming basketball game to show support and many fundraisers were held on behalf of Logan Cole’s family. National Honor Society held a bake sale at Friday’s basketball game and helped to raise roughly 641 dollars for Logan and his family. Katie Pastirzyk was featured on the local news on behalf of NHS and the NHS contributions to the Cole family. In other news, National Honor society also held a dodgeball tournament during the week of homecoming to help raise money for Impact60. The tournament raked in a whopping $315 for at-risk youth in our community. National Honor Society strives for the betterment of our community as well as others, including our friends at West Liberty Salem.