Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week 23: Regional Hosts? Nevermore? What to Choose?

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

January 28, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur community,

As I start this message today, early this Sunday morning, there are so many shoutouts and things that I want to discuss, but as has become tradition in January, there are the Chiefs once again in the playoffs, their game beginning at 2:00. I can't imagine there are many of you that are reading this message as soon as it comes out, as I always set the release to be set at 5:00 (unless of course you follow the Smore). The game should be right at the end of the 4th quarter as you are receiving this.

Now, bear with me if you will, as the old history teacher comes out. I always loved to teach my students about the "why" of things. So many nicknames of colleges and professional sports teams provide historical nicknames, while others are more simple, and it is often so interesting to learn why.

Please feel free to skip ahead, but, let's take a quick look at our four remaining teams. Believe me, I could write a research paper on each, but I will keep it simple.

Detroit Lions: There were no Lions native to Detroit, and, of the final four NFL teams that remain, I think theirs has the least local reasoning for a name of any them. The Lions were renamed in 1934 after being purchased by a man named George Richards. He moved the team from Portsmouth to Detroit changing the name from the Spartans (Michigan State University's nickname) to the Lions. His rationale? He was going create a team that was the "king of the NFL," similar to the way the lion was the king of the jungle. They are the only remaining team that has never been to the Super Bowl.

San Francisco 49ers: I'm sure that there are lot of people that already know what the 49ers are named after (although it always amazes me how few people realize that the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team refers to the Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 in Philadelphia). California was desolate and not even a part of the United States, but then gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848. If people had cell phones back then, they would probably be called the 48ers, but when news finally spread, people from almost every continent came running. That was 1849, and they were appropriately called 49ers. The population exploded, and two years later California was a state. Appropriate how the football team has a helmet that is like a gold nugget.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens franchise started int 1996, the youngest of the 4 remaining franchises. The Ravens name can be tied back to a famous, well-known figure in American Literature, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is buried in Baltimore, and his family roots were there. He met his wife there. At different times, he lived there. Though not born in Baltimore, when asked, he would claim he was born there. Perhaps his most famous work is The Raven. Hence, the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens even have three Raven mascots that walk around the stadium. Their names? Edgar, Allan, and Poe.

Kansas City Chiefs: For so many years, I assumed myself that the Kansas City Chiefs were named after Native Americans and the history around the area. Indian Territory was established throughout the Midwest, and they even used the native arrowhead on their helmets. In reality, the Chiefs are named after the man that convinced Lamar Hunt (owner of the franchise at the time) to move his Dallas Texans to Kansas City. In 1962, the mayor of Kansas City was Harold Roe Bartle, a man who earned the nickname Chief during his lifetime. It was Bartle that convinced Hunt to bring the franchise to KC, also urging him to name the franchise in his honor. Though there was a "Name the Team" contest, in late spring of 1963, the team officially became the Chiefs.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to junior Garrett Emigh. Garrett is one of several students that have been working towards getting certified through KSHSAA to be official referees. We have already had several students participate in officiating volleyball, basketball, and at least a shadowing at football. Thursday, Garrett was on his own and an official ref for the JH wrestling tournament. I am very proud of him, and he was a natural. These students are all earning these certificates in our Intro. to Officiating and Intro. to Coaching classes taught by Mr. Gehring. I love the opportunities being created for them and for the surrounding communities that can use their talent.

Shoutout to our JH wrestlers on their performance. Here are our wrestlers that placed in top positions at the Oberlin Invitational:

Grant Anderson - Champion

Gus Bryan - Champion

Jayce Dempewolf - Champion

Justin Glass - Champion

Kaden Sowers - Champion

Trenton Wahlmeier - 2nd Place

Mitchell Wasson - 2nd Place

Shoutout to these HS wrestlers for their performance this past weekend in Arapahoe:

Sage Bryan - 3rd Place

Garrett Emigh - 2nd Place

Reid Fort - 3rd Place

Josiah Pattangall - 2nd

Lukas Zodrow - Champion

Shoutout to JH wrestling coaches Channing Fortin and Regan Badsky. Aside from the fact that I really enjoyed watching them coach and interact with their wrestlers at the home meet this past Thursday, I was able to communicate with them a bit about their overnight stay in Plainville. Though they weren't interested in turning the Plainville Invitational into an annual lock-in, they both handled the situation they were put in well and made the best of a tough situation for our students. I should definitely include Mrs. Springer with the same sentiment.

Shoutout to English teacher Kathy Almquist. From the moment that I came here, Ms. Almquist has never missed a day of work for any reason. She is dependable, and this past week, she and the 9th grade class ran the insanely busy concession stand for the JH wrestling meet. She had planned to stay for a few hours, and it instead turned into about five and a half. Big thanks to her.

Shoutout to our young freshmen entrepreneurs, Mason Tally and Caden Shaw. They approached me after school about adding Dr. Pepper to the concession stand before the JH wrestling meet. I told them they could get some Dr. Pepper and sell it as an extra item. Dr. Pepper was our top seller of the night. I haven't had a pop since June of 1993, but when I did, it was Dr. Pepper. Nice to see that it is still so popular.

Shoutout to counselor Jillian Springer. Mrs. Springer is constantly trying to improve and provide as much as she can for our students and family. This past Wednesday, she hosted the FAFSA night for our seniors. When it was done, she made the long drive to Wichita for a two day PowerSchool conference that started Thursday morning.

Shoutout to English teacher Jacinta Carter and librarian Lisa Fortin. Whenever we have staff depart early for activities, there has to be someone to cover their classes when they leave, usually those last few hours of the day. I even got to cover a 7th grade English class last week (which I loved by the way). By the time this semester is over, they will have covered classes over a dozen times. It is greatly appreciated.

Shoutout to our many Honor Roll students that have been sharing pictures of their Honor Roll certificates posted on their refrigerators. I have been giving, and will continue to give, candy to those students that showed me that picture for the next few weeks.

Shoutout to three elementary students for their school spelling bee performances. The champion was Joshua Minks. The runner up was Gemma Louderback. The alternate will be Silas Tally. Congrats to all of them. Joshua and Gemma will compete next Tuesday, the 6th at DCHS in the Decatur County Spelling Bee with a chance to earn a trip to the State Spelling Bee in Wichita.

Shoutout to math teacher and forensics coach Gina Witt and her students. For starters, we have a large number of students this year that are competing in forensics, and that has a lot to do with the great relationship that Mrs. Witt has established with her students. This past weekend our students went to Colby. Here are the comments that Mrs. Witt shared about student performance:

We had a pretty good day today. We had several new students participating and they all did a wonderful job!! In IDA, Aidyn (Witt) and Annabelle (Bird) placed 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in their rounds but didn't break finals. Cheyanna ( Hale) and Cameo (Counter) placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, but didn't break finals. Keely (Huff) and Harley (Barnes) placed 6th overall out of 21 IDA teams. Cheyanna placed 6th overall in Impromptu. Keely did not place in Impromptu but improved significantly over last year. Finally, Maria (Rodriguez) and Karen (Molina) competed in Duet Acting for the first time. They did not place but they did a very good job for their first time. I am so proud of all these kids. We left bright and early this morning... and those kids worked so hard. Super proud of them!!

Shoutout to Choir teachers Lisa Johnson and Jenny Tally and their DCHS Singers. The singers were able to attend a clinic in Goodland and get a great experience in the process. Here are some words straight from Mrs. Johnson:

This past Wednesday, our DCHS Singers attended a clinic in Goodland Kansas. During this clinic, they performed for experienced clinicians that provided excellent feedback to help us learn and improve our performance. We participated in a large group routine as well that included other show choirs from Northwest Kansas.

Good music, Good DANCE moves, and GREAT people.

Wonderful Job DCHS Singers!

Shoutout to former DCHS graduate and current K-State student Logan Hayward. I was never a principal while Logan was in the building, but he was actually one of the first students that I met when I came here the summer before I started. I have been fortunate enough to interact with him a few times at games, and I sure wish I could have been around him more. Great kid that is a great example of what a school wants of their students in the future. I recently got an email from Logan telling me about a program he is involved in at K-State, and it is ultimately about offering up classes to teachers that want to improve their Computer Science skills. Very impressed by a DCHS grad that has a bright future in store.

Things You Should Know

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DCHS Hosts Regional Scholars Bowl

I need to give a special shoutout here to math teacher and Scholars Bowl coach Wendy Scott. Any time that you host a Regional competition, it's a big deal with a lot of preparation. Mrs. Scott has done an amazing job of getting us prepared. Last year, our team took a long trip and qualified for State. This year, our team looks to return to the State competition, but we get to stay home in our attempt to go back. Our team will be represented by these 6 students:

Senior - Shakira Cook

Senior - Ana Freeman

Senior - Cheyanna Hale

Junior - Jack Holloway

Senior - Kamryn Oien

Sophomore - Koen Oien

Aside form DCHS, here are the 12 teams that will compete this Thursday with a trip on the line to State:

Atwood-Rawlins County HS

Central Plains HS

Downs-Lakeside HS

La Crosse HS

Mankato-Rock Hills HS

Ness City HS

Osborne HS

Quinter HS

St. Francis HS

Stockton HS

Sylvan-Lucas Unified HS

Tribune-Greeley County HS

Good luck Scholars Bowl!

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Early Release Thursday, February 1st

Due to the fact that we are hosting Regional Scholars Bowl on Thursday, February 1st, we will be releasing school at 1:30. Please be aware and make arrangements.

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School Spelling Bee Monday, January 29th

Last week, the elementary school had their school spelling bee. On Monday the 29th DCHS will hold our spelling bee. The last grade that students are eligible for a spelling bee is 8th grade. In a school our size, we just ask all kids that want to participate. Tomorrow, these 5 students will participate in the DCHS Spelling Bee with the top 2 advancing to the County Bee next week.:

Kira Burmaster

Brianna Coats

Shaylynn Diaz

Job Kliewer

Sarah Wright

Good luck to our participants!