“Volunteering teaches people to appreciate things they have and what they can do for other people,” said Sheri Bartel, KAYS sponsor.

This month KAYS has done a shoe drive for underprivileged kids that don’t have good shoes to wear for the winter. Their next service project is to help with the Pregnancy Crisis Center and gather baby supplies for needy mothers.

There are many other students who volunteer on their own time too. Rachel Clancy, 10, has helped at the Kid’s Closet in her spare time.

“I wanted to help the community in a way I could, by donating and sorting as well,” Clancy said.

Another student, Haley Rhule, 11, has been volunteering her time at the Heart of Jackson Humane Society for about six years.

“Just being around the dogs and seeing how far they’ve come from being there is a great experience. You know that you have helped their change to be good dogs and get them adopted in a family that will care for them forever. Even if you are sad you are always happy to see them get a good home,” Rhule said.

Volunteer work isn’t just for students either, Susan Rhule, counselor, and Stacey Kramer, IRC, both volunteer their time to walk dogs at the Heart of Jackson Humane Society too.

“Donating your free time is important because it will show that you want to do something for the betterment of the community,” Rhule said.

All this work will pay of in the long run. Many scholarship committees out there look for students who donate their time. It also helps when you start getting real jobs in the future.

“Volunteering shows that you can handle managing your time and responsibility,” Susan Rhule.  She said there are a lot of scholarships that are based on community work.  The Rocky Fund Scholarship, for example, is mainly based on commitment and community service.

“You have to be consistent in whatever you are volunteering; Ten minutes doesn’t cut it,” Susan Rhule said.

Free time can be spent in many different ways, but for many students choosing to help people and their community will make a difference in the long run.

-       They are 2 ft. tall and live in Ireland

-       The best way to catch a leprechaun is to creep up on him when he is tying his shoes

-       They are mischevious creatures that like to cause rucus by playing tricks around the house

-       If you catch a leprechaun he must give you his pot of gold or grant you three wishes

-       No one has ever seen a female leprechaun

-       In order to protect their famous “leprechaun’s pot of gold” the fairies gave them magical powers to use if they were captured by humans.

-       They are great magicians and love to dance

-       Leprechauns are known for hypnotizing people so they let them go.

-       When found by humans, leprechauns are usually drunk.

-       They are skilled shoemakers

This year it seems like the most popular trend is the “standing broom trick,” or “brooming,” as some people refer to it.  In brooming, a person gets a broom and places it on carpet, wood, or even on the sidewalk to try to see if it can stay there for a long amount of time.

“Brooming” has become a huge phenomenon on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Thousands of people have been  “brooming” for the past month, Holton High students included.

There are some theories on how a broom can stand frozen in a specific spot. One of the first theories is that it is able to stand on its own in a specific spot is because of the Equinox. During the Equinox the sun is located evenly among the northern and southern hemispheres.

Another theory is that since a broom is “light,” it’s able to balance and stay frozen anywhere you put it. Gravity would make it stay in a specific spot without anything besides mass pushing it over.

Both of those theories are false. The actual reason the broom can be balanced because of the bristles at the bottom of a broom. Brooms have flat bottoms and lots of bristles; they will stick to carpet pretty easily if someone finds a good surface to put the broom on.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cups (2 sticks Butter)
1 Egg
1 1/4 Cup Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat oven 375 degrees Makes 30

1.In a large bowl, beat sugar, peanut butter, butter, and eggs on medium speed.
2. Stir in flour, baking soda, powder, and salt.
3. Scoop with a small cookie scoop and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten with criss-corss pattern with fork. Bake for 12-13 min.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven 375 degrees makes 24

1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/4 Cup Flour + 2 tbsp
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
2. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add egg, Mix well. Add vanilla.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips

The winter of 1932 in the US was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid

Dirty snow melts faster than clean.

In ten minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world’s nuclear weapons combined!

Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.

9 out of 10 lightning strike victims survive

The speed of a typical raindrop is 17 miles per hour.

Snowiest city in the U.S. : Blue canyon, California

Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women!

Contrary to popular belief, lightning travels from the ground upwards not from the sky downwards.

In 2010, it rained live fish in the Australian village of Lajamanu. There’s something a bit fishy about that…

The heaviest hailstone recorded weighed one kilogram – that’s huge.

“It gets me more into the game and something to look forward to since I’m not a huge fan of basketball. It makes each game a more memorable memory.” Taylor Rahe, 12 said.

Sheridan Wilt who is a participant encourages people to try it.

“To people who don’t participate, I know you’re probably thinking, oh, people would think that’s weird, but if everyone else is doing it, it’s more fun!  Just try it once or twice and you’ll like it!” Wilt 10, says.

You’re probably wondering how they come up with student section themes. Victoria Harsahw, 12, and Justine Powls 12, brainstorm ideas for the student section themes. “We try to think of what holiday or special event we can link it to. Like last Friday was Friday the13th so we decided to wear creepy masks” Harshaw said.

“A lot of players and other students have noticed our “lacking” student section.  The student sections boost the teams morality and energy.

“There are some games when the visiting team out numbers our student section which is kind of sad,” Kyrstie Miller, 10 said.

Even though few students participate, players still appreciate the support. “I appreciate the themes, and the dressing up. It would be a lot better if more people participated and more people showed up though,” Ethan Holaday, 10, said.

Once the seniors are gone, Powls thinks that the themes will end. But she hopes the underclassmen will continue to do them.

Halloween is almost here and what is not more important than being scared and having fun with it? You could go all of the way to Atchison or even Kansas City to the haunted houses. But why not stay local? Why don’t you attempt to take an adventure North of Holton and see what you can accomplish?

Some students at Holton High have tried and failed but others who are luckier have made it all of the way to the mansion and have a story to tell people for the rest of their lives.

“One time I was driving up to the mansion with a couple other people and in the field next to the mansion there was a grain truck with its lights on but nobody was in it or around it. When we turned around to leave the truck took off across the field- it was the scariest thing in the world!” Alexa Kitrell, 12, said.

Other students have said that an older man chased them away and that he was carrying a gun or an axe. Who knows if their stories are real or if they were just imagining things but either way it’s still scary to think about.

“It was Halloween night a year or two ago and we were trying to get out of the driveway and the old man pinned our car so we could drive anywhere, it was really scary.” Hannah Coverdale, 11, said.

Some student’s stories aren’t as scary and they really don’t make you worry at all.

“Me and a couple friends ding dong ditched the old man’s house. We left the car at the road so we could make a quick get-a-way. Nothing really scary happened but my friends went back later that night and there were a lot of cops.” Garrett Lambrecht, 11, said.

As student’s stories keep getting creepier and creepier you definitely wont want to try to make it up that lane. Behind that lane is something many people haven’t seen or that many wouldn’t dare attempt to see.

“We were getting ready to leave and out of no where this truck turned its bright lights on and an old guy told me to throw my keys and to get out of the car. The cops showed up and it was a fun night.” Jacob Ewing, 11, said.

There isn’t a better time to bring this scary place up. There might be scarier things to write about but what’s more scary than having a haunted house that somebody didn’t create in your own town? Now, I’m challenging you- Can you do what very few people have done? Set your mind to it and you shall succeed! My advice to you is to play it safe and if old guy comes after you then turn around and get the heck out of there as quick as you can!

Queen Elizabeth the first ate so many sweets that her teeth rotted away and turned black. As she grew older, mirrors were kept away from her so she couldn’t see herself.

Women were not allowed to play roles in plays, so men had to play women’s parts.

So many people wore wigs in Elizabethan times that if a child was out after dark, they were in danger of having their hair cut to be made for wigs.

Queen Victoria was only 18 when she came to the throne and was the first royal to travel by train.

Queen Victoria thought the telephone was ugly so she had a pretty box built to put it in.

Princess Diana was bipolar and had very bad anxiety.

The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a licence or a registration number on her car. And she doesn’t have a passport.

The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday on a Saturday in June.