The Helderbarker moved from an all print newspaper in 2008-2009 to its all on-line version in 2009-2010.  Mr. Stumbaugh, English Department Chairperson and Helderbarker adviser, announced today that the opening meeting will cover staff assignments and  editorial positions.  Opening deadlines and plans for field trips and local excursions will also be covered.  “It will be essential for us to get writers from all grade levels.  I’m looking forward to a great year with the newspaper!” Stumbaugh said.

Again, all interested students in grades 6-12 should plan to attend the interest meeting on September 8th.

“Valentine’s Day” is a 120-minute PG13 movie.  This is because of language and some sexual content through out the movie.  I think this movie would be best for ninth graders and up because of these reasons.  This movie had many stories within the movie and was a little hard to follow at first, but by the end of the movie you knew what was going on.  There were proposals, breakups, makeups, hookups and affairs.  Any thing that could happen on Valentines Day was in this movie.

The director did not focus enough on one story to fully understand it, but I definitely recommend seeing this movie.  Ashton Kutcher played a man who owned a flower shop which was primarily the main focus on the movie.   Taylor Lautner, former werewolf Jacob Black in “New Moon,” played a shy jock afraid to take his shirt off.  Funny to see the totally different characters he plays: Jacob in “New Moon” brags about his body while in “Valentine’s Day” he was “shy” with his girlfriend (both on screen and off screen) Taylor Swift, who played a clueless teenager.

Not only are there teen relationships but also child relationships.  The child relationships consist of that “Hey this is for you because I guess I like you” issue.   There are many different views on Valentine’s Day that are portrayed in this movie.  For children it’s very awkward not knowing what’s going on.  But for many of the couples in the movie it was supposed to be a romantic, lets spend every moment together day, which didn’t end up working for almost all of the couples in the movie.

In this movie there is a “I hate Valentine’s Day” Party that many attend at the end of the movie.  These are mainly people who do not have a significant other and don’t have anyone to spend Valentine’s Day with.   They bring piñatas, balloons and many other decorations to the party and end up having a lot of fun.  This movie is interesting because of all the actors.  You might even end up trying to count them all like I did!

“The Crazies” is a horror-action remake of George A. Romero’s seventies movie by the same title. If you go into this movie thinking that it is another zombie movie you will be surprised, but pleasantly so.

The movie takes place in a little Podunk farming town in Iowa. The opening scene takes place during a high school baseball game in which the town sheriff, David Dutton, is watching. A couple of minutes later a man walks onto the field aimlessly wielding a shotgun. David rushes onto the field telling the players to get in the dugouts and confronts the man. David tells the man to lower his weapon and is returned with only a vacant stare. David is under the impression that this man is simply drunk and continues to try and reason with the man as he slowly raises his shotgun Suddenly the man raises the shotgun aiming at David and begins to pull the trigger, but David quickly draws his pistol and kills the man.

David is clearly upset by what he had to do and is even more disturbed when he has to confront the man’s wife and son. What troubles David the most is what occurs the following day when he learns from the autopsy report that the man showed no alcohol in his blood stream. David then becomes determined to figure out what caused the man to do this and he and his partner, deputy Russell Clank, begin an investigation.

The investigation leads them into a swamp where they find a crashed airplane. The investigation is then cut short by reports of a man lighting his home on fire with his wife and son still inside. The policemen detain the man and put him behind bars in the county sheriff’s department where the man just stands and vacantly stares at a wall. David calls his wife who is a doctor and she explains that she examined that man previously a few days earlier and said he was acting strange and had a high fever. David then travels to the morgue to check and see if the autopsy produced any new evidence that could link the two men, but while searching the place he is ambushed by the doctor; he is eventually saved by Russel.

The two policemen then try to call the state police department, but all mobile and landlines are dead. David then travels home to check on his wife, but the couple is then surprised when a school bus and military personal start to round up the citizens. The military take any one with a fever and exterminate them. Some of the citizens fight back giving David, Russel, a young girl by the name of Becca, and David’s wife Judy a chance to escape. The group returns to town in search of a automobile and find an old police cruiser and use it to try and escape. The group starts to follow the high way out but hears a military helicopter following and park in a car wash. In the car wash they are attacked by crazies and the vehicle is destroyed and Becca is killed.

They continue on foot and notice a military car following them Russel deploys a spike strip and kills the driver after David learns that the plane was carrying a pathogen and it got into the water supply for the town.

The death of the military man is against David’s wishes and it is clear now that Russel is starting to turn into one of the crazies. They are almost at the town limits when they come across a military outpost and are hard pressed to find a way around. Eventually Russel comes to terms that he has the virus and sacrifices himself by assaulting the outpost, giving David and Judy time to sneak by. David and Judy find a gas station take a car and start to drive towards a near by city and see a mushroom cloud in their wake.

All and all “The Crazies” was certainly worth seeing and if you like gore this movie will certainly have enough blood to satisfy you.

This quilt does not only connect us to all of America, but it holds a special connection to our school.  Our Principal, Mark Diefendorf is a Vietnam War veteran and his picture can be seen on one of the quilts.  Surrounding the piece of quilt honoring him are also his niece, a medic in Iraq, his brother-in-law, a Korean War veteran, and his father who fought in World War II.  When Mr. Diefendorf talked about the quilt he seemed humbled by the fact he was on it, but what made him most proud was to see his father.  On his mother’s 85th birthday, Mr. Diefendorf brought her to see the quilt.  This was a very emotional moment for them to share, remembering and honoring his father who died in 1968.  He was proud to share that moment with his mother.

The idea of the quilt was that of Lauren Dunn, a nurse at Stratton VA Medical Center.  The stories were collected by volunteers who work at the hospital.  Mr. Diefendorf and his family are on the quilt because his wife, Barbara White Diefendorf, is a nurse at the VA Medical Center. The quilt recognizes 189 US Veterans.  In addition to the quilt, the Sage Colleges made a book with the biographies of these veterans.  The book cost $15 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling, it can be purchased through the Sage website: www.sage.edu/VAQuilt.  All proceeds will go to scholarships for US veterans and their children enrolled at Sage in the Health Sciences.

The quilt will be leaving the lobby Friday, March 5th to go back to the hospital. Mr. Diefendorf says that nobody really talks about being a veteran but seeing him and his family on the quilt makes him proud.  This quilt serves as a reminder for all the men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country.  We should be grateful for what they have done for this country at all times, and should remember, honor them, and pay tribute to them everyday.

Many seniors leave this school and go off into the world with the knowledge of only art. There is an award that recognizes these talented students that are devoting everything to art. It’s not only an award but it’s a collection of art that is outstanding and is on display to everyone that enters the Voorheesville High school library. There are pieces from students that have graduated a few years ago and they are still on display. These 3 students that are leaving Voorheesville high have the chance to have their art work on display.

The first artist to be interviewed was Paige Tompkins.

Q: How or who influenced you into being an artist?

A: “I was influenced by my dad. When I was young, he would listen to me hum and that is a sign of happiness. My dad strived for me to do art work ever since”

Q: What would you say your style of art is?

A: “My style tends to me stylized. Cartoony and graphic-y”

Q: What do you want to major in college?

A: “Graphic Design, or maybe a ceramics major?”

Q: Where do you want to attend school?

A: “undecided still at this point”

Q: What other types of art do you like besides the ones you practice now?

A: “I’ve tried Jewelry making and I’m attempting a duct tape dress”

The second artist was Sophie Morris.

Q: How or who influenced you into being an artist?

A: “Umm, all my life. My parents and my sister are into art, especially my sister”

Q: What would you say your style of art is?

A: Graffiti, Tattoo designs, A lot of interior design”

Q: What do you want to major in college?

A: “Costume design, Set design”

Q: Where do you want to attend school?

A: “Savanna College of Art and design. That’s my number one choice”

Q: What other types of art do you like besides the ones you practice now?

A: “Graffiti, Painting, Tattoos”
The third, and final artist, was Garrett Wineinger:

Q: How or who influenced you into being an artist?

A: “I was influenced by my brother. Art has always been in my family”

Q: What would you say your style of art is?

A: “I would say my style of art is being and idealist. I channel all my emotion into art”

Q: What do you want to major in college?

A: “Either Green Architecture or Graphic design”

Q: Where do you want to attend school?

A: “3 choices. University of Toronto, Illinois Institute of Technology or Newbury College. My number one is Toronto because i want to play D1 volleyball”

Q: What other types of art do you like besides the ones you practice now?

A: “Everything, Painting drawing, designing”

In the second game, played on Saturday February 27^th against Canajoharie, it was a close game but Voorheesville ended taking the win, 57-53. In the game Senior Ethan Mackey recorded his 1,000th career point and finished with 26 points, so he now has 1,005 in his whole high school career. Doing well for Canajoharie, Peyton Stahler poured in 21 points and Dane O’Neil added 13, but it was not enough to keep the Blackbirds from taking the win.

In the third and final game against Hoosick Falls at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Wednesday March 3, which was the Class C semifinal, the boys fell behind Hoosick Falls in the first and second quarter and could never come back, leading to the victory of Hoosick Falls by a score of 59-42. It was a sad loss for seniors on the team because it was their last chance and last game they would ever play in their high school careers. The boys overall had a great season this year, winning most of their games and ending the on good terms knowing they tried their hardest in every game this season.

Starting the game in a 1-3-1 zone defense, Schenectady Christian knocked down a few shots early. Senior Emily Norris from Voorheesville stated that she and her teammates were not expecting Schenectady Christian to make too many outside shots. She said from their scouting reports on Schenectady Christian they only had one girl, #34 junior Rachel Bush, that could shoot from the outside and they were planning to close out hard on Rachel and not give her any chance to shoot.

Although Schenectady Christian did earn the first two points in the game, the Voorheesville Varsity girls did not loose focus. When subs came in about half way through, the game picked up speed and pressure by extending the zone into a 1-3-1 full court press which means the defensive team can be moved out to full court using speed and aggressiveness to its fullest potential.

After half time, the girls returned back on the court, Schenectady Christian in the lead 10-5. Voorheesville came out in a man defense and added in some traps which helped their team a lot. In the last quarter, Voorheesville was up by four points but did not pass the ball when they were supposed to which made them fall behind. The girls also did not shoot when they were supposed to. Emily Norris stated that her team worked very hard over break on their catch shots, but in the end they came up short. The snow for the past week didn’t help them either. The girls were not able to scrimmage because of snow cancellations. Norris said the amount of turnovers her team had affected the game and they should not have had that many. “Over all, I would say the effort was there but we couldn’t make our shots.”

While this was a great ending to the Basketball season for four seniors at Schenectady Christian, seniors Britney Creed, Emily Norris, Elizabeth Madden and Amelia Martin ended their High School Basketball career on a bitter sweet note.

Students are not allowed to have fewer than 6.5 credits during senior year, even if they have the minimal amount to graduate, which is 22 credits throughout your whole high school career.  I believe this rule is very unnecessary.  If you have completed the 22 credits and are eligible to graduate you should not have to take classes you don’t need to.

Speaking with a few students who have had to take many classes that they did not want to take showed that they have a similar viewpoint.  Dylan Parry, also a senior at Clayton A. Bouton, had to take a class he didn’t want to because he did not have the minimal credit amount for his senior year.  Dylan says, “ I think the credit rule is a little overboard.” Also, Senior Steven Ianno has a similar viewpoint as Dylan.  He said ” I don’t like that very much.”  He says it takes up time where you could be out of school working to earn money to pay for college.  Darren Staples, another senior at Clayton A. Bouton, says if you “did your share, you shouldn’t have to come to school.  It’s wasting useful time where we could start college early.”

I believe that the Board of Education should review this rule because many students could be doing other important things like working, extra study halls or going to college early.  In 11th grade students are able to graduate early and that is pretty much the same thing.

When students get mad at their guidance counselors they shouldn’t.  The Board of Education tells the guidance counselors to tell the students this rule.  If students are ready to argue with the amount of credits they have to take they need to plead their case to the Board of Education and then the Board will determine if that student is eligible to take less than the minimal credits.

I applied to five SUNY schools and two others: St. John’s University and the University of Vermont, which I only applied to because they sent me free applications. So far, I have heard from one school out of the seven. The two free application schools wanted more information and I, lacking the motivation, decided to pass on completing them. I was accepted at Buffalo State, my third choice school, and now I’m left waiting for Purchase and Stony Brook.

When I was first picking schools, I looked at the schools that offered the major I wanted, which is journalism, and then I looked at their locations and decided based on how far away they were, weather patterns, etc. The one thing I regret when I picked my first choice, which was Stony Brook, was that I didn’t look for student opinions from the school. Instead, I looked the day after I got my first acceptance letter. I looked on a few websites with forums and reviews and, to my surprise, my second choice, Purchase, was more well liked then Stony Brook.  Not to put down the school, but most of the positive reviews that the school had were all from the math department.

After realizing that I was lucky enough to get my third choice, I looked online for things I like to do around the Buffalo area. Will I be able to watch roller derby? Yes. Will I be able to go to concerts? Yes. Then, I looked for dorm room supplies online to ensure I’d have the most comfortable room ever. But am I just a victim of the leaving home fever? All of this, the decision to look up reviews, the double and triple checking Common App to make sure I got everything in, thinking about the roller derby and furniture, is all because I’ve been so paranoid because I’ve been waiting for what seems like ages to find out whether or not they want me.

Sometimes the college acceptance-or rejection-process is like being accepted into a group of friends and, unfortunately, they are the ones to pick you and it’s exclusive. I can’t really choose which one and just go there. I need to somehow convince them I’m worthy, which makes me feel kind of inadequate. Opening a letter saying I’m not good enough just sounds stressful and it is only made worse by the fact that it could happen.

Some of my friends have been rejected and all of them have reacted similarly. One cried and ripped the letter up. The other looked at other schools. And one completely changed her plans because maybe the major she wanted is the reason why she didn’t get into her schools. And now I’m the one waiting. I just want an answer. Not knowing is almost as bad as getting rejected. Now it’s one of the only things on my mind. I start biting my nails and my hands get sweaty when I just open the mailbox and the worst part is seeing that I don’t have any letters.

While I’m waiting I guess I can look on more reviews and think of buying some dorm room furniture, but I can only handle this waiting game for so long. Soon, I’m going to call the schools, infuriated, asking about the status of my application and if they don’t say it has been mailed, I guess I’ll continue waiting some more because I don’t want them to think I’m a nut or potential security risk.

But I myself find this theory flawed in many ways.  During the fall and winter the sun sets early and it is usually completely dark out by seven at night. So I do not understand the logic of letting teenage drivers drive in the dark for a certain period of time and then make them stop at a certain time. There have been many times where I have had to come home from a friend’s house or school function because that certain event ended after nine. For instance, most school basketball games end after nine, so if beginner drivers wanted to go to the game, and did not have a ride from their parents, they would not be able to go to the game. So in essence, the driving law is actually preventing teenagers from going to social and school events because of the restriction.

There are some obvious good things that come out of teenagers driving under the age of 18. One of the main positives that have came out of the restriction is that it is stopping a lot of teenagers from driving back from parties.  In the State of New York if you are caught twice driving after nine you will get your license taken away.  This scares a lot of the younger drivers because they do not want to lose their license because they drove after a certain time. So in the end most will just get a ride home from their parents and then there will be no accidents.

This does not mean that there could be different restrictions when it comes to driving at night. Most school and social events are held at night whether they are sporting events, meetings, concerts or special events.  Speaking from personal experience, there has been many times where I could not get a ride from the event, so I would have to miss it because of the law.  So if a school is trying to get their students to attend these events, the law is sometimes preventing this from happening. It is good that our state government cares about the safety of drivers, but that law interferes with the social life of many young drivers. I believe the law should be looked at and possibly changed to a later time.