Senior Tribute
Alex Steffensmeier
Birthdate: August 29th, 1996
Nickname: Franklin
Favorite Movies: “American Sniper”, “Ouija”, “Rain Man”
Favorite High School memory: Going to birthday parties with Lee and Jacob.
Plans after High School: Go to Northeast and major in Agriculture.
Quote: “You can’t win unless you know how to lose.”-­‐ Kareem Abdul-­‐Jabbar
If you could have a superpower what would it be? To be invisible, then I could win at Hide and Seek.
Senior Tribute
Paige Verba
Birthdate: June 23, 1997
Nickname: Paigey, Paigey Poo, Paigers,
Favorite Movies: “Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles”, “Little Nicky”
Favorite High School memory: Summer of 2013 with my best friend Shayna. Nothing
will ever compare to that summer.
Plans after High School: Attend Northeast Community College and major in Human
Services.
Quote: “Be a Fruit Loop in a world full of Cheerios”. - Unknown
If you could have any superpower what would it be and why? Telepathy, then maybe
I could finally understand how a guy’s mind works!
February 2015 Monthly Horoscope
Aries: Work may be trying to drive you crazy, but you don't have to fall for it. Be
calm and clear, and don't get rattled. Avoid strife or disagreements with a boss or
authority figure. Try to see things from their side and let it go. The New Moon on
February 20 scrambles your social life and rearranges some alliances or
friendships. You may be able to read between the lines and see other people's
secret agendas.
Taurus: The urge for quality friend time and the charming distractions of short
trips may overtake you. Post-holiday fatigue won't slow you down. In fact, bigger
trips might beckon. Keep control of your time, money, and real or imagined social
obligations. It shouldn't be a challenge, but it might need more time than you have,
in which case just say so. Love makes an appearance on February 27. Possible are
unexpected affection and a tenderhearted reaction to a tiny kindness.
Gemini: Be busy and enjoy the New Moon. You'll have the magic touch at work, and
that will leave you plenty of time and energy for a big break or even a getaway. The
weekend of February 30 is fun but full of confusion and misunderstandings. Be
tolerant and ready for lateness, dropped calls, and lost parked cars.
Cancer: People may try to eat up your time and attention at the New Moon on
February 20. Hold your ground and be reassuring. Someone or something that
occurs far away could inspire you and expand and improve your world. Don't crawl
into your shell and be emotional and super sensitive. Spend it with someone who
understands your moods and knows how to listen.
Leo: Nerves and emotions may still be rolling from the holidays, and you deserve
your downtime at home as much as anyone. Perk up and rediscover some of that
personal magic and your usual good luck. Love, romance, or simply lavishing more
time on a partner may take precedence. There's magic in the air, so it's worth your
while to see what others are up to.
Virgo: You could be greatly inspired and high on a creative streak that doesn't
leave much room for socializing. The weekend of February 10 can be fun and
romantic, but unmet expectations and disappointments may follow. Take good care
of yourself, although if one more person tries to tell you how to eat or exercise,
you might want to slap them. Redirect that temper and energy into something fun
and beautiful - just for you.
Libra: Keep a level head and don't let events at home complicate matters. Relax
and be your normal, efficient self. Maybe make a new friend. Pace yourself. Work
some personal magic at home and watch a family matter instantly improve or solve
itself. You can always be shocking and blow off steam with your special friends.
Scorpio: Friends and previous commitments and plans will help keep you grounded
and from straying too far off the ground. February 13, could get late, with too
much to do, and make it hard to get to bed. The February 20 New Moon opens the
door for family members to call and visit more than usual. You can be comforting
and supportive without getting run over. Life may also look more magical and fun.
It's no illusion. Keep this feeling all year long.
Sagittarius: You may feel called to help someone who really doesn't need it as
much as you think. Respect your own finances and needs, don't neglect yourself,
and everything will be fine. Friends and social groups may tug at you during the
February 20 New Moon. Even if you're asked to be an officer in some club,
whatever the responsibility or honor, you'll want to know if it's convenient and fun.
Capricorn: If not looking for love, try to deflect affections in another direction
and come off looking generous as well as gorgeous. Money and people may come
your way with the New Moon on February 20. Be patient and pay attention and you
could score big with a better job offer, more work, or simply more income without
the extra work.
Aquarius: Stay in, rest, take chicken soup to any ailing friends, but don't linger.
The February 20 New Moon belongs to you, and you should prepare to start
something new and important. Don't be caught off guard if some new, important
opportunity comes your way out of nowhere. For the rest of the month, use your
great people skills to keep and nurture new alliances.
Pisces: It's a win/win kind of Full Moon on February 4. Fun projects at home could
be extra appealing now, but your social life may compete and look like just as much
fun. Be thoughtful and treat people gently - you'll have great influence and
personal magic now. But don't dally over something important. The magic won't last
long.
Synopsis
"Into the Woods" is a modern twist on several of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales,
intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters'
wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella
(Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel
Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy)-all tied together by an original story involving a
baker and his wife (James Corden & Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a family and their
interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep) who has put a curse on them.
Review
Fans of Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical have nothing to fear from this finely tuned and
beautifully rendered cinematic version. The set will draw you in; the music, as expected, will
leave you at once melancholy and thoughtful; and the acting will surprise and please. The
weakest link, if he can be called that, is actually Depp, who could have benefited from a touch of
understatement. But almost everyone else is a delight: Streep, especially -- despite having been
in scores of memorable movies for decades -- reminds us that she has the power to morph into
something we've yet to see. And Pine proves he has a gift for comedy in the hilarious song
"Agony." But best of all is Sondheim's music: It's complicated and compelling. This is no run-ofthe-mill children's musical. Musicals don't often teach nuanced life lessons. But if, as one song
goes, "children will listen," they'll hear plenty of words to guide them here.
The Secret of the Shadow
Groundhog Day Facts
❖ The average groundhog is 20 inches long and normally weighs from 12 to 15
pounds.
❖ A groundhog's diet consists of lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables and very
little water.
❖ A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed.
❖ The size of a groundhog litter is 4 to 9.
❖ A baby groundhog is called a kit or a cub.
❖ A groundhog's life span is normally 6 to 8 years.
❖ The celebration of Groundhog Day began with the Germans, Pennsylvania's
earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day,
which states "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow
swirl in May".
Valentine’s Day
Facts
● In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who
their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one
week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people
to know how you are feeling.
● Women purchase 85% of all valentines.
● In Japan, Valentine's Day is usually the female's responsibility. White Day, on March 14th,
is the man's turn to reciprocate.
● Valentine, Nebraska has a special "Cupid's Mailbox" that forwards your cards with
a special Valentine's stamp.
● Valentine’s Day is celebrated in America, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada,
France, Australia and Denmark.
● Who is Cupid and what does he have to do with Valentine’s Day?
Cupid is the Roman God of desire, erotic love and affection. In
Latin (ancient language) Cupid means Amor. Amor in English
means love.
Super Bowl Sunday
Sunday, Feb. 1 was Super Bowl Sunday, and what a game it was.
The Seattle Seahawks faced off against the infamous New England
Patriots. The Patriots have been the favored team to win ever since they
killed the Indianapolis Colts, although some say it was only because of the
“deflate-gate” scandal. Drew Brees told fans, “Tom Brady’s head was
probably in the game, not worried if the ball was a few grams light.” As the
Super Bowl started, though, they were picked to be the winning team. The
Patriots looked as if they were going to lose the Super Bowl, up until the
last quarter, which is when the best two plays of the game took place. First
the Seahawks threw it down field to wide out Jermaine Kearse, who
managed to catch the ball as it bounced off his leg. It looked like the
Seahawks were going to win the Super Bowl with one of the greatest last
minute drives ever seen in Super Bowl history, when the quarterback for
the Seahawks, Russell Wilson, threw it straight into the waiting hands of
Malcolm Butler, winning the Patriot’s their 4th Super Bowl. Due to high
tension, there was a fourth quarter fight. Bruce Irving of the Seattle
Seahawks was ejected from the game after he got into a shoving match
with New England’s own Rob Gronkowski, and was then pushed from
behind by another Patriot team member, causing Irving to lash out at Rob.
Irving apologizes to all his fans for causing disruption at the Super Bowl,
blaming mixed emotions. Also under scrutiny, Pete Carroll, for not running
his star back, Marshawn Lynch, on the play the Patriots intercepted the
ball. The world may never know why he did it, but it cost poor old Pete the
game.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Day is a fairly new federal holiday, and there are some long
standing traditions that come along with it. MLK day is seen as a day that
promotes equal rights for all Americans, regardless of their color or background.
Some school’s even mark the day by teaching their students about the work of
Martin Luther King and the struggle he faced against racial segregation and
racism. Martin Luther King Day, which is also Martin Luther King’s birthday ,
is combined with other federal holidays in some states. For example, in Arizona
and New Hampshire its combined with Civil Rights Day, while it is combined
with Human Rights Day in Idaho. Also, in recent years, the government has
encouraged all Americans to stop and take some time out of their day to help as
volunteers in citizen action groups and to work towards becoming a country that
is 100% against segregation.
Did you know?...
Did you know that Martin Luther King Junior day was not officially celebrated
in all fifty states until the year 2000?
FFA participates in livestock judging
Thirteen Howells-Dodge FFA members made a trip to Northeast
Community College for Livestock Judging on Thursday January 29.
There was a Junior and Senior team that competed. The junior team
included Justin Horejsi, Miles Kulhanek, Tessa Brester, Joey
Kratochvil, Katelyn Steffensmeier, Luke Larson and Emily Wragge.
The senior team was made up of Hailey Coufal, Elizabeth Sindelar,
Elisia Vogel, Jacob Vogel, Mitchell Brester, and Alex Steffensmeier.
From the Junior team, Miles placed 9th overall, Emily placed 18th,
Tessa placed 19th, Joey placed 25th, Justin placed 38th, Katelyn
placed 56th and Luke placed 72nd. In the Senior team, Alex placed
5th overall, Jacob placed 15th, Mitchell placed 25th, Elizabeth
placed 28th, Elisia placed 31st, and Hailey placed 65th. The senior
team placed 4th overall and the junior team placed 4th. It was a long
and successful day for the FFA livestock judges!
FCCLA members shoot for the
stars
The Howells-Dodge FCCLA chapter competed at District 5 STAR Events
contest on January 21, 2015 at Saint Edward. Congratulations to everyone who
competed and to the following District Champions: Brittany Cech, Anna Borman,
Bailey Rohrer, Kara Brichacek, Kelly Cech, Vanessa Hegemann, Kalli Brester,
Sam Brester, Tessa Brester, Miah Nathan, Ellie Sheaks, Morgan Baumert, Casey
Smith, Megan Kaup, Justin Horejsi, Justin Shonka, Joey Kratochvil, Hunter
Nathan, Nathan Kathol, Jordyn Brester, Katelyn Steffensmeier, Emily Wragge,
Seth Novak, Connor Blum, Ryan Macholan, Jordon Brichacek, Abby Coday, Faith
Molacek, and Ashley Vanderworker. These state qualifiers will be getting ready to
present in Lincoln in April.
How to train your speech team
“Although our upcoming season will have some challenges, we have a team
that is ready to dominate.” says speech coach Señorita. The team is made up of 22
members and one student manager. Speech season kicked off on January 17th as
the speech team made their way to Pierce to compete in their first meet. The team
did exceptionally well with 16 team members competing, On the varsity level, the
OID team of Morgan Baumert, Justin Evert, Darren Hegemann, Vanessa
Hegemann, and Casey Smith earned fifth place honors. In the JV division, Justin
Evert claimed the silver in entertainment speaking while Jonathan Laner accepted
the fifth place medal in that event. The OID team of Carter Bracht, Tami Dostal,
Holly Tomcak, and Jacob Vogel earned fourth place medals in the JV division
while Carter Bracht's second medal of the day was a sixth place finish in humorous
prose. Darren and Justin Evert told us, “It should be a successful season, as people
have been preparing a lot during the preseason. This season should be pretty
interesting and fun, but there is room for growth. We’re very excited to get started.
We either go hard or go home.”
The next speech meet that the team had was on the 24th of January and was
held at North Bend. In the Novice division, Justin Evert garnered a silver medal in
entertainment speaking while Holly Tomcak grabbed the silver in humorous prose.
Carter Bracht accepted the third place medal in humorous prose as well as the fifth
place medal in duet acting along with Dax VanLengen. Holly Tomcak and Jordyn
Brester claimed sixth place in the same event. Holly and Carter picked up their
third medal of the day along with Tami Dostal and Jacob Vogel as they earned fifth
place in OID. Kara Brichacek earned fifth place with her persuasive speech. In the
varsity division, the OID team of Vanessa Hegemann, Darren Hegemann, Casey
Smith, Justin Evert, and Morgan Baumert claimed the gold medal while Hunter
Nathan, Abby Coday, Jessica Shonka, Jonathan Laner, and Tylinn Good earned
sixth place. In duet acting, Justin Evert and Vanessa Hegemann earned first place
while Tylinn Good and Abby Coday accepted third place honors. Jacob Vogel
earned fourth place in extemporaneous speaking. In informative speaking, Emily
Ritzdorf earned fifth place and Kelly Cech accepted the sixth place medal. Hunter
Nathan earned sixth place in humorous prose while Morgan Baumert accepted the
sixth place in serious prose and Jonathan Laner earned sixth place in entertainment.
These placings allowed the team to finish with a third place team sweepstakes in
the varsity division.The next Speech meet the team had was the Jaguar Jabber
which was held at Howells. In the JV division, the Jaguars were able to tie for
championship honors as a team. Silver medals were earned by Carter Bracht and
Dax VanLengen in duet acting and Darren Hegemann in entertainment speaking.
Holly Tomcak claimed third place honors in humorous prose and matched it with a
third place along with her OID team of Jacob Vogel, Tami Dostal, and Carter
Bracht. Carter earned his third medal of the day with a fifth place finish in
humorous prose. Jordyn Brester and Holly Tomcak garnered a fifth place finish in
duet acting while Elisia Vogel claimed a sixth place finish for the Jaguars in
poetry. On the varsity side, Justin Evert earned a third place finish in entertainment
speaking while Emily Ritzdorf claimed the fourth place finish in informative
speaking. The OID team of Casey Smith, Vanessa Hegemann, Morgan Baumert,
Darren Hegemann, and Justin Evert accepted the fifth place finish. The team is
excited to continue their speech season and are ready to dominate at the rest of
their meets.
Busy boys basketball recap
The boys tough Holiday tournaments this year. The first holiday tournament
was held here in Howells and the boys went 1-1, defeating Homer, but falling short
to Bancroft Rosalie. Their second holiday tournament was held in Fremont at
Midland. The boys fell short both games, losing to Fremont Bergan and Hartington
Cedar Catholic. On January 9, the boys battled all game but were defeated by
Humphrey St.Francis. On the 10th, the boys traveled to Scribner and scored a big
over Scribner-Snyder. The boys lost to Wisner-Pilger at home on Friday, January
16. They traveled to Pender on the 24th and won big over the Pendragons! Tuesday,
January 27 the boys played Logan View in Dodge and the team scored a huge
victory on parents night! The boys traveled to Stanton for the first round of the
Conference Tournament on Saturday January 31st. The boys battled all game, but
in the end the boys fell short. They have a busy month coming up, come out and
support the Jags!
Howells-Dodge Girls Basketball Team
continues to win
The Howells-Dodge girls basketball season started off with a bang as the girls
have a winning record. The girls have played in many games including the Holiday
Tournament that was hosted by Howells-Dodge. At the Holiday Tournament the girls
played Homer losing 50-59 and Bancroft-Rosalie losing 46-54. “The girls are doing very
well and it’s nice to see them make a comeback from the Holiday Tournament. I’m
excited for the rest of the season because we should be pretty competitive,” says Coach
Polacek. Senior Faith Molacek adds, “We’re doing very well and I’m hoping we stay on
a winning streak. We plan to train to get more aggressive.” The girls played WisnerPilger on January 16 beating them 46-34. Howells-Dodge girls next played TekamahHerman on January 23 in Dodge winning with the final score being 45-37. On January
27th the girls had their Parents’ Night game in Dodge against Logan View the final score
was Howells-Dodge 67 and Logan View 22. The girls continued their winning record as
they prepared for their East Husker Conference games which began on January 30th
against Humphrey/Holy Family at Howells. The final score of the game was HowellsDodge 55 and Humphrey/Holy Family 42. The next Conference Tournament game was
the 2nd of February, and the girls played Lyons-Decatur Northeast and Howells-Dodge
came out on top. The next Conference tournament game for the girls is on February 5th
against Stanton.
Wrestling for a victory
The Jaguars started off the new year at High
Plain/Clarks Invitational taking 14th out of 21 teams. After
two days of matches, individual medalists included Oscar
Hernandez receiving 8th, Lee Vering with a 7th place, Ryan
Molacek battled for his 6th place medal, Miles Kulhanek
received 4th, and Seth Novak received 3rd place.
Next the boys took on Stanton with a dual in Howells.
Howells-Dodge overpowered the Mustangs and won 42.00 to
24.00.
The Jags then traveled to Battle Creek for the 2015 Battle Creek Invitational placing 9th
out of 19 teams. Ryan Molacek placed 5th, Gavin Hays received 5th, Luke Larson claimed 14th,
Tanner Coufal placed 6th, Seth Novak earned 1st place, Lee Vering received 3rd, Justin Bazata
placed 14th, and Oscar Hernandez placed 12th.
Saturday, January 24, the Jaguars competed at the Oakland/Craig Invitational with
5 medalists including Ryan Molacek with 3rd, Gavin Hays with 5th place, MIles Kulhanek
received 5th, Seth Novak with 3rd place, and Lee Vering with 2nd.
When Coach Jones was asked how the Jaguar Wrestlers are preparing for Districts on
February 13 & 14 he answered, “The boys are gradually becoming more conditioned and
continually better their skills. All to lead up for District and State competitions.” Go Jags!