The Creek
Indian Creek Local School District Newsletter
November 2015
Schools Help Honor Local Hero Capt. Nick Hauck
Members of the Indian Creek Local School
District will come together with the community on Nov. 5 to recognize a local hero.
The Mingo Business Association, in conjunction with the school district, will host a
special ceremony at 4:30 p.m. outside the
Mingo Junction Knights of Columbus to honor the late U.S. Air Force Capt. David “Nick”
Hauck prior to the annual Joe Fortunato Dinner and Community Awards Banquet. Participants will gather near the site to hear patriotic
songs by the Hills Elementary School Choir
under the direction of teacher Carolyn Cole
plus musical selections by the Indian Creek
Middle School Choir, which is directed by
Michael Minor. U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (ROhio) is also expected to make comments by
video during the occasion and the Tri-State
Marine Corps. planned to hold a 21-gun salute.
Jim Freiling, spokesman for the MBA, said
third-through eighth-graders were invited to
participate and information will be provided
to educate them on Capt. Hauck’s heroics
nearly 35 years ago. Hauck, a Mingo resident,
was performing in an airshow with the USAF
Thunderbirds at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden,
Utah, on May 9, 1981, when his T-38 Talon
aircraft experienced a malfunction. Knowing
it could crash and ultimately kill numerous
spectators, the captain chose to sacrifice his
own life and down the plane away from the
populace. His courage led to a section of
Ohio 7 being designated as the Capt. Nick
Hauck Memorial Highway.
“Rather than parachute out and not know
where the plane was going to land, he chose to
go down with the plane. To me, that’s a real
American hero,” Freiling said.
He added that he approached Indian Creek
Superintendent Dr. T.C. Chappelear, ICMS
Principal Dr. Holly Minch-Hick, and Hills
Elementary Principal Michelle Minto about
holding the event and they were willing to
take part.
“I wanted to have a special outdoor service
and invite all of the schoolkids to participate,”
he added. “A whole new generation of kids
This dated photo shows Mingo Junction native Capt. Nick Hauck signing autographs before his final flight with the USAF Thunderbirds prior to his fatal crash in 1981. Capt.
Hauck (inset) will be remembered during a special service on Nov. 5 in his hometown involving Indian Creek students and the community.
and parents will know who Capt. Nick Hauck
was and what he did. Indian Creek is supporting the ceremony and school officials were
coordinating events. Capt. Hauck once said,
‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.’
And doing this special ceremony, I want to
make sure we do it right.”
District Library Coordinator Michele Fabbro
and the ICMS Media Club created postcardsized invitations for grades 3-8 with information about the pilot that were being distributed at the schools.
Minor said being included in the program
was a special honor.
“It’s really nice,” he said. “We thank Mr.
Freiling because he always makes sure to
include us, and we thank him for getting the
schools involved. It will be a great community
experience.”
The schools will perform such songs as the
National Anthem, “God Bless America,” and
“The Armed Forces Medley.”
Minto appreciated Freiling’s efforts and his
organization’s support of the school community.
“It will be interesting for the kids to see how
heroic [Capt. Hauck] was because he saved
many lives,” Minto said.
“I’m excited that we’re honoring a true
American hero,” added Dr. Chappelear. “I
think everybody in the Indian Creek community is proud to honor Capt. Hauck. He exemplifies the spirit you see in our school district.”
The banquet begins at 5:45 p.m. with honors
being bestowed for achievements in community, business, education, music and the arts.
Event proceeds benefit the Joe Fortunato
Scholarship Fund, which has dispersed an
estimated $9,000 to ICHS graduates. Freiling
said Capt. Hauck will be recognized in the
veteran’s category and honorees will also
receive resolutions from federal and state
leaders. Other recipients include Rose Gron
Angelica, Richard Angelica, Pete Burkey,
Coach Mike Herrick, Dr. William Johns, John
Valuska, Dr. James W. Valuska, Mingo
Knights of Columbus Council 4361, Baci
Carpico, and longtime Mingo Junction Mayor
John “Wiz” Fabian.
ICHS Alumnus Donates Replica Super Bowl Ring
Take a look inside the display case at
Indian Creek High School and you might
notice a unique addition.
Among the trophies is a replica of the
2015 Super Bowl ring given to the New
England Patriots following their win over
the Seattle Seahawks last January. The
bling was donated by 2000 ICHS graduate
Patrick Stewart, a former Redskin and current scout for the professional football
team. Coach Joe Dunlevy said he received
the ring from Stewart’s father, former district Assistant Superintendent Court Stewart, who also is a past coach, in September
after meeting up with Patrick at an athletic
venue.
“I was fortunate to coach Pat in three
sports—football, basketball and baseball,”
Dunlevy said. “I was talking to him when
the varsity football team played at Cambridge this year and his father Court came
to buy tickets and brought me the ring. I
thought it was awesome.”
Dunlevy coached Stewart in freshman
football, where the latter played myriad
positions from tight end to defensive end;
varsity baseball, where he was first baseman; and basketball, where Stewart was a
guard.
“When Pat went through high school,
everyone who coached him knew he’d do
something in athletics. He was so intelligent, you knew he was going to do something great,” Dunlevy added. “He was a
leader.”
He noted that he’s kept in touch with his
former student through the years.
A replica of the 2015 Super Bowl ring won by the New England Patriots is now part of the
trophy collection at Indian Creek High School, where it was donated by IC alumnus and
current NFL team scout Patrick Stewart.
Stewart’s passion for sports continued at
The Ohio State, where he was involved
with legendary coaches Jim Tressel and
Luke Fickell. After graduation, he worked
for Western Carolina University as a graduate assistant coach and was assistant director of operations at Temple University
before making his way to the National
Football League, where he has served the
Patriots for the past seven years. He began
as a scouting assistant but is currently an
area scout. Stewart moved back to Ohio
from Boston and now resides in Columbus.
Court Stewart said he was immensely
pleased with his son’s achievement and
that the ring stood for success.
“As a parent, I’m proud of what he’s accomplished. He thought it would be a good
idea to show if you worked hard enough,
anything is possible.”
Lester Carney Track Dedicated at Kettlewell Stadium
Sixty-five years after he earned acclaim at the Olympic games, Lester
Carney was recognized with the formal
dedication of the Indian Creek High
School track in his name on Oct. 2.
Carney, a Wintersville native, was a
silver medalist in the 200m race during
the XVII Olympiad in 1960. Now living
in Akron, he returned to his hometown
for the dedication of the Lester Carney
Track at Kettlewell Stadium, which
occurred during halftime of the ICHS
Redskins’ football game against the
Brooke Bruins. He is pictured above,
center, with school board members,
loved ones and friends.
Principal’s Reading Club Building at ICMS
Indian Creek Middle School students are
picking up a book outside of the classroom
to take part in a new Principal’s Reading
Club.
Grade 5-6 Principal Toni Dondzila began
the lunchtime meetings in September and
now it stands at 20 participants. Sixth- and
eighth-graders gather in the school conference room each Monday at lunchtime to
read and discuss a selection of novels
based upon their grade levels. Dondzila
said interest has been building in literature
as an extracurricular activity.
She was inspired to start a similar group
while principal at Wintersville Elementary
but revisited the concept at the middle
school following a request by a student.
“A sixth-grader came to me wanting to
start a reading club. I asked an eighthgrader I knew loved reading,” she said. “I
asked the sixth- and eighth-grade teachers
to recommend books.”
Ten sixth-graders and 10 eighth-graders
meet up to read and discuss novels and
Indian Creek Middle School Grade 5-6 Principal Toni Dondzila meets with 20 sixthand eighth-graders for a regular lunchtime Principal’s Reading Club to inspire students to enjoy reading literature for pleasure.
Dondzila said the experience has inspired
her, as well.
“They push me, especially the sixthgraders. It’s a highlight for them,” she continued. “It was student driven.”
But she hopes the idea of reading for
enjoyment continues well into their future.
“Research shows that test scores go up
the more they are exposed to reading,” she
concluded. “My hope is for them to have a
lifelong love of reading and be part of a
book club.”
Student Council Helping Soldiers and Seniors
Members of the Indian Creek Middle
School Student Council are supporting
soldiers and senior citizens with separate
charity collections.
Advisor Joyce Cammilletti said the organization has started gathering items for
Boatsie’s Boxes Inc. as part of Operation
Christmas Stocking No. 12 to benefit deployed troops this holiday season.
Cammilletti said retired ICMS teacher
Gina Judy approached her as a civic women’s group representative and asked if the
student council would help. Now in its 12th
year, Boatsie’s Boxes, which has representatives in West Virginia and Ohio, supplies empty stockings to be filled with
treats, toiletries, and other items to make
soldiers serving abroad to feel some com-
Community Night
A large crowd turned out for the second annual Community Night at Indian Creek Middle School on Oct. 19, where they enjoyed free food, a volleyball game, art exhibits, fall
sports recognition, and 50-50 raffle and Chinese auction fundraisers that raised more than
$700 for the Students Against Destructive Decisions organization.
forts from home. Some of the goods include chocolates, Christmas candy, Slim
Jims, trail mix, chewing gum, healthy
snacks, cookies, DVD’s, playing cards,
travel dental kits, shave cream, and crew
socks. The stockings were being collected
by Boatsie’s Boxes in time for shipment
around Nov. 16.
“We’re trying to get the word out and are
making signs that we’re collecting until
Nov. 2,” she said.
In addition, the youth group was collecting warm footwear as part of the Socks for
Seniors, a non-profit community service
project for senior citizens. The sock drive
began in 2002 and is now part of a nationwide network. Cammilletti said the socks
will be collected until early December and
benefits seniors across the area.
“The socks will go to local nursing
homes,” she said. “We want to help the
community, that’s what our organization
does. We highly encourage them to bring
things in for others.”
Grade 7-8 Principal Dr. Holly MinchHick said the goal was to help others.
“We all know somebody in the military
and knowing you are bringing someone a
little comfort and a little bit of home is a
nice gesture,” Dr. Minch-Hick said.
WES Celebrates Togetherness on Unity Day
Wintersville Elementary School celebrated togetherness during Unity Day on Oct.
21.
The school’s administration, staff and
estimated 650 students donned specially
made red and gold Indian Creek T-shirts to
mark the occasion, which part of its antibullying efforts. The event was spearheaded by the Fourth-Grade Student Council as
a way to show support for each other and
make the school a positive environment in
which to learn.
“I feel this was an extension of our Bully
Prevention Week [held in September] because we need to start realizing that we are
all working toward the same thing,” said
fourth-grade teacher and advisor Toni
Voltz. “Unity Day talks about what it
means to be united. This allowed them to
not just focus on the vocabulary for bully
prevention, this focuses on the entire
Wintersville Elementary student Brock
Pendleton poses with construction paper
hands linked in solidarity during Unity Day
activities at the school.
meaning behind what we’re doing. I feel
like this provided them with a lot more
visuals of the how’s and why’s of it.”
Banners were hung around the school
encouraging togetherness while construction paper hands were linked as a further
sign of solidarity. Students involved said
they got the message and they hoped to
spread it further.
“It’s to take care of bullying prevention,”
said fourth-grader Nicky Maurer.
“We help people,” added fourth-grader
Noah Tweedy.
The event was part of World Unity Day
recognition in October. Voltz hopes to do
even more to stand up against bullying and
promote kindness, such as wearing their
Unity Day shirts and performing activities
one Friday a month. The student council
will soon gear up for its food drive around
the holidays and plans to also conduct
Random Acts of Kindness week in the
spring.
Hills Paddle Auction Set
Tickets available
until Nov. 2
Hills Elementary will be the
scene for its first-ever Paddle
Auction on Nov. 15.
Sponsored by the school
PTO, doors open at 1 p.m. with
the auction starting at 2 p.m.
Cost is $5 for one paddle and
$2 for each additional paddle,
but there is a three-paddle limit,
for now. PTO Vice President
Candace Heath, who is organizing the event, said it will include numerous vendors with
gift ideas for the holidays.
“This is the first time I’ve put
one together,” Heath said, adding that she has been a vendor
at similar activities. “I searched
for vendors, including direct
sales and local crafters, and we
may have 25 or 26 vendors.”
Among the vendors expected
are Younique, Premier Jewelry,
Mary Kay, Thirty One, Le-Vel,
Pallet and Primitive, Audrey’s
Closet, Gold Canyon, Scentsy,
Origami Owl, Jen’s Wreaths,
Perfectly Posh, Pink Zebra,
Tupperware, and various crafters. She said each vendor will
pay a $25 table fee and also
donate items for the auction.
There will be three auction
rounds and items worth up to
$25 will cost 25 cents, while
items worth $26-$40 are 50
cents and those costing $41 or
more are 75 cents.
Heath added that vendors can
also sell products onsite, book
parties, take orders and even
look to recruit new sales representatives.
The PTO will profit from the
table fees and tickets from the
paddle auction, while a Chinese
auction is also set with items
provided by vendors and local
businesses. Tickets cost $1
each or six for $5. Light refreshments will also be available.
All proceeds benefit the PTO
to provide school activities
throughout the year.
Advance ticket purchases are
recommended and tickets will
be available at the school office
until Nov. 2. Vendors will also
have tickets for sale.
Fun Learning
Kindergarten students at Hills Elementary School work
together to match letters during small group time. Pictured
are, from left, Kari McShan and Parker Heath.