see pages 8-9

For and by the students of Foothill High School since 1999 December 2011 | Volume 13, Issue 3

He's making a list, Checking it twice...

Gonna' find out who's

naughty or nice!

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the skinniest of them all? Page 2

The Pros and Cons of Dating at the Hill Page 5-6

Khill Radio hits the airwaves and per-forms at lunch. Page 8

FeatureDec. 2011

Hillsidehotwire www.foothillnv.org page 2

By Ashley ParriotCub Reporter

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Kylie Braver & Haley ScottASSISTANT EDITOR: Greta Chiocchetti & Rebecka HolmesILLUSTRATION EDITOR: Ryanne Bailey & Tyler HorneCOPY EDITOR: Chelsea Shehan SPORTS EDITOR: Thomas Jaramillo, Brian Marshall

PHOTOGRAPHER:LAYOUT EDITOR: Jake JespersonSTAFF WRITERS: Skyler Halovich, Kayleigh SwartzlanderADVISER: Bill ToblerPRINCIPAL: Jeanne Donadio

POLICY

The opinions expressed in the Hillside Hotwire are the author’s and do not represent the opinions of the administration, faculty, staff or students of Foothill High School. Letters to the editor should be signed and sent to: The Hillside Hotwire, 800 College Drive, Henderson, NV 89015 Letters may also be dropped off at the Hillside Hotwire office in room 741. Home Delivery of the Hillside Hotwire is available at a prepaid cost of $20 per year. Issues are mailed monthly upon publication. The staff reserves the right to reject any advertisement deemed inappro-priate. Letters to the editor may be edited for content and brevity.

Lucia Cleveland dedicates her life to helping special needs kids

Lucia Cleveland wakes up every morning with a smile on her face,

knowing she gets to help those in need. From the moment she sees those kids get off the bus she knows why she does this job.

“My counselor in college said it was a great field for me,” says Cleveland. “I love when the kids feel special about themselves. I want them to feel like they’re a part of the group.”

The Thanksgiving season often puts students in a giving mood, but Cleveland gives every day. She takes care of 54 special-ed kids in eight different Clark County schools, including two different home schooled kids, five days a

week, seven hours a day.

Cleveland is an occupational therapist who helps special-ed students get to and from class-es, interprets what teachers are saying for them and helps teachers understand what the students are saying. They also help special-ed students deal with the noises, sights and other distractions inherent in a school full of students and staff.

Occupational therapists help students improve their ability to perform tasks in their envi-ronment. Students may have spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.

There are also other ways the therapists help. “I once had a girl who couldn’t see well because her eye tissue didn’t form right,” said Foothill biology teacher Lonnie Nico-

sia. “Her therapist would help her understand what I was writing on the board and with labs and other class activi-ties.” Ms. Nicosia said she was very happy to have aids in her classroom when it was neces-sary. “They definitely had a

positive influence on both the special-ed kids and the other kids. Without them, I could teach the kid(s), but it would be hard. They were smart, but

the needed their aids to do well in the class.”

The therapists provide a sort of comfort to the students so that they get through the school day feeling safe. “I saw this one girl and her therapist

once,” said sophomore Jes-sica Dryden. “The therapist was like a mom to the girl. She couldn’t walk well, so she helped her walk from class to

class. She seemed truly car-ing.”

To become an occupational therapist a masters degree or higher in occupational therapy is a minimum requirement.

“My favorite part is when they get to feel like they’re a part of the group,” says Cleve-land.

Without the therapists, school would be much harder for students with special needs. Occupational therapists dedicate their lives to helping those in need. They take care of their patients and make sure the patients come first.

LOVING HER jOBLucia Clevand helps students in

class read and understand what the teacher is saying. Photo by Ash-ley Parriot

By Skyler HalovichStaff Writer

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the skinniest girl of them all

All she could do was hope. Hope that some-one actually cared for

her, hope that she was wrong, hope that her reality was just a dream. Annabel,* stared at the bathroom stall, hoping that someone would walk through those doors and hold her why she cried, but no one did.

“For the last two years, I’ve hidden. Behind the makeup, the hair, the clothes, the friends, the grades, but most importantly, I’ve hid from myself,” Annabel said, for she has spent the last two years battling her body, trying to starve it. “I’ve always had self confidence issues, but I never showed it. If anything, every-one else could only see some-one with all the confidence in the world.”

Two years ago, Annabel’s friend had decided to show her a new eating trick. After dinner at her house, they went up stairs and she stuck her fingers down her throat.

“At first, I couldn’t believe that my best friend would ever do that, but I didn’t stop her,” said Annabel. “I decided to join her on the purging, but only did it when I ate too

much.”

She took it a step further and just refused to eat in private. Most days, she only ate dinner. This lasted the next four months but stopped once summer was over.

“My eating patterns since have never been the same. I never ate breakfast, and feel-ing starved almost became comforting,” said Annabel.

The last run of anorexia/ bulimia had by far been the longest and the most threaten-ing. From February to Sep-tember, Annabel could feel it falling apart, but she didn’t want to stop.

“I was an honors student, and I remember my grades just tanking,” said Annabel. “When my teachers asked me why I didn’t do my homework, I just couldn’t explain to them that I was too tired to do it. I slept all the time.”

Annabel hadn’t revealed to many people what was hap-pening.

“I could just feel it eating away inside me. I felt like a hypocrite pretending that I had it all together. I thought the friends that confided in me would be ashamed that I hid it for so long,” said Annabel.

“Going into the bathroom and throwing up my lunch was something I did between myself. If other people didn’t know about it, then it wasn’t real.”

September is when every-thing hit her.

“I cried every single day. The only person that I had told at the time just didn’t care. I felt more alone than ever,” said

Annabel.

It wasn’t until Annabel’s friend told a family friend about her struggle, that it re-ceived the attention it needed.

“When he sat me down to talk to me, it felt real for the first time,” said Annabel. “He suggested that I see a counsel-or, and I just couldn’t believe something like that could hap-pen to me. The compassion he

showed for me made me want to get better.”

Annabel now eats three meals a day and exercises four times a week. She has shared her story to empower other girls to see themselves in a new light.

“It bothers me when people make fun of girls for wanting attention or wearing too much makeup. They only want the world to see them as beautiful and desperately need someone to care,” said Annabel. “I think we should learn to reach out to those kinds of girls, because all they feel is judgment. They can’t help it.”

Anorexia is hard to com-pletely get rid of, but Annabel intends to have no relapses.

Annabel said, “It’s taken my entire life to see myself as beautiful and confident. I still wear makeup and take pride in my appearance, but I focus more on other things. I might have to deal with a low self esteem, but I’m not going to let it ruin my life.”

FALSE REALITYSometimes reality is obscured

as anorexics see what they be-lieve instead of what is really there in the mirror.

Graphic by Zoe Moctezuma and Tyler Horne

News/FeatureDec. 2011

Hillsidehotwire www.foothillnv.org page 3

Navigating the hallways is like rush hour traffic on the freewayBy Kylie BraverEditor-in-Chief

Navigating the hallways is like rush hour traffic on the freeway. You’re

stopping and starting, and you feel like you’re always putting on your brakes. The large crowds in the class-

room are also a problem some-times as teacher-student ratios have increased due to state budget cuts.“They give us five minutes to

get to and from classes but it takes me five minutes just get out of the hallways,” said a frustrated Kaelyn Reynolds.Foothill has about 2,630

kids, but it is only designed for 2,000, which means we are over-populated by 630 stu-dents.“I hate walking from class to

class,” said Randy Plumlee. “I

NHS collects over 1,000 toys for kids at the Dream CenterBy Amber HuppertCub Reporter

The sounds of children laughing and playing and eating fill the air.

New toys and better clothes are passed all around. Joy is practically a flavor in the air. At least that’s what National Hon-or Society members hope to see when they help the Dream Center pass out toys and serve a turkey dinner to children on December 17th. The toy drive, held on Nov.

28 to Dec. 2 will help get those kids new toys for Christmas.“I want to see all the children

happy for the holiday,” Megan Quarnberg said.“Last year the Dream Center

didn’t get that many toys,” Ms. Erin Wing said. “Tracey May, head of Dream Center, ap-proached us and asked for our help this year.”The toys the Dream Center

did receive didn’t cover all age groups so NHS set up differ-ent age groups for the different wings.Faustos. Pizza. Donuts. The

three prizes passed out to the fourth hour classes that brought in the most toys. The winners were: first place, Mr. Richard Vaughan, second place, Mrs. Gail Mayes, and third place, Mr. John Ringler. The prizes were created by

NHS officers Kelsie Thornton, Briana Pitkin and Ms. Moss. They were paid for by a cookie dough fundraiser NHS did and by the NHS student’s dues.In the beginning, they didn’t

collect as many toys as they would have liked. “I expected it to be slow in the

beginning,” Ms. Wing said. “We were getting a lot in the eight to twelve year-old range, but not much in the newborn to six and fourteen to eighteen.”“I hope to see that the kids

NHS GIVES TO THE DREAM CENTER!Thanks to NHS, the kids at the Dream

Center will now have toys under the Christmas tree! Graphic by Ryanne Bailey

Holiday cheer for those in need of a pint: seniors and juniors donate freely to blood drive

Number of toys collected from each

hallway!

Office: 2 700’s: 395400’s: 108300’s: 240

200’s: 340

feel like I am going to hit the person walking on both sides of me, and it takes forever just to get out of the hall-way.”“There really

isn’t much that can be done to fix the traffic in the hallways,” said Principal Jeanne Donadio. “The only thing that can really be done is to make each wing have an IN door and an OUT door, but that would make it feel too much like a prison, and I don’t want that.”Not only does the overpopu-

lation take a toll on getting out of the hallways faster, but students also think it is having a negative effect on the class-room learning environment.“It feels to me that the class

sizes are bigger than usual this

year,” said Lexi Sobalvarro. “Math is my worst subject, and that is my biggest class, which makes it harder for me to learn. With more students, shouldn’t there be more teachers?”Ms. Donadio understands the

frustration as she has had to be creative to keep the elective programs alive while keeping core subjects staffed. “I don’t like the fact of having so many kids in one class,” said Dona-dio. “But the overpopulation of the school, I think, has only benefited us more than any-

thing; it allows us to have a big-ger band, a bigger dance team, and more sports, which means more funding for all of those!”Fifty percent of students

agreed, and the others said that they think that having this many students is hurting their learning environment some-what. They feel that the district is putting too many students in one classroom and that we don’t have enough teachers. “It’s harder for me to learn

with that many students in class,” said Jade Martin. “I

know there isn’t much the staff can do with this many students, so they do what they have to do, but I would much rather be in a classroom with 28 students rather than 35 or 38. I am in AP classes, and those usually don’t have as many students in them as honors or regular classes, but even the AP class-es this year have many students in them.”Ms. Donadio said that the

district is planning on cutting more money from the school district budget, but she is try-ing her hardest not to let it af-fect the students and the class sizes. She is weighing all of her options of how to make it so class sizes won’t get bigger, but as far as traffic in the hallways, there isn’t much that can be done except to just be patient, smile, and get to know the peo-ple shuffling next to you.

Graphic by Ryanne Bailey

By Greta ChiochettiAssistant Editor

RAISING A PINTRachel Rowe relaxes during

the blood drive as she gives the greatest gift this holiday season, the gift of life. Photo by Kylie Braver

are happy, and that they see what positive role models the NHS kids are,” Ms. Moss said. “I hope they’re happy and

that we helped them have a

happier holiday,” said Trevor Rikalo.“I loved helping the Dream

Center,” said President Kel-sie Thornton. “I’m just excited to see that the kids actually get presents. I love being in-volved.” “I want to see their faces and

hope that we made their holiday

STACKING UPDonations starting pouring in as Falcons

learned about the toy drive. Over 1,000 toys were collected. Photo by Rebecka Holmes

season,” said Briana Pitkin.NHS sends its thanks to all

those teachers, students and staff who donated toys and helping them reach their goal.

On Friday, Nov. 18, students gathered in the auxiliary gym to donate blood.

Men and women dressed in white flitted from station to sta-tion, handing out stress balls and soothing their patients.

“Deep breath. Don’t watch me. Look that way,” the nurse mur-murs.

Before Rachel Rowe notices anything, there is a needle in her arm, and it’s all easy from there.

“I was pretty nervous,” said Rowe. “I always get a little dizzy in the beginning, but I turned out okay.”

Students gave blood for varied reasons.

“I gave blood because I’m A positive, and that’s the only ‘A+’ I can get,” Dante Herrick said with

a chuckle. “I’m giving blood today because

it’s a good cause, plus I can get out of first hour,” said Britton Long.

Students said they felt the warm fuzzies (or was that just lighthead-edness?) after donating while they munched on sugary snacks and drank orange juice provided by United Blood Services.

“I feel like I’m helping someone who needs this donation,” said Rowe. “Maybe it’ll save a life.”

For those who missed it, the next blood drive will be held in the spring, most likely in March.

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Dating at the hill

Alexis Muniz-My favorite thing about Cole is that he is funny, cute,

sweet and such a gentlemen. He opens the car door for me.

Cole Nanny-My favorite thing about Lexi is her smile. She’s really

sweet and my little princess.

Pros:By Cydney FinkGuest Writer

When

people

think of

relation-

ships,

they think, “I don’t want to be tied

down to someone.” As long as you’re

with the right person, relationships

can be exciting.

One reason being in a relationship

can be fun is there’s always someone

to hang out with. I hang out with my

boyfriend, Caleb Luks, almost every

weekend, and at least once during

the week, whether it’s just going to

each other’s houses to hang out with

each other’s families or going to the

movies, bowling, etc. It’s not always

having to do something big or expen-

sive, because if it’s with someone

you enjoy being around, you’ll always

have a great time no matter what.

Secondly, you have someone to relate

to. Throughout the relationship you

learn a lot about the person and may

realize you have a lot more in com-

mon than you thought. Sometimes,

they know you better than anyone

else. Also, whenever you need some-

one to go to, they will always be there

for you. No matter what the situation

is, I know Caleb will always be there

for me.

On top of all the more serious things,

there are also little things that make

being in a good relationship great!

Holding hands, getting flowers on

Valentine’s Day, waking up to “good

morning” texts every day, writing

notes to each other, and so many

more simple things that make rela-

tionships good.

There are many reasons being in a re-

lationship can be a great experience.

Personally, I like being in a relation-

ship better than being single. Not only

is Caleb my boyfriend, but also my

best friend.

Alexis and Cole

Dating

Don’tsDon’t be late• Don’t text• Don’t be rude• Don’t check out other • girls/guysDon’t act like you’re • not enjoying yourselfDon’t ignore your date• Don’t chew with your • mouth open

Dating at the hill

Disney movies

did not prepare

us for the real

world. Cinder-

ella got her

prince charming, Ariel got to become

human and marry Eric, Snow White

was revived by a kiss, and Belle found

someone who loved her inner beauty.

These princesses were around the

same age as us, yet we want the same

relationships as they have. Maybe

that’s what drives high schoolers to

relationships looking for “true love.”

You all know that couple, the ones

who have been together since you’ve

practically known them, who define

“public display of affection,” can

never get enough of each other, and

when they’re not “lovey dovey,” they

are like angry water buffalos fighting

with each other. No matter how they

act with each other, their relationship

is annoying. They’re mocking us with

their happiness.

In high school, drama is something

everyone has, especially if you are in

a relationship. If you are involved in

sports, and your boyfriend/girlfriend

isn’t, they sometimes will get mad

about you having practice all the time

and not having time to hang out with

them. Athletes often hear, “Just ditch

practice,” or, “What’s more impor-

tant, me or your sports?”

Grades also become a problem.

With some people, their grades drop

because they spend so much time

with their boyfriend/girlfriend. With

others, their grade is unaffected, but

their relationship is affected. They

aren’t going to let their grades drop

just because they are in

a relationship, and this

causes the other part-

ner to feel neglected.

All the cute things

that go on in relation-

ships like the good

morning texts and flow-

ers on Valentine’s day are

overrated. You can get a good

morning text from anyone: your

friend, your cousin, whoever. And

the love for that person will only last

as long as the flowers they gave you a

week ago.

“True love” is hard to find, especially

when everyone is still somewhat

immature. You will never find the

“perfect guy/girl” because the movies

have raised your expectations, and in

reality, they will never be met.

Cons:By Skyler Halovich/Ryanne BaileyStaff Writers

Jay Schiff-My favorite thing about Haley is how amazing she

is and how truly beautiful she is.Haley O’Brien-My favorite thing about Jay is that he has a good

personality, and he is fun to be around.

Daniel Brady-My favorite thing about Danica is her

personality and that she is fun-sized.Danica Alvarado-My favorite thing about Daniel is that

he always makes me happy and that he suprises me with gifts and has a lot of respect for me and my friends.

Haley and Jay

Danica and Daniel

Dating

SportsDec. 2011

Hillsidehotwire www.foothillnv.org page 6

Instilled with a new confidence, the team looks to go farther than everBy: jake jespersonLay- Out editor

By Thomas jaramilloSports editor

By Alec FischmannSports reporter

Girls’ basketball comes in with high hopes

Boys’ basketball looks to recover from slow start after an opening away loss to Eldorado

Wrestling kicks off season 1-2 beating Desert Oasis and placing fourth at BC

The girls’ basketball team started the season with a solid 60-51 win over Valley. “We can now say we are on track to hitting this year’s goal of qualifying for and winning the state champi-onships,” said RaeAnn Brems. “Our work has been cut out for us, but working hard doesn’t seem to faze us,” she added. “We can’t lose one game this season,” said Tangi Ajetu. “Our schedule is too easy, and we are too good. Coming from a lot fast-er-paced competition in Wash-ington, and falling just short of state last year, I have a chip on my shoulder and will stop at noth-ing to win, even if that means stomping on Liberty,” she said. In fact, every member of the

team has one common goal: to defeat Liberty so that they can make it all the way. Coach Collins said, “Liberty is the only school with open enroll-ment, so their line-up is awesome. It is really hard to compete with a team who’s three of five start-ers are from different schools, but this team has everything it takes to be the end champions.” One thing this team does not lack, is their ability to be intimi-dated. One of the most crucial factors that plays into the girls’ basketball team’s success is the fact that they can get on the court with anybody and know they have the chance to come out victorious. “We aren’t cocky, just confident, and every court is our court,” said Kalani Killabrew. “Our entire team obviously

doesn’t lack any confidence, just consistency,” said Christina Nash. “I know we have the talent to go far, maybe even the farthest we have ever gone, but the team needs to be ready to come out, ready to play every night.” While Nash feels that they only need consistency, Coach Collins thinks differently, say-ing, “Our team needs more ‘togetherness’ because we have all the skill that it takes.” The team is ready, and they want it all. They have a lot of se-niors returning, and the girl’s are ready to give it everything. With state in mind, they will continue to practice and play hard trying to prove to themselves and to the school that this is the best team Foothill has ever seen.

The varsity wrestlers had one win and two losses overall at their second

tournament last Tuesday, beating Desert Oasis but falling slightly short of points against Palo Verde and El Dorado high schools.

Damien Ortega, 9, said “When you’re tired and out of breath, that’s when you need to work your hardest.” They placed fourth in their first tournament at Boulder City. “I feel like I wrestled average, but I wish I had gotten up to my feet faster,” said Daniel Kielty, 11. Head varsity coach Billy Love said, “Everybody fought hard for their first tournament. Right now we are a good team, but eventu-ally we’ll become a great team.” Varsity lost several beloved wrestlers to graduation such as Sean Miller, Brian Mathews, Joe Montero, Kyle Harris, Mason Qureshi and Kayton Gomez. They have a young and inexperienced team, but they can become a well-oiled wrestling machine.

The more experienced wres-tlers are confident that they will make it to state this year and will do whatever it takes to do well. “An accomplishment,” is how co-captain Tyler Holdren, 12, with six years wrestling experi-ence, described wrestling. “To step onto the mat knowing you have trained hard and knowing you have put in the time and knowing you will wrestle hard gives off a great sense of pride.” “To be a wrestler takes blood, sweat and tears, hard determi-nation, and everything else that everyone else does not have,” said Jeremy Reavy, 11, with four years of experience. “I know I will go to state this year because I have been putting in lots of work over the summer, and I’ve been working really hard in the room. Over summer, I only lost two matches out of twenty-five.” The team is looking forward to their next tournament to show off their hard work, new moves and to move up in the standings.

The varsity boys basketball team is off to a 1-1 start.

“This year, expectations are very high,” said Coach Kevin Soares. “We have a team that was one game away from the re-gional final, and now we expect to win regionals and go to state.” At Eldorado, the Falcons lost in a close game 62-60, after leading through three quarters 48-45, but fell short of putting Eldorado away as Eldorado came from be-hind to win the game. This learn-ing experience should spark the Falcon’s as Brennan Cresanto, Greg Cox and Darren Buckles had 10 points each for the team. “Turnovers were a problem,” said Cresanto. “But an even big-ger problem was the fact that we only shot forty percent from the foul line. If we were able to just make a few more free-throws we would be sitting at 2-0.” In the team’s season opener, it was a different story, as the Fal-cons defeated Palo Verde 83-74. Their leading scorer, Cresanto

finished with 18 points. Notable performances came from Buck-les with 13 points, Cox with 12 and Austin Starr with 12. The team didn’t have any turnovers in the first half and was able to take advantage of 16 turn-overs by Palo Verde. In the sec-ond half, the Falcons weren’t as careful with the ball, allowing 13 turnovers in the second half. In the third quarter, they watched a 56-35 lead shrink to 62-53 after three quarters.

In the fourth, Palo Verde was able to get within six points, but that would be as close as it would get.

“In the first half, we had no turnovers, but then we started rushing the game instead of let-ting it come to us,” said Cresanto. “In the second half, turnovers became a problem, and that is why we almost lost our lead.” The team feels they have more experience than last year, and the experience will be able to help them accomplish their goals.

“Since last season, we as a group have become more experienced,

and have learned how to work together as one unit,” said Coach Soares. “We practiced and condi-tioned hard, and I feel we have the advantage on any team we face.” The team doesn’t have a set starting five yet, but they feel they have a lot of contributors who can help the team.

“We have Elijah Smith, Buckles, Cox, Cresanto and Tyler Roberts, not to mention we also have guys coming off the bench who have the potential to make some plays for our team,” said Coach Soares. “Tyler Morris and Taylor Mont-gomery are definitely two guys who could come off the bench and add some size to our line-up.” Last season, the team’s leading scorer was Cox with 351 points on the year, which was an aver-age of 14.6 per game.

Cresanto averaged 12.5 points per game and had 4.1 assists per game.

Elijah Smith is the teams’ best rebounder, remaining from last year’s team with an average of 3.0 rebounds per game as well as 3.5 assists per game.

Small jab Christina Nash’s continuous lay-ups is just one factor that will keep Foothill ahead. Photo by Robert Vendetolli.

CLOSE UP Sophomore Steven Thomas gets close and personal with his competition. Photo by Alec Fischmann

SportsDec. 2011

Hillsidehotwire www.foothillnv.org page 7

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PersonalProfile

Region change affects Falcons for the better

Who is freshman Katelyn Shelly?

With some schools being moved down to 3A, Foothill has less competition

The soccer story of the freshman team’s starting forward

By Brian MarshallAssistant Sports editor

By Alex WatersSports Reporter

By Skyler Kowalski Sports Reporter

The NIAA has recently released a major change-up in the divi-sions, regions and classes of many schools in the valley. Al-though Foothill is not directly affected, the rearrangement of the teams does change the oppo-nents in which Foothill must com-pete against for regional titles. Athletics in the state of Ne-vada are broken into four differ-ent classes: 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a. The smallest schools compete in 1a, bigger schools in 2a, even bigger schools in 3a, and the largest schools in the state com-peting in the 4a division. Foot-hill competes in the 4a division. One problem with this classifica-tion is it only factors in a school’s

population, not their athletic ap-titude.

Many schools in the valley who have trouble recruiting students for their athletic teams have not fielded a team, in any sport, that can legitimately compete for a regional championship. Possibly the biggest surprise in this rearrangement is the drop-ping of SECTA into the smaller 4b subdivision with Chaparral, Des-ert Pines and Sunrise Mountain. They will join with 3a teams Moa-pa Valley, Virgin Valley and Boulder City in a smaller 4b conference. “I’m kind of upset about this change-up,” says varsity soccer player Eli Ward. “SECTA is one of the most competitive soc-cer programs in the city, and we were excited about competing with them next year. Our soc-

cer team is going to be fielding its best team in school history, and if we win regionals it won’t be as fulfilling knowing we didn’t have to knock off SECTA to do it.” Also, the mix up would involve Green Valley and Silverado leav-ing our division, which would mean we don’t compete against them in regular season divisional games. “I think it’s a great idea,” says cross country runner Max Hoeft. “A lot of those teams nev-er stand a chance to win against teams like Foothill, Coronado, and Green Valley, and hopefully those schools transferring into an easier conference will allow their teams to get a taste of victory. Who knows, maybe it will even inspire the kids at the school to get more involved in sports, and they can move back up to 4a.”

SEE YA! These schools have been “booted” from our 4A region and will no longer be a threat in regionals. Art by Ryanne Bailey.

The girls’ soccer season is just starting up, and the team has started with a

3-1-1 record. The girls were also able to win an invitational tour-nament in Las Vegas defeating Liberty in the championship of this tournament 2-1 after a pass from Alyssa Gamboa to Drea Austin in the penalty box was able to set the girls up for victory. “You can’t describe this feel-ing,” said coach Cynthia Guz-man. “I knew minute by minute it was getting nerve-wracking. Liberty is a great team, but we wanted it more.” With a new varsity coach this year in Guzman, changes are ex-pected from the girls. They have new styles, conditioning and play-ers. “It’s a lot harder, especially the training,” says Alyssa Gamboa. “But we’re going to surprise a lot of people, and we will put Foot-hill soccer on the map this year.” “This year is different from last because we have new and more players that have more experi-ence with the game and have been together before,” says Aly Vanek. The majority of the team consists of returning players who were on JV last year. “Since most of us were on JV last year, we’ve all played together, so we all know each other, and that really helps.” Some highly-skilled freshmen have earned the chance to be placed on the varsity team. “It’s good that they got to varsity,” said Aly Vanek. “Some deserved it, and some are border line, but it’s good because they are very skilled.” Improvements are already be-ing seen by students and players. “We’re doing a lot better actu-ally,” says Kailey Plumlee. “We have a lot more potential this year than last year. Our drills are much more complex, and our new coach, who stepped up from being the JV coach last year, has done an absolutely amazing job.”

Girls’ soccer wins big tournament to start the season

Heart pounding with the anticipation of the upcom-ing game, KateLyn pulls

back her hair and straightens her uniform. All that can be heard in the girl’s locker room that day is the clanking of cleats and the excited chatter of other nervous players. There’s only one thing on her mind right now: soccer. “I started out when I was four, and I just got so happy and excited when I played that I’ve been playing since,” said KateLyn Shelly, their forward on freshman’s soccer team. “I tried out for the team be-cause I loved soccer. How-

ever, I didn’t think I even had any chance of making any of the three teams--but I did!” Shelly had postponed her soccer life but decided to re-start when she heard about the newly-created freshman team. Although it’s been troubling, Shelly is sure it’s worth all the painstaking practices, tortur-ous drills and endless miles. “I had to give up hanging out with my friends, but I love soccer, so I don’t mind.” Fellow teammate Jessica Pe-terson believes KateLyn is a great addition to the team. “She is attentive at practice and is an amazing player,” said Peterson. Shelly has enjoyed her time on

the team this year so far. “I like being able to participate in a po-sition that people can depend on and running to get the ball away from other opponents.” Her short time on the team has been eventful. With practices, coaches and friends, she’s been able to learn a little bit more about how to handle her life. “Soccer helped me realize that I need to take one thing at a time and not to stress myself

out so much. I want to be able to play in all the games, so it has pushed me harder to attain excellent grades. I’m finally able to get my priorities straight.” Outside of soccer, Shelly “tries her hardest at everything.” “She’s a great friend who is al-ways there for you and never gives up,” said Carly Gebhart, one of her closest friends since sixth grade. “I can rely on her for anything.” As she approaches the field with a new-found determination, KateLyn’s worry and stress fade to the far corner of her mind. “I just focus on the game and noth-ing else, and I seem to be able to play better.” The whistle blows, kickoff, and she’s ready.

FeatureDec. 2011

Hillsidehotwire www.foothillnv.org page 8

Coneing’s rise in popularity prompts restaurant backlash

A group of teenagers packed into a car pull up in the drive thru

at McDonalds. They order just a single ice cream cone.

“Not again,” mutters the drive thru worker under his breath.

The car of teenagers trying to hold in their laughter pulls up. The drive thru worker tentatively holds out the cone, when SPLAT, the cone gets knocked back on to the worker’s chest. The car full of laughing teens speeds away.

There are hundreds of videos online of people doing varia-tions of this same thing, and it is causing an epidemic of what has become known as “coneing.”

“There is like a billion different ways you can do it,” said avid con-er Kason Dow. “You can knock the cone at them, smash the cone, or the traditional way of taking the ice cream, but leaving the cone.”

The traditional way is to grab the ice cream part of the ice cream cone in your hand, and drive away leaving the cone.

“It actually happens to us a

lot,” said Kade Lar-sen, a McDonald’s employee. “Up to ten times a night on weekends.”

With coneing having been going on for over a year, it doesn’t appear to be declin-ing in popularity. Many fast food managers and some employ-ees are trying

to make coneing illegal.“It’s destruction of prop-

erty, and is just plain out wrong,” says a manager

at McDonalds. “It should be illegal.”

Some con-sumers disagree

with the manager.“We pay for

the cone, so we should be able to

do what we want with it,” first-time coner

Colby Dow said. “It really isn’t that big of a deal. It’s harm-

less fun. We don’t hurt anyone with the cone, so I don’t know why they freak out so much.”

Some employees think the “freak out” is for good reason.

“We get so mad about it be-cause it is a waste of time for us to make it for them if they are going to ruin it,” said a Mc-Donalds manager. “Then we have to spend our time clean-ing up the mess they made.”

So what is it? A criminal act that deserves to be punished by law, or is it just harmless fun that people blow out of proportion?

By Wyatt MorganCub Reporter

Drivers frustrated with teens not paying attention when using crosswalksBy Samantha RyanCub Reporter

So. You’re running late again. You race to find your shoes, tie them

quickly, sling your backpack over your shoulder and sprint out the door. You speed walk down the street. 6:50. You have ten min-utes left. Reaching the cross walk, almost there. You step out into the traffic. Tires shriek, you see bright head lights. You stop. Frozen and everything goes black.

According to nation traffic safe-ty.com over 5,000 U.S citizens get hit by cars each year, most-ly kids twelve to sixteen. Most causes are not due to werckless

drivers, but to kids not exercis-ing traffic safety. “I see kids who just walk on out into the street like they rule the road.” A parent

of the student body said. “They need to realize that when it’s you verses the car, the car will win.”

Elementary age kids have a

crossing guard, but the Clark County School District feels high school students are “ma-ture” enough to cross on their own. Are they wrong?

“It’s a horrible thing, trying to drive to school,” Said Ashlin Wat-son. “Kids always randomly walk onto the cross walk so we have to slam on our brakes and wait for them to cross. The worst is when

kids don’t all go t the same time so we have to wait forever to be able to turn into the parking lot.”

In Kindergarten the teachers taught children about traffic safety. Did everybody just for-get? “It needs to be reinforced more often, or one of these days, somebody could get seri-ously hurt.” said Kaite Neilson

Khil radio station lauches on the web and hosts first lunch time live show

By Alyssa McCarthurCub Reporter

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Music roaring, and kids shuf-fling. This was not just a normal Friday lunch

hour for the students and staff.Dr. Tom Whelan has created Foot-

hill’s first radio station called KHill radio.“It’s probably the coolest thing I’ve

done in all my teaching years, and I’m having so much fun with it!” said Whelan.

KHill radio launched in November, and had their first lunch time KHill kickoff, Friday, December 2, during both lunches.

“I think the radio station has a lot

of potential. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do,” Whelan added.

Auditions will be held for possible DJs to host the radio station during both lunch-es every Friday and for special events.

Senior, Gage Shaw said he is excited for the radio show and thinks it will be an awesome addition to Foothill.

“It’s awesome that Foothill has its own radio station! I mean, what oth-er school has that?” Shaw stated.

Haley O’Brien, 10th grade, shares the same excitement.

“KHill radio is an awesome idea. It will really bring a lot of school spirit. I am so excited!” O’Brien exclaimed.

Matt Parente played the guest DJ at the KHill Kickoff.

“Playing DJ was so cool! It looked like everyone was having a blast, so it made my job so easy. The kickoff went way beyond my expectations.”

KHillradio is simply for educational pur-poses only. It does not make any income. The station gives students and teachers a chance to express what they have an in-terest in through music. Students and staff are more than welcome to send in music they’d like to hear played on the station.

PARTY ROCKDuring lunch on Friday, December 2, KHIL radio hosted their first live show featuring DJ Matthew Par-ente, who played house and techno. During sec-ond lunch, he packed the impromptu dance floor with “Sexy and I Know It.” Falcons were even dancing on tables and chairs. Stu-dents can access the sta-tion at Khillradio.info.

Surviving in the Crosswalk• WAIT for an opening. Don’t just walk out and expect cars to stop• LOOK both ways first. Drivers can’t stop on a dime, and you’ll lose• CROSS AS A GROUP whenever possible. You’ll be more visible, and this will give antsy drivers a chance to move.