MENUSThursday, November 21: Breakfast: Break-fast burrito, salsa, peaches, juice, milk. Lunch: Chicken fried steak, dinner roll, fruit, mashed pot/gravy, milk. Friday, November 22: Breakfast: Egg & sausage French toast sandwich, apple, juice, milk. Lunch: Hot dog on a bun, chips, fruit, baked beans, milk. Monday, November 25: Breakfast: Breakfast pizza, applesauce, juice, milk. Lunch: Chicken patty on a bun, fruit, sweet potato fries, milk. Tuesday, November 26: Breakfast: Cheese omelet, mini loaves, orange juice, milk. Lunch: Spaghetti w/meat sauce /garlic bread, fruit, tossed salad, milk.

Kodie Harimon--Editor-in-ChiefGrace Burry and Rylee-Sharp--Sports and People EditorsCambree Schmaltz--News EditorAraceli Domingo--Opinion/Editorial EditorCammie Huck--Writer/ReporterElla Maser--Writer/ReporterLeah Albro--Senior writerMr. Mark Keszler--Advisor

ACTIVITIESThursday, November 21:.JH Girls BB vs. Bridgeport 3 p.m. Friday, November 22: JH Wrestling at Morrill 9 a.m. Monday, November 25: JH Girls BB at Heming-ford. Tuesday, November 26: WTC One-Act compe-tition at Hemingford

Senior Spotlight By Cammie Huck Daeton Blanco is a senior at Bayard High

School and is the son of Mark and Jocilyn Blanco. After high school, he plans to attend college at the University of Kearney and major in Computer Sci-ence. Blanco plans to end his senior year on Honor Roll, and strive to grow as a person with role-mod-el characteristics. He thinks the hardest part about growing up is becoming more independent. When asked about what he misses about being a little kid, he stated, “The only thing I had to worry about was getting a ball that rolled underneath the car.” His favorite food is seafood and Chinese food and he enjoys playing the piano. “The craziest thing I’ve ever done was I pretended I was a robber and broke into my own house and stole my moms lap-top and she chased me,” Blanco said. His favorite teacher and coach from high school is Mr. Roberts. His favorite high school memory was the dodge-ball tournament his junior year on Homecoming week. Blanco admires his parents and Mr. Roberts. Good luck to Daeton Blanco during the rest of his senior year and in his future.

Gonzales Enters 45th Year Serving School SystemBy Grace Burry Mr. Roberto Gonzales has recently celebrated his 45th year of employment at Bayard Public School.

Gonzales is loved by many of the staff members, students, and even students’ guardians that graduated from Bayard who knew him while they were in high school themselves. Gonzales’ story at Bayard High goes all the way back to when he was a junior in high school. He started working part time at the school as a custo-dian in his 11th year when he qualified for the CETA program, including working throughout his junior and senior year. He gained valuable work experience for a year and three months at Ideal before returning to Ba-yard Schools when he was 19 years old. He then started working full time at the Elementary as a custodian. While at the grade school, he spent three of the four years as a bus driver along with operating as a full-time custodian. After four years at the Elementary flew by, Gonzales then continued his position across the street at Bayard High School where he has been ever since.

A momentous and nostalgic milestone happened for Gonzales in the year he transferred over to the high school. That same year he married his wife, Yolanda Gonzales. The Gonzales’ have been Bayard residents for their whole married lives. They have a daughter, Hollie Gonzales, that grew up in the school system so he got to watch her grow up. He says he is happy working in the school during her high school years so he got to be a huge part of it. Gonzales throughout his time here has put in his notice three times. He generously stayed and we are thankful for it. After putting in his notice for the third time, the head custodian that had hired him, Dave Contrares, asked him to stay for one more school year after being diagnosed with heart disease. He told Gonzales that he needed him to stay until he got back on his feet while he was away. But unfortunately, Contrares passed away. After the news traveled back to the school, Gonzales was named head custodian.

Gonzales has been a lot more than just a school custodian. He was one of the four people that started up the Wyo-Braska program, a program where elementary basketball teams can participate. This led to many more coaching opportunities for him, giving him more reasons to stay in the Bayard School system. Sam Serda, Deb Cadwallader, and Gonzales were the ones that got the Cross Country program back up and run-ning in 2000. He took care of that program for 13 seasons before giving the responsibility to one of his for-mer high school runners, Ms. Candace Smith, who is still the current XC coach and has been for the last six seasons. Gonzales was the head girls’ basketball coach for three seasons, 2008-2011; he was also a JV girls’ basketball coach, along with elementary basketball teams, girls’ track for one season, and of course cross country. Mr. Gonzales always had three things in mind while he coached: what was best for the kids, what is best for the school, and what is best for him all at the same time. He retired from coaching cross country so everything could start fresh and new so people would start participating again. He thought it was a good decision for the kids and himself.

Mr. Gonzales, as everyone knows, is a substantial asset to Bayard Public Schools. He is one of the very few staff members that has been here since the old high school was still standing. Gonzales says, “If I had to do it all over again, I would. I didn’t know it at the time, but something just kept me here. Sometimes I feel like it was meant to be. I met my wife while I was here, I got to watch my daughter grow up at the school, and have numerous great relationships I would have never had if I hadn’t been here.” He shows kindness, dedication, and love to not only our school, but the staff and students attending. He is a huge supporter to the athletic programs, whether it is cheering on the athletes or making sure the playing fields are ready to go and presentable for the schools attending. He cares about everything that goes on in the school system and then some. Thank you, Mr. Gonzales, for everything you do for us and congratulations on your 45 years of being a part of Bayard Public Schools.

School Hosts Practical Finance Night

By Ms. SmithOn Tuesday, November 12th family and com-

munity members gathered with Kevin Wolverton from Western States Bank to discuss several finan-cial topics. Kevin discussed the importance of cre-ating a budget to help make sound financial deci-sions and plan for the future. Putting away money for a “rainy day”, he says, is vital for when the unexpected costs arise. Wolverton also explained how credit works and what people can do to im-prove their credit scores. He stressed that having good credit can save money in the long run, lower-ing interest rates and increasing the likelihood of qualifying for loans. Thank you so much to Kevin Wolverton for coming and sharing your expertise and to the participants for joining us for this event!

Six Bayard Students Attend UNL Math DayBy Cambree Schmaltz UNL hosted its 30th annual Math Day on November 14th. Over 1,400 high school students attended this

year and six were from Bayard. This is Bayard’s first year ever attending and the students weren’t sure what to expect. Those that attended were sophomores Laura Albro and Madison Oliverius and freshmen Kierra Miller and Cambree Schmaltz, Matt Applegate, Caleb Wilkins, along with high school math teacher Mrs. Sharon Schluterbusch. They left the school Wednesday morning with Scottsbluff’s Math Team, because they had competed many times before and were willing to help out Bayard’s rookies. Wednesday night the stu-dents were able to talk with student engineers from UNL and see their engineering campus. UNL was also generous enough to provide dinner for the competitors. Albro’s favorite portion of the trip was the tour. She stated, “It made me realize all the different fields of engineering and made me more interested in the field.” On Thursday morning the students rose bright and early to be at the Coliseum and prepare for their PROBE l Exam. At 9 o’clock the students began their exam. While taking the exam they were given one hour to complete 25 multiple choice questions to the best of their ability. The top 40 scoring students then go on to take the PROBE ll, where the top 10 are awarded scholarships. No Bayard student qualified for the PROBE ll. The students also participated in the Math Bowl. Three students at a time go against another three students from another school. They read a question and then are given thirty seconds to solve it. Any person from either school can buzz in when they believe they have the right answer. Bayard’s team had some wins and some losses. They lost their first round by one question, but came back in the second round winning by two questions. Sadly, their winnings came to an end in their third match. After the trip was all over Miller said, “It was a very fun and educational experience. It definitely opened my eyes to different things in engineering and math.”

WNCC Host Helpful Career Tour in NovemberBy Cambree Schmaltz On Wednesday, November 6th select Bayard students went on a business and industry tour hosted by

WNCC. The 33 junior and senior students each chose a branch they wanted to explore and then went to loca-tions around Scottsbluff that could help them pursue a career in that field. Those that chose to pursue business communication went to local businesses such as KNEB and ALLO Communications. WESTCO and 21st Century teamed up to help kids explore careers in agriculture. These are just a few of the many options the students had. This is Bayard’s ninth year attending and each year it has helped students envision their future. For some the opportunity seals the deal for them; for others it helps them decide that the career may not be for them. Mrs. Linde Rafferty is Bayard’s Secondary Counselor and she also helps students with scholarships, colleges, and everything else to help them plan for their future. She took the students to WNCC and stated another way that the tour is beneficial, “The tour showcases that no matter what, you don’t have to leave the Panhandle.” Many students believe they need to move away to bigger cities to fulfill their career goals. WNCC’s tour helps students realize they have all these opportunities right here at home.

Lingle/Ft. Laramie JH Invitational-Nov. 18 wres-tling results: Brock Burry, 3-0, 1st; Jojo Hopkins, 3-0, 1st; Zach Araujo, 3-0, 1st; Tayton Shaw, 3-0, 1st; Adrian Domingo, 2-0, 1st; Trace Shaw, 2-1, 2nd; Konner Fritzel, 2-1, 2nd; Caleb Leonard, 2-1, 2nd; Theron Miller, 2-1, 2nd; Guadalupe Gonza-les, 2-1, 2nd; Nate Barker, 1-2; Kalvin Perry, 1-2; Kolby Houchin, 1-2; Sam Ferrero, 1-2; Tanner Ro-land, 0-3.Hemingford Invitational JH Invitational-Nov. 21 results:

Nate Barker, 3-0, 1st; Jojo Hopkins, 3-0, 1st; Brock Burry, 3-0, 1st; Caleb Leonard, 3-0, 1st; Theron Miller, 3-0, 1st; Guadalupe Gonzales, 3-0, 1st; Zach Araujo, 2-1, 2nd; Sam Ferrero, 2-1, 2nd; Tayton Shaw, 2-1, 2nd; Trace Shaw, 1-2; Konner Fritzel, 1-2; Kalvin Perry, 1-2; Adrian Domingo, 0-2.