College athlete gives up dream to help stranger

For some college athletes, their career can come to an end due to injury or different talent coming to town. However, one athlete is ending his career by choice. Cameron Lyle is a senior at the University New Hampshire and instead of continuing his last few meets of track and field, he is donating his bone marrow to a complete stranger that as Leukemia. Lyle put his name on the donating bone marrow list about two years ago and when he was asked on April 23 to donate his response was, "You can't measure life against anything. When you have an opportunity to save someone, you gotta go for it." His shot put and discus career have to come to an end, because after the procedure he can't lift 20 lbs. over his end. Lyle shows us how no matter what your dream is, if you feel it's right you will give it up to help someone else. "He is such an inspiration to athletes everywhere!" - A student at Rockford.

Rockford Road Quality

The recent removal of the bridge in Rockford has cause massive damage on roads within the community.  The city has been attempting to temporarily repair the potholes in the roads within city limits.  The tar and gravel combination that the city uses to repair their roads causes problems with warm weather coating cars in tar and gravel that is extremely difficult to remove from paint, windows, or rims.  Streets within Rockford are rapidly deteriorating to the point that it feels like you're constantly driving on rumble strips. When asked how she felt about road quality in Rockford, Kelly Hain replied "the roads were bad before, and with the bridge being removed, it is causing more rapid deterioration of the already crumbling roads."

FOOD!!!!!!!!

The Elephant Keg is moving back to Nora Springs. Originally the elephant keg was on south hawkeye ave. It burnt down last year and they moved away. Now after the close of the Nora Inn, the elephant keg has started to remodel the Nora Inn. Sources say that the remodel is almost complete. Finally we will have more than crappy gas station food in town.

Rockford boys track team on of the best teams in the nation. This track team works hard as they practice every day. The coach Longcor make the boys do a series of intense workouts that makes the get ready for the next meet.The long hours of the track meets make it better to be able to hang out with friends and have rest between races. Mikayla says that that the rockford school needs a new track.

Biggs auto shop in rockford iowa is a home town mechanics shop were you dont have to go out of your way if there is something wrong with your vehicle. He knows what he is doing when it comes to cars and it helps out the community when you send your money here. Bigg is almost always there and if not you just leave your car there and a note on what he needs to fix and he almost always getts it done.

Sleep

Sleep consumes about 1/3 of your life. Sleepless effects your performance and your ability to do your everyday functions.There is about 84 different types of disorders. $15.9 billion to National Health Care costs. Everybody needs about 8 1/2 hours of sleep. Most adults get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. College students are considered most sleep deprived, but about 70% are not satisfied on the amount of sleep they get. Teenagers need about 9 1/2 hours of sleep to function their best. Only 15% sleep 8 1/2 hours. Most also have sleep disorders. Over 2 million children have sleep disorders. 30-40% do not get enough sleep. For children it is recommended 9-10 hours. A person who would like there name not stated says " most people are grumpy if they don't get at least 8 hours."Images by Google.

Cherry Berry

The new yogurt store located in Mason City is called Cherry Berry. Many people say it's a fun place to be in and they love all the different toppings that they get. This store is located right beside Hobby Lobby in that little strip on the main road. When you first walk in, you see a bunch of fun colors. You'll see red and green couches and chairs, there are table areas in there to sit and eat your delicious yogurt also. It's a self serve store and all you do it go pick up what size of cup you want, then you can pick from many different flavors of yogurt that you want, one side is one flavor and the other side is a different flavor and in the middle is a twist. You can mix any kind of yogurt that you would like to. As you keep walking down the line, there are different toppings, from gummy bears to just chocolate chips, again, you can put whatever you want on there. If you keep walking, there are toppings like caramel, chocolate, cherries, and many other things to choose from. When you are done, you set your cup on the scale and you pay by the weight of the cup that you have. You'll buy and sit in their lounge chairs, couches, or just sit at a table and enjoy! My sister and I went to Cherry Berry, and she thought it tasted just like ice-cream more than it did yogurt, but it was still good!

Gravel Road Conditions

     The citizens of Rockford and surrounding areas have encountered quite a burden during the past few weeks with the bridge being out on main street. The bridge crosses the Shell Rock river and is located on main street. Far worse than the bridge being out, however, are the roads that are taken as a detour around the bridge. To get from one side of Rockford to the other, gravel roads are often taken by many travelers. When a great many automobiles drive on the same gravel road, pot holes, frost boils, and dust become a problem for everyone. The road conditions of the gravel roads surrounding the town of Rockford have become horrendous since the bridge has been taken out. The pot holes are many and large, especially before and after bridges, and the frost boils have made mud a problem, as well, it will pull you from one side to the other without your knowing. The rain that has come has tamed down the dust some, but when it dries up, the dust makes for dangerous traveling on the gravel roads. I believe the county road graders should grade the roads that are being traveled so much every day to keep the road from getting worse. Also, many town-folk are attempting to traverse the gravel roads for the first time...this is quite sketchy. It is almost as if these people do not realize that the road is meant for two cars to cross at one time, so both parties must get to the right side of the road. A car cannot drive down the center of the road when another is on-coming. Also, us veteran gravel road drivers do not have time to drive behind you while you take 45 minutes to drive two miles, so please be kind and get over so we can pass you. Rick Dow, who is a resident of Rockford, Iowa, who is now forced to take gravel roads, "The last time I drove on the gravel roads, they were terrible." Just a fair warning to all who are thinking about taking that gravel road, which is now more traveled than ever, beware! *Photo courtesy of Google Images

Retirements

           There are two retirements in RRMR this year, and both of which are on the elementary side. The first teacher that is retiring is RRMR's first grade teacher Mrs. Ohden, and the other Ms. Huisman a second grade teacher. Mrs. Ohden has been at RRMR for 22 years, three of them as a teacher's aid. Mrs. Ohden said that her favorite part of teaching is "Having fun working with the students." Ms. Huisman has been teaching at RRMR for 42 wonderful years, and said that her favorite part of teaching is "Seeing how the children change and grow through the years on a mental and physical level." These two teachers have been a part of many students learning experiences and will be greatly missed.

Ms. Huisman

Mrs. Ohden

14 year old in the Masters

Guan Tianlang is a 14 year-old eighth grader from China, is the youngest player to ever play in the Masters. Guan has been golfing since he was 4 years old. He lives with his relatives in Los Angles and San Diego for three months out of the year to train. He has been considered the next child prodigy ever since last year at the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego when he won his age division (11-12) by 11 shots. The Masters were held in Augusta, Georgia last Sunday. Guan finished 12 under par. "This shows that anything is possible, no matter how old you are." -An anonymous student at RRMR.
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Underage Drinking

Iowa, along with many other states have a major issue on their hands with underage drinking.  Although is illegal for persons under the age of 21 consuming alcohol.  According to Alcohol connections article on underage drinking. Minors that drinking typically consume more alcohol per drinking session than the average adult. According to their study 37 percent of 8th graders and 56 percent of high school student have drank alcohol.  This has been an ongoing issue in the United States,  and will be ongoing for ever.  When asked how she felt about underage drinking Mrs. Huebsch replied "It's an unfortunate option that kids choose when they are bored that leads to  many bad decisions and bad results."

Photo courtesy of Google images.

After Prom Attendance

The weekend of prom should be a three day weekend. Prom and After prom tire some people out, attendance the monday after is iffy at best for most people. This year at least ten people, who wish to have their names remain unknown, did not come to school on monday. When asked they said they were too tired. Others that did show up said that they "were like zombies'. The lights were on, but nobody was home. So some parents said don't have after prom so late. But why punish those of us who actually came to school? We have so many three day weekends anyway, why not move one to prom weekend instead. I know that if we do, attendance will be much higher.

Mike's Welding

     Mike Dow owns a welding shop in Rockford, Iowa called Mike’s Welding. The shop opened many years ago, after he finished his education at North Iowa Area Community College. The shop is located 2 miles west of Rockford, Iowa, near his former home. Mike is my uncle, being my dad’s brother, and my opinion of the shop is that he does great work for a fair price. He does a vast variety of work at his shop and I believe his shop has made Rockford’s economy better, being it is local and many people from different towns come to have him weld on their equipment. His son, Tony Dow, works with him repairing farm equipment. He usually works on farm equipment for farmers in the area, but also does work on automobiles, as well. I talked to Jim Dow, who happens to be Mike Dow’s brother, who says, “Mike’s Welding is family-owned, with a father and son who work together repairing farm equipment for the local farmers.”

Popular Hangout For Teens....

          The RRMR students like to hang out in the park. They like to challenge each other at games of basketball. I agree that is this is a nice place to hangout, and it kinda keeps students out of trouble. A student that would like there name posted says: It's is a fun place to go play basketball, and see your friends. Images by Google Images.

Possible Gas Tax

           Iowa as a state is thinking of adding a gas tax of ten cents per gallon over the next three years, to help aid in the rebuilding and maintaining of roadways in the state. This tax is more for the use of the rural population to help our degrading roads become reinvigorated and new, so that vehicles and roads will last longer. This will minimally affect people and their day to day spending it will charge three cents the first and second year and four cents the third year, which is a very small amount with a big impact raising approximately 230 million dollars annually. Tyler Burnett said, "If the money winds up in the correct place it will be a great thing." I am hoping that the tax is created to improve Iowa roadways.

Corn prices

If corn prices fall as predicted by the end of the year, it will be better for the farmers that have to feed livestock. However, the farmers selling the corn are going to be in a world of hurt. Farmers that sell corn, especially in the Midwest, are going to lose a lot of money due to renting or buying ground and buying/leasing new farm machinery. Farmers that feed livestock are going to have more money if it goes down to $4.00 corn.  Corn prices rose due to the drought in the Midwest last summer. Buying from South America took its toll on the price of corn. “If corn prices go down, I could buy more cattle.” -Doug Hain, dairy farmer

Physics Machine

In physics we are making a Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is just a complicated way to do a simple task. Our task is to put out a lit candle. We have to use twenty four steps to put out the candle. What we are doing is used mostly of marble-works, hot wheels tracks and dominoes. we drop a marble down the marble works, then when it rolls out the bottom, then it hits a steel ball, that rolls down a ramp and hits a red solo cup, which is attached to a pulley. That pulley is released and the counter weight sends a marble down a ramp, which flies into a ice cream bucket. The marble falls out of a hole in the bucket and hits a hot wheel,which rolls down a ramp and hits more dominoes that set of another marble down a chute which hits a domino that is tied to yet another domino and sets of more dominoes, hitting a marble that goes across a suspension bridge that sets off more dominoes and sets another marble onto a second bridge. thats as far as we have gotten so far.

The Loft

Corwith Iowa has gained a new business in the form of a juice bar. Dale Peterson is the owner of the so called "gentleman's club."  The club is under extreme scrutiny by the city, as well as many citizens.  The club has already had one run in with the city shutting off the utilities to the business. It is an alcohol free organization as to be regulatory for nude dancers.  When asked how he felt about the establishment Ethan Lines replied "Whether or not the business opens, it will not affect him because he wont take part in its activities, although it will bring the town money."

Image courtesy of wcfcourier.com

Boys golf at Rudd Rockford Marble Rock is a great way to get out and see what beautiful landscapes there are in our district. Golf is a fun and relaxing game that only takes a couple of hours out of your day. All that you need is golf clubs and some tees and the right stance can have a huge effect on your game. You hit the ball off the tee and try to get it as close to the hole but staying in bounds. You have your choice on how many holes you want to play if your really good you can go for 18 holes but if you are a beginner you might want to start out a 9 holes. Sabrina Dow says that Jake Green might be the worst player on the planet and just needs to give it up.

Girls Golf

     The Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock high school girl's golf team consists of many talented athletes. The coach is Mrs. Carmen Staudt, who is the home economics teacher at RRMR. The golfers drive to Nora Springs each day to practice, where the team will also have one of the meets. Many of the meets will be in the months of April and May, when the girls will travel around the conference district to different towns to compete against other golfers from different schools. The girls hope to have many wins the season with their talent and skills. Dalton Stevens, a senior at RRMR says, "hopefully we will have a good girl's golf team this year, good luck!"

Hours or Days?

In the next year or two, the government has decided to make students go so many hours instead of so many days a year. They were talking about it and asking to do it starting next fall, but there is still a debate on it so it may be in the next 2 to 3 years. It will happen at schools all around, including RRMR. They want it because instead of going half days and counting it as a day, the feel the students don't get good hours of teaching in the full year that they have to go. They would have more contact time with students to make up all the hours that were missed and not have to cut short on lessons, and skip chapters that wouldn't be able to be made up in the amount of days that they get. I talked to a faculty member, Mr. Heimer and he said necessary? That's all he had to say about it, nothing more. Most students of RRMR are not happy about it. They do not want to go so many hours and not days. They like having half days and not having to make those up. The discussion of it is still going on, so next year will not be switched, but possibly the year after that.

Image by: Google images

2 miles to 10 miles

This year, as of April 1st, the citizens of Rockford have been changing their routes because of the bridge that is being taken down and replaced, so your 5 minute ride could take up to a half hour ride from one side of town to the other. Since they didn't do a one lane bridge in this small town, people have been taking longer to get to school, to their bank, their churches, and even the only gas station in this town. Cathy Adams works at the gas station in Rockford, I went and asked her how the bridge being taken down and making routes longer has effected the customers in the store. She told me that, of course before and after school, it is the same with all the school kids getting breakfast, getting food and gas to go all the way back around to just get to the other side of town. She did say that during the night she misses seeing the nightly cruising kids that always go by and stop for a pop, food, chips, cigarettes, whatever they thought they needed. Around 6:00 7:00 there hasn't been very many people coming in for milk or bread before supper that they needed because it's not worth the drive. Most people are stopping at gas stations through their new route such as Nora Springs and Marble Rock. The bridge has affected the gas stations customers not in a huge way, but it's big enough for employees to notice.

Pennies for Patients

Imagines by google images






This year Rudd Rockford Marble Rock has been chosen to earn money to help save lives. They ask for any spare change that you can donate. They started the event  Friday, April 5  and they gave us about three weeks. We also get to play games like dying a teachers hair green, or even taping one to the wall. All the donations go to Leukemia and Lymphoma patients. Tyler Burnett stated that this is a good charity thats proceeds go to a great cause.

21st Century Writing

           The students of 21st century writing are sad to hear that this is the last year that RRMR will be providing this class to their students. The Class is taught by Mrs. Huebsch, who has been teaching at Rockford Senior High for two years has been teaching this class for the same amount of time. The class has taken care of all of the senior spotlights in the previous years, and sent them to the Nora Springs Register to be published. At this point teachers and students are unknowing of who is going to write the senior spotlights. The class has been dropped due to changing class schedules and the lack of students that have been taking the course. I believe that the course should have been kept so that the following seniors could have a group to write the senior spotlights, but the spotlights might not make another appearance to the Nora Springs Register. Mrs. Huebsch has said that "I'm sorry to see this class discontinued, but I look forward to the new classes I will be receiving next year in the new course setup. 

Graduation

           The class of 2013 is soon to be graduating and is ready to move on and experience new things, and all the world can offer. RRMR's class of 2013 will be graduating May 19th of 2013 at 2:00 PM in the Rockford Senior High School Gymnasium. Finally accomplishing what all of the seniors have dreamed of since our first day in school will soon be a reality, and we owe much of our thanks to the teachers who have taught us how to work hard and study to become better in every subject, the friends who helped them up off the ground, and provided support in tough times, and most of all the parents that have helped us with homework, put up with the drama, and showed us how to become young adults and provided the model to do so throughout the years. One of the graduating students has said "High school has been one of the most fun but trying times in my life so far, but it will lead to some of the greatest experiences."

Soda Ban

The soda ban on our school is basically ineffective. When asked students said that it is very easy to bring pop into the school. Tyler B said" I bring it in every day." When you can walk in with a twelve pack of pop( as seen below) and wave at teachers, what is the point of the ban? The school does nothing to stop us from bringing things into the school, other than the fact that we are not supposed to. So the school either needs to do something to enforce the ban, or stop this farce and remove it.

      There is a gun ban going around that they are trying to take way all the assalt rifles and banana clips from the public. The government thinks that if the take away all the asalt weapons that there wont be killings and mass murders. But if someone wants to kill some one then they find away and i dont hink that it is right to take the American freedom to bear arms. Plus we have a lot of guns bans already and we cant control them and we already wont to add more. one person says that if the parents took better care of there gun when they know that there children are mental ill or have depression problems that they should know not to have there guns in the house hold take them to a friends house some where that you know there going to be safe. Sabrina Dow says that there should be a ban on asalt rifles because they are unnecessary.

Prom 2013

     The junior class of the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock community school district is holding the High School Prom on April 13th of 2013 in the high school gymnasium. The grand march will begin at seven o’clock p.m. in the gymnasium. The junior class puts on the prom for the senior class and any underclassman who has been asked to attend by a junior or senior. The juniors put on the prom because they would like to treat the seniors to a night of enjoyment. The juniors will decorate the gym along with the chosen theme, there will also be snacks, a dance, a DJ, and a grand march to enjoy. The grand march will begin with the senior and junior student council walking on to the stage, the couples then walk around the gym on a designated path to get pictures taken. After the march, prom court will be announced and king and queen will be named. The dance will usually last for about two hours before everyone heads to the Rose Bowl in Mason City for After Prom, where there will be bowling, food, and prizes. Unfortunately, the 2013 prom will not be enjoying prizes at After Prom, because there were not enough donations to contribute to the purchases. I talked with Dalton Stevens, a senior at RRMR, who says, “prom is a time in a person’s life where you can go and have fun with your friends.” 

After Prom

The RRMR After-Prom will be  held at the Rose Bowl in Mason City  after the dance on Saturday, April 13. According to Deb Kuhlemeier, After Prom Committee Member there will be lots of prizes, such as  gift cards and everyone can expect at least one or two gift cards. Other prizes available for seniors are: two refrigerators, two printers, two twenty-two inch TV’s and two one hundred dollar bills and probably more. For entertainment, Gary Tyson, a hypnotist, will be performing from 12:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m., then he will be traveling to Charles City for their After-Prom. The games available are bowling, karaoke, blackjack, twister, and more. The After-Prom Committee will be serving Pizza Hut pizza, deli subs from Walmart, pop, water and ice cream sundaes. 

We hope to see you at the RRMR Prom Grand March at seven’ o clock in the high school gym. Come early if you would like a good seat. Prom royalty will be announced next week and the King and Queen will be crowned immediately after Grand March. 

Image courtesy of Google Images

gaming in school

RRMR has been plagued with a major issue that has reduced the ability of students to learn.  Students abusing their computers and using them for online gaming has reduced computer speed for those trying to work.  The students that try to do their work on their computers have made a valid point about computer speeds being reduced to the point they cannot do their work.  Online gaming takes up band width that is limited use to start with.  When asked how she felt Kelly Hain replied "I feel that it slows down the internet, and the filters that are needed to stop gaming are worse than the gaming itself."

Having technology may not always be good, when its limitations affect learning.

Bridge out in Rockford

Since the Rockford bridge has gone under construction for at least 5 or 6 months, RRMR students, along with everyone else, will have to take a very different route to get from one side of town to the other. The bridge is being redone, because it has started falling apart on the supports. The detour for the east side of Rockford is on 210th St. to Hickory Ave. south of Marble Rock, then from Marble Rock west on 270th St. to Dancer. Another way to take is go north of town and take gravel. The only problem with gravel is the Iowa Department of Transportation does not recommend taking gravel, because of the frost rising out of the ground around this time of the year. The bridge being out means the commute for the west side of town students is no longer 5 minutes or less; it has become a 20 minute drive. “I feel like it wouldn’t be as bad if they would reopen the old gas station downtown. I also wish they would have put the temporary bridge up.” -Nic Freeman, Senior at RRMR

Picture taken at 11:07A.M. April 5, 2013