Huron Senior Awarded for Volunteerism

Huron High School senior, Hannah Blackwell, was recently awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award for completing more than 200 hours of community service during her high school career.  The award is given to students through the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, the nation’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service.  Hannah received a certificate and letter from President Barack Obama in which the President stated “While government can open more opportunities for us to serve our communities, it is up to each of us to seize those opportunities.  Thank you for your devotion to service and for doing all you can to shape a better tomorrow for our great Nation.”  Hannah is the first Huron High School student to receive this award.

An Unusual Battle at Huron Memorial Stadium

This evening, an unusual battle was fought on Kalahari Field.  The stands were empty except for a handful of people; yet, the passion with which the battle was fought could be felt amongst those few spectators.  This battle was the annual powderpuff game between the senior girls and the junior girls.  Each team was coached by football players from their respective classes, and the referees were assistant principal, Tony Munafo, and high school math teacher, Nathan Nemire.  The game was called by experienced announcer, Mac Lehrer.

Though the temperatures were not favorable for a May evening, the girls played hard.  The seniors, who had a deep bench, won the battle by a score of 30 to 18.  Fun was had by all.  

Huron High School National Honor Society Inducts 28

This past Wednesday evening, 28 of Huron’s top students were inducted into the Alpha Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS).  These four seniors and 24 juniors were not recognized simply for their scholarship, but also for their leadership qualities, service, and character.  Each student inducted was nominated by the faculty based first on their academic achievement of a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and then on their service, leadership, and character.  To maintain membership in NHS, students must maintain a 3.5 GPA and volunteer in the community at least eight hours per semester.

Mr. Dale Casper, gifted intervention specialist with the Huron City Schools, was the guest speaker for the induction ceremony.  Mr. Casper expressed his sincere gratitude in being asked to speak at such a great event which included many of the students whom he had in class several years ago.  In his speech, Mr. Casper quoted from many of his favorite authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Homer Hickam, author of October Sky.  In closing, he challenged the students to have an impact on the world.  In doing so, Mr. Casper quoted Robin Williams’ character from the 1989 movie, Dead Poets Society.  “To quote from (Walt) Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” 

Mr. Dale Casper speaks at the NHS Induction Ceremony
Wednesday evening

The newly appointed NHS members include seniors, Hannah Cantrill, Kassie Hamilton, Sean Martin, and Graham Mast, and juniors, Delaney Black, Hannah Blackwell, Jamie Borger, Leo Bunting, Grace Claus, Sophie Dandurand, Elisabeth Dawkins, Dean Dickerson, James Faunda, Grant Ferrell, Jared Fronzaglio, Lisa Gies, Kylie Greulich, Jake Guerrero, Michael Huddleston, Kaitlin Drueger, Miranda Land, Wyatt Myters, Tyler Sasala, Aaron Schlessman, Brodie Sennish, Emma Steinmetz, Elizabeth Vacca, and Logan Weber.  Congratulations to these outstanding students and community members!

When The Weather Channel Came to Town

By Hannah Blackwell

          Football, the great American pastime, has brought our small town together on Friday nights for decades.  The boys that make up the Huron High School Football Team put hard work and dedication into the sport so that they can continue to make Huron proud.  Yet, who would have guessed that the team’s success and our little piece of paradise on the lake could catch the attention of Senior Producer of special projects for The Weather Channel, Mike Jenkins?  Early this week, Huron High School Athletic Director, Steve Camella, was notified that The Weather Channel was working on a segment called “12 Weeks, 12 Towns” and that they wanted to include Huron in the mix.  Jenkins and a camera crew of one rolled into town late Thursday afternoon to catch the Thursday night football practice with a drone camera.  They were also able to capture footage of the team members putting the “H” on their helmets for Friday night’s big game.  The segment for which Jenkins is traveling across the country is not just about small-town football programs, but about “getting into Middle America and telling the stories so the rest of America knows what you have; your hidden jewel.”  Huron was picked for the segment purely based on research with keywords such as “small town,” “community,” and “football.”  Jenkins and his team wanted to capture what makes Huron such a great place in the three-minute segment that will air throughout the day on The Weather Channel on Friday, September 5.  He explained that the segment “is not about the Friday nights; it’s about what the Friday nights mean to the community.”  Huron has something special, and this will be broadcast to the world next Friday.  

Huron Cross Country Competes at Tiger Classic

The Huron Cross Country teams headed to Seneca East High School in Attica, Ohio, this past Saturday for the Tiger Classic.  Despite the heat and humidity, the runners performed quite well.  Eight girls and six boys ran their first 5K cross country race ever  

at the Tiger Classic.  The girls ended up 6th out of 13 teams despite not having two of their top three runners.  Several veteran runners ran course records including Sarah Neibler, Hannah Blackwell, Kate Will, Nick Lachowyn, and Elijah Hart.  Of these, Nick Lachowyn and Elijah Hart set personal records.  The season continues on Saturday, August 30 when the Huron runners head to Ashland for the Ashland Invite.    

Fall Sports Preview: Cross Country

From Coach Roger Blevins:

The Huron boys and girls cross country teams have been working hard all summer in preparation for the upcoming season.  There are fourteen boys and twenty girls out this year.  The boys cross country team has a mix of veteran runners and untested talent.  The team will be led this year by seniors Graham Mast,  Nick Lachowyn, and Ryan Opfer.  Returning junior Shane Thatcher is continuing his development as a runner and we expect to see great things from him.  In addition, we have added several talented freshman to the team with Nathan Pack and Ronnie Brandal consistently pushing our upper class runners in practice.  It will be exciting to see how all the young men come together to compete this year against conference competition.  Our strengths will be our experienced juniors and seniors.   We do however, have some talented underclassmen who will be asked to shoulder more weight than is typical for young runners. 

On the girls team, this years ladies cross country team will be led by seniors Madi Mize (former regional qualifier), Allison Litz, and Samantha Hebert.  We've added eight freshmen to the team and several new sophomores and juniors.  Returning sophomores Jenna Burrier and Sarah Neibler add depth and additional high level racing experience.  Many of our young runners are very promising but at this time untested.  As coaches, we're very excited to see how this young team comes together to compete in an always-competitive SBC conference.

Note: The Huron Cross Country team will begin their season next Saturday, August 23, at the Tiger Classic at Seneca East High School in Attica, Ohio.

Huron High School Students Take Part in Teen Advisory Board

Huron students serving as members of the Ohio Teen Advisory 
Board (l to r)- Monika Giardina, Hannah Blackwell, Michael Delahunt, 
Lisa Gies, and Madi Mize.  Not pictured- Samantha Hebert.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office recently formed their inaugural Teen Advisory Board. The purpose of this new board is primarily to engage Ohio’s young people in the processes of government and law. Earlier this year, applications for the board were accepted from students who would be high school juniors or seniors during the 2014-2015 school year. Once selected, board members are required to serve a one-year term and convene in Columbus twice during their term.

For this first year, there were 174 applicants, all of whom were asked to serve on the Teen Advisory Board. Of these 174 board members, six members are students at Huron High School. These students include juniors, Hannah Blackwell and Lisa Gies, and seniors, Michael Delahunt, Samantha Hebert, Madi Mize, and Monika Giardina. Due to the large number of students involved, the Teen Advisory Board was split into two groups. One of the groups met in Columbus on Tuesday, August 5 and the other on Wednesday, August 6. The agenda for these meetings included a tour of the Ohio Attorney General’s office, the Ohio Statehouse, and the Ohio Supreme Court. In addition, staffers from the Attorney General’s office lead a forum for members where they discussed issues affecting teens. There were also presentations by a variety of government employees.



The next meeting of the Teen Advisory Board will occur after the holidays. During that time, the board members will participate in a more focused work session to discuss issues related to teens in Ohio such as school safety, the heroin epidemic, and teen consumer protection issues. Ultimately, the Ohio Attorney General’s office “envisions members working with various service divisions within our office and providing ongoing and direct input on policies and practices that may affect young people in Ohio.”