6:OO PM

Austin Clouse and his fellow actors begin to arrive and have their makeup done by BSHS 2011 graduate Brenna Hoch and her mother, Rita Hoch. Most actors, including Clouse, have black paint airbrushed on their eyes and mouth to hide the skin color under the masks that they will wear. Other actors, such as clowns and zombies, have their faces painted white with bright colors or bloody gashes. “Blood” is put on faces and costumes to add a gruesome detail. Some clothes are cut with scissors to give a tattered and torn look.

Owners Mike Clouse, Jerry Hoffine and Steve Hoffine perform a “safety check” by going through the rooms and looking over and touching up details, testing electronics to see if they are working properly, and fixing anything that is broken. On our tour of the Asylum, we saw the rooms, while lit, have many details the average person may not notice when the lights go down and they are being chased by crazed patients.

6:45

Daylight is beginning to fade outside, as the time for frights has almost come. Anticipating the first groups to arrive at the top of the hour, the workers take their last preparations for the night. Clouse’s makeup is done and his mask is on, telling us he is ready for the night to begin.

“The mask makes me feel like someone else,” said Clouse, who becomes Leroy Pig, a monster pig-man farmer who slaughters his livestock, yes, that includes people.

The other performers put on their second faces and some do a last check on their rooms. Before the actors can take their places, one last review of procedures must be performed. As the hour draws to a close, the inside lights go out while the haunted sound effects come on. The first group of fright seekers soon arrives and waits to purchase their tickets for the Asylum.   7:00 PM

Darkness envelops the interior of the building and sounds of horror can be heard from the entrance. The fright-seekers go through the front door and up a set of stairs where they are admitted to the Asylum by Nurse Brenna Hoch.

Maneuvering through dark hallways and terrors, the visitors make their way down to Leroy Pig’s Pen, the room Clouse designed for his Senior Project.

“It took a total of 26 hours to get it done. All the wood is actually foam using a wire brush and a heat gun to make it realistic,” Clouse said.

As the group enters the room, they find a display case filled with human remains illuminated by a strobe light. From the ceiling hangs a lone orange light along with gruesome and bloody pig parts. Making their way through the room, they find a bleeding victim crying for help.

While the group is distracted, Clouse comes out from behind the display hitting a barrel for noise and using a cattle prod simulator for added effect. After the scare, the group runs through the room towards Claustrophobia, a 30-foot pitch black hallway of air bags. Clouse will occasionally run ahead into Claustrophobia to further frighten them in the hallway.

8:45 PM

As the flow of groups slows down, Clouse has a chance to reminisce on his past experiences at the 3rd Street Asylum.

“My first year I had a cheap mask and everyone thought I was good at what I did,” Clouse explained. “I went to a Halloween show and spent about $500 on my current mask and loved how real it looked and thought it was perfect.”

Clouse has always been in the same room, even before he decided to make it his Senior Project.

“I just got put in the pig pen my first year and really enjoyed it. My dad wants me to switch rooms, but I don’t think I will because I’m used to it and I know what to do there,” Clouse said.

Clouse said his most memorable moments were scaring two girls so badly that they fell to the ground and making a 24-year-old girl pee her pants.

Clouse explains that his favorite room in the 3rd Street Asylum is “the forest” because it has so much detail put into it. 11:30 PM

With so many visitors coming and going every weekend, closing time for the Asylum can vary.

Even though the “set time” for closing is midnight, the actual time is determined by how many late night guests arrive.

Actors say they can actually stay open much later than the posted closing time, and some actors may not get home until one or two in the morning.

With the long nights of scares and screams, Austin Clouse and his fellow 3rd Street Asylum coworkers say they love the energy and atmosphere that surrounds them when they enter the old high school building every weekend.

“It’s addicting to work here,” Clouse said.

Fresh off their trip to state last year, the boys soccer team kicked their season off against Tonganoxie High School on Aug. 31.

Senior Ryan Cook got the ball rolling with the first goal of the season, followed by senior Shawn Jones with three goals and sophomore Colin Barker with one goal in the 5-0 victory.

Last year the Braves went to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Is their focal point on returning to state?

“I think the boys are focused on team unity, which takes their mind off returning to state,” coach Mike Moulin said.

Senior goalie Brett Steuart feels a little differently though.

“We are definitely feeling the pressure. We don’t want to disappoint anyone,” he said.

Coach Moulin said so far this season is going just as planned.

“When the boys start playing like a team, they will begin to be successful,” said Moulin.

Moulin has very high expectations for his team, and he believes they can all achieve success together.

Junior Jason VanMaren agrees.

“I don’t think we’ve reached our full potential as a team yet,” he said.

Moulin said he just wants his players to finish strong and hopefully give another go at state.

In action last Tuesday, the Braves took on Mill Valley and played a tough game but ended up losing 1-0. The loss to the Jaguars was a difficult one for the whole team. But Coach Moulin saw only the positive side.

“Although Mill Valley beat us, I felt as though we were the better team,” he said.

The squad came together last Thursday to defeat the Bishop Ward Cyclones 3-0, proving that they are still a force to be reckoned with in KVL play.

On Monday, the Braves faced a tough Lansing team at home and finished with a tie of 1-1 after going into double overtime. The Braves controlled the field the first half but failed to score later in the game.

Next week the Braves will take on Gardner-Edgerton and Topeka Seaman.

Dance moves have always defined a generation, from the baby boomers and the Twist to their children and the Hustle. But the way our generation is heading will we be known for… grinding?

Suggestive front-to-back dancing, better known as grinding, seems to be the dance of choice for many students. It’s grind or be grinded, with few options for students who want to dance in a less explicit way.

A fire is being stoked by the increase in this explicit dancing at school dances all over the country, and it’s spreading like wildfire, forcing some school administrators to take extreme measures.

For example, Geneva High School in Chicago made headlines last February when school administrators banned front-to-back dancing and enforced the new policy with a wristband system. If students were caught grinding, they would be asked to remove one wristband. If caught again, they could be banned from the dance and all future ones.

Principal Tom Rogers told the Geneva Patch, a local online news organization, that “we understand that this type of dancing is popular in the clubs, but Geneva High School is not a club, and we’re not going to create a club atmosphere at our dances.”

Rogers also asked the disc jockey not to play “any bass heavy songs” that might induce grinding.

At Prairie High School in Washington, the school had many problems with dancing being way out of line. They had to institute a 15-minute long orientation before students attended a dance to make sure you knew what dance moves were acceptable.

Not only did they have to attend the orientation, they also had to have a contract signed by them and by their parents stating they would abide by the rules. If they were to break any rule once at the dance their privilege to attend any dance would be taken away.

Think that is too much? Union Grove High School in Wisconsin now records every dance to make sure no one is dancing provocatively.

In Minnesota, the PACT charter school has rules that are very specific. They go to the extent of stating that there will be no moshing, no hands on the ground, no grinding, no crowd surfing or dancing with objects such as poles.

Jennifer Schlicht, long-time dance sponsor, acknowledges that grinding can be a problem at dances here.

“I think the students need to remember that they are at a school function and not a teen dance club,” Schlicht said.

Schlicht said it’s not just the faculty complaining about the rumored “grind pit.” Some students have also said they are disgusted by what’s happening at school dances.

“Kids should just conduct themselves with a little bit more decorum,” said Schlicht, adding that it would be hard to enforce a dance policy. “Students should know what is decent and what isn’t.”

Senior Bre Tendick said “grinding” was a hot topic at the Stuco camp she attended this summer.

“We learned that a lot of schools are losing their dance privileges and are only allowed to have mixers because of inappropriate dancing,” Tendick said.

To encourage Stuco members to help resolve these problems at their schools, Tendick said the camp staff sponsored a “grind free” dance for one of the evening activities.

“The counselors made up all sorts of funny moves for several of the songs, and we had a lot of fun. This dance was a lot more fun than any of the dances I’ve been to at Bonner,” Tendick said.

Schlicht added that a little self-respect could go a long ways in helping to resolve the problem.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean mean you should,” Schlicht said. “Would you dance like this in front of your grandma?

5-hour energy drinks make a big promise in a little bottle, but is “all day energy with no crash” from 8,333 percent Vitamin B12 and 2,000 percent Vitamin B6 in 1.93 fluid ounces safe?

Those percentages may sound alarming, but according to the company’s web site “the levels of B12 and B6 are well within safe limits.” Along with B-Vitamins, 5-hour Energy contains amino acids and nutrients essential to the body.

Even with all those good things crammed in a less than two-ounce bottle, health and fitness professionals are still skeptical of the effects on the human body.

“I think it’s a stimulant like any other stimulant,” school nurse Kim Bolewski said. “It’s not natural to the body, and the amount of stimulant is too much for the body. If it was like a once in a while thing, that’s not such a big deal. People who use it tend to use it periodically and then your body expects that to perform normally.”

Bolewski said her professional stance is that students should not use supplements, like 5-hour Energy, to get the energy they need.

“It’s a quick fix and quick fixes are never healthy fixes. They’re usually pretty bad. They’re just typically not good for you,” Bolewski said.

Some coaches said they would not want their athletes to use 5-hour Energy either.

Technology teacher and Clark Middle School football coach Dan Streit prefers that athletes learn to curve their diets and include foods their bodies need to provide natural energy instead of relying on supplement.

When asked about his concerns with 5-hour Energy, Streit said he wonders how it works, if it truly works and how the body and brain react to a 5-hour energy boost.

Along with Streit, assistant softball coach Crystal Richardson would be concerned if her athletes were using 5-hour Energy.

“The amount of caffeine in 5-hour Energy concerns me; it gives you energy but it’s a false sense of security.” Richardson said.

However, head wrestling coach Brandon Jobe isn’t too worried.

“It’s one of the healthier options,” Jobe said. “It’s not too bad, but there are better things out there.”

Students who have used the product can provide various reactions—and not all of them good.

“I chugged an entire bottle right before a halftime performance when I was on the dance team my sophomore year,” senior Cinthia Ebertz said. “I thought it would be no big deal because it was just five hours, but I became very jittery and I was wired for about seven hours. It probably didn’t help that I drank it on an empty stomach. I learned my lesson, a little goes a long way.”

Junior Samantha Ricci-Weller also had a negative experience.

“I was at dance camp last summer, and we were all really tired and looking for a boost of energy to get through our final class of the day,” Ricci-Weller said. “I took a couple of sips from a friend’s bottle and about 10 or 15 minutes later, a bump appeared on the left side of my neck, suggesting that I was having an allergic reaction.

Others, like senior Dustin Gilbert, maintain the belief that the product delivers its claim of an energy boost without a crash.

“5-hour Energy is a good way to get energy. I drank an orange-flavored one and it tasted like orange. I took it before the Harry Potter premiere, and it was awesome,” Gilbert said.

With the potential for an energy boost aside, many people are too discouraged by the taste.

“It’s disgusting,” said junior Sydney Turner.

“It works, but it tastes bad,” sophomore Blake Dilley added.

“I think 5-hour Energy tastes like fish,” freshmen Gabby Bennett said.

Despite the mixed opinions, 5-hour Energy’s sales continue to grow each year. With nearly $1 billion in annual sales, it has America’s attention.

Have you ever wondered why we have such a specific dress code? I know I have, which is why I decided to dig deeper and find out the real deal.

In the beginning I thought that some of the principles were a little absurd, but after talking to Jennifer Schlicht, a member of the faculty committee that reviewed the code last year, I understand their reasoning a little bit more.

Ladies and gents, the school isn’t just trying to punish us, I promise. If anything, they believe they are helping us and in some ways they might be.

I decided to question the rule on sleeves or lack of sleeves. My argument being that shoulders are not suggestive in any way. Without disagreeing, Mrs. Schlicht explained that tank tops were prohibited due to undergarments being shown.

But let’s face it, as uncouth as it is, some girls will do it anyway, whether they are wearing a shirt with sleeves or a tank top. If a the girl doesn’t care, she doesn’t care.

So, girls, I’ll ask you this, have you ever thought about this from the perspective of a male teacher? Have you thought about how they might feel when your excess cleavage is on display? These are things to think about.

When I first started writing this, I was worried it would seem as though I was bashing the school’s dress code. After thinking about it, I decided I agree with the school regulations to an extent because I don’t believe young women are in the right to show themselves in a provocative manner, but I also know it’s going to happen.

Now with that being said, I don’t agree with everything on the dressing do’s and don’ts.

I don’t think it’s fair to say we have to have shorts that are fingertip length or longer; not all girls are wearing shorter shorts to be suggestive.

I also don’t believe girls (or guys), should be wearing shorts so short that they could be mistaken for underwear.

All in all, I believe there should be revisions made to the dress code and specifications put in place.

However, the trouble actually began last May when Capalla noticed a problem with her knee.

“I wasn’t sure why I was having problems with my knee because we were finishing up our track season, so workouts should have been easier,” said Capalla, “but they were getting harder.”

Her orthopedic doctor decided to put her through physical therapy for the month of June, but this did little to ease Capalla’s pain.

“At the beginning of July, I had an MRI and the next day I was told that they had found a bone tumor in my knee,” she recalled.

After this, Capalla was referred to an Dr. Howard Rosenthal, the only doctor in the region who performs orthopedic oncology surgery.

“They did a biopsy first to diagnose if the tumor was malignant or benign. After a few days, I found out that it [the tumor} was malignant.” she said. “That meant it was cancerous.”

Capalla described that day as “dramatic” and in hindsight, funny.

“It was sort of just a normal day for me and then they told me I had cancer. My immediate reaction was to think of a South Park episode that was similar to my circumstance,’” she said jokingly. “I chose to look at it in a somewhat humorous way because I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself.”

To combat the cancer, Capalla began taking chemo therapy treatments Aug. 2. Currently she has a two-week break to build up her immune system in preparation for getting her new knee during limb salvage surgery.

Capalla will then undergo 17 more weeks of chemo before her treatments end in April. She says she never gets a good night’s sleep after chemo treatments, but jokes with her friends that she “never has a bad hair day.”

But Capalla isn’t the only person affected by her illness.

According to Rob Marriott, girls cross country coach, Capalla’s illness has changed the team.

“Obviously, we all miss Scintila, but the entire team is pushing itself to do better in the wake of her absence,” Marriott said. “We are improving at a great rate.”

And though Capalla can’t run, “absence” isn’t necessarily the best word to use in describing her hiatus from the sport she has always been so passionate about.

“The team is never really without Scintila; she is a topic of conversation almost daily and we still see her when we swim in a few morning workouts,” Marriott said.

Capalla is so much in the thoughts of others that Basehor-Linwood cross country coach Jeff Venema surprised her with an army of T-shirts that sported a heart and the words “We love you Scintila” at the Bonner Invitational Saturday.

Under Venema’s direction, 480 shirts were sold at $5 each.

“We know Scintila from many competitions and when we heard about what the team was going through, we knew we had to do something,” said Venema “We wanted to show her our support.”

And her reaction? Marriott reported it as “pretty substantial” due to his team’s “sneaky” ways.

Capalla said she was in Marriott’s SUV talking to his wife when she decided to go visit some friends from other schools.

Although she said it took her awhile to catch on, she soon noticed that most of the runners were wearing the “We love you” shirts.

“I was completely surprised and very humbled and thankful for what they did for me and my family.”
she said.

As for her return to running, Capalla isn’t so sure.

“I don’t really see myself bearing complete weight with my new knee until January, but after that…” she says with a pause.

But her certainty only wavers when it comes to running.

“I hope that if I survive—which I’m sure I will—that I will be able to pay back my parents for their support,” she says confidently.

Her, parents though, are not the only source of support, and Capalla says her friends and teachers haven’t treated her any differently.

“Some of the guys I used to hang out with act awkward around me because of my condition but the people who know me well treat me the same. I think it’s because of my attitude. I have a good outlook because my tumor is small. It’s just cancerous.”

The 2011-12 school year marks the 75th anniversary of the Pow Wow newspaper, a constant and beloved voice since 1937, when the high school was at the corner of Third and Kump, now The Third Street Asylum.

According to the newspaper’s second issue, dated Nov. 19. 1937, Frank Schirmer was the editor-in-chief, with Bert Williams as assistant editor.

Totaling five pages, the paper featured such columns as “Showerhouse Clatter,” “Whispers in the Dark,” “Guess Who,” and “Bonner Bosh.” The Pow Wow was decades ahead of Facebook, posting “relationship statuses” on the back page. Couples were listed as “Just Lit,” “Burning Brightly,” and “Gone Up in Flames.”

A page two article reported that the senior class voted to publish an annual (known now as a yearbook). The decision was reached in an after-school class meeting.

“By a majority of two-thirds of the class, the seniors decided to proceed with the plans for a 1938 yearbook,” the article states. “Since no such book had been printed since 1935, it is hoped that the student body will support it to the fullest extent.”

The cost for the annual was set at $1.

  Another page two article credits senior Nancy Laughlin with coming up with the Pow Wow as the paper’s name during a school wide contest. Laughlin received “all of the editions of this paper for the remainder of the term” as her contest prize.

Although editor Frank Schirmer said “many other suitable names were suggested, the vote for the name Pow Wow was almost unanimous.”

Schirmer concludes the article by telling students that “you may consult your Chieftain, but when you want the real lowdown on school be sure to attend the Pow Wow.”

Jill Holder has been the publication’s adviser for 25 of its 75 years and has witnessed the evolution of the Pow Wow.

“When I started in 1983, we had one typesetting machine that was about the size of my current desk,” Holder said. “We stored articles on eight-inch floppy disks and then took the disks to the Chieftain where we ultimately received long strips of photo-processed type which were used to create pages by literally cutting and pasting. Everything now is done digitally, and we’ve expanded our presence to include an online version of the Pow Wow.”

Even though print newspapers are suffering, Holder is confident that there will be opportunities for her students.

“I’m not sure that I can predict how the news will be delivered in the future because the formats are changing so rapidly, but I absolutely believe there will be jobs for responsible, professional storytellers who can report the news accurately and objectively.”

To read the Nov. 19, 1937 edition of the Pow Wow, Scroll Down.