Issue 2 06-07

PG. 16 & 17 SPORTS

PG. 20 - 22 ENTERTAINMENT

Trojan

Staff 2006 - 2007Editors-in-ChiefNick CommellaMallory Grooms

Assistant EditorLauren Kerr

Production ManagersCarol Beth JonesAnna Robertson

Business ManagerPatrick Stallings

AssistantsHannah ChapmanPatrick Heckethorn

Shelley Lemon

Advertising ManagerBen Chapman

Personnel EditorSarah Anne Edwards

Photography EditorCatherine Hamilton

AssistantsAllyson AgeeAndrew Lay

Sports EditorAndrew Ford

Opinion Page EditorCaitlin Rogers

CirculationAdam Ford

James Northcutt

Exchange EditorWilliam Lay

Staff ArtistsAdam Ford

Woody Handcock

Video YearbookEditors

Jackie BoehmlerMatt PaganAssistants

Sarah Anne EdwardsShellie Epperson

David GrueserJames Guttery

Madison JohnsonLauren KerrErin Naifeh

Caitlin RogersKaitlin TurneyMandy Yates

AdvisorsSuzanne Edwards

Nancy Speck

Trojan TorchDyersburg High School125 Hwy. 51 By-PassDyersburg, TN 38024

School improvements, Curfew, Mayor JohnHolden’s plans and Bekeart closing

Democratic pros and cons, Net neutrality,New curfew, iPod vs. Zune and Strict cell

phone policy

Importance of writing, Officer Beard, FFA,Deer hunting, Coach Counce, Winter depres-sion, Gatlin’s anatomy and physiology class,Meanings of rose colors, Valentine memories

and History of Valentine’s Day

Girl’s basketball, Boy’s basketball and Super Bowl history

Coach Durbin’s music, Umbrellas review, 007 review,Inconvienient Truth, Ja Ja review and

Java Cafe review

Check it out!Check it out!Look at the back cover Look at the back cover

for a calendar for a calendar of upcoming events!of upcoming events!

Letters to the editor can be Letters to the editor can be of any length of any length

on any topic. They may be on any topic. They may be edited for length edited for length

or libelous content.or libelous content.Letters to the editor Letters to the editor

are accepted are accepted in room 220.in room 220.

TTABLEABLE OFOF CCONTENTSONTENTSPG. 3 & 5 NEWS

PG. 6 - 9 EDITORIALS

PG. 11 - 15 FEATURES

2 Issue 2 TrojanTorchTable of ContentsVolume 39

School improvement is a topicthat some students might findboring but is actually an idea

that all students are involved in anddepend on to have a better school en-vironment and to gain a learning ex-perience that is priceless.

Every school in the state of Tennesseemust annually provide a school im-provement plan. To write this plan,students, parents and faculty membersare all given surveys to provide data.Students in the past may remembertaking these needs surveys to parentsor guardians to fill out.

The school plan focuses on two tofour areas to improve on throughoutthe school year. Some previous areasfor DHS have been the E-Academy,school climate, improving reading andwriting skills and increasing the grad-uation rate. This year's focus will be onthe school's retention rate and how tomake the rate increase.

Students will be a part of at leastthree sub-committees and will haveinput in those sections to help balancethe opinions that are used to producethe annual plan. Some students willalso be asked to fill out student opin-ion inventory forms so that the admin-istration can get ideas of what needs tobe improved on in the following year.

School faculty has a major part inmaintaining the focus of the commit-

tee. Every faculty member belongs toone of the six sub-committees. Thesegroups will focus on studying data,analyzing data, planning and drivingthe process. They will look at the softdata, data based on opinions, and harddata, actual facts such as test scores.School faculty members will fill outtheir own specific forms for a differentpoint of view.

Soon, the administration will prepareto write the plan. They will use stu-dent surveys and will look at ACT andGateway scores to collect performancedata that is needed. Also, student com-mittees will privately look at theschool's new plan for revisions.

The ultimate goal for this organiza-tion is to “make the best better,” ac-cording to principal Sam Miles. Theyare also focused on improving studentperformance and using their resourcessuch as the talent of teachers.

An obstacle that this group faces istime. This year's plan is due the first ofMay by the state, but the committee isstriving to have our school's planready by the first of April.

“Parents and other communitystakeholders will be a part of the com-mittees. The school improvementprocess is a continuous effort to makeour school better,” curriculum coordi-nator Kim Worley said.

By Shelley Lemon

Issue one correction: We apologize for our mis-take concerning the food service manager article on page10 of last issue. The headline should have read “New as-sistant food service manager Davis takes over.” Cindy Sawyers is the food service manager and at presstime Angie Davis was the assistant. Janice Jernigan iscurrently the assistant manager.

The Dyersburg CityCouncil has recentlyvoted to make a cur-

few a city ordinance. The main reason for the

curfew is complaints frombusiness owners and resi-dents of growing incidentsof vandalism and graffiti,loud music and noise inareas frequented by teenslate at night. Officials alsohope it will make parentstake more responsibility fortheir teens and not justlet them do ast h e y

please. The curfew, which took ef-

fect October 1, requiresteens 16 and under to be in-doors from 10 p.m. until 6a.m. Monday thoughThursday, and 11 p.m.-6a.m. on Friday through Sun-day. Teens who are 17 cannot be out from 11p.m. to 6

a.m. Monday throughThursday and 12 a.m. to 6a.m. from Friday to Sunday.However, teens who are outwith a parent note or forschool activities, such ascheer, will be exempt fromthe curfew.

First offenders will betaken home to their parentsand given a warning. Re-peat offenders will receive acitation and/or communityservice.

While the curfew is notvery popular with

t e e n s ,m a n yparents

and city offi-cials think the curfew is agood idea. “I agree with thenew curfew,” DyersburgSRO Robert Beard said.

With the ordinance al-ready enacted, the curfewmight be a permanent resi-dent of Dyersburg.

By William Lay

3TrojanTorch Volume 39 Issue 2News

Students assist with improvement plan

Staying off the streetsCurfew keeps localyouth out of trouble

Dyersburg City Youth Curfew

Age Mon.-Thurs. Fri.-Sun.

16-Under 10 p.m.-6 a.m. 11 p.m. -6 a.m.

17 11 p.m.-6 a.m. 12 a.m. -6 a.m.

Photo submitted

In the spring of this year, students will be part of the committees that helpplan for school improvement.Whitney Carter, Allyson Warren, CatherineHamilton, Andrew Ford, Robin Parker, Adam Ford and Mallory Groomsshow their interest in school maintenance.

SEE RELATED EDITORIAL ON PAGE 8

Charles Cowles Jr.Certified Public Accountant

1033 Tickle St.Dyersburg, TN

Phone: 285-6237

C. Phillip BivensDistrict AttorneyGeneral

115 E. Market St. Dyersburg, TN 286-8329

832 South Main Ave.Dyersburg, TN

285-1111

Collector’s Connection

1663 Hwy. 51 By-Pass N.

Dyersburg

285-6262

Dr. Bindra1716 Parr Ave. Suite B

Dyersburg, TN 286-0149

TTuucckkeerrTTii rree

PPhhoonnee:: 228855--88552200884444 SSoouutthh MMaa iinn SStt ..

PP ..OO.. BBooxx 11114499DDyyeerrssbbuurrgg,, TTNN

A Square Deal on aRound Tire

P.O. Box 509Humboldt, TN 38343

286-2744

Right Choices

www.rightchoicestn.com

627-99001-800-RIGHT-4

“Delivering truth to teensand empowering them to

make right choices”

Papa John’s

638 Hwy. 51 By-Pass W.Dyersburg, TN

286-0800

1130 Highway 51 By-pass, Dyersburg, TN

287-9488

R & S Carpet

630 Hwy. 51 By-Pass East Dyersburg, TN 38024

285-8871

Country Mart

1955 St. John Ave. Dyersburg, TN

286-0069

120 North Mill AvenueDyersburg, TN

288-7375

WoundCareClinicofDyersburg

220 N. Main. Ave. St. 106Dyersburg, TN

287-0804

“Treatment for allyour wound needs”

In an election year when voters acrossAmerica yearned for change, the winds ofa new direction also blew through the city

of Dyersburg. In a stunning local election, Dyer County

Commissioner John Holden defeated veteranMayor Bill Revell, unseating the 26-year in-cumbent.

In an exclusive and candid interview,Holden talks about the election and his plansand hopes for the future of the city that he willnow lead for the next four years.

Running for mayor is not something that justcame to John Holden over night.

“I first got elected to political office in 1994,and ever since then running for mayor hasbeen something I worked my way towards,”Holden said.

Holden’s opponent in the race was Bill Rev-ell who had been the mayor of Dyers-burg for almost 3 decades. That is why itwas such a shock to people, includingHolden, that he was able to win with 70percent of the vote.

“I felt good about the campaign, but Iwas surprised and humbled that thepeople thought so much of our cam-paign to give us that much of the vote,”Holden said.

When asked what his immediate pri-orities in his first term are, Holden saidthe first order of business is to prepareDyersburg for new business.

“There are certain areas of Dyersburg,such as Southtown, that need to becleaned up. We also need to continue therevitalization of our downtown area,”Holden said.

“I also want to work with the Chamberto help bring new business to Dyers-

burg,” Holden said.Holden also commented on his ideas to as-

sist in replacing some of the jobs lost by the re-cent closing of Bekaert and Dyersburg Fabrics.

“We already have a commitment from onefactory that will be opening next year calledNSK that will be making steering systems andwill employ about 170 people,” Holden said.

When talking about the crime and drugproblem in Dyersburg, Holden said that a lotof it traces back to deteriorating neighbor-hoods that need reviving.

“I want to make sure we enforce codes thatwill ensure that our city is clean,” Holdensaid.

Holden also said that an important part ofcontrolling crime and drugs in Dyersburg ismaking sure the police force and fire squadhave the resources they need to get their job

done.“I want to help provide for them the train-

ing, personnel, equipment and funds that areneeded for a safe and drug-free town, and Iwill do whatever else I can to help with that,”Holden said.

Holden has always been active in the com-munity’s youth sports and recreation; it isonly natural that he has big ideas for that also.

“I think we have a lot of different entitiesthat provide recreation for our communityand sometimes they get fractured. I wouldlike to help bring all them together to functionas a whole,” Holden said.

As for any new retailers or restaurants, eventhough there are none in the works right now,Holden says he will be working hard to de-velop that area of economic flow.

A positive and upbeat approach is some-thing that Holden is looking forwardto adding during his term his firstterm in the city government.

“I think folks were looking for a pos-itive leader that will take charge andrun the city the way it needs to be run.I also think it is important to be avail-able to our city employees. They arethe backbone of our community, andI intend to communicate with themand treat them with the respect thatthey deserve,” Holden said.

Holden indicated he will be openand accessible to any comments orideas from anyone in the community.

His term began the first of January;he is looking forward to the opportu-nity he has to be Dyersburg’s nextleader.

By Allyson Agee

Bekaert headquarters in Belgium has officially announced theirDyersburg plant will close in July of 2007. Bekaert's Dyersburgplant has been producing steel cord for radial tires since 1987.

The closing of this plant will affect approximately 200 employees.The corporation says they will work with Dyersburg employees tomake outplacement efforts in the next few months. “We are pretty surethat our employees will be able to get jobs in the area,” plant managerGary Downey said.

Bekaert will shift steel cord production to other company facilities inNorth America and abroad. “[The reasoning behind Bekaert closingis,] North American tire production is declining,” Downey said.

Bekaert supplied the nearby Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company inUnion City, Tennessee. Goodyear recently dropped custom tire linesfrom their Union City plant and could completely close if demand fororiginal equipment tires diminishes.

What will happen to the Bekaert building? “The Chamber of Com-merce has told us that some companies are interested,” Downey said.

Bekaert is a global company with presence in 120 countries and em-ploys 17,000 people. Bekaert employs 2,200 workers in North Amer-ica.

By James Guttery

5TrojanTorch Volume 39 Issue 2News

New mayor brings positive leadership to community

Bekaert closing due to decreased North American tire production

Photo courtesy of John Holden

John Holden becomes involved in the community. Inthe November election, he was voted to the position ofmayor of Dyersburg, replacing incumbent Bill Revell.

The 2006 national election resultsimmensely turned the tide ofpolitics. Congress went to bed

with a conservative mindset and wokeup with a new, liberal mentality. Be-cause the Republican Party has been incontrol of Congress since 1994, thetransformation caused an overnightshock. The shift is void of gradual vari-ation. When the newly elected officialsare sworn in, an “about-face” will immedi-ately occur.

The Democ-rats will in-e v i t a b l ypropose amuch morediverse po-litical plat-form thantheir law-m a k e r sacross theaisle did.For themost partthe issueswill remain the same with the excep-tions of a few additions and omissions.It is the stance on the topics that willgreatly change.

The new leaders of the House andSenate are looking to raise minimumwage from $5.15 to $7.15 an hour. Thispayment increase gives people a falseimpression of positive benefits. Compa-nies would be unable to afford hiring asmany people, so job opportunitieswould decrease. Business efficiencywould also decline because there wouldnot be as many employees working.

The liberal agenda also focuses on cut-ting defense spending. Americans pridethemselves upon the fact that they are

able to think for themselves and maketheir own decisions. It is a strong de-fense that builds a sturdy nation whichenables individual freedoms to prevailsafely.

Members of the “left wing” party alsowish to make college tuition paymentstax-deductible. Yet, if higher educationestablishments receive less money fromthe government because of a tax break,

colleges will have no choicebut to increase the

price of tuition, anunfavorable ef-fect forp r o s p e c t i v estudents.

The Democ-rats will pro-pose bills toincrease taxeson the wealthyto fund public

p r o -g r a m ssuch aswelfare

a n dMedicare. However, cutting taxes foreveryone is more beneficial to the econ-omy. If people have to pay more taxes,then they are unable to spend as muchmoney buying consumer goods, ulti-mately affecting the economy’s well-being.

With the GOP’s legacy coming to anend, new leadership is looming on thehorizon. The perspectives from whichthe “new” congress views major issueswill drastically alter the country’s eco-nomics. Politics will now concentrate onmatters that generally favor the minor-ity, instead of focusing on what is bestfor the entire nation.

By Mallory Grooms

6 Issue 2 TrojanTorchEditorialVolume 39

“Grand Old Party”leaves congress after 12-year control

Photo by Sarah Anne Edwards

Except for politicians, everyone(who is normal) hates politi-cians. I am no different; how-

ever, I do believe that Democrats arefar less manipulative than Republi-cans. November brought a wave ofchange to Washington. Now, for thefirst time since1994, the De-mocrats havethe majority in

Congress. This new

a g e n d aw i l lbring

a newperspective to

countless crucial concerns.The Democratic party'sagenda consists of an opengovernment, real security, en-ergy independence, economicprosperity, educational excel-lence, healthcare and retire-ment security.

The Democrats plan toshare government informa-tion with the people andend the corruption thatpreviously held sway in Con-gress. The Democrats will focus moreon individual liberties than group wel-fare.

Replacing guns with negotiation, thenew Congress plans to cut defensivespending. Currently, the U.S. spendsbillions of dollars a year on the mili-tary alone. This is a much needed de-cision because it will lower taxes aswell as save lives. Sounds like a win-

win.Congress also plans to raise mini-

mum wage from $5.15 to $7.15 anhour. This will give more money tothe common man. A richer commonman will buy more and generate moremoney in the economy.

With rocketing gas prices, the Dem-ocratic energy plan is a God-send. TheDemocrats plan to reduce dependencyon foreign oil and spend governmentfunds developing alternative fuelsources. Also, Congress will cut bil-lions of dollars’ worth of subsidies for

gas and oil corporations.Education is

another greatconcern toD e m o c r a t s .The “left”Congress will

expand Pellgrants andmake college tu-ition paymentstax deductible.This will allow

families withlower incomes tosend their children

to college, increasingthe national education level.

With new leadership in Congress,numerous federal policies are liable tochange. With great power comes greatresponsibility, and we are in capablehands.

By Nick Commella

7TrojanTorch Volume 39 Issue 2Editorial

Democraticcongress ensuresindividual liberties


Greed is predominant in today's cul-ture. The world is dominated by mer-chants, buyers, sellers, goods,

vendors, merchandise, consumers and prod-ucts. Strip malls, super-stores and corpora-tions line the streets. Now, this vice hasinfected the infrastructure of the Internet.

Net neutrality basically means that everywebsite has equal bandwidth from every ISP(Internet service provider). This is the waythe Internet is currently structured. However,it may not stay this way for long.

The big corporations that provide Internetservice like AT&T, BellSouth, Verizon, Com-cast and Time Warner are striving to controlthe Internet. They are proposing a tiered In-ternet service which would allot more band-width to specific sponsored sources. So,technically a company could make Googleload slower on a customer's computer,prompting the customer to use another, spon-sored search engine.

An Internet without neutrality would basi-cally be a giant battle between corporations,each loading cyberspace with its own adver-tisements. All of this market saturation wouldmake it extremely difficult for small busi-nesses to survive because of the inflated pricesof service. With Net Neutrality small busi-

nesses are able to set up shop without atremendous hassle, improving the selection ofproducts and services on the market.

Many anti-Net Neutrality groups argue thatneutrality regulations would go against thefree-market economy. However, this is nottrue because the Net Neutrality merely pro-tects the current conditions on the Internet.Using the Internet would become a horrid ex-perience for everyone without these regula-tions.

Congress is in the process of renovating theTelecommunications Act. The House of Rep-resentatives passed the Communications Op-portunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of2006 on June 8, 2006. This bill provides no pro-tection of Net Neutrality. A pro-Net Neutral-ity amendment to the bill was defeated bytelecommunication company influence.

The fight for Internet rights is up to the Sen-ate now. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) andByron Dorgan (D-N.D.) introduced the Inter-net Freedom Preservation Act of 2006. Thisbi-partisan legislation would provide ampleprotection for Net Neutrality. The bill was in-troduced as an amendment to Sen. TedStevens' (R-Alaska) Telecom Act. However,the committee denied the amendment with asplit vote.

Net Neutrality allows us to explore the In-ternet at our own free will. If corporations areallowed to hinder access to certain websites,the Internet will become like television. Com-panies will display what they want you to see,giving viewers a limited choice.

The Net Neutrality cause is gaining recog-nition. Multiple websites, such aswww.savetheinternet.com and www.itsour-net.org, have been created to spread informa-tion about the cause. Also, petitions to theSenate have been organized. The online peti-tion at www.savetheinternet.com had1,276,892 million signatures at the time ofpublication.

If you want the Internet to stay open, I sug-gest that you look into the issue and sign a pe-tition or write a letter to your senator. I amsignature number 1,276,893 on the savethein-ternet.com petition.

By Nick Commella

The city of Dyersburg is hid-ing behind a curfew. Onethousand legitimate rea-

sons to leave home nocturnallywere not enough to convince thecity's decision-makers from plac-ing everyone under 18 on lock-down.

What the city council does notrealize is that these measures will,for one thing, damage Dyers-burg's economy. Our modern cul-ture is manufactured for the highschool student, and the 13-18 de-mographic spends more moneyrecreationally than any other agegroup. By passing these new re-strictions, Dyersburg is limitingthe clientèle of convenience

stores, restaurants and grocerystores that make a surprisingamount of revenue during thewitching hours. Or used to, atleast.

While Dyersburg's crime rate isindeed above the national aver-age according toareaconnect.com, to punish theonly group of people in the citythat cannot fight back is to createan illusion of safety for Dyers-burg's bourgeoisie instead offighting the root of the problem.Dyersburg's police force needs toapprehend the real criminalsrather than making new ones.

Even if young people were thecause of Dyersburg's crime prob-

lem, a curfew would not stopcriminals from slipping out afterdark—only the citizens who al-ready obey the law. Additionally,the members of city councilwould be wise to take note ofhow difficult judging a person'sage through the tinted windowsof a moving car at night can be.

Like adults, minors frequentlyhave unforeseen happenings thatforce them out of their homespast eleven at night, and this newordinance makes criminals ofthem all.

Complaints have been made ofnoise pollution after dark, but ifthis is the motivation behind thenew decision, then the logical so-

lution would be to take actionagainst individuals for disturbingthe peace rather than immobiliz-ing more than a quarter of Dyers-burg's population (who may noteven be causing the distur-bances). At this point, everyteenager in the city is being pun-ished for his year of birth.

The curfew is an ineffective at-tempt to solve the wrong prob-lem. The minors of Dyersburg arenot the main source of its crime,and the city's leaders need to lookbeyond the easy solution and seethe injustice.

Staff Editorial

8 Issue 2 TrojanTorchEditorialVolume 39

Keep your hands off my Internet

What is net neutrality

New curfew fixes nothing

Microsoft has recentlyintroduced a compet-ing product for the

Apple iPod called the Zune. Butdoes it provide a challenge forthe market of the iPod?

Both mp3 players have a 30 GBstorage capacity, which meansthat they can hold 7,500 songs,25,000 pictures or 100 hours ofvideo.

To view a video, the Zune isbetter, for its screen measures 3inches diagonally, while theiPod's screen measures only 2.5inches diagonally. However, theiPod weighs .8 ounces less thanthe Zune, and its depth is .2inches less than that of the Zune,making the iPod easier to conceal

in a pocket.One major advantage of Zune

over iPod is that full-lengthsongs and pictures can be sharedwirelessly from one Zune to an-other. Favorites can beflagged,which meansthat you can easilybuy them using theZune “market place”(Zune’s “iTunes”).However, the songs canonly be received threetimes in three days andare, as said before, onlysamples. The other majoradvantage is that the Zunehas an FM tuner.

On the other hand, the iPod ismore compatible with computer

systems and the required OS.iPods will work with a Mac or aPC. However, the Zune will onlywork with a PC. Also, either Mi-

crosoft Windows XP SP2or Microsoft WindowsVista is required for theZune; for the iPod,Apple OS X and sev-eral versions of Mi-crosoft can be used.So even if one hasMicrosoft Win-dows 2000 SP4, hecan still use thesoftware for his

iPod.Also, the iPod comes with a

docking station and headphones,while the Zune comes standard

only with headphones. Besidesthat, iPod has far more circula-tion; in other words, many morepeople own them. Another profor the iPod is that there are somany companies that produceuseful accessories and speakersystems especially made for theiPod.

So those who want what every-one has and don’t care aboutusing their mp3 players as avideo player too much, shoulddefinitely consider an iPod overa Zune. However, those whoenjoy watching movies on theirmp3 player and want to samplemusic wirelessly should choosethe Zune.

By James Northcutt

9TrojanTorch Volume 39 Issue 2Editorial

Beginning with the 2006school year, the cell phonepolicy is harsher and

stricter than before. The new pol-icy was adopted by the Board ofEducation and has decreased thenumber of phones taken up andlessened disruption levels.

After a student’s first offense,whether he or she was caughtusing a phone, or if it rang or vi-brated during class, a parent orguardian must pick it up fromthe school. The scary part comesafter the student’s second of-fense: the school keeps it for therest of the nine weeks.

For students, the idea of beingwithout their cell phones forwhat could be weeks is simplyunthinkable. Modern technologyis so integrated into our lives, es-pecially those of young people,that we sometimes forget how tolive without it.

True, the new phone policieshave decreased the number ofphones taken up. But is the seem-ingly eternal possession of ourpersonal machines taking disci-pline a little too far?

The DHS faculty loves the newpolicy; the administration is in

favor of anything that lowers dis-ruption in the classroom. Appar-ently, students are much tooscared to use their phones duringschool for fear of the conse-quences. However, accidents do happen.

Most students have cell phones,and as much as administrationwould like to change that, it mustbe accepted as fact. Two cellphone indiscretions over thespan of a whole school yearcould merely be due to bad luck. It does seem to positive that stu-

dents are being more careful, butinstilling fear into their hearts is

not a good way to conduct edu-cation. Alternate punishmentscould be created for the first fewoffenses before the phone is with-held.

Students could be required toperform services in the school.This would benefit everyone, in-stead of making the students bit-ter and upsetting the faculty.There are many ways to punishstudents without harming theschool atmosphere.

Another alternative would beto have students pay to receivetheir phones with a growingcharge each time a phone is takenup. The administration coulduse this money to help theschool; thus, everyone wouldbenefit. Teenagers are cheap, so making

them pay would be a highly ef-fective way to decrease cellphone disruption.

Dyersburg High School seemsto be embracing technology andusing it to make the school envi-ronment better--in every way ex-cept students and their cellphones.

By Caitlin Rogers

Have cellphone policiesbeentaken toofar?

Which has the edge, iPod or Zune

The Lady Trojans’ basketballseason is rapidly coming toa close, and the Lady Tro-

jans have had an outstanding reg-ular season. The Lady Trojanshave a 15-8 record. The teamhopes to finish their season strongand possibly earn a berth in thestate tournament.

The Lady Trojans set severalgoals at the beginning of the sea-son for the team to achieve. “Ourgoal is to win a state champi-onship,” team co-captain and sen-ior Kayla Holloway said.

Coach Coffman said he hadmany goals for the team, one ofthem being to achieve a twenty-win season. His other goals wereto win the regular season districtchampionship, the district tour-nament, a region title, and to re-ceive a berth in the statechampionship.

Leadership is a key ingredientto a team’s success. The LadyTrojans know a little something

about leadership with six seniors.“All six seniors step into leader-ship roles when needed,” seniorBrittly Butler said.

“Everyone brings somethingdifferent to the court, and weneed everyone to be successful,”sophomore Jessica Light said.

As in all teams, the Lady Trojanshave some strengths and someweaknesses. “Our strengths areour speed and strength,” Coff-man said. “Our team’s weaknessis that we have not shot well.”

Everyone on the Lady Trojansbasketball team is confident thatthey can make it to state. Thegirls have a good chance to dowell at state, too. “I think ourteam could go all the way if wework hard, concentrate and trusteach other,” senior Mallory Mur-ray said.

“The sky is the limit for us, so Ido believe that we can go to thestate tournament and bring thegold home,” senior Jasmine

Yancy said.There are several teams that the

Trojans need to beat to achievetheir goal of being first in the dis-trict. All of the girls interviewedsaid that Milan and ObionCounty were key games to win inorder to get first in their district.Obion County was the preseasonfavorite to win district.

Every team has obstacles thatthey need to overcome in order tohave success just as the Lady Tro-jans have obstacles to overcome.

First, Kayla Holloway needs toget fully healthy. “My knee isdoing well, ” Holloway said.

“We need to work on defense,handling the ball better, andknowing that we’re going towhoop our next opponent,” soph-omore Marci Coleman said.

As the season’s end drawsnearer and nearer, the Lady Tro-jans have their sights set on state.

By Andrew Ford

16 Issue 2 TrojanTorchSportsVolume 39

When the Golden Tro-jans started the 2006-2007 season, there

were a lot of questions surround-ing the team.

Some of those questions in-cluded leadership, playmakers,and where the team would be atthe end of the season.

“I expected Victor Mclin andMichael Brown to be leaders instats as well as on the floors; fromthe very beginning of the seasonI looked to them to be playmak-ers and leaders on and off thecourt,” Coach Brian Brown said.

While the leadership roles havebeen filled and everyone knowswho the playmakers are, wherethe Trojans will be at the end ofthe season is still up in the air. TheTrojans currently boast an 8-11

record that has improved sincethe beginning of the season, whenthe team started out 3-5.

“Early in the season we hadsome problems with chemistryand working together as a team;we were missing some key play-ers who were still playing footballat the time,” Brown said.

That bad chemistry ended, how-ever, as the Trojans improved to5-5 over the next 10 games.

“We had a big win against Cov-ington on a last-second shot inovertime; also winning the Dyers-burg Regional Medical Centertournament as an underdog washuge,” Brown said.

With a series of key districthome games yet to play, the Tro-jans can pull to the top of the dis-trict standings.

“I believe we are going to pullsome upsets and surprise somepeople. With all the upcominghome games, I expect a strongsecond half season going intotournament time,” junior MichaelBrown said.

This recent success may be apositive omen, but because Dy-ersburg plays in such a tough dis-trict, the team’s success could beshort-lived.

“We have a very tough districtschedule; any team can go fromthe top of the pack to the bottomin a matter of 2 or 3 districtgames,” Brian Brown said.

Dyersburg has the potential togo very far this year, if the teamplays good basketball when thepost-season comes.

“If we work together and keep

positive attitudes, we can go farin the post season,” senior RonnieMitchell said.

“With the district title up forgrabs, we need to continue toprogress as a team, keep a strongwork ethic, and be playing ourbest basketball by tournamenttime,” Brian Brown said.

“At the beginning of the yearwe were very inexperienced;now, with half the season underour belts, we are starting to cometogether as a team and work to-gether well; we have a shot atwinning the district title andgoing far in the post season,”Brian Brown said.

By Ben Chapman

Slam dunk

Lady Trojans shoot for success

Young trojan team plays big-time basketball

.

“ My first Super Bowl gamewas Green Bay vs. Kansas. Iwas 8 years old at the time.”Football Coach Hugh Owens

“My favorite Super Bowl half-time show was Aerosmith. My

favorite team is the Bears.”Principal Cal Johnson

“My first Super Bowl gamewas Super Bowl I. My favorite

team is the Colts.” Principal Willie Cole

“One of my traditions I do be-fore the Super Bowl is my

friends get together and cookhot chili.” Calculus teacher

Wanda Robertson

“The first Super Bowl game Isaw was the Steelers vs.

Seahawks.”Custodian James Mosley

The team that has won themost games is San Francisco.They have won Super BowlsXVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV andXXIX.

The person who has scored themost touchdowns throughouthis career in the Super Bowl isJerry Rice with 8 touchdowns.

The most punts ever kickedduring a Super Bowl game was11 in Superbowl XXV, N.Y. Gi-ants vs. Baltimore.

The player with the most inter-ceptions in a Super Bowl gameis Rod Martin, Oakland vsPhiladelphia, in Super Bowl XVwith 3 interceptions.

Super Bowl XIX, San Francisco vs. Miami had 31 first downs.

During Super Bowl XXIV, Den-ver vs. San Francisco, therewere 9 kickoff returns

The Super Bowl game with themost fumbles was Super BowlXXVII; Buffalo fumbled 8 timeswhile Dallas fumbled 4 times.

Facts from www.nfl.com

17Volume 39 Issue 2Sports

Steelers' Chris Hoke carriesthe Vince Lombardi Trophyand his son.

On January 15,1 9 6 7 , 6 1 , 0 0 0screaming fans

crowded the L.A. Coli-seum with anticipation forthe kick that would beheard around the world.The Packers vs. KansasCity was the beginning ofthe ultimate footballchampionship, the SuperBowl.

The American Footballleague (AFL) and the Na-tional Football League(NFL) agreed that theywould come together intoone single league on June8, 1970. This led to theNFL having 26 teams.

When the NFL becameone league, it was splitinto two conferencescalled the American Foot-ball Conference (AFC) andthe National Football Con-ference (NFC).

The AFC and NFC arebroken up within theirconferences into four divi-sions. The divisions arenorth, south, east andwest.

During the season eachteam plays sixteen gameswithin a seventeen-weekperiod. Each team playsthree teams in its divisiontwice.Next, the AFC teams play

against the NFC teams.The playoffs consist of thetop four teams in the AFCand NFC playing in hopes

of going to the SuperBowl. For example, the topfour teams in the AFCplay each other in theplayoffs to decide which isthe best team in the AFC,and the same thing hap-pens in the NFC. The topAFC team goes against thetop team from the NFC atthe championship game,the Super Bowl.

Before the splitting of theAFL and NFL, the SuperBowl was called the AFL-NFL championship.

There are many myths ofhow the Super Bowl gotits name. One of the pop-ular myths is that sports-writers thought that theAFL-NFL was too formal,so they just nicknamed itthe Super Bowl, and theNFL went along with it.

The Super Bowl has be-come one of the major na-tional sporting events.

Millions of people tunein to watch the SuperBowl. “More people watchthe Super Bowl than anyother TV show,” accordingto the Nielsen Ratings. TheSuper Bowl rates in thetop fifty TV broadcasts.

Because of how the play-off system was created, theteam that wins the 2007Super Bowl will becrowned the 2006 NFLchampions. So 2007 willmark Super Bowl XLI.By Erin Nafieh

Super Bowl Facts

Super BowlMemoriesSuper Bowl Madness

www.superbowl.com

*Specializing in Insurance Claims**Serving all of West Tennessee*

1045 Vendall Rd.Dyersburg, TN

Phone: 286-0524Fax: 286-0565

P.O. Box 263Dyersburg, TN

Wayde Jackson Painting & Remodeling

Home: 286-0850Fax: 288-0833

Office: 288-0993Mobile: 676-7224

Just Oak“Tomorrow’s Antiques

Today”475 Hwy. 51 By-Pass N

Dyersburg, TN For all your oak needs

Call: 287-8292

Executive SearchHardageGroup

www.hardagegroup.comP.O. Box 208


400 Hwy. 51 By-Pass Dyersburg, TNPhone: 286-2744

640 Hwy. 51 By-Pass E.Dyersburg, TN

285-0250Dyersburg Pallet

P.O. Box 1964Dyersburg,TN

285-0503

Forcum Lannom MaterialsP.O. Box 1466 Dyersburg, TN

285-1154

Fiddlesticks321 Troy Avenue Dyersburg, TN 286-4400

Dyersburg PoliceDepartment

“We exist to serve thecommunity.”

425 W MarketDyersburg, TN

285-1212

NEI Pawn1659 Hwy. 51 By-Pass

Dyersburg, TN

Call us: 287-8544

1950 Hwy 51 By-Pass N, Suite CDyersburg, TN

288-5056Eddie Crocker, P.T.Physical Therapist

William M.BoehmlerSenior Vice PresidentFinancial Consultant

1950 Hwy. 51 BypassDyersburg, Tn

287-97001-800-588-1740

470 Mall Blvd. Dyersburg, TN

285-2628

2615 Lake Rd.Dyersburg, TN

288-1939

509 Lake Road Dyersburg, TN

Log on to www.dyersburgtn.com for a virtual tour of our homes!

205 N. Main St.602 Hwy. 51 By-Pass

Dyersburg, TN288-2800 202 South Main St.

Dyersburg, TN286-5323

Lighthouse 620 Mall BlvdDyersburg, TN 38024

Bibles, books, gifts and music286-1050

McDonald’s 2496 Lake Rd.Dyersburg, TN

285-1598I’m lovin’ it!Moody-Wadley

Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Toyota

1609 Forrest St.Dyersburg, TN

285-52052005 Forrest St.Dyersburg, TN

Phone: 285-3310Fax: 286-4332

Web Site: www.hecofg.com

Long & Gibson303 Tickle St.

East Dyersburg, TN285-1711

BradshawInsurance421 Court St. West


101 Mill Ave. S.Dyersburg, TN

City Drug285-7284

815 Reelfoot DriveDyersburg, TN Phone:285-6951

www.comfortinn.com/hotel/tn414

Heckethorn Manufacturing Co. Inc.

Todd’s Cafe216 Court Street East


Super D

1502 Brayton Ave. Dyersburg, TN

285-7267

Sport and School Activity PhotographsGo to www.collages.net Sign In: DHS Password:14412 You can view hundreds of photographs and

place your order online for finished prints to be mailed to your home.Clayton Hayes Photography 627-3410

See Senior Brittly Butler to book your senior portraits.

Coach Neel Durbin hasfound refuge from dailywork in his music. Durbin

uses music to invigorate hisclasses and to keep sleeping stu-dents awake.

“Music is fun and it gives us (stu-dents and me) a common bondand brings us together. Music is avery relevantlearning tool,”Durbin said.

“The music thathe does in classhelps me learnconcepts and ma-terial better,”freshman CasonNobles said.

Durbin takesmaps and factsand writes enter-taining, yet effec-tive tunes to givethe students away to remember the information.One of his songs that sticks in thememories of many students is“Flint, Chattahoochee,Apalachicola.”

Durbin takes the melody frompopular music such as Disneytunes or another recognizabletune. He takes the melody of thesesongs and twists the lyrics.

“It's crazy,” freshman JakeHeathcott said.

Durbin began teaching himself

the guitar in the seventh grade andhas been enthralled with it eversince. His first success with hismusic was when he won a talentshow by playing a song he wroteabout his undying love for LisaLittle in the eighth grade. He neversaw her again, but he won $25 anda “cool trophy.”

His music isnot confined tothe classroom,as many stu-dents maythink. His firstrelease was in1979 and wasabout a footballteam he playedon. He recentlyrecorded a CDof The Rosary,and it is knownby many peo-ple all around

the world.Durbin's main influences are 70's

folk rock and artists such as JamesTaylor, Eric Clapton, Elton John,Crosby Stills Nash and Young, theTemptations and Electric Light Or-chestra.

Durbin's goal in performingmusic is to make people think, re-flect on life and to ultimately makethem happy.

By David Grueser

Q) What is your most memo-rable childhood moment?A) “The first thing I rememberwas the John F. Kennedy assas-sination.”

Q) What is the one thing youcould not live without?A) “My children.”

Q) Where is the most unusualor interesting place you haveever been?A) “The top of an active vol-cano in Indonesia calledGunugada.”

Q) Do you use any certainteaching methods in the class-room?A) “Anything unusual to gettheir attention like singing inclass.”

Q) Who inspires you?A) “Joseph [my son] inspiresme.”

Q) What made you want to be-come a teacher?A) “ I had a lot of opportunitiesto do a lot of other things that made a lot of money, butthat didn’t make sense because Iwouldn't have any effect on theworld. I decided education wasthe best way for me to helpchange the world.”

Q) What are your goals?A) “My biggest goal is to helppeople.”

Q) What are the obstacles tothat goal?A) “People.”

Q) What situations do youfind?A) “I try to set a good exampleand have a positive attitude inlife.”

BY Shellie Epperson

20 Issue 2 TrojanTorchEntertainmentVolume 39

When Umbrellas released their self-titled debut in 2005, fewcritics wowed the album. Though emotionally deep, itwas a simple work with no more than two songs that left

an impact in listeners' minds. It was not a bad album, especially fordreamy indie pop; it was just plain.

With Illuminare, Umbrellas can hardly even be called the sameband. This music has an entirely new dimension to it. With thisalbum Umbrellas has found the perfect way to express themselvesby using guitars for more than just backup, adding tender synthsolos, diversifying their percussion and layering their sound. Everyaspect of the band's musical performance has been revamped andfine tuned.

Despite the power Umbrellas put into this album, they keep a light

touch and never overwork their music. Their patient simplicity stillshines through in the acoustic crooning of songs like "Tears on MyHeart." The other side of the music is starry and passionate, such asthe feel-good strumming of "Angel or Demon."

Every song on this album is sweet with sap and has the potential tomake fans fall in love with lead singer Scott Windsor's honest,breezy voice.

Recorded in an abandoned comedy club, o echoes and glows withemotion without sounding painful or cheesy. It is a well-rounded,hopeful album, and Umbrellas really knows how to cheer a personup.

By Matt Pagan

Coach Durbin: music man behind the map

Flood of emotionsUmbrellas provides pleasant musical experience

QQ AA&&

Photo by David Grueser

with Coach D.

With non-stop action, a brandnew James Bond and over300 million dollars in ticket

sales, no one can doubt that Ian Flem-ing’s Casino Royale will be one of thebest Bond films ever.

The movie can be considered a pre-quel to the rest of the series. It chroni-cles James Bond’s first mission as aDouble 0 Agent. In this 21st install-ment, a banker is trying to win a casinopoker tournament so he can finance anAfrican terrorist cell. Bond has tothwart his plans by defeating himat the poker table.

The movie is full of stunts,car chases and actionscenes. Many fans keepcoming back to theBond series purely forthe action and sus-pense it always deliv-ers. It contains anopening action se-quence that is easilythe best prelude in theBond series. This is thefirst glimpse viewersget of the new Bond in-troduced in the film, andit introduces him in thegrandest style possible. Theprelude shows Bond chasingdown a terrorist on foot. He pur-sues him through a construction site,off the side of a building, on top of atowering construction crane and intoan embassy, where he must trigger anexplosion to escape. All the scenes thatfollow are equally breathtaking. In aworld of high-budget action movies,this film clearly holds its own.

One of the main allures for movie-goers is to see how the latest 007 meas-ures up to those who came before him.For this installment, Daniel Craig re-placed Pierce Brosnan after a three-movie run as Bond.

Craig’s performance is outstandingfor many different reasons. He maypermanently redefine the Bond charac-ter. His portrayal of Bond is muchmore enjoyable than the earlier ver-sions. He appears much less compli-cated and he seems more human.Usually the Bond character appearsvery stoic and machine-like. Craigshows Bond’s flaws as well as his tal-ents . He does not have the aloof, aris-tocratic air that Bond usually has. Also,this film has a much darker mood,

which Brosnan’s character wouldnot have suited. He does not

let any prior stereotypes ofthe character influence his

acting. For the first timein many years, Bond istruly a spy instead of aplayboy aristocrat. It isan exceptional firstperformance.

There are severalother things that setthis installment apartfrom the others in theseries. One thing fans

have come to expect inevery Bond film is state-

of-the-art gadgets. Direc-tors chose to remove the

gadgets from the movie afterpublic sentiment made it neces-

sary. The “invisible car” and othergadgets from the last film reallypushed fans’ imaginations too far.Bond also uses a Beretta handgun in-stead of his usual PPK. These changesdo not hurt the movie at all; they onlyserve to set it apart from the others.

I would greatly recommend CasinoRoyale for both old Bond fans and firsttimers. The movie appeals to every-one. It is definitely worthy of the Bondname that has come to mean so much.

By Andrew Lay

Al Gore. Presidential candidate, internet inventor,senator, environmental activist and now film-maker.

With the release of his documentary, An InconvenientTruth, Al Gore has taken a stand against America's out-dated pollution standards.

By providing facts, figures and some extremely largegraphs, Gore shows the consequences of humanity's ad-vancements on our earth.

Through a series of disturbing pictures, Gore also dis-plays the drastic reduction of the glaciers and ice capsall around the world. According to his research, “Withinthe decade, there will be no more snows of Kilimanjaro.”

Also, within the last 10 years, the arctic ice cap has beencompletely sundered in half. Scientists did not believethat this could happen.

With projections of future ice levels and their dramaticeffects on the world, Gore is able to show the horrifyingaftermath of glacial melting. A sea level rise of onlytwenty feet would create nearly 100,000,000 refugeesaround the world.

Through terrifying imagery and hard facts, An Incon-venient Truth shows the true enemy of the planet—hu-mans. Those who want to know about the environment,who need to research our effects on Earth, or who justREALLY love Al Gore should definitely check this doc-umentary out.

By Woody Hancock

New Bond

Gores film accentuates global warming threat

Photo courtesy of www.aninconvenienttruth.com

ushers in new eraCasino Royale

21TrojanTorch Volume 39 Issue 2Entertainment

Soft music being played, the scent of cof-fee brewing and the hospitality thatgreets me at the door all create the cozy

atmosphere of Java Cafe. Troy Kerber, owner,and Timm Johnson, manager, work hard tomaintain a fun environment for students tocome and hang out. They have made it oneof the most enjoyable and relaxing places forpeople to come.

Java Cafe is the newest coffee shop built inDyersburg. It first opened in March of 2006.Many people were extremely excited andcould not wait for the grand opening. Thecrowd just keeps growing because of the de-licious foods and the wide variety of coffeesand the drinks served there.

Java Cafe has a menu full of wonderfulfoods and drinks to choose from. For thewinter, their hot teas, coffees, mochas, lattesand cappuccinos will all keep you warm fromthe blizzard-like weather, or if you do not likebranching out, they also have regular hotchocolate.

Speaking of winter, Java Cafe has a winterspecial menu which serves mint hot choco-late, hot apple cider and peppermint mochas.There is also an assortment of scrumptiousfruit smoothies to reward yourself with.

For those of you who do not enjoy drinkinghot drinks, you might also find yourself crav-

ing iced mochas or iced lattes. I frequentlytreat myself to a mochaccino with a shot ofespresso topped with whipped cream, but ifyou are not a chocolate-lover, their caramelmochaccino is to die for. Italian sodas are alsoserved.

What else is better than a warm, melt-in-your-mouth, freshly-baked cookie? An ab-solutely outrageous cheesecake, that is what.Looking into the glass counter and seeing allthe recently made desserts just makes megiddy inside. One of my favorite things tosee upon entering the cafe is the beautifularrangement of desserts. Then all I have todo is choose one.

Before going to work or school, getting abagel to go along with your coffee is a won-derful breakfast addition, along with yummymuffins. An after-school or work snackmight be a chocolate bar or a biscotti.

The worst part of going into Java Cafe, forme, is never being able to make a decision onwhat I want. Everything I have tried at JavaCafe has been exactly what I wanted. In myopinion, there are no wrong choices on themenu. Therefore, I advise you to go and treatyourself to a wonderful pick-me-up afterthose long, hard days at work or school.

Java Cafe is a wonderful place for people.It has a great atmosphere and a wide varietyof delicious foods and drinks, and the pricesare extremely reasonable. I am definitely aregular customer at Java Cafe, and I adviseyou to be one, too. You do not want to missout.Java Cafe is a recent addition to the

Dyersburg culinary world. Both youngand old alike enjoy the cozy setting.

It’s a Saturday afternoon and all of your friends are out of town.You are bored out of your mind and super hungry! You are sickof the same old restaurants and the long waits. Well, I have a so-

lution for you: Ja Ja’s in the Green Frog Village!Ja Ja’s is a small restaurant with gourmet coffee, delicious sand-

wiches and salads, and homemade ice cream to die for! It is about a30-minute drive from Dyersburg going towards Jackson on Highway412. I know what you are thinking…30 minutes!? Gas is not thatcheap! But I have to tell you the drive is worth it.

The restaurant is cozy with seat-yourself service. Normally onlyone person runs the restaurant, but the service is great with barelyany wait at all for food.

The sandwiches taste just like something your mom would make.Ja Ja’s has quite a variety--pimento cheese, roast beef and tuna salad.You can get the all-time classic ham and cheese sandwich or go formy favorite--the chicken salad sandwich--that has grapes and pecansin the salad!

They also have a variety of salads. There is a Greek salad or thegarden salad with the choice of grilled chicken on top. Choices ofcoffee include caramel latte, mocha, white chocolate mocha, carmeland hazelnut mocha, frogaccino and iced coffee. Of course they also

have espresso and cap-puccino.

Don’t forget to saveroom for dessert. Their icecream is as good as icecream can get. When I putthe first bite in my mouthit was an “oh my gosh!”moment that made melong for more. All of theirice cream is homemade,and the flavors changeevery week. In the sum-mer, they grow strawber-ries, blackberries, andblueberries that they put into the ice cream! You can also purchasetheir home-grown fruit during summer! Not only do they have foodfor sale, they also have cute souvenirs to purchase on the way out!

So if you are looking for a restaurant that has great food and afriendly atmosphere, Ja Ja’s is the place for you!

By Catherine Hamilton

By Sarah Anne Edwards

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ja Ja’s

Ja Jas offers a unique twist on mod-ern dining. It has many different fla-vors and items for various tastes.

Photo by Catherine Hamilton


22 Issue 2 TrojanTorchEntertainmentVolume 39

“Voice of the Trojans since 1995”94.3 FMAgee Law Firm

Charles Agee, Jr. Specializing in Personal Injury

173 Church Ave. Dyersburg, TN 287-7020

Alford Printing

“A helpful solution to allyour printing needs”

118 Main Ave. St., Dyersburg, TN

285-61351991 St. John Ave.


animalcarehospital.com

ANIMAL

HOSPITAL

CARE Applebee’sDon’t forget about Applebee’s Carside to Go!

Call: 287-16072700 Lake Road

Dyersburg

Bring Your

Graduation Items

For Us to Frame!

We now have NEW U.T.,Memphis &

Alabama prints!All S.E.C. schools

available!Good Luck to the Trojans!

1657 Hwy. 51 By-pass287-1144

Ashley, Ashley andArnold

322 Church Ave. Dyersburg, TNcall: 285-5074

Benthal ConstructionEd Benthal

395 Polo Dr. Dyersburg, TN 286-0256 From Carla CHRISTIAN

Get Involved!

Curry FuneralHome

Serving Dyer and LakeCounties since 1881

416 Sampson Ave.Dyersburg, TN

285-2242

First CitizensNational

BankP.O. Box 370


Inland Dredging

1385 Flowering Dogwood Ln.Dyersburg, TN

287-8084

China Star

1130 Hwy. 51 By-pass Suite 31Dyersburg, TN

Dine-inor

Carry-out286-4773

1106 East Court StreetDyersburg, TN

www.amteck.com

Tempe’sLadies’ Apparel

Sizes 2-18

144 West CourtDyersburg, TN

286-0355

Many students are enrolled in the first nursing class offeredat Dyersburg High School in several years. This class pre-pares students who want to go into the medical field for therequired C.N.A. (Certfied Nursing Assistant) exam. Theylearn how to transfer patients, take blood pressures and

visit Dyersburg Manor Nursing Home at least once a weekfor training.

Nursing program takes medical education to new level

FebruaryFebruary

JanuaryJanuary

CCOOMMEE OOUUTT AANNDD SSUUPPPPOORRTT TTHHEE TTRROOJJAANNSS.. .. ..

Issue 2 06-07

Documents

Transcript of Issue 2 06-07