Kinston High’s performance composite showed 69.3 percent of students were proficient on state tests in 2009-2010, up more than 20 points from 2008.

Top: Santa chats with Northwest Elementary fourth-grader Matthew Riddick at the fifth annual Soup for the Holiday Soul at KHS on Saturday, Dec. 4. Bottom left: Senior Monquita Hamilton and junior Tommy Tsao play Mary and Joseph during an ensemble performance of Hallelujah. Bottom right: Se-nior Willie Cubbage puts a hip-hop twist on “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.”

James Whitner/Staff photos

The

December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Kinston High’s student newspaper2601 N. Queen St., Kinston, N.C.Viking Press

It’s a

FACT:PAGE 6

North Lenoir senior Corbin Hawkins was diagnosed with leukemia last month.

Find out how our community is helping the three-sport athlete on Page 6.

PAGE 4Gangs are a fact of life in most cities,

and Kinston is no different. Mayor B.J. Murphy hosted a town hall

meeting at The Gate in November to discuss ways Kinston can combat vio-lent crime and gang culture.

By LeShaun Mayo

Staff Writer

See SOUP, Page 6

‘Tis the season

The inventor of Pac-Man came up with the idea when he saw a pizza with a slice missing at a dinner party.

10 for ‘1010 stories that defined 2010

123

9

78

654

The Kinston High basketball team won its second state championship in four years. The team played in three title games in four years.

Thirty-three Chilean miners captured the world’s attention when they were trapped underground for nearly three months. The miners were eventually rescued, unharmed.

The Transportation Security Administration began using full body scans and pat down checks at air ports, a measure that many trav-elers call an invasion of privacy.

The U.S. recession is nearing the end of its third full year, and recovery has been slow. As of No-vember, 9.8 percent of Americans are still unemployed.

An oil spill poured more than 185 million gallons of oil into the Gulf Coast over three months, causing extensive economic and environmental damage to the area.

A health care reform bill was signed into law in March. The po-litically divisive bill will provide health coverage to 32 million pre-viously uninsured Americans.

Two KHS students died in the past year. Rasheed Jones was killed in an April shooting that is still be-ing investigated, and Napoleon Kin-sey died in a car wreck in October.

Spirit Aero Systems and Sand-erson Farms opened in Kinston this year; many people hope these and other new businesses will jump start the local economy.

10An 7.0 magnitude earth-

quake struck Haiti in Janu-ary. The sixth deadliest earth-quake in history crippled the nation’s infrastructure.

Surprise snow sets mood for Soup for the Holiday Soul

As an early snow storm hit Kinston, spectators warmed up with bowls of sweet corn chowder at the fifth annual Soup for the Holiday Soul.

The yearly Christmas show is presented by Mr. Clay Raines and KHS Drama Club.

Shortly after 6 p.m., audience members start-ed to arrive, walking in from the cold, snowy evening and into a differ-ent winter scene, an arti-

Volume 3, Issue 3

Editorial2 - The Viking Press - December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Our teachers work hard; we appreciate them

Our Take:

Mrs. Gloria Wooten, child nutrition manager, presented her Child Nutrition staff with a Food Service Appreciation Pin on Nov. 8.

Mrs. Wooten wrote to The Viking Press to express her

The Viking Press, allowing the voices of all students to be heard, believes in complete, unbiased reporting and strives for honest, open dialogue in the KHS community.

Mission StatementEditorsCreeshona BerryLaShawn KoonceStaffQuinton AlstonMackenzie BrownTiana CraiggPhilip Davis

Kenneth GeorgeJorge HidalgoJulius HodgesLeShaun MayoAbbye ReynoldsBrianna RhodesJames WhitnerAdviserMichael Moon

Viking Press StaffThe Viking Press2601 N. Queen St.Kinston N.C. 28501The Viking Press is the

award-winning student publi-cation of Kinston High School and is published entirely by KHS students.

The Viking Press welcomes letters to the editor. Submis-sions should be 300 words or less and must be signed by the author. The Viking Press re-serves the right to edit letters for content and length.

Letters welcome

ask shirleyDear Shirley:Are HBCU’s a disadvantage

compared to other colleges?Sincerely, Dr.Jim Bob

Dr. Jim Bob:College is college, and an

education is an education. You determine your success no matter where you go.

There are very prestigious historically black colleges and universities, just like there are very good schools anywhere else.

The college does not make you. You make the college.

Rasshan Slaughter/Staff cartoonist

Letters to the editor

appreciation for her staff:“I have a great staff, and I

appreciate all the hard work they do each and every day. When you come in the Caf-eteria, let the Child Nutrition Staff know you appreciate

them.” Her employees are: Carolyn

Perry, Marie Baker, Yolanda Gleen, Jessie Taylor, Arpil Murray, LaRita Fields and Ann Damroth.

They spend countless hours helping people in need. They work to better the community. They steer young adults in the right direction.

We’re not talking about super heroes. We’re talking about teachers. KHS is filled with great teachers who do their jobs, plus more, and it is about time we as students show some appreciation.

Ninety five percent of our teachers are fully licensed, a per-centage that is above the state average; 97 percent are highly qualified teachers as defined by federal law, which is once again higher than the state average. For them to share their knowledge with us is truly a blessing.

We also have another average that is higher than the rest of the state: the number of students in each classroom. That just makes our teachers jobs even harder.

Our teachers don’t just teach us science, math, history, and English. They teach us common sense and morals, all of which we are going to need -- not just to survive, but to prosper.

Mrs. Harris is a great example. Although she is a math teach-er, our class will often have intelligent conversations about things like politics and colleges after she teaches her lesson. In-stead of assigning “busy work,” she will talk to us about things we can use outside of her class and even outside of school.

Mrs. Connor is another teacher who really cares. She doesn’t just teach history. She loves it. It’s her passion. She knows it so well, she can teach it without a text book. Most people who have taken her class will tell you they may have struggled at times, but when it was time to take the EOC, it was a piece of cake to them. Before I took her class, History was my worst subject, and I hated it. After I mastered her class, History is my favorite subject and my intended minor for college.

Another great example is the duo of Mrs. Romig and Mrs. Carlyle. They set up a “Writing Boot Camp” to raise the writ-ing test scores at our school. This was a tremendous success. I was proud to be a part of it myself. They created t-shirts, got other teachers and students involved and even provided snacks and prizes for the students who participated.

They are only a few examples of the dedicated teachers we have here. We know it’s hard being a teacher. It’s even hard-er being a teacher and a coach. Coaches spend about three-fourths of their day in a class room or on a field or court. They don’t do it for the money, because they’re not offered a lot. They do it because they want us doing something produc-tive with our time. Club advisers offer the same dedication to their students.

We could go on for days about how teachers go out of their way for students, but, unfortunately, we don’t have enough newspaper space.

Teachers: You are greatly appreciated for everything you do. You are the basic foundation for all the future lawyers, doctors, business owners, and other successful careers out there. When I become successful, we should never forget the route we take. All the awards, academic letters, sports accom-plishments and more are because of the great teachers we en-counter during our years at KHS.

On behalf of the journalism staff, we salute you. You are greatly appreciated.

Editor’s note: Our Take is a monthly editorial written by a member of The Viking Press staff. Senior editor Creeshona Berry wrote this month’s editorial.

Dear Shirley:I know I am going to col-

lege, but what if I’m not ready to leave home?

Sincerely, Ms. Lonely

Ms. Lonely:You have to basically get

yourself ready. This is a major step in your adult life and can easily turn out badly if you’re not prepared. Many colleges are within driving distance of Kinston, so if you don’t think you’re ready to leave home full time, you may consider going to a school where you can commute and ease the

transition into adult life.

Editor’s note: Ask Shir-ley is a monthly advice col-umn written by Viking Press staff members Tiana Craigg, Brianna Rhodes, LaShawn Koonce and Creeshona Berry.

Advice given is for enter-tainment only. We’re not trained professionals. If you have a serious problem, please see one of our highly quali-fied guidance counselors.

But if you’re looking for Shirley’s words of wisdom, submit your question to a Vi-king Press staff member.

Opinionwww.thevikingpress.com 3 - The Viking Press - December 2010

In the year 2000, I was 7 years old.

Being so young, I was not aware of the scare at the turn of the new millenium. The year was supposed to mark a historical moment in time in which several major events took place.

These occurences included the birth of a new milleni-um, the first step into a new erea for all of man kind that

brought the promise of new and exciting things, and the exact moment in which the dreaded Y2K bug was sup-posed to hit.

In the last few months of 1999, people were preparing for the turn of the new cen-tury. Some actually believed that we were going to die when all of the world’s com-puters stopped working on Jan. 1.

Many families bought flash-lights, food, batteries, and other supplies needed to sur-vive for the new millenium. Computer companies such as Apple and Microsoft were

Last 10 years has been an interesting decadeBreezin’

withBri Rhodes

preparing for the computer bug that the year 2000 would bring. It was believed that all computer networks were go-ing to crash.

Of course, looking back we realize it was all pretty ridicu-lous.

The year 2000 was just like any other year. The only dif-ference is that it would bring a wide range of new discover-ies and inventions.

Without the year 2000 or even the new millenium, we wouldn’t be where we are at

this moment in time. The terrorist attacks of Sept.

11, 2001, forever changed the way the world thought about security and led us into pro-longed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hurricane Katrina devastat-ed the Gulf Coast in 2005, and countless other world events have shaped our society.

But the new millenium has also brought about new tech-nology with the invention of the iPod, smart phones and next-generation video game

systems like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3; marked his-tory with the election of our first black president, Barack Obama; and made us laugh and cry with countless enter-tainment stories, including the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Now we are making a tran-sition into a new decade.

Look how far we have come. There’s no need to be afraid of this one. Just be prepared for new experiences and inventions like we saw with the year 2000.

Member American Association of Orthodontists304 Darby Avenue ● Kinston, North Carolina 28501

Office 252-523-6060 ● Fax 252-523-3630www.WHBrownOrthodontics.com

Present this Ad for a Free Initial Exam

Black Ops rocks your socks

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” sets the bar for first player action games of 2010. If this one did not make the compe-tition nervous, nothing will.

The “Black Ops” story line is based on the Vietnam War. The plot becomes increasing-ly complex as the story pro-gresses and is by far the most sophisticated storyline of the series yet. The game fol-lows special ops soldier/agent Mason, who is searching for Nova 6, a chemical weapon created by the Germans after World War 2.

The game begins at a bar in Cuba where CIA agents are attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro. However, the operation goes poorly and Mason is taken captive. For

the entirety of the game, Mason is held prisoner and interrogated to find out what he knows about Nova 6 and the missions he conducted.

He relives the events of the war through half-conscious drug induced flashbacks and blurs. One mission even in-cludes a bizarre twist that will blow your mind, but you’re going to have to play the game to find out what it is. I won’t ruin that for you.

From the jungles of Viet-nam to the rooftops of South American Cities, you take the fight to your enemies with a whole arsenal of weapons that include some old favorites and some out-landish new additions.

My initial gaming experi-ence had me feeling as if I was playing a video game version of “Apocalypse Now.”

And that’s just the story

mode. Most people buy “Call of Duty” games for the multi-player offered on all the ma-jor consoles.

Overall, I would give Black Ops 9 out of 10 stars. For all you “Call of Duty” enthusi-asts, “Black Ops” is the high-light of the series thus far. It is a must have.

Some senior advice for the kiddos

In four years, your thoughts about high school will change more than you think.

Seniors say their overall impression of high school has evolved quite a bit in the time they have spent at Kinston High School. Some seniors shared what they wish they had known when they were freshmen concerning schoolwork as well as the social aspects of high school.

“Take your grades seri-ously because if you want to go to a specific college when you’re a senior, you won’t be able to if you don’t,” Jas-mine Villanueva said.

Chris Ramos said that he wished he had known how hard the schoolwork was going to be. Ramos said that he had originally expected high school to be easy when he was a freshman.

Another senior, Darius Lee, said that he wished he had not played around so much during school, be-cause he could have gotten much more done.

Christopher Brown gave freshmen some final advice on academics, saying: “Pay attention in class and study, because if you don’t study you won’t pass.”

School is not the only thing that has affected se-

niors during their high school careers. The social scene in high school is of major importance to stu-dents, whether they are in a dramatic circle of friends or an easy-going circle. Some seniors shared what they wish they had known about social life when they were freshmen.

“Everybody is not your friend,” Bonique Sauls said.

“And you can’t trust ev-erybody,” Monquita Ham-ilton added.

A lot of maturing goes on during our four year ven-ture through high school; we have all slowly learned that the things that we once thought were major catastrophes were really just petty social mishaps.

“It’s not worth trying to fight over,” Shaquana Brown said of all the drama in high school.

Looking back on how we all were as freshmen, most of us are glad of the changes that have taken place with-in us. We have teachers and friends, as well as people we aren’t friends with any-more, to thank for our per-sonality improvements.

As for the freshmen, heed the advice that these seniors have shared. Listen to what teachers and your older friends will tell you. Though you may think you know everything, like the seniors now once thought, you’ll realize in four years how little you actually knew.

Around the Waywith

Abbye Reynolds

Palling aroundwith

Philip Davis

News4 - The Viking Press - December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

www.thevikingpress.com

The people of Kinston are thinking positive about their community and hoping for the best after coming to-gether to express their concerns about violent crime and gangs in the area.

Mayor B.J. Murphy held a commu-nity meeting for the town of Kinston on Nov. 9 at The Gate Community Center.

Residents from all over Lenoir County expressed their thoughts on problems they believed should be dealt with within the city. There were many opinions and concerns made by the people about certain illegal activities that seemed to be overlooked by law enforcers within the city.

The two main topics of discussion during the meeting were illegal drugs and gang activity. Other topics were reviewing crime statistics, the need for public service to play more active roles, and community involvement.

The focus of the meeting was what the average citizen can do to help. The people seemed to be very aware of what was going on in the city, in general, according to some in atten-dance, more-so than law enforce-ment. They wanted to provide any help that was needed to make Kinston a better place to live. Police provided the advice of reporting anything that did not look right and that would be one less burden for the people.

Schools were also a major concern, with residents saying the schools have a responsibility to help Kinston stu-dents get off the street and help de-

James Whitner/Staff photo

Kinston mayor B.J. Murphy (right) speaks during a town hall style meeting at The Gate Community Center in November. The meeting was called to dis-cuss solutions to violent crime and the presence of gangs in Kinston.

Mayor calls town hall meeting on gang violenceBy Brianna rhodes

Staff Writer

crease gang activity. It was discussed that most kids who are in gangs have no family support at home, which influences them to look up to gang members. The consensus was that teachers should provide constant sup-port for kids while in school.

“If we do not all work together, we will lose a generation,” one commu-nity member said.

The plans of furthering the educa-tion of teenage dropouts were also discussed. Lenoir Community Col-lege has a sizeable partnership with the GED program, and only seven cities were chosen for this grant. The mayor and others pointed out that such programs are just one step in fur-

thering the effort of reducing crime.Another concern was convicts be-

ing arrested and then put back on the streets. While it is understood that all people have the right of being in-nocent until proven guilty, one com-munity member said, “For justice to prevail, it needs to be manifested.” When people are put back on the streets they commit more crimes be-fore going back to jail.

There are too many shootings and gang activities that are held through-out the city. People said they want to stop patronizing establishments and boycott stores that condone behavior conducive to crime, and they believe that store owners should actively en-

force regulations on loitering.Pastors at the meeting also showed

their concerns and focused on the spiritual side of all the negativity in Kinston. Too many kids are dying here at home, they said.

“Terrorism is going on in our own community,” one pastor remarked.

Another member of the audience said it was a shame that every pastor was not represented in the city. The message was to seek the lord for a strategy, and religious leaders should come together to stop division and then we will see a change in the com-munity.

The key message that was given was the concern of color. A Kinston pastor said we were all “one blood” and that our community should stop all the foolishness and get it together. We are the greatest super power in the community and that we should all “walk in love,” he continued, be-fore adding that one meeting cannot make a change overnight.

The meeting “shows the importance of leading our community,” KHS stu-dent Brittany Berry said.

North Lenoir Assistant Principal Edwin Jones said the meeting “was an exciting beginning, especially bring-ing the ministers together to help solve the problem.”

Mayor BJ Murphy summarized the overall message of the meeting.

“We want the young people to suc-ceed and come back home, but our community has to do a better job of coming together,” he said, add-ing that he hopes there will be many more such meetings in the future.

Daily news updates, sports,games, discussion and more

Senior Cinnamon Williams (right) gives a cake to Anchor Club Adviser Ash-ley Holland. The club donates food to Mary’s Soup Kitchen every year for Thanksgiving.

Staff photo

Newswww.thevikingpress.com 5 - The Viking Press - December 2010

JROTC not for everyone, only those who want to learn

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By The Viking Press

Bryan Wade (S3/Opera-tions & Training Officer, on left) is responsible for brief-ing the cadets on upcoming training.

Submitted photo

There is new leadership in the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training) program at Kinston High, and along with it comes a new philosophy.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Byrd and Master Sergeant (MSG) Hargett, both retired members of the U.S. Army, recently came on board re-spectively as the Senior Army Instructor and Army Instruc-tor for the JROTC program.

Since arriving this semes-ter, the two have brought re-newed energy and focus to the program. A recent speaker to Kinston High School conduct-ed training with the teachers that confirmed what the new JROTC instructors have been emphasizing since they first arrived at Kinston, discipline,

which is the first order of busi-ness in the classroom.

Obviously cadets (JROTC students) are not soldiers, but whether in the classroom or on the battlefield, without discipline, LTC Byrd said, you

souPFrom Page 1

ficial snowy winter night created by snow falling from a snow machine.

After walking through a pathway of lighted candle bags, they were greeted with a warm bowl of soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and refreshments, including apple cider, cookies and other snacks.

Once the show began around 8 p.m., a series of skits and songs kept spectators enter-tained for nearly two hours.

Monologues about what some wanted for Christmas or how others were making the best of unfortunate circum-stances made the audience both laugh and cry. Freshman Molly Riddick delivered a mono-logue about angels among us as a single mother working the late shift at a truck stop, and the Trans-Kinstonian Orches-tra performed an amazing laser light musical show that paid homage to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

A quick intermission gave guests a chance to warm up with apple cider and cookies, and the Kinston High jazz en-semble started the second half of the show.

“It was all-around great,” jazz band pianist Drew McPhatter said. “We had great food and great entertainment. It was a big success.”

Following the band was a touching song called “Miss You Most at Christmas,” performed by sophomore Kenyatta Loftin.

Santa Claus gave a speech about his encounter with a Ma-rine protecting us on Christmas morning. Sisters Jessica and Sarah Walker performed in front of a screen showing the faces of starving children in the world. Sarah sang a powerful song to accompany the video, while Jessica’s ballet completed the piece, called “Infomercials Re-Visited.”

Senior Thomas Lawson per-formed two dance numbers, and senior Willie Cubbage of-fered a hip-hop twist on “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.”

The Soup for the Soul inter-pretative dance of the birth of Jesus was nothing short of amazing, and the audience showed its appreciation with raucous applause at the climax.

Raines’ finale, called “Mom’s Favorite,” closed out the eve-ning with “O Holy Night.”

“I had a great time,” senior Shanina York said. “The Hal-lelujah dance was my favorite, but I am looking forward to the talent show.”

Junior Maxine Smith said: “I thought it was very bright; the monologue was funny and the soup was good.”

Raines was also pleased with the overall performance.

“There were a couple of glitches, but it was great,” he said. “If the weather wasn’t a factor, there would have been a better turn out.”

Raines said Soup for the Holiday Soul will be back for a sixth annual showing next De-cember, adding that all should come as it gets better each year.

are still left with chaos. “We don’t need a lot of new

rules to establish discipline in the classroom,” LTC Byrd said. “We need only to en-force the existing rules.”

The mission of the JROTC program is to motivate young people to be better citizens. It seeks accomplishment of this mission through the follow-ing goals: leadership and crit-ical thinking, effective com-munication, physical fitness, health and wellness, positive motivation, global awareness, teamwork, and higher learn-ing. These goals are consis-tent with the type of students the JROTC instructors are interested in enrolling in the program – honors students, IB students, AVID students, and any other student look-ing to learn leadership and management skills, and stu-dents who are interested in being part of teams outside of the typical extracurricular school teams. We are very ex-cited about re-energizing the Drill Team, the Rifle Team, the Color Guard, and the

Raiders (adventure training). The instructors know that in order to attract these students to the program, they must first provide an environment that is free of disruptive be-haviors, LTC Byrd said.

MSG Hargett asserts that JROTC is not a designated re-cruiting tool for the Army. If a student is planning on a ca-reer in the military, JROTC is not necessarily a good option for him/her to take as a high school elective.

“The strangest thing we find,” MSG Hargett said, “is that a lot of the cadets (not all) who say they want to join the Army or another branch of the military, are the ones who are the most reluctant to wear the JROTC uniform or to participate in Drill and Ceremony (marching) in-struction.”

“In JROTC we do not yell at students, or use any type of physical discipline (i.e., push-ups), nor do we argue with them,” MSG Hargett said.

He insists the cadets are treated as young adults and

soon-to-be adults, responsible for conducting themselves in a manner that would make their parents and grandpar-ents proud.

LTC Byrd says his mandate is to ensure JROTC cadets set a good example for the rest of the student body at KHS. He further reports that he and MSG Hargett are moving quickly to establish an envi-ronment conducive to learn-ing; an environment where students can perform to their full potential. According to LTC Byrd, the JROTC instruc-tors seek to educate all stu-dents and that the majority of students are truly interested in learning the course material.

“I’m looking forward,” said LTC Byrd, “to providing those JROTC cadets who are truly interested in the course ma-terial with an environment where they are free of distrac-tions from the few disruptive students who are currently enrolled in the program and the ones who are undoubted-ly enrolled for next semester, at least for now.”

News6 - The Viking Press - December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Community supports NL senior diagnosed with leukemia

A senior at North Lenoir, Corbin Hawkins, was recent-ly diagnosed with leukemia.

Hawkins is currently being treated in Greenville at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. He needs all the prayers and support he can get, and the Kinston and Lenoir County communities are coming to-gether for the three-sport athlete.

There have been a few fundraisers already to raise money for his family includ-ing the 50/50 raffle at the North Lenoir-South Lenoir basketball game and the 50/50 raffle at the Kinston High-North Lenoir basket-ball game, which raised more than $300 for Hawkins.

Jonathan Davis, North Lenoir JV baseball coach, has contributed a lot of time and effort to Hawkins’ situation. He said Corbin played on

his JV team two years ago and helped lead them to their 19-2 re-cord.

“He is an out-standing athlete, and he comes from a good fam-ily,” Davis said.

Davis and oth-er people from the North Lenoir community held a meeting in North Lenoir’s auditorium on Nov. 30 to dis-cuss ideas for possible fund-raisers for Hawkins.

Right now there is a bar-beque and chicken plate sale scheduled for Feb. 4. Plates are available for $6.

Davis said they hope to sell 4,000 plates and raise more than $20,000. Davis also mentioned the idea of a co-ed kickball tournament held either at Barnet Park or Bill Fay Park in Kinston. It will be eight man kickball, though

there is not a lim-it to how many people can be on a team, with five guys and three girls on the field at all times. A definite date has not been set yet, but it will be $10 per person and people of all ages are welcome.

Another meet-ing will be held in North Lenoir’s auditorium on Dec. 13 to discuss more ideas, and Davis said anyone is welcome to attend.

Anyone interested in help-ing Hawkins and his family with medical expenses can contact Davis or send a dona-tion to 2407 D. North Her-ritage Street. Any donations sent to this address will be put in an account set up by Jona-than Davis and Pat Delaney named The Corbin Hawkins Cancer Foundation.

“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”You are cordially invited to a Christmas musical

program presented by

The Gospel Choir

JOIOf Kinston High School

Sunday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m.

St. Augustus AME Zion Church318 E. North StreetKinston, NC 28501

“Come celebrate the birth of Jesus”

By Mackenzie Brown

Staff Writer

Corbin HawkinsFacebook photo

FEED Club collects 463 items for charityBy Jorge Hidalgo

Staff Writer

The Kinston High FEED Club donated nearly 500 food and clothing items to charity as part of a holiday food and cloth-ing drive.

Quinton Alston/Staff photo

The Kinston High FEED Club collected clothing and food items, and they col-lected a lot – 463 items to be exact.

FEED (Filling Every Empty Desperation) is one of the clubs at our school, founded by junior Richard Henderson last year to help our com-munity. Originally, it was intended for those impacted by the economy or some sort of natural disaster, though it will work to help anyone in need.

Every food item is donated to ICOR (InterChurch Out Reach), and clothing is do-nated to Harvest Connection.

In the span of just a few weeks, KHS collected 463 items, with the majority com-ing from Ms. Vickie Wessell’s science classes.

“I am so proud of my kids,” Wessell said. “They are so awesome.”

Henderson agreed with Wessell’s assessment.

When the drive first start-

ed, he said he felt it “wasn’t going well.”

Then he walked into Wes-sell’s class.

“Wow,” he remembered thinking.

It was also a major differ-ence from last year’s drive, which pleased club adviser Sue Potter .

“Last year’s drive did not go as well,” she said. “It had to be extended for another month.”

The success will prompt more drives next semster, Potter said.

Henderson added that an-other may start before Easter.

“We are going to have more next food drive,” Wessell said. “We are going to beat our record.”

Henderson encourages any-one who want to join in this helpful endeavor to our com-munity.

“We need all the help and support we can get,” Hender-son said.

The FEED Club meets once every month and requires no fees. To join a good cause, come to the meeting and make a difference.

Newswww.thevikingpress.com 7 - The Viking Press - December 2010

December - Scholarship newsScholarshipsThe Abbot and Fenner Scholarship is now available. Stop by the counseling department for more info.

Seniors interested in attending Campbell, Gardner-Webb, or Davidson with GPA’s of 3.5 and above unweighted should see Mrs. Parrott.

The Head Start Association Annual Scholarship Award is now available in the counseling department.

If you are a member of a certified bowling league, a scholarship is available in the counseling department.

The Levine Scholarship is now available for anyone with a 3.8 or higher GPA who wants to attend UNC-Charlotte. See Mrs. Parrot if interested.

There is a scholarship available for any senior planning to attend a 4 year university and majoring in Engineering or a related field.

If you are the child of a war veteran, a scholarship is available in the counseling department.

For any senior interested in the Air Force Officer Training Corps, a scholarship application is now available in the counseling center.

There are scholarships available for any seniors who have been in foster care (now or in the past). See Mrs. Hollingsworth.

A brand new scholarship called the Janice M. Scott Memorial Scholarship is now available in the counseling center.

The Ronald McDonald House scholarship is now available in the counseling center.

N.C. A&T applications for the National Alumni Scholars Program are available in the Counseling Center. Applicants must have an un-weighted GPA of 3.0 and combined score for verbal and math on the SAT of 1,000.

The Lewis & Elizabeth Dowday Scholarship is also available at NC A&T. Students must have an SAT score of 1,200 on a single SAT administra-tion and a weighted GPA of 3.75 or higher.

Check by guidance for the Burger King Scholarship Program information.

Catalyst ConferenceAny freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending the “Catalyst Conference” at UNC Chapel Hill the weekend of Feb. 25 should stop by the Counseling Department and pick up an application.

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News8 - The Viking Press - December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Kinston students participate in Holly Days

KHS basketball players Jeremiah Lanier, Rashad Fields, Tre Jones and Mike Tyson help coach Wells Gulledge light the Christmas tree at the Lenoir County Courthouse during the annual Holly Days tree lighting ceremony.

The team also sang Christmas carols for the crowd gathered to watch Kinston’s annual holiday kick-off.

Quinton Alston/Staff photo

By Mackenzie Brown

Staff Writer

KHS basketball team, coach sing carols, help light Christmas tree

Cookies and letters to Santa? It must be time for the Anchor Club’s yearly letter writing day.

On Tuesday, Dec. 7, the members of the Anchor Club came together for a yearly get-together known as Santa Letter’s Cookie Social. During the gather-ing, students wrote letters to Northwest Elementary students, pretending to be elves answering letters to Santa.

“I enjoyed reading what all the kids had to say,” sophomore Annie Thi said.

Thi said one little girl from Northwest, Tatiyana, asked for a doll house and a PSP video game system.

“I thought it was fun try-ing to act like an elf, but I wished I had the money to fulfill all their wishes.

The Anchor Club is a service organization com-

Juniors Julia Griffin (left to right), Megan Towery, Resita Cox and Anniken Williams are just a few of the Anchor Club members who wrote letters from Santa to area elementary school children.

Club adviser Ashley Holland has an annual cookie social in which members write Santa letters received from local schools.

Brianna Rhodes/Staff photo

prising deserving female stu-dents.

Much like recent years, girls in the club said they had “absolute fun” writing letters to the children.

Some members said it was interesting to read the stu-dents’ letters and, for a few minutes anyway, go back in time to experience the mind of an elementary student.

Almost all the members were there and they were all glad to participate.

“I like reaching out to the little ones,” sophomore Eliza Deaver said.

“I think it is good to write letters to the kids from the elves,” junior Anniken Wil-liams said.

Resita Cox, for her part, liked being an elf.

“My name was Peppermint Patty,” she said, smiling.

“This is our Christmas cel-ebration, and it’s fun to just kick back and have a good time with the members,” ad-viser Ashley Holland said.

By Brianna rhodes

Staff Writer

Anchor Club answers children’s Santa letters

As Christmas approaches, Kinston booms with holiday spirit.

Many Kinston residents came to the annual lighting of the Christmas tree down-town on Nov. 30. The KHS basketball team helped en-tertain the crowd as they, along with Arendell Parrott students, sang Christmas car-ols to the large crowd at the courthouse.

“It had everybody smiling, but it was kind of awkward for the team to be singing since we didn’t know half the words,” senior Tre Jones said.

“It was a blast,” basketball coach Wells Gulledge said. “Our boys made me sound great.”

The carols were followed up by the lighting up of the main Christmas tree at the courthouse along with all of the trees downtown.

“It was cool seeing the little explosion and lighting up the town,” Jones said.

Gulledge, the evening’s master of ceremonies, and the team pushed the plunger to light the trees.

“We were glad that Clark and Eddie Griswold didn’t hook up the lights, because there were no sparks and no animals were harmed,” Gulledge said, referring to the classic National Lampoons movie, “Christmas Vacation.”

Gulledge called the honor of being named master of cer-emonies for the event “the highlight of the season.”

As the trees were lit, the crowd joined together in singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

“It felt good,” sophomore Josh Dawson said. “I know how to sing.”

The fun did not stop there; afterwards there was a per-formance by the Gordon Street Bell Choir, horse and buggy rides and miniature train rides.

“It put me in the Christmas spirit,” junior Nakeil Wil-liams said.

Newswww.thevikingpress.com 9 - The Viking Press - December 2010

Kinston High School’s clubs are giving back in a special way.

The holiday season has arrived and this is the perfect time to give back to those who are in need. Two clubs at Kinston High School are striving to make a difference in someone’s life. Both the Anchor Club and the Student Government Association be-lieved that it was their duty to serve the community.

The two clubs gave during Thanks-giving and are in the process of giving back for Christmas.

During Thanksgiving, members of the Student Government Association were assigned to dotate non-perish-able goods to a non-profit organiza-tion. Canned goods, blankets and toiletries were brought in for those who are in need. This service was re-quired for all members to participate.

“We all agree that it is better to give than it is to receive,” SGA adviser Reginald Dawson said. “There are a lot of unfortunate people in the Kin-ston area who need assistance.”

The SGA is also planning to adopt a child from a nearby foster home with the help of Assistant Principal Fran-ces Herring. She attends St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and every year each church member is assigned to buy gifts for an economically disad-vantaged child.

Ms. Herring chose a 16-year old fe-male. All the girl wanted was an mp3

Flu season is here; be preparedBy LaShawn Koonce

Editor

Sophomore Sierra Wood uses hand sani-tizer to keep germs at bay.

Quinton Alston/Staff photo

The most common thing this time of year may not be seeing the Christ-mas lights and snowflakes, but rather seeing the stuffy and runny noses.

Yep, it’s flu season. Last year, we faced H1N1 spreading rapidly through many counties, including our own. Now things are a little calmer, other than the recent outbreak of bedbugs.

But flu is something we have to deal with every year.

The flu, also known as influenza,

is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. Flu sea-son begins every fall and ends every spring. Sometimes a new type of flu virus may emerge that people have no resistance to, like MRSA, a highly contagious staph infection, or H1N1, commonly called swine flu. When people have no resistance to a flu it can spread more easily in a very short time, causing serious illness.

Most people who get a seasonal flu recover within a week or two. Pan-demic flu is different because more people who get it might not recover, even with medical treatment, and people of every age may be a risk of serious illness. As always, the concern for the very young and the very old and the very sick are more of a con-cern.

In 1918, a Spanish flu pandemic infected some 500 million people worldwide and killed more than 50 million people, about 3 percent of the world’s population at the time.

Although no outbreak has ap-proached that severity since, the flu is a very real illness that infects thou-

sands of people every year.So how do we prepare?Experts suggest everyone get

their yearly flu shot. The flu shot is the best way to take effective action.

Biology teacher Joseph Romig warned people to be careful when getting a flu shot, howev-er, saying that some people come down with the symptoms of the actual flu virus.

Also, wash your hands thor-oughly every chance you have. This will reduce the chance of spreading the flu from one per-son to another.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and clean your hands af-terwards with hand sanitizer. If you don’t have a tissue or cloth, cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow or upper arm.

“Be proactive,” Romig said. “Drink orange juice or take Vi-tamic C. Wash your hands. Bet-ter safe than sorry.”

Left: SGA President Brianna Rhodes and Student Government adviser Reginald Dawson pack up boxes of food and clothing collected for local charities. SGA is one of several campus organizations devoted to helping area food and clothing drives. Right: Senior class Vice President Devin Bryant, Rhodes and Dawson pose in front of the SADD Christmas tree with a gift purchased for local charity.

Staff photos

By Brianna rhodeS

Staff Writer

SGA, Anchor Club raise money for charities

player, Nickelodeon DVDs, and purs-es. The members are in the process of raising money for her so she will have a special Christmas.

The Anchor Club also donated 35 baked goods and many paper prod-ucts to Mary’s Soup Kitchen. This is done every year for Thanksgiving.

Ms. Holland has been the Anchor Club’s adviser for five years, and this

has been a tradition even before she was in charge of the club. The An-chor Club also hosts a yearly event in which members reply to letters local school children write to Santa.

All the charity has KHS students in a giving mood for the holidays.

“It was really nice to help people who are less fortunate than us, and I think it really goes into the spirit

of the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas,” SGA Vice President Devin Bryant said.

SGA Junior Class President Kyle Brown agreed.

“I felt like I was doing something good for the right cause,” Brown said. “Helping others is the reason for the season.”

Feature10 - The Viking Press - December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Sarah in Wonderland

KHS sophomore Sarah Walker poses with various cast members from last month’s “Alice in Wonderland” production in Goldsboro, where Walker played the lead role.

Contributed photos

Acting is about putting yourself in someone else’s life.

At least that is how sopho-more Sarah Walker looks at it.

Her pursuit in acting landed her the lead role of Alice in the Stage Struck production of “Alice in Wonderland” in Goldsboro.

Walker heard about the play, so she decided to audi-tion.

It helped, she said, that she looked the part of the classic children’s character.

She performed the play over the course of three days in November, with each per-formance coming in front of a sold out crowd at the Para-mount Theater in downtown Goldsboro.

“I was freaking out,” Walk-er said of her opening night jitters, adding that once it started she was no longer ner-vous.

Walker says that she never even looked out into the au-dience, a necessity of “becom-ing” the character she was trying to play.

“When you cry, you have to cry like you are that per-son,” she said. “Whether you are happy or confused, it is in that person’s shoes, You can never break character.”

Kinston High theater arts teacher Clay Raines, who at-tended the play in Goldsboro, said she is a talented actress.

“In my opinion, she was the quintessential Alice,” Raines said. “She had the look, she

had the personality and she delivered her lines flawlessly. She is Alice.”

There were five perfor-mances in all, but Sarah thinks that the best perfor-mance was on Friday night because they had already done three that day and it got better as the day went on.

“I think it went really well.” Walker said. “Everyone was really talented including our director, Russell Vacanti.”

That explains why her fa-vorite part of the experience was meeting all the new peo-ple.

“Everyone there is differ-ent; they all have different personalities and are unique,” Walker said.

She thought that the hard-est part about the whole ex-perience was memorizing lines, but she said she enjoyed the experience as a whole and plans to audition for a part in another play called “Guys and Dolls.”

Though she takes pleasure in acting, Walker also plays tennis and soccer, dances, sings, and cooks.

She is thinking of pursuing acting as a career. She thinks she wants to major in musical theatre.

Broadway: get ready, be-cause Sarah Walker is taking the stage.

By Tiana Craigg

Staff Writer

When parents walk in the room kids automatically tuck in their shirts and sit up straight. When parents join Facebook, kids automatically ignore friend requests and block profiles.

With the arguing and cyber bullying throughout Face-book, it can easily be portrayed as an unsafe environment.

“Having a relationship with my mom on Facebook mini-mizes the importance of such

Parents: Facebook friend or Facebook foe?things as Facebook drama”, senior Bianca Boatswain said.

By a parent being able to see every post and comment, Boatswain and others tend to censor what you say, ulti-mately keeping the peace.

There is no question that this can be extremely awk-ward between parent and child. Seeing your parent at the same level as you see your friends is not an easy thing.

There is a line between pri-vate and public. Is having a parent as a friend crossing the line?

If your answer is yes then think about this question: If you’re willing to share personal information with strangers then why not with your own family?

“Even though she tells me she does not go on my page, she is a little conniving and I doubt that’s true,” Boatswain said.

This brings up the issue of trust. Just because your par-ent has a Facebook does not mean they spend their day snooping on your page. They may want to keep you off

their page as well. Some parents just don’t

want to know everything, but does that mean they don’t care?

“I prefer to keep our per-sonal lives separate,” Dedra Gooding said.

Gooding, mother of senior Leekeya Gooding, said there is a boundary that most par-ents seem to cross when it comes to their children and suggested that some things should just remain between children and their friends without her interference.

“I want to refrain from nag-ging and humiliating com-ments that I know my mom would put on my page,” Leekeya Gooding said.

Both Goodings seem to feel like a Facebook friendship is not a priority in their rela-tionship. It is just an aspect in life that has nothing to do with their relationship.

Facebook can be the break-ing point or building block in the relationship between child and parent. So the ques-tion remains: To “friend” your parents -- or not?

By MaCkenzie Brown

Staff Writer “She was the quintessential Alice.”

- Drama teacher Clay Raines

Sportswww.thevikingpress.com 11 - The Viking Press - December 2010

Vikings end season with second-round loss at Bunn

Senior Tre Jones reacts to losing to Bunn in his final high school football game.

Creeshona Berry/Staff photo

Following a first-round win at Richlands High, Kinston High fell to Bunn, 27-7, in the second round of the state 2AA playoffs.

“We should have beaten Bunn,” freshman Donathan Bryant said. “Ev-eryone did not come focused. We un-derestimated them, and they played a good game.”

The Vikings beat a good Richlands team by the same score, 27-7, a week earlier, but the Vikings could not overcome a string of injuries to defeat Bunn.

“Our injuries finally caught up with us,” coach Nick Anderson said.

In the first quarter of the Bunn game, Kinston lost a key player, Jevonte Jones, due to an ACL injury. The game was also altered by quarter-back CJ Bradshaw’s broken finger.

Still, some players questioned the team’s resolve in the last game of the year.

“I feel like if all our players really

wanted to play we would have gotten a ring,” sophomore George Jones said. “We had the talent and the athletes, but we lacked the right state of mind.” Anderson, however, said he believes the determination and effort from the players was far too strong for them to give up and called his team the hard-est working group that he has ever coached.

Although this will be the seniors’ last season, they leave high hopes for the upcoming seasons.

“Strive for your dreams,” senior Ra-shad Fields said, adding that he hoped that this advice will be embedded in the mentality of future seasons.

All in all the season was filled with a lot of obstacles that the team had to overcome. Now that the season is of-ficially over, they’re focused on pre-paring for next year’s season.

The team finished with an overall record of 9-3 to end the season in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Plains Conference a year after appearing in the Regional 2AA finals.

Girls’ bball team starts season with 4-1 markBy The Viking Press

The Kinston High girls’ basketball team started its season 4-0 before running into state 4A powerhouse Raleigh Millbrook.

Although the Vikings lost that game 54-22, Kinston still has plenty to look foward to, courtesy of its un-beaten mark against county rivals North Lenoir and South Lenoir.

“Our goal this season is to win a conference championship and hang the first women’s basketball banner since 2003,” senior Zakiyyah “Keke” King said. “So far this season, we are off to a positive start. We have a great team and very talented athletes, so there is no doubt in our minds that we can get it done.”

King said the team has to continue working hard in practice -- giving “200 percent,” as she said -- and have a family atmosphere for everything to fall into place.

As for the early season loss, King sees it as a wake up call.

“Eliminating minor mistakes will take us far,” she said.

Fellow seniors Onkenya Hall and Brittany Moore agreed.

Both players cited their team motto of unleashing “94 feet of terror” over 32 intense minutes to beat the rest of the teams in the Eastern Plains 2A conference.

“A 4-1 start is not bad,” Moore said.

Sophomore Monique Lofton drib-bles against a Millbrook defender as teammate Caroline DeBruhl watches the play.

Quinton Alston/Staff photo

“It just means we have more to work on.”

The Vikings played at Southwest Edgecombe on Friday.

Results for the game were not avail-able at press time. See thevikingpress.com for full results all season.

By Creeshona Berry

Editor

Spanish, French clubs play soccer match

Students in the French and Spanish clubs recently competed in an “inter-national” soccer match, a yearly tradition between the two clubs at Kinston High.

Mackenzie Brown/Staff photo

By The Viking Press

The Spanish Club eeked out a one-goal win against their archrivals, the French Club, in the annual soccer match between the two foreign lan-guage departments at Kinston High School.

French Club teacher and adviser Diane Bowen said the score isn’t all that important, however.

“I think at one time it was an issue,

but now it’s just more of a fun thing,” she said. “It was a really good turnout. The kids seemed to have a good time, so we hope to continue the tradition.”

The game started four or five years ago as a way to get more students excited about the foreign language clubs, Bowen said.

“I usually like the match to last about half an hour, but the kids get out there and just want to keep on playing,” Bowen said.

SportSThe Viking Press

Volume 3, Issue 3 December 2010 www.thevikingpress.com

Indoor track beats four schools to start year

The Kinston High indoor track team opened its season with a win at Southwest Edgecombe, beating the host Cougars, New Bern, Wilson Beddingfield and North Pitt in the process.

Track team members said they were happy to pick up a win against four schools in the year’s first meet. They hope that success will carry over to the remainder of the season.

“Overall, I think we did a good job,” senior Hakeem Washington said. “We did even better than what I expected, even though it was cold, which made it very difficult.”

Results for the match are below:

Zakiyyah King, 1st place triple jump (32.5 feet), first place 60 meter dash (7:34) Jamecia Moore, first place 500 meter run Damion Ogbaugo, 1st place

Senior Brittany Williams competes in the long jump at Southwest Edgecombe in the team’s first indoor track meet of the season.

Quinton Alston/Staff photoSenior Tre Jones (left) gets ready to shoot a free throw against Raleigh Millbrook. The

Vikings overcame an 18-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Millbrook and push their record to 5-0 on the year.

Vikings keep winning, start season 5-0

The KHS basketball team has won two of the last four state championships, includ-ing last year’s 2A title.

They picked up where they left off, winning their first four games in convincing fashion before running into state 4A power, Raleigh Mill-brook.

The Vikings trailed by 18 points with a little more than three minutes to play in the third quarter before rallying for an improbable 61-59 win.

“It was one of the best high school games I have ever seen,” football coach Nick Anderson said.

Assistant basketball coach Perry Tyndall agreed.

“It showed a lot of charac-ter,” he said. “That’s for sure.”

The Vikings used a full-court man trap to get back

into the game, and hot shoot-ing from beyond the arc -- 9 of 16 on the night -- helped the comeback effort.

Sophomore Josh Dawson had 19 points for the Vikings, followed by nine points from C.J. Bradshaw and eight from Rashad Fields.

Tyndall said the Vikings have a very balanced scoring attack.

“Any night could be some-one different who steps up,” he said.

Despite the win against a quality opponent, Tyndall said the team still has a lot of work to do to get where it needs to be for conference and postseason play.

The Vikings played at Southwest Edgecombe on Friday, Dec. 10. Results were not available at press time. Check thevikingpress.com all year for complete results.

By Julius Hodges

Staff Writer55 hurdles (8.6 seconds), 3rd place 500 meter run (1:15.8) Keosha Parks, 1st place 55 hurdles (9.17 seconds), 1st place 300 meter dash (49 seconds) Kisto Ogbaugo, 4th place 1000 meter run (3:36) Debrah Martin, 1st place 500 meter run (1:34) Lamont Howell, 1st place triple jump (38 feet, 5 inches), 2nd place long jump (18 feet, 3 inches) Raheem Freeland, 3rd place 60 meter dash (7.4 seconds), 2nd place 300 meter dash (47.6 seconds) Ranell Sutton, 2nd place 300 meter dash (41.2 seconds) Anthony Dove, competed in 1000 meter run Sheldon Grady, 1st place long jump (18 feet, 6 inches), 1st place 60 meter dash (6.4 seconds) Shamon Mcnair, 1st place 500 meter run (1:15) James Witner, 4th place Shot-put (35 feet) Nicholle Smythe, 55 hurdles (11.8 seconds)

1st place 300 meter dash (54.5) Chris Williams, 2nd place 60 meter dash (6.54)

Emory Matthews, 1st place 55 hurdles (8.57) Donathan Bryant, shot-put (35 feet) Kenya Hall, 1st place 300 meter dash (48.1) Hakeem Washington, 2nd place shot-put (39 feet 6 inches) Cetera Speight, 1st place shot-put (30 feet) George Jones, 2nd place 60 meter dash (6.6) 4th place 300 meter dash (41) Brittney Williams, 3rd place 60 meter dash (7.6)

Jaquay Gaddy, 3rd place 60 meter dash (8.2)

1st place 4X4 GIRLS RELAY TEAM:

Zakiyyah King Debrah Martin Kenya Hall Keosha Parks

1st place 4X4 BOYS RELAY TEAM:

Chris Williams Donta Maye

By THe Viking Press

Julius Hodges/Staff photo

Sheldon Grady Shamon Mcnair

1st place 4X8 GIRLS RELAY TEAM:

Debrah Martin Jamecia Moore Christian Pridgen

Kenya Hall

3rd place 4X8 BOYS RELAY TEAM:

Shamon Mcnair Dontae Maye Kisto Ogbaugo Bodafinci Ogbaugo