Riverside named "School to Watch"

PLYMOUTH - Riverside Intermediate School has been recognized by the Indiana Middle Level Education Association with their “Schools to Watch” Award.   To be considered for this award, the school has to meet the following criteria: 1) Achieve academic excellence; 2) Be developmentally responsive to unique student needs; 3)Be socially equitable, democratic, and fair; and 4) Have strong structures for learning in place.


Schools who wish to be considered for the award submit an application to the state organization.  Schools with strong applications are then selected for a site visit by the state's Schools to Watch Award committee.  The site visit includes interviews with parent, student, staff, and community groups.


This 2011-2012 school year, three schools were selected for site visits.  Riverside's visit was on January 18th.  As part of the recognition for this award, a community celebration will be held later this spring and educational leaders from the state will be in attendance with the local school community. Also, a few staff members from Riverside will attend the national recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C. from June 21-23, 2012 to be recognized with representatives from the other Schools to Watch winners from other states.

PHS Business Professionals qualify for State

WARSAW - The BPA District Leadership Conference was held at the Career Center at Warsaw High School on January 21, 2012.  Twenty-five out of twenty-nine PHS students qualified for the State Competition in March.  PHS students also accumulated over twenty-five medals in open events.

In Payroll Accounting, Morgan Hill placed 1st, Patrick Felke placed 3rd, Lane Singleton placed 4th and all three students qualified for State.  In Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications, Nick Bayley placed 1st, Adam Chambers placed 2nd, Trent Briles placed 4th, Aiden Osman placed 5th and all four students qualified for State.  Tucker Pletcher, Nat Hiatt, and Max Holloway also placed in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications. 

Micah Harner placed 3rd in Advanced Spreadsheet Applications and qualified for State.  In Banking and Finance, Tom Serf placed 6th.  In Keyboarding Production, Kylie Ludwig placed 1st, Faith Hilty placed 2nd, Pauline Dagaas placed 3rd, Tucker Pletcher placed 5th and all four students qualified for State.  Megan Sutton also placed in Keyboarding Production. 

In Fundamental Word Processing Skills, Kelly Bryant placed 1st, Emily Blake placed 3rd, Adam Chambers placed 5th and all three students qualified for State.  In Desktop Publishing, Kylie Ludwig placed 1st, Megan Sutton placed 2nd, Jessica Cleveland placed 4th, Luke Bumpus placed 5th and all four students qualified for State.  Morgan Hite, Emily Denney, Kendall Fosler, Tom Serf and Nate Kolter also placed in Desktop Publishing.

Kelly Bryant placed 1st in Basic Office Systems and Procedures and qualified for State.  Matt Scutchfield placed 1st in Database Applications and qualified for State.  Morgan Hite placed 4th in Graphic Design Promotion and qualified for State.  Patrick Felke placed 1st in Extemporaneous Speech and qualified for State.

In Administrative Support Team, the team of Matt Scutchfield, Jessica Cleveland, Lane Singleton, and Morgan Hill, placed 1st and qualified for State.  In Small Business Management Team, the team of Luke Bumpus, Emily Denney, and Makayla DePoy placed 1st and qualified for State.

In Fundamentals of Web Design, Spencer Uyhhelgi placed 3rd and Kendall Fosler placed 4th.  Both students qualified for State.  In PC Servicing and Troubleshooting, Allen Collins placed 1st and Logan May placed 2nd.   Both students qualified for State.  In Computer Security, Logan May placed 1st and Allen Collins placed 2nd.  Both students qualified for State.

Faces in the Crowd - Homecoming

See if you were one of the faces in the crowd captured by our photographer at Plymouth's win over Northridge for Homecoming.

PHS grad Davis named MAC Player of the Week

MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State senior guard Randy Davis (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week the league office announced Monday. This is the third time in his career that Davis has been honored by the MAC and the first this season.

Davis led the Cardinals to back-to-back road wins last week with victories at Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. His all-around play was a catalyst for the Cardinals as he averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as Ball State improved to 4-1 in MAC play.

Davis, the national leader in NCAA Division I in assist/turnover ratio at 3.79, dished out 16 assists in the two games while only committing three turnovers for a 5.33 ratio. He dished out a team-high 10 assists in the Cardinals' 21-point victory at Central Michigan while also scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds. He followed that performance up with 11 points and six assists at Northern Illinois. On the year, he leads the team with 106 assists and chipping in 8.5 points per game.

Davis and the Cardinals begin MAC crossover play Tuesday night as they host MAC East Division leader and defending MAC Tournament champion Akron at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The game will be televised by SportsTime Ohio and will also be carried by Comcast Indiana, ESPN3.com and ESPN Full Court.

Key Club volunteers for MLK Day

By Lydia Beers
Staff Writer
lbeers@thepilotnews.com

PLYMOUTH — A usually very "played in" kid's room, sparkling with freshly cleaned floors and walls. Tidied-up animal cages. Calm dogs, worn out from exercise. A group of fifth graders learning about decimals in a new way.

These were some of the small, yet meaningful contributions that Plymouth Key Club students made to the community Monday as they did service tasks in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

About 60 students worked at the Marshall County Humane Society, the Boys and Girls Club, and Riverside Intermediate School. Freshman Kylee Rippy used her time teaching Riverside fifth graders a "decimal rap" that she and a friend had made up when they were students at Riverside.

"This is what you need to know about decimals — deci, deci, decimals," sang Rippy as the students watched in wonder.

Their teacher, Terri Dennie, also had Rippy help her out by grading papers, making copies, and going to lunch with the students. Rippy said that she's thought about teaching for a career, but today she is "just helping out."

Another group of Key Club students spent their day overhauling the Boys and Girls Club. Executive directer Billie Treber said that the students had "detailed" the gym and playroom, letting no mess get away from their brooms, mops, and dusters. By the end of the afternoon, toys and games were organized and straightened, a typically grimy gym door was gleaming, and all the floors in the building were spotless.

Yet another group worked at the Marshall County Humane Society, walking dogs, replacing kitty litter, and cutting out fliers. Key Club faculty advisor and Plymouth High School English teacher Stephanie Wezeman said that getting involved in the community on MLK Day is new for the club, but that they hope to continue doing so.

"Last year, newly elected officials and I were brainstorming ideas and this is what we came up with," said Wezeman. "It's a way to do a big volunteer project and (also) honor Dr. Martin Luther King."

Wezeman hopes to get feedback from the organizations on what did and didn't go well with the event in order to improve for next year. She added that the club is looking for service opportunities from the city of Plymouth and from citizens.

"Anything that needs to be done — we are willing to explore the possibilities," said Wezeman.

To suggest a project for the Key Club, email swezeman@plymouth.k12.in.us.

To see a video of Key Club students at work, go to www.thepilotnews.com.

Your vote can help Plymouth FFA

You can help the Plymouth FFA Chapter win money through the "Chapter Challenge" program.  Simply go to the web address provided below, click on "Register and vote as a farmer" and complete the information.  You DO NOT have to farm, be a farmer, or live on a farm to complete the information.  Simply click "other" for commodities raised.  It will ask for your contact information but the FFA will not give out your information unless you click to allow them to do so. 

Simply click on the address below or go to;

https://www.ffachapterchallenge.com/

After completing the form, be sure to check your email as you will need to click a link to actually get your vote to count.  You can only vote one time, per email address you have.  If you have 2 email addresses you may vote twice.

Due to all your support with this last year, we placed 2nd in the state of Indiana and were awarded $1,500.00.  That money was used to help purchase FFA Jackets, attend State & National FFA Conventions, and compete in various leadership development events. 

Thank you for your continual support of the Plymouth FFA
Kelli Kreider (Hoffman)
Plymouth FFA Adivsor

Faces in the Crowd 1-13-12

Are you one of the Faces in the Crowd from Friday nights win over Concord? Check out our photo album on Facebook by clicking here and see if our roving photographer caught you.

Film to feature '91 grad Finkbiner

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

ST. LOUIS, MO - Plymouth grad Bill Finkbiner's road from PHS to feature film has been a long and eventful one - and one he almost didn't take.

"For me it all started in (teacher) Kathy Richter's speech class," said Bill from his home in St. Louis. "We had done a couple of speeches for class and she told me I should join the Speech Team. I had never really considered that and I told her to give me three reasons why I should. She said, 'you're good, you'll win and you'll win'."

Richter obviously knew her student because the words were the perfect encouragement for the athletic minded Finkbiner.

"She knew exactly how to approach it, appealing to that competitive side of me. I really enjoyed it and started taking Dan Tyree's theatre class too."

That theatre training has been instrumental in Bill's career leading him to a main supporting role in the new action film Broken Faith. The film stars Michael Joiner as a suicidal ex- special operative who must defeat his inner demons to save his daughter's (Vanessa Ore) life from a corrupt ATF agent out to kill her played by Rodney Wiseman.

"I was called in to read for Anson (the agent) which I expected because I fit the physical look of the character they wanted pretty well," said Bill. "I also ended up reading for the part of Dan, which is the lead. That surprised me since I'm quite a bit younger than what the part called for. I got called back for both."

It looked as if Bill would be the lead in the soon to be released feature, but when Joiner came on board he was cast as Colton, the right hand man of the corrupt agent.

"It's really exciting for me because most of the other film work I've done has been on really small extremely independent films," he said. "Micheal (Joiner) is an excellent actor and a great guy. I really think this is going to be a good film, and I'm ecstatic to have been a part of it."

A 1991 graduate of Plymouth High School Bill's Speech Team success earned him a scholarship to Bradley University to study Theatre and Speech, and spent his summers working performing with The People's Theatre as part of their Youth Intervention Theatre.

In 2000 Finkbiner moved to St. Louis and began working with several improvisational comedy companies including Bill Chott's who is a veteran of Chicago's Second City and Improv Olympic and featured actor in the movies The Ringer and currently in Johnny Depp's new feature The Rum Diary as well as a recurring character in Disney's The Wizards of Waverly Place.

Finkbiner is a regular on the St. Louis improv stage hosting shows for Bill Chott's Improv Trick. He is a cast member in the city's long running sketch comedy show Bye Bye Liver; The St. Louis Drinking Play and is a part of the Uppity Theatre Company's Big Fat LGBT Show.

"For live theatre I really love performing improv or straight sketch comedy," he said. "It's more immediate, more interaction with the audience and that adrenaline rush of the unexpected. You get to get into a rhythm with the people you're acting with."

"The one thing I might tell anybody that is getting started today would be to be sure you learn all you can about the business side of this profession. That really tripped me up for years. In theatre departments they teach you all about the craft, and that's great because you need that, but once you are out of school you are really a small business person and you need to know how to run that business."

The website for Broken Faith is available at http://www.brokenfaithfilm.com/index.html. More information on Bill's career is available at www.IMDB.me/billfinkbiner and you can follow him on Twitter @Bill_Finkbiner.

January Plymouth Basketball Newsletter

Up, up and away for Plymouth's Kunze

By Carol Anders
Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — Those who know Brian Kunze, 2007 Plymouth High School graduate, naturally associate him with hot air balloons.

Kunze was recently invited by the HACD (Balloon Federation of America/Hot Air Competition Division), to compete in the FAI Junior World Championship. The event features hot air balloon pilots from around the world. However, due to time and financial constraints, Kunze will be unable to compete since the event will be held in May in Lithuania.

Kunze was one of only ten from the United States who received an invitation. To qualify for the event, pilots have to be under the age of 27. They also must hold a Balloon Federation of America (BFA) competition card.  Invitees were selected based on the points that they had gathered from BFA sanctioned events.


““It has been great to be invited to the Junior World Championship," Kunze said. "I did not think I would since I have only competed in local competitions and have not been a part of the larger national competitions.  Unfortunately due to the late notice of the invitation, I will not be able to compete due to lack of funds.”

“I look forward to competing at a higher level within the United States ballooning competitions.  Hopefully in the next year or two, I will have raised enough funds to compete in the second and third annual Junior World Championships.”

Kunze is in his first year of teaching at Menominee Elementary where he serves as the Information Literacy Assistant. He graduated in 2007 from Manchester College with a degree in Social Studies at the secondary education level, but has become a favorite with the students at the elementary school.

Menominee Principal Michael Dunn said, “He was an awesome find. He has really connected to the kids and helping to integrate technology at school.”

Kunze hopes to use his hot air balloon expertise to teach the students about how weather affects and the science of how balloons are able to fly. Kunze said, “If the weather permits, I want to bring the balloon to the school grounds and maybe even inflate it.”

Kunze was only in kindergarten when he was invited to ride in hot air balloons with his classmate Brandon Jones whose father, Jeff Jones, was a hot air balloon pilot. Kunze and Jones continued their love of flying and helped as crew members for Jones for many years. For the past four years, Brian and his father Jim Kunze have been piloting the hot air balloon owned by WTCA/WZOC at events throughout them mid-west. They have become a fixture at the annual Blueberry Festival.

Brian Kunze said he has piloted the balloon for over 65 trips. 

“My dad and I spend good quality time piloting the hot air balloon. We tease each other all the time about who is the best, but it is all in good fun.” Kunze said.

Ship comes in for Passafire

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

PLYMOUTH - After a whirlwind major U.S. summer tour, a hit new album and preparing to head out on an east coast tour of their own, Plymouth's Nick and Will Kubley and the band Passafire have even more good news.

The group has been invited to play with the band 311 in May on their special Carribean Cruise.

"Its really all kind of amazing. 311 was my favorite band in high school, my friends and I were all kind of obsessed with them really," said Nick Kubley preparing to hit the road for Passafire's winter tour. "To get to play with them now is really sort of a dream come true. It's certainly not anything I ever thought would happen when we were listening to them in high school."

Local fans will have a chance to see Passafire when their tour comes to Chicago on Feb. 28. The band will play a handful of dates in the midwest with the bulk of the tour on the eastern seaboard. It will be a different sort of tour than the grueling Vans Tour schedule the band had in the summer.

"I really have to admit a lot of the summer really runs together," said Nick. "It's (Vans) a really different type of tour. You sleep in the bus all night and you get there you have to get off the bus, find the catering tent so you can get something to eat and get your set time, then it's back to the bus to travel all night to the next spot.

"All the venues look almost exactly the same and you don't have any chance to actually see the city that your playing in so it all has a tendency to just blur together. This will be a lot different tour. I'm really looking forward to getting out there again. We've been home awhile now and it will be great to have something to do."

The band's new album and fourth release - Start From Scratch - is gaining rave reviews, not just from fans, but from the band themselves.

"I really feel good about the album, I'm happy with all of it - how it turned out and how it sounds," said Nick. "It's the first one we've done that I've been completely happy with. I really think it's our best effort."

Passafire spent the days before the Van's tour at the Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX with new producer Paul Leary - who has worked previously with bands like Sublime and Meat Puppets - putting the record together.

Nick and Will Kubley during a break at the Sonic Ranch

"I like the process of recording but I'm not nearly as into it as (brother) Will is," laughed Nick. "Will and Ted (Browne guitarist and lead vocalist) are really into the recording process and playing with all the things in the studio. You have to understand that the first thing that's done in every record are the drums. I was finished in four days and spent the rest of the time sitting around really. Playing live is more fun for me."

What's next on the goal list for Passafire?

"I'd love to see us be able to get out there in more opening slots for some of the big name bands out there," said Nick. "It would be nice to see us in a place where we were selling out 1000 to 2000 seat venues on a regular basis."

Keep up with the Kubley's and Passafire at http://passafiretheband.com/en/ or search Passafire on Facebook.

PHS grad Chipman appointed Marshall County Chief Prosecuting Attorney

PLYMOUTH - Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney David R. Holmes announced today the appointment of Plymouth High School graduate E. Nelson Chipman, Jr. as Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, effective March 1, 2012.

A lawyer since 1981, Chipman currently is serving as Plymouth City Attorney. His resignation from that position becomes effective at the close of business on February 29. Chipman has been a fulltime municipal lawyer for the last twelve years; and before that was in the private practice of law in partnership with his father. Chipman was a public defender for several years, and was a deputy prosecuting attorney for over seven years from 1987 to 1994.

In accepting the appointment, Chipman stated, “This was a once in a career opportunity to return to my first love in the law. Throughout my college and graduate school years I majored in criminology with a desire to make a positive difference in the vast field of criminal justice. Trial work in the Prosecutor’s Office allows me the chance to again pursue that passion."