Good Luck Hounds!

The ERHS Bark Newspaper would like to wish our Varsity Soccer boys Good Luck in their match against the Bloomfield Hills Lahser Knights. The game is tomorrow night at 6:00pm at Mason High School.
Go Hounds!

Soccer team advances to regional finals!

Written by: Izzy Bellville
          The Greyhound Varsity Soccer boys were victorious against Goodrich in their regional match last night at Mason High School. Bryce Richards ('12) tied the game for the Hounds as the clock dwindled away the last few minutes, and the Hounds outscored Goodrich in a shootout; with Conner McCreery ('12) netting the deciding goal in the shootout. Jacob Masteller ('12) continued his stellar play in goal for the Greyhounds. Next up for the Greyhounds is the regional finals Saturday, 6:00 p.m. at Mason High School.

ERHS Boys Soccer Regionals

Written by: Izzy Bellville
          Hey Greyhounds! Come support your Varsity soccer team in their game against Goodrich as they fight for the regional title tonight at Mason High School! The game starts at 5:00 p.m. Make sure you wear maroon and white to show your greyhound pride!

Kalamazoo Oil Spill

Written by: Izzy Bellville
                Only a little over three months after the catastrophic BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Mid-Michigan experienced a quite similar type of disaster.

                An Enbridge Incorporation pipe in Marshall carrying oil ruptured between July 25^th and July 26^th, eventually spilling over 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalmazoo river.

                This brought an immediate danger to the surrounding wildlife, endangering all the animals in the area around the river. In the BP spill, there were thousands of volunteers from all over the country, and why not? As monstrous spill as it was, it was expected that animal lovers from everywhere would contribute to the cleanup process. But could we possibly expect the same for a Mid-Michigan setting?

                Whether or not people thought it could be expected, it happened. People from all over Mid-Michigan showed up to help take care of the animals caught in the disaster. One of these animal saviors was our very own Ms. Louise Sagaert.

                Ms. Sagaert joined the fight the day after the oil had spilled, and helped all the way into mid August. Ms. Sagaert runs her own wildlife rehab at her home, so taking a position in wildlife intake was second nature for her. She spent her time in large, hot suits that protected her from the oil on the animals, washing geese, muskrats and even small turtles with large, powerful hoses that powered away the oil from the animals.

Ms. Sagaert said that she was “the only one who would wash the muskrats, because they were very violent. Look, I even have a bite mark on me still.”

                The animal rescue took place in an old pole barn, which doesn’t seem like the best place to save animals, but the rescuers did their best to make it as effective as possible. The first few days of work were actually spent putting walls up in the barn to make a better working environment.

                In the washing of the animals, it could be supposed that it would be a quick and easy process. But in fact, it is a very complicated and tedious procedure. For example, you cannot use just any soap to clean the animals. You have to use Dawn brand soap and Eve soap, then you have to use certain colors of the soap in order to keep the animals safe. The cleaning of the animal could take as long as ninety minutes, and sometimes even more. When cleaning a turtle, especially the small ones, you had to use the utmost care, because you would have to reach into the shell, and pull out the limbs and head of the turtle to clean them. “You had to be very careful not to squish their little heads.” Ms. Sagaert only half joked.

                Undoubtedly, hard feelings must have been felt towards Enbridge Incorporation because of their mistake. Although, according to Ms. Sagaert, “I never had a bad experience with any of the people from Enbridge. They were very willing to help solve the problem they created. They spent every dollar that was needed without question.”

                Ms. Sagaert, as well as the rest of the animal rescuers deserve nothing less than the utmost respect, for the work they did to save all the wildlife that they did over the summer. With the work that the volunteers preformed proved that good people do still exist, and are walking amongst us.

Newspaper Preview

Written by: Becca Waters '11         
                Within the last month the war in Afghanistan has taken a turn, a turn for the worst. The United States and The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, forces entered their ninth year of the War on Terror on September 20^th of this year.

                Eaton Rapids is no stranger to fearless men and women who have graduated as alumni in the past ten years and went straight off to fight in this war and it is said with deep sympathy that we have sadly had to lay some to rest due to the fighting this war brought them into.

                2010 however brought a change to the war; it is now the deadliest year the war has seen with almost 600 troops killed this year alone; according to iCasualties.com. The total number of fatalities that has plagued through the war has reached the absurd number 2,068 since the fighting began in 2001.

                The affliction here being that almost half of the fatalities were gained in 2009 and 2010. With the total number of fatalities climbing above 2,000 at a mercurial pace, more than half of the total number of deaths has been American troops.

                The end of August proclaimed a land mark in the War on Terror; we began the pull out of troops in Iraq. Iraqi insurgents played the role of cheating many of our servicemen and service women of there lives. Since the fighting began in 2001 the death toll reached the shocking number of 4,743, according to http://www.icasualties.com/, when the troop pull out began in August of 2010.

                In December of 2009 President Obama set the deadline for the pull out of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for July of 2011. The Commander in Chief is set on July 2011 as the date for troop withdrawal but it would be very similar to the troop withdrawal in Iraq where the troops that are still in the country are acting as military advisors to the Iraqi forces.

Many advisors of the war, such as General David Petraeus the chief commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, advises the Commander in Chief that the pull out of forces should be gradual and “condition based”.

                When you compare Iraq and Afghanistan and the points that both countries are at in the war, Iraq had made copious improvements as far as deaths due to fighting in the ountry. In August, when the President began the withdrawal of forces in Iraq, fatalities had fallen dramatically. For this year our forces suffered a meager 55 fatalities compare to the 581 suffered this year alone in Afghanistan.

                It is understandable why General Petraeus is so timid of setting a date for the departure of forces in Afghanistan. Profuse improvements in Iraq were being made constantly, and most significant of all, lives weren’t being lost at such an accelerated rate as they are in Afghanistan now.

                Tragically as we watch the news we hear, on almost a daily basis, of lives being lost in Afghanistan and 2010 has been no exception to the matter. With only nine months until President Obama’s troop withdrawal is set to begin we can only hope that the fatalities will depress as we haul through what has been a never-ending war.

Valentiger Brings a Laid Back Happy Vibe

Written by: Mr. E. Smith
          Valentiger is an Indie/ Folk/ Alternative band. The band consists of three guys, (Brent Shirey – guitar, Scott Rider- drums, and Eric Kehoe – vocals). Shirey and Rider are both originally from Sparta, MI. While Kehoe is originally from Westland, MI. Currently they are all living in Grand Rapids.
          Valentiger has a unique, upbeat sound. Currently they have one album (Power Lines to Electric Times), and traveled the U.S. on 3 independent tours (mid-west and east-coast). Valentiger, currently working on a new album (tentative release March 2011), is planning a tour to SXSW in Austin, Texas this spring.
          As of now Valentiger is unsigned. “Getting signed to a label is not a huge concern of ours right now,” claims Rider. Even without a major record deal, Valentiger plans to continue recording and performing.
          Their most known songs are ‘Leaving Town’, ‘Never Ready’, and ‘Bosses in Their Offices’. You can purchase Valentiger music through their website (ValentigerMusic.com) and other major online websites such as I-Tunes, Facebook.com/ValentigerMusic, Twitter.com/Valentiger, Myspace.com/Valentiger Music. You can also view various recordings and music videos on YouTube.
         Valentiger has the attitude that they are going to succeed no matter what. Valentiger is a confident and original band, with high hopes and big dreams. Make sure to add Valentiger to your playlist.

Feature Teacher - Mrs. Guy

Written by: Jessica Allen '13
          Mrs. Guy is new to ERHS this year, but not to teaching. She’s taught grades K-6 for 8 years and says she was nervous about coming to the high school.
         “So far 4th grade is my favorite to teach,” says Guy. “But I love teaching at the High School so much that it very well could change.”
          She is going into her ninth year of teaching and loves it. She currently teaches English 9 with Mr. Whitmyer, Algebra 1 with Mrs. Millbrook, and has her own Study Skills class.
Mrs. Guy attended Sienna Heights for her Undergrad degree and to play college soccer. Later she went to Western Michigan University for her Master’s because they had the best program.
          Mrs. Guy is married and has a 17-month old son. She used to coach the JV Girls Soccer team but had to quit because family came first.
In her spare time Mrs. Guy has many hobbies. “I love playing soccer, running, walking, biking, going to the lake, and painting/water coloring.”
         “The most influential person in my life was my grandfather. He taught me to live an honest, respectful, and giving life. I don’t get to see him very often, but I’ve always had a ton of respect for him because he’s such a warm, giving Christian person,” says Mrs. Guy. “I also admired is my 4th grade teacher, Miss Schultz because she inspired me to become a teacher.
         She was the most energetic, fun-loving, caring teacher I ever had and she made every day a new adventure. Miss Schultz always reminded me of the Magic School Bus teacher, Ms. Frizzle because she was so crazy and spunky,” says Guy.
         Her favorite class in college was Art History because she just loved learning about different cultures and enjoyed the class very much. The class she enjoys teaching the most now is English because she loves reading and writing.
        Mrs. Guy feels that teaching is the best profession for her. “I wouldn’t change my profession even if I could because I love teaching and can’t see myself doing anything else... I decided to be a teacher because I love children and had always aspired to. My favorite thing about being at the high school is that I’m always moving and no two days are the same,” says Guy.

Downtown Construction

Written by: Becca Waters '11

                In August of 2009 our transportation lives were dramatically altered as we know it. The Michigan Department of Transportation, MDOT, began road construction in the city of Eaton Rapids. The first area to undergo the new road development was the stretch of road by the elementary school, Northwestern.

                That construction lasted through the end of November 2009 and through the winter we all drove peacefully, well as peacefully as you can with the dreadful white blanket of snow surrounding us. Then, in April of 2010, right after we journeyed back from spring break, the main street of Eaton Rapids was annihilated.

                As the orange cylinders and the road construction signs lined the roadways of the

Main Street and side roads the anticipation of what our renovated down town would look like really began to weigh heavily on motorists’.

                The construction hasn’t only caused a headache for commuters but it has also taken a chunk out of the cities budget. Eaton Rapids is paying for $781,006 toward the water main and storm sewer portion of the project. 2.75 million dollars of the project, the road improvements portion, is being funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, ARRA.     

According to an article written by Sally Trout for the Lansing State Journal some of the plans for the project included burying overhead wires, new paving along main street, decorative street lights, landscaping, and intersection and traffic signal upgrades.

                A very crucial part of the project is an upgrade of the city’s storm sewer; the improvements will cut down on the overflow of storm water into the Grand River.

                From a students perspective the construction has been pure torture having to commute through the detour to get to the school.

                Mallory Kunkel (’11) said, “The construction has been horrible, I avoided and am still avoiding the down town part of Eaton Rapids as much as possible.”

It was quite a pain when our town actually had to deplete our fourth of July parade, which happens to be a very well put on production, we usually have people from many surrounding towns come to see it. This year, if they came to Eaton Rapids, they saw a long line of orange barrels and road closed or detour signs.

                Not to mention, most of the towns’ population packed up and went else where for the holiday even though there was still activities in the evening, live performances from local bands, and the annual fire works show. The only positive part of less people assembling to the fire work show was parking and traffic weren’t an issue.

Although the construction has caused many problems for commuters, and put a damper in holidays that Eatonians regularly celebrate, the improvements to the town will be more than worth it in the long run and our town will have a revamped appearance to it.

College Visits

Lunch Time (11:28) in Room 103


October 1st, 2010 – Michigan State University (Rm.103)

October 4th, 2010 – Albion College (Rm. 103)

October 6th, 2010 – University of Michigan (After School 2:40 Rm.103)

October 18th, 2010 – Central Michigan University (Rm. 103)

October 19th, 2010 – Trine University (Rm. 103)

October 20th, 2010 – Alma College (Rm. 103)

October 25th, 2010 – Ferris State University (Rm. 103)

October 26th, 2010 – Hope College (Rm. 103)

October 27th, 2010 – Adrian College (Rm. 103)

November 2nd, 2010 – Saginaw Valley State University (Rm. 103)

November 8th, 2010 – Olivet College (Rm. 103)

Homecoming Game

Written by: Izzy Bellville '12
Pink Out tonight for Homecoming as the Greyhounds take on Fowlerville.

Greyhound fans make sure to wear pink tonight in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month as the Greyhounds face the Fowlerville Gladiators. Once again the Hounds are looking for their first win under the lights at Alumni stadium. Tonight is the Greyhounds Homecoming, and they will be wearing their traditional pink and black jerseys. The parade begins at 6pm and will run up State Street. The game begins at 7pm. The Homecoming King and Queen will be presented at halftime.

Spirit Week

Written by: Izzy Bellville
Hey Greyhounds, this week is spirit week, make sure to help support your class!

Tuesday: Wacky Day
Wednesday: Team Day
Thursday: Theme Day (Freshmen: Duck Hunt, Sophomores: Frogger, Juniors: Pac-Man, Seniors: Mario)
Friday: Pink out for Breast Cancer awareness

The game is Friday at 7:00 pm here at Greyhound Stadium.
The Homecoming dance is Saturday at 8:00 pm, make sure you dress up!