Where are they now? Hard work pays off for former greyhound: Tim Kissman

 Written by: Isaiah Bellville '12

            “There’s no substitute for hard work”, says Tim Kissman, Eaton Rapids High School class of 1990. If anyone understands the value of hard work, it’s Kissman.

 Kissman graduated from Eaton Rapids with a 3.2 Grade Point Average, and attended Hillsdale College on a full ride scholarship based heavily on his abilities on the basketball court. “People still come up and tell me how fun it was to watch me play and how easy I made things look. They don't realize I sacrificed going out with friends, any kind of social life and shot basket after basket in my driveway.”

“I remember summer nights; all you could hear was Thump-Thump-Whoosh, almost into darkness, every night”, says Mr. David Johnson, former teacher and neighbor to Kissman. “He was the real deal.”  Mr. Johnson spent the duration of the interview on Kissman nodding his head and smiling warmly. “He was the kind of kid who you always knew was going to be successful.”

Kissman’s success didn’t end after college though. Right now, Kissman is the creator and publisher of “Healthy and Fit Magazine”, a free monthly magazine printed right here in Michigan. Before “Healthy and Fit”, Kissman was working at a large State association, that ran a very successful magazine. He was in charge of a communications division, and was a national spokesperson. He disagreed with where the higher ups were taking the magazine, and: “instead of just complaining about what I'd do if I was in charge, I left the job and launched Healthy & Fit Magazine.”

Mr. Rick Smith was surprised by Kissman’s love for writing, but certainly not by his success. “He was a good student, very respectful”. Kissman left a mark on Smith’s life, just as he did Johnson’s. “It was always more than being a teacher, we were family friends.” Smith interrupted the interview at one point, and began digging in his desk. He pulled out a folder titled “My stuff”, and procured an article written by Kissman when he was attending Hillsdale.

The only negative thing said about Kissman came from Mr. Bob Ribby. Ribby was in Kissman’s graduating class. When asked how he would describe Kissman, he said “He’s a big Gump”. Ribby was only joking, though and explained that he and Kissman still talk on the phone frequently.

With all the things he’s managed to accomplish, Kissman must have some secret, some key to success. Could his academic success be linked to his father being his Drafting teacher? “I took his class for four years (never got an A though). Maybe he got his father’s basketball talents, from when his father played for a college in Wisconson? “I'd shovel the snow and shoot in the winter. Burn in the sun. I think I even shot in the rain.” So what is Kissman’s secret? “In business, sports, life, if you want to do something you have to learn what the heck it is your doing and do it over and over again until you become an expert, or the best.”

Practice. Hard work. Determination. Kissman is a self-made man, and these three things are the only tools he had to work with.

What advice does Kissman have to offer, besides work hard? “Going on through life without a goal isn't worth much. Dream big, set a goal to achieve that dream and pursue it.”

Governor Snyder's budget affects ERPS

 Written by: Ryan Hayward '13

Throughout the last ten years, public schools in Michigan have taken several cuts to their budgets and have found ways to still function with less money. It seems as if the state thinks, “what could another cut hurt.” The problem is that schools are already operating on an extremely tight budget.

                New Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has proposed yet another cut to school funding for the 2011-2012 school year. If Governor Snyder’s plan makes it through the state legislature, where it may face stiff opposition, schools would receive an extra $300 per pupil cut added to the already proposed $170 cut to funds. The districts chief finance officer, Collin Smith, says that the cut would cost the district more than $800,000. Due to this cut, there is a probability that another ER school could be closed.

                Eaton Rapids Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Bill DeFrance has been instructed by the Board of Education to create a budget proposal based around closing a building in the school district and reconfiguring existing buildings. The building most liable to close is Northwestern Elementary, which would only leave Lockwood Elementary and possibly Greyhound Intermediate School to hold the new flood of students.

                After considering the cut to the budget and increasing costs to the district, the expected budget gap is somewhere between $1.1 million and $1.9 million. But from the bad news comes a little bit of good. Technology and curriculum purchases will not be eliminated. No plans for privatizing operations will be made. Athletics and fine arts will not be eliminated. Busing will not be suspended or eliminated due to the amount of students that live in the country and have no way to get to school other than by bus. And good news for fans of swimming, the swimming pool will remain open.

                When asked about what his thoughts were about the proposal, ERHS Principal David Johnson said that the proposed cuts can affect the school by forcing a cutting of staff, paying more for playing sports, and eliminating elective classes, such as band, choir, and visual arts.

                Cuts like these would be detrimental to the student body; students wouldn’t be receiving education geared toward what they want to do in the future, but instead would receive a basic education. With the present economy, it could be hard for many students to get into a college to learn these things that are currently offered. Cuts to elective classes could possibly cause an uproar with the students and make more students want to find a different school to attend, which in turn would cause more economic problems for the school.

Mr. Johnson believes the government is not placing the value in education that they claim to be. He says, “The present economic climate has forced governments to critically evaluate how much money can be given to important programs. Unfortunately, education has become an area where the government is seeking to save money.”

Secret Millionaire shares that giving back trend

 Written by: Becca Waters '11

The television network ABC has picked up on the growing trend of giving. On Sunday, March 6^th, the network aired a new show: Secret Millionaire. Secret Millionaire is also shown in the United Kingdom and has been aired since 2006, with this year being the shows sixth season on the air.

In 2008 the television network Fox gave Secret Millionaire a try but the show was only able to produce an average of 6.7 million viewers so the network cut the show from its schedule.

ABC, however, has had a much more successful run with the show.

The title, Secret Millionaire, gives the plot away. Some of America's most successful, self-made millionaires will spend a week in the country's poorest areas and ultimately reward some unsung community heroes with hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money.

The “secret millionaires” will reside in local housing on welfare-level wages, and will try to find the most deserving people within the community and reward them with the financial help that they need. In some cases the millionaires give money and items that some of the organizations are in need of.

The trend of giving, giving back, or paying it forward, as it’s been called, has become increasingly possible within the last three or four years. Many television shows have made a point of proving that good natured human’s still exists among the tragic and less sustaining ways of our nation.

As of March 20^th three episodes of the show have aired. Dani Johnson was the first millionaire, a self made millionaire who built two companies and manufactured and developed a nutritional product line.

 Johnson donated money to The Love Kitchen, Joy of Music School, and Special Spaces. They were all organizations that Johnson spent time with learning about and bonding with people from each organization. Johnson gave a total of 100,000 dollars to the organizations in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Marc Paskin, the millionaire of the second episode. Paskin became a multi millionaire through real estate purchasing and selling. Paskin grew up poor and knows how it feels to struggle with finances; it wasn’t until his adult life that he came into money.

Paskin lives in San Diego, but he left the comforts of his beach house for the run down and suffering areas of Detroit, Michigan. Paskin is forced to live on less then ten dollars a day, the amount that an average single male on welfare in Detroit survives on.

                Over the course of Paskins stay in Detroit he finds three organizations that touch his heart: The Man Network, is a group of volunteers that patrol Detroit neighborhoods to prevent crime; Young Detroit Builders, an organization that helps young adults transform their lives through schooling and by learning how to build homes; and Really Living, an organization that offers Detroit's uninsured medical patients free transportation to their appointments.

                Paskin gives 110,000 dollars of his money to the people in Detroit that he spent his “secret” week with.

                The third episode to air of Secret Millionaire was the millionaire James Malinchak. Malinchak became a self mad millionaire first as a financial advisor then a motivational speaker.

                Malinchak resides near Las Vegas, Nevada, and for a week he lived in the steel mill town of Gary, Indian. Malinchak donated a total of 105,000 dollars and tools to the Adonia Community Service program; a non-profit organization that collects trash and picks up liter throughout the city Gary. Malinchak also gave to Urban Faithworks, an organization that provides a safe haven for children and teenagers after their school days.

                The foundation that touched Malinchak’s heart the most though, was the Baylor Youth Foundation. Baylor Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization formed to provide a safe, nurturing and engaging environment where at-risk urban youth are encouraged to develop their full potential through participation in athletic competition.

                Through the journeys that the millionaires ventured through they were all able to realize things about themselves and the world in which we all are living. Giving yourself, your time, or your money for someone in need, is always an honorable feeling.

Student of the Month: Kathryn Mills

Written by: Mason Vilanueava '13

Volleyball, varsity basketball, and track are just some of the things Kathryn Mills spends her time doing. Needless to say, her freshman year of high school at ERHS has been a busy year.

"Kathryn is a good student and her strengths are her organization and commitment to completing assignments, and her goal oriented characteristics,” said Whitmyer, head coach of the girl’s varsity basketball team and teacher at ERHS. “On most days it is enjoyable to have Little Scat in my class. But on some days she can be talkative and a bit too social.”

Mills regards Mr. Whitmyer as her most influential teacher because he is also her basketball coach and she looks up to him. “He also gives great advice, and I know if I have any problems I can go to him.”

Mills’ says she plans’ to attend Central Michigan University after high school and wants to be in the medical field and possibly as a brain surgeon.

"Hopefully I will go there on a basketball scholarship. I want to go there specifically because my parents both went to that school.”

As we all know, high school can be very challenging for some, especially for those who are involved in athletics. For Kathryn the hardest part has been keeping her grades up during sports, and getting ready for tests.

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do," by John Woodsen is one of Mills’ favorite quotes that she tries to follow and suggest that others do the same.

"To me the quote says that if you have problems don’t let them hold you back and interfere with your life,” said Mills. “Don't let limitations stop you from achieving your dreams."

Mills' favorite thing about ERHS has been the camaraderie between the student bodies and says that she has enjoyed her first year in the high school and cannot wait for the next three years.

 “Kathryn deserves to be student of the month because of her consistency in turning in assignments, being a good kid, and creating a positive atmosphere in the classroom,” said Whitmyer.