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Show Thursday, October 9, 2008 Page 4 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN NEWS AND IDEAS FROM CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS Mr. Caveman, spirited students Barbarhristiansen NORTH COUNTY STAFF Ten American Fork High School students took the stage Thursday and one came away with the crown of Mr. Cave-maa Cave-maa Josh Stewart took first place in the annual contest; Bradley Southard was named first runner-up and Ryan Brad-shaw Brad-shaw second runner-up. The theme of the event was "Indiana Caveman Quest of the Golden Crown." It was presented by the school's drill team, The Cavettes, who performed per-formed during the evening's entertainment. Each of the contestants was judged in three areas. They performed per-formed a talent number, wore evening attire, and answered questions which they drew from a box. Josh's talent was a piano solo of "Fur Elise," which he dedicated dedi-cated to his grandparents who were in the audience. Bradley also played the piano, performing perform-ing an original composition. Ryan performed a dance number, num-ber, part on the video screen and part on stage. For his question, Josh responded re-sponded about the person he considers the most inspirational at the school. He named Travis Landeen, who was the student body president during Josh's sophomore sopho-more year. Travis was killed in a car accident shortly after graduation. Legacy concert to benefit girl with tumor Ashley King NORTH COUNTY STAFF Seven-year-old Morgan Palmer is suffering from an inoperable in-operable brain stem tumor. To help her family meet the quickly quick-ly accruing costs of Morgan's treatment, members of the community are sponsoring a benefit concert Friday at 6 p.m. at Legacy Elementary School in American Fork. "Morgan has her own r original style she makes people laugh and comforts them with her sweet tender touch," said her mother, Lisa Palmer. t Unfortunately, "in early January 2008, Morgan became sick with a sore throat, fever and mild headaches. After a visit to the doctor, Morgan was given a prescription for strep throat," said her dad, Brandon Palmer. She quickly recovered, but began to have balance issues soon thereafter. After an alarming incident when Morgan couldn't move her right leg, her parents took her back to the doctor. A mass on her brainstem was identified identi-fied and Morgan was rushed to Primary Children's Medical Center. An MRI revealed "an incredibly incred-ibly large tumor, over 5.5 cm, located in the pons, near the top of the brain stem," said Brandon Palmer. Because of the location of the tumor, surgery was not an option and doctors doc-tors felt the best way to treat Morgan was with aggressive chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy. Morgan's treatment has been a bumpy road, but "Morgan is a real trooper," said her dad. "All the staff, technicians and doctors doc-tors comment to us that they have never seen a youngster Morgan's age hold still and cooperate co-operate like Morgan does." "Because of this experimental experimen-tal treatment, Morgan has been able to return to a mostly normal life. She is attending school every day, taking piano lessons, playing with friends and family, and participating fully in her young and precious life," said Brandon Palmer. However, "Our oncologist believes we have seen the end of positive effect from our current chemoAvastin treatment," treat-ment," he said. Because there is no proven caveman 'MA Josh Stewart Last week held one of the most prestigious events of the year for American Fork High School: The Mr. Caveman Pageant. Yes, a man-pageant. Teachers nominated, and then Partly because of Travis Landeen, we have had a great reputation and I hope we can continue in that direction. Josh Stewart MR. COMIC ; "Partly because of him, we have had a great reputation and I hope we can continue in that direction," Josh said. Bradley was asked to name one thing he would like to accomplish ac-complish in his life and why. I le actually named two goals. "I would like to be a known composer," he said. "I would also like to inspire someone to be their best self." Ryan named the people as his favorite part of his high school experience. "There are so many people who help you out," he said. "For example, I have had great teammates on the cross country team." 4 w if A i . Morgan Palmer with her older sister Alexis at Disneyland. Morgan did before her tumor because of a variety of medications and an In this picture she was just learning to walk again. treatment that will work for Morgan now, her parents are taking her to Denver for experimental ex-perimental treatments that may help Morgan. "Costs are difficult," diffi-cult," he said. "We are looking at between $12,000 and $16,000 just in travel and lodging to get us through the first eight weeks. Actual medical costs are yet to be determined based on what the clinical study will pay for and what our insurance insur-ance will take care of. We are concerned about 'out of network' net-work' costs since we will be in Denver." Just this week the Palmers received more bad news. "I just found out last Thursday that through an MRI they have found that the tumor has started to grow again," said Calli Saltmarsh, a neighbor of the Palmers who has been planning plan-ning the benefit concert in conjunction con-junction with Danielle Bement and Holly Young. "Morgan is excited about the concert and is looking forward to it," said Palmer. "There is a chance that our new treat students voted on ten Seniors that they wanted to see represent repre-sent the school. "Indiana Caveman" was the theme this year, with the Ether Tarn, Ryan Bradshaw, Cameron Hodges, Weston Smith, Bradley Southard, Jacob Ja-cob Carlson, Daniel Rellaford, Austin Rich, Alec Garner, and Josh Stewart all in hot pursuit in a quest for the "Golden Crown." Criteria for judging was centered around three catego Mr. Caveman Josh Stewart center, first runner-up Bradley Southard left and second runner-up Ryan Bradshaw. Special awards : Mr. Cavette (best dancer in the opening number) Austin Rich Mr. Congeniality Alec Garner Mr. Service Ryan Bradshaw Mr. Muscles Weston Smith Mr. Comic Josh Stewart Mr. Talent Daniel Rellaford Mr. Tuxedo Man Cameron Hodges Mr. Stunt Man Ether Tarn Mr Indiana Jones Bradley Southard Mr Entertainer Jacob Carlson ' " t ments in Denver will cause her to miss it, so we are hoping the stars all align." If Morgan and her family aren't able to make it to the concert, "we will go forward and videotape it for their family," fam-ily," said Saltmarsh. Calli Saltmarsh's husband, Ron Saltmarsh, a will be the master of ceremonies at the concert. His biography hails him as a "Utah-based guitarist, guitar-ist, composer, producer & arranger," whose work has been heard on "promo spots for CMT, A&E, ESPN, Disney, NBC, ABC and Fox Television, as well as dozens of major television tele-vision and radio stations." Saltmarsh will be joined by Jeff Hinton and Quint Randle who combine professionally to perform as Joshua Creek. Hinton and Randle "have been writing together for eight years and have numerous songs published by Nashville-and Nashville-and L.A.-based publishers," says their biography. Additionally, concert-goers will enjoy the talents of Jason ries: Talent, chivalry, and wit. Talent was the most audience-captivating event. Emotions were sent on a roller coaster, Laughing at macho man Weston's ballet routine, Jacob's family dance, and Ryan's goofy-movie power-line power-line concert, then crying the next minute at touching performances per-formances by Daniel with his vocals, Bradley and Cameron at the piano, and Alec spilling poems like Emerson. You had to wipe tears awarded . -j BARBARA CHRISTIANSENNorth County z Palmer family looks very different than she inability to get around much. Hewlett, a Salt Lake born performer whose "audiences coast-to-coast have thrilled at the creativity, hilarious impersonations, imper-sonations, touching portrayals, and nostalgia of this one of a kind impressionistmusician humorist and corporate entertainer," en-tertainer," according to his biography. Tickets for the event are $5 each or $25 for a family, but additional donations are encouraged. There will also be a silent auction held that evening. Anyone who would like to make additional monetary donations is encouraged to donate to the "Morgan Palmer Fund," account 9067296, at the Bank of American Fork. "We hope to raise whatever we can since anything will help," said Palmer. "Mostly though, we are not after dollars. dol-lars. We want everyone to be thinking about Morgan and keeping her and the others like her in their thoughts and prayers." quickly though, because you didn't want to miss Ether's tumbling, or Austin's fast paced hip-hop, both kept you holding on to the edge of your seats. After the high-intensity talents were over, you got to sit back and smile at the men as they escorted members of . the AFHS's Drill team, who was sponsoring the event. It was fun to watch our peers be so courteous and polite to the young women, and then noies All schools Fall break Fall break will be Oct. 16-17 with teachers attending professional development de-velopment meetings Oct. 20. Classes will resume on Oct. 21. American Fork High School Senior ad deadline The deadline to purchase and submit sub-mit senior ads for the 2008-09 yearbook is Friday. There are two size options available: one-eighth of a page which includes one photo and a 50 word message or one-fourth of a page which includes two photos and a 100 word message. mes-sage. Order forms are available avail-able in American Fork High School front office. Space is limited so parents are encouraged encour-aged to act quickly. Pep assembly A pep assembly as-sembly will be held Friday at 7:45 a.m. in the main gym. Students are encouraged to show school spirit by wearing wear-ing red, black or white and to plan to attend the football game against Lone Peak at the AFHS football field at 7 p.m. Band information The marching band will host the annual Mount Timpanogos Invitational Marching Band Competition Saturday at Mountain View High School in Orem. The show begins at 10 a.m. with American Fork High School performing at approximately 5 p.m. They will compete again at the BYU Rocky Mountain Competition Com-petition on Tuesday. Career guidance The Counseling Center is sponsoring spon-soring an event for seniors called "It's a Jungle Out There" on Tuesday during second period. This is an event in which professionals and technical school representatives repre-sentatives will provide information in-formation to assist in career exploration. Community Council meeting AFHS's School Community Commu-nity Council will be having its meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. in the Media Center. Superintendent Super-intendent Henshaw and Tim Osborne will be presenting "What Counts" areas of focus for Alpine School District. School officials invite anyone from the community who is interested to attend. Community Commu-nity input and involvement is invited and encouraged. Test planned The PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Apti-tude Test) will be given Oct. 15 at 7:45 a.m. The cost to take the test is $11 and must be pre-paid at the student finance fi-nance office. This test is for juniors but is available for sophomores for practice only. The PSAT is a qualifying test for the National Merit Program. If a junior student does well he or she may qualify as a National Merit Semi-Finalist or Finalist. Final-ist. Verbal and math skills are the basis of the test. Deadline to register will be announced by the AFHS Counseling Office. Many scholarship applications ap-plications ask for the scores from this test. Any student is welcome to take the test, especially es-pecially students who may be in line for scholarships during their senior year. Trip to Body Worlds 3 Students who are enrolled in a class that is planning to attend the Body Worlds 3 exhibit on Oct. 28, must have their $6 paid to the financial office and parent permission form turned in by Oct. 15. Late payments will not be accepted. ac-cepted. Members of HOSA must also have their $25 membership dues paid by Friday Fri-day in order to attend. Infor pull a few goofy model poses themselves. If I were judge, I would have to go with Ether Tarn as winning this category, he has the physique and stage presence pres-ence of a seasoned actor. Wit was the final test, as the contenders were put on the spot with a random question ques-tion drawn out of the treasure chest. Answers varied from question to question, but I believe that Alec Garner dominated domi-nated this category with his mation on the Body Worlds 3 exhibit can be obtained by going go-ing to www.theleonardo.org. ACT prep The math section sec-tion of the ACT prep classes will be held Oct. 21-23 from 2:304 p.m. in room 213. The teacher will be Mr. Hanks. Students can still sign up for the review by paying $10 at the student finance office. The ACT test will be given Oct. 25 at 8 a.m. Students are reminded to bring picture ID to the test and to arrive early. Information for volunteers As a reminder to all volunteers, volun-teers, background checks are required prior to volunteering volunteer-ing to help with any activity or program. Volunteers do not need to go to the district office for finger printing. Volunteers can have a back ground check done at the high school by either Shani Quilter or Brenda Hunter. Volunteers include anyone who is going on a field trip, school trip, or volunteering at the school for athletics, school clubs andor events. Volunteers need to bring in a driver license and social security number to have a background check done. It is done on line and takes about five minutes. Attendance make-up Attendance At-tendance make-up is held Tuesday through Thursday from 6:15-7:15 a.m. in room 101. Tardy make-up is also held Tuesday through Thursday Thurs-day from 6:45- 7:15 a.m. in the commons area. Morning sessions are free to attend. After-school attendance and tardy make-up sessions are also available the same days for a cost of $5 per session. Attendance make-up is from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in room 19 with after-school tardy make-up from 2:30-3 p.m. in the commons com-mons area. A receipt from the student finance office must be presented for admittance admit-tance to the after-school sessions. ses-sions. Homework center A homework center is available Tuesday through Thursday from 2;30-3:30 p.m. in room 34. A mathematics teacher and National Honor Society students are available to help students with homework and test preparation. Forbes Elementary School Contact information Parents may now contact the school through e-mail at forbesalpine.kl2.ut.us. The main office will be using e-mail to answer questions, make appointments or share concerns. All incoming e-mails e-mails should include "Parent of:" in the subject header. Shelley Elementary School Book fair The final day of the book fair is Friday. Parents are invited to attend the book fair in the library. PTA board to meet The next PTA board meeting will be Monday at 9:30 a.m. in the library. Book club The second grade book of the month club will meet in the library on Monday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Parent meeting A parents' par-ents' meeting for all Knowledge Knowl-edge Bowl participants will be Tuesday at 2:15 or 3:30 p.m. in room 5. NOVA program The NOVA program for sixth grade students is being held every Thursday. Parents are encouraged to support students in setting goals and completing assignments for NOVA. suave charisma. In the end, all had a memorable, memo-rable, bonding experience with each other, and walked away with a bag of gift certificates cer-tificates and other high-school essentials. The overall winners win-ners were: Josh: Mr. Caveman, Cave-man, Bradley: first sidekick, and Ryan: second sidekick. If you didn't get a chance to come out this year, make sure you're there next year. It's a fun-filled experience you don't want to miss. 1 |