story by: Kylee Luce

Shortly after the 2016-17 school year started, Jeffersonville girls head basketball coach Mike Warren received some unexpected, but very exciting news: a 6´0 foreign exchange student- athlete from Australia would be coming to Jeff High and was joining his basketball program.

“Typically transfers don’t come along too often, especially transfers that know how to play basketball, so I was very happy,” Warren said.

Britney Epperson transferred as a junior this year to Jeff High, looking forward to becoming a part of the Red Devil community and girls’ basketball program.

As for the team, the girls were thrilled when they heard the news about their new Australian teammate.

“My reaction when I found out Britney was going to be on the team was, ‘that’s awesome.’ I’ve always wanted to know someone from Australia, and I’m really glad we will have a solid post player now,” said starting sophomore Chelsea Gibson.

Epperson’s main reason for traveling to America is because her older brother received a scholarship to La Lumiere School, a prep school in La Porte, Ind.

“Everyone in my family plays basketball, except my little sister,” Epperson said.

In order for Epperson to be able to go to school and keep her basketball eligibility, she had to leave Australia by Sept. 27. Fortunately for the Lady Devils, Epperson’s aunt and uncle live in Jeffersonville, which explains how she landed at JHS of all places.

However the move wasn’t an easy one. The first week or so in America was a little rocky and very exhausting for Britney.

“I had trouble sleeping. I would wake up at two in the morning and not go to sleep until six, and then sleep all day that took me a very long time to fix,” Epperson said. “That first week, I was exhausted. I was a bear — you couldn’t talk to me. It was awful, but other than that it has been wonderful.”

The coaching staff says Britney is a great fit to what they’re building for the upcoming season. Epperson is a hard worker and has adjusted very well to coach Warren’s high level and high speed practices. Epperson is very coachable and all the coaches love her.

“She will be a big part of our success going forward,” Warren said. “She has a great attitude, she is a hard worker, she’s a really great teammate and good communicator. So all the things we ask out of our kids she possesses those things already. So it’s made the transition for her much easier.”

All Epperson’s teammates love her so far, and are delighted she’s a part of the girls’ basketball program.

“She is so fun in and out of practice,” said sophomore Mariea Franklin. “They say she’s like the team mom.”

The feelings are mutual from Britney Epperson.

“Everything is going pretty good; I really like it,” Epperson said. “The girls are really good and have been so welcoming and I love my coaches. They are very supportive.”

Britney had to sit out for the season opener, but she is now eligible and played in their last game against Madison, where the Devils won 50-15. Epperson had four pts and two rebounds. She is hoping to learn from these games and start pulling out even more wins as the season progresses.

Story by Caleb Albert and Sam Gatewood

 

7. Timberland 6” Boot

Timberlands have been a New York staple for decades. Starting as a construction boot, Timberlands quickly became “the boot to have.” What makes them popular is their durability, their resistance to weather, and the versatility to be worn with almost any fall/winter outfit.

Retail: $190

Availability: Available at nearly any retail store

6. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2

Kanye West, in recent years, has been elevated to a point in which anything he produces — whether it’s music, clothes, shoes, or videos — is noticed by everyone, and coveted by his fans. His recent contract with Adidas has proven that; just look at the spike in Adidas’s stock since he joined the team. His “Yeezy Boost 350” model, in particular, sells out instantly with every release, and prices for these shoes are marked up nearly 400-percent within the resale market. The second version (or V2) was first released in 2016, and although it was more unique and less wearable than other colorways, it continued the tradition of being nearly impossible to buy.

Retail: $220

Availability: Sold out

Market value: $500-700

5. Air Jordan 12

Although it originally released in 1997, Michael Jordan’s 12th signature numbered sneaker is still being remodeled and perfected by Jordan Brand. The year 2016 was huge for the model, being reintroduced in a variety of familiar and new colorways. There were many releases, but the most popular ones were the “French Blue,” “Flu Game,” and the “OVO” model, which was Drake’s collaboration with the brand.

Retail: $190

Availability: Some colorways still available for retail, but more popular models are sold out.

4. Adidas NMD

First introduced late 2015, the NMD made its debut as the NMD_R1, which was initially seen as innovative, but not loved by tons of people. However, in 2016, it began to be introduced in a plethora of colorways, and other versions, such as the NMD PK_1, NMD CS_1, the Chukka, and the NMD XR_1. What makes this shoe important is both the number of options available, and the enormous amount of hype generated in such a short amount of time.

Retail: $120-170

Availability: Sold out

Market value: $150-300

3. Air Jordan 1

Hailed as many sneakerheads’ most iconic Jordan model of all time, the Jordan 1 was the shoe that made history by being banned by the NBA initially. Nike decided to commemorate the icon this year by reintroducing the Jordan 1 in the original “Banned” colorway. They also honored a recently popular colorway, “Shattered Backboard,” by releasing an alternate version of the shoe.

Retail: $160

Availability: Most are sold out, but some are still in stock for at or below retail.

Market value: $200-500 for more hyped up releases

2. Adidas Ultraboost

Similar to the Adidas NMD, the Adidas Ultraboost started as an understated runner, which generated popularity as more options were introduced. What makes this shoe so popular is the comfort, which utilizes Adidas’s primeknit construction, and a full-length Boost outsole, which is said to be the most comfortable cushioning technology in sneakers as of now. In 2016, Adidas released “Uncaged” versions of the Ultraboost, which were simply the Ultraboost, without a cage with the lacing system covering the upper. The versatility, functionality, and comfort make this a go-to for many people of all ages.

Retail: $180-220

Availability: These sell out any time they release, but have consistent restocks

Market value: $200-350

1. Air Jordan 11 “Space Jam”

Space Jams – The Space Jam 11s appeared in the 1996 blockbuster, “Space Jam,” starring Michael Jordan. These shoes quickly became one of the most coveted shoes of all time. Jordan Brand is releasing an updated version of the cult classic on December 10th of this year, and it is expected to be one of the most popular models Jordan has released in a while.

Retail: $220

Availability: Out of stock

By: Amber Smith, Carley Calabro, Kelsey Luce

 

The holidays are right around the corner and we know that budgets are tight; so here at The Hyphen we have given you some ideas for holiday gifts and treats. In ten minutes or less and for ten dollars or less, you can make the ideal present for friends, family and loved ones.

Cocoa in a Jar

What you’ll need:

-Mason jar (Michaels $1.00)

-hot cocoa mix (Meijer/Kroger $2.00)

-marshmallows (Meijer/Kroger $2.00)

-candy canes (Dollar Tree $1.00)

-ribbon (Michaels $1.99)

Step 1: Pour cocoa mix into jar.

Step 2: Put marshmallows, crushed candy canes or any other preferred candy in the jar.

Step 3: Hot glue ribbon around the lid of the mason jar and decorate the jar however you please.

“Ugly” Holiday Sweater

What you’ll need:

-An old sweater from around your home — or from Goodwill ($0.00-$5.00)

-At least two feet of garland of any color (Michaels $2.00-$5.00)

-Two packages of 15 green and red small pom poms (Michaels $1.50 each)

-One piece of 8 ½ x 11 black felt (Michaels $0.20)

-Hot glue gun

-Scissors

Step 1: Start by laying out your garland in the shape of a Christmas tree. You’ll want to lay the top of the garland straight up to make the point of the tree and the wrap the rest underneath it, making it bigger as it goes down. Cut the excess off the remaining garland.

Step 2: After you have your garland set to your desired length, hot glue the garland onto the piece of black felt.

Step 3: Cut the excess felt off to where it fits the shape of the tree.

Step 4: Hot glue the felt onto the sweater.

Step 5: Once your tree is glued to your sweater, glue the red and green pom poms in various spots on the tree to make ornaments.

Step 6: Glue the rest of the pom poms that are left over around the tree on the rest of the sweater.

Step 7: Make sure everything is secure and you have a new holiday sweater in ten minutes or less!

Candy Sleigh

What you’ll need:

-Candy canes- dollar tree(1.00)

-King size kit kat- dollar tree (1.00)

-2 Mini size Snickers- dollar tree

-2 Mini size milky ways- dollar tree

-1 starburst- dollar tree

-1 green or red pom pom

-Hot glue gun

Step 1: Start with the base, which is the king size Kit Kat.

Step2: Start stacking, and hot gluing other candies on top biggest to smallest.

Step 3: Top the sleigh with a green or red pom pom.

Step 4: Hot glue 2 candy canes to the bottom of the King size Kit Kat.

Grinch Kabobs

What you’ll need:

-strawberries- Kroger

-bananas- Kroger

-mini marshmallows- Kroger

-green grapes- Kroger

-red, green, or white kabob sticks- Kroger

Step 1: Cut the bananas in thin slices and cut the stems off of the strawberries

Step 2: Place one grape on the kabob.

Step 3: Put one banana slice on top of the grape making the base of the hat.

Step 4: Put the strawberry over the banana with the tip of the strawberry facing upwards.

Step 5: Top the hat off with a mini marshmallow.

By Phillip Steinmetz & Kyle Sanders

 

A dozen pieces of Tuesday’s homework balled up, a few spots of crushed cheddar Goldfish from two days ago and a milk carton from first period’s breakfast on Monday.

That’s what the floor might look like in an average Jeff High classroom at the end of the week.

However the mess is not the fault of the janitors slacking on their job. Instead, it’s a culmination of being understaffed, and not having enough qualified applicants to fill those positions.

“We are just trying to get the stuff done that needs to get done,” said janitor Chris Schwinn. “It all comes down to time management, working extra hours on the weekend and overtime to get stuff that must be completed done. We can’t pay attention to things like washing every window in the school. We’ve got to take care of other things that are more important: cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash, sweeping up the hallways, stuff like that.”

On a normal school year, JHS would expect to have three day-shift and eight night-shift janitors each weekday. This year, it has gotten as low as two in the day, and only two at night.

Also adding to the chaos is the illness of veteran custodian William (Willie) Thornton, who has been out since the beginning of the school year. Thornton, who has worked within Jeff High for over 29 years, has experienced health issues that has prevented him from attending work, where he is the lead custodian.

“We had our two-day custodians, Chris and Bridget, step up and have done everything we asked them to do and more in Willie’s absence,” said assistant principal Timothy LaGrange. “The building is in great shape. At times, we’ve had a sub for that third spot, but not consistently. I don’t know when we will get that third position filled. In Willie’s situation, if he came back, we want what’s best for Willie.”

According to LaGrange, there are a few obstacles that have made it challenging to hire custodians this year. The biggest challenge is that other businesses, like Amazon and the newly-erected River Ridge, are offering more money for employment, which is cutting the application pool.

“The pay is probably more important than anything else and that’s one thing we can’t compete with Amazon,” said math teacher Jim Spears. “The school corporation could spend more money on that or anyone’s position. Everyone deserves to make more than they are making, so how do you do that? Right now, we are in dire need of custodians, so how do you do that? It’s not an easily solvable work problem.”

Despite the hiring difficulties, the school isn’t far away from being back to full staff. At the time of print, LaGrange says JHS is two custodians away from full strength.

To make up for the less hands on board, some weekends or long breaks require JHS to bring in multiple custodians from other schools for a “blitz.” The blitz lasts one or two days, and the entire school is cleaned.

“It’s a challenge to meet our standards,” LaGrange said. “(It’s) not because of the people we have aren’t doing a great job because they are doing a great job. They are great workers, dedicated and do a great job.

“But we are understaffed and some of that is a larger, economic issue,” LaGrange continued. “There are a lot of jobs available, like River Ridge, (which) has created a little bit of competition for us.”

A creative way in which Greater Clark County Schools has tackled this challenge is by offering custodial job opportunities to high school students. The position offers $9 per hour to work up to three hours after school, everyday.

The hope for the hires is to give the custodians an extra hand while they are still filling in the other main positions.

“We’ve had a few people who have applied, we are going to hire a pool of high school students very soon to fill in and help us out as well,” said LaGrange. “I am excited for that and we’ve got some good candidates by the people I’ve talked to, we could use some more good people and high school students that want to work. It’s a very good part-time job for high school kids.”

 

When walking the JHS halls in the morning, there’s a sense of grogginess among the students, and even some teachers. There has been desire to resolve the problem with a cafe shop at Jeff for quite some time now.

On Nov. 18, that dream became a reality.

Jeff’s new cafe, which is located on the right-hand side of the Pride Store, is known as the Pride Cafe. The cafe will be selling cups of coffee, and hot chocolate with marshmallows, for $1 per cup on Fridays from 7:10 – 7:45 a.m.

Inside the store, there are three coffee makers, and four flavors to choose from: hazelnut, caramel, pumpkin spice, french vanilla. The Pride Cafe is also having a holiday special in December, so students will have the chance to get peppermint flavored coffee as a choice to choose from.

Social studies teacher Steve Cooley, who was a major help in making the cafe a possibility, was in charge of getting the Pride Cafe ready the day before the grand opening. Cooley was excited about the opening, and equally excited for the students to enjoy the cafe for themselves.

“Hopefully we will have a line of kids out there waiting to get in,” Cooley said.

Inside the Cafe

The cafe is a PBIS (Protective Behavioral Intervention and Supports) rewards fundraiser. So when students buy a cup of coffee, the money earned will go towards rewards and prizes that JHS will then give back out to students who win them. Some of these prizes include gift cards, trips during school days, and more.

“What we’re trying to do is find a way to generate a revenue stream to pay back the kids,” Cooley said.

So how did the idea of the Pride Cafe become a reality? According to Cooley, a student-teacher at another school had a Keurig in the classroom, and would reward her students with coffee for good behavior.

That, along with cooling weather, is what prompted JHS staff to implement a cafe at the school.

The expectations for the cafe is that students at Jeff High will enjoy a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate in the morning to feel more awake, while also being responsible with it and throwing their trash away once they’re done.

“We want to encourage our kids (students) to be smart with the coffee,” Cooley said.

There has been talk among staff of a lounge being the next step for the cafe so students can go in, relax and watch some television while enjoying a nice cup of coffee. The Pride Cafe could be the start of a Pride Lounge, potentially becoming the next addition to the many improvements added to JHS recently.

As Cooley wished, the opening of the cafe was a hit, with roughly 60 students waiting in line to get their cup of coffee and hot chocolate.

Unfortunately the cafe was forced to close before everyone could get a cup due to the overwhelming response. If the Pride Cafe continues with the success it has shown, it could become a well-known tradition at Jeff High.