Photos by Phillip Steinmetz
Category: Features
Record-Drowning Red Devils
by: Haylee Hedrick and Adrian Blair
Michael Jordan, Elvis Presley, Gene Kelly, Tom Brady and Albert Einstein are looked at as superior for dominating within their field. They showcase power and influence over others — otherwise known as dominance.
The JHS boys and girls swim teams have been dominating within the Hoosier Hills for years, gradually beating fierce competitors and overcoming tough obstacles.
Second-year head coach Mike Pepa has witnessed his team push themselves to success.
“From a school standpoint, I think we’re one of the most successful programs in the building as far as our record in the conference, how we place at conference, Sectionals and at state,” Pepa said. “I think we’re probably one of the top three programs in the school building over the last 6-8 years, as far as dominance compared to our conference.”
Girls
There are over 3,000 high school girl swimmers throughout the Hoosier state, which correlates into over 200 teams. The girls JHS swim team are ranked 24 out of those 244 teams.
This year, the girls won all 12 dual meets in the Hoosier Hills Conference, as well as the conference championship meet. The swimmers, along with the girls basketball team, were the only JHS team to go undefeated during conference play.
On Feb. 4, the girls took home first place at Sectionals. Jeffersonville was down 48 points going into the second half of the meet due to the fact that there currently aren’t any divers on the team. With that in consideration, the meet came down to the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Jeff took home first place to edge Floyd Central 465-464.
“Our biggest issue has been not having enough divers,” said Junior Caroline Elliot. “We had two new girl divers who were ineligible to compete in meets due to not having enough dives, and our other diver suffered an injury just before conference leaving us without any divers during Sectional.”
At Sectional, the team broke two Sectional records, two pool records and three school records.
Senior Jacqueline Richard was part of a school record-breaking 200 medley relay. Senior Adeline Dixon broke her own school records in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. Junior Rachel Walker also broke her own record in the 200. Walker’s goal is to win a state meet by the time she graduates from JHS.
“Rachel Walker is our fastest girl swimmer. She’s one of the fastest high school swimmers in the state of Indiana,” Pepa said.
Walker qualified for the state finals in both of her events. She qualified fifth in the 500, with her time leaving her in the top seven in the state. She finished 14th in the 200.
The team is also poised to be good in the future, as well. Freshman Megan McEwen and fellow freshman Alyssa Miller, were both part of the 200 freestyle relay that placed second.
“We have two freshmen that made huge impact on the girls team: Megan McEwen and Alyssa Miller,” Pepa said. “Our two most improved swimmers on the girls team are Emma Ellis and Tonya Williams. They did a heck of a job this year compared to last year.”
Boys
The boys team lost seven swimmers from last year. Though thin in numbers, their season was a successful one, consisting of placing in conference despite being made up of mostly underclassmen.
“We’re in a little bit of a re-building phase, but we have the benefit of having some really strong swimmers from the front side, and then developing some new swimmers would be great,” Pepa said.
While the loss of seven boys swimmers stung, it was cause for a total team reconstruction. First-year boys swimmer Kip Jackson believes that the boys team is just a few guys away from being even more dominant.
“This year, we have a very young team, mostly freshman and sophomores. So we are seeing where the underclassmen fit best, whether it be relays or individual events,” Jackson, a junior, said. “There are only four seniors on the boys team and three seniors on the girls team. Hopefully after summer training, we will be back on top next year because I know we are all hungry for that Sectional title.”
On Jan. 28, the boys placed as conference runner-up behind Floyd Central. The Red Devils had three individual conference champions: sophomore Kameron Case with two (100 and 200 freestyle), and freshman Carter Dilger with one (100 butterfly.)
“For boys, Kameron Case was fastest in conference in his events, Levin Martin was very strong in his event, and we have Carter Dilger, who hopefully will have the opportunity to go to state maybe even place at state in his event,” Pepa said.
Dilger was top three in the state for 14-and-under in 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Case said his fastest event was the 200 yard freestyle. His time for that was 1:48.
The boys also placed third in Sectional, losing to Seymour (second) and Floyd (first). Case placed first in the 100 (48:07) and 200 (1:44.73). Both Dilger and Case with also be representing JHS at the state finals on Feb. 25.
The rest of the story …
Most athletes have a certain amount of time they must abide by when it comes to their performance. However, swimming is one of the few sports that doesn’t have that.
“We don’t have to worry about playing time…we worry about the clock. The clock doesn’t lie,” Pepa said.
In swimming, dropping a few seconds off of your last time is viewed as a success.
“Everyone has the same goal, whether you’re trying to be in the Olympics or whether this is your first season you’ve ever swam competitively,” Pepa said. “(That goal is) a personal best time.”
While swimming is a strenuous and time-consuming sport, Pepa believes the athletes on his team are some of the best around the school.
“It’s motivating to be around student athletes who perform well in the classroom and constantly try to reach their goal and potential,” Pepa said. “Swimming is not an easy sport. It’s an awful lot of hours and it’s very demanding. It all weighs on you mentally as well.”
In total, most of the JHS swim team trains 18 hours and 45 minutes a week to better their performance, further proving their devotion to the sport.
“Training hard, having dedication, and consequently reaching your potential faster than anybody else that we compete against — to me that’s dominance,” Pepa said.
Rape Culture Explained
“Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that a–” (Freshman Week chant caught on social media at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada.)
“Grab ’em by the (female genital). You can do anything.” (United States of America’s president-elect Donald Trump).
In today’s world and society, things like this are said and done all too often.
According to the Women’s Center at Marshall University, rape culture is defined as an environment in which rape is prevalent, and in which sexual violence against women (or men) is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.
Everyday in our world, millions of women and men are raped, sexually assaulted and violated.
To anyone who doesn’t think that the normalization and allowing of rape, or any other form of sexual violence happens, look at college campuses. Heck, you can even just turn on the news.
Take the Brock Turner case, for example.
Turner, a 20-year-old male attending Stanford University, assaulted an unconscious girl by a dumpster following a night of partying. To boast, there were even multiple witnesses. Based off of the evidence, one would assume his punishment would be a couple years in jail at least, right?
Well, if you guessed anything more than six months, you’re completely wrong.
Because Turner was a talented athlete (swimmer) at a prestigious school (Stanford), the ruling judge in the case didn’t think he was a threat to society. Instead, he got six months in jail, and served only three months due to good behavior.
Take a minute and imagine how furious you’d be if that was your mother, sister, or daughter. Isn’t it nice to know that in this country, you can get more time for the possession of drugs than taking away another human being’s dignity, intimacy, and right to privacy?
If that sickening example of rape culture in our world today isn’t enough for you, then look at Florida State University. The school and administrators covered up sexual assault allegations against Jameis Winston — not once, but twice. And why would any person with at least a twinge of decency, or moral, do such a thing?
Because Winston was the star athlete in a town focused around football, not the girls he violated. So according to authority at Florida State, and around Tallahassee, those girls don’t mean anything.
Even in pop culture today, things like this happen. In 2014, popular singer Ke$ha was forced by a judge to continue working with her producer, Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (Dr. Luke) who also sexually abused her for an extensive amount of time.
The culture of rape and sexual violence in this generation has gone too far.
The crimes don’t just happen against women, but they do happen more. One in five women in the United States will get raped at some point in their lifetime, while one in 71 men will face the same fate.
The most staggering number? Out of those crimes, more than 90-percent don’t report them. Yes, you could blame the victim for not reporting. But in this world, would you report the crime if it happened to you?
Whether it’s not being believed or being blamed, the victim has a lot of good reasons not to report.
And when it comes to college campus assaults, the numbers aren’t getting any better. Even prestigious colleges like Harvard and Notre Dame have been investigated by the U.S Department of Education for the failure to investigate sexual violence.
Rape culture isn’t only the act of rape or assault, but it is also the derogatory terms thrown at females. You can hear those explicit words hundreds of times in the hallway of a high school.
The double standards make it seems as if when a woman has multiple partners, she is one of these words. But when a man has more than one girl, he’s praised by his buddies for it.
You may not know it, but that is all rape culture too.
Let me preach this one thing to any man (or even woman) that has been angered over rejection: you are not, ever, entitled to another human being’s body. Ever.
I took the time to ask a victim of rape (a student at JHS) how she felt afterwards: “I didn’t know what I felt at first. Then I started feeling ashamed and embarrassed, like you don’t want anyone to know.”
For more information and awareness on sexual violence go to http://www.nsvrc.org/. For more information and awareness on college campus sexual violence, watch the documentary “The Hunting Ground” on Netflix.
The feeling of shame, and as if the assault was the victim’s fault, is common. As a society based on prejudice and mostly negativity, it is our responsibility to end this culture of sexual violence.
If not for you, then for your mothers, sisters, or even daughters.
Ward’s Chamber
By Simone Brady
Aaron Ward sits in a desk, strategizing with his partner for a game in his history class. He’s all business, his normally-smiling face straight as the two of them agonize over the costs of an imaginary voyage on the Oregon Trail.
Ward is a junior, and he knows he’ll be graduating soon, so he’s been working harder than ever to excel in the classroom. Despite his concentration, he grins and answers honestly as questions are snuck in between calculations and discussions over which items will be the wisest purchases. He has a deep voice which carries, so he has to speak quietly, but he tends to keep to himself unless he’s in a group of his friends, so volume control isn’t too difficult for him.
Remarkably, he doesn’t let a mini-interview distract him from his schoolwork; after each response, he bows his head and scratches some more numbers onto the paper in front of him. That kind of determination is impressive, but it’s par for the course when it comes to him.
Ward was born Feb. 6, 2000, in Jeffersonville, Ind. He grew up with a sister, Allie, who is six years older than him. In his words, he grew up in a decent neighborhood and was a “very happy kid.” He attended Northhaven Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, and River Valley Middle School before arriving here at Jeff High.
He’s passionate about theater and choir, and he plays ultimate frisbee from time to time. Ward is also a low bass in Jeff High’s chamber choir. Additionally, he’s been in four productions in his time here, including Footloose, Rehearsal for Murder, the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, and Bring It On.
According to Ward, what makes him unique is how easily he can get along with so many different types of people, his ability to form bonds with others and his ability to do various activities.
“I had a lot of good friends,” he said, when talking about his childhood. That seems to be true today, too, as he socializes easily with his friends from choir, theater, and ultimate frisbee. It’s rare to see him completely alone.
Ward is most proud of “the friendships [he’s] made, and how [he’s] keeping up with [his] schoolwork, and [his] faith, and just… keeping going in life.”
His plans for the future include getting a steady job to hopefully pay for his own college, then being able to financially support himself and maybe eventually a family. He hasn’t settled on a major, but is strongly considering studying criminal justice at the University of Louisville.
Aaron Ward is an easygoing guy whose life is focused mainly on schoolwork, his faith, his friends and his extracurriculars. He’s working hard to make sure he meets all of his goals for the future.
After all, you have to be dedicated and industrious in order to tackle the Oregon Trail, even a fictional version of it, and he started planning with no hesitation. With his determination and persistence, the sky’s the limit.
Undaunted Underclassman
Story by Carlos Molina
With high school basketball starting back into play, Jeffersonville fans will be looking forward to watching old names, such as returning juniors Bailey Falkenstein and Gerrin Moore, with the leadership of senior Michael Minton.
But few know much of the young, talented freshmen players this year’s team will carry.
Jacob Jones, a freshman point guard, will be one of the two freshmen expected to get playing time on Varsity. Tre’ Coleman, a power/small forward, is also expected to see minutes.
As for Jones, the 5-9 guard has been playing basketball ever since he started grade school at Maple Elementary. During the offseason, he joins his AAU basketball teams, the ‘Ville and the Eric Gordon All-Stars, which has helped the guard out with his ball skills.
“I’ve been playing basketball since pre-school, and I play AAU all year, and school basketball. So I have a lot of experience,” Jones said.
As a freshman, the expectations for Jones are set high; not only by his coach, but as well as his teammates. Junior Gerrin Moore, who was the last freshman to start in a JHS varsity game in 2014, sees talent in the 15-year-old.
“He’s young but a lot is expected from him,” Moore said, “He’s going to do well setting up the offense and I think he’ll be able to add some points to the board.”
Jones did exactly that in the home opener, recording 13 points in a season-opening win against No. 7 Southport on Nov. 23.
“I am just expected to help my team win games,” Jones said. “Contributing however I can, whether it’s scoring, rebounding or playing defense.”
With the upcoming season, head coach Joe Luce expects Jones to contribute to his new system by starting him and giving him more playing time in games. His confidence in what Jones can bring to the table has given him a more relaxed player on the court.
“The biggest thing with Jacob is to just relax and play his game,” head coach Joe Luce said. “He’s had the chance to experience a lot of different basketball games as far as AAU, junior high and travel ball. It’s a lot different playing at eight o’clock on the Varsity level. And with him, we want him to relax and play his game.”
Jones’ unique and vast skill set has been what has made him stand out the most of all the other freshman. In the Red Devils scrimmage against Charlestown on Nov. 15, Jones showed what kind of talent he can bring to this year’s squad, tallying no turnovers and leading the team with 16 points.
“He brings a lot of energy. He’s very quick with the ball, gets it up and down the floor, finds open men and he’s very unselfish,” Luce said. “The one thing he did in our scrimmage against Charlestown is shoot the ball very well. He’s a good decision-maker that plays very hard and brings lots of energy to this team.”
Jones, and the rest of the Red Devils, will be back in action at home on Friday, Dec. 9 in a HHC conference matchup against Seymour. JV tip off to begin at 6 p.m., followed by Varsity at 7:30 p.m.
A Look Inside JHS’ Young Democrat Club
“Democrat Club, for me, has given me a place where I feel as if I have made a difference in local politics, even though I can’t vote.”
As a member of the Young Democrat Club, junior Hazel Dickey explains what the club has to offer, and what they wish to do within the walls of Jeff High and in our city.
Run by Mr. Mark Felix, the Young Democrat Club is a place for students who are interested in learning more about Democratic politics to get involved, and have political experience in the community.
“Last year, the first year of the club, we basically all got together and were able to discuss our opinions and beliefs with people who also felt the same way,” Dickey said. “This year we want to make more of a difference. We do phone banking every Thursday and we also try to do what we can do get more Democrats into office.”
Treasurer Abby Hornback thinks that the Young Democrat Club is a great opportunity for students to learn more about politics, as well as to go out into the community and educate themselves on the issues today’s politicians are fighting for.
“It seems like kids today are becoming more aware of politics and social issues,” Hornback said. “Having this club at school gives them a chance to get a head start in making a difference, rather than waiting until they’re an adult.”
Hornback encourages anyone who is interested at all in politics to join. They meet every Tuesday in Mrs. Jenna Felix’s room, C103.
Jeffersonville’s Jermaine Ross lived the NFL dream
story by Carlos Molina
This past NFL offseason, history was made as it was the first time a major sports club was relocated back to the city that they originally moved from. The St. Louis Rams franchise was relocated to their new (technically returning) city of Los Angeles.
On Sept. 25, in the team’s third regular season game, Rams wideout Brian Quick scored the team’s first passing touchdown since moving back to California. Quarterback Case Keenum hit Quick on a deep post route for a 44-yard touchdown pass against Tampa Bay. It was the first passing touchdown in Los Angeles since December 24,1994.
So why should Jeffersonville, Ind. residents be concerned with this?
Well the last touchdown the Rams scored before moving to St. Louis was a 36-yard pass to Jermaine Ross, a Jeffersonville High School alumni.
A member of the Jeff 1989 graduation class, Ross played football, basketball and ran track in his time at JHS. He ultimately received a scholarship to run track at Purdue University and walked-on to Purdue’s football team.
“My time in college really showed me how to be independent,” Ross said. “At first, I received a scholarship to run track at Purdue, but football was my real passion. So, I decided to walk-on.”
During his college career, Ross had a total of 74 receptions for 1322 yards, seven touchdowns, and averaged 17.9 yards per reception. His time on the field caught the attention of several professional teams, and he would later enter his name into the 1994 NFL Draft.
“I had the New Orleans Saints reach out to me during the draft. They told me that they were going to pick me in a later round,” Ross explained. “After the draft, I was officially an undrafted free agent, meaning that any team could pick me up. The Saints reached out to me again, so did the Cincinnati Bengals, L.A. Rams and the Washington Redskins. It came down to the Rams and Bengals, but ultimately I spent my rookie year in L.A. They gave a bigger signing bonus.”
Fellow rookie Keith Lyle joined the Rams the same time Ross did. Drafted in the third round (71st overall pick) out of the University of Virginia, Lyle was one of Ross’ good friends that he met in his time in the NFL. Lyle played three years with Ross in the NFL.
“Jermaine always played aggressively. It was his mindset,” Lyle said. “He took advantage of every opportunity he had and his work ethic were his biggest strength.”
Ross’ rookie year would also be the last for the Rams in Los Angeles, as the team’s owners wished to relocate to St. Louis, Mo.
Ross had been held catchless all season heading into the last game of the 1994 season, where the Rams faced off against the Washington Redskins. The Redskins would go on to top the Rams, who finished 4-12 on the season, by a score of 24-21.
However in the game’s waning minutes, Ross got open and his was hit by quarterback Chris Miller on a 36-yard post route. The catch would be the first, and last, reception for Ross that season.
It would also be the final touchdown scored by the Rams in Los Angeles before the franchise moved to St. Louis.
“I didn’t really expect (the touchdown) to mean much,” Ross said. “It was my only touchdown and my only reception of that season.”
In Ross’ second year, he suffered an ACL tear, which would end his season prematurely. He would spend two more season with the Rams before being released. Ross would then sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars before breaking his left arm. He tried a comeback with the Cleveland Browns before he was ultimately cut. Ross retired in 2000 and moved back to Indianapolis, where he became an engineer at Allison Transmission.
Despite bouncing around different cities during his football days, Ross was always loyal to the city of Jeff. In fact Lyle, his former teammate, had never heard of the small town until Ross told him where he was from.
“Your environment has everything to do with your personality, and I think that stands out with Jermaine. Outside of football, he’s a smart guy — he became an engineer,” Lyle said.
Ross’ nephew, Brendan Lawler, grew up in that same city. Lawler is currently Charlestown High School’s quarterback, and knows what kind of bar his uncle set for him.
“He has been a major influence on me,” Lawler said. “What he achieved is nearly impossible and it kind of set the bar for me, especially me being a football player from this area. It gives me hope that maybe I can do the same thing he did someday.”
A determination to make it to the NFL is what drove Ross to be the very best he can be, even after starting his collegiate career as a walk-on.
“The thought of never making it to a higher level was never on my mind,” Ross said. “I knew it was my destiny to play professional ball. One time, a veteran player said that none of us (rookie receivers), including myself, would make the team. I was the only one to make it.”
The significance of a local athlete making it to the largest stage in professional football has given a deeper meaning to current athletes vying for the same in the southern Indiana area.
“I think it means a lot, not only to the city of Jeff, but southern Indiana as a whole. It’s very rare to see an athlete in this area to make it to make it to that level,” Lawler said.
To come from a city that few people are familiar with, Ross has set his mark.
“Jeff was good to me,” Ross said. “I’m very proud to be from there. Whenever someone ask me where I’m from, I always say Jeffersonville, Indiana. Never Louisville. I’m glad to have that Red Pride.”
All Photos submitted
D-Crew: Fired Up For Fridays
Story by Haylee Hedrick
From the moment that water started spurting out of the firehose, Gabi Knittle’s face exploded with uncontrollable joy and excitement. Knittle, who is a member of Angela Kern’s Careers Exploration class, accompanies a handful of classmates as they take a field trip to see their buddy, Sergeant Justin Ames, every Friday at the firehouse.
This weekly field trip is made possible through the C.H.O.I.C.E program, which is an acronym that stands for ‘Community Helping Our Youth In Career Education.’ In this case, the youth is a group of eight special needs students known as the D-crew. (The Fire Department is split into A, B, and C crews.)
Special education teacher Angela Kern loves the program, especially Sergeant Ames’ connection with the students.
“I love that Sergeant Ames communicates with every kid,” Kern said. She said that Ames makes sure that the students are comfortable when they’re at the firehouse, and teaches them about communicating and working with others around the community.
“The activities that he does with the students help teach them soft skills they will need for later in life,” Kern said.
Before each lesson, Ames takes note of what the students are learning in the classroom so he can further apply it in their D-crew activities.
“He (Sergeant Ames) takes as much pride in this program as we do,” Kern said.
At the firehouse, the D-crew does a variety of activities, with one in particular called “Rescuing Randy.” During the activity, two students wrap ropes around a dummy (nicknamed Randy) and work together to maneuver him to safety. The activity teaches the students about the importance of teamwork.
“Without one, then the other cannot do their job,” Ames tells the class.
Ames also lets the students spray the fire hose. Two students hold the hose in place as one works the nozzle. This also allows students to work together, as they alternate roles so that each member of D-Crew gets a chance to spray.
“They love using the hose,” Kern said. “Some of them get crazy when it comes to the spraying part, though.”
During these activities, the students get to learn valuable lessons, whether they realize it or not.
“We’re proud to be involved in this great program, which allows us to help (the students) be successful later in life,” Ames said.
When asked what their favorite part of the trip is, the D-crew students’ responses were joyfilled: “The hose!” Justin Keith and TreVeon Polk said.
Sergeant Ames attempts to connect with all of the crew, even Deija Franklin, who is deaf. He signs her name to her to get her attention.
When asked what she thinks of Ames, she responded with a smile.
“He signs to me and helps me,” Deija signed.
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