By Tristan Jackson

Four sectional titles, four regional titles, and two trips to the state finals.

The recent success of the boys tennis team in the last four years is hard to miss, and there has been one constant: senior leader Bradley Cross.

One can’t talk about the tennis program without mentioning Cross, especially after the perseverance he showed this season. He managed to hold down the No. 1 singles spot all season despite suffering a sprained MCL late in the season.

“Knowing that there are always kids that are better than me, and that I will have to improve to beat, is what pushes me to be better,” Cross said.

The poise and leadership Cross showed this season can’t be understated. He will have a lasting impact on the tennis program, paving the way for the next generation of stars here at Jeff.

“He’s helped the whole team get better by pushing us everyday,” said freshman tennis player Gavin Lone “that makes it fun to play for Jeff.”

Cross doesn’t just get it done on the courts, but in the classroom too. He earned Academic All-State both his junior and senior years. Even after all the success playing, according to Cross  Academic All-State is still one of the accomplishments he is most proud of.

Unfortunately, Cross’ career at Jeff came to an end after a 4-1 loss to Reitz Memorial High School in the first round of semi-state this year. However, this came after his team’s two amazing comeback wins during Regionals, pulling out wins against rivals Floyd Central and New Albany.

In the Regional semifinal, though, is where Cross did his best orchestration.

Cross, still noticeably hobbled by a knee injury suffered earlier in the year, had a deciding third set against Floyd Central’s No. 1 player, Chris Boone.

With the overall match knotted at 2-2, Cross and Boone were the last two players on the court. Cross had to win for his team to advance in the state tournament.

After a hard fought match on both sides, Cross came out on top and won the match for his team, beating Boone 6-4 in the deciding third set. This win is a perfect example of the mental toughness he showed throughout his career at Jeff.

“He brings to the table what all coaches want to have, he knows there is no ‘I’ in team,” former JHS tennis coach Mark Reilly said.

Cross is determined to be the best tennis player he can be, and he will continue to prove it next year. He will be making the transition from high school to college tennis this coming summer, where his talents have landed him a spot on the tennis team at Indiana University Southeast.

While Cross is looking ahead, his time playing at JHS will always be remembered. However he, along with many others, look back at a tough loss against North Central in the semifinal round of the state finals in 2015 as a moment he wishes he could relive.

Bradley Cross has been a staple of the tennis program at Jeff High over the last four years. His talent and work ethic are matched by few, and his presence will be irreplaceable. 

story by Tomi Clark

photo by Evan Petty

5: Walnut Ridge: 2108 Hamburg Pike

Glowing gold and red bows line the garden, ornate wreaths hang over the opening. Walnut Ridge is known for flowers and gardening items — but not just. What distinguishes Walnut Ridge from others is they have exclusive, unlit trees for you to purchase and enjoy. During this time of year, they offer Christmas trees, decorations, and gifts; perfect for the season!

4: Horner Novelty: 310 Spring St

A shop filled with wreaths, tinsel, and trees. Lights, ornaments, and garland. A place to visit just to admire the Christmas decorations. A perfect place to buy gifts, gather holiday party supplies, and gaze upon the lights to get you into the festive spirit.

3: Ice Skating Rink: 200 Spring St

Majestically skating across the frozen ice, spinning and twirling. And after the skate, warm up by sipping on some sweet, steaming hot chocolate. It’s only open during the winter season so make sure to visit atleast once! Visit to get yourself into the season’s spirit.

2: Hallmark: 2784 Meijers Drive

A tree, adorned with shimmering ornaments, greets your eyes. Cards, jewelry, books, candies, and toys line the displays awaiting to be given. Unique because they have the special Keepsake Christmas ornaments. Hallmark is always decorated for the season’s festivity, and a great place to buy memorable gifts that show you care.

1: Schimpff’s Confectionery: 347 Spring St

Savory red hots, delicate little chocolates wrapped up in a festive holiday box, and pure white chocolate snowflakes falling right into your mouth. Schimpff’s is special because you can tour the candy museum, and they are expanding the shop. Can’t you taste the exquisite confectioneries melting on your tongue?

Story by Tristan Jackson

The 2016 presidential election process is winding down, and some people are basing their decision on who they think is the least awful out of the two candidates at the top, rather than what they find positive about them.

My question is, why are we not seriously considering a third-party candidate? More specifically, why not a Green Party candidate like Jill Stein?

Stein, a Harvard graduate, finished medical school in 1979. She also earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology in 1973, earning Magna Cum Laude honors the same year.

Stein got her start in politics when she ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Her experience came from her time working as a doctor, where she saw how broken the health care system had become.

She got into politics because she feared for the future of her children, and other children, because of preventable epidemics, such as diabetes and cancer. On top of that, she feared for the irreversible damage being done to the environment.

Being a Green Party candidate, one of Stein’s main focuses is the environment. She plans on moving towards clean renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to conserve the earth we live on, and hopefully reverse damage already done from the overuse of fossil fuels and coal.

The plan she has laid out would create millions of jobs in the United States, and if all goes according to plan, Americans would be 100-percent transitioned to renewable energy by 2030.

She wants to cut defense spending by 50-percent, where the United States spent a whopping $598.5 billion in 2015 alone. To put that number into perspective, defense spending accounted for 54-percent of all federal spending, while education received just under $70 billion, or just 6-percent.

Stein also has big plans socially, as she wants to strengthen women’s rights, protect the LGBT community, and make sure corruption within our police system is stopped.

This may leave one wondering: why is Jill Stein not on top of the polls? She’s never been labeled a racist. She’s never put our national security at risk. She’s never said anything demeaning about someone because of their gender, or any other physical quality.

There has to be some reason why people are gambling on two potentially awful candidates while Jill Stein, probably the most put-together candidate in the race, is virtually out of the running.

Voters can blame many things, but if Jill Stein was in the news more, she’d probably stand a better chance. There’s not a lack of news produced by Stein herself — the problem is she hasn’t been in the news enough for most people to even know what she stands for.

Jill Stein, a candidate for president, was forced to leave the site of the first debate for holding an interview. That doesn’t sound like a lack of media coverage to me, but rather media corruption.

Thanks to the media in our country, Jill Stein will lose. It’s really a shame that a women who’s main focus is making sure our world is livable in the future, can’t even get her foot in the door of the race or a debate.

We should be looking at our first female president in the United States come next January, and it shouldn’t be Hillary Clinton. If change and sustainable growth are what you’re looking for, Jill Stein is the way to go.

Story by Jay Williams

His History:

Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York. He attended college at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a degree in economics. He worked for his father’s real estate and construction firm, and in 1971, he was given the opportunity to run the firm, which he renamed “The Trump Organization.” He now stands as President and Chairman of the organization, building office towers, golf courses, and casinos worldwide.

In June of 2015, Donald Trump declared his candidacy for President. (In 1988, Oprah Winfrey asked Trump if he would ever consider running for president during her talk show. Trump said, “If it ever got so bad, I would never want to rule it out.”)

He quickly rose up the ranks amongst his fellow candidates, and became the frontrunner of the Republican Party. He was officially named as the Republican nominee on July 21, 2016.

Trump is a candidate who has avoided running on the premise of political correctness. Clint Eastwood told Esquire, regarding Trump, “Everyone’s walking on eggshells.” Later, the actor said, “We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist.”

His Ideas:

Trump has sustained criticism during his campaign, taking such hits as being called a racist, sexist, and Islam-aphobe. However, with a campaign with little to no focus on political correctness, do these hits truly cause Trump to restructure his rhetoric?

In fact, they never have.

Trump was dubbed “a racist” after he stated that the United States should build a wall on the Mexico border, as well as install a temporary ban on all Muslim immigrants. However, I would argue both actions have little-to-no racial bearing.

Building a wall is meant to slow illegal immigration, not prevent Mexicans from legally immigrating to the United States. Additionally, the temporary ban on Muslims was proposed in light of the Orlando night club disaster, a mass shooting where 49 people were killed and more than 50 wounded by a man of Muslim descent.

The ban is meant to halt Muslim immigration, which would attempt to prevent radical Islamic terrorists from slipping through the cracks. Furthermore, the temporary ban would be put in place to allow time to concoct a more sound vetting system.

Trump is a very solid candidate in many aspects, regardless of the numerous personal attacks he has sustained. Trump speaks to millions after millions of Americans who are sick and tired of poor leadership and weak policies regarding terrorism, immigration, and trade deals.

He vows to defeat ISIS, which is a policy well regarded by the vast majority of the US. Trump has stated that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well as the “weak leadership” in Washington, have drafted and negotiated some of the worst trade deals ever. Trump promises he will re-negotiate trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and NAFTA.

Final Word:

It is hard for millions of Americans, as well as myself, to believe that Crooked H has better and more effective policies than Trump. The Republican nominee has laid out numerous, comprehensive plans to improve trade, as well as reduce illegal immigration and eradicate radical Islamic terror from the face of the Earth. Hillary Clinton has given sorry excuses for policies, and has used her awful political history to point out that Trump has no political history. Hillary Clinton, in 30 years, has done nothing. She would continue to do absolutely nothing in the next four years.

story by Caleb Albert and Tomi Clark

Photo by Sam Gatewood

5: Perrin Park, 414 Perrin Ln, Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Although there aren’t many Pokéstops nearby, Perrin Park offers lots of space to walk and hatch eggs.

4: River Ridge, north of Jeffersonville

River Ridge is an area that will soon become busy with business. With tons of new buildings being planned, there are bound to be more Pokéstops being added in there. There is also a large variety of landmarks, such as ponds, forests and fields, which can draw different types of Pokémon.

3: Downtown New Albany

Being downtown in a city area almost always guarantees more/rarer Pokémon spawns, greater number of Pokéstops and other trainers to greet. Like many highly concentrated downtown cities, there are plenty of Pokémon Gyms and stops.

So go downtown with some friends, defeat a gym or two, and catch ‘em all.

2: Vissing Park, 2728 Vissing Park Rd, Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Vissing Park offers open air, plenty of space and masses of Pokémon to add to your Pokédex. Pokéstops are not as concentrated here, but it grants a lot of walking space to hatch those 2km, 5km, and rare 10km eggs.

1: Riverstage and Walking Bridge, downtown Jeffersonville

The epitome of Jeffersonville culture is an obvious destination for Pokémon Go trainers. With plenty of space to walk, a plethora of restaurants and coffee shops, and lots of friendly faces, the riverstage in downtown Jeff is an ideal place to be around friends, stay entertained and be safe. There are also Pokéstops on nearly every corner, which typically have glowing lures on them.

Tips:

Be safe

One of the biggest complaints people have about the game is the dangerous aspect of it. The best precautions to take are to always be around friends (training with friends is more fun anyway) and stay near public places. When hunting at night, stay in well lit areas and always know where you are and where you are going. Also, when more people are condensed in a smaller area playing, the chances of better that more rare Pokémon spawning will increase.  

Bring a charger

The most frustrating thing that can happen is when you finally find that long-sought after Pokémon, and your phone dies. A good investment is a portable charger, which can save your battery while you play. Another way to save battery is to enable the “low power” setting on your phone by going to Settings < Battery < Low Power Mode. The game itself also has a “low power” setting, which is found in the main menu.

Story by Kyle Sanders

Everyone loves a good superhero movie. From Marvel’s Avengers to DC’s movies of Batman vs. Superman, and the Dark Knight Trilogy, both have been able to create good superhero movies that everyone can watch over and over again.

But what if these movies were made up of bad guys instead? Would you still cheer them on?

The release of Suicide Squad on Aug. 5 showed how the villains can make a great movie too. This movie showed how the villainous squad of Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang became who they are, but also how they could do some good, too.

As entertainment seekers, we always seem to get the origin of the good guys. But when we finally get to see the bad guy’s background story, and see why they became who they are, that makes for a great movie or TV show, too.

Almost every movie with a “good and bad guy” ends with the good guy walking away victorious. Eventually, that gets old. Don’t get me wrong: I love superhero movies and love to watch the good guy win; but, it’s about time we see the bad guys get some love, too.

Some movies we watch make it seem as if the good guy wins. However, as the movie progresses, viewers also see that the goal of the bad guy eventually gets achieved.

The Dark Knight is a perfect representation of this. Batman ends the movie capturing the Joker and defeating Two Face, but the Joker also got what he wanted. The Joker’s goal throughout the movie was to get Batman to become the villain, and by the end of the movie, he is.

Not only is it amazing to see the bad guys get some more time on the big screen, but it also makes for some great shows. Shows like Gotham, Mad Men, and The Sopranos have the bad guys as lead characters, yet are shows people love to watch.

Seeing a movie or TV show where the good guys wins is always great to watch. But what if we gave the bad guys a chance to shine in the spotlight, too?