Current Event

According to Keloland News, The South Dakota Department of Agriculture has awarded 23 outstanding grants totaling nearly $12,250 to youth organizations across the state. These grants have been made available for some time to help 4-H clubs, FFA chapters, and Family Career and Community Leaders of America chapters beautify and improve their community. The maximum grant made available $750, while the maximum grant for some safety projects is only $200. These grants allow for local organizations to help shape their community and strive in leadership.

This is great news for anyone that may get these grants to help out their organizations. It is great to see more money coming our way and to be apart of the agricultural side with more to help us out with these grants. Hopefully, the money gets used correctly and helps out many people in the process. 

Service

Service, (n): an act of helpful activity

• How is service to others a demonstration of your character?

– Service to others is a demonstration of my character because I help them when they need it. They appreciate my help because they need it. I know they would do the same for me if the situation was reversed.

• What does serving others say about you?

– Serving others shows how caring you are. It says that you care more about others than yourself.

• What role do you play and how do you contribute when you serve?

– I play a role of a helpful person. I do all I can to help others.

• Consider your opinions about someone who complains about the amount of time or work spent serving others.  Does this   person’s complaining change your opinion of his or her character, even though the service got completed?

Dakotas and Corn

It may seem, with the weather turning cold fairly fast, the crops are not getting out of the ground like they should. Despite the coldness in the air and the snow on the ground in some parts of North and South Dakota, farmers are thinking a little bit differently. Thankfully, farmers in both of the states are pleased with their crops.

South Dakota’s crop set a new record at 812 million bushels! From September to November it went up six percent and fifty-two percent in the last year. Unfortunately for North Dakota, the corn crop is at about 375 million bushels. This would be down six percent from September  and down eleven percent for last year.

It is good to see our percentages going up, but as for North Dakota they are not quite as lucky. On the plus side of things, even if the stats do not show it, farmers up north are still happy with their crop. I am sure there will come a time when we are lower than normal and North Dakota is not, but that is what the cards deal us. I think it is good to see the positive side of our wonderful and unexpected weather that we often get up here in our area. The hard working farmers are staying positive and that is all that matter, plus with South Dakota moving up with their production by six percent, we can help out the Northerners in their loss of six percent. Go SD!

 

WORK CITED

“Corn Crops Taking Different Paths In Dakotas.” KELOLAND.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/corn-crops-taking-different-paths-in-dakotas/?id=156118&gt;.

1. Her older brother inspired Kristen to take action, because he always teased her about doing things for others.

2. She may have stopped giving others food. She was at a good point, but she could have either stayed the same, go down with her progress, or go above and beyond. Luckily she did the right thing.

3. She used what she thought was right, and she went ahead and did something to benefit not only herself and to prove her brother wrong, but also to help others realize what can come by taking the high road and not to stop doing what you love because someone said something differently.

 

One time when I identified a problem, and took action to solve it was when I see people picking on other ones. There are times people will make rude comments, or call people names and I occasionally step in, defending the “weaker” one. This has happened many times, so I cannot explain one time that I saw a problem and tried to make it better. I just always try to do the right thing and make those being picked on feel better about themselves, and so they know that they are not alone.

 

Sioux Falls Stampede Pink The Rink

The fight against breast cancer hit the ice Friday night, but the rink for the Sioux Falls Stampede took the color of pink to show their support in the fight against breast cancer. In previous years the stampede has done some different things, such as, pink socks and pink stick, but this year they did much more to help get the point across and it is quite a hit with the fans. The Stampede works closely with the American Cancer Society to help raise money for the fight against breast cancer through ticket sales and various raffle items like game worn jerseys. By pinking the rink it does more to some people that others, for some people it hits near and dear to their hearts all because they themselves may be fighting breast cancer or even a beloved family member. The major reason for for all of this is to help raise awareness and to not only but also possibly find a cure for this cancer. Last year’s event was sold out and tonight’s game reached that mark as all of the proceeds earned from the raffle auction will go directly to the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research. This to me is wonderful because you never know who may be the next person diagnosed with breast cancer, it could be your neighbor or even your local farmer who produces the food we eat and goes head over heals to help feed a growing nation. In all reality you never will know who will be affected by breast cancer, but through the help of the Sioux Falls Stampede a cure can be just around the corner and help not only you or your neighbor but also the great American Farmer. 

“Sioux Falls Stampede Pink The Rink.” KELOLAND.com. N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/sioux-falls-stampede-pink-the-rink/?id=155130&gt;.

Above Average

Aside

Everyone is alike in some way, but it’s what’s different about us all that makes us who we really are.  I personally have become the way I am because of my older sisters and brothers, along with my parents, and other role models in my life.

Something that would make me more than average would be my athleticism. I have participated in basketball, volleyball, cross-country, track, baseball, softball, wrestling, and soccer. Being able to grow up around sports, made me love them just as much as the others around me. Having my older brother Tanner push myself to do my best in sports and be competitive against him, makes me an above average athlete. This can help by being competitive, knowing how to successfully reach my goals, and push myself to do my best.

Another trait that I have developed would be my intelligence. When you think of stereotypes about “jocks,” you typically think they are not very smart, but thankfully, for me, that is not the case. I work very hard in school and I am on the A-Honor Roll, as well as, an officer in the National Honor Society. I am lucky enough, to not only be smart, but also outside of school. This helps me stand out, because I can teach others how to find the square root of any number, or show them how to change the oil in their car!

My final characteristic that describes me is my perfectionism. This can be a bad thing but also a good thing. I always want things to be just right, and I can be very picky. It is a good feeling when people come to you to have something get done, because they know you will do it right, or keep at it until it is perfect! Being so picky helps me push myself in becoming a better athlete and student.

All and all, I would never trade my busy sports life, constant studying, or all the time it takes me to make things just right, because that’s who I am. I’m not normal, I’m not average, I’m just, me! 🙂

Road Rage in New York

With more than 4 million hits on YouTube, a road rage accident in New York City is all over the news. I found out about this by ear, and could not believe it, so looked at it for myself. A group of bikers go around the United States in large groups of about 30-50 people, depending on the event, and they do tricks on roads. This is actually illegal, because it disrupts the flow of traffic. In order to do some of the tricks, they need a lot of space.

The bikers get in position to start their tricks on a main highway in New York City. Some of the bikers spread out to slow traffic down to get plenty of room. While doing this, one biker slowed down and upset a New-Yorker, which might be an understatement, because he ran the rider over! He drove off, and bikers started off for a chase to get this guy who ran over their “teammate.” Bikers surrounded the SUV that had hit the first biker. Bikers tried to stop the SUV, but he would not and ended up hitting another rider! A third rider was about to get hit at the same time, but jumped off just in time, but the bike was not quite as lucky. Two people ran over, three bikes demolished! A hit and run! Obviously, the bikers stayed on pursuit. The SUV ended up getting to some slow traffic and was surrounded by cars. The bikers got off of their bikes and one started to shatter a window with his helmet, another with his fists. They beat up the driver, who also had his wife in the passenger seat, and their three year old daughter in the back.

Beating up the driver in front of his family was tragic, and he got the police to charge the first biker, because he “caused the accident” by slowing down. The one who beat the windows of the SUV with his fists was charged for beating up the man, and had another charge because his family had to witness it. The rider with the helmet who beat the window is yet to be identified and charged. The two riders that got ran over are pronounced paralyzed, and one is struggling for his life! The driver on the other hand was not charged for a hit and run, damaging three motorcycles, and lastly, severely injuring two riders! This accident was all caught on tape by one of the riders who had a camera in his helmet!

This issue involves many off the riders, their families, anyone that has ever ridden a motorcycle, and finally, anyone who has ever had road rage. Whether you feel like the motorcyclists were wrong for retaliating for hurting the first rider, or think it was ridiculous for the driver of the SUV to not only run over nearly three bikers, but to do it with his family in the car, this is a popular event to discuss.

Personally, I think the driver needs to be punished for his wrong doings. It is unbelievable that he currently has no charges against him. Sure the first biker that got hit slowed down in front of the man, but he did not make the driver run him over! I think the accusation that the NYPD put on the bikers is ridiculous and should be on the driver. I hope that the police finally come to their senses and charge the driver with something because, if it was not for him, families would not have to worry about their dads coming home paralyzed and not be able to do what they would normally for their kids. One of the fathers had three children and if I remember correctly, none of them were older than thirteen years of age.

A tragic event occurred in New York, so who would you think the blame is on, the bikers, or driver of the SUV?

Works Cited

Dahler, Don. “New York road rage incident: Biker’s wife says SUV driver “paralyzed my husband”.” 3 October 2013. CBS News. 2 October 2013.

Mistakes and Lessons

My most valuable life lesson that I have learned from a mistake, was to always work hard. There are times when you might want to cut corners to get done with something, and that will ultimately make a bigger mess of things. If you work hard and take your time doing so, you will have better results. Many times I have rushed through an assignment, a coloring contest, and tests, and make silly mistakes. Consequently, I got a lower grade than I should have because I made silly mistakes.  When applying them as life lessons now, I just try to remember to take my time doing many things. I would rather do something slow and get it right than go faster to get it done sooner, but mess up somewhere along the way.

First blog post of the year!

Three school goals that I have for this year would be staying on the A-honor role, become number one in my class, and have all A’s for at least two quarters. Last year I got on the A-honor role twice and B twice. This year I will actually study for classes and tests to get on the A for both. This also applies for me to work on becoming the top student in my class as well as all A’s for at least two quarters.

One personal goal I have for this year would be to become Libero in volleyball as a varsity player. As of now I am the junior varsity Libero and I am just a sub in the varsity, so I’m going to keep working on digging balls to get to play varsity Libero. Another goal for myself would include making at least fifteen points every game in basketball. I have my defense down, I know the plays, but I do not shoot too much, so I am going to work on actually shooting this year. My final personal goal would be to become a better kid at home! I want to accomplish this by doing more laundry, dishes, and just overall keeping the house cleaner, especially my room.

Overall, I think these are all pretty good goals, but also achievable! I think if I can achieve all of these, I will become a well-rounded student, and athlete. I am excited to get all of these goals accomplished and to start crossing off my list. Now, enough with this post because I have to get started now!

Big Mac or Salad

If you go into McDonalds and you want to have something healthy, you look at the prices of a salad, and a Big Mac. You notice that the price of the salad is a lot higher than the price of the burger. Most times people come to realize the fact that fruits and vegetables are going to be more expense than a greasy burger and fries.

South Dakota’s latest Youth Risk Behavior Report shows just 15 percent of high school kids ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables during one week. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack went to Sioux Falls to see if he could get some answers from officials to help fix the problem.

My article told me that one-third of America’s children are obese or at risk of being obese. It is costing our country more than $500 billion.  The USDA has been putting more fruits and vegetables in more than 7,100 poorer schools. 

Vilsack shared the results of the study that gives kids easy access to fruits and vegetables.  He said, when given the choice,  97 percent of kids tried fruits; 84 percent tried vegetables. 84 percent at least taste the vegetables and 61 percent of those ate them all. Vilsack promised more money for better, nutritious school lunches.

I found this article on Keloland. I think it is good that more students try fruits and vegetables when they are available. The fact that the USDA is trying to make kids healthier is also a plus in my thoughts. The outcome of this would be beneficial to many if it is not abused.