This will be the first collaboration between band and choir.

“It’s nice to work with somebody else that’s in your department other than just theatre,” choir director Ashley Sneed said. “We’ve done lots of work with theatre so it’ll be a nice little turn to work with the band in something.”

Band director McNeil asked Sneed if the choir would perform with the band on a piece of music.

“Mrs. Sneed and I have always talked about doing something together, whether I was in jazz band before being head director,” McNeil said. “This [piece of music] is set up real nice for us.”

The choir will only perform two movements with the band during the concert.

“I am super excited to perform with the choir,” junior Garret Bowen said. “I think it’s going to be really fun and enhance the experience of both listening to and playing the music.”

Both groups will perform Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, a classical songbook written between 1935 and 1936 that is set to resemble 24 poems.

“It ranges from the pros and cons of wealth and fortune to the pros and cons of pretty much all the bad stuff in life like greed,” Sneed said. “It’s a bunch of poems and none of them really have anything to do with each other. It’s almost like a songbook for bands and choirs.”

McNeil played Carmina Burana when he was in college and feels like the students should know the major piece of work.

“When I got to Tarleton we played it with the choir. It’s one of my favorite works of all time and it’s not just a band piece; it actually has string parts, vocal parts, and band parts,” McNeil said. “I just thought this would be a great year for us to combine with choir.”

The concert begins at 3p.m. in the high school auditorium. Students and community members are welcome.

“It’s going to be fun. We’ll try to beef up the community support so that we can have great attendance,” Sneed said. “It’ll be a good experience for both groups.”

From the moment my mom agreed to let me go and the moment I was accepted as a member of Serving and Evangelizing Nations in Despair (S.E.N.D.) ministries, I have been full of excitement and my days are full of responsibilities. On top of my schoolwork, I have to raise money and learn the life of a Jew. Financially, the mission is very demanding and it can cause stress. When I start to get anxious about the money, I think about how God tells me not to worry about tomorrow and that He will provide. If we are meant to go spread God’s word and love to the nation of Israel, God will provide.

Last Saturday, April 27, my new friend and team member, Luke Weeks hosted a benefit concert. It was a Christian Metal concert and none of us really knew what to expect. Four extremely talented bands, One Last Soul, Crucify The Flesh, Citadel, and my friends’ band, Anastasis, all performed in the concert at Central Fellowship. At $7 a ticket, $15 a shirt, and generous donations, we raised approximately $1,700. That is enough for a team member’s plane ticket! It was an amazing blessing and more than we imagined.

I was blessed in many ways other than the dollar amount, and I’m positive that others were too. In between bands and songs, band members gave testimonies and shared whatever God laid on their hearts, which is always great to listen to. The Lord moved many people and really opened up my own eyes. As the music blared, my ears ringing, the lights flashing, I looked around the intense crowd. What I saw was so much more than a bunch of rowdy kids jumping around and I heard so much more than obnoxious noise. Lots of people hear metal and think it’s something satanic. It’s a beautiful thing when you see this wonderful group of kids with their eyes closed and their hands raised up high worshipping God.

I jammed out with some really rad Christians and grew closer and closer to my team. With every fundraiser, business meeting, hangout and prayer meeting; I love these people more and more, which is a really good thing, considering we are going to be inseparable in a foreign country for five months. Each day I thank the Lord for the amazing people, obstacles, and opportunities that He has placed in my life. I would not be the person I am today or the person I will be if it weren’t for these things. Through it all, I am learning to look at things from a different perspective, trust in God wholeheartedly and do everything completely for Him. It’s amazing how this journey has impacted me before I even leave Decatur, America. It is and is going to be a life changing adventure for sure.

When I experienced the benefit concert, I started to think about all the different ways people worship Him. Whether it’s swinging a bat, throwing a football, singing, swimming, or shouting, they’re giving glory to God in what they do best. Going to Israel is my next step in glorifying Him.

Every year students nominate Ag teachers, whom they believe are worthy of the All-Star teacher award.

“I believe he deserves this award, because he is always willing to do anything to help his students succeed,” senior Summer Miller said. a

Winners receive $5000 dollars and a new pair of Justin boots. In order to help Allsup win this title, individuals can vote at here throughout May.

Click here to view a slideshow of Allsup.

Constant bickering, slapping each other and calling each other harsh names was part of a daily routine in our blended family. She had a different dad then I did, often visiting his house every other weekend, and I sighed of relief when she was gone for a few days.

Although we were enemies, we also had a special type of relationship. We trusted each other. She kept my secrets and I kept hers. If one of us did something wrong, we would make sure the other wouldn’t get caught by mom. I covered for her and she stood up for me.

I can remember on several occasions that when a kid on the bus would say or do the slightest rude thing to me, she was in their face the moment it happened. Her personality is bold. She’s a very talkative person and no matter what a person can say, she has a sly, good come back to throw in there. I never realized how big of an impact she had on my life.

During her sophomore year of high school, Jacy chose to transfer to Granbury to live with her dad. This caused trouble in my house. My mother was crushed, I was shocked and my dad just went with the flow, considering he isn’t her real father.

For months after she left I didn’t see or speak to her. I can remember coming home and seeing my mom cry, hoping she would come back. I used to eavesdrop on my mom’s phone conversations with Jacy’s dad. I listened to them as they argued about going to court or increasing the child support.

Soon all the legal agreements were worked out and the fighting stopped. But nothing could really fill the empty void of my sister not being a part of my household. Who would take up for me? Who would keep my secrets? Keep me out of trouble?

Entering high school, I envisioned myself with my sister close to me, making sure everything would be okay. Whether it is a friend, or a boy, I wanted to make sure she would guide me through all the right decisions. It was only a few years ago she was in the exact same shoes as me, struggling with grades, figuring out herself and meeting the friends she would keep forever.

And, if Granbury wasn’t far enough away from home, she picked up her bags last February and moved to Tennessee to follow the one she thought was going to be her husband. I didn’t like it, but if she was happy, I would have to swallow my pride and accept him as a part of our family. To me he was stealing my sister; but I soon realized that wasn’t the case. She was in love, how I felt wasn’t important.

Of course I call her and text her, but sometimes just a hug from a big sister can make everything a little better. Five years ago I would have never said good things about my sister. I guess it took her leaving to make me grow up and realize how important the people in my life are. My sister is my best friend; not many kids can say that.

“I’ve been playing since I was six,” Dovel said. “It started with T- ball, then up to coach pitch, then finally kid pitch”

Transferring from a 5A Northwest High School down to a 3A Decatur came with a fair share of benefits.

“Here in Decatur, the practices are a lot more organized with fewer kids,” Dewey said. “It’s more coach player specific and you get a lot more repetitions in without all of the kids going at one time.”

After attending baseball showcases during the summer, Dovel received interest offers from different colleges around the country.

“I went to a lot of showcases and games,” Dewey said. I went to a showcase and ended up ranked in the top 500 players in the nation and the top first basemen in the state.”

Dovel was one of 500 invited to try out for major league scouts at the Area Code baseball regional tryouts in Texas.

“The main thing was making the Area Code baseball tryouts cut of 50 out of the 600 players invited from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,” said Dewey. “That got my name out there more than it was.”

Dewey made the cut of 50 players out of the initial 500 invited.

“I had 16 scholarship offers in all. The main ones were Holy Cross, Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Baylor, University of Louisiana -Lafayette,” Dewey said.

Although the pitcher and first baseman dreamed of playing collegiate baseball, a bigger career in professional baseball arose altering his decision-making.

“For me playing college baseball was my dream before I considered thinking about the pros,” Dovel said. “I thought about my offers and I started to think about the chance to play in the pros. I thought from what the people around me told me was the best way to get there and Weatherford was it.”

For Dovel, Weatherford was a perfect fit, providing one of the top pitching coaches in the nation and the option to declare for the major league draft before the required four years at a four-year university.

“Weatherford would be the best place for me and the coaching staff would be more invested in my future,” Dewey said.

The chance to play professionally would give Dewey the opportunity to spread the Christian word.

“Honestly I want to play pro baseball. I have a lot of friends that have the same option and I want to have that same chance to play alongside my friends,” Dovel said. “Also, my goal is to use baseball to spread the word of Jesus Christ. A lot of sports figures use their statue as a platform for that.”

Dovel’s hard work sets the tone for the rest of the baseball team.

“His work ethic is very strong. Whatever he sets his mind to he will do it; he’s a competitor,” junior Joey Cantu said. “I think it gives us an example to see it shows us what we should strive to match work-ethic wise.”

Chance worked with his college professor Dr. Jeffery LittleJohn who is the main author of “Camp Huntsville The First German POW Camp in Texas” and became a contributing author to the book.

“I was running out of options as far as my grad school credits went and he gave me the option of helping him finish one of his books, and I jumped at the opportunity,” Chance said.

The book was first came into mind because Chance’s professor Dr. Jeffery LittleJohn lived near the camp itself.

“My professor is stationed in Huntsville where the camp is and it was right in his ‘backyard’ and it was something he could look at while he was still a college professor and could go on and investigate the camp,” Chance said.

Texas held Prisoners of War during World War II and made a camp for them.

“I hope the students will realize how close to home World War II came to Texas. We had prisoners basically in our ‘backyard’ and most people don’t know that. I also hope they realize how fairly we treated the German prisoners even though that was not done in return for the American prisoners in Germany,” history teacher Della Stallard said.

The research took nine months. The writing process took three months making it a little difficult for the two authors to communicate.

“The research was the grinder; basically we started with what we call primary source documentation which is everything from letters from Germany to POW in the camp and work order documents for the camp,” Chance said. “Taking all of that and making a story about it was the most difficult part.”

This story shows an American perspective from the place itself and gives details about how America treated others in the good and the bad times.

“It really shows the American humanity,” Chance said. “Even though these are Germans that were killing our men overseas, we really went that extra mile to take care of them and make sure that they were well accounted for. And I think that speaks to the American spirit and shows how gracious we are both in war and in peace time.”

“Camp Huntsville The First German POW Camp in Texas” comes out this summer.

At district and area competition, the cast and crew earned numerous awards. Senior Graham McCain received all star cast in district and honorable mention in area. Sophomore Josh Santos received honorable mention in district. Senior Kelsey Smith and freshman Benji Walker received all start cast in area and district. The tech crew included sophomores Mark Harle, Britni Gillespie; juniors, Erin Patterson, Paige Dickinson; and senior Alex Carroll; won the award for best tech crew at district. Carroll also received best overall technician at district.

“We’re all excited because it should be an enriching experience,” sophomore Angela Ferris said. “We can’t wait to show how hard we’ve worked and just perform to the best of our abilities.”

“We’ve always known he would be good enough for a division one school, but it surprised us that he would be recruited as early as this,” senior Matt Jones said.

Colleges refrain from contacting freshman until they are actually able to commit to the school, but Drew is ranked 7^th in the United States for his grade level. However, he cannot fully sign with them until his senior year.

“I was surprised they contacted me so early, but I did expect them to contact me eventually,” Drew said. “I’ve gotten letters from Auburn, OSU, OU, Arizona, UT, and TCU.”

Although, Drew’s family members were surprised, no one was as surprised as Drew himself. He thought they would eventually contact him, but he was not expecting UT to contact him as early as they did.

“UT was the college I wanted to go to, but if that didn’t work out I wanted to got to OSU,” Drew said.

Marking their territory, the University of Texas has already offered Drew a scholarship. He unfortunately has to keep it a secret, but he is able to say that only four-and-a-half people a year receive this certain scholarship from UT.

“Drew is a hard worker, and he is someone who could definitely help the team. We have district coming up, so we will be able to tell if his hard work has paid off,” Coach Kyle Story said.

Although the date for the district meet is yet to be determined, check back for additional golf coverage.

“The whole team has come a long way and we have been striving to achieve success,” Gage said. “Everyone went the extra mile and because of that we were the winning team.”