Tag: Delanie Tucker

News

Floods Ravage Old Ellicott City in Weekend Storm

Words: Delanie Tucker

On May 27, Old Ellicott City suffered severe damage due to a flood. The National Weather Service reports that nearly 8.4 inches of rain fell on Ellicott City, causing the small town to flood for the 15th time since 1768, the second in the last two years.

The town’s history of flooding is primarily due to its position at the bottom of a topographical funnel, which causes all of the run-off to fall on the city. The problem is, Old Ellicott City is extremely urbanized, leaving little space for drainage.

Despite the flash flood warning, most residents were not expecting the ferocity of the storm. Yesterday was when the reality of the devastation really hit: citizens finally seeing the overturned cars, shattered glass from buildings that were destroyed, and workers struggling to fix the water line and sewage pipe that were damaged in the flooding.

To date, there has been only one confirmed fatality. Maryland National Guardsmen, Sgt. Eddison Hermond, was reported missing after assisting an unidentified woman while dining at La Palapa Grill and Cantina when the flooding began. Earlier today, his body was recovered along the Patapsco River, just over the Baltimore County line, according to multiple sources.

The destruction of the town’s shops leaves several owners debating whether or not reconstruction is worth going through with, considering the short amount of time since the last “thousand year’ flood.

Donations are pouring in to help rebuild the town along with several volunteers willing to help clean up what was left. If you would like to help, donations can be dropped off at the food bank at 9385 Gerwig Lane, Suite J, in Columbia.

If you are a student or alum of Centennial High and have been directly affected by the storms, let us help you share your story by contacting us at chswingspan1718@gmail.com.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E

Centennial Shows Out For Maryland-Zaching Spirit Day

Words: Delanie Tucker
Photos: Zach Grable

On Tuesday, May 1, Centennial students dressed up for the second day of prom spirit week; Maryland Day, which also served as Zaching Against Cancer Day.

Many Centennial students chose to honor Zach Lederer, a former Centennial student who died of cancer, with t-shirts and hoodies with the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation logo on it.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements, Sports

Seniors Sign Off

Words: Delanie Tucker/ Photos: Rasa Welsh

On April 12, Centennial High School held the final signing day of this year, where the last group of seniors involved will sign off on the college where they will play sports. Four seniors signed off on a school and verified what sports they will be playing there.

Greg Costello was the first to sign, deciding to go to Coast Guard Academy to run cross country and track and field.

Juan Para, another runner for Centennial, will go to Division II Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for track and field.

The next to sign was Meg Thompson, going to Shippensburg University for field hockey.

The last to sign was Isabel Trojillo, a member of Centennial’s golf team. She will be going to Marymount University.

After her signing, Trojillo commented, “When choosing a college I think academics is the most important thing and athletics is second, especially for an athlete like me.”

Despite her being a serious athlete, Trojillo seemed very focused on academics, “I know Marymount is a really good school. They are academically rigorous and they have a great nursing program, which is what I want to go into, so that’s the first thing I looked at. I visited the college and I just pictured myself there, so I think Marymount is going to be a great fit for me.”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements, Feature, News

New Schools Being Built in Howard County

Words: Delanie Tucker

Photo: Howard County School Board

The Howard County School Board is making major preparations for the upcoming expansion, building a 13th high school.

On March 8, 2018, the Howard County Board of Education voted to continue with its Mission Road Site for the school, according to Howard County Public School Systems website. The intended opening is to occur in 2023.

The location for the site is 8601 Route 1 Chase Land Subdivision, a spot that will hopefully hold both the previously mentioned high school and an elementary school at some point in the future. The land covers 77 acres, definitely big enough to hold two schools.

The construction of the building is anticipated to begin in December of 2019 and to be completed in September of 2023. The project is estimated to total $124 million once it is finished.

Prior to the board deciding on the Mission Road site, there was discussion between building the school there or at Troy Park. Originally, there was concern that there would be problems due to Mission Road being near an active quarry, but the board seems to have put that problem aside.

There are no details yet about which Howard County middle schools will be distributed to this high school.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements, News, Sports

Academic All-State Basketball Team Inductees

Words: Delanie Tucker

Photos: Sydney Beck

Many of Centennial’s athletes have recently earned Academic All-State Team recognition in basketball, with all of them coming from Centennial’s varsity teams. From the girls’ varsity team, seniors Mary Grace Lambert and Gracie Rockefeller were recognized. The others recognized, from the boys’ varsity team, were juniors Cameron Berkeley, Ryan Hollwedel, Matt Merkey, and Michael Kefyalew, along with seniors Kaleb Addisu and Sean Taylor.

All eight students have worked very hard to reach this point, taking three to four of their high school years to accomplish this goal.

Despite the eight of them achieving the same goal, each player boasted of different aspects that contributed to improving their athletic performance and educational integrity.

Lambert, one of the captains for girls’ varsity basketball, exclaims how grateful she is for others who have helped her along the way.

“I would just like to say thank you to my teachers, parents and coaches for supporting me and helping me, and the school for always supporting student athletes,” Lambert disclosed.

Rockefeller, the other captain for girls’ varsity, was more focused on her recent improvement and her ability to prove herself worthy of her position as captain, even though she was not given much playing time last year.

“I feel proud that I was able to make a bigger impact on the court this year.”

The girls were not the only ones who were proud of their achievements. Robert Slopek, their varsity coach, spoke highly of his captains.

“They were committed to making our program the best both on and off the court. They are both great examples of student-athletes. They complete their work and do a great job balancing their time,” Slopek praised.

Beyond the incredible accomplishments from girls’ basketball, several varsity basketball players from the boys team feel just as proficient in reaching the All-State level and express the commitment and hard work required to become successful student athletes.

Sean Taylor, a common name in the starting five for Centennial varsity, openly shared the challenges he faced to obtain the elite achievement.

“Playing basketball is what I love to do but doing well in school and getting good grades is something I pride myself on,” Taylor revealed. “To reach this level took hard work and some afternoons or nights that were homework filled and time-consuming.”

While Taylor described his struggles as a student athlete, his fellow player, Cameron Berkeley, divulged his belief that the accomplishments of the selected players were due to the effort and endurance of the entire team, whether it be on the court or in the classroom.

“It is incredible to be recognized for any accomplishments and as a team it was important that we took care of the academic side of being a student athlete in order to focus on our performance on the court,” Berkeley commented.

Centennial High School students and staff are very proud of the achievements of the school’s student athletes, and hope to see many more students emerge as leaders in their own sports.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

Lovering Plans CHS-Backed Walkout

Photo: Delanie Tucker/ Words: Delanie Tucker and Maddie Wirebach

On February 26, 2018, senior Sophie Lovering and staff member Kayleen Reese held a meeting with Centennial principal, Claire Hafets, several assistant principals, SGA members, and security staff, to discuss holding a walkout for gun reform.

After the devastating news of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, the students of the targeted school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, banded together to raise awareness for gun reform. Their unity caught the attention of thousands worldwide, one of them being Lovering.

Lovering heard about the numerous walkouts and protests being planned, and immediately felt that willing Centennial students should be able to speak their minds and participate in the nationwide walkout for gun reform. She emailed Hafets, who told her to work with Reese and pull together other faculty members, along with SGA members Swadhin Nalubola and Greg Costello.

“I was trying to help Sophie do what she can’t do as a student, like posting Canvas announcements about the walkout and getting materials together to help with posters, so students knew and could come to the cafeteria for the planning,” Reese explained.

A Canvas announcement was sent to all Centennial students, stating that the March 14 walkout will happen at 10:00 am. The announcement encourages students who are choosing to participate to wear orange, the color of the movement, and bring posters. There will be no penalty for those choosing to walk out, so long as students participate in the walkout peacefully and return to class after the walkout. Students interested in participating should sign up on chseagletime.com for Ms. Reese under social studies.

Reese expressed how the walkout would be good for the students to understand that they do have a voice in the matter.

“I think that too often we’re told that we’re not going to be able to have an impact. . . and I think we need to know and practice our democracy. It is about what the people want,” said Reese.

In the meeting, Lovering and Reese discussed how the walkout would be advertised at Centennial. Although the walkout is advertised by the Women’s March Organizers as a walkout for gun reform in order to reduce gun violence and make schools safer, there was controversy in the meeting on how it should be viewed by the students.

“There was miscommunication on what the walkout was for,” Lovering admitted.

Some of the staff members present felt that the 17-minute walkout should focus on the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting. Lovering, however, felt very strongly that although the victims should not be forgotten, the focus of the walkout should primarily be on gun reform.

“Of course, we want to honor the victims, but this walkout, specifically, is more geared towards pro-gun control,” Lovering explained.

Lovering was straight forward with her stance on gun reform.

“I’m not completely anti-gun, I think that’s a misconception that people who are pro-gun control are completely against the second amendment. I have no desire to own a weapon, but I don’t think civilians have any reason to own assault weapons,” she stated.

The meeting, in Lovering’s opinion, went fairly well, despite the few disagreements brought up.

“I think, personally, it was what I had hoped for in general. There was definitely a compromise over where the walkout will happen. But overall, it was a successful meeting, and I think we are achieving the goal we initially set.”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

McCarthy Gets the Gold

Words and Photo: Delanie Tucker

On January 27, 2018 Centennial’s Mike McCarthy received his Gold Belt in karate. He was awarded this belt from the American Academy of Martial Arts after hard work in the academy. Along with the belt, Mike received a certificate outlining his accomplishments.

Mike was very excited to show off his belt along with his certificate. When asked about the accomplishment, he even commented, “[Getting the belt] was crazy hard and I am proud.”