For Schjeldahl, the drive to become an EMT wasn’t something she just woke up with one morning.

“I want to be in the army… and I want to be able to save somebody’s life. So I kind of went in there [EMT Class] thinking, it’s no big deal–it won’t really matter,” said Schjeldahl.

But after Schjeldahl experienced her first call, she was hooked.

“My first call wasn’t that big of a deal, but when my pager went off my heart started beating, I started shaking, and I flew down to the station,” said Schjeldahl, “and from then on I, was hooked.”

Not only does Schjeldahl show a strong passion for her work, she is willing to constantly strive for more knowledge.

“She always stepped in and did what she needed to do, or asked. She asked a lot of questions both prior to going to the patient’s house and after the call,” said Appel.

Schjeldahl is also one to make sure everything is done right.

“She was real willing to analyze how the call went as far as if we did everything right, if we forgot anything, anything like that,” said Appel.

The work of an EMT is tough, and Schjeldahl will be facing many challenges.

“There’s two big areas of challenge, one is physical and one is mental. Despite being in really good shape, it’s hard work–it’s physically demanding,” said Appel. “It is also very emotionally demanding, and it’s one of the top reasons people stop, so her challenge will be to remain strong, physically and mentally.”

Schjeldahls’s drive doesn’t end at the process of becoming an EMT. This year, Appel and Schjeldahl worked to make local hospitalized veterans’ holiday seasons brighter.

“This year, I did the Christmas drive for hospitalized veterans. That was awesome. Basically, what we did is gather Christmas presents. We brought them to the VA [Veterans Affairs], and they are going to be getting them on Friday for Christmas,” said Schjeldahl.

Appel recognizes the work Schjeldahl put into the Christmas drive and notes the persistence Schjeldahl so often displays.

“She displayed that go-getter attitude. She did a lot of work, [and] she raised a lot of money for the cause. And if it wasn’t for her, we would not have nearly as much of a donation as we were able to deliver,” said Appel.

Realizing Schjeldahl will be leaving eventually, Appel is happy to have gotten the chance to work with her.

“I’m real proud to have gotten the chance to meet Audra and gotten the chance to work with her, even if she’s leaving and going on bigger adventures,” said Appel. “I’m glad I got the chance to work with her.”

Every year at the high school, FCCLA students and staff help out to organize a blood drive for those who are at loss without a donation.

“We’ve held a blood drive here for eight years plus. We start a year in advance to give Red Cross time to get ready to come to our school,” said Tina Gilbertson.

Many students at the high school are willing to help out during the drive. For many it may be their first time giving, and although nerves build up, they are still ready to give.  Many staff members are grateful enough to donate every year.

“I think it’s fantastic that the students do it although they get nervous at first, they come to find out that it’s fast and not that bad. We have a real great loyal staff that donates every year,” said Gilbertson.

Gilbertson once also needed blood. She is willing to help anyone that is in need.

“I give every year. I think giving blood is a very simple thing, doesn’t cost anything, and it can save three lives. I enjoy helping out.  If It was for me or a family member, I would hope someone would help me, too,” said Gilbertson.

This year the high school gave 53 units.

“It was really successful this year. It makes me proud, and it feels great,” said Gilbertson.

Jeff Bradson, a former Black River Falls resident, was one that also needed blood, and dealt with many complications.

“ I  was actually having problems over the summer of 2010. The problems I  was having were always on and off. One day it would hurt the next not so much. When I started to have problems I was not eating as much as I was, I didn’t like to go out anywhere. I got massive headaches. I was just not fun to be around,” said Bradson. “I had a loss of blood, discolored blood, I was puking blood, and going to the bathroom and would find blood.I was always dizzy. Getting up and moving around was something I just couldn’t do without help. I could be up for seconds then start to tip. I was always feeling weak. I made sure to drink lots of water, eat healthy.”

Bradson’s feelings towards what he was going through wasn’t as hard as the reactions his family was giving. He went through quite the same experience to the people close to him.

“My father, cousin, and an old friend of mine are the only close people to me that I’m aware of. I’ve seen them in a bad condition. I was really sad how they would ask for help but, nothing I could personally do. I been through the sadness and just take it. Through my time,  I wouldn’t dare cry, I didn’t want to worry my family anymore then they already were,” said Bradson.

Even though Bradson didn’t show as much emotion, he believed if it was his time he’d be fine with dying.

“Sitting in the hospital, having doctors and my family surrounding me, I started to give up hope, and thought there was nothing that could be done. I didn’t want to leave my family. But I have a great family, met everyone, even had three grandchildren. My life seemed complete, that I was okay to die,” Bradson.

Luckily Bradson is doing much better, and is making up for the things he missed out on.

“I’m doing so much better than I was. Each day I get and feel stronger than I was. I’m able to be up doing things, going places. Things that I wasn’t able to do a year ago. It makes it easier for my family to be around not seeing me in the condition I was in,” said Bradson.

Although he went through a tough time, he is thankful that people are so generous to help out those in need. Especially the students.

“I’m very grateful that the students are taking a role in helping in their community, they’re not being selfish thinking ‘well I don’t know the person so why should I?’ or ‘I just don’t care, so, no.’ But I’m glad that there were many willing to help those in need. The staff at the high school has always been so kind and willing to do anything they could to help out others within the community. I’m just blessed and grateful that there are such great people in the community.”
]]> http://brfhspawprint.com/2012/01/04/fccla-blood-drive-a-success/feed/ 0 http://brfhspawprint.com/2011/12/19/channel-97-news-december-19/ http://brfhspawprint.com/2011/12/19/channel-97-news-december-19/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:15:46 +0000 Paw Print Staff http://brfhspawprint.com/?p=2320

We find out why Project Christmas is a popular volunteering opportunity, plus see a review of Madrigal Dinner. If you’re wondering how to connect to the public wi-fi, we’ve got a quick tutorial on that. Plus, a team talks to a stand-out wrestler.

Now Democrats have organized a recall drive against Gov. Scott Walker involving people of all ages from both sides.

Recall supporters feel as though people were misled during the campaign process and that Walker’s actions have been irresponsible. They also feel Walker has not been working well with their party.

“Walker ran on platform of economic security and creating a lot of jobs. Since he’s been in office Wisconsin is one of five states that had job losses since June. In October we had job loss of 9,700. He did not tell us he was going to give tax breaks to corporations. He did not tell us he was going to de-fund public education and Badgercare and the other social programs that have gone by the wayside,” said United Wisconsin Jackson County co-coordinator Sheila Danielson.

Walker supporters disagree. They believe Walker is doing what is right for Wisconsin and that recalls in general can be a slippery slope.

“I am not in favor of recalls. We had an election, the people spoke and whether you’re in for a two-year term or four-year that’s the term you should be able to fulfill,” said Jerry Sweeney, Jackson County Republican Party chair.

“[Walker] is showing true leadership and getting our finances back in order, and that’s really what our state needs to do.”

The recall process is well on its way and those supporting Walker have been working to collect votes. United Wisconsin reports that there were over 300,000 recall signatures in the first twelve days.

“I have been keeping up to date with the recall, and it seems to be going really well. I have been in contact with some of the volunteers, and they have been very busy collecting signatures,” said Garrett Aleckson, recall supporter.

One issue the recall supporters face is voting fatigue. Voter fatigue is the apathy that the electorate can experience when they are required to vote too often. Republicans feel the public is definitely feeling experiencing voter fatigue, but Democrats feel voter fatigue will not be an issue.

“When something like this comes along, people respond. People respond because what’s been going on is absolutely wrong. Look at the hundred thousand plus that gathered at Madison at our capital. People are energized,” said Gaylord Oppengard, Jackson County Democratic Party chair.

While a lot of people have strong opinions on the subject, some feel impartial to the subject but feel the recalls and debates could have been avoided in the first place if people would have voted or known more about the people they were voting on.

“Recalling him [Walker] is a huge deal that could have been avoided in the first place if people would have done their civic duty in the first place and gone out and voted. We have a responsibility to know who we are electing into office…I just think people shouldn’t complain or try to remove some on that has been elected by the majority of the people,” said senior Katie Dvorak.

“I’m frustrated we’ve had difficulty getting the Wi-Fi stable,” said principal Tom Chambers.

District Technology Supervisor Peggy Gordon, who has been working to fix multiple errors with the Wi-Fi system, shares the feeling.

“I am definitely frustrated that it’s not working correctly,” said Gordon.

“The biggest technical difficulty,” according to district System Support Specialist Ben Woof, “is a glitch in the process that controls the logging in on the open Wi-Fi. When it works, it works very well, but if it glitches then the wireless controller won’t let anyone log into the open Wi-Fi until the controller is restarted.”

The district is working with outside companies to try to solve the issue.

“We are working with both the company that installed the Wi-Fi system and the company that we outsource some of our networking with,” said Gordon. “ So far, we have not been able to pin down the reason for the glitch in the system.”

The only solution the technology team has found to solving the bug is to restart the entire system. However, according to Woof, that just isn’t practical.

“Restarting the wireless controller is only a ‘quick fix’, but disrupts the private Wi-Fi as well for the duration, so it is not practical to do during the school day,” said Woof.

Kinks in a system of this magnitude can cause major problems in an instructional day according to Gordon, so the team feels it’s necessary to make sure everything is working well before they hand it off to students.

“I think that it is important to realize that we want the Wi-Fi to work seamlessly before we open it up to students and staff,” said district Technology Integration Coach Beth Lisowski.

The Wi-Fi, although not open to students, has undergone tests by staff and administration. They, however, have seen their fair share of problems.

“We’re trying to get it working so that it’s reliable,” said Chambers. “The staff has been trying it, but has not been real successful with it.”

One of the problems included a firmware update that disabled a part of the access points. This caused for issues in the private Wi-Fi that district computers use.

The policy change push comes in part due to effort from the Student Senate and Principal Tom Chambers. Newly-hired Technology Integration Coach Beth Lisowski has also recently been very involved in the effort.

“The ultimate goal is to prepare kids for the future,” said Lisowski. “It’s important for us to give them that platform.”

The Wi-Fi change would create the platform which Lisowski talks about. That platform would open up classrooms to instructional laptop, cellphone and tablet usage.

“What I’m really hoping is to see more laptops in class, and that those will become more of a working notebook for kids,” Rykken said.

While BRFHS has had a Wi-Fi network, it hasn’t been readily open to students.

“The policy change enables students to actually use it [the Wi-Fi],” said vice principal Mark Weddig.

This step is only the first step. Implementing it into the classroom may take time and work. Teachers will have to adjust and find interesting ways to incorporate technology into their classroom.

“I think the vision is there. It’s just [a matter of] getting there, jumping those hurdles and really teaching people about it,” said Lisowski

Ag Education teacher Brad Markhardt speaks with Wisconsin State Superintendent Tony Evers at a September 2 assembly. Markhardt was back into FFA adviser mode by the end of the day as he hosted the yearly ice cream social in his classroom. PHOTO: KRISTIN GETTER

“My announcement today has something to do with excellence, a part of excellence found right here at Black River Falls High School,” said State Superintendent Tony Evers.

The part of excellence that Evers was talking about was Agricultural Education teacher Brad Markhardt, who received the High School Teacher of the Year Award at a surprise assembly on September 2.

“[Teaching is] like a vocation that came to him,” said Principal Tom Chambers. Not only do his colleagues have a high opinion of him, but his students do, too.

“After they called his name, I wasn’t surprised because he’s such a great teacher,” said sophomore Emily Stewart.

While this award is certainly a nice pat on the back, it also brings with it a lot of new responsibilities.

According to Candidate Subsidy Administrator Elaine Strom, Markhardt will have to learn how to handle the media and how to make statements. For an opportunity to represent Wisconsin at the national level, he will also be interviewed along with the other four Wisconsin Teachers of the Year.

All-in-all, it’s a pretty big deal, and Strom advises BRFHS students to “put it in [their] diary.”

“It’s really nice that at least one of our great teachers is getting this reward,” said District Superintendent Ron Saari.

Of all the great teachers in and out of the school district, what made Markhardt stand out above the rest of Wisconsin’s teachers?

“[Markhardt stood out because of] his teaching techniques, good rapport with his students and his sound connections with the community. All those things are important,” said Evers.

Through dedication Markhardt has been able to achieve all these things.

“I enjoy my job, I love my job, I work hard at my job, but that’s not unlike any others,” said Markhardt.

Evers emphasized the need to recognize excellence in the teaching profession, and Markhardt’s love of teaching and his work ethic have carried him to the kind of recognition often reserved for others.

“We spend time and effort honoring great athletes and entertainers and scientists. We should also reward our great teachers,” said Evers.

This piece was team reported and written by Rikka Bakken and Joshua Hanson.

For Chambers, the secret was a big one to keep. It’s not every day, every year or every decade that a teacher at Black River Falls High School is chosen as the Wisconsin High School Teacher of the Year, but this year the honor went to Agriculture Education teacher Brad Markhardt.

“He was born to be an excellent agricultural-ed teacher,” said Chambers. “Year round and around the clock he’s always dedicated to agricultural education.”

To keep the event special, Chambers and Superintendent Ron Saari kept news of the award under wraps. A week before the ceremony, Chambers informed Mr. Markhardt’s wife, Annette Markhardt, so the entire Markhardt clan could be involved.

“The surprise was pretty hard to keep,” said son Zachary Markhardt. “We got a phone call right before we left that Dad checked in and asked ‘Um, why is Jacob supposed to leave school at 10:00?’ and my mom was jumping up and down like ‘What the heck?! It’s out, it’s out!’ It was pretty intense.”

Of Mr. Markhardt’s four children, only Zachary and Jacob were aware of the award. When Evan Markhardt was asked by Assistant Principal Mark Weddig if he knew what the surprise assembly was about, Evan replied that he had no idea.

“You’re going to like it,” was Weddig’s reply.

The objective of arranging a whole-school assembly involving Markhardt’s family, school district-level officials and the state superintendent of schools while keeping the whole event a secret from staff, students and the honoree was, in the end, achieved.

“Just so you know, I had absolutely no idea,” said Mr. Markhardt.

Mr. Markhardt commented during his acceptance speech that the only bad surprise was his middle school pizza-making day, which he had been anticipating for a while, was interrupted. The rest of the secret was humbling.

“This is overwhelming, and I just want you guys to know that it is an honor and a privilege to be able to be a teacher,” said Mr. Markhardt.

This piece was team reported and written by Rikka Bakken, Kristin Getter and Joshua Hanson.

Juniors Holland Hogden (l) and Sydney Harkner (r) work together to write a letter of concern to the administration concerning their opinion of the bill. Both girls also participated in the ‘Walker Walk-out’ at lunch time.

Thursday, February 17 presented BRFHS with a day of protest, debate and discussion. While staff members remained neutral in their statements, students buzzed with opinions of Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget repair bill.

“I feel as if our teachers and state employees are being attacked,” said junior Sydney Harkner.

One of the main reasons for the bill is to reduce the state budget deficit by requiring state employees to pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care premiums. Collective bargaining would also end for those 175,000 Wisconsin state employees.

Many high school teachers arrived early to school on Thursday, but not exactly to prepare for their classes. They were found peacefully protesting on the sidewalk along the building.

“I can’t speak for all of us standing here, but I am here to show my support for the union,” said English teacher Brad Lobenstein.

Lobenstein, along with every other teacher that stood outside of the school wore red to school to support their union, as it is the union’s official color. Several students also seemed to be on the same side of the debate by the red turnout.

“My opinion is that we should stop the attack of our teachers because they are educating the future generations of Wisconsin,” said Harkner, “When you think about it, they are creating jobs by educating today’s youth.”

BRF students’ education was one concern of teachers on Thursday morning. Some felt that not showing up in protest would create more issues for students and their families.

“Performing a sickout would have had a negative effect on students and their parents. If school would have closed, then parents would have had to find child care at the last minute,” said Lobenstein.

Nearly 20 BRFHS staff members stood at the southeast corner of the building Thursday morning to show support for their union. Not to disrupt the school day, they entered the building at 7:45 a.m.—their scheduled start time for the school day.

Although teachers in BRF stayed at school, one student hit the road to the state capital to join in the protests of over 10,000 people.

“I went to Madison on Wednesday and it really was an amazing sight. It is a cause I really believe in, and to experience it first hand was truly amazing. Witnessing the solidarity among everybody was really great. In general, it’s a cause that many feel strongly about, and I’m glad to see people speaking up,” said junior Josh Hanson.

People from around Wisconsin gathered in Madison throughout the whole week, however BRF students who weren’t able to travel there decided to protest at a locally by leaving school to protest at the courthouse.

“I was one who did the walkout on Thursday during lunch,” said junior Brittany Gacek.

Students made red t-shirts and held signs that said phrases such as, “Attacking teachers attacks my future,” “Who taught you, Walker?,” “Kill the bill,” “Take a walk, Walker,” and “We’re runners, not walkers.”

“We walked out of school after second block and started our march,” said Harkner. “We knew that we would face people who didn’t approve, but we had to be strong in our beliefs.”

English teacher Brad Lobenstein wears red in support of his union. Several students and staff wore the union’s color to show opposition to Governor Walker’s proposed bill.

Students who chose to participate in the walkout agreed generally that the proposed bill was wrong, but specifically each student had separate reasons for participating.

“I was reacted strongly and took action because my mom is a teacher, and when I start thinking about some of the most influential people in my life so far they have been teachers,” said Harkner.

In opposition, many more students stayed in school instead of walking out.

“I think that 95% of the students that protested today didn’t even know why they were doing it,” said junior Michael Fetting, “They just did it to either get out of school or because their friends were doing it.”

Many teachers took time to educate their students this week on the proposed bill. Students will have more time to become better informed because Wisconsin’s democratic senators didn’t show up to vote on Thursday, therefore the vote will be pushed back further.