By Jessica McNally
On Wed., March 14, FC and Lanesville NJROTC went on a trip to Pekin to help a local farmer clean his land. His farm was one of many that were affected by the EF4 tornado that came through the area on March 2. Cadets lined up across the field to look for debris. Seniors Kyle Creech, Marissa Sammons, and sophomore Nathan Cabral lead their fellow cadets during the clean up. Cadets found roof tiles, insulation, boards, nails and branches, among other pieces of debris.
Photos by Rebekah Landers and Keevin Sakai
By Rebekah Landers
As girls and boys pour into the Grand Theater in downtown New Albany looking their best, a passerby would think that prom has come early, and for members of the FC NJROTC, it has.
The male cadets escorted their dates dressed in ballroom gowns like gentlemen. Getting them drinks, seeing them to their cars, and opening the doors for them are few of the many respectful things that were shown.
“As I’ve said in the previous years, the colonel should applaud himself for having such a respectful group of kids,” said John, a member of The Grand’s staff. The Grand’s Facebook page was later updated with a post that said, “Floyd Central Navy JROTC Military Ball. Wow, this group is so polite! Love this event.”
The ball also hosted it’s first Military Ball court and Military Ball King and Queen. The winners for freshmen were Zac Bruner and Kayla Jones. For sophomores the winners were Scott Schuchardt and Alyson Gill. For juniors Bryan Moore and Emily Kunkel. And for the senior class runner up king was Cameron Stickles, a student at Lanesville, and the king was Thad Crone. There was a tie for the Military ball queen, Marissa Samons and Kellye Riggle both win the title.
By Eric Ordonez
Tomorrow, on the Saturday before Veteran’s Day weekend, members of the NJROTC around Floyd County and others will continue a highly regarded tradition. They will show their respect to a recent local fallen soldier.
It is something that has had great experiences in its first few years.
This weekend it will be the fourth annual nine-mile walk, in which approximately 110 NJROTC cadets will march from the rotunda in the front of the school down to the gravesite of the fallen soldier at the National Cemetery located on Ekin Avenue.They plan to begin their memorial march no later than 9 a.m.
The walk will focus on recognizing the duties of this soldier, and anyone else who has ever served.
“There is only one reason we do this, and that is because the cadets sacrifice themselves to really honor a fallen soldier,” Colonel Ben Gipe said.
Along with the FC cadets, the walk will consist of National Guard personnel, some active duty, 100 Washington High School cadets, and about 100 New Albany High School cadets. Along with these groups, the FC cadets will be escorted by the Floyd County Police.
“The veterans have done so much it isn’t a big deal to walk nine miles for them,” said senior Marissa Samons.
Four years ago, this tradition was begun by Senior Chief Michael Beal and Gipe.
“Colonel [Gipe] thought of it while he was in Iraq, so when he got home he said ‘Let’s do it’,” said Beal.
Through the majority of the walk they will try to remain a fun and entertaining environment. They have two breaks where Gipe will hand out an assortment of snacks. Also, Jay-C and Walmart will provide water for the cadets and members of the walk.
“We get honks…people honk like crazy. We also get a lot of support from random people on the street, veterans say ‘thanks,’ and families often come back and thank them and they appreciate us,” said Beal.
Tomorrow’s ceremonial march will be one to remember for everyone involved. The cadets, in Gipe’s mind, owe it to soldiers and soldiers only. Gipe is certainly excited for it, and said people in general owe the utmost respect to veterans.
“Not teachers, lawyers, police, none of them. It’s veterans, because they give us our rights. They’re the reason we have our rights,” said Gipe.
By Anna Boone
Identical does not always mean the same. Just ask sophomore twins Katie and Kylie Davis
“We’re totally different,” said Katie.
Katie and Kylie both participate in ROTC, although they are in different platoons. Katie is on the drill team.
“Drill team is the platoon made up of 14 different people including your commander who has to memorize between 50-60 commands and you go to different drill meets and see – “
” – Who can perform the best,” chimed in Kylie.
While Kylie is not on the drill team, she is an assistant squad leader and is also a Public Affairs Petty Officer. This position means that she gets to go to all the public appearances of her platoon and take pictures and videos to help update the website.
Despite their different interests in ROTC, both Katie and Kylie said they have trouble being seen as individuals rather than part of a set.
“It’s frustrating because they think that since you look the same you should act the same,” said Kylie.
No matter how different their personalities are, however, physically Katie and Kylie are nearly the same in every way.
“Everyone gets us confused. Our two best guy friends still get us confused,” said Kylie.
Although having an identical twin can be hard – such as sharing everything – both agree that it can be a good thing.
“[The best thing about having a twin is] having the extra best friend,” said Kylie.
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