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Claire DeFrancisci, Features, Uncategorized

Local ice skating rink spreads holiday cheer

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By Claire DeFrancisci and Bekah Landers

The very feel of holiday spirit is in the air where a big sparkling Christmas tree can be seen in the front of the historic downtown Jeffersonville outdoor skating rink.

With the holidays quickly approaching, downtown Jeffersonville has become full of festive cheer. One of the main holiday attractions is the Rockefeller Center-inspired outdoor ice skating rink.  The rink is complete with hanging lights and holiday music. The rink also offers special discounts and events on different days of the week.

“It gives you something new to look at. At indoor skating rinks you just stare at a wall, at this outdoor skating rink your scenery is constantly changing,” said senior Kaitlin Hein.

The scenery of downtown Jeffersonville brings the holiday spirit to the ice rink.

“I loved the decorations that they had set up around it. It gave [the rink] a holiday feeling and it was really pretty,” said Hein.

With illuminated snowflakes on every telephone pole down Spring Street and local shops participating in the festivities as well, there is a range of holiday spirit and activities through the downtown area.

“I really enjoy ice skating, it gets me into the Christmas spirit. It’s just a fun thing to do, part of the reason I love winter,” said freshman Bryce Romig

Students who have not yet attended the rink say that it is on their “to do” list this season.

“I want to go because I’ve never ice skated in an [indoor] ice rink. Just outdoor ice rinks in Chicago. I want to compare them,” said sophomore Danya Sandoval.

Schimpff’s Confectionary is participating in the festivities with holiday decorations all over the store and special Christmas candies such as ribbon candy, their famous candy canes, and peppermint bark. Schimpff’s also will be selling ornaments.

The ice skating rink will be open until Jan . It is $8 per person including the ice skates. There is a $6 group rate for groups of 10 or more. The special events and discounts are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Kids skate for $4 on Tuesday if they bring a receipt from a local restaurant, and on Thursday if they bring a receipt from a locally-owned Jeffersonville shop. Fridays are teen night with a DJ from 7-10 p.m. and Sundays are Skate with Santa from 1-4 p.m.


Claire DeFrancisci, Features

Abnormal weather may prevent snow days before winter break

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By Claire DeFrancisci
Additional reporting by Rebekah Landers

This is the weather forecast this week for the Floyds Knobs area.

This week there has been a noticeable amount of warm weather in the Southern Indiana region. Instead of a foot of snow Southern Indiana has had several inches of rain. The lack of accumulating snow will damper the chances of snow days before Winter Break.

“I want it to snow really bad, it’s not normal for it to be this warm in December,” said sophomore Deja Jones.

The abnormally warm weather is most likely not here to stay. According to  Astronomy and Meteorology teacher CJ Jackson, the temperature will drop to a high of 34 degrees within the next  five days.

“Right now [the weather] is above average because we’ve had so many high temperatures. That’s because last year we had such cool temperatures over the European landmass. We had big blocking dome of pressure, and it wasn’t allowing the weather to move like it normally does. This year it’s moving like it normally does, so we’re getting unusually warm but kind of normal. That’s going to change in the next five days,” said Jackson

The next question that comes up is whether or not the school corporation will have snow days before the end of the semester. This year if FC has snow days before Winter Break, then the school will use the snow make-up days on Dec. 21 and 22. Many students and teachers have different opinions on this new system.

“I think that it’s a bad thing because families plan to travel and they expect to have the entire Christmas Break to do that,” said sophomore Tiffany Bowen.

For this reason it is strongly encouraged for families to not plan vacations around finals week, in case any sudden changes in the schedule occur. Although most students are reluctant to give away time from the much anticipated Winter Break, Jackson has a different view on the subject.

“[The snow make-up days] are pretty good because it helps decompress the prom and graduation issue when you have as many inclimate days as we have had over the past two or three years then that gets us to the point where we have to ask if we have to back commencement up so it kind of relieves that pressure. It’s awkward in that we have not done it before, but based on our last three years it will be a good way to relieve some of the pressure,” said Jackson.

To check up on the weather watch your local news or type in your zip code to the Weather.com  site.
Blake Dykes, Features, Online Only

Students’ embarrassing stories follow them into high school.

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By Blake Dykes and Rebekah Landers

Photo by Grace Runkel. Editing by Tony Briscoe.

At one point or another, most everyone endures an embarrassing moment.

According to the Free Dictionary Online embarrassed is defined as to cause to feel self-conscious or ill at ease, disconcert.

Some people handle these situations differently than others.

While a few laugh and shake it off, others get more upset and stress over it for the rest of the day.

Freshman Collin Reschar is an example of one of the more embarrassing ones.

“My girlfriend supposedly sent a text breaking up with me, and I didn’t get the text. The next day at school I was hugging her, and she gave me an awkward look, so I asked what was wrong, then her friend told me what happened. If her friend wouldn’t have told me, then I probably wouldn’t have known all day,” said Reschar.

After these situations happen, people tend to try and prevent them from happening again. Reschar said he now stays single.

On the summer before sophomore Leah Holsclaw’s freshman year she and one of her friends went to Gulf Shores, Alabama on a week vacation.

“We would go to the beach and just play in the water and stuff. But one time we were jumping over the waves, and we weren’t paying attention and this huge wave hit us on the back and we literally did three flips under the water because it was so strong. And when I stood up, I was facing the beach, and these people were looking at me so weird. My top had come down and all the poor people on the beach could see my…chest. It was horrible,” said Holsclaw.

Another type of embarrassing moments is the preventable ones.

Freshman Chris Collier suggests not sticking your fingers in 3D geometry shapes at school.

“In the first grade, I got two of my fingers caught in the 3D geometry shapes. I went to the nurse’s office and they tried to use butter to get them out. They wouldn’t come out. My mom had to pick me up and take me to the hospital to have the shapes cut off,” said Collier.

When an embarrassing moment happens, the reaction of others is what makes it that much worse, or lessens the embarrassment.

Freshman Austen Jones experienced something more painful, meanwhile his friends were laughing.

During eighth grade basketball practice, Jones was guarding a teammate, and was elbowed in the mouth. This made him fall and knock his tooth out, into his teammate’s elbow.

Jones had this problem resolved by getting a fake tooth. He prevents this from happening again by wearing a mouth guard.

There are many types of different embarrassing moments. Whether it’s humiliating, preventable, or painful, each one sticks with you forever.

Claire DeFrancisci, Features

Fairgoers flock to try the new and bizarre creations at the state fair

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By Claire DeFrancisci and Bekah Landers

As soon as you walk out of the car and onto the fairgrounds the familiar smell of fried food and manure fills your head. This is the Kentucky State Fair. This year’s famed attraction at the fair is a bizarre creation: Deep fried Kool-Aide.
Deep fried Kool-Aide is one of the many new and peculiar additions at this year’s fair. Raking in new customers every day, it is surely one of the main attractions this year.  It ultimately is made with Kool-Aide powder mixed with batter and deep fried to perfection and sprinkled with a powdered sugar dusting to top it all off.“I have no idea what this tastes like,” said Sarah Bardolf of Crestwood Kentucky. “To me it tastes like cherry pie filling inside of a corn dog.”Rhonda Stanbury, a fairgoer from the area said, “They’re awesome, they taste like a cherry doughnut.”

The Krispy Kreme Donut Bacon Cheese Burger is another attention-grabbing food booth. It is essentially one glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, lettuce, tomato, onion, hamburger patty, cheese, bacon, and finally another Krispy Kreme doughnut. This multi-meal snack packs in a near 1,500 calories.

“We try to bring new items to the fair every year. Last year it was the donut burger, this year it’s the buffalo chicken donut sandwich. We also have the fried Kool-Aide and the fried Derby Pie,” said Krispy Kreme booth employee Don Kenna.

Kenna also said that he feels the Donut Burger appeals to fair-goers the most because it is a good product with great advertising.

High prices were an issue at the fair for some.  With a $10 entrance fee for adults and an eight dollar parking fee, some people are hesitant to purchase anything else.

“I went to get a lemonade shake up and it was six dollars. It wasn’t worth it,” said junior Matthew Langdon.

The fair will be open until Sunday, Aug. 28. Traditional fair rides, agricultural exhibits, dog shows, concerts, games, and much more will be featured.

Allison Werner, Anna Boone, Features

Local ice cream shops bring in crowds

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Berry Twist continues tradition at new location

By Anna Boone and Allison Werner

The sun beats down as people stand in line at Berry Twist, waiting for their opportunity to order their favorite treat. Colorful posters advertise the popular choices in the large, new windows. A range of people; including locals, students, and even a young baseball team, enjoy their delicacies under the red and blue umbrellas.

Berry Twist, a small ice cream store and restaurant located in Floyds Knobs, has been a hot spot in the community for years. It offers a variety of entrees, including soft pretzels, hot dogs, corn dogs, barbecue sandwiches, and taco salad. In addition to these items, Berry Twist is famous for its frozen treats. They serve their own sherbet, sundaes, floats, and slushies, along with their signature Arctic Swirls. Berry Twist also offers non-fat and sugar-free yogurt for the health-conscious.

On Wednesday, May 25, Berry Twist uprooted its business and moved down the street to a new location after remaining in the original building since it opened in 1977. The new building, located at 3660 Paoli Pike Unit#1,has a drive thru, which is a new addition to the business.

“I like the new location because you can eat outside and you still have a drive thru,” said junior Shawn Baumann.

Sophomore Maria Noyes agrees with Baumann, but still misses aspects of the old location.

“I feel that the new location is more convenient because of the drive thru, but I have so many memories from the old one. I also liked the grass area at the old one,” said Noyes.

Senior Alyana Ladha said the move has generated more business and is helpful because there is more space to work in. Ladha has been an employee at Berry Twist for four years.

“[I started working there because] it was close to home. I’ve always loved ice cream and it seemed like a good fit,” said Ladha.

One of Berry Twist’s most popular items is their Arctic Swirls. Offered in 12 different flavors with six more flavors in the Signature Swirl, the Arctic Swirl is a blend of soft serve with the flavor of choice.

“My favorite item on the menu is the Oreo Arctic Swirl,” said Baumann. This is also the treat of preference for Noyes.

Despite the recent changes Berry Twist has undergone, it still keeps the original tradition alive.

“We’re local and homegrown. Everyone who comes to Berry Twist has been coming there for most of their childhood and now their children’s childhood,” said Ladha.

Polly’s Freeze serves generations of ice cream-lovers

By Rebekah Landers

Stepping into Polly’s Freeze is like stepping into a childhood memory. The squeals of little children flood the air, the drippy sweet icecream is piled on top of a crisp cone, the building is surrounded by trees and little concrete benches giving it a country home-like environment. Polly’s Freeze has been in operation since the early 1950’s and not many changes have been made.

Elmer and Polly Glietz bought the property in 1952 originally for their filling station, or gas station, which they moved from downtown Louisville. They ran it for a few years until Polly decided she wanted to run an ice cream and food stand, The Glietz’s ran it for many years until they decided to hand down their shop to their children. Donna and her husband, Paul Eisert, took the shop under their wing making it what it is today.

In 2009 the Eisert’s decided to retire and honor one of the Polly’s Freeze loyal family members with the manager position. Penny Boder ran Polly’s with her husband until 2011 when they decided to pursue something else.The manager position was then passed to experienced employee’s Mike and Cara Rothrock at the beginning of 2011.

Even after years of being passed down, and times changing, the warm customer service and pleasant environment still is present at today’s Polly’s Freeze.

“Everyone is so friendly every time we come here,” said customer Brandy K. “We have so many memories here. I used to come here when I was a kid and now I take my kids.”

Growing up to Polly’s is a memory that many high schoolers have experienced and share with their parents.

Lisa Smith said, “I remember back 23 years ago coming here with my teenage group of friends and now I bring my teenage daughter to hang out with her friends.”

A father, Jon, brings his boys to get ice cream after every baseball game his kids win.

An older couple, Mary and Denny Voelker, said they both have gone to Polly’s for 50 years.

Denny said, “I went here as a child, then we took our children, now we take our grandchildren.”

“It’s such a wonderful environment and the kids can play, everything is just so nice,” said Mary.

The couple shared stories of their memories and how they grew up around Polly’s, and right before they were just about to leave, Mary said, “I really hope it continues to stay this way because it is an icon to this area.”

Customers do not have anything negative to say about the establishment. Some customers argue that the prices are too high, but many others are happy with their continued visits.

Jon said, “The prices are perfect and for the quality of the food they could even be raised.”

Unanimously, the one thing people liked best was the pleasant and happy atmosphere.

Vickie B, an older woman from New Albany, said, “I wouldn’t care if the food tasted like garbage, the wonderful environment is a treat itself.”

Sophomore Tierney Flaherty said, “I’ve never been to Berry Twist, don’t have a reason to with Polly’s being so good.”

Polly’s Freeze offers a loving, warm, family environment. Polly’s is open Monday through Friday 10:30-10:00 and until 10:30 on the weekends. To enjoy the heritage and delicious treats of Polly’s freeze turn left on State Road 62 keep straight for about a mile and a half and look for the iconic neon parrot.

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