Volume 77 No.8
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Monday, April 30,2001
Science Olympiad team places first in state competition
By Dirk Lankford
Reporter
Grimsley’s Science Olympiad
team is the best in North Carolina.
The team won the state competition
and has made itself the top high
school team in the state. However,
this competition was initially won
behind the scenes and within the
stress-filled months of practices.
The long days v/ill not be forgotten.
It is eleven o’clock at night the
day before the competition. For most
parents and teachers, school ended
about seven hours ago. For some,
however, tonight, even at 11 P.M.,
Grimsley is alive and bustling with
action. Ms. Keele, a Chemistry
teacher and Science Olympiad ad
visor, as well as team moms are stay
ing late to make sure everything will
be perfect for the big day ahead.
They all realize these chances only
come around once a year. Tomor
row is the Science Olympiad state
competition. It will be a long night
for all of them.
Morning finally comes and the
15 team members, accompanied by
Ms. Keele and other advisors, head
to North Carolina State University
where the competition will be held.
The team will split into two or three
person groups and participate in the
I
1*
The Science
school team
Colorado.
Science Olympiad photo
Olympiad team was victorious at the state competition, becoming the top ranked high
in the state. In May, they will travel to the National Science Olympiad competition in
23 different events that will be held
this day.
The main motivation to win this
year was the way the competition
went for Grimsley a year ago. Last
year, Grimsley’s Science Olympiad
team came in third place, only two
small points away from going to the
national competition. The team is
determined not to fall short again
this year.
The events start and everyone
breaks up into their assigned teams.
By the end of the day the team will
know if they have become the best
of the best.
The Rocket Launch event gave
an idea of what kind of day it would
be for Grimsley’s team. The rocket
flew perfect off the launch pad,
straight as an arrow, and rose over
the building beside the pad. The
building had a fan on the top, and
when the rocket launched above the
building, the fan caused it to hover
in the air and helped the Grimsley
team win the event.
The events carry on through the
day and by the end of tlie competi
tion, all the teams were dog-tired.
All that was left was the award cer
emony and the discovery of the
winner.
The moment comes. Like an over
due vacation for a weary student,
the feeling is sweet and relaxing.
After all their work, Grimsley’s team
is announced as the winner.
Nearly everyone on the team did
well in his or her specific events as
weU. In Physics, Percy Link and Tom
Maynard received third place. Diana
Taft and Erin Wrenn won first place
in Dynamic Planet. Jessica
Rosenkrantz and .A.nne Timmins
won Water Quality. Percy Link and
Anne Timmins placed third in the
Chemistry Lab. The Road Scholar
event brought second place for Will
Key and Tom Maynard. Ibraheem
Khalifa and Will Yearns won first
place in the “Wright” stuff, and Will
Key and Ibraheem Khalifa won the
Bottle Rocket. It was a busy and
successful day for the Grimsley team.
“The award ceremony and win
ning was the highlight of the day.
They countdown the awards from
last place forward and around the
announcement of the third place
team, we [the Science Olympiad
team] were all nervous,” said Aly son
Nunez and Percy Link, both seniors.
The Science Olympiad team will
be off to the national competition,
held in Colorado, in the middle of
May, but for now, Grimsley’s team
reigns as the top high school team
in North Carolina.
Foot and mouth disease causes death in large numbers
By Tim Norton and Erin West
Reporter and StaffWriter
Do you have relatives who work
in farming, or food industry? Do
you eat cheese, yogurt, meat, or
drink milk? Are you thinking about
traveling abroad any time soon? If
your answer is “yes” to any of these
questions, you may have reason to
be concerned about foot and mouth
disease.
Foot and mouth disease or FMD
is a highly contagious animal virus
that rarely affects humans - at least
directly. FMD strikes cloven-hoofed
animals, such as cows, pigs, and
sheep, and goats. Even some wild
animals can contract it, auch as deer,
hedgehogs, and elephant^,.
It spreads rapidly through animal
populations and over long distances
on the wind. Therefore, it is extremeiy
difficult and costly to control. The
concerns that have made interna
tional news in the last year are far
from over. Many countries have been
affected, and North Carolina farm
ers are afraid that our state could be
the first to be hit by the disease if it
enters this country.
Early warning signs for cows in
clude decreased milk production,
loss of appetite, and running a fe
ver. Later, the animal will start sali
vating profusely. As the virus
progresses, blisters appear on the
lips, teats, and above the hooves.
Pigs may appear lame, and piglets
may suddenly die from cardiac fail
ure. If the pigs are not killed, some
may lose their complete hooves.
Infertility is also a side effect. In
areas where vaccination is carried
out routinely, the disease is not a
serious economic problem in pig
herds. However, European govern
ments have resisted vaccination
because the inoculated animals cany
similar antibodies as those infected
with the disease. This means that
countries that vaccinate lose their
disease-free trading status on world
markets.
Nowhere has the problem been
more serious than in Britain, where
the FMD cases are still rising. There
have been over 890 confirmed cases
as of April 1st, and hundreds of
thousands of animals have been
slaughtered. The problem is so bad
that animals are being slaughtered
faster than burial or burning can dis
pose of them. While sheep and pigs
could be buried, the government de
termined that burying cow carcasses
could spread to the water table, caus
ing an increased risk of mad cow dis
ease.
Great Britain’s government has
taken the matter so seriously that it
is banning some long time traditions.
Dublin cancelled its St. Patrick’s Day
parade. A decision was just made
to cancel the spring Cheltenham
Festival, Europe’s biggest horse
jump-race meet.
The disease has taken a huge
emotional toll, as well as an eco
nomic one. British veterinarians
have had to kill animals they wanted
to cure and have had to leave the
livestock owners in extreme trauma.
Trained soldiers sent to assist with
the slaughter are also reported to
show effects of trauma.
One of the saddest FMD stories
comes from the Forest of Dean near
Beam, England. There, sheep have
roamed freely through oak and pine
groves for centuries. They have
been part of the area’s landscape,
history, and traditions. Though the
disease has not been detected in
these sheep, the Ministry of Agri
culture ordered them to be slaugh
tered because a rash of cases nearby
puts them at risk of catching and
spreading the disease. (This would
be devastating to meat exports.)
Other countries have been seri
ously hit, as well. For example, the
disease is spreading in South Ko
rea, requiring immediate quarantine
of large numbers of animals. In
Baghdad, Iraq, the disease has
crippled over a million sheep and
cattle, and threatens to ruin farmers.
What are the solutions for such
a devastating disease? According
to PigSite, an online publication for
hog farmers, rapid and accurate di
agnosis is critical for preventing its
epidemic spread. Unfortunately,
there are not many laboratories that
are able to tell FMD apart from other
diseases that have similar features.
For example, the Plum Island lab in
New York is the only one in the US.
There is not treatment for the dis
ease; diagnosed animals have to be
destroyed.
On March 13th, the U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture (USDA) placed
a temporary ban on European live
stock and fresh meat.The USDA is
also expected to enforce a ruling that
all importers must certify that dairy
products have been properly heat-
treated to kill possible FMD vinjs.
Featured
Inside
Corporations’
impact
Are big corporations
taking over small
businesses?
page 3
Four year Forceful
journey action
High schoolers reflect on Grimsley’s new football
important milestones. coach prepares for next
season.
News 1
Editorial 3
Features 6
Sports 14
page 8 and 9
page 14