As a non-member of FFA, I have often wondered what work goes into contests and what exactly goes on at contests. A long time member of FFA, senior Allison Blomme, took some time to fill me in about an upcoming contest: District FFA.

Megan: What do you do at District FFA?

Allison: “It is kind of like a speech contest, except different events and different rules.”

Megan: Do you have cows at District FFA?

Allison: “No, but we do have that at livestock judging.”

Megan: How do you prepare for District FFA?

Allison: “It depends on your event. For me, I do extemporaneous speaking so I already have gathered information going into Districts. When I get there, I have to sit in a large room without technology with the rest of the District contestants. We wait until our name is called and get escorted into the room where we prepare our speech. I have half an hour to come up with a 4-6 minute speech on one of five agriculture topics they give me. Then, after the half hour I get taken into a different room to give my speech. After my speech, each of the three judges will ask me a question about my speech.”

Megan: Do you get nervous?

Allison: “Yes. Everybody gets nervous. Ideally you find somebody in your event in the holding room that helps with the nervousness and not think too much about your speech. Extemporaneous can be the most nerve-racking.”

Megan: What is the weirdest thing about District FFA?

Allison: “While waiting to be called to prepare your speech, you cannot leave the room. You have to ask to be escorted to the restroom. That’s because they don’t want the judge’s questions leaked to contestants.”

Blomme and the rest of the FFA team will head to Dension High School for the District Contest on March 8.

     St. Patrick’s Catholic Church is putting on the annual Dinner Dance on March 15th, starting at 5pm.  Last year they sold over 600 tickets for the dinner. A silent auction is going on during the dinner and people have opportunities to look through large quantities of items for sale. The silent action ends when the live auction starts. Some typical items featured in the auction are quilts, pounds of hamburger, and furniture made by Twins Construction.  Every year, the two auctions together raise around $7,500.

    Another way St. Patrick’s raises money is by selling raffle tickets.  All of the money goes to the Catholic Church to help pay for different activities and other church-related costs. There are different committees for each activity or task, including kitchen duties, set up, clean up, and people in charge of the bar and ticket selling. The youth is also very involved with the event; for instance, sophomores wrap silverware to help with confirmation costs.

      With help from different individuals, everyone picks up the tables and chairs around the dance floor. A DJ plays square dancing songs, polka, 80s, and some recent hits. All ages join each other on the dance floor for some late night fun. When the dance ends, everyone pitches in to wrap up the dinner dance.  People have a great time, even if they don’t attend the Catholic Church.

              In recent research, it was found that heart disease is the number one killer in women, killing almost 1,100 women per day. But what is even more powerful than the killer itself? Audubon HIgh School is coming together and fundraising against the disease.

            The Audubon High School student senate plans to host a “Red Out” on Feb. 7, during the girls and boys basketball games, to make strides in finding a cure, bettering the lives of patients, and raising awareness of the disease. More than ever, fundraising and raising awareness will continue to fight against the disease. Student Senate Adviser Carla Christensen said, “A representative with the American Heart Association stopped last year to ask if the student senate would want to sponsor a local event.  We didn't get it organized for last year, so I got it on the list of events for this year.  My mother passed away at the age of 62 of a heart attack, so this cause has a personal connection for me. This year we are focusing on getting the word out about heart disease and hope to build on the event each year. Next year we will do some fundraising for the AHA [American Heart Association]."

        So, don’t be silent about the silent killer. Save women’s lives by supporting this cause. Tell the women you love about the disease, wear read Feb. 7, come to the game, get involved, and make a difference.

    Bitcoin is a form of Internet based currency that could potentially change the way online transactions are handled. It began in January of 2009 and has skyrocketed in popularity in the last year.  With more than 100k users, Bitcoin is becoming quite a trend.
    While some expect Bitcoin to explode and, possibly, replace credit cards for Internet transactions, at the moment there are not too many ways to get Bitcoins, though. The easiest way to earn them is to buy them. Yet many only buy one hundredth of a Bitcoin, since a full Bitcoin costs $804. Another way of getting Bitcoins is by going to websites like bitvisitor.com that pay a person very small amounts of Bitcoins to watch ads or visit specified websites, and while it may take a long time to get a worthwhile amount of Bitcoins, it is worth it since sites like bitvisitor are completely free.
    Junior Jordan Hansen is now a vet of this product since he’s been using it for over a year now. Hansen trades Bitcoin daily and has created quite a system of trading and receiving. He also believes that Internet currency will continue to grow and may someday replace paper money, but he’s not sure that Bitcoin will be the currency of choice.