Western Dubuque Bobcat Band "Feeling Groovy"

By Emily Vaughan, Westerner Staff
"Bobcat Band, are you ready to perform?"
The Western Dubuque Bobcat Band stood on the football field in Mount Pleasant, Sept. 17, 2011. The stadium lights were the only thing preventing the inky night sky from covering the entire area in darkness. A train whistle blared loudly in the distance, trying to outdo the announcer. The band remained at attention, their instruments raised high above them like Rafiki holding a baby Simba in the Lion King. Jenna Petsche and Kyle Vandenburg saluted to the judges high above them before turning around to face their band to direct them.
"Bobcat Band, you may take the field."
When those six words were spoken, it was like a gunshot to begin a race. The concentration within the band shifted and the field on which they stood became the only world they knew. All thoughts that were running through the band members' heads were plunged into silence as the drum majors lifted their gloved hands to begin conducting. One, two.  One, two three, four. March.
The crowd was reactive throughout their performance, even if they were competing against each other. The field judge weaved in and out of the Bobcat Band's lines, muttering mistakes into his recorder. The music judge above them doing the same, his recorder never commenting as it listened to his musical criticisms and praises. A third field judge was reserved for flags, commenting avidly about their mistakes as he nearly marched with them. Through all of this pressure and stress, the band played on, loudly and proudly.
When the final note of "Paint it Black" was blown through every instrument of the band, shattering sound barriers and flying directly at the night sky, it was over. They marched off the field, the drum line playing a cadence while the band marched ahead in silence, their feet stroking against the track rhythmically. No one spoke until they were on the grass of the lot once again, walking with their friends back to the trailer. "Good jobs" were handed to one another like verbal presents, people smiling as they heard it. Another band on a pit cart was driving past them, waving back as the Bobcat Band wished them luck.
Finally, after the 4A bands were finished performing, it was time for the results to be announced. The drum majors were lined up on the track, Jenna and Kyle's bell bottoms rippling in the wind slightly as they waited patiently for their results. Once the 2A's results were over, it was time for 3A.
"Best Drum Line: West Delaware."
"Best Flags: West Delaware."
"Best Drum Majors: West Delaware."
"Best Horn Line: West Delaware."
The upper classmen of the Bobcat Band thought collectively: Not again. Flashes of last year ran through their heads, the horrors of being last at every competition they went to causing their hearts to sink.
"In fifth place, West...Dubuque. It'll be West Dubuque, just like last ye--."
"Delaware."
The Bobcat Band looked at each other with equal confusion, but with a sudden rise of excitement. How could they collect all of the awards and get last place? If that's the case, what would their placing be?
"In third place, Western Dubuque."
All 77 members of the Western Dubuque Bobcat Marching Band cried out and screamed in joy, high fives and embraces going around. They weren't last, finally, they weren't last. Their drum majors received a sizable trophy, larger than their heads, the fake gold columns on it, glittering in the stadium lights, twinkling and winking at the band it belonged to. Throughout the remainder of the award ceremony, the band giddily chatted with one another, discussing their place with enthusiasm. This was going to be a great year for marching.

Noteworthy Bobcats

By Jacob Barnwell, Westerner Staff
The students of the Drexler Middle School Band, located in Farley, have been working extremely hard since the beginning of August, practicing every other day to make one of their most important appearances of the season-Western Dubuque's Homecoming Parade in Epworth- a successful one. At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, the band stepped off in the parade and had a great performance. The band played a march tune and a drum cadence that impressed and enthralled the crowd.
The tune that the band played is entitled "Colonel Bogey March."  This tune was originally written for the Royal British Marines by F.J. Ricketts, a British Army Band Master. Tanner Barnwell, a member of the band, described the tune as "[a]n upbeat song in a classical way that makes you want to dance."
The drum cadence was a mixture of a rock beat and a typical drum rudiment for marching bands. Some of the other members of the band have described it as "[a] fun cadence to play and an easy song to dance to."
The Middle School Band has also made recent appearances at the Peosta Kids' Day Parade in Peosta on Sept. 10, the Homecoming Football Pregame Show in Epworth on Sept. 23 and the Drexler Marching Band Concert at the middle school in Farley on Oct. 1. As this month's Noteworthy Bobcats comes to an end, I would like to commend the members of the Drexler Middle School Band for their hard work and dedication to the arts. I would also like to congratulate the director, Mr. Charles Oldenkamp, for his hard work and dedication to his many students. Good luck in your future performances!

Bobcats Storm the Stormin' Pointers 27-8, Homecoming 2011

By Brad Prier, Westerner Staff

Western Dubuque enforced their motto of "It's Time" Sept. 24 as the Bobcats defeated Center Point - Urbana 27-8 to become 3-0 in district play and 4-1 overall. The Bobcats, coached by Brian Kuhle, Jacob Feldmann and Dan Butler, played as a team and came out with the victory.

The Bobcats had a total of 303 offensive yards, as well as 68 team tackles on defense. The Pointers had a total of just 201 offensive yards, defensive statistics for CPU could not be found. The Bobcat's leading rusher was Sam Burds with seven attacks for 37 yards. Tyson Massey also scored one rushing touchdown for WDHS. Bobcat Quarterback Nick Tuttle was 11 for 14 for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Receiving leader for the Bobcats was Logan Pitz with six catches totaling 97 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side of the game, it was Eric Maas with nine tackles and one tackle for a loss. Sam Neiman had the Bobcats only interception, which was returned for zero yards. Sam Burds attempted four extra points, three of which making it through the uprights. Burds also kicked two punts with an average punt of 26 yards and a long punt of 39 yards. Punt returners Adam Hoeger and Tyler Donovan got six yards each on one return each. Donovan also had one kickoff return for 22 yards. CPU is now 0-5 for the year. Western Dubuque is set to play Union on Friday, Oct. 7 at home, which will be their last home game of the 2011 season. The Bobcats are now ranked #43 in the state of Iowa's varsity football rankings.

Head coach Brian Kuhle had this to say about the game: "It's always fun to get a win on Homecoming. We needed this district win to put ourselves in a solid position for the postseason. We had a slow start, but, once we got moving, the team did a great job." Homecoming MVP honors go to quarterback Nick Tuttle with 30 rushing yards and 167 passing yards for three touchdowns.

WDHS Art Corner

By: Colleen Hoffmann, Westerner Staff
Nick Becker is a seventeen-year old senior who is a very talented member of the art program at Western Dubuque High School. He has created numerous works of art in his years at the school. Nick has also participated in the WaMac Art Show, meaning his work was selected by his instructors to compete against other students' work. His most recent piece (pictured) is called "Something Very Simple," a comment on the simplicity of the piece. It is a silhouette of his face in black and white. He says he had no inspiration; he was "just passing the time." When asked whether he planned to pursue art in college, Becker answered, "I plan to go for architecture, which is some kind of art, I guess."  He enjoys making mixed-media sculptures and expects most of his artwork this year will be of that variety.

Senior Spotlight October

Name: Erin Norton

Hometown: Farley

Birthday: January 24th

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Song: "It's My Life"  by Bon Jovi

Favorite Quote: "The past can hurt. You can either run from it or learn from it." -"The Lion King"

Favorite Class: Band, Jazz Band, Music Theory and Psychology

Favorite School Lunch: Spaghetti

Best High School Memory: "Every day is a wonderful memory in my book. But if I have to choose, well, anything to do with band!"

Activities: Band, Jazz Band, Show Band, Drama, and Westerner Staff

Kind of Car You Drive: 2000 Jeep Cherokee

Kind of Car You Wish You Drove: "Anything is fine with me, but it has to be running."

Who do You Admire Most: My family and Elvis Presley

Biggest Fear: Spiders

Biggest Wish: World Peace

Favorite Teacher(s): Mr. Omarzu, Mrs. Tipple, Mrs. McDermott, Mr. Cleary, and Mr. Kurt

Favorite Store to Shop: Kohl's or Hot Topic

Dream Job: Journalist for Rolling Stone or People magazine

Pet Peeve: "When people say 'like' or 'um' a lot!"

What Would You Do if You Had a Million Dollars: "I'd give half to my parents and sister and then pay my way through college."

Homecoming Poll

Homecoming Poll
By Brenna Wolfe, Westerner Staff
I interviewed four freshman, four sophomores, four juniors, four seniors and four teachers for this month's poll. The question was: "What was your favorite spirit day of Homecoming Week?" Each participant chose from the following options: Salad Dressing Day, Famous Duo Day, Class Distinction Day, Yesterday and Tomorrow but Not Today Day, and, of course, Bobcat Day. For Salad Dressing Day, people were supposed to dress like a type of dressing; for example, someone could dress up as a cowboy to symbolize ranch dressing. Famous Duo Day entailed picking a partner and dressing up like a well-known couple or duo. Class Distinction Day separated the grades by different eras in the history of time, ranging from the Jurassic period to the Wild, Wild West. For Yesterday and Tomorrow but Not Today Day, students and faculty dressed according to a much different time period in their lives; for example, students could dress like a baby or an old person. Lastly, Bobcat Day called for students to dress in red and black, displaying their Bobcat spirit! Go Bobcats! Here are the results of the poll:

Salad Dressing Day	1
Famous Duo Day	6
Class Distinction Day	2
Yesterday and Tomorrow but Not Today Day	5
Bobcat Day	6

Homecoming Highlights

Homecoming Highlights
By Morgan Tomas, Westerner Staff
Homecoming Week 2011 proved to be successful in exciting the entire student body and pumping them up for the big game on Friday, September 23rd. The sophomore game began at 5:00 p.m. Though the battle was well fought, the sophomores lost. The Bobcats made a comeback during the varsity game, however, claiming a victory over Center Point - Urbana with a score of 27 to 8. Their motivation for fighting for the win? The crowd. Over 89 percent of Western Dubuque High School students attended the game, cheering on their fellow players. The varsity football team now leads with a 4-1 record; they hope and plan to make it to the state finals this year. Go Bobcats!
A majority of Western Dubuque High School students dressed up for each day of the week leading up to the game. The dress-up days were enticing and creative, inviting students and staffers alike to walk the halls in costume. Out of each of the assigned dress-up days- Salad Dressing Day, Famous Duo Day, Class Distinction Day, Yesterday and Tomorrow, but Not Today Day, and Spirit Day-Spirit Day took the imaginary trophy of loyalty to Homecoming Week with 45 percent of students choosing it as their favorite. The Homecoming Olympics, which were scheduled and performed during the extended fourth hour of each day, had an estimated 21 percent of students participating. Though the members of student council, as well as the employees of WDHS, had high hopes for more students taking part in the festivities, it was still an apparent aide in the pep for Homecoming.
The Homecoming dance, which took place Saturday, September 24th, was also
a huge triumph. Its theme was "Bobcats through the Ages," and it lasted from
8-11:30 p.m., with approximately 86 percent of WDHS students attending. The school
spirit was undeniably evident during this year's Homecoming week.