msm006's blog

On a typical weekend at Hy-Vee there are plenty of helpful smiles and there is always friendly service. There is also plenty of cauliflower ear and potentially starving Morningside wrestlers.

Bob Taylor didn’t know what he started the day he met former Morningside Student and athlete Morgan Freese.  What it did end up starting was an alliance of sorts between the Morningside wrestling team and the Hamilton Hy-Vee in Sioux City.

Morgan Freese was at the off-campus job fair in 2008 when he first met Hy-Vee Bob.  Bob Taylor is the human resource manager at the Hamilton Hy-Vee.  Morgan introduced himself and was eventually hired as part of the Hamilton Hy-Vee team.  Eventually a few of Morgan’s teammates were starting to feel the financial pinch of college life and decided to go have a talk with Hy-Vee Bob.  This started a trend that has been happening for nearly five years since then.

Asked about the connection between Hy-Vee and the Morningside Wrestling team Taylor said, “It’s easy hiring on these Morningside wrestlers, especially when I don’t have to worry about if I’ve hired good characters.  I have my very own pre-screening system of (former head) coach (Tim) Jager and now I have coach (Jake) Stevenson to do the same for me.”

Taylor is a Hy-Vee legend of sorts.  He received the lifetime achievement award for Hy-Vee which is given to only 7-9 employees of the people employed by Hy-Vee each year.  He has shown his continued dedication to Hy-Vee with his efforts to help not only the customers but do whatever he can to help his employees as well.  He also has shown an ability to be in touch with his workers schedules outside of work by making sure to schedule them when it is convenient for them and getting them off work even when they forgot to ask off.

Kory Kistner, a senior 125 pounder for the Mustangs has enjoyed his three years serving Hy-Vee and said Taylor was a big part of that.  “Bob has always been very understanding of my schedule and has bailed me out numerous times when I had things come up and couldn’t come to work.”

It isn’t all about work when it comes to the connection for Hy-Vee and the wrestling team though.  There have been numerous weddings, road trips, and grill outs that have taken place as well.  “I like to think that this relationship between the team and Hy-Vee has grown from a simple work relationship into a true friendship,” Taylor said.

He has hired ­­28 wrestlers over the last four years and been a key person in making sure the wrestling team always has an option for off campus jobs.  He has made it a lot easier to keep the team on the same page while ensuring they have a continuing source of income throughout the school year.

Chad Morehead, a senior 165 pounder for the Mustangs appreciates Bob’s continued dedication to his workers.  Chad often wants extra hours and Bob is able to find them for him on most occasions.  Chad said, “I live off campus, so I always need extra money.  Bob helps me get extra hours on the weekends and even helped me get a job on the night crew the last two summers so I could make sure I always had cash flowing in.”

Hy-Vee management has noticed the increased presence of the Morningside Wrestling team at the store.  Front end manager, Jeff Betsworth, loves how he can trust and doesn’t have to worry if they are doing the right things.  “I love having the Morningside team working here, they are dependable and are always looking for something to do, just like I told Bob, we need to make sure we keep this connection so we always have these kinds of workers here.”

Juggling an off-campus job along with the duties of being a full-time student as well as being a collegiate athlete can be hard work.  However, Taylor said it is worth the time to invest in hiring athletes for numerous reasons.  “Athletes are used to having to follow set schedules, they understand the value of working as a team, and in most sports there is some sort of dress code that is enforced just like here at Hy-Vee.   They also aren’t afraid of hard work.”

Now anytime a Morningside wrestler needs a job, they just make a trip into the Hamilton Hy-Vee, go up the stairs to the human resource office, and ask for Hy-Vee Bob.

On a typical weekend at Hy-Vee you can find plenty of helpful smiles and friendly service.  You can also find plenty of cauliflower ear and potentially starving Morningside wrestlers.  Bob Taylor didn’t know what he had started the day he met former Morningside Student and athlete Morgan Freese.  What it did end up starting was an alliance of sorts between the Morningside wrestling team and the Hamilton Hy-Vee in Sioux City.

Morgan Freese was at the off-campus job fair in 2008 when he first met Hy-Vee Bob.  Bob Taylor is the human resource manager at the Hamilton Hy-Vee.  Morgan introduced himself and was eventually hired on as part of the Hamilton Hy-Vee team.  Eventually a few of Morgan’s teammates were starting to feel the financial pinch of college life and decided to go have a talk with Hy-Vee Bob.  This started a trend that has been happening for nearly five years since then.

When asked about the connection between Hy-Vee and the Morningside Wrestling team Taylor said, “It’s easy hiring on these Morningside wrestlers especially when I don’t have to worry about if I’ve hired good characters.  I have my very own pre-screening system of (former head) coach (Tim) Jager and now I have coach (Jake) Stevenson to do the same for me.”

Taylor is a Hy-Vee legend of sorts, he received the lifetime achievement award for Hy-Vee which is given to only 7-9 employees of the people employed by Hy-Vee each year.  He has shown his continued dedication to Hy-Vee with his efforts to help not only the customers but do whatever he can to help his employees as well.  He also has shown an ability to be in touch with his workers schedules outside of work by making sure to schedule them when it is convenient for them and getting them off work even when they forgot to ask off.

It isn’t all about work when it comes to the connection for Hy-Vee and the wrestling team though.  There have been numerous weddings, road trips, and grill outs that have taken place as well.  “I like to think that this relationship between the team and Hy-Vee has grown from a simple work relationship into a true friendship,” Taylor said.

He has hired ­­28 wrestlers over that time and been a key person in making sure the wrestling team always has an option for off campus jobs.  He has made it a lot easier to keep the team on the same page while still ensuring they have a continuing source of income throughout the school year.

Hy-Vee has noticed the increased presence of the Morningside Wrestling team at the store.  Front end manager, Jeff Betsworth loves how he can trust and doesn’t have to worry if they are doing the right things.  “I love having the Morningside team working here, they are dependable and are always looking for something to do, just like I told Bob, we need to make sure we keep this connection so we always have these kinds of workers here.”

Juggling an off-campus job along with the duties of being a full-time student as well as being a collegiate athlete can be hard work.  However, Taylor said it is worth the time to invest in hiring athletes for numerous reasons.  “Athletes are used to having to follow set schedules, they understand the value of working as a team, and in most sports there is some sort of dress code that is enforced just like here at Hy-Vee.   They also aren’t afraid of hard work

Kory Kistner, a senior 125 pounder for the Mustangs has enjoyed his 3 years serving Hy-Vee and said Taylor was a big part of that.  “Bob has always been very understanding of my schedule and has bailed me out numerous times when I had things come up and couldn’t come to work.”

Chad Morehead, a senior 165 pounder for the Mustangs appreciates Bob’s continued dedication to his workers.  Chad often wants extra hours and Bob is able to find them for him on most occasions.  Chad said, “I live off campus, so I always need extra money.  Bob helps me get extra hours on the weekends and even helped me get a job on the night crew the last two summers so I could make sure I always had cash flowing in.”

Now anytime a Morningside wrestler needs a job, they just make a trip into the Hamilton Hy-Vee, go up the stairs to the human resource office, and ask for Hy-Vee Bob.

A fourteen year old blogger in Pakistan was shot for her blog comments by Taliban militants.  Her comments were mostly about her constant battle with the extremist militants who used fear and intimidation to try to keep girls at home and out of schools.  The girl,  Malala Yousufzai, was awarded the National Peace Prize in November for her writing and her publicity helped to bring her to the attention of the Taliban.  The Taliban have sworn that given another opportunity they will kill her again.  This has brought up many important issues within the country ranging from the military’s inability to stop the Taliban and the Taliban’s disregard for the safety of children.  The lengths they are willing to go to to silence people who go against their ideals has reached a new level when they are willing to try to murder a 14 year old who goes against their wishes.  This is news because the whole world should be worried about an extremist religious group that is willing to go to such lengths to stop others going against their views.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/10/world/asia/pakistan-teen-activist-attack/index.html

Two Christian boys aged nine and ten in Egypt were caught ripping up and urinating on the Quran.  They are currently being held for seven days for blasphemy.  They were caught by another member of their village and were taken to the priest to be reprimanded.  However, the person who caught them did not feel the priest did enough to make them learn a lesson and instead decided to file a police complaint resulting in their seven day detainment.  This is newsworthy because religion is a worldwide thing and how religions interact with one another is important.  In Egypt especially there is tension between the Muslim and Christian populations and situations like this don’t help that situation.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/04/14214459-coptic-christian-boys-in-egypt-accused-of-urinating-on-quran?lite

This article headlines how the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity in Lincoln, Nebraska had to evacuate their fraternity house because of a leaky toilet.  The leak from the third floor had seeped into the wiring and resulted in a very serious fire hazard for the entire house.  The alarm system was affected and isn’t able to be reset, which was another important factor in evacuating the house.  The house This article is newsworthy because as it says in the article there was recently a fatal fire at another college in the same city and it shows the public how other college campuses are trying to keep their students safe.  This article is also relevant to me because my brother is a member of this fraternity and lives at the house that was evacuated.

http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/UNL-Fraternity-Evacuated-Following-Leaky-Toilet-170924961.html

Elwood Olsen Stadium is a great example of what Morningside College represents. It is the field for football, soccer, and track teams. The stands have been used as a workout for the basketball and wrestling teams. It is an also a place for the fine arts here at Morningside to be showcased since the MOB (Morningside Outdoor Band) plays at the games. Elwood brings together all of these different aspects as well as being a general meeting place for many current and former students.
It’s a Saturday morning and the field is calm, it is early morning and there is still dew on the ground. The stands empty, the sidelines, bare. Later on their will be numerous battles taking place and screaming fans to watch the as our Morningside athletes compete in soccer and then later on in football. As of right now however, there is just calm quiet as you can hear birds overhead. If autumn had a prototypical day this would be it. The weather just tells you it’s football season. The parking lot is filling up as parents and alumni come to cheer on their beloved Morningside Mustangs.
The game begins and I have made my move up to The Hill. The Hill is the hot spot for tailgating for Morningside Students. Junior Blayne Richards backs his truck, filled with a futon mattress and chairs to watch the game, and yells “Beautiful day for some tailgating!” The Hill is a steep hill that has a view of the field without having to actually go in the stadium. It has at times been referred to Cheapskate Hill because people not wanting to pay their way into the game can still enjoy it without having to pay to get in. The Hill is about as long as the field and the cars parked up there usually take advantage of all of that room available as cars line nearly the whole length.
There is drinking, laughing and conversation everywhere on the hill. I observe most of the people on the hill have no interest in the game and instead are focused mostly on the social aspect of The Hill. Until late in the game when a touchdown is scored on the corner of the field closest to The Hill and everyone present erupts in cheers as the scoring Morningside player runs towards The Hill and is subsequently flagged as he is nearly to the track while pointing up at his fellow classmates on The Hill.
The fans aren’t too upset with the penalty as the game is well in hand against the rival school of Northwestern. This penalty has only motivated the fans to start a chant about their feelings towards the Red Raider team from Orange City that went something along the lines of “Forget the Dutch.”
The game is now over; the hill is slowly clearing out. Senior Mike O’Neal who enjoyed the experience on the hill encourages everyone to pick up after the game so that everyone is allowed to continue the tradition of tailgating and watching the game from The Hill.

“This is the only one of these pencils I have ever sold,” muttered Jen Petsche as she rung up my pencil with the Morningside logo (30 cents each).  This single quote sums up the seemingly impossible mission I was sent on.  Jen, who has worked at the Morningside Book store since the start of the semester, had yet to sell a single pencil that I was sent to search for.  Luckily for me I just happened to bring my wallet and debit card with me to school today and was relieved to see when my card wasn’t declined and tax wasn’t included on my 30 cent purchase.

Although I felt ridiculous paying with my card for such a small amount, I felt even more ridiculous when she reassured me a freshman had used a credit card to buy a blue book earlier this week.  While she meant well with her remark, she actually made me, a fifth year senior, feel very young and clueless on my quest for my Morningside Pencil.

The pencil, solid maroon with the words Morningside Mustangs and the Mustang logo in white at the bottom, is currently useless to me because the end isn’t sharpened.  Looking back on my trip I should have asked to use a pencil sharpener before I returned with what may be the only pencil of it’s kind outside of the bookstore.

This article talks about parents Brandi and Russel Bellew, and how their failure to take their son to a hospital resulted in his death.   The parents are very religious and have taken a very literal approach to the New Testament that says the sick should be prayed over and anointed in oil.  Their son, Austin, was 16 years old and the autopsy said he had a burst appendix.   The parents are now going to be required by law to call a doctor if their other 6 children are ever sick for more than one day.  I was shocked to find out that the family received only probation in this case for what turned out to be the death of their child from a situation that could have been handled medically.

http://gma.yahoo.com/oregon-faith-healer-parents-probation-sons-death-193833596–abc-news-topstories.html

I have always struggled to convey details in my writing and focusing on the small things people want to know. I know what I saw, sometimes I just struggle to bring those same details to the attention of others.

A man currently imprisoned for a murder charge has now been charged with assault as well.  Arkanjelo M. Kot, is the man being charged in a murder committed in July of 2010.  His newest charge stems from an assault attempt on a corrections officer.  This article does a very good job of painting Kot in a negative light by not only stating these two incidents, and his previous affiliation with violence, but it also says he is going on his third lawyer after the other two withdrew from the case.

http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/man-pleads-not-guilty-to-jail-assault/article_9ae2d94e-fd47-11e1-804a-0019bb2963f4.html