Spartan Swim Club feels stresses of budget cuts in Holt

Posted on May 5, 2013 by sallyzimmerman

Spartan Swim Club, Holt, Swim

Swimmer Avalon Jones practices her technique in the pool.

By Sally Zimmerman
Holt Journal staff writer

As the Holt School Board comes up with a plan for the upcoming year’s budget, the Spartan Swim Club may be hurt. One of the board’s proposed money savers was to close the pool at Holt Junior High School. This would be problematic for the Spartan Swim Club because it uses this pool for practices. They also practice at Holt Senior High School.

At the school board meeting on April 8, the board decided the junior high pool would stay open. They presented the yearly cost to run the pool at $26,000 with sporadic repairs costing $15,000 to $25,000. The board also said it cost another school district $156,000 to decommission its pool in the past. This cost far outweighs the savings from closing the pool.

The Spartan Swim Club operates in Holt, Haslett and Okemos and is open to kids age 5 and up. The club benefits Holt in more ways than one.

“It teaches the kids discipline and brings structure to their lives,” said parent Kris Mayhew.

The club is divided into three levels: Mini Spartan, Junior Spartan and Spartan. It acts as a feeder program for the high school swim team.

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Holt High School counts music classes the same as math classes in GPA

Posted on May 2, 2013 by C.D. Nordgren
Holt High School senior Micha Norwood plays the tuba during band class. The class is included as part of Norwood's GPA.

Holt High School senior Micha Norwood plays the tuba during band class. The class is included as part of Norwood’s GPA.

By Caleb Nordgren
Holt Journal staff writer

It’s 11:20 on a Friday at Holt High School. Senior Evan Edwards makes his way to band class. The future MSU music student is, among other things, getting ready to hear the band play “Abyss,” a song he wrote himself and used as part of his application portfolio. The band will perform “Abyss” at their next concert in May.

Edwards and his classmates obviously will receive a grade in their band class. However, unlike some other high schools across the country, that grade, whether high or low, will impact each student’s GPA this semester. That is, Edwards’ band grade counts just as much in his GPA as a grade in calculus or history.

Dean Manikas, director of curriculum for the Holt School District, wrote in an email that all courses taken at Holt High School count toward a student’s GPA, although there is a separate system in place for honors consideration.

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Holt’s Relay for Life

Posted on April 30, 2013 by marleedelaney

By Marlee Delaney
Holt Journal staff writer

Holt’s Relay for Life is looking for people to participate in this annual cancer fundraiser June 21-22 at Holt High School.

Relay for Life celebrates survivors, remembers those who have lost their battle and raises funds to stop a disease that continues to take far too many lives.

The relay is a team event that lasts 24 hours. Because cancer never sleeps, it is required for at least one team member to be walking on the track at all times.

American Cancer Society representative Sarah Evitts said Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s largest fundraiser.

Evitts said the relay is about supporting anyone who has gone through cancer. She added that it’s about communities rallying around survivors and caregivers and honoring those we have lost. The relay gives individuals a chance to fight back against this disease.

“We are truly creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays,” she said.
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Holt Senior High School Presents “Fiddler on the Roof”

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Elizabeth LeCrone

By Liz LeCrone
Holt Journal staff writer

For many, the rewards of theater involve a successful opening night amidst great applause from an audience of friends, family and strangers. For the students of Holt Senior High School, the friendships made on and off the set were more than enough.

On April 19, Holt Senior High School staged its spring musical. This year’s production was “Fiddler on the Roof,” a story of one town’s fight to maintain tradition in the face of outside influence.

“My position was new when this building was new, so I am, actually, its first slave,” Jeff Miller, the theater director, says with a chuckle. He has worked for Holt Schools for 10 years and been doing theater for 30. He has watched traditions come and go. The one thing that never changes, though, is the struggle for funding from the district. According to the 2012 Survey of Theatre Education in United States High Schools, the average high school musical costs $7,394.
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With poverty prevalent, Holt Community Food Bank has success

Posted on April 25, 2013 by gunner3244

Holt Community Food Bank volunteer Adrian Williams helps sort canned goods.

Holt Community Food Bank volunteer Adrian Williams helps sort canned goods.

By Max Gun
Holt Journal staff writer

The Holt Community Food Bank, 2021 Aurelius Road, has been a success and is continuing to grow and serve more families.

“I have been going to the Holt Food Bank every 30 days for food for almost two years, ever since I lost my job due to health reasons,” said a Holt Food Bank client and single mother of two who requested her name not be used. “They help me feed me and my children because I can’t afford to prepare every meal myself. The food may not stretch out for the entire month, but it helps out for a great portion of the month,” she said. “I have food stamps to get me through the remaining days of the month before I can go back to the Holt Food Bank.”

She also said in addition to food, the food bank helps with providing toiletries.

“I haven’t had to buy toothpaste, shampoo, or bar soap in about a year and a half,” she said.

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Holt School Board tentatively approves district budget

Posted on April 24, 2013 by C.D. Nordgren

The Holt School Board debates the proposed district plan. The plan would be approved unanimously and will be taken up for final approval in June.

The Holt School Board debates the proposed district plan. The plan would be approved unanimously and will be taken up for final approval in June.


By Caleb Nordgren
Holt Journal staff writer

The Holt School Board gave informal approval to a plan by the district that would delay major changes to Holt High School and the Holt elementary schools until the 2014-15 school year.

The plan would turn the ninth-grade campus at Holt High School into a twelfth-grade campus to create an environment like that of a college, board member Lori Zajac said.

The plan would also close Midway Elementary School, turning it into a center for early childhood development, with students transferring to the closest elementary school. Zajac said the change would consolidate the early childhood system and make things easier for everyone. The plan would also move Sycamore Elementary School to a “balanced,” full-year schedule, Director of Curriculum Dean Manikas said.
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Some Holt residents want chickens allowed in more areas

Posted on April 8, 2013 by gunner3244
Delhi Township map shows which areas are legal and illegal to raise chickens

Delhi Township map shows which areas are legal and illegal to raise chickens

By Max Gun
Holt Journal staff writer

The Delhi Township Board is reviewing its chicken ordinance because residents want to raise chickens in more areas. As the ordinance stands, chickens are allowed to be raised in 60 percent of the township—in rural areas, but not the remaining 40 percent—in urban areas.

John Hayhoe, Delhi Township Board member, said the township is revisiting this issue that was originally brought up in 2011.

“About two years ago, a few people sent a letter to the township requesting that chickens be raised in the backyard of residents who live in the urban areas of the township,” he said. “The commission at that time felt that since chickens sometimes carry diseases, as well as often agitating neighboring dogs, causing them to bark and create a lot of noise, that the issue should remain as so. However, now that we are getting more letters, we are looking into the chicken ordinance issue again.”

Hayhoe also said that residents want to raise chickens to recall their rural roots, as well as teach their children to grow organic food.

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Delhi Township Board votes to continue trail expansion, approves Magna tax abatement

Posted on April 8, 2013 by C.D. Nordgren

By Caleb Nordgren
Holt Journal staff writer

The Delhi Charter Township Board voted Tuesday to move forward with efforts to expand the local trail system and to grant a tax abatement to Magna International Inc. to build a new assembly line. The line is projected to bring about 35 jobs to the Holt area.

The trail expansion is designed to make Holt a “walkable community,” said C.J. Davis, the township supervisor. It will be done in two parts. The first, which is nearly ready to begin construction, would expand the Lansing River Trail into Holt. The second, for which the board approved about $650,000 over three years, would continue the expansion of the trail system south toward Mason. Davis said during the meeting that getting local schools access to the trails is one of the township’s priorities.

Delhi Township Director of Community Development Tracy Miller said the trail system will eventually extend as far south as Jackson, but for now it’s intended to give Holt residents more options in transportation.
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Holt’s Kiwanis Club plans upcoming events

Posted on April 7, 2013 by marleedelaney

By Marlee Delaney
Holt Journal staff writer

Holt's Easter egg hunt/Photo by John Hayhoe

Holt’s Easter egg hunt/Photo by John Hayhoe


Holt’s Kiwanis Club is holding a Top 10 Dinner on April 22, recognizing the top 10 graduating high school students.

Former director and current member John Hayhoe said that each year, the club invites a guest speaker. This year, the speaker is Judge Donald Allen from the 55th District Court.

Hayhoe said the club runs a lot of fundraisers to support its activities.

“We hold two chicken barbecues each year,” he said. “We cook chickens, and people from the community come and buy them. We make between $3,000 and $4,000 from that.”
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Public feels ‘middle college’ plan is moving too fast

Posted on April 3, 2013 by sallyzimmerman

Completion, path, Holt, Holt High School

The Holt High School completion paths. The courses in green will be offered as college credits.

By Sally Zimmerman
Holt Journal staff writer

School district residents spoke out at a March 25 community forum about budgets. The forum was held at Holt Junior High School.

The main topic was the proposal to repurpose the ninth grade campus to a ‘middle college.’ The board plans to implement this change by next school year, which many people in the community feel is moving too fast.

“I think our community is interested in providing the best education for our students,” said Trish Simon, a parent, “but it’s too rushed.”

Simon worries the integration of flexible schedules (classes offered only certain days of the week or at later times) will leave holes in students’ schedules. Without a regular schedule or transportation, some students might be left stranded at school. Simon also worries seniors will exhibit minimal leadership upon being separated from the rest of the high school students.

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