Story and photo by Ingrid Holmquist
East’s  ‘Blue Note’ Jazz band went to Kansas University  Friday, March 11, to participate in the KU jazz band competition.  They earned a One, the best rating possible, pulled in  three best solo awards (awarded to Micha Vasgird, Anna Schoettger and Ryan Stewart) and made lots of great memories, too.  Adam Slyter and Aaron Fast attribute many of their great memories to their trip to the Waffle House and rolling down hills.  What happens in Jazz Band, stays in Jazz Band.

Photo and Story by Shawn Zajicek
Renovations on the north gym are finally being done.  They are first starting with the back girls locker rooms, which are now closed.  That means the swim locker room is a little cramped with all the female athletes going out for spring sports.  Renovations for the north gym are planned to be completed by the end of the summer.

Photo and Story by Kirah Houser
After a week of interviews, which included more applicants than ever before, this year’s Oracle staff announced the selection of 19 new staff members for the 2010-2011 Oracle.
“I have never seen a more impressive group of applicants,” said Oracle adviser Jane Holt.  “We could have created two staffs of talented folks with this group.”

By Darrin Lim
In ancient Sparta, Spartan children and young adults challenged each other through physical battles. After beating the living crap out of their opponents, the victors earned nothing but pride. Unfortunately, East is not as hard core, but does reward ‘victors’ far better. Every month, teachers nominate one student they deem as excellent and enter them into the Spartan Challenge. At the end of each month, a drawing determines which of these excellent students will receive a much coveted Spartan coin.
“The coins are based …

Photo and Story By: Kathryn Dahl
Lincoln East Speech and Debate was on fire this weekend, taking home 2 trophies. From Norris to Northeast, these kids just don’t stop. The speech kids have been working hard especially this last month, making sure they are ready to go, making the other schools go up against some tough competition. East speech coaches, Mr. Davis, Mr. Fichthorn, and Mrs. Schleicher have been working with these devoted students to be sure they will succeed to the best of their ability. The season is now coming …

By Kathryn Dahl and Katie Haugen
Juniors have been sacrificing their space to the construction of the junior hall. Two to three people are crammed in one locker, making it frustrating and time consuming for all the 11Th graders here at East. Now that the construction workers have the hallway finished, the question is when will our juniors be able to move out of their tight spaces and have a locker to call their own.
Talking to some juniors, they seem to have a similar opinion on the new hallway. Trey Pringle …

Photo and caption by Melissa Frohberg.
Have you seen the lunch line lately? From the obnoxious orange cones controlling the traffic of students, to the yellow line “preventing” students from cutting, it’s all just a little more than we’re used to. But don’t be deceived, this “never-ending” line ends a lot faster than you’d expect. So stop by the cafeteria and get some line today. Mmmm…tasty.

By Kelsey Haugen
Two-year-old helps mother give birth
In west Mississippi, on Nov. 18, a toddler did something that most toddlers can’t do.  He helped his mother give birth to his little brother, the fourth child in his family.  The mother, Bobbeye Favazza, wasn’t expected to go into labor for another two weeks.  The night before she went into labor, she was in a lot of pain, but she figured it was just pressure.  But it wasn’t; she went into labor the next day on the living room couch.  Her 2-year-old son, …

By Melissa Frohberg
Photo by Steve Raglin
All of our favorite foods-on-sticks will be leaving us. Why?  Because the State Fair will be leaving Lincoln. Grand Island will now be home to our state’s prized annual event.  The Nebraska State Fair  has been educating and entertaining families with different hands-on activities and exhibits for 108 years.
From August 27th to September 6th 2010, you will be able to experience the fair at Fonner Park, Grand Island, in its new environment. Along with the fair moving, there will be new facilities such as the …

By Brianna Harder
With the number of uninsured Americans on the rise due to a floundering economy, the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200) has been at the forefront of politics.
The goal of H.R. 3200 is to reform the current U.S. health care system to curb rising health care costs, and secure affordable health care for all Americans, while preserving the right to choice in health care providers.  The bill seeks to make insurance easily accessible by offering public insurance to small businesses, ending discriminatory practices within the  insurance …