Senior lifeguard rescues 4-year-old, awarded Citizen of the Year
By Mat Scott
(Photo: 4-year-old Asher McCloud (left) and lifeguard Bryce Curtis (center) at the Plain Township banquet. Photo by B. Curtis.)
NORTHRIDGE – Plain Township Aquatic Center had a very close call on Aug. 1 when head lifeguard Bryce Curtis (’15) rescued 4-year-old Asher McCloud from the bottom of the pool.
Curtis, who had been called over by another lifeguard requesting assistance, pulled McCloud from the pool and placed him in a recovery position, stating that the boy had a pulse but was struggling to breathe.
“The other guard asked for help,” Curtis said. “When she pointed out the boy, I went in. It was really alarming because I’ve never had to do anything like that before.”
Curtis was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award by the Plain Township Fire Department at a ceremony on Oct. 11. McCloud also gave Curtis his favorite stuffed frog as a gesture of gratitude.
Curtis has worked at PTAC for two summers, first as a lifeguard and this past summer as a head guard. Curtis has also been on the NHS swim team since eighth grade, specializing in the 100 yard breaststroke and 50 yard freestyle events. He was elected as a captain for the 2014-15 season, along with Mat Scott (’15) and Josie Bunstine (’16).
Mason Alexander (’15), who is also a lifeguard for PTAC and a long-time friend of Curtis, said that “[Curtis] is a very competent lifeguard. I always liked having him as head guard because I knew that when he told me to do something, there was a reason for it.”
Alexander also said that PTAC is a very safe pool. “The managers are very strict on procedure,” he said. “They do laps of the deck to make sure that everyone is following protocol and that the guards have the necessary equipment like rescue tubes and first-aid packs.” Lifeguards are also required to attend two monthly in-service training sessions during which they practice rescue and CPR/AED skills.
Curtis, who originally earned his lifeguard certification through Hastings Water Works (the company in charge of PTAC), said, “It’s a good job and great to have on a résumé.”
-Mat Scott (’15) is the Web Editor-in-Chief and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
By Mat Scott
(Photo: 4-year-old Asher McCloud (left) and lifeguard Bryce Curtis (center) at the Plain Township banquet. Photo by B. Curtis.)
NORTHRIDGE – Plain Township Aquatic Center had a very close call on Aug. 1 when head lifeguard Bryce Curtis (’15) rescued 4-year-old Asher McCloud from the bottom of the pool.
Curtis, who had been called over by another lifeguard requesting assistance, pulled McCloud from the pool and placed him in a recovery position, stating that the boy had a pulse but was struggling to breathe.
“The other guard asked for help,” Curtis said. “When she pointed out the boy, I went in. It was really alarming because I’ve never had to do anything like that before.”
Curtis was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award by the Plain Township Fire Department at a ceremony on Oct. 11. McCloud also gave Curtis his favorite stuffed frog as a gesture of gratitude.
Curtis has worked at PTAC for two summers, first as a lifeguard and this past summer as a head guard. Curtis has also been on the NHS swim team since eighth grade, specializing in the 100 yard breaststroke and 50 yard freestyle events. He was elected as a captain for the 2014-15 season, along with Mat Scott (’15) and Josie Bunstine (’16).
Mason Alexander (’15), who is also a lifeguard for PTAC and a long-time friend of Curtis, said that “[Curtis] is a very competent lifeguard. I always liked having him as head guard because I knew that when he told me to do something, there was a reason for it.”
Alexander also said that PTAC is a very safe pool. “The managers are very strict on procedure,” he said. “They do laps of the deck to make sure that everyone is following protocol and that the guards have the necessary equipment like rescue tubes and first-aid packs.” Lifeguards are also required to attend two monthly in-service training sessions during which they practice rescue and CPR/AED skills.
Curtis, who originally earned his lifeguard certification through Hastings Water Works (the company in charge of PTAC), said, “It’s a good job and great to have on a résumé.”
-Mat Scott (’15) is the Web Editor-in-Chief and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
A Day in the Life Of E.J. Cox
By Jamie Swickard
NORTHRIDGE- E.J. Cox isn’t just any ordinary senior at Northridge High School. Outside of school, Cox does something that not many teenagers participate in, let alone know much about. Cox does re-enactments of battles fought during the Civil War.
Cox began to gain interest in the Civil War when his second grade teacher, Mr. Zigler told Gettysburg stories. A few years later, Cox and his family visited Gettysburg and has been hooked since. Once Cox became a freshman, he met Dave Reed, who did re-enactments himself. Cox joined the group and he’s done the re-enactments ever since. Cox says, “its an addiction, you could say.”
Cox normally takes part in the re-enactments from spring time until autumn. Cox says, “We rarely do re-enactments in the Winter because historically, the men tried to avoid battling in the cold.”
The battles Cox does are all over the nation, so traveling is a big part of Cox’s hobby. Many of the battles he participates in are in the south: places like Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and, occasionally, Ohio.
Cox fights with different amounts of people depending on the size of the battle. The normal amount of fighters is around 10 men. Occasionally, if the battle is very big, like the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg in which Cox participated, there will be 25 to 30 other men and women in his group. The men and women he fights with aren’t always from America. “At the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg, there were three people from Sweden and a couple from Denmark, which was neat.”
The battles Cox does vary in length. For local re-enactments, Cox will arrive to the field on Friday and will fight Saturday and Sunday. Big battles normally last four or five days, which can be hard on Cox because showering or cleaning his gear isn’t an option. “This aspect is especially bad when its 90 degrees outside and you’re sweating a lot.”
A normally day at battle for Cox consists of waking up around 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. depending on what needs to be done before battle. Him and the group of men normally go outside and practice their maneuvers for the day. Then the men and women will have lunch. After, the men go to battle and either re-enact the battle by script or do what is called a “tactical.” A “tactical” is when the fighters do not follow a script. Once the day is over, Cox and the other people in his group clean their rifles and clean around the camp grounds or even talk to spectators. On other nights the men might go to a ball and dance with their friends.
Cox says his favorite memory is when he was re-enacting Pickett’s Charge and 6,000 men all did the confederate rebel yell at the same time. Cox says, “I had goosebumps from the sound. It was a taste off the spoon of what it was like to fight in the Civil War.”
There can be annoying parts about re-enacting. Cox says, “Some people are what I like to call FARBs, which stands for ‘far be it from the truth.’” These people use things such as water bottles instead of canteens during the re-enactment or talk on their cell phones in front of the spectators.
Overall Cox says re-enacting is a very fun hobby but an expensive one and he encourages anyone who is interested to talk to him or visit the website of the organization he goes through at [email protected]
-Jamie Swickard (16') is the Web Junior Editor and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
By Jamie Swickard
NORTHRIDGE- E.J. Cox isn’t just any ordinary senior at Northridge High School. Outside of school, Cox does something that not many teenagers participate in, let alone know much about. Cox does re-enactments of battles fought during the Civil War.
Cox began to gain interest in the Civil War when his second grade teacher, Mr. Zigler told Gettysburg stories. A few years later, Cox and his family visited Gettysburg and has been hooked since. Once Cox became a freshman, he met Dave Reed, who did re-enactments himself. Cox joined the group and he’s done the re-enactments ever since. Cox says, “its an addiction, you could say.”
Cox normally takes part in the re-enactments from spring time until autumn. Cox says, “We rarely do re-enactments in the Winter because historically, the men tried to avoid battling in the cold.”
The battles Cox does are all over the nation, so traveling is a big part of Cox’s hobby. Many of the battles he participates in are in the south: places like Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and, occasionally, Ohio.
Cox fights with different amounts of people depending on the size of the battle. The normal amount of fighters is around 10 men. Occasionally, if the battle is very big, like the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg in which Cox participated, there will be 25 to 30 other men and women in his group. The men and women he fights with aren’t always from America. “At the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg, there were three people from Sweden and a couple from Denmark, which was neat.”
The battles Cox does vary in length. For local re-enactments, Cox will arrive to the field on Friday and will fight Saturday and Sunday. Big battles normally last four or five days, which can be hard on Cox because showering or cleaning his gear isn’t an option. “This aspect is especially bad when its 90 degrees outside and you’re sweating a lot.”
A normally day at battle for Cox consists of waking up around 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. depending on what needs to be done before battle. Him and the group of men normally go outside and practice their maneuvers for the day. Then the men and women will have lunch. After, the men go to battle and either re-enact the battle by script or do what is called a “tactical.” A “tactical” is when the fighters do not follow a script. Once the day is over, Cox and the other people in his group clean their rifles and clean around the camp grounds or even talk to spectators. On other nights the men might go to a ball and dance with their friends.
Cox says his favorite memory is when he was re-enacting Pickett’s Charge and 6,000 men all did the confederate rebel yell at the same time. Cox says, “I had goosebumps from the sound. It was a taste off the spoon of what it was like to fight in the Civil War.”
There can be annoying parts about re-enacting. Cox says, “Some people are what I like to call FARBs, which stands for ‘far be it from the truth.’” These people use things such as water bottles instead of canteens during the re-enactment or talk on their cell phones in front of the spectators.
Overall Cox says re-enacting is a very fun hobby but an expensive one and he encourages anyone who is interested to talk to him or visit the website of the organization he goes through at [email protected]
-Jamie Swickard (16') is the Web Junior Editor and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
Northridge welcomes new students at semester
By Hugh Prentice
NORTHRIDGE - At the beginning of the second semester Northridge students saw some familiar faces and some new ones as well. Many C-Tec students had returned from the vocational school for their own carious reasons but along with them some students are brand new to Northridge High School.
One student, Emma Stritchfield just started attending Northridge High School as a freshman. She says it is “a lot different” than homeschooling and that there are “a lot more people”. **’s first impression was that she was “surprised, everyone was really welcoming, lots of people just randomly said hi to me”. **’s choices were between Northridge and Watkins and she chose Northridge because she “wanted a small school to start with”.
Another student, Brandon Diedrich (15’) came back from C-Tec and says that he returned because it “just wasn’t for me” and that Diedrich “missed his friends”. Diedrich attended Northridge up until his sophomore year until he made the switch to C-Tec for his junior year. He then decided he “missed Northridge” and made the switch back.
Those two students aren’t the only two new faces back to Northridge, there are a handful of students who returned to Northridge from C-Tec but ** is the only new arrival. But nonetheless we should welcome them all and show them that it’s a great day to be a Viking!
-Hugh Prentice (16’) is an Interactive Editor and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
By Hugh Prentice
NORTHRIDGE - At the beginning of the second semester Northridge students saw some familiar faces and some new ones as well. Many C-Tec students had returned from the vocational school for their own carious reasons but along with them some students are brand new to Northridge High School.
One student, Emma Stritchfield just started attending Northridge High School as a freshman. She says it is “a lot different” than homeschooling and that there are “a lot more people”. **’s first impression was that she was “surprised, everyone was really welcoming, lots of people just randomly said hi to me”. **’s choices were between Northridge and Watkins and she chose Northridge because she “wanted a small school to start with”.
Another student, Brandon Diedrich (15’) came back from C-Tec and says that he returned because it “just wasn’t for me” and that Diedrich “missed his friends”. Diedrich attended Northridge up until his sophomore year until he made the switch to C-Tec for his junior year. He then decided he “missed Northridge” and made the switch back.
Those two students aren’t the only two new faces back to Northridge, there are a handful of students who returned to Northridge from C-Tec but ** is the only new arrival. But nonetheless we should welcome them all and show them that it’s a great day to be a Viking!
-Hugh Prentice (16’) is an Interactive Editor and a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
Jake Neff: A California Update
By Daniel Neff
NORTHRIDGE- Jake Neff (‘14), as many people may know, graduated from Northridge last year. When he graduated, he had already decided he was going to go into the Air National Guard. The Air National Guard is basically just the reserves for the Air Force.
Neff enlisted on March 7th, 2014. After enlisting, he reported to Rickenbacker Air Force Base once a month for a drill weekend. He spent all day Saturday and Sunday at the base shadowing the job he was being trained for,which was vehicle maintenance. He had to do this until it was time to leave for basic training on Aug. 26, 2014.
Basic training took place at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. It lasted two months, but Neff said “It was the hardest two months of [his] life. It sucked, it was really annoying, and just sucked.” As soon as he arrived on the base, they started screaming at him. For the whole nine weeks, “no matter what you did they would scream at you” Neff says. “For the first three weeks, I almost never talked. I was too scared.”
He eventually started to get more comfortable and made some friends, including Soto, Sipes, and Mertens (you’re known by your last name in the Air Force). He was even friends with his Staff Sergeant Laris by the ninth week. Neff said an average day at basic was something like this: “Wake up at 5:30, get yelled at for not waking up fast enough, and do physical training.” Physical training, or PT as they called it, consisted of running about 3 miles and doing things like push-ups and crunches. “Eat breakfast for ten minutes, take showers, brush teeth, and shave. Clean the dorms we stayed in, get yelled at for not cleaning it well enough, have class, eat lunch for ten minutes, then go and do something like take apart an M16 and put it back together a ton of times. Get yelled at some more, eat dinner for 15 minutes, shower again, clean dorms again, then 45 minutes of free time before lights out at 9:00.”
Neff graduated basic on Oct. 24 in the 323rd flight, squadron 603. From there, he headed straight for tech school in Los Angeles, California. Tech school is where he takes classes for vehicle maintenance. He says tech school is “a lot better than basic was. You get some freedom here, as opposed to zero freedom at basic.” On an average day he will wake up at 5:15, and have class all morning until lunch. Then it’s right back to class until 3:30, clean the classrooms, physical training until 5:30, then basically free time until bedtime at 10:00. He has to make his own dinner, which he says is usually either a hot pocket or a bowl of cereal.
Neff gets to come home for two weeks during Christmas, but officially graduates tech school on Mar. 4, 2015. After he comes home, he plans on going to college at OSU Newark. He has to work at Rickenbacker Air Force Base for 90 days. After that, he has to go in once a month and two weeks every summer for six years. Then he can either choose to re-enlist or be discharged. Neff says, “I’m glad I chose to do it, and I’m just working my hardest to get through each day until I get to come home.”
-Daniel Neff (16’) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
By Daniel Neff
NORTHRIDGE- Jake Neff (‘14), as many people may know, graduated from Northridge last year. When he graduated, he had already decided he was going to go into the Air National Guard. The Air National Guard is basically just the reserves for the Air Force.
Neff enlisted on March 7th, 2014. After enlisting, he reported to Rickenbacker Air Force Base once a month for a drill weekend. He spent all day Saturday and Sunday at the base shadowing the job he was being trained for,which was vehicle maintenance. He had to do this until it was time to leave for basic training on Aug. 26, 2014.
Basic training took place at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. It lasted two months, but Neff said “It was the hardest two months of [his] life. It sucked, it was really annoying, and just sucked.” As soon as he arrived on the base, they started screaming at him. For the whole nine weeks, “no matter what you did they would scream at you” Neff says. “For the first three weeks, I almost never talked. I was too scared.”
He eventually started to get more comfortable and made some friends, including Soto, Sipes, and Mertens (you’re known by your last name in the Air Force). He was even friends with his Staff Sergeant Laris by the ninth week. Neff said an average day at basic was something like this: “Wake up at 5:30, get yelled at for not waking up fast enough, and do physical training.” Physical training, or PT as they called it, consisted of running about 3 miles and doing things like push-ups and crunches. “Eat breakfast for ten minutes, take showers, brush teeth, and shave. Clean the dorms we stayed in, get yelled at for not cleaning it well enough, have class, eat lunch for ten minutes, then go and do something like take apart an M16 and put it back together a ton of times. Get yelled at some more, eat dinner for 15 minutes, shower again, clean dorms again, then 45 minutes of free time before lights out at 9:00.”
Neff graduated basic on Oct. 24 in the 323rd flight, squadron 603. From there, he headed straight for tech school in Los Angeles, California. Tech school is where he takes classes for vehicle maintenance. He says tech school is “a lot better than basic was. You get some freedom here, as opposed to zero freedom at basic.” On an average day he will wake up at 5:15, and have class all morning until lunch. Then it’s right back to class until 3:30, clean the classrooms, physical training until 5:30, then basically free time until bedtime at 10:00. He has to make his own dinner, which he says is usually either a hot pocket or a bowl of cereal.
Neff gets to come home for two weeks during Christmas, but officially graduates tech school on Mar. 4, 2015. After he comes home, he plans on going to college at OSU Newark. He has to work at Rickenbacker Air Force Base for 90 days. After that, he has to go in once a month and two weeks every summer for six years. Then he can either choose to re-enlist or be discharged. Neff says, “I’m glad I chose to do it, and I’m just working my hardest to get through each day until I get to come home.”
-Daniel Neff (16’) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
Senior family opens farm toy business
By Brad Wilson
NORTHRIDGE - Matt Simmons is a Senior at Northridge High School who recently helped his family open a business in Utica. He belongs to a long family history of farmers. Matt’s father, David Simmons, collected little farm toys as a child, and it slowly developed into a very important passion in his life.
Throughout the years, David had friends who would always ask about his toys and ask if they were for sale, but he never wanted to sell them. He finally realized that he had a chance to make a profit off of them.
About 17 years ago, Dave Simmons started out with an eight foot trailer full of toys that he would take to toy shows; now he owns enough toys to fill a 28 foot trailer for the shows. Simmons Farm Toys is known to be one of the best and largest dealers of toys at the toy shows. In the most recent show on December 7th, there was said to be more than 200 tables set up for dealers to show their toys and Simmons Farm Toys was one of the first tables set up.
“We will usually go to about 12 shows in a year, they can be really busy and we will sell a ton of toys or it will be a very small crowd and we won’t sell much at all” said Matt.
In preparation for these shows, Matt and Dave have to go through their inventory, and they pick out the toys that they feel will sell the best that day. Upon arrival at the shows, they usually get there about two hours early in order to set up their booth the way they think will draw in more buyers.
Due to the over whelming popularity of the toys, Dave made the decision that it would be in his best interest to open a store.
In order to keep the business close to home, Dave bought a store recently known as the Utica Floral Store which is located at 561 East Columbus Rd. Utica Ohio. This was a prime location for the store because it is only a few minutes from his house and it’s also located close to a lot of repeat buyers of toys. The store is just a little town shop that from the outside doesn’t seem like anything special, but when you go inside, it is a true sight to see. There is more than 1000 toys in the shop at any time and they range from 1/64th, matchbox size, to pedal toys.
When asked what kind of toys he has, Dave said “We offer a variety of brands such as Case IH, Ford New Holland, John Deer, AC, Massey Ferguson, Oliver and Minneapolis Moline.”
“The toys are geared towards offering hours of fun for children of all ages, but there is also toys that apply to the serious collector” said Dave.
Simmons Farm Toys is a small town toy shop where you can not only go to find a large amount of toys but some quality service.
-Brad Wilson ('15) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault
By Brad Wilson
NORTHRIDGE - Matt Simmons is a Senior at Northridge High School who recently helped his family open a business in Utica. He belongs to a long family history of farmers. Matt’s father, David Simmons, collected little farm toys as a child, and it slowly developed into a very important passion in his life.
Throughout the years, David had friends who would always ask about his toys and ask if they were for sale, but he never wanted to sell them. He finally realized that he had a chance to make a profit off of them.
About 17 years ago, Dave Simmons started out with an eight foot trailer full of toys that he would take to toy shows; now he owns enough toys to fill a 28 foot trailer for the shows. Simmons Farm Toys is known to be one of the best and largest dealers of toys at the toy shows. In the most recent show on December 7th, there was said to be more than 200 tables set up for dealers to show their toys and Simmons Farm Toys was one of the first tables set up.
“We will usually go to about 12 shows in a year, they can be really busy and we will sell a ton of toys or it will be a very small crowd and we won’t sell much at all” said Matt.
In preparation for these shows, Matt and Dave have to go through their inventory, and they pick out the toys that they feel will sell the best that day. Upon arrival at the shows, they usually get there about two hours early in order to set up their booth the way they think will draw in more buyers.
Due to the over whelming popularity of the toys, Dave made the decision that it would be in his best interest to open a store.
In order to keep the business close to home, Dave bought a store recently known as the Utica Floral Store which is located at 561 East Columbus Rd. Utica Ohio. This was a prime location for the store because it is only a few minutes from his house and it’s also located close to a lot of repeat buyers of toys. The store is just a little town shop that from the outside doesn’t seem like anything special, but when you go inside, it is a true sight to see. There is more than 1000 toys in the shop at any time and they range from 1/64th, matchbox size, to pedal toys.
When asked what kind of toys he has, Dave said “We offer a variety of brands such as Case IH, Ford New Holland, John Deer, AC, Massey Ferguson, Oliver and Minneapolis Moline.”
“The toys are geared towards offering hours of fun for children of all ages, but there is also toys that apply to the serious collector” said Dave.
Simmons Farm Toys is a small town toy shop where you can not only go to find a large amount of toys but some quality service.
-Brad Wilson ('15) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault
Seniors hold face-painting fundraiser in honor of West
By: Megan Hatfield
Student Leadership took a trip to the primary school to do face-painting in order to raise money for the scholarship in honor of Matt West. The fundraiser took place the day after the National Championship game between Ohio State and Oregon. The student leadership members painted block “O’s” on the primary students cheeks to celebrate the win for Ohio State and to raise money for the scholarship.
Alexis Absten (‘15) said “working with the kids has made her realize how much of an influence the older kids have on the younger kids. They look up to us and we have to be good examples because they follow our lead.” Hunter Adkins (‘15) said “It’s great to work with the kids and get involved at their school.” It was a beneficial experience for the older and younger students.
Regan Turner (‘15) said “the face-painting was a great way high school students and elementary students to help each other.” The face-painting fundraiser was a fun way to get students of all ages to help contribute to the fundraiser. Turner also said “the kids were all optimistic about everything and that made her happy.”
The primary students paid a dollar to get their face painted at lunch. There was even some kids who donated money without getting their faces painted. They all just wanted to help raise money for the scholarship.
The paintings were mostly of block “O’s,” but some of the kids asked for paintings that Absten laughed when she said “they asked us to paint some things that I wasn’t talented enough to paint.” Some of the requests for paintings were sharks, birds, and Brutus the Buckeye.
The face painting fundraiser made a little over $200 to go towards the scholarship. The event went so well that student leadership may take another trip to the elementary school to do it again for Valentines day or St. Patricks day.
Megan Hatfield is a staff writer for the Viking Vault
By: Megan Hatfield
Student Leadership took a trip to the primary school to do face-painting in order to raise money for the scholarship in honor of Matt West. The fundraiser took place the day after the National Championship game between Ohio State and Oregon. The student leadership members painted block “O’s” on the primary students cheeks to celebrate the win for Ohio State and to raise money for the scholarship.
Alexis Absten (‘15) said “working with the kids has made her realize how much of an influence the older kids have on the younger kids. They look up to us and we have to be good examples because they follow our lead.” Hunter Adkins (‘15) said “It’s great to work with the kids and get involved at their school.” It was a beneficial experience for the older and younger students.
Regan Turner (‘15) said “the face-painting was a great way high school students and elementary students to help each other.” The face-painting fundraiser was a fun way to get students of all ages to help contribute to the fundraiser. Turner also said “the kids were all optimistic about everything and that made her happy.”
The primary students paid a dollar to get their face painted at lunch. There was even some kids who donated money without getting their faces painted. They all just wanted to help raise money for the scholarship.
The paintings were mostly of block “O’s,” but some of the kids asked for paintings that Absten laughed when she said “they asked us to paint some things that I wasn’t talented enough to paint.” Some of the requests for paintings were sharks, birds, and Brutus the Buckeye.
The face painting fundraiser made a little over $200 to go towards the scholarship. The event went so well that student leadership may take another trip to the elementary school to do it again for Valentines day or St. Patricks day.
Megan Hatfield is a staff writer for the Viking Vault