PHS MEDIA NEWS

Paoli High School alumna Cindy Stout graduated in 1978. After graduating, Stout attended IU Bloomington and studied to become a computer programmer.

After one week of attending college at IU Bloomington, Stout married her husband, Lex Stout,  and they both moved to Virginia. After moving to Virginia Stout, continued her college education until Stout’s husband decided to leave the Air Force. They decided to move back to Paoli to spend time with their families. Stout later quit school and started a family, and 16 years later, finished her teaching degree at Indiana University Southeast.

“I would not recommend quitting college that long and then going back. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” said Stout.

Stout has had many accomplishments throughout her life during and after high school.

“I would have to say that Ruth Uyesugi was the most influential teacher in my life, but she was also good friends with my in-laws and she went to my church. I knew her through many avenues. While a student here at PHS, I spent much of my time in her classroom or at her house working on the newspaper. However, when I started teaching here, Mr. Phil Andry was so very helpful and always willing to advise me to get me started in my career. He was also my geometry and physics teacher while I was a student. I actually worked as a TA for him my sophomore year,” said Stout.

During Stout’s high school years, she participated in track her freshman year, and played on the first girls tennis team. She played number one doubles with alumna Angie Bosley. Starting Stout’s junior year, she wrote for the sports section of the Paolite, and her senior year, she became the first female to write for the Paolite.

Stout had academic success through National Honor Society and graduating fifth in her class. Stout was fortunate to be able to play many sports and earn awards during her time at PHS. However, Stout also spent time building her family.

“I have been married 39 years to Lex Stout, and we have 2 kids. Joe Stout is 37 years old and is a day manager at FEDEX in Indianapolis. He and his wife Melissa have 3 boys, Owen, Gavin and Harrison. Our daughter, Amy Wesner, is 34 years old, and she runs the office for Silver Creek Engineering in Indianapolis. She and her husband Damien have a daughter Olivia and a son Maddox,” said Stout.

Stout has taught at Paoli for 22 years, and enjoyed each one. She has had many different experiences and opportunities throughout her lifetime. Before she was a teacher, Stout’s first real job was writing community sports stories for the town paper. She has also worked as a Pizza Hut waitress, a math lab supervisor and an elementary school aide at Throop. Despite these different jobs, her favorite has always been being a teacher.

“I have really enjoyed being a math teacher. I appreciate all the hard work my students do and all the support from my colleagues,” said Stout.

Stout is pictured today in the halls of PHS.

 

Story by Lili Seals

Color guard instructor Steve Satterfield graduated from Paoli High School in 1985. Satterfield was accepted into Indiana University and received a degree in psychology. This lead him to become a behavioral therapist for Dockside Services in Madison, Indiana. When he was in college, he became interested in color guard and has been an instructor since.

In junior high and high school, Satterfield was a part of drumline. He marched with the BlueCoats Drum and Bugle Corps from Canton, Ohio and was a world finalist. Despite his drumming success, color guard peaked his interest in college. Satterfield enjoys the appearance and outcome.

“I enjoyed the pageantry of color guard the first time I saw it and knew I wanted to be involved with this activity right away,” said Satterfield.

Satterfield found his high school instructor very demanding of him and his peers, but his color guard instructor, Kelly Stemple from New York City, inspirational.

“She was very strict and not very empathetic to students, being good at what we did,” said Satterfield.

The teaching habits of Stemple rubbed off on Satterfield as he works with his own guards. In the 29 years Satterfield has instructed, he has worked with many different schools but currently reaches 4 high schools and a university. He works with Paoli Jr Sr High School, Washington Co. Ky High School, Southwestern High School, Madison High School and Campbellsville University. Satterfield has won awards for nearly “everything there is to win.” This includes state championships for three states and the finals for each group he works for. Trophies aren’t everything to Satterfield, though. The real reward is his progressing students.

“The joy of seeing a group evolve and mature and blossom into a great performance is what makes it all worthwhile,” said Steve.

Satterfield’s work can be stressful at times. Parents and students don’t cooperate and put full effort in all the time, and when he already has so many other responsibilities, it can take a toll on him. Each group he tends to needs a lot of work apart from practices and designing the shows. No matter how much hard work is thrown at him, he sticks to lesson he learned in his own guard days.

“The other big reward I get is seeing students learn to have work ethic and learn that it takes a lot of hard work to win at anything in life,” said Satterfield.

Satterfield doesn’t intend to quit instructing anytime soon. He wishes to continuing teaching the skill and the unspoken lessons that come with it.

“Watching students become strong and confident in knowing how to work to achieve the goals they strive for is important in all aspects of their lives,” said Satterfield.

 

Satterfield is pictured with his color guard team.

 

Story by Jozalyn Kempf

Junior Megan Poe has been in choir for seven years. She has competed in events that require a high level of vocal ability, such as Solo and Ensemble and Honor Choir. Solo and Ensemble consists of learning a solo and performing it in front of a panel of judges, while Honor Choir involves auditioning for a coveted spot in a prestigious choir that performs difficult songs in front an audience.

However, the competition of being in choir isn’t why she participates.

“The complete reason I’m in choir is to just sing and have fun with my choir family,” said Poe.

Poe has many memories, but her favorite has to be from when former choir teacher Debbie Stroud was in charge of the program.

“My favorite memory has to be when I got my first ever solo with Mrs. Stroud in junior high. It was so much fun,” said Poe.

Poe enjoys singing tenor, which is one of the lower parts. For Poe, choir doesn’t come with any downsides.

“It always seems like I have fun in that class,” said Poe.

Choir not only provides fun for Poe. It also gives her an edge on what she wants to do once she leaves PHS.

“I plan on going to Indiana University for musical theatre, so choir helps me develop my voice so I’ll perform better in college,” said Poe.

Poe plans on singing for as long as possible.

“I’ll be in choir and doing things with singing for the rest of my life. I can tell you that for sure,” said Poe.

 

Story by Chandler Hinton

Former Paoli High School student Richard Minton graduated in 1972. After graduating, Minton decided to stay in his small hometown, and he has now lived in Paoli for 47 years. Minton believes his time at PHS helped him become the man he is today, thanks to some of his PHS teachers and coaches.

“During all of my years, my favorite teacher was Darrell Newkirk. He made my physical education class enjoyable, and he taught me many life lessons,” said Minton.
Minton was never a big fan of mandatory classes, but he enjoyed his history class with Gary Hagg.

“I took his class my junior and senior year and unexpectedly enjoyed it. I was never a huge fan of school. Sports kept my interest more than any of my classes,” said Minton.

Minton played basketball for the Rams for three years of his high school career. He played junior varsity during his sophomore season and was on the varsity team for his junior and senior years.

“My coach Mike Copper was a great coach. He would always joke with me and tell me that I needed to be taller, but he was a really good guy and taught me some great life lessons. I learned that I needed to be mentally tough and work hard to achieve great things,” said Minton.

Minton spent time outside of school with his friends Randy Chastain and John Huff.

“We spent lots of time driving around, playing basketball at the park, stopping by Chat-n-Snack and Shakeburger. We had some good times,” said Minton.

Minton worked at Shakeburger for part of his high school career and for some time after he graduated.

Minton met his sweetheart, Dinah Hypes, a sophomore at the time, his senior year of high school. Hypes was a basketball cheerleader and loved watching Minton play. They went on their first date at a restaurant called Tasty House after a basketball game one night, and the couple has been together ever since. The week after Hypes graduated, they were married.

After Minton graduated, he began working at Electricom and had several other jobs before working at REMC for twelve years. Minton now owns his own business, Minton Billiard Supplies, which has been going since 1989.

Minton, still married to Dinah, has two children, Kasie and Brent, and they also attended and graduated from PHS. Minton now has three grandchildren, Kaden, Benjamin, and Miley. Kaden also attends PHS while Benjamin and Miley are homeschooled.  

Minton has no regrets from his time at PHS, and he encourages today’s students and student athletes to work hard and never give up.

“Don’t get discouraged during practices. Put in the time and effort– it will be worth it. Keep practicing your sport and enjoy your time on the court. It won’t last forever,” said Minton.

Minton is pictured above with his wife.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn

History teacher Chris Lindley graduated as the salutatorian of the Paoli High School class of 1986. After graduating, Lindley went to Indiana University to obtain his bachelor’s degree. He graduated from IU with honors and was a 4.0 student twice. Lindley then transferred to Indiana University Southeast for his master’s degree. He majored in B.S. and M.S. Secondary Social Studies Education: U.S History, Government, Geography and Sociology.

Lindley has many accomplishments in other parts of his life as well. Lindley has been nominated by the DAR for Indiana History Teacher of the Year and has been head of the Social Studies Department. Lindley served as part of the building steering committee for several years while they were working toward accreditation in the early 2000s. He successfully coached the academic team for more than 20 years and had three teams advance to State, one of those teams getting a bronze during the 2014 competition in English. Lindley has played a big role in the drama productions since 2009. He has played roles in some of the plays if they needed a role filled during his time helping the drama production. He was an anchor for many television election coverage shows in 2003, 2004 and 2006 with former PHS English teacher Cynthia Webb’s television class and was a part of her telethons.

“We also created a series of documentaries called ‘The Challenge of Democracy.’ As part of that project, we went to Washington, D.C., where we met with Lee Hamilton and with Senator Lugar’s staff. I interviewed Governor Mitch Daniels when he came to Paoli after his election win. I’ve helped create and emcee two School Board forums for our school district as well as the ‘Hoosier Genius’ show to celebrate Indiana’s bicentennial in 2016,” said Lindley.

Lindley’s advanced history class has produced an annual “Night at the Museum” for over 15 years and in the past three years have received awards and judges. Lindley is married to Michelle Lindley and has three children, Patrick, Dylan and Ashley Lindley. He also has three grandchildren, Dawson, Hunter and Jace.

“I love gardening and raising poultry, reading, learning history, and have a special interest in our local area’s history. I have been involved in 4-H both as a youth and now as an adult volunteer. I also judge horse shows and do equestrian workshops for 4-Hers,” said Lindley.

Lindley has served as on the 4-H Poultry Committee for the last 17 years and has been a chairman for the last eight years.  

“We were successful in growing the project to the point of needing more space and advocated for the move to the bigger building. After Billy Drury’s death, my wife and I were successful in getting the building named in his honor,” said Lindley.

From his time as a both a teacher and a student at PHS, Lindley has had the experience to be able to give important advice to students of today.

“In this life, many circumstances are beyond your control, but you can control how you respond to them. Look for the opportunities, and do not let the inevitable failures and heartaches prevent you from pushing forward to be the best person you can be, keeping the focus that people matter more than money or fame. Remember that no one arrives anywhere on their own, so surround yourself with quality people who will tell you the truth and love you and challenge you and find ways to give back for all the blessings that have been given to you,” said Lindley.

Lindley is pictured with his wife, Michelle.

Story by Faith Wilder

Many bands that we know today started off as a small town “garage” band with a dream to become a hit in the music industry. Four musicians from PHS decided they wanted to do the same. Eighth graders Adin Monroe, Keenan Hays, Gavin King and Marty Higgins combined their skills and talent to form their own band, Stoked.

They unexpectedly formed the band about a year ago in health class. The name Stoked was simply created because it “sounded cool” to them. The band was originally only Monroe, Hays and King, but then Higgins joined in later, who has now been a member of the band for three months. They mostly play alternative rock and like to compare themselves to other bands like Weezer, Cage The Elephant and Green Day.

“Most bands we look up to, like Cage The Elephant, started off small like us. Through lots of practice and hard work, we hope to gain popularity and success as they did,” said Monroe.

The group doesn’t have an official rehearsal schedule, but they practice when they can, which is usually the weekends. Monroe plays the drum set, King is the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar, Hays plays lead guitar and Higgins recently learned how to play bass guitar. They have performed one gig so far and are planning on more.

The band has three original songs that are still in the making, but they mostly play cover songs. One of the their original songs is called “ Under The Stars,” and each member of the band wrote their own part, but Monroe wrote the lyrics of the song. Some cover songs they play include “Song Two” by Blur, “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid” by the Offspring and “Warning” by Green Day. The members of the band hope to be remembered for their creativity, ability to have fun during a performance, and their original songs.

“I have always wanted to be known for something and leave a mark on the world so people would recognize I did something, and I think music is the way to do that,” said Hays.

The group has many things they plan to improve on during their practices. One thing they all agree that needs to be improved is communicating better and practicing regularly, which will help them sound better and function smoothly. Another thing they want to improve is practicing on their own and being able to play well by themselves, which will hopefully lead to playing well together.

“Practice is key. First, we need to get better at playing cover songs, and then we can create good originals,” said Monroe.

Although the band needs to make a few improvements, they also do a lot of things well. They are able to cooperate with each other, which is very important when it comes to being in a band. They also have no trouble giving each other feedback so they can be their absolute best. The members get along well and can adapt to each other when playing.

“One thing we do well is having fun when we play. We can jump around and still sound good. I also find that we can start learning and playing a new song fairly fast,” said King.

The group is hoping to play at the Dogwood Festival and Paoli Fest this year. They’re all very confident in the band and plan for a long, successful road ahead of them.

“I think the future of the band looks promising. We need to stick together as friends and as a band. If we keep having fun and enjoying playing music together, good things will come to the band,” said Higgins.

You can follow them on Instagram @stoked_the_band for previews of their work.

 

Story by Angie Ceja

Junior Avery Owens has a love for helping in any way she can and has the greatest opportunity to do so through the Orange County Youth Council, created by the Orange County Community Foundation.

“I enjoy helping people and being involved in the community, so I knew this would be a good opportunity to be involved in many things locally,” said Owens.

Owens got involved with Youth Council her eighth grade year, after she applied during one of PHS’s annual club fairs. After a short interview, she was accepted.

“My favorite thing about Youth Council is knowing I am doing good things within our community. I also love getting to meet new people,” said Owens.

The Orange County Youth Council is comprised of all three county schools, Orleans, Paoli and Springs Valley. Members meet once a month to discuss upcoming events and ways they can help the community. During these meetings, a monthly donation is also collected.

“We help former Judge Blanton hold banquets for the varsity basketball teams in Orange County, donate to many local businesses such as the Humane Society, ring bells for the Salvation Army and many other things,” said Owens.

On top of service in the community, Youth Council members are also expected to explain Youth Council to seventh graders to encourage them to join their eighth grade year and talk to the fourth grade students at Throop Elementary about what philanthropy is and what it means to them.

“I absolutely love teaching fourth graders because I like getting the opportunity to get in front of young people and teach them about all the good they can do in our community, even at a young age,” said Owens.

Every holiday season, the Youth Council gets together and ring bells outside of Walmart. While there, they sing Christmas carols.

“My favorite things we do with the Youth Council are ringing bells for the Salvation Army and teaching fourth graders,” said Owens.

For Owens, Youth Council means a place she can help our community.

“Being in the Orange County Youth Council is very fulfilling and makes my heart full,” said Owens.

 

Story by Rebekah Reeves