Orange And Black

Jim Justice Beats Out Ben Salango to Remain WV Governor

By Haley Stotler

November will be an actively engaged month. From Thanksgiving and Black Friday to Veteran’s Day, there will constantly be something occurring in November. However, the one event everyone has been waiting for with tense, is Election Day. Election day takes place the first Tuesday of the month, after the first Monday of the month. Election Day is when the citizens of the United States of America vote on not only who will be the next president for the next four, possibly eight years, but also governors and senators. In this article, we will be addressing who won Governor in WV, and their plans for the Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

Congratulations to Governor Jim Justice for being elected! Jim Justice has been serving as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017, and this year he won against the Democratic Party runner, Ben Salango. Justice is a successful businessman and politician, who has grown up in West Virginia, and has the best intentions for our great state. Jim Justice graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and then attended Greenbrier Military Academy and went to Marshall University and earned an undergraduate degree and master's degree in Business Administration. Justice is the largest farmer east of the Mississippi River, and is the President and CEO of Bluestone Industries Inc. And Bluestone Coal Corporation. Since being reelected, Jim Justice has appointed Dr. Stan Maynard to State Board of Education. While Justice has not yet announced or made any hints as to what he has planned for the state, we can only assume that his past work, such as awarding over $11.2 million dollars in Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails grants which benefits dozens of communities across West Virginia, awarding over $2 million dollars to food banks, honoring heroes and those who were in the front lines of the pandemic, having unemployment numbers improve for the fifth straight month and creating lots of new jobs, will be topped with even more remarkable achievements.

When interviewing people about how they feel about Jim Justice, I mostly received nothing but positive feedback for our Governor. One of my interviewers was Dr. Kyle Pulse, and he said ‘’I am in support of Justice serving as Governor again. He has a good voting track record that puts West Virginia resident's well-being ahead of big business gains’’. One thing Dr. Pulse hopes Jim Justice will do for WV is continuing to protect the current people who rely on the coal industry and protecting our current gun laws. On the other hand, a few voters such as Emily Baker, stated that she felt he could have handled the teacher strike better and said ‘’as a future educator I feel as if he could have done more and over all does not do what is right for teachers’’. Emily also states that Justice has not been doing the best he can regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping everyone safe. While Governor Justice has done multiple great things regarding our state, there is always room for improvement, and hopefully over these next few years he can do multiple projects and things to make sure his citizens are happy and healthy.

Recap of the 2020 Soccer Season

By Emily Beck

The West Virginia Class AAA State Soccer Tournament was held in Beckley on November 6th and 7th. Despite their winning record neither Martinsburg girls or boys soccer teams were in attendance. Berkeley County soccer teams were prevented from any post-season play due to their orange status on the school color map at the time of the state tournament. This ended the girls and boys teams pursuit of a state championship. Although neither team was given the chance to compete at the highest level of high school soccer, we want to highlight the season they had.

The Martinsburg High boys soccer team had a 9-1-2 record, with their biggest wins against their sectional opponent Hedgesville High School and regional opponent Washington High School. They are coached by Patrick Tetrick and assistant coach Tracy Adams. The boys are led on the field by captains Xavier Jenkins, Dustin Richards, Sam Duffy, and Nathan Roemer. Nathan Roemer gave us some insight into what made the team so successful this year, he said, “I believe that our team's success came from us knowing how to work together and actually play like a team. There was an aspect of family in the team this year that was not present in previous years.” Nathan is a senior and this was his last season as a bulldog, he said, “The hardest thing about ending the season without playoffs was that I believe this team really had a chance and we were never given the chance to play compared to previous boys soccer teams. We really showed our competition, that we had a lot of skill and that we could have competed at the state level.” Despite their season ending early, multiple players received regional and state accolades. Sam Duffy, Xavier Jenkins, Dustin Richards, Nathan Roemer, and Alex Catlett all made AAA Boys Region II 1st Team and honorable mention All State.

The Martinsburg High girls soccer team led by Coach Katie Myers, had a 11-1-1 record, with their biggest win coming from section opponent Spring Mills High School and out-of-conference opponent Greenbrier East High School.. The captains of the team are seniors Addie Hughes, Amira Gladewell, and Emily Beck. The team ended their season #1 in their section and region and #10 in the state, despite missing multiple games due to the map restrictions. Coach Katie said, “What made the team so successful this year was senior leadership and a willingness to persevere through adversity.” Elizabeth Hauafas is a senior and four year varsity soccer player, she says, “I was proud of our team’s chemistry and perseverance throughout the season, despite the circumstances.” Several of the girls soccer players received regional and state recognition. Emily Beck is the AAA Girls Region II player of the year and coach Katie Myers is the AAA Girls Region II Coach of the Year. Haylee Shermen, Emily Beck, Jaylea Carr, Elizabeth Hausafus, and Bri Holston were all selected for the AAA Region II 1st Team. Emily Beck was selected for 1st Team All-State and Elizabeth Hausafus was selected for 2nd Team All-State. Haylee Shermen, Jaylea Carr, and Briana Holston were honorable mentions for All-State.

The boys and girls soccer teams will be honored for their great seasons on Friday November 13th, during the halftime of the football game.


L-R: Alex Catlett, Nathan Roemer	MHS Girls Soccer Team	L-R: Nathan Roemer, Dustin Richards, Joshua Garrido, and Xavier Jenkins

L-R: Alex Catlett, Nathan Roemer

MHS Girls Soccer Team

L-R: Nathan Roemer, Dustin Richards, Joshua Garrido, and Xavier Jenkins

Proud to Honor Our Veterans

By Jadelynn Joseph

November 11th is a day The United States and other countries celebrate worldwide. This day is a national holiday known as Veterans Day. Veterans Day is celebrated to honor the brave veterans who sacrificed everything to protect and fight for our country. Although Veterans Day is important, some people do not know why we pay tribute to our veterans on this exact day and why we have a day to honor them. As a nation, some people are also unaware of the impact veterans make on our country, how they fight to help our country, and the reason why they choose to serve in the military.

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11th because on this day in 1918 World War 1 ended. Previously, Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day. Armistice Day was set as a holiday to honor the end of World War 1 and was celebrated just to honor veterans that fought in World War 1. In 1938, a legislation was passed making it official that Armistice Day was celebrated on November 11. After the Korean War and World War II ended in 1954, Congress decided to change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. It was changed so that all American veterans of every war were honored.

Without veterans, there would not be the United States that we know today. Our rights, values, and freedoms are protected by our veterans. Veterans have risked their lives to fight for our country and every single one has made an impact on our nation. Randy Shaffer states, “It was my job to protect this country and help fight for the nation we know today.” Veterans believes there should be peace and prosperity throughout the world. Veterans show us that it is okay to fight for what you believe in, to stay strong, and to have courage. They are role models of our country. According to the article, “Veterans have changed our policy on foreign affairs, made us advocates for justice, and are now more engaged in humanitarian operations. They help provide aid/ services to those in need and have expanded our military forces,” (Caya Wollman). We should thank them for shaping our country into what it is today because they are our real-life heroes.

COVID, Then and Now

By Colin O'Kelley

The numbers of COVID have only been rising since the time we got out of school in March.

COVID has taken a huge toll on the way we live now, but back in March no one could ever imagine how bad it was going to get. It’s only getting worse according to the numbers.

According to the CDC’s website, around March 17 there was only 1 confirmed case in the United States. One month later, the number of confirmed cases was 777. If you jump another 3 months later, this virus hit us like a semi-truck. The number of confirmed cases in a single day jumped up to 23,624 cases in a single day. With the closing of schools, restaurants and other public things, the numbers of COVID had slowed down. However, it was still spreading like wildfire.

When we first went back to school here in Berkeley county, COVID hadn’t really hit us yet which is why we were in school. At the beginning of September there were 257 people who got COVID in a day. The numbers in the month of September fluctuated a lot mainly because of how we were handling the pandemic with people following safe procedures. Now, people are getting too comfortable with the idea of COVID just being around. I see people and I know the people that are to read this article have seen people just walking around, no mask, standing as close as possible to each other. This really doesn’t help with our numbers because a couple days ago, 562 people got COVID in West Virginia. Now it may seem like that’s not a lot, but every day we are getting at least 150 plus cases. These numbers really add up and they have already.

“It is quite simple; cases have risen due to the lack of effective mitigation.”-Mrs. Coleman MHS school nurse said. She is one hundred percent right. This virus has not curved out because some haven’t been sticking close to the guidelines at all. “I think the numbers are rising because we are tired and initially WV was not affected like other states.” she said. People in our state weren’t really bothered by the virus at first which made people keep living their normal lives. Soon after we were hit, nobody was taking anything serious enough because lots of people were still just hanging out as normal. We need to start taking this virus more seriously now in order to mitigate the number of cases.

Our total number of COVID cases exceeds 10 million. Around 240,000 people have died from COVID. This has all happened in less than a year which is not good at all. “It’s not just the cases; it’s the hospitalizations as well. That’s really the number to watch: 53,000 people hospitalized, 10,500 people in ICUs. That’s a lot, and it’s growing very quickly.”, stated by a former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC. “One thing I watch very carefully is the number of cases hospitalized, hospitalized and in critical care, and hospitalized in critical care on a ventilator.”- MHS school nurse Mrs. Coleman said. As you can see lots of the people in the medical field are worried about how many people are being hospitalized for this. We weren’t really prepared to be hit this hard by the virus which put lots of stress on the hospitals.

The rising numbers is nothing to brush off. The numbers will only rose and will keep rising if we “brush it off”. Looking at how the numbers have increased since March really made me think of how we all need to work together to stop this virus in its tracks.

Thanksgiving or No Thanksgiving?

By Amira Gladewell

During the holidays, many people rely on the kindness of the community. Every year people join together from many different organizations and provide Thanksgiving meals to anyone in need. I know that during the holidays, I enjoy giving back to the community. However, how is COVID-19 going to affect people in need this year? I asked one of the pastors of Westview Baptist Church, Ethan Kerns, what their Thanksgiving meal will look like this year.

“Typically, we have a meal prepared by church members after the service. All our members sit at long tables and just have one big Thanksgiving meal together and just enjoy one another’s company. We tried to find an alternative this year, but in light of COVID-19, we’re finding it’s not possible. Therefore, this year we won’t have a meal prepared. However, we still be preparing prepared meals to give out to the community.” Says Pastor Kerns.

Other churches in the area, are also not having meals with their church members.I also sought insight from our National Honors Society President, Laasya Chennuru, on our service to the community throughout the school.

“Our plan is to be packing Thanksgiving meals through Kidz Power Pacs. They work with the Backpack Program to ensure that students in the Eastern Panhandle have enough meals to last through Thanksgiving break,” Miss Chennuru enlightens us. “To also help the community during these hard times, we are helping them by holding a toothpaste drive. They seek to promote good hygiene by packing dental care products with meals during certain months. November happen s to be one of those months. We will be continuing this drive until Christmas.”

Even with a pandemic sweeping our world, we are still trying to unite everyone just like the first Thanksgiving.

Covid Friendly Fall Activities

By Liz Hausafus

This fall has looked a lot different due to the Corona Virus. Some of us are confined to our homes, while others continue to go outside. However, no matter where you are, there are still many fun activities that you can participate in while abiding to COVID guidelines.

If you are able to go out this fall then here are some activities that you can enjoy. Keep in mind that some of these activities require masks or small numbers in order to remain safe. Harpers Ferry has many accessible trails that you can hike, they have beautiful scenery and are a great way to get outdoors. Shepherdstown is another great place to go during this time. They have many local restaurants that you can support that have reasonable prices and delicious food.

However, if you are someone who finds yourself stuck at home then here are a few activities that you can enjoy too. A classic activity is picking your favorite Halloween/fall movies and enjoying a movie night with friends or family. Another fun idea is painting or carving pumpkins.

Finally, if you enjoy being in the kitchen, then you can bake your favorite festive pies and cakes.

I asked a few of our students what were a few activities that they have done this fall and how they have remained safe. Xavier Jenkins who is a brick student said, “My family and I have often gone fishing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishing is great because we are able to be outside and stay distanced from others while doing a relaxing activity during a stressful time.” Click student Damien Angle said, “During 2020’s COVID-19, I’ve mainly been entertained by work, however I have found running the track, hiking, and backpacking as things to entertain myself but also stay active. All of these activities are either by myself or with one other person who has been tested recently. This is to ensure that I take the necessary precautions to stay safe from COVID.”

Therefore, this fall season if you are looking to enjoy some fall activities outdoors and stay safe you can hike, fish, or visit local restaurants. If you are staying at home, which is the safest option you can bake, carve pumpkins, or watch movies and tv shows.

Adjustments from Brick to Remote

By Jakob Zittle

This school year has been different from any other, with social distancing and masks required during the school day. But, with the color map of West Virginia, sports and school can change from week to week. If your county is green, yellow, or gold, you can play your sports and you go to school. However, if you are orange or red, you must go to virtual school and sports cannot be played. This week-to-week adjustment can be hard for students and I know that it hasn’t been easy for some.

Going from brick to remote from week-to-week can be hard on students and I know that has been. When we were brick, we would go to school, learn face to face from our teachers, and receive our assignments. This was much easier because you would see these teachers every day, you could ask questions, you would receive clear information about assignments and due dates. There would be little confusion amongst students and teachers involving homework and special instructions.

Now with remote, things have run much differently. There has been a large amount of confusion between students and teachers. Problems have been very common through online school. Problems vary from struggles getting into Teams Meetings, to miscommunications among assignments. There are plenty of students struggling with grades because of this session of online school because students weren’t prepared for it. This stint of online school has been much different than the fourth nine weeks last year. Some teachers don’t have meetings, so it becomes hard to ask questions or get clarification on certain things.

I interviewed Junior student Jess Sutherland about what his experience has been like switching from brick to remote and then back to brick. I first asked him how he felt about being able to keep up with assignments and keeping track with homework. "It is defintely harder to keep up with assignments when teachers don't utilize Remind or Teams meetings to alert us about upcoming assignments." I then asked Jess if it was harder to complete assignments and if it was harder to focus. "It is harder to complete assignments because you're at home and there are more things to distract you and steer your focus away from your learning." Remote learning has caused problems for all and the constant change has not been easy.

Online school has been difficult for students and is much more chaotic than actually going to school. It has been a struggle to learn new information, and to keep grades good because of the confusion.

Is Black Friday Still Happening?

By Jaelyn Stely

Black Friday has been a popular event over the years for the deals every year, but what's happening now that we're in a pandemic? Lots of companies have started to put stuff on sale early this year hoping to avoid the large crowds of people in small areas. There are almost 51% of people due to the survey from Deloitte that feel anxious about leaving their homes to go out shopping due to the virus. Lots of people are planning to do the majority of their shopping online which businesses have provided for shoppers to avoid causing large gatherings. Lots of businesses like Best Buy and other stores have said that the sales aren't just for one day this year, they are all month long. Best Buy said their deals started in stores on November 1. Stores such as Macys, Lowes, Home Depot are allowing customers on Black Friday to a certain capacity but are allowing their deals to go on all week. Stores such as Target and Walmart are working on reinforcing safety features in stores including contactless payment in the app reducing lines and having employees from the store to help customers pay and let shoppers make reservations. Some stores are only having certain deals online to encourage people to stay home and stay safe and pick up their items at curbside pickup. People who do plan to go out and continue shopping wil have to wait in single file lines as people go in and out from stores and will have sanitized carts ready and will have “Health Ambassadors” outside the store enforcing masks. Social distancing will still be enforced as well as the one-way lane systems. Happy shopping and stay safe!


Chaos of the malls	Black Friday	Must have items

Chaos of the malls

Black Friday

Must have items

SARS, Are They Helping or Hurting?

By Joshua Garrido

While 2020 has been a crazy year with a lot of things going on. But a major part is the visibility of police brutality, even though police brutality has been around it is rising to the surface for people to see. The brutality issue isn’t only in the United States, it’s also in Nigeria. Most of the incidents are from the SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) that was formed in 1984, by Simeon Danlandi Midenda. This is not SARS first time dealing with police brutality or tried being shut down by the people.

SARS was originally formed in Nigeria to help deal with robbery, motor vehicle theft, and kidnappings. But come to find out SARS had been torturing and executing men who were from 18-25 years of age. The organization also profiles young people that have nice clothes or phones, and proceeds to think they stole it. Which they then arrest the young people. Even though their actions became known the Nigerian government did nothing to prevent these actions from happening again. But SARS has made another appearance in the media concerning their brutal force. This time there was an outrage from the incident that happened on Oct. 3. On Oct.3 a video of a SARS officer killed a man unprovoked, but then the person who recorded the video was arrested. Which in turn angered the people that were already roweled up.

This breakout of events has not only caused an outrage but also protests. These events have caught the eyes and ears of many countries, viewing what's going on. People of color in the United States see the injustice and spoke on it. Speaking on the issue was showing that police brutality isn’t only in the United States. Matthan Baxter said “this is unrealistic,” it doesn’t seem like police brutality happens outside the United States. But it does, it’s just not as public as it is in the United States.

What Netflix Has to Offer This Holiday Season!

By Valerie Clabaugh

Netflix is a prime way many people spend their time, especially with Covid-19 around. The holidays are coming up fast and there are lots of new tv shows and movies that are being released this November. Netflix is coming out with lots of new holiday shows and movies for Christmas. They are also coming up with new episodes from popular tv shows, such as American Horror Story. Netflix has a lot to give to us this November, so here are some movies and shows that you need to watch.

The holiday season is one of the best times of the year to get warm and put on your favorite shows and movies! Most students are excited for the Christmas movies and shows coming to Netflix. “I am looking forward to starting off the holidays early with Christmas movies and shows”, said Aysha Baker. Mariah Bispo also said, “I am so ready for all the holiday movies! That is the best part of the season!” Some of the most popular holiday releases coming this November is, Dash and Lily, Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, Jing Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The App That Stole Christmas, Sugar Rush Christmas, Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas, Over Christmas, and The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two. All these movies and shows will be released this November.

A favorite new release of many is The Christman Chronicles: Part Two, which is coming out on November 25th. It is the second part to the original holiday favorite movie, The Christmas Chronicles. Mariah Bispo exclaimed, “I am so looking forward to watching The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two! I really liked the first one, so I am quite excited to see what this one is like!” A small description of the movie from Netflix is, “Teenager Kate Pierce is reunited with Santa Claus when a troublemaker threatens to cancel Christmas forever.”

Netflix is also coming out with new episodes and seasons from popular tv shows. American Horror Story is coming out with Season 9 on November 13th. Netflix has stated, “The title of season 9 is, American Horror Story: 1984.” The new season has already been aired on regular tv but is coming soon to Netflix. Another favorite show coming out with a new season is The Crown. They will be coming out with Season 4 on November 15th. Supernatural is also coming out with its final episodes of season 15 on November 27th.

Netflix is releasing a lot more shows and movies this November than months prior. This gives a new wide variety of shows and movies to watch for everyone. This is a great time to destress from school and enjoy your free time. Most of these releases are great to watch with family and friends over the holidays. Thanksgiving break is also coming up so this would be a great time to binge your favorite shows or spend time with family, while also getting in the mood for the holidays.

"Deer Hunters" The Kings of the Rut!

By Jason Bednarski

First, let's start with an explanation of what “the rut” is. So “the rut" for deer is a time that bucks will be more active and less cautious then normal because they are trying to find a doe that is in estrus. The rut starts in mid-October and ends in early December. The deer hunters now come into play because earlier when I said the bucks are more active and less cautious that means it is easier for hunters to call in bucks and attract them because all they want to do is find a doe. I asked a couple deer hunters what tactics and things they use to attract and find bucks. One deer hunter, Jared Foreman said “I like to use corn to attract deer, but I will also hunt over acorns when I can find them”. Another hunter, Matthew Bednarski said “I like to use a grunt call and doe pee to attract deer”. The last hunter, Trenton Sherman said “A couple of tactics I use are putting cameras out to find deer to target and also scouting before the season.”

A lot of deer hunters do believe that you have to put a lot of effort into preparation for the season like building tree stands, ground blinds, laying out corn plies and mineral blocks for deer, and sighting in bows and guns. So I asked the hunters what preparations they do to get ready for the season and Matthew said “Some of the main things I do before hunting season begins is gather up my gear from the previous season to make sure I have everything, and test out your spots and clear them out, and sight in hunting equipment”. Trenton said “I try to find where my deer are and hang stands accordingly, also I plant food plots to try and keep the deer healthy”. Jared said “I practice shooting my bow a bunch and scout because it is hard to decide where to hang treestands.” Now that I have talked about tactics to find and attract deer, and how to prepare for hunting season let's talk about what goes on during the season. Most hunters like to have wishful thinking that the first time they go out for the season they are going to get a deer and be done. But most of the time they sit out in a tree stand and ground blinds just waiting for a buck. Even though they might think it's boring and a waste of time, they still end up coming back to that spot to hunt, especially during the rut because deer hunters love hunting the rut. I asked the hunters what is so exciting to them about hunting the rut? Trenton said “The rut is exciting because bucks tend to run around more often and you never know what you’re gonna see.” Also, Matthew said “Personally I believe the rut is one of the most exciting times of hunting season because any time you’re out in the woods it's unpredictable so it's hard to predict what will happen during the rut or what bucks will come by and move through the area.” Then Jared said “ The rut is exciting because bucks tend to run around more often and you never know what you’re gonna see.” What all hunters hunting the rut are hoping to see is a big rack buck or in other words a buck with many points on its antlers. I decided to ask the hunters one last question about the biggest buck they’ve got in all their times of hunting? “The biggest deer I’ve ever harvested was a 9 point buck” said Jared. “ The biggest buck I got was an 8 point” said Matthew. Then Trenton said “My biggest buck to date is an 8 point”.

I decided to write this story because I recently got a buck myself, which was actually my first buck. So let me tell you the story about how I got the buck. So, before the rut we set up a blind in a tree house, cleared some trails and put a pile of corn and a mineral block down. My dad and I decided to go out and hunt early in the morning and we saw bucks but just too far away for a bow. Then the next day it was really windy which is bad for deer hunting, but I wanted to hunt so we went out again after school. We got out in the woods about 4:30 and started using a grunt call and called in a buck. He went behind some rocks so I could not get him. So, we waited for 30 more minutes and right before dark we used a grunt call again and the buck came back to the same spot but in front of the rocks this time. He was still on the other side of a fence but I told my dad I could take the shot, so he used the iconic “meh” to get the buck’s attention and get him to stop walking. I took the shot with my crossbow and got him. When we found him it was a nice four point with a big neck and huge body. I can tell you, just being out in the woods hunting and seeing and getting a nice buck is one of the best experiences for hunters, especially during the rut.