Pep Rally Success
Sarah Bartholemy and Mikayla Pope, Shark Correspondents Cedar Key school was overflowing with shark spirit on Friday, November 18th.
The Cedar Key Cheerleaders held pep rally in the gym, and "It`s safe to
say, it was a success," said Captain, Chloe Reynolds.
The pep rally began with the introduction of the 2011-2012 cheerleaders, and then proceeded to a dance performed by the girls, choreographed by Caitlin Goss.
After the dance the basketball players were introduced, and directly after the cheerleaders played a game with the players.
Following the game, Brandon Register recited his very own rap about
his school spirit, and the pep rally was then concluded with a special
game with three of the Cedar Key teachers.
Teacher, BJ Arrington said, "It was by far the best pep rally ever, and the cheerleaders did an awesome job."
My Experience as a Junior Clam Farmer
12.1.11 Taryn Epperson, Shark Correspondent Beep! Beep! Beep! It`s 5:15am and many clam farmers in Cedar Key are waking up, pulling on their famous white rubber boots, and stepping outside before the sun has even risen. I`ve been in this very position; what I call "Jr. Clam Farmer" and oh, my, can I say it takes will power; the only thing that got me through it was that chicken biscuit and orange juice from the Jiffy store as soon as they opened.
Even as a baby I was quite familiar with the clam lease. It is hard work: producing seed, growing algae, sewing clam bags, building clam belts, planting clams, harvesting, tumbling all this is affiliated with clam farmers as well as the clam industry.
The early morning, late night, two boat trips to the lease a day, that is what a clam farmer does- he/she puts in endless hours to produce a high quality crop ready for market.
The life of a clam farmer is not always happy; the day you start pulling up clam bags and realize there is nothing but oysters in the bag, is definitely not the best day on the job. Every crop has a price and the price of clams changes constantly mimicking the economy, sometimes high, sometimes low. Currently local clam businesses such as B&E Seafood are giving 9cents for 1in clams, 7cents for a 7/8 and 95cents per pound of clams. These prices are relatively high considering in previous years it was 7 cents for 1 inch, and 5 cents for a 7/8 inch.
When you sit down at your favorite seafood restaurant, order that world famous clam chowder, crispy crunchy clam fritters, or plate of yummy buttery steamed clams, most don`t think about where it came from, who put in the work to get these clams, how much they cost or what kind of clam it is.
As a Jr. Clammer, I know first-hand what our clam farmers do, and how hard of a job they have, but if they didn`t put in the effort for a good crop, would Cedar Key be the number One producer of Farm Raised Clams in America? |
