St. Joseph-Ogden fall 2023 Honor Roll students

ST. JOSEPH - At the end of October, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the first quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. Nearly 300 members of this year's school population earned first-quarter Honor Roll recognition.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

Freshman High Honor Roll

Lillian Ahart
Zhou Barbee
Zachary Benoit
Alec Bowlin
Colin Burnett
Elizabeth Clark
Abigail Crider
Hayden Dahl
Iris Davis
Nick Ditchfield
Justin Downs
Madison Farber
Nathaniel Farney
Nolan Franzen
Skyler Graham
Anna Hammond
Mark Harbourt
Nicholas Harris
Tyler Hess
Maggie Hewkin
Mia Jones
Alivia Learned
Chase Mabry
Hadley McDonald
Finnegan Miller
Maddux Musselman
Mason Olinger
Mason Ramm
Peighton Reim
Kiah Riesel
Dennis Rineberg
Isa Santiago
Sophie Schmitz
Ava Smoot
Adeline Stevens
Ani Stine
Isabella Turner
Brayden Waller
Jack Wear
Kaden Wedig
Emerson Williams

Freshman Honor Roll

Yadiel Acosta-Reyes
Samuel Albrecht
Brenda Castro Gutierrez
Jameson Ennis
Leah Gaines
Elijah Garrett
Gunnar George
Morgan Huls
Aiden Hundley
Brynn Ikemire
Faith Jackson
Waylon Jones
Jaydon Lewis
Avrianna Lyttle
Tripp Palmer
Shelby Warns
Cameron Wright
Tyler Wright
William Yeazel
Declan Yohnka

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Trevor Ames
Kylie Barrowman
Lexie Barrowman
Tim Blackburn-Kelley
Kaitlyn Beyers
Emily Bird
Aiden Bonny
Addison Brooks
Sara Bytnar
Shelby Campbell
William Carlson
Rudra Chaudhary
Adelyn Childers
Christopher Coffey
Katherine Ericksen
Callie Evans
Abigail Getty
Camden Getty
William Haley
Zachary Harper
Claire Hartman
Lydia Huckstadt
Adalyn Jannusch
Sophia Kasper
Madilyn Kelley
Kylan Kincaid
Cooper Kietzman
Alexis Lackey
Ryker Lockhart
Mackenzie Loschen
Emma McKinney
Michael McDaniel
Danny McGinnis
Kodey McKinney
Patrick McMahon
Ava Midkiff
Ashlyn Miller
Hannah Mock
Delaney Nekolny
Allison Ochs
Brennan Oleynichak
Kayla Osterbur
Colton Overstreet
Garrick Page
Branson Pearman
Kaleb Peoples
Asher Pruemer
Ainsley Rhoton
Lily Rice
Landon Roberts
Amber Ruppel
Cameron Schlueter
Allison Schmitz
Landon Smith
Lucas Smith
Tao Smith
Quinn Stahl
Sydney Steinbach
Hadley Sweet
Carlee Taylor
Luke Tranel
Sophia Vliet
Madeline Wells
Wyatt Wertz
Logan Xiao
Cyrus Zadeh

Sophomore Honor Roll

Caroline Aden
DeAva Barnett
Josiah Beals
Jacob Carlson
Wade Clark
Parker Fitch
Charles Hale
Erica Hardimon
Bryson Houchens
Amelia Huckstadt
Jordan Johnson
Kaelyn Jolley
Sami Kelso
Vance McComas
Graham Ray
Lance Retz
Logan Rosenthal
Trevor Sexton
Gracyn Sjoken
Karleigh Spain
Lucas Truong
Hayden Utley
Hunter Van Meenen

Junior High Honor Roll

EJ Beckett
Sul Bonny
Holden Brazelton
Landon Brown
Arely Castro Gutierrez
Richi Chimal
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Addison Funk
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Maebree Houston
Kendrick Johnson
Dylan Jones
Sara Kearney
Amilliya Kindle
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Sonia Patel
Nathan Phillips
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Tanner Siems
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Reese Wheatley
Charley Wright
Fiona Xiao

Junior Honor Roll

Jared Altenbaumer
Audrey Benoit
Will Besson
Chaz Bowlin
Landen Butts
Hayden Coffey
Joshua Courter
Aerolyn Davenport
Lauren Dewese
Nolan Earley
Lyla Frerichs
Kaiden Gaines
Joe Griebat
Haley Hesterberg
Paige Johnson
Owen Knap
Logan Lackey
Gabe Mata
Brenden Maury
Chayse Palmer
Logan Patton
Sydney Reitmeier
Haley Rudolph
Samuel Shonkwiler
Corbin Smith
Coy Taylor
Samantha Uden

Senior High Honor Roll

Edward Alewelt
Logan Allen
Kaden Allinger
Aden Armstrong
Samantha Beetz
Chloe Burkhalter
Payton Carter
Garrett Denhart
Samantha Downs
Sadie Ericksen
Joseph Frasca
Mia Frederick
Alana Frerichs-McCurry
Addison Frick
Grace Getty
Chloe Harper
Rachel Harris
Brody Hausman
Annabelle Hueber
Tanner Jacob
Kya Jolley
Helene Jones
Tori Kibler
Lauren Lannert
Quinn Lewis
Taylyn Lockhart
Seth McBride
Shannon McMahon
Talan Miller
Isaiah Mock
Rowan Musselman
Caleb Ochs
Cole Pruitt
Macy Reed-Thompson
Addison Roesch
Addison Ross
Daniel Santiago
Lucas Skelton
Aescton Slowikowski
Logan Smith
Dylan Smoot
Drew Thurman
Emma Thurman
Braxton Waller
Elissia Ward
Colin Wayland
Brody Weaver
Corbin Wells
Hayden Williams
Peyton Williams
Spencer Wilson

Senior Honor Roll

Chloe Allen
Owen Baltzell
Mya Bott
Halle Brazelton
Kyler Brown
Tyler Buss
Maya Chahine
Cameron Dressen
Chloe George
Grace Goldenstein
Amaya Gula
Ray Gutierrez
Jayci Hayes
Emmitt Holt
Ella Jones
Holden Jones
Ryan Kroll
Luke Landrus
Hayden Lewis
Connor Little
Grace Mabrey
Carson Maroon
Ethan McElroy
Kaydence Reynolds
Addison Seggebruch
Madison Stevens
Zoey Sweet
Mitchell Wright

Round 1 and movin' on, Spartan determination sacks Carlinville

ST. JOSEPH - Braxton Waller celebrates his sack in the second half after putting Carlinville quarterback Rex Reels into the turf at Dick Duval Field on Saturday. After a slow first half, St. Joseph-Ogden rallied in the second putting four additional TDs on the scoreboard to win their first-round playoff game, 38-15. "I thought our defense did a tremendous job adjusting as the game went on," said head coach Shawn Skinner. "They did a super job." The Spartans advance to the second-round and will travel to Roxana to take on the Shells at 3pm. More PhotoNews photos from this game coming soon.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Advocacy groups are pushing state Illinois lawmakers to pass domestic violence firearms bill

by Mark Richardson
Illinois News Connection

Illinois enacted a "red flag" gun law in 2018 that gives courts authority to use emergency orders to remove guns from people who are a danger to themselves and others. However, Illinois has rarely used such emergency orders.

CHICAGO - Domestic violence and gun violence prevention advocates are urging the Illinois General Assembly to pass a bill to strengthen state laws protecting people who file restraining orders.

The proposed law is named for domestic violence victim Karina Gonzalez, who was shot and killed by her husband. The measure would require law enforcement officers to quickly remove guns from people who have orders of protection against them.

Amanda Pyron, executive director of The Network, says Karina's Bill would close numerous loopholes in the current law.

"Karina's Bill will clarify and strengthen the law to give law enforcement a clear directive to remove the firearm from the home when an order of protection is granted with the firearm remedy by a judge," she contended. "So this isn't something that survivors can do on their own."

Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter were shot and killed shortly after obtaining a restraining order in July against her husband Jose Alvarez. Backers are asking legislators to pass the bill during the year-end session, which begins October 24th. Gun rights advocates oppose it, claiming it violates the Second Amendment.

State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said the presence of firearms in the home significantly increases the likelihood of death or serious injury.

"One research study of intimate partner homicides found that among victims who had orders of protection, one-fifth of victims were killed within two days of the order being issued. About one-third were killed within a month. This is unacceptable," she continued.

Records show that Gonzalez reported her husband's abusive behavior to the police and took out an order of protection against him. The order required Alvarez to voluntarily surrender the gun and move out of the house. He did neither. Alvarez was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail.

How social media fuels today's gun violence - ‘All We Want Is Revenge’

Juan Campos has been working to save at-risk teens from gun violence for 16 years.

As a street outreach worker in Oakland, California, he has seen the pull and power of gangs. And he offers teens support when they’ve emerged from the juvenile justice system, advocates for them in school, and, if needed, helps them find housing, mental health services, and treatment for substance abuse.

But, he said, he’s never confronted a force as formidable as social media, where small boasts and disputes online can escalate into deadly violence in schoolyards and on street corners.

As gun violence is rises to epidemic levels, many traumatized Americans now live in fear

A majority of Americans say they or a family member has experienced gun violence, such as witnessing a shooting, being threatened by a person with a gun, or being shot, according to a sweeping new survey. The national survey of 1,271 adults conducted by KFF revealed the severe physical and psychological harm exacted by firearm violence, especially in minority communities.