DROPS - Friday (Dec. 1) is the last day students may drop a Fall Semester class and not receive a grade for it. Students who wish to withdraw need to turn in a completed withdrawal form to Sharon Speer, ICC registrar, by end of day Friday.

PICTURED - Kate Schicke, ICC student, was pictured on the front page of the Independence Daily Reporter Nov. 21 working in the ICC biology lab.

FEATURED - ICC Instructor Gary Mitchell was featured speaker at a meeting of the Independence Lions Club Nov. 21. He talked about his Peace Corp years in the Fiji Islands.

The play, directed by ICC English/Theater Instructor Gary Mitchell, features Santa as a burglar, a recently married young couple who move into a big-city apartment across the hallway from a psychiatrist and his attractive wife.

The bride feels she is not getting enough attention from her husband, and begins to suspect he is having an affair with the psychiatrists wife. To add to the farce and confusion, is the misuse of hypnotism, a couple of Santa suits, a funny burglar with psychological problems, gun shots and a policeman/investigator.

Members of the cast are Wyatt Harper, Neodesha freshman; Amy Haley, Independence freshman; Mike Pokorny and Tabor Porter, Independence.

The Academic building had to be evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a chemical containing Picric Acid was brought into the Chemistry Lab.

Picric Acid is used in the production of bombs. Dry particles of this acid are highly explosive with the slightest amount of friction. The teachers were unable to move the Picric Acid under regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, so they had to contact the Montgomery County Hazardous Waste Coordinator, police department, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and the bomb squad out of Olathe.

Once the proper authority was in place, the chemical was moved to a cordoned off trailer and protected my police overnight. The next step will be taking the chemicals to a desolate area where they will be ignited.

Cost for the removal of the chemical will range between $12,000 and $15,000.

Students participating will be able to see, hear, and talk to not only the instructor but to each other. The courses being offered provide continuing education in the areas of education, library science, justice studies, nursing, family studies and counseling, and aging.

If you have any questions contact the TELENET 2 central office at the Kansas Regent Network in Manhattan at 785-532-5995. Brochures can be picked up at the local TELENET 2 classroom at the ICC Downtown Learning Center, 200 Arco Place, Room 327.

The ICC Foundation Board of Trustees elected Mike Seller president; Don Yerkes, vice president; Jody Kawulok, secretary, and Jim Kelly as a board member Nov. 9 in their annual meeting in Fireside Room of the Student Union.

The board also approved scholarship funding and an operating plan for 2000-2001.

ICC Foundation Executive President Cheryl Arnwine presided at the session and welcomed foundation board members. ICC President Judith Hansen thanked foundation members for their support. The president introduced ICC Board of Trustee members John Toth and Jerry Allison.

When I first saw those pictures in the ICC Fine Arts building, I could hardly believe that students could create them. They were so original and creative!

Contrasto art is made by pasting black and white papers together. An artist cuts figures on the white paper, exposing the black paper and the design of the cut. In making a picture in this style, students have to use either geometric or organic shapes.

Mrs. Janelle Null, ICC art instructor and teacher of the art appreciation class in which the contrastos were made, took digital pictures of every student. Then she changed all the pictures from color to black and white. After that, she switched the photos to the high contrast of just black and white, and printed student’s pictures.

Students then used pictures as the basis for their contrasto, self-portraits.

"It was very exciting," said freshman Annie Stark, "because students could show the way they see themselves"

NOTES: Here are some of those contrastos. Ron Murphy titled his "Illusion." Why do you think he placed his face horizontally? (See if you can see anything in the contrasto in addition to his face.)

And pay attention on the contour change. On these faces that look like a checkerboard, black shapes and white shapes overlap each other…this is a dance of two, positive and negative, black and white shapes.

Every Wednesday at noon, you can find Sean Anderson, an ICC sophomore, overseeing a Student Senate meeting. As president this year, Sean is responsible to coordinate Student Senate activities like pep rallies, blood drives, bowling nights and weekly meetings.

Sean is an active student who enjoys "the satisfaction of an activity that goes over well." He joined Student Senate last year on the advice of a friend "to see what Student Senate was and to become involved in student government." "As president, he has provided leadership, insight, and ideas for the direction the group should take," said Sonja Conley, the adviser of Student Senate.

He was chosen at the end of last semester to take the place of Tiffany Wilkens, who graduated last year.

The purpose of Student Senate is to serve as connection between students and faculty. Its 15 members meet every Wednesday at noon in the Captain’s Room in the Student Union.

Sean leads the meetings and introduces an agenda to discuss topics of student activities and service projects. He gets ideas for activities and projects from other students.

Some activities being considered for the holidays include having donations on campus for needy families, putting a money box in the foyer, placing food boxes around campus for the Independence Food Bank, adopting a family, and having a Christmas or New Year’s party. There will also be a bowling night on Dec. 5 with free admission for all students.

Sean would like to see greater student body turnout at school-sponsored activities. He says, "The activities are planned for the students, and they are good activities, but we don’t see as many students come out as we want to."

Sean is also a member of Ambassadors and Phi Theta Kappa, and sings in the ICC choir. He is taking 18 hours this semester. He is a 1999 graduate of Independence High School, and has lived in Independence most of his life.

When he is not busy with his school activities, you might find Sean working part-time at K-Mart. When he has free time, he likes to spend it with family and friends.

Sean plans to graduate this spring. He has not decided on his next college move, but is looking at Pittsburg State University or Emporia State University. He is considering a major in Psychology or Elementary Education.

The Pirates finished the Don Harris Classic with an exciting, 78-75, win over Marshalltown Saturday night. The Pirates took two out of the three games in the ICC-hosted tourney.

After struggling late in a loosing effort in a game earlier against Labette County, the Pirates were faced with a similar situation in this game.

The first half was a defensive struggle as Marshalltown limited the touches for Hector Romero, the Pirates leading scorer and rebounder. However, the rest of the team picked up for Romero as they hit the open shots.

Marshalltown led throughout the first half. The score at halftime was 38-37. The second half began with the Pirates going on a 9-3 run for a 52-49 lead, but with four minutes to go in the game, the Tigers pulled within one point at 67-66. The Pirates pushed the lead to three following a slam dunk by Romero with just 15 seconds left. Marshalltown drove down the court and launched a three pointer, but it hit iron and Delonte Holland grabbed the rebound preserving the win.

Five Players reached double figures for the Pirates, Romero scored 18, Tyrone Payne added 15, Holland chipped in 14 and a team high seven rebounds, Jamaicus Ricks had 11 and five assists, and Otis Robinson scored 10 points. The win improved the Pirates record on the season to 5-4.

This game was a story of two halves as the first half was dominated by the Pirates. With the game knotted at 12, the Pirates went on a 25-9 run that built the lead to 16, 37-21. The Pirates led 49-39 at halftime, but the second half was a disaster for the Pirates. Labette County went a 26-8 in the final few minutes of the game to steal the game from the Pirates. Overall the Pirates shot a measly 9 for 33 or 27 percent from the floor in the second half .

Sweet shooting Romero once again had a huge game as he scored 32 points on 12-20 shooting, and grabbed 12 rebounds. Delonte Holland added 18.

The ICC Pirates opened the annual Don Harris Classic at ICC last Thursday night with a complete thumping of Bacone Community College.

The Pirates were clicking on all cylinders as they played furious defense holding Bacone to a mere 38 percent shooting and forcing them into 18 turnovers.

Offensively the Pirates were led by the Ricks and Romero connection. The two sophomores looked like Stockton and Malone as they cut apart the Bacone defense like a skilled surgeon. Romero, who is making a case for JUCO player of the year, was once again unstoppable as scored 35. He connected on 14-19 shots, including three of four from downtown, Romero also grabbed 8 rebounds. Ricks was just as awesome as he had 11 points and a season high 14 assists.

The Pirates, fresh off their exhilarating victory over New Mexico Military, struggled in the finale of the South Plains Classic Nov. 18. The Pirates looked good in the first half against a tough South Plains team as they connected on 51 percent of their shots and scored 45 first-half points. The second half was a different story. The Pirates shot a mere 31 percent from the floor, but kept the score close as they found themselves at the free throw line almost as much as Bill Clinton finds himself sleeping on the couch at night.

The Pirates connected on 16 of their 22 second half free throw attempts, but it wasn’t enough as South Plains connected on three-point after three-point shot. For the game South Plains hit 12 three pointers.

Jamaicus Ricks had another tremendous game for ICC as he had 35 points. Hector Romero had another double-double as he scored 12 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds. Delonte Holland added 16 points.

Strange as the Presidential election has been, it couldn’t be any more strange than the Pirates overtime victory over New Mexico Military. The Pirates led throughout most of the first half , but as they were about to go for the jugular and put NMMI away, the Pirates began to struggle. NMMI quickly went on a huge run to gain the lead at 91-84. It stayed pretty much that way until the Pirates cut the lead to three with 17 seconds remaining in the game. Coach Downey called for Romero to get the ball and make a play to get the Pirates back into it. That’s exactly what he did as he hit the game tying three, but there was still time left on the clock. NMMI quickly advanced the ball past half court and with sixth-tenths of a second to go, Ky O’Dell was called more a foul. All NMMI had to do was hit one out of two and the game would be over, but like the Presidential election it wasn’t going to be over that quickly. NMMI missed both shots to send the game into overtime. The Pirates were able to out score NMMI 13-8 in the extra period to win the strange game.

Not even Al Gore could derail the performance by Hector Romero. Romero was very Jordanesque as he scored a career high 40 points, with no recount needed. Delonte Holland added 18 points. Ricks, who fouled out in overtime, scored 17.

The Pirates avenged an earlier loss this season to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M as they limited them to a mere 36 percent shooting Nov. 14 in the ICC Field House. Hector Romero led the Pirates with 21 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds. Delonte Holland chipped in 15 points and Jamaicus Ricks added 14 points and 8 assists.

The Pirates dropped their first game of the season as they basically lost the game at the free throw line. The game featured 90 shots from the line.

The ICC Lady Pirate basketball team won the Don Harris Thanksgiving Classic at the ICC field house with a 74-66 win Saturday night over Hutchinson Community College. The win was the ninth of the season for the Lady Pirates who have just one avenged-loss to NEO.

Maria Villaroel, the sensation from Venezuela, poured in 33 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead ICC in both categories.

Lady Pirates 100 - Frank Phillips 72

The Pirates only shot 44 percent from the floor, but the their trademark defense was once again awesome as it held Frank Phillips College to only 39 percent shooting from the floor. Kimya Murray led the Pirates with 17 points.

Lady Pirates 74 - Tyler 55

The ICC Lady Pirates improved to 7-1 on the season with an impressive 74-55 victory over defending NJCAA champion Tyler, Texas, in the opening game last Thursday night of the Don Harris Basketball Classic at ICC.

ICC lead the game by just two points at halftime, but dominated the second half, out scoring Tyler 45-28.

Kimya Murray lead all players in scoring with 26. The Pirates also got strong contributions form Maria Villarroel, who scored 20 points and snagged 14 rebounds, and Anca Stoenescu with 10 points.

Lady Pirates 87- Westark 70

The Lady Pirates improved to 6-1 on the season with their second win over Westark, 87-70. Just like the last time these two teams met, ICC built a big halftime lead, 45-22, that was too great for Westark to overcome. ICC out rebounded Westark 60-39.

Kimya Murray lead all Pirates in scoring with 15 points, followed by Maria Villarroel with 14. Alisha Stewart chipped in 12 points and Courtney Roach contributed 10.

Lady Pirates 78- NEO 71

The Lady Pirates avenged their only loss this season with a 78-71 victory over NEO Nov. 14. The ICC defense was the difference in the game as ICC forced 30 turnovers and held NEO to 45 percent shooting from the floor. Anca Stoenescu and Maria Villarroel led the Pirates with 20 points each. The win improved the Lady Pirates to 5-1 on the season.

Lady Pirates 93 - Carl Albert 85

The Lady Pirates defeated Carl Albert State College in the McDonald’s/Coca-Cola Classic in El Dorado. The Ladies were down by six at halftime, 44-38, but exploded for 55 points in the exciting high scoring second half. Super freshman Maria Villarroel was on fire as she scorched the nets for 30 points, while Kimya Murray was just as awesome as she added 26 points for the Lady Pirates.

Lady Pirates 98- Rose State 67

After a quick 10-0 run to open the game, and a strong defense that did not allow Rose State to score a field goal in the first five minutes, the Lady Pirates ran head-on into foul trouble and a hot-shooting Lady Raider team that hit 17 of their first 24 free throws on the way to a 42-33 first-half lead.

In the second half, however, the Lady Pirates were unstoppable scoring 56 points while holding Rose State to only 34. Maria Villarroel led the Pirates with 22, while Ola Snytina added 14.

Lady Pirates 111- Westark 85

The Lady Pirates demolished a Westark team, 111-85, that came into the game ranked fifth in the nation.

Maria Villarroel, freshman from Venezuela, scored 33 points to lead the lady pirates to their second win of the season. Villarroel got plenty of help as Kimya Murray scored 21. Also scoring in double figures was Ola Snytina with 14 and Ebony Boddie with 13.

Lady Pirates 82- NEO 85

The Lady Pirates dropped their first game of the season as they struggled against NEO. The Lady Pirates turned the ball over eight times before they were able to get their first points of the game.

Lady Pirates 127- Southwestern JV 61

The Lady Pirates opened the season by slapping around the Southwestern JV team. Seven Lady Pirates scored in double figures led by the unstoppable Kimya Murray who had 25, and freshman Maria Villarroel who added 20 points in her first game for the Pirates.

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Uchenna "Woody" Nwude is a busy sophomore at ICC. Woody stays busy because he says Independence is boring. Woody is a second year football player, track and field hammer thrower and a trainer attending various classes throughout the day.

Being busy also helps him focus on the future. "Well," he says perseverance is the key!

Woody, 20, is from Derby. He attended Derby High School being entertained by sports. He played football, wrestled and participated in track and field. What Woody loves to do at home is play and work on automobiles. Woody said, "He wants to own a customizing shop and design cars in the future." Being that he’s stays busy in sports, his hobbies are sports!

Woody came to ICC to get his education and excel in sports. The fourth game of the 2000 football season, his second at ICC, Woody injured the ACL in his left knee, ending his ICC football career.

Even though his ICC playing days are over, he is still contributing. Woody is part of the training staff at ICC. He helps tape athletes who need their wrists, ankles and knees protected. He also goes to ICC games. He helps the trainer bring equipment and any other preparations needed by the athletes.

He hopes to go to the national junior college track championships in the spring. A hammer thrower, Woody wants to place in the top six and set a new record. This will be his second year throwing at ICC. Woody believes in teamwork. His favorite quote is: "All the talent in the world won’t take you anywhere without your teammates."

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Hector Romero, leading scorer this year on the ICC Pirates basketball team, has to try and make Independence as much like home as he can.

Hector hasn’t been home in the past two years, and cannot make it home for another two years while he is trying to make money after his time here at ICC.

Why hasn’t Hector gone home to his family for so long? It would be an expensive nine-hour plane ride home to Barcelona, Venezuela. He can’t go home this summer, because he has to take classes to makeup for the time he lost learning English his first year at ICC.

Who is Hector Romero? He is a 6’6", 20 year-old sophomore who plays wing forward (a forward who can play under the basket and also handle the ball on the outside) for the ICC Pirates.

Romero began playing basketball when he was nine years old. The school he attended had a yearlong term. He was able to begin learning basketball as well as get his education. He continued to play into high school.

As a 5’11" starter on his team, he became the school’s all -time leader in scoring. On the side, he played for the State Selection Team of players from all over Venezuela. He also was selected to represent Venezuela on the South American team and compete in the Junior World Championship tournament held in Europe and in front of scouts from around the world.

When Romero was ready to enter college, one of his teammates from Venezuela, Diego Guevara, a senior at North Carolina at Charlotte, told his coach about Hector. Since Hector didn’t speak English, the coach contacted community colleges to give him a chance to learn English and get more playing experience in the process. Soon after that Hector began getting calls from coaches. He didn’t understand a word they spoke to him, but he understood the word basketball in English so he was able to figure out who he was talking to. His friend Guevara translated needed information so Romero could make his choice on a college. None of the schools really stood out from another, so he just decided to come to Kansas, state known for basketball.

After Romero’s first year at ICC, the scouts who had seen him play at the Junior World Championship gave him the opportunity to play in Europe for the ACB Pro Basketball League, but Romero wanted to continue improving his game so he decided to stay at ICC.

Hector also wanted to continue with his education and learn English thoroughly. After he arrived at ICC it took him about four months to be able to speak small bits and pieces of English.

He says, "I felt like a baby." Now, Hector speaks English well. He has even picked up much of our slang. Writing, however, is still a problem. In fact, Hector speaks Spanish and English so well now, he helps out on the women’s basketball team translating for Maria Villarroel, a freshman who is also from Venezuela.

After graduating this summer, Hector plans to take advantage of the opportunity he gave up in the past two years and go play in Europe.