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Drama Club gears up
BY JENNI NATION
The drama season this year started with a bang. On August 30, the Drama Club had its first meeting. Members gathered with refreshments and games and news from club officers, who announced the plays for this year.
"The Strength of Our Spirit" is on the agenda for the one-act play competition in which the school annually participates. It will also be performed for the school, along with another play, "Loose Connections."
Tryouts for "Spirit" were held recently and tryouts for "Loose Connections" will be held Sept. 11 and 12. Another meeting will be held on Sept. 7 to discuss the details of "Loose Connections."
Everyone involved in the drama is very excited about this year. The club is confident that they have chosen incredible plays and have the best of the best to play the parts. There appears to be a promising group of individuals who are genuinely interested in acting, and that in itself contributes to the promise that the drama department will thrive for yet another year.

A player's perspective
BY STEPHEN TIPPINS
Excitement is always at hand at the beginning of every football season. In addition to the gridiron excitement, there are also high expectations. Granted, there are always those that question the high expectations and refuse to accept the football-geared excitement. However, the optimistic invariably seem to outnumber those that lean toward the negative.
Speaking as a player, I can say that the 2000 football season at MCHS was certainly not lacking any of that early-season excitement, nor were the expectations for the outcome of our season running low when we took the field against South Forsyth in the season opener. Fueled by the excitement, we walked away with a victory. Needless to say, it was not the easiest of tasks. Moreover, it was nothing short of gut-wrenching, since the game ended with us holding on to a slim 14 -10 lead. I will not go into a play by play of the game, since the details have already been written about on a few other occasions. I will, though, say that as a team, we have worked hard this past spring and summer and the gratification we felt after the win was, to say the least, indescribable.
With preparation under way for the rest of the season, there is not much time to enjoy our opening victory. Our 1-0 start merely raises those expectations that were originally set during the preseason.
I hope, as does the entire team, that this opening victory is something that the Raider faithful can look proudly upon. We also hope that the remaining nine games that our schedule holds in store will serve as an endless supply of Raider pride.

Parking fee woes
BY RANDALL BALLENGER
Students are feeling a little agitated due to the price of parking permits. They believe the $24 parking fee is a little much to pay in order to park their vehicles. The price for parking permits has risen considerably over the years, and this leaves underclassmen wondering what the fee will be in years to come.
"I think it is too much and that they should be happy that we come to school," said junior Joseph Mahoney.
Also, if students refuse to pay for a parking permit, they will be fined $10 for every day they park without a permit. Many students are now wondering why they have to pay to park in the first place. Students are required by law to attend school, and parents pay in excess of $400 in taxes to the school yearly.
So why are students charged to park in the school's parking lot if they are required to attend and the school receives an adequate amount through taxes.
"Parking permits are necessary to control the parking environment. Driving in an automobile is a privilege that students earn through growth and maturity. The price of the privilege to park must be compensated with the importance our students place on that driving privilege," principal Bob Rhinehart said.
Students believe that high price is just another way for the school to make money.
"I think that the school needs the money so that they can put it to good use," remarked senior Travis Moak.
Students will invariably have to pay the parking fee this year, but how much longer will the student body tolerate yearly rising fees?

A talk with Mrs. Joy King, an outstanding math teacher
BY DENISE WILLIAMS
Teachers are what make up our school. Among the many outstanding teachers at MCHS, Joy King was able to take time out of her busy schedule to tell us more about herself.
King has taught all of her six and a half years in teaching in Madison County. She attended Gainesville Junior College for two years, then transferred to the University of Georgia where she finished her degree. She did her student teaching with Mr. Fowler, which ended on a Friday. She was then asked to begin teaching the following Monday for Mrs. McCannon when she left on maternity leave. This left her with a permanent job at MCHS. She taught English for two years, and for the past four years she has taught geometry and algebra II.
"To make a good impression on me, you must have a friendly personality," Mrs. King said. When asked how to get under her skin, she replied, "Kids with a very bad attitude do not do as well in my class."
Former students of Mrs. King had this to say:
"Mrs. King goes on a personal level and puts her heart into her students' interest," Stacie Smith said.
"Mrs. King added a lot of fun with her teaching," Elizabeth Bleakley said.
"Mrs. King is always willing to help you, if at first you do not understand," Vicki Brown said.
Outside of her "school family" Mrs. King has her own family. She has been married for six and a half years. She has two dogs, Duke and Dolly, as well as two nieces and nephews, who take up a majority of her after-school time.
Outside of spending time with her family, she enjoys riding motorcycles in her free time.  

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Natalie Tolbert is new to Madison County High
BY WENDY TILLER
As our school year begins we face new classes and new teachers. As returning students, we all have many of the same fears and we all look forward to seeing our friends after a long summer. Natalie Tolbert, a new student at MCHS, has to encounter a whole new world. She attended Athens Christian School since kindergarten. This year she is facing the trials of being a junior and the fears of a new school with many different faces and rules.
Natalie has not been too worried about attending a school with unfamiliar faces because she has been a resident of Madison County all her life. She has made many friendships through playing softball at the recreation department as well as through her friends she goes to church with. Natalie attends Colbert Baptist Church and is a member of the youth group there.
Although Natalie stays busy playing basketball, softball, and running track, she always finds time to ride and take care of her horse. When asked her reason for wanting to attend MCHS, she responded, "I have always wanted to go to school with my friends." She also said that she truly misses her other friends at Athens Christian, but is really enjoying a school with more people and more of the freedom to dress as she chooses.
As the first day drew closer, Natalie began to worry about feeling alone in her classes. When she finally arrived at school, she realized that it actually was a lot larger than she had formerly thought. By receiving help from friends and others, Natalie is now attempting to meet all of Madison County's best.
As a new school year is falling into place, Natalie is ready to face new experiences and new friends. We plan for this year to be unforgettable, and as always, nothing but the best. For Natalie Tolbert, the memory of her first year at MCHS will hopefully be one of excitement and enjoyment.

Hilltopper Staff announced
BY TESSA HOLLIS
Another year, another yearbook, and with that comes a new staff, full of new ideas to make the yearbook memorable.
This year the staff is composed of seven juniors and ten seniors. The editor is Leannah Hamann. Other staff members include: Tessa Hollis, Ashley Waller, Jonathan Cole, Arrie Brown, Randall Ballenger, Sara Duceatt, Megan McCay, Lori Moon, Stacie Smith, Elizabeth Bleakley, Vanessa Kirk, Ashley Mullins, Jenni Nation, Wendy Tiller, Stephen Tippens and Denise Williams.
In addition to the yearbook, the annual staff is also responsible for writing articles for the Raider Weekly. These include editorials, student and teacher features, current event articles, DCT features, and fine art student features.
If any student would like to contribute to the paper, you can bring your typed article to room 108.

Fear on the highways a result of Firestone recall
BY JONATHAN COLE
Twenty-six deaths were added by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Thursday to the list of deaths possibly caused by faulty Firestone tires, bringing the total to 88. The tires have been under investigation since August after it was reported that the tread was peeling off the 15-inch models of Firestone ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness tires. These tires are on many different models of light trucks and sport utilities, most notably the best-selling sport utility in the country, the Ford Explorer, and its cousin the Mercury Mountaineer.
Not only are drivers of vehicles riding on these Firestone tires scared to death, but so are all the other drivers on the road. Randall Ballenger, a senior who drives a Toyota Tacoma on Firestone Wilderness tires, commented, "I'm scared, man."
An out-of-control sport utility vehicle at highway speeds is a danger to everyone. Ford has replaced roughly 1.5 million tires so far, but the waiting list is still months long to replace the 6.5 million faulty tires on the road, so this controversy, and the highway fright that accompanies it, might last well into 2001.
On top of all this, the union sees this situation as the perfect time to gain some leverage and threaten to strike. Union officials say that they are willing to work with Firestone on this situation, but they want improvements in working conditions, including reduction in forced overtime, pension improvements, and more respect for workers by managers.
A tire manufacturer depends on the faith of its buyers, so this is a very hard hit to Bridgestone Firestone, and a strike would only worsen the situation. The possibility of this situation snowballing and ending up putting the company out of business is very real, but only time will tell the true amount of damage the faulty tires have caused.
Students driving on Firestone P235/75 15 size tires should have their tires checked immediately to see if they are from the batch being recalled. We all need to do our part to keep this national problem from becoming a local problem.

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