Plattsmouth High School - Plattonian Yearbook (Plattsmouth, NE)

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Shane Thorstad works at Ruback’s Super- market and is also enrolled in Distributive Education III and IV this year. Brian Beckman puts in an average of 20 hours a week bagging groceries while attend- ing school. Adding the finishing touches to a cake log is Shelley Dasher who was employed at Dairy Queen this year. Local restaurants in Plattsmouth offer good employment for students. But, in this case. Senior Bill Wagner is spending money at Pizza Hut. 17

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PHS Hard At Work According to school records re- ceived from Distributive Education Class and Work Experience Train- ing, 33 males and 43 female stu- dents at PHS have jobs. These 76 students, on an aver- age, work twenty hours a week. Thirteen get paid below minimum wage, 29 receive minimum wage and 21 earn more. Sixty-three stu- dents work in the local area and 13 students are employed outside of town. A question that always arises when thinking about going to school and still maintaining a part-time job is: Does working during the week interfere with schoolwork? Senior Mike Lewis feels that: “Sometimes work does interfere with social and athletic events.” However, Junior Tracy King stated, “It doesn’t interfere too much. You usually get out of work early enough to get your homework done.” What about students who work late hours and get off work after 11 at night? Sophomore Janelle Pecha commented, “If you use your time wisely in school and set your sched- ule so that you don’t have to worry about schoolwork, working until 10 or 11 at night is not that difficult.” Distributive Education, taught by Mrs. Ruth Wassinger, goes along with on-the-job training. The class also teaches students marketing skills and how to be a better em- ployee. What is Work Experience? This program is designed for students who may or may not have released time from school. Directed by Mrs. Beverly Harter, the class allows stu- dents to learn about job skills and receive school credit. With the raising of school require- ments, will students be hurt by hav- ing a job? Mrs. Harter said, “Possi- bly, but national statistics prove that students with jobs do better in school and participate in extracurri- cular activities much more than oth- er students.” Accounting skill» come in handy for Kim Freeburg when she's counting a customer's change. With a perfect ice cream cone, Jodi Pras- sel, sophomore, poses at her job. 16

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Politics Heads News The presidential election and the deaths of foreign leaders were top news items this year. On November 6, President Ron- ald Reagan won reelection carrying the biggest electoral vote in history. Reagan came out the winner against his Democratic dpponent, Walter Mondale, everywhere but Minnesota and Washington D.C. This election was important in an- other way in that Democrat Geral- dine Ferraro was the first female major party candidate for vice presi- dent. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, was assassinated in Octo- ber by two of her Sikh bodyguards. She had been the leader of India from 1966-77 and 1980-84. Her son, Rajev, succeeded her in office. The Soviet Union lost two leaders in the past thirteen months. Yuri An- dropov died in February of 1984 and Konstantin Chernenko died in March of ’85. Mikhai Gorbachev be- came leader of Russia. One story constantly in the news Since it wee an election year several political candidates visited PHS. Listening are Junior Mi- chelle Sorrell and Sophomore Merri Woodward. PHS library triea to provide up-to-date re- search facilities for students. English Instructor Virginia Paap supervises Freshmen Jeanne Car- michael. Kris Fornoff and Lisa Cubrich. was the starvation of millions in Afri- ca. Over 27 countries are affected by a draught. Some places have had no rainfall in three years. A pro- longed military conflict also affected this area. Twenty-three countries sought emergency loans. Bhopal, India was the site of a poison gas leak at a pesticide fac- tory. This industrial accident killed over 2,500 people. Space was in the news a lot this year. The space shuttle, Discovery, had its maiden voyage and the Challenger took up the largest crew ever, seven members. President Reagan's “Star Wars” program caused controversy at the arms control talks. “Star Wars” is a de- fensive shield system in outer space. The bright spot of the year was the Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. PHS Coach and Mrs. Cecil McKnight attended the Olympics. They were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Caverzagie. 18