Pulaski County High School - Cougar Pinnacle Yearbook (Dublin, VA)

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Student Life 7

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r. LIFE Four very diverse classes; a total of ' • nearly 2,200 students in one school.! They existed in separate “orbits,” or locker banks as we called them. Each class had its own color coded locker bank to which everyone flocked be-l tween classes. Each group had its own way of doing things and enjoying them¬ selves whether they were in school or out on vacation. Yet they were united in the events of| their daily lives in school, events which never really came close to beingj “routine” in nature. The students at PCHS really got involved in life,, whether it was in sports, working after school, helping other people or just plain having fun in the sun or snow. Inside and out, during school and on vacation, students lived their lives the way they wanted to. Student life hap¬ pened in the halls, at home, in the parking lot, and at the movies. No mat ter where the students were, some¬ thing was always happening. Some of | their favorite places to “hang out” | were Golden Galaxy, McDonald’s, The Cinema, or at home with their Atari . Video game. This was how the stu-r dents at PCHS were “getting into life!” : I Do Forever — Junior John Sexton and Senior Doris Walker take their vows during the mock wedding held on November 18th. The Family Living class at PCHS has a mock wedding every year and it includes the ceremony, preparation, and the reception afterwards. The Big Decision — Juniors have to make a big decision every year on what type ring they want. | Well, Kathy Robertson did have that hard choice as she tells Jenkins representative Bill [ Edmunds what type she wants. This is the one way the juniors really “got into student pride.” 6 Student Life

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The Agony and The Ecstacy It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was November 5, 1982. This day was expected to be the biggest day of the whole school year. For seniors, it was considered to be as im¬ portant as senior week, their last homecoming, prom, or graduation. It was the tenth Friday of football season. It was the day when an undefeated Patrick Hen¬ ry High School would in¬ vade Courgar Country. In the days leading up to “Title Night” eountians pre¬ pared. Not only was this a big game for the team but for Cougar fans it was a “Su- perbowl.” Players worked until dark the first week of Standard time. Their only loss thus far was that of light that was precious to practice. The county was in ecstasy: the Cougar growl roared over store public an¬ nouncement systems, cou¬ gar paws flew on top the flag¬ poles instead of the Star Spangled Banner, homes and stores alike plastered their doors and windows with signs of good luck, and magnetic Cougar Paws tat¬ tooed cars. Friday finally came, and it was Cougar colors and hat day. Burgundy and gold was bliss. The public had been invited to the pep rally and along with them was the News 7 news truck. Nerves were on edge, as the gym echoed with yells for the cougars. A forty-five minute pep rally lasted an hour, de¬ laying lunches fifteen min¬ utes. During the pep rally, principals were honored by football players by being smacked in the face with Cougar pies. Seniors were victorious in the spirit stick competition as each class j elled a word successively from the phrase “Let’s beat P. H.” Students were drained by the end of the pep rally. But then tragedy struck. Stu¬ dents learned of the deaths of two members of the Class of ’83. Seniors Robert Hall and Danny Spraker had died as the result of taking drugs. Other students were hospitalized. Tears flowed and spirits fell from ecstasy to a deep sincere sympathy and along with the recent ty- lenol scare across the L T nit- ed States and this new scare, some students were frightened that they coidd have been involved and that they might be in some dan¬ ger. Rumors spread ram¬ pantly making situations worse, but by 3:05 the exact details were becoming known. Countians were worried, but the game went on. Fans who had lined up at the sta¬ dium gates at 12 o’clock stood in line until 5:30 for a scat. An estimated 12,000 fans attended, and not until the counting down of the last eight seconds was it clear that the Cougars were definitely number one in the RYD. Both the teams had come into the battle unde¬ feated, 9-0, but the Cougars came out with a perfect 10 and a state playoff berth. The stands went wild as (he final second turned to a shining zero on the clock, and the buzzer sounded the Cougar victory. The field was flooded by Cougar fans and the speakers blared with the chorus of the song “Celebration.” Once again tears flowed both by the winners and losers. Parents, students, everyone was a part of this winning team. As field goal kicker Chris Kinzer put it, “We played great defense, and the of¬ fense had a great drive when we had to have it. Then, we’ve got our twelfth man in the stands. The crowd was super, we love ’em.” But everyone was drained; they had con¬ quered one battle but still had further to go. Not only were state finals ahead, but the Cougars who had always been known in the Roanoke Valley District as “pig farm¬ ers” and “hicks”, had lived these accusations down. Al¬ though these accusations had been overcome, there was now a new battle to prove that the school wasn’t one of dope and drugs. Final¬ ly we had gotten our cover¬ age from the media but to go along with it the Roanoke Times headline read, “Fatal Consumption: Carefree ‘cheap high’ turns deadly” about the deaths. The mis¬ takes of a few may make us look bad, but “Cougar Pride’ still stands and will go on undisputed. Hey Kool-Aidl Varsity cheer¬ leaders Sarah Pace and Carol Ab¬ bott pour Kool-Aid after a Thurs¬ day football practice in the field- house. V Here’s Pie in Your Eye — Quarter¬ back Terry Finley smears a cream pie in principal Dewey Wilson face during the pep rally before the P. H. game. 8 Student Life