The North Platte Bulldogger held their very first journalism contest for any middle school students who were interested in writing. These students were told to write a newsworthy story within their school. The guidelines included; a half page story written in journalistic style, a picture corresponding with the story, and a catchy headline. The first place winner 7th grader Beckett Allen received a Kindle Fire and got their story printed in the April edition of the Bulldogger. Second and third place received Amazon gift cards. All of the entries are posted online at npbulldogger.com.

North Platte Bulldogger is welcoming newcomers with arms wide open. With so many choices of highschool class selections it can get tough to pick what route to take. Most kids don’t know the opportunities that the Bulldogger can give you. Allen attended a monthly work night and used Photoshop and inDesign to design his story below.

First Place Winner

Protector of the school

Written by Beckett Allen AMS 7th grader

You may think that the boys’ restroom is messier than than the girls’. Well, that isn’t always the case. Jim Eisele, a veteran custodian at Adams Middle School, has to deal with situations like this on a daily basis.Eisele said that he did not plan on being a janitor; it was just something that came up. “I didn’t know that I would ever be a custodian, but I have,” he said. Tuesday had marked his 10th year as a custodian.

The grossest thing that Eisele has had to clean up was poop. Yes, poop on the floor of the bathroom. “I had to pick it up, but not with my bare hands,” Eisele said.Eisele said that he had previously worked nights at the high school, but decided to apply for a day job at Adams so he could spend more time with his wife. “She suggested that I should take it because we would never get to see each other. She’d work days and I would work nights.”

Eisele said that his favorite thing as a custodian is to protect and clean the school the school, and keep the students and staff safe. “I think of myself as a school security guard,” Eisele said. An example of one of his many good deeds would be, a time when he had let a girl in before Eisele arrived for work. “Her dad had to go to work early,” Eisele said. “I let her in the school because I didn’t want something to happen to her,” he said. “That’s how I care about [the] kids.”

His least favorite part about being a custodian is cleaning up intentional messes made by students. “The accidents and stuff I don’t mind because that happens,” Eisele said. “It’s just the ones that make my job harder,” He knows that the students are obligated to do some of the accidental messes. “I shouldn’t have it like a piece of cake… but I have to do a bunch of extra ordinary things,” he said.Eisele likes to clean the science rooms the best because he gets to see the different things kids do. “There’s stuff like the skeletons and stuff from certain animals,” he said, “ I always thought it was neat when I went to school.”

Eisele said he thought the girls kept the restrooms cleaner than the boys, but he was wrong. . “It’s a toss up sometimes,” Eisele said. “The girls’ isn’t always better.” He said that it can be just as messy or messier than the boys’.“I feel really good about myself in that I protect the school,” Eisele said. He shows he cares about the students and staff by by doing things he isn’t required to do to. “I make sure the doors are locked, the windows are shut, and everything’s safe,” Eisele said.