Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 133, Number 9, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 3 March 2011 — Page 2

Page A2

1 Advance News • Thursday, Much 3,2011

Becky Lechlitner Sept. 4, 1957 Feb. 17, 2011 WAKARUSA Becky Lechlitner, 53, Wakarusa, died at 2:45 pm Thursday, Feb. 17,2011 at Elkhart General Hospital.

She was bom Sept 4, 1957 to Harold and Eloise (Balsley) Brenneman. She married Mark Lechlitner July 20,1985 in Elkhart Surviving are her husband; sons, Joshua and Jared Lechlitner of Wakarusa; mother, Eloise Brenneman of Elkhart; and sisters, Beth (Ed) Kovatch of Mishawaka and Brenda (Paul) Fizer, Elkhart. Preceding her in death was her father, Harold Brenneman.

Becky was a 1976 Graduate of Penn High School, member of the Wakarusa Missionary Church and was the kitchen manager at Wakarusa Elementary School. Becky enjoyed camping and canoeing. She had a "never quit" attitude. The family would especially like to thank her best friend Sandy Casteel for all her efforts. Visitation was 3 to 8 pm. Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Wakarusa Missionary Church, 202 W. Waterford St., Wakarusa, where the service was at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 21. Pastor Paul Commons officiated and burial is in Olive (East) Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be given to donor's choice. Reith-Rohrer-Ehret-Lienhart Funeral Home assisted the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent at www.rrefh.com.

DeVon Rose Feb. 22, 2011 WAKARUSA DeVon Rose, 80, of Wakarusa, died at 9:25 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22,2011 at Goshen General Hospital after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, Linda; sons, Garry (Cheryl) Rose, and Terry Rose, both of Nappanee; stepson, Mathew Tharp of Elkhart; a grandson; three stepgranddaughters; two great-grandchildren; a brother, Carlisle Rose of Riverside, Calif.; and a sister, Thelma Prescott of Nappanee. Visitation took place from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 pm. Thursday, Feb. 24 at Thompson-Lengacher & Yoder Funeral Home, Wakarusa. Funeral services took place at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 at the Nappanee Missionary Church. Burial followed-in South Union Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to United Cancer Services of Elkhart County or Goshen Care At Home Hospice. Condolences may be made to the . family via the funeral home's website at www.tlyfh.com. Around, cont. from Front dinner starts at 7:30 p.m. Early bird tickets purchased by March 12 receive one free raffle ticket per person for a Remington MBB7 pump-action, 12-gauge shotgun. Tickets are $25 for singles, S4O per couple, S3OO for sponsors, SSOO for corporate, sls for Greenwing. Tickets at the door will be $35 for singles, SSO per couple. For more information, call chairman Mark Holcomb at 574-596-3797 or co-chairman Rob Menzie at 574-354-1711.

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Community

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rfioio uy fvtiy vrvnycr Older participants from the recent cheer camp perform to Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' during the Feb. 12 North Wood JV basketball game.

Young cheerleaders learn the ropes

By Amy Wenger Correspondent NAPPANEE seem only logical that when speaking of the graceful sport of cheerleading, the concept of spirit would come to mind. But the word "spirit" embodies so much more than the loyalty toward a school or a team. It encompasses the passion and the confidence in celebrating what can be achieved in putting forth one's best efforts. That is the motivation behind the annual cheerleading clinic which is open to youngsters in grades 1-5 who reside in the Wa-Nee school district. North Wood High School cheerleading coach Pam Slagle is the chief organizer for the event, which has now been taking place for so long that she said, "I simply don't remember a time we didn't offer it." A crowd of nearly 100 potential cheerleaders came to Woodview Elementary School Feb. 5 for a morning of discovering how to perform various cheers and rehearsing dance routines to contemporary music.

Slagle noted that the clinic serves as a good stepping stone for youth who wish to become involved in cheerleading at the junior high and high school levels. "Since cheerleading isn't started in our schools until seventh grade, we felt many girls weren't being exposed to what cheerleading is all about," Slagle said. "When they got to seventh grade, they felt they didn't know anything about it, so they weren't trying out." When the clinic was first offered, Slagle «nd the cheerleading squads from North Wood worked with the students on a variety of techniques, including simple cheers, sidelines and tumbling. A few years ago, the girls were given the chance to show the skills they learned in a presentation during a high school sporting event. This year, the future cheer squads performed at the halftime break of the junior varsity basketball contest between North Wood and Concord Feb. 12. "Our main focus is to teach them how to lead the crowd and promote spirit for the game," Slagle said.

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"Learning how to look at the crowd while performing is something that doesn't always come naturally. If the girls are able to smile and look confident while leading a crowd, they will get much better participation." Slagle speaks from experience, having been a cheerleader herself during her days as a former NorthWood High School student. Under her leadership, several cheerleading teams have earned award-winning status for the district during recent years. The young cheerleaders were initially slated to appear before an audience Feb. 5, but inclement weather led to the postponement of the scheduled NorthWood game. Even though the girls had to wait a week before giving their final performance, the delay did not dampen their enthusiasm. The audience was genuinely charmed by watching the younger girls present their interpretation of dance to Selena Gomez's song "Round and Round," while the older girls tackled an ambitious version of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." All of

the cheerleaders, present and future, then assembled for a rousing session of group cheers, which delighted parents and patrons alike. "I would like them to walk away from the clinic and game performance feeling as though cheerleading is a fun activity," Slagle said. "Being in front of a crowd cheering teaches self-confi-dence which carries over into everyday life. Cheerleading is a team sport where they learn to work together with their peers toward a common goal. Learning to be a team player is a life skill that everyone needs as an adult. They won't realize now they are learning these skills, but discipline, teamwork, dedication, sportsmanship, integrity and hard work are things they will use in their adult lives, long after school days are over. "Cheerleading is so much more than girls in skirts in front of a crowd. I try to use my coaching as a way to instill life skills that will help prepare young girls for life in general. And of course, have a lot of fun while doing it."