Interact Blood Drive Collects Over 80 Units

By Josh Huddleston
The CHS Interact Club held its 15th annual Blood Drive on Thursday,  November 15th. Set up began at 7:15 in the Mezzanine, and the Blood Drive started at 8:00 and ran until 1:00. Students that signed up were assigned a time to come give blood. On average, between 75 to 90 units of blood are donated each year, this year's donation coming in at 86- enough to save 258 lives.

“This is the best thing a student can do,” says club sponsor Mrs. Nadine Jones, “because all the blood donated goes to Blood Assurance and is distributed to the (Cookeville) hospital, so it stays locally, and we are in short supply during the holiday season.” Students who donated were provided food, drink, and a t-shirt, and a second Blood Drive will be held in the spring for interested students aged 16 and older.

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Fall Funfest 2012

By Josh Huddleston

It’s about that time again, Cavaliers. The 17th annual Fall Funfest is coming to Cookeville September 7th and 8th. Presented by Operation CityScape, a state and nationally certified Main Street Program dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Cookeville’s downtown.

The festival offers food, music, arts and crafts, and events for kids and teens. It starts on Friday night, September 7th at 5:30 P.M and ends at 9:30 P.M, opening again at 9:30 A.M and ending at 9:30 P.M on Saturday. One major part of Fall Funfest is the Cookeville Cook-Off, put on by Kansas City Barbecue Society. Over 30 teams from Tennessee and other states will be competing for $1,000 in prize money and a place in the KCBS National Invitation.
If you’re a music lover there will be an assortment of live bands performing from a wide range of genres. Grammy-nominated Bluegrass band The Grascals will headline the event taking the stage at 8:00 P.M on Saturday. Local artisans will be set up selling jewelry, pottery, hand- blown glass, and woodworking. Over 80 different food items will be available ranging from churros to Greek food. For teens, the Skatepark is recently improved with a variety of new ramps.
For those who love to run, the Fun Fest 5K/10K FunRun begins at 7:00 A.M on Saturday morning with last-minute registration from 6:15 to 6:45 A.M. Awards will be given to the top male and female in each age group in addition to the top team. There will be $50 cash prizes for overall winners also. Several school organizations will be participating in Fall Funfest including the CHS Interact Club and Dance Team. Interact club will be picking up trash on Saturday. “ This is the biggest service project we do,” says Colleen Ryan, Interact Club President. “And our members highly anticipate it each year.”
Overall Fall Funfest will be an exciting weekend.

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