By: Miranda Olson & Josie Anzalone

On January 14, the Atlantic High School journalism department received a very exciting email from Nichole Holzum.  The email had stated that someone had donated $2,500 from America’s Farmers Grow Communities.

For four consecutive years, eligible farmers across America register for the chance to direct a $2,500 donation for a non-profit organization in the communities where they live and work.  Our organization was selected by Stephanie Witzman, Monica Witzman’s mother, as the recipient in Cass County.  The journalism department scheduled the ceremonial check presentation to celebrate the donation on January 29.

The head of the journalism department, Alison Berryhill, was humbled when she received news of the donation.  “I thought wow, this is really special.”  The donation was “earmarked for the Eye of the Needle team.  It’s really a boost to our department, it’s a huge gift and we really appreciate it.  I’m really delighted that Witzman had felt positive about Monica’s involvement in journalism.”

The Eye of the Needle, the video portion of the journalism department, started at AHS last year in the early months of 2013.  The idea came from Monica Witzman, Hannah Jespersen, Benton Maas and Travis Small.  These four visited the KETV newsroom in the spring of last year, and also visited Westside High School in Omaha to improve their skills further.

Some of the improvements that will hopefully be bought with the check will be a news desk and lighting in the J-Lab.  The desk that they are currently using “sometimes looks pink with the green screen, and does not professional,” according to Jespersen.  “As far as lighting goes, our system now is complicated and time consuming to set up. It would be a lot easier with a new system!”