The season championships at Northern Michigan Dragway were held this past Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. Championships were decided in four divisions.

 However, rains came during the fifth round of competition to postpone the Bracket II championship.

In Bracket I, John “Hoot” Gibson of Charlevoix gained the championship in convincing style, with a semi-final championship-clinching win over 2nd place rival Eric Johnson of Onekama. He then finished off the dragster of Jeremy McCormick from Fountain in the final.
Gibson’s “Hoot’s Toy” 1969 Chevy Nova SS, which he has raced for over 40 years at NMD, took the final 3 race event victories in Bracket I.

In Pro Trophy, Gary Rank of Manistee held on to his lead to take the season championship. In Street Trophy, Jim Evans of Benzonia was the champ. The Junior Eliminator title went to Nathan Lane of Fife Lake.

In Bracket II, four drivers remained in competition Sunday night, including Bill Fluette of Interlochen, Stacey Bigelow of Manton, Randy Stoykovich of Manistee, and Steve Milliman of Bear Lake. Fluette and Bigelow were matched for a quarter-final race, for the right to advance to the semi-finals when the rain halted the night’s racing.
Fluette is in the running for the Bracket II championship with Phil Gunther of Beulah. If Fluette wins his round against Bigelow, he would need to advance just one more round to gain the championship over Gunther, who currently leads by 21 points.

Trophy classes were also delayed because of the rain, and will continue at the next event along with the Bracket II battle September 18th.

Coming September 18th and 19 are the Fall Bracket Championships with over $10,000 in prizes to be awarded.

For further information visit the NMD web site or call (231)362-3439. http://northernmichigandragway.com

Story Written by: Dylan A. Hamilton. from: Ozark, Missouri.

On the morning of May 8, 2009, Severe Storms Rolled accross Ozark High School, causing classes to take cover during there 1st Block Classes. Teachers at OHS in Ozark, MO said “We dodged another bullett”, but what if it happends again, and then OHS gets hit? Teachers and Students need more information and more of a Heads Up. Dylan Hamilton, a Sophomore at Ozark, is planning on becoming a Meteorologist for Fox 2 News in St.Louis, Missouri. Hamilton was born and raised here in the Ozarks, and knows what type of weather goes on around here, So one day, he created a system called “Stancon Tornado Alert System”. This system is mainly for Schools and Colleges to know what steps to take when a Tornado is headded there way. There are 5 Stancon Alerts. Stancon 1 is issued only when the school or the state issues a Tornado Drill. A Stancon 2 is issued when the national weather service issued a Tornado Warning for a County that Borders the county you currently live in, at that point, teachers have an option on rather to continue class, or stop there teaching session, and let the students watch there local news on the classroom television. When a Stancon 3 is issued, that means The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for the county you currently live in, but for another part of your county, at that point, teachers should stop teaching, and make the students watch there local news on there classroom television, for severe weather coverage. Then things start to get serious, let’s say for example, you go to a school that has 3 floors, well if a Stancon 4 is issued, then it gets scary. A Stancon 4 means that a Tornado Warning has been issued for the part of the county on which you live in. Students will hear 3 separate bells for the stancons, they will go off for stancons 1, 4 and 5. When teachers and students hear the tornado sirens go off for Stancon 4, they will proceed out of there classrooms and into there tornado shelter area, all classrooms will need to be evacuated and moved to Middle Floor on Stancon 4. Now comes the “Code Red” for the Stancons. If a Stancon 5 is issued, then that means, trained storm spotters have confirmed rotation above or very close to the school or if they have confirmed a Tornado on the ground or forming over or very close to the school. At that point, another Tornado Siren will go off, and EVERYONE in the building, must proceed to GROUND FLOOR as Quickly as Possible!!! At this point, EVERYONE MUST proceed to the DUCK AND COVER ROUTEEN!!!!!!! Wait until you hear an all clear from a radio meteorologist or the school intercom. If everyone follows the “Stancon’s”, then this will make students and teachers, and colleges to stay safe during tornado seasons all year long.

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