Hillcrest High School

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The national spotlight is on the Hillcrest Hornets and receiver Dorial Green-Beckham this weekend. The Hornets will open the season Saturday night against the Seneca Indians at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.  ESPN-U will air the game at 8 p.m. The Ozarks knows just how good Dorial Green-Beckham is.  Now, the rest of the country will see the proof too.  As a junior, he caught 78 passes for 1,706 yards and...

SPRINGFIELD, --  Classes start next week for Springfield students and those on the northside will enjoy some major upgrades. Hornet Country is getting a seven million dollar new look. Just about anywhere on campus, you will see crews working. The main entrance has new columns. There's new turf on the football field, expected to be ready by the first home game. The auditorium is getting some major upgrades with a new ceiling, chairs, and sound booth. The biggest part of this project is nine new classrooms plus a new cafeteria.

SPRINGIFIELD, -- You could call it a late Christmas gift. A seven-million-dollar project is about start at Hillcrest High School. Nine new classrooms, a new cafeteria, and a plumbing and electrical update are on the to do list. A few teachers have already been moved to different rooms for construction to start. Nearly 60 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.  Educators say it's vital to create a good learning environment, especially for low income students.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron   Paul  will host a rally here this Saturday.  Paul will appear from  7:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the gym at Hillcrest High School, 3319 N. Grant Ave. Event organizers ask those wanting to attend to be in place before 7 p.m. Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate who has failed to win an election contest, including the 10...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The country's top recruit will kick off ESPN's all-day 2012 high school football signing day coverage. Dorial Green-Beckham is scheduled to announce his much-awaited college decision on Feb, 1 before a national television audience on ESPN-U.  That announcement likely will come shortly after 9:00 a.m. during an assembly at Hillcrest High School. Signing day for the 6'6", 220-pound all-American wide receiver will end a long recruiting process.  Many schools have come and gone over Green-Beckham's record-breaking career.  Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma have all made a final push for him in the weeks before signing day.  Green-Beckham visited Arkansas last week.  Reports say he will visit Missouri this week.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- The EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22 has many people thinking about safe rooms. "We have had a lot of that in place well over a year now," said Springfield-Greene County Emergency Management Director Ryan Nicholls. Drury University just completed a shelter and the Springfield School District has three planned. "In the long-term, you could see well over a half-dozen more built across the county," said Nicholls. The school district approached the Federal Emergency Management Agency about including safe rooms when it upgrades existing buildings.  The federal funds will lessen the school's need to ask for more bond money for the projects.  FEMA will pay 75 percent of the cost and the school district will pay 25 percent, for a total of about $2 million.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A judge has found a Springfield teenager guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his classmate. A judge convicted 19-year-old James Duke in the shooting death of Hillcrest High School student Cody Ray in March of 2010.  Throughout the bench trial, Duke's defense team argued self-defense in the bench trial, claiming Duke never meant to kill Ray. The judge threw out that argument.   Duke will be sentenced November 30.    

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Jordan Martin, one of two men charged for the murder of a Hillcrest High School student last year, got a trial date on Wednesday.  Greene County Circuit Judge Tom Mountjoy scheduled the trial for Jordan Martin to begin on Jan. 30, 2012. The other man charged for Kody Ray's murder, James Duke III, is scheduled for trial on Oct. 31, also before Mountjoy.  Each is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The probable cause statement used as the basis of charges says fights at Hillcrest High School and Battlefield Mall led to trouble between Martin and Ray.  Martin had made threats against Ray, who was afraid he was a snitch who was going to testify against him in a pending court case.  Investigators believe Duke fired the three shots that killed Ray, but Martin was in a nearby car when it happened.  Both Duke and Martin were 18 years old at the time of the shooting, which happened in the doorway of Ray's home while a birthday party for his 5-year-old brother was happening.  Shots hit Ray in a shoulder and behind each ear.  Ray was 17 when he died.  He'd recently moved to Springfield from New York.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- One of the teens accused of murdering Kody Ray, a Hillcrest High School student, will undergo a mental evaluation before his trial begins at the end of this month.  Defense attorneys say James Duke, 19, doesn't seem to understand the severity of the crime, the charges against him, or the potential sentence he may receive.  The decision was made during a hearing on Wednesday. Another teen, Jordan Martin, is also charged for the deadly shooting in March 2010.  It happened on the victim's front porch.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - One of two men charged with killing a Hillcrest High School student will be in court today. A judge will consider a change of venue and a mental evaluation request from Jordan Martin's attorneys. Investigators say Martin, along with James Duke, shot and killed Kody Ray in March 2010. Prosecutors say Martin had several fights with Ray in the weeks leading up the the murder, and drove the getaway car after the crime. His trial is scheduled for May 13. James Duke was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his part as the gunman in Ray's death.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Ozarks Food Harvest provides about 1,500 backpacks full of food for kids in Springfield schools every weekend.  But now, they're reaching out in an ever bigger way. Kids from Williams Elementary here in Springfield are getting home Friday night to find their pantries and refrigerators freshly stocked, thanks to the mobile food pantry. Family after family came to fill baskets and boxes full of food.  It's part of Ozarks Food Harvest's new one-million meal commitment to kids in Springfield Public Schools over the next year.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Ozarks Food Harvest has long served “food insecure” children attending schools in Springfield wih the Weekend Backpack Program .  Last year, the regional food bank piloted its first school pantry to help reach more students in need. Now Ozarks Food Harvest is making a commitment to provide even more support to meet the increasing need for hunger-relief services, as recently identified by the Kids First Committee and the Every Child Project .  It's part of OFH's latest three-year strategic plan, “Feed, Strengthen, Lead.”  New concepts include providing Mobile Food Pantry distributions at schools and providing SNAP assistance for student families.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A special documentary about the lives of homeless teens in Springfield, produced by their peers, is called "Homeless in the Heartland. "  Hillcrest High School students with the nationally recognized program, HTV Magazine, recently followed more than a dozen of their homeless peers. The students captured homeless teens showing their favorite sleeping spots in downtown Springfield. They also gave one homeless teen a camera, so viewers can see what it's like to spend a cold night on the streets.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - One of two men charged with killing a Hillcrest High School student will be in court today. A judge will consider a change of venue and a mental evaluation request from Jordan Martin's attorneys. Investigators say Martin, along with James Duke, shot and killed Kody Ray in March 2010. Prosecutors say Martin had several fights with Ray in the weeks leading up the the murder, and drove the getaway car after the crime. His trial is scheduled for May 13. James Duke was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his part as the gunman in Ray's death.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A judge has found a Springfield teenager guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his classmate. A judge convicted 19-year-old James Duke in the shooting death of Hillcrest High School student Cody Ray in March of 2010.  Throughout the bench trial, Duke's defense team argued self-defense in the bench trial, claiming Duke never meant to kill Ray. The judge threw out that argument.   Duke will be sentenced November 30.    

SPRINGFIELD, --  Classes start next week for Springfield students and those on the northside will enjoy some major upgrades. Hornet Country is getting a seven million dollar new look. Just about anywhere on campus, you will see crews working. The main entrance has new columns. There's new turf on the football field, expected to be ready by the first home game. The auditorium is getting some major upgrades with a new ceiling, chairs, and sound booth. The biggest part of this project is nine new classrooms plus a new cafeteria.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Dorial Green-Beckham's trophy case is getting full. The Atlanta Touchdown Club awarded the Hillcrest High School senior its Bobby Dodd National High School Offensive Player of the Year award in Springfield Thursday.  The selection committee admitted Green-Beckham was a no-brainer. "There really was not anybody else," said Atlanta Touchdown Club President Dennis Caniglia. "He just jumped out as being the best of the best. " Green-Beckham joins a long list of high profile names to earn the honor since its inception in 1987.  That list includes Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.  Green-Beckham says he is honored to be mentioned in that class.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron   Paul  will host a rally here this Saturday.  Paul will appear from  7:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the gym at Hillcrest High School, 3319 N. Grant Ave. Event organizers ask those wanting to attend to be in place before 7 p.m. Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate who has failed to win an election contest, including the 10...

Everyone will find out this morning exactly where Hillcrest High School senior Dorial Green-Beckham will take his talents. Green-Beckham's decision will kick off ESPNU's coverage of National Signing Day live at 8 a.m., and Hillcrest has planned an assembly where he will announce his decision at roughly 9:15 this morning. Right now the front-runners appear to be Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma...he's also rumored to be considering Texas and Alabama. KY3 spoke with some of Dorial Green-Beckham's classmates Tuesday, who say they'll always be grateful for the opportunities they got just by playing with Dorial.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - M-I-Z-D-G-B! In a scene that mirrored a Presidential visit at Hillcrest High school, Dorial Green-Beckham announced a decision fans across the country had been anticipating for nearly four years. "It is an honor to announce I would continue my education at the University of Missouri," said Green-Beckham. The 6'6", 220-pound chose the Tigers over Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.  The country's top ranked high school recruit did it with plenty of fanfare.  Hillcrest High School's gymnasium was filled with classmates, teammates, dozens of members of the media and fans of both Mizzou and Arkansas.  ESPN-U aired the announcement to the entire country.  Green-Beckham says the decision was not decided till this week.  "I slept on it Monday, then I told my parents where I was going," said Green-Beckham.