Category: News

Natalee Holloway’s case still in the news – Teens Cautioned

Five years ago on May 30, 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared.

Divers seem to think they catpured Holloway's remains. Photo courtesy of http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/03/natalee_holloway_aruba_skeleto_1.html

She was on a high school graduation field trip to an island in Aruba. No traces of her body were found except possible skeletal remains seen in a photo by two scuba divers that captured the image at the bottom on of the ocean, which turned out to be a false alarm.

Along with the underwater mystery, there was a jaw bone found along the beach of Aruba by another couple. According to AOL.com, Dutch forensic experts are testing this bone to see if it belongs to Holloway.

As a cautionary tale, as young teens already planning senior week, they should be aware that this could happen to them.

For example, in 2002, three Manheim Township graduates were charged with sexual assault of an intoxicated 16 year old girl at senior week.

Now, being five years later, another similar murder has occurred. Police chief Gen. Cesar Guardia stated that Stephany Flores, 21, was found face down in the hotel she was last seen in with Jordan Van Der Sloot.

According to Lancaster New Era, the Dutch government said Interpol, an organization based in Paris that coordinates investigations made by the police forces of member countries into crimes with an international dimension, had issued an international arrest warrant for Sloot.

Guardia then stated that Flores and Sloot were last seen entering the Lima Hotel around 5 a.m., and Sloot exited the hotel alone about four hours later.

“We have an interview with a worker at the hotel who says she saw this foreigner with the victim enter his room,” Guardia said.

Stephany Flores Photo courtesy of http://www.cbsnews.com/i/tim//2010/06/02/ramirez1_370x278.jpg

When Flores’s body was found fully clothed, they discovered multiple abrasions to her face and body with signs of trauma, the police general stated.

Some wonder what took so long for the hotel staff to check the room.

Autopsy results are still being waited on.

Guardia said that Sloot left Peru by land and his exit registered at the Santa Rosa border crossing. Sloot had been staying at the hotel since May 14 after entering the country on a flight from Columbia.

Stated in the Lancaster New Era, Sloot was found in a taxi Thursday, June 3, several days drive and a country away, and was arrested for the murder of Stephany Flores.

He put up no fight when he was detained about half way to the Pacific coast from Santiago, stated deputy Chilean investigative police spokesman Fernando Ovalle.

According to CBS News, Sloot’s Dutch lawyer said Sloot was intending on turning himself in shortly before he was found.

After the arrest and quickly into questioning, he confessed to killing Stephany Flores.

According to ABC News, Sloot grabbed Flores by the neck when he saw her looking up information about his previous case [Holloway] and then continued by hitting her.

“I confronted her,” Sloot told investigators, according to La Republic. “She was frightened, we argued and she wanted to get away. I grabbed her by the neck and I hit her.”

“I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life,” said Sloot. “She had no right.”

According to Al.com, Sloot did confess but later tried to deny the whole thing. He claimed that the only reason

Natalee Holloway went missing during her high school trip and has yet to be found.

he confessed was because he was intimidated and thought he would be extradited to the Netherlands. His request to have his confession retracted was denied.

Joran van der Sloot was previously arrested twice but with little to no evidence connecting him to Holloway’s disappearance during a high school graduation trip, he was let go in 2005.

According to a Dutch television crime reporter, a hidden camera they set up captured secret footage of Sloot saying he was with Holloway when she collapsed on a beach, drunk.

After Sloot was found, he told investigators that he left Holloway on the beach drunk which implied that that was the last time he saw her.

A Dutch Newspaper reports that Sloot took money from the Holloway family in order for them to receive the location of her body. Sloot took the money but gave no address.

Natalee’s mom sent Sloot $10,000 through an FBI agent and later transferred $15,000 into his bank account. He then caught a flight to Latin America with the money.

“I wanted to get back at Natalee’s family — her parents have been making my life tough for five years,” the Dutch Newspaper quoted him as saying from prison in Peru. “When they offered to pay for the girl’s location, I thought: ‘Why not’?”

He also publicly confessed to murdering Holloway and then retracted the statements may times.

Being a law enforcement officer and Penn Manor’s resource officer, Jason Hottenstein knows all the details about safe drinking and the dangers of being with strangers.

“You have to be extremely cautious with people you don’t know,” said Hottenstein. “Trust no one that you don’t know.”

There was also a website created to petition against senior week.

The website titled Stop Senior Week claims that the results of senior week are deaths, movies that glorify underage drinking, sex

Joran van der Sloot is taken into custody Photo courtesy of http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage.jpg

and drugs, public intoxication and drug use and hundreds of car accidents and hospital visits.

According to CBS News, Tim Miller, founder Texas Equusearch, a non-profit organization that searches for missing persons, has assisted with the search for Holloway from the beginning and has become very close friends of the family.

Miller stated that Holloway’s father, David Holloway, sends his sympathies to the Flores’ family in Peru.

“(David is) talking about what a senseless death that was, that we feel as though the cover-up that went on in Aruba, with Joran van der Sloot never being arrested, that we need to hold a lot of people accountable for Stephany’s death in Peru. I mean, a very, very sad time for everybody. And now Dave is just trying to, I think, just digest what’s really happening in his life again right now. And of course it brings it all back to 
Dave and Beth, I’m sure that it’s like it happened yesterday. So there’s disappointment, there’s anger, there’s frustrations. And, again, Stephany, there’s no reason she should be dead today. Somebody made some huge mistakes over there,” said Miller.

Joran van der Sloot is being held in a seventh-floor cell with a bunk bed and blanket with three meals a day while he is being further questioned of the death of 21 year old Stephany Flores and the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

By Sarah Garner

Texting- is it the New Gateway Drug for Teens?

Texting is the new coinciding factor to “bad behavior.”

Watch out kids, according to novel research, a plethora of texting, done in a day’s period of time, has an interesting link to sex, drugs and alcohol or bad behavior.

Texting is a way to converse with another person through text without having to actually talk on the phone.  Teens all over the world prefer texting as their main means of communication.

But surprising recent studies have shown that teens who text 120 times a day or more, “hyper-texters,” are more likely to have had sex or used alcohol and drugs than kids who don’t send as many messages.

Dr. Scott Frank, an associate professor of epidemiology and bio-statistics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, conducted a survey last year in the Cleveland area.

Texting, the new correlation to drugs, alcohol and sex. Photo by Cree Bleacher

Twenty schools participated in the survey and more than 4200 students added their help.

The survey concluded that about one in five students were hyper-texters and about one in nine are hyper-networkers, those who spend three or more hours a day on Facebook and other social networking websites.

Of all the students surveyed, one in 25 teens could fall into both of these categories.

The study found those who text at least 120 times a day are nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex than their peers who don’t text that much.  Startlingly, hyper-texters were also more likely to be in a physical fight, binge drink, use illegal drugs or take medication without a prescription.

The hyper-networkers on the other hand were not comparable to the results of hyper-texters.  Hyper-networkers were not as susceptible to sex but were more likely to be involved in drinking or fighting.

Hyper-texting and networking was found, in the survey, to be more common among girls, minorities, kids whose parents have less than a college education and teens from a single-mother household.

Another survey done by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project revealed in 2009 that one in three teens is sending more than 100 texts a day.

The American Public Health Association’s (APHA) said,”teens who are hyper-networkers are 62 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, 84 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 94 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, 69 percent more likely to have had sex and 60 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.”

Texting, texting, texting. Hyper-texting is connected to bad behavior in a recent study. Photo by papamiket.com

Additionally, hyper-networking  was reported by 11.5 percent of students.  Hyper-networking was linked to higher odds ratios for poor sleep, stress, depression, substance use, fighting, poor academics, suicide, television watching and having permissive parents.

Hyper-texting was reported by 19.8 percent of teens surveyed.  For hyper-texters, teens were 40 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, two times more likely to have tried alcohol, 43 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, 41 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 55 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex and 90 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.

“This should be a wake-up call for parents to not only help their children stay safe by not texting and driving, but by discouraging excessive use of the cell phone or social websites in general,” said Frank.

Students at Penn Manor can’t seem to quite fully understand the correlation of the hyper-texting and networking but have their own views on the subject.

“There is no correlation because some people text a lot but don’t talk about drugs, alcohol and sex,” said senior Jeremy Vital.

“This is not true because the majority of my texts I send are about school,” said senior Bryan Buckius.

“Me texting a lot has nothing to do with sex, drugs and alcohol,” said Spencer Barnett, a senior at Penn Manor.

Science teacher, Erick Dutchess, had a lot to say about this topic.  “I think the two (texting and illicit behavior) are correlated, but one does not necessarily cause the other one.  I think a lot of the factors that encourage large amounts of texting (a need of acceptance, a lack of parental communication, a desire to feel affection) are linked together.

“Just because texting occurs in the presence of these negative behaviors, one doesn’t have to be the sole root for the other,” he said.

It’s ultimately up to parents, experts said, to monitor their children’s texting and networking capabilities.

By Cree Bleacher

The Beatles, Now iPod Accessible

The British invasion, finally invading iTunes.

Apple announced Tuesday morning it has nabbed the rights to all the Beatles tunes and fans at Penn Manor are already loving it.

Every album and song available is now posted on iTunes. The songs cost $1.29 each, albums for $12.99, double albums for $19.99 and even a complete boxed set for $149.00. The boxed set includes all of The Beatles albums and a few bonus tracks.

“I am really exited to buy their music and listen to it, I didn’t know it was released, but I’m happy to hear that it was,” said senior Charles Blymier.

Charles Blymier listening to The Beatles. Photo by Kyle Hallett

“I didn’t know that that the music was released, I’m pumped to get all of their songs because I don’t have all of them yet,” said Ryan Dettrey, a fan of the Fab Four.

Dettrey is a huge fan of the Beatles and was waiting for the songs to go up on iTunes. The boxed set will be Dettrey’s Christmas gift this year.

“I don’t know why Paul McCartney didn’t have the rights in the first place,” said Adam Swift, a senior.

Swift will be buying the songs “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude” and the entire White Album.

John Lennon had the rights to the catalog ownership before he died. According to pophistorydig.com, after Lennon’s death, Michael Jackson purchased the catalog by outbidding other potential investors. The money went to The Beatles recording label Apple Records, who they signed with in 1968. When Michael Jackson died, the catalog then went to his mother. iTunes got the rights to the downloads from Jackson’s mother.

Screen shot for opening day of The Beatles on iTunes

“It is very disappointing to see the Jackson family making money off of another artist’s work,” said music teacher Melissa Telesco.

Telesco has all of The Beatles CD’s so she won’t be purchasing the MP3s. She is, however, basically doing back flips because of her excitement over the music release.

So are a lot of other people.

“I have a lot of the music…however, I am going to get the rest of the songs I don’t have on iTunes,” said Alex Lombardo, a junior at Penn Manor.

In iTunes, Abbey Road is already at the number 11 spot for the top downloaded album followed by the White Album in number 12, box set at 13 and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Club Band sitting as the 14th most downloaded album. All of the other albums are in the top downloads on iTunes and have only been accessible for a few hours.

“I will buy a few of my favorite song for the car, just because I hate CD’s and I don’t pirate my music,” said art teacher Kim McMullen.

“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes, even though it has been ‘a long and winding road’ to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

By Kyle Hallett

Graduation Marching to another Locale

Penn Manor seniors may not be receiving their diplomas at Penn Manor High School this year.

Penn Manor and Hempfield are looking to share a facility and split the costs for 2011’s graduation ceremony. Their top choice, Franklin and Marshall College, is indoors so inclement weather wouldn’t be a problem. Students getting their cap and gown drenched in sweat also wouldn’t be a problem because the building is air-conditoned.

Principal Phil Gale and others are discussing the alternative graduation site and are trying to get a site scheduled in time.

Penn Manor Graduation 2010. Courtesy photo from http://www.pennmanor.net/blog/2010/07/06/commencement-2010/

“We are looking for a place that can host a ceremony without running into problems with inclement weather or the hot temperatures of the gymnasium,” Gale said. “We don’t want to set up two locations again.”

During previous graduations, Penn Manor set up in Millersville’s football stadium but took everything down and held the ceremony in the school gym if weather threatened.

Gale has been talking with the Hempfield principal about the new idea.

“Hempfield was looking to move as well and so I discussed with the principal at Hempfield about finding a place together,” said Gale. “We could split the cost and have a nice facility for people as well as save money.”

Gale and Dr. Michael Leichliter, Penn Manor’s Superintendent, met with principals from two other schools to talk about graduation.

“In October, Leichliter and I met with superintendent and principal of Hempfield as well as the principal of McCaskey and talked about finding a common place that all three of us could share and split the costs,” Gale said, “but McCaskey graduated at the Lancaster Convention Center last year and they are scheduled to graduate there again this year.”

Gale also went on two different tours at F&M to see the facility Penn Manor could use and to get more information.

“Myself and Dr. D’Amico went over to F&M in mid-October for a tour,” Gale said. “It was really nice because the stage was set up so we could visually see what it would look like.

We also got more information and costs,” he added. “After the first tour, I talked with the school board about the concept and ideas. I then asked for permission to go further.”

On November 8, Dr. Leichliter, the class officers and Gale went on another tour of the facility.

This is a new idea, something that has never been done before. That has students wondering if this is a good idea or not.

F&M Alumni Sports and Fitness Center. Courtesy photo from godiplomats.com

“I don’t think we should do it. It’s bad luck and I would rather have it at Millersville (Biemesderfer Stadium) like we always do,” said senior Brittany Wright.

“I think it would be a great idea to graduate at a different place, but at the same time, I want to graduate at the school that I’m graduating from,” said senior Morgan Ream.

Gale pointed out the necessity of figuring out the location as soon as possible, saying, “We should know if graduation will be held at F&M soon because we need to book a date and get things set with Hempfield.”

By Allana Herr

Hanna is Speaking to the Crowd

Hanna shares public speaking experiences. Photo By: Whitney Reno

Oh no… I have to speak in front of the whole class? My hands are shaking, my voice is going to falter, I can’t do this.

Many students feel this way and now there is a club just for them at Penn Manor.

Quay Hanna, known as Penn Manor’s “Redneck,” because he runs a group to ease racial tensions and increase understanding at the school,  has started a Speakers’ Club, designated to helping students improve their public speaking skills.

Hanna is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Speaker’s Association (NSA) and was appointed to offer the club as a way for the Association to contribute and give back to the community and high school students.

Quay, along with other public speakers, will be coming to visit the students in the club to give them tips on how to better their public speaking skills.

“It’s top notch advice to students for free,” said Hanna.

“These are skills that would have helped me when I was 17 or 18,” said Hanna.

Once a month Hanna will invite anyone to come to his office, located in the faculty lounge in the cafeteria, during Tuesday club to listen to the presentations. The topics will include how to write a presentation, deal with hecklers and business speaking.

Hanna said he feels that this will be beneficial to anyone with any background, no matter what field of work they want to pursue.

“If you can communicate, you will stand out,” Hanna says.

Hanna says he has found some difficulty in getting this club started because it’s available for anyone so he is unsure of what to expect.

Student's attended the Speaker's Club on Nov. 16. Photo By: Whitney Reno

He said that anyone who is interested in this club should sign up in the office.

He hopes to gain a core of people that come to every club, so eventually there can be a competition involving the skills they’ve learned. All student speakers will give a five minute presentation, and the winner will hopefully receive a cash prize.

Hanna’s hopes are that they can develop this core of people who come to each club, but says he “tends to think too big.”

This Tuesday, Nov. 16, Hanna shared some of his experiences while giving a presentation.

Next month’s presenter will be the president of the NSA who will tell the students about marketing their speaking and branding, or what you’re known for as a speaker.

Ally Emmert, a senior attended the first presentation.

“I think it’s going to be really beneficial because public speaking is something you can always use,” said Emmert.

By Whitney Reno

Penn Manor Has a Plan To Change Schedule, Boost Achievement

Big changes are in the works for students, teachers and administrators after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Penn Manor has been seeking ways to help students improve academically, according to school officials. Penn Manor’s administration considered several options until they came up with a plan they think will work.

But hang on, it may seem a bit complicated at first.

Instead of having homeroom days only Tuesday and Thursday, Penn Manor students would have a homeroom period every day of the week. On Monday, during the homeroom period, students would go back to first block for more instruction in that subject. On Wednesday they would go back to second block during the homeroom period for additional instruction in that subject area.  Fridays,  students would go to third block during this homeroom time. The following Monday, students would go to fourth block and so on.

Principal Phil Gale explained a new schedule for Penn Manor High School. Photo by Christa Charles

On Tuesday and Thursday, students would have their regular homeroom period. On Tuesday, students would either go to their regular homeroom or tutoring. On Thursday, students would either go to homeroom, tutoring or their club.

Not all Penn Manor  students are in favor of this idea.

“I’m not going to be able to wait for lunch that long everyday,” complained junior Lauren Anderson.

‘We are 99.9 percent sure that this will happen unless someone has a good reason not to do it,” Penn Manor’s principal Phil Gale said.

“We plan to have the schedule change after Thanksgiving,” he added.

“I don’t want that at all. Seniors should not have to anyways,” Senior Joey Carlyle said.

Gale said the reason Penn Manor is doing this is because of decreasing scores and other academic challenges.

One senior student thinks the idea is a good one and wishes he would have had several years with the changed schedules.

“I heard about it from a couple teachers,” said Patrick Jones, a Penn Manor senior.  “It’s not too bad. It’s better for kids to help them understand what they’re learning.  I think I would have liked the schedule if they started it earlier. You could work on a lot more stuff for your classes.”

Gale indicated he believes the new schedule will help boost scores, including PSSA scores, PSAT scores and SAT scores.

He said he is not pointing fingers at any particular class or sub group but the changes are aimed at boosting academic achievement across the school.

By Tyler Funk

Pink Game Exceeds The Expected Results

Penn Manor’s girls field hockey team raised money to help breast cancer awareness this year.

The team knew October was Breast Cancer awareness month, so they decided to have a pink game to help raise money. They sold shirts to Penn Manor families, students and anyone who wanted one. All the concession stand money collected throughout the game by selling food went directly to this cause.

Penn Manor players were not the only people involved in the effort, friends of the field hockey booster club played a big role on preparing everything. Manheim Township was involved, too.

“Yes, we plan to do it again next year,” Matt Soto said about the team’s plans to repeat the event next year.

“We plan on getting the entire league to participate in this next year, it just might be a huge turn out,” Soto said.

The game was a huge hit. One game raised $4,550.

“We exceeded our goal. Our goal was not money, it was cancer awareness,” Soto said.  “Its amazing what one day or one game can do.”

One way Penn Manor honored people with cancer or people who have passed away from cancer was by placing lighted baskets throughout the stadium with their names on it.

Players and families were very impressed with the turnout and would like to thank everyone who participated.

By Tyler Funk

As Last Harry Potter Movie Approaches, Excitement Grows

There’s a feeling in the air, and it’s not Halloween spirit.

It’s Harry Potter.

“I’m so excited!” said Carolyn Zimmerman, of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Nov. 19 movie release date.

The Harry Potter series spans seven books.

First released in 1997, the Harry Potter book series has since skyrocketed across seven books and dozens of languages, becoming one of the world’s most popular book series.

The author, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, has gone from a single mother on welfare to the first author in history to make a billion dollars. The series has captivated millions and now is coming to its final end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in the summer of 2007, ending the journey of the boy wizard and the magical school.

Now the release date of the second to last movie approaches, and Penn Manor’s fans of the series are making their plans to pay homage to their favorite characters.

“Harry Potter has a way of sucking you into the books. It almost feels as if you can relate to the characters to some point, and most kids have grown up with the books. I think the books will be around for awhile, I just can’t see them becoming unpopular anytime soon,” said sophomore Cate Shipley.

And it hasn’t since Deathly Hallows was released. Even though the books are over, the fans still take Harry’s journey with them.

First, there’s the Youtube sensation A Very Potter Musical, which as of October 28 had 2,754,300 views. A Very Potter Musical, or AVPM, first appeared on July 5, 2009, and since then has gained a remarkable following in the Harry Potter fandom. It spans two acts, and follows Harry Potter (Darren Criss) as he tries to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort (played by Joe Walker) with some hilarious lines and dangerously catchy tunes in between. It was so popular that the cast (mostly made up of students) found the need to make the follow up to their hit – A Very Potter Sequel. The link to the first act of AVPM can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

“AVPM/AVPS is something that anyone can find hilarious even if they are not a big Harry Potter fan. It has humor for everyone and it’s impossible not to like it,” said Zimmerman.

Darren Criss, who plays Harry Potter in the AVPM and AVPS musicals, also will be making an appearance in the show Glee in November.

AVPM isn’t the only outlet fans have had to express their love of Harry Potter. According to the Harrypotterfanfiction.com, they have a library of over 65,000 individual stories and receive over 30 million hits every month.

HP has even crossed the gap into music. Wizard Rock, or Wrock, is a genre full of bands whose songs are only Harry Potter-related. The first band known to have songs with lyrics that reference Harry Potter is Switchblade Kittens, who has a song entitled “Ode to Harry.”

But the band usually credited with being the “first” Wrock band are Harry and the Potters, the most well known and probably most successful Wrockers.

Other bands include The Whomping Willow, Tonks and the Aurors, The Draco Malfoys, The Mollywobbles, Remus and the Lupins and the Severus Snaped.

The second to last of the Potter movies- and the beginning of the end for the official merchandise and the wait for movies- is titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It will be released into theaters  Nov. 19, 2010. Part 2 will come out July 15, 2011 – during summer vacation.

The two movies are being split – for those fans who are in the know – after Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive at Shell Cottage.

Harry Potter has impacted the lives of millions of children, and has been lauded as the series that has helped child literacy come back into focus.

The author of the series, J.K. Rowling, had published two books earlier in the series: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, both of which had the proceeds go to the nonprofit Comic Relief. After the seventh book was released, she also hand wrote seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and sold one of them at auction. The final selling price was $3.98 million, and all of it went to The Children’s Voice charity campaign.

Along with the numerous charities that Harry Potter books have benefited, they also have impacted the lives of some of Penn Manor’s students.

“When you read Harry Potter, it takes you somewhere new and gives you a break from reality,” said sophomore Kael Miller. “I love reading in general but Harry Potter just takes it a step farther. It becomes an obsession. I find myself quoting Harry Potter all the time, for various subjects. Harry Potter will always be part of my childhood that I remember.”

Some of Penn Manor's students can't wait to see the next movie.

“Harry potter is so fascinating because it takes you out of your world and into another for a brief time,” added Sarah Whyler. “It’s also so easy to imagine a picture while you’re reading, which I love about the books.”

“It is what made me fall in love with fantasy books. My group of friends is obsessed,” said Eleni Jones, “Its something you can read to get away from your world and sort of hop into another -where magic is real and anything can happen.”

It’s the beginning of the end of a journey, one that the fans have lived through as much as the Boy Who Lived himself.

by Gabrielle Bauman

Tis the Season For Flu and Flu Vaccines

Achoo!

The fall season is already here. As the leaves change and fall, it’s time for scarves, gloves and fears about the flu.

We hear the words, “the flu,” and think to ourselves that we won’t catch the illness, but that isn’t always true. Each year, schools see high rates of absences going into the fall and winter seasons.  Last year, the swine flu hit Penn Manor students and teachers alike.

The flu or influenza can be deadly.

Healthy advice is posted in the school nurse's office. Photo by Allana Herr

About 30,000 to 40,000 deaths occur each year in the United States due to flu, according to health officials and 300,000 to 500,000 deaths occur worldwide. The majority of flu-related deaths occur in people over the age of 65.

Many people are taking precautions this year and are getting vaccinated which is good advice, along with washing your hands and covering your cough.

“Definitely get the flu vaccine,” said senior Samantha McCrery.  “I get it every year and so do my parents. It saves lives.”

While the flu vaccine is very important, being courteous to yourself and others is just as important.

“Wash your hands as often as you can and use the alcohol gels,” said Penn Manor High School nurse Anne Butterfield. “Stay away from sick people and cough into your elbow rather then your hand. Use plenty of tissues.

“It is best to get immunized,” Butterfield also explained. “The vaccine that is currently available covers you for H1N1 in addition to the other strains of flu. The vaccine is widely available.”

The previously free flu vaccine was offered to teachers this year for $10.

“You can get the vaccine almost anywhere. Most doctors offices offer it, as well as Weis, CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart,” McCrery explained.  “Just look for the signs, they give out flu shots almost anywhere.”

A flu shot can protect someone from several strains of the virus. Photo by Allana Herr

Penn Manor Administrator, Eric Howe, is taking the illness seriously this year.

“I will definitely be getting the flu shot this year,” Howe said. “And students need to make sure that they are constantly washing their hands and covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze. I tell my kids the same thing at home.”

By Allana Herr

Attempted Deer Break-in Excites Students, Leaves Mess

By Brian Dunne, Liz Lawrence and Cree Bleacher –

There was an attempted break-in at Penn Manor High School Friday but there was no question about the suspect.  It was a deer.

At approximately 11.a.m. Friday, a frightened and apparently injured whitetail deer tried to break into Penn Manor High School by bashing into the windows of Spanish teacher William Zapata’s and several other classrooms in the language wing.

Shortly thereafter, administrators told teachers to keep their students in their homerooms until further notice.


 

The deer went missing while school administrators searched throughout the school campus.

“We’re still looking for it,” said School Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein, who circled the grounds.

Officer Jason Hottenstein searching for the deer. Photo by Brian Dunne

Many students in the classrooms were reportedly startled.

Zapata, a teacher in the Spanish department, hurried over to the window, thinking that the loud noise that hit the window and left a red smear was a paintball.

“We were sitting here doing work.  We heard a thud. I looked up and saw red smeared across the window. [The deer] looked like it was lost,” said Zapata. “An eight-pointer white tail deer.”

“We were standing by the windows, and the deer slammed against the window while we were filming. I moved, I mean it scared me,” said Zapata.

The aftermath of the deer hitting the window of a classroom. Photo by Brian Dunne

“We all jumped and saw this big blot of blood come and hit the window,” said Cheyenne Miller, a freshman that was in Zapata’s room at the time.

The damage didn’t stop there. Jill Wiedmaier, a Penn Manor FCS teacher was floored when she found out that her car was rammed by the deer while parked.

But Wiedmaier was able to take the incident in stride.

“Ironically enough if I was actually in my spot it would have hit Todd Mealy’s car, but since a student decided to park in my spot today I had to park in front of them, and then Todd in front of me,” Wiedmaier said.   “At least I have a funny story to keep in my “Penn Manor Days”  book.  Who else can say that not only was there a crazy deer running around into the walls and windows of their school, but they were lucky enough to have the deer hit their car.  Guess I better play the lottery today!”

Wieidmaier's car after getting hit by the deer. Photo by Rob Henry

Nobody could believe that this was actually happening.

“I told Mr. Dell’Estate and he thought I was joking,” said Zapapta.

“How’s that for Halloween?” said one student as a class piled into the nearby hallwa

y.

Many were left uninformed about what was going on as administration officials blocked the hallway where the incident occurred.

“I heard a deer was trying to get into a classroom through a window (from another student),” said Trevor Troup.