The Secret ‘Beliebers’ of Penn Manor

By Alicia Ygarza –

Justin Bieber tops the hearts of teens worldwide, the music charts and recently the movie charts. Although most high school students may not admit they’re fans, some find the heart-throbbing teen appealing.

But shh, don’t tell.

Thousands of teens find his voice, hair and eyes flawless. While Bieber seems too good to be true, many times when his name is brought into a conversation, at least among high school students, there are numerous critics who dislike him.

Do high school girls think his fans are younger “teenyboppers?”  Are guys jealous of his popularity and perfect hair?

Bieber shelters himself from a group of teen admirers.

Or, are the people who are criticizing him just not admitting that they secretly tap their foot to Bieber’s songs when listening to them on the radio?

“I only know his songs on the radio and I can’t help but sing them, they’re so catchy!” said Ashley Thompson, a student at Penn Manor.

“If someone asked me if I was a fan, I would say no. But if someone asked me do I like him, I’d say yes,” said Thompson, “I don’t want people thinking I’m a fan.”

Bieber fans in Penn Manor High School are as scarce as hen’s teeth. With one million albums sold from his first album, you would think his fans would be easier to find.

Bieber has become such a success, his biggest fans have made a dictionary full of Bieber words, also known as the “Biebtionary.”

Fans show their affection for Bieber with a "We Love You Justin Bieber!" sign.

“I don’t like his music, he’s a boy band wannabe,” said William Welsh a junior at Penn Manor High School.  “I don’t know anyone who likes Justin Bieber, when I hear his music on the radio I change the station. I listen to everything but Justin Bieber.”

According to justinbieberzone.com, Welsh would be considered a “Bieber-hater.” A person who hates Justin Bieber because of “jealousy and unknown reasons.”

Criticisms from people don’t faze Bieber, “There’s more people that like me than there are who hate me, so I kind of brush it off,” he said during a Billboard interview.

“People say, ‘Oh, people just like him because he’s pretty.’ Or the funniest one: ‘When he goes through puberty, he’s not going to be a good singer anymore.’ How does that make sense when we’ve seen people like Michael Jackson and Usher and Justin Timberlake do it?'” added Bieber during the interview.

It seems Bieber has heard it all, and he will never give up on his career.

Plus, there’s one girl in particular who would love to be Bieber’s “Bieber-Shawty.”

“I would love to go out to eat with him, and I know this sounds corny, but I would love to watch fireworks with him,” said Grace Wolfe, a junior at Penn Manor.

Replace Your Winter Coats with T-Shirts: A Sneak Peek of Spring is Here

By Alex Geli and Kendal Phillips

There are things around Penn Manor High School that haven’t been very prevalent lately.

Legs. Grass. Parking spots.

According to The Weather Channel, the forecast for Wednesday through Friday shows average temperature highs of 56 degrees Fahrenheit with Monday having a high of 49, Thursday, 57 and Friday, a whopping 62. With little chance of rain on all three days, students will surely be taking advantage of of the unexpected warm weather by showing off a little skin – while it lasts, anyway. After all, it is still winter.

Expert storm analyst and forecaster from Millersville University, Eric Horst, explained the rise in temperature as “unseasonably warm,” adding, “maybe we’ll have a shot at the record (7o degrees) if the sun is out all day (Friday).”

Horst explained why the sudden increase in temperature happened in the middle of February, saying that atmosphere is going through a seasonal transition where the jet stream is “highly erratic.”

Usually the transition starts in March, but it is “not unprecedented in February.”

So Al Gore, hold your horses.

“It’s not global warming,” he said.

This heat wave will not last long, according to Horst. Wind is expected over the weekend after a 30 percent chance of rain on Friday, along with a cold front on Saturday.

“It’s back to reality,” he said, but the pattern will continue with hot spots dispersed all along the months of February and March as the transition continues.

“It’s rare that the atmosphere just flips the switch and it’s done,” the weather expert said, talking about winter transitioning to spring. So people all around the country will have to strap on their seat belts as they go on a two-month long “roller coaster ride”  of temperatures until spring finally rolls around by the first week of April.

“A couple days of winter, a couple days of spring,” Horst explained. That pattern will continue to keep hopes alive for random spurts of warm weather until the rain and allergies make their debut in 2011.

So expect to see flip flops; expect to see shorts; expect to see the snow on the ground slowly diminish; expect to see more believers in Punxsutawney Phil too, because the 121-year old groundhog was right – spring might just be coming earlier than expected.

It Was Love That She Wrote

By Amber Brenner –

“We live in a broken world. The vision is hope, and hope is real.”

For many, February 11 means nothing.  But for some Penn Manor girls, it was a day of support.

Penn Manor students expressed "love on their arms." Photo by Amber Brenner

“To Write Love On Her Arms Day” comes once a year. Many people have heard of this event, seen it on clothing or wristbands, or encountered it somewhere but most don’t understand the depth of these words.

“To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

“To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to directly invest into treatment and recovery,” said Jamie Tworkowski, founder of TWLOHA, on his website.

Every year, those who support the cause of TWLOHA are encouraged to show their support by wearing purple and writing the word “love” on their forearms. There was even a Facebook event for a reminder to those who had forgotten.

Most of the people who were “attending” the event on Facebook failed to wear purple or to scribe love across their forearms. But for one Penn Manor sophomore, this was not the case.

“I support the cause because it means a lot to me,” Chelsea Miller said. “I know how they feel sometimes, and it means the world to me that there are things like this out there.”

Chelsea Miller, a sophomore at Penn Manor, shows her support for TWLOHA through her attire. Photo by Amber Brenner

Miller wore a purple tee, and a “Love is the Movement” hoodie taped a homemade TWLOHA sign with lots of quotes and pictures, and carried around a bag of candy to give to anyone who was wearing purple.

“I don’t care if they didn’t wear purple for TWLOHA day,” Miller said. “It still shows support, and it counts to me.”

Kim Blake, a junior at Penn Manor, also agreed.

“I fully support the cause of TWLOHA,” Blake said. “It should be a national day when everyone wears purple. They made announcements to wear Manheim Central’s colours after the deaths of their kids. Why couldn’t they do that for TWLOHA day? It shows support for millions of people, not just a few specific kids. People need help sometimes, and they just don’t want to find it.”

“We live in a broken world. The vision is hope, and hope is real,” Tworkowski posted on his website.

“We were never meant to do life alone,”  Tworkowski concluded.

Gas Pipe Breaks a Little Too Close for Comfort

By Alex Geli –

It was just an ordinary day in the life of Angie Stikalitis as she was just doing her job as a math teacher at Penn Manor High School, when things took a very unexpected turn for the worse.

“I’m in the middle of teaching AP Calc B/C, (Officer Jason Hottenstein) calls me out,” Stikalitis said. Then she heard the three words she was definitely not expecting.

“Don’t panic, but…” Hottenstein explained what had happened around her home.

“There’s a problem at your house,” he said. After seeing her “completely wig out,” as he called it, he made sure to add, “your house is still there.”

He continued and told her as much as he could, but said, “I’m not there right now, but they need you.”

A UGI truck ready for action at the scene of the gas leak. Photo by Kendal Phillips

“That’s all she had to hear,” Hottenstein said.

On Monday, the old natural gas pipes under Landis Avenue in Millersville gave out and released gas into the homes just a mere two minutes from the high school. A Red Rose Transit bus evacuated the affected people living in “six to eight homes,” Detective Howard Bauman said, to the Millersville Fire Hall.

From approximately 7:36 a.m. until they were notified from the fire department that they could return, the 11 total evacuated citizens were left homeless. All of this right after a similar incident on a larger scale in Allentown which resulted in not even homes lost, but also lives.

Bauman said that there were seven mile-per-hour winds which made it difficult to pinpoint where the leak had occurred.

“They thought it might (have been) from (Stikalitis’) house,” Hottenstein said.

The leak was found, not in Stikalitis’ home, by UGI workers who “tapped a hole in the ground and put a sensor in,” Bauman said. When the hole was “tapped,” smoke and gas fumed out for “a minute until they shut the gas source off,” he said.

The hole that workers dug out to turn the gas off after a cloud of gas was steadily spewing out. Photo by Alex Geli

“They definitely didn’t light up their cigarette (at that time),” Bauman joked.

The homes that were contaminated with the gas were ventilated and Bauman added, “they won’t return to their homes until (UGI) makes sure (it’s safe).”

To make sure the homes are safe, UGI workers along with 20-25 firemen took the necessary precautions.

“UGI (made) sure they (went) into the homes” and checked if there were any further complications that the home owners had to deal with, Bauman said.

After her home got checked, “they gave me my keys back and let me come back (to school),” Stikalitis said.

“People are a lot more concerned because of Allentown,” Bauman said about the previous gas pipe incident.

In Allentown, a massive explosion was the result of an 83-year old cast iron gas main coming to the end of its run. The pipe didn’t go into the afterlife alone as it took along five other lives with it. Two of them were an elderly couple, Beatrice, 74, and William Hall, 79.

Bauman, though, assured the residents of Millersville that it wasn’t a repeat of Allentown by any means.

“Nobody was harmed and there was no damage done,” he said.

Taking into account one other thing, he added, “except for digging into somebody’s yard.”

Manheim Central Crash May Make an Impression on Young Drivers

By Sarah Garner and Kendal Phillips –

“It won’t happen to me.”

Following the horrific tragedy that struck Manheim Central School District Jan. 16, Penn Manor students had a chance to reflect on how this accident will affect their future behavior.  Will they take a lesson from the lives lost?

When four Manheim Central football players left their team breakfast early Sunday morning, they were unaware of the upcoming two-car crash that would end the lives of  ninth-grader DeVaughn Lee, tenth-graders Nicolas Bryson and Cody Hollinger, and eleventh-grader John Griffith.

The crash occurred at 11:28 a.m. on Mount Wilson Road, in South Londonderry Township according to Lancasteronline.com.

Showing support for the families of the lost lives

Police said the teens were traveling south on Mount Wilson Road when the driver, who has not been identified, lost control of the car. It skidded sideways into the northbound lane hitting another car occupied by two people. Police said the driver and the passenger in the other car were taken to Hershey Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition.

“A lot of people avoid that road now.  If I, or my friends travel on (Mount Wilson Rd) we normally break down crying,” said Phil Wubbolt a junior, the school mascot, and basketball player at Manheim Central High School.

Three of the Manheim Central teens were pronounced dead at the scene by a representative from the Lebanon County Coroner’s Office.  The fourth teen was taken to Hershey Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

According to RMIIA, an insurance information site, about two out of every three teenagers killed in a motor vehicle accident are males and eighty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2008 were passenger vehicle occupants.

“You have people to back you up, they motivate you to do stuff,” said junior Aaron Vickers.

Statistics also show that 16-17 year-old-driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

“When people I know are behind me I drive faster to impress them,” said senior Robin Green.

The statistics should be a warning for teens to be particularly careful when passengers with young males as drivers or when a group gets together for an activity.  But that doesn’t always happen. Penn Manor’s School Resource Officer, Jason Hottenstein, said he is aware that teens brag about some high-risk behaviors.

“(A common road for speeding in Lancaster County is) route 30 or 283, but at least its on a highway,” said Penn Manor’s, Officer Jason Hottenstein.

According to The New York Times, psychologists at Temple University used functional magnetic resonance imaging scans on forty teenagers and adults to figure out if there are differences in brain activity when young teens are alone driving versus a car occupied by friends. After doing multiple studies, the results suggested that teenage peer pressure has a definite effect on brain signals involving risks and rewards, which explains why some teens are more likely to misbehave and take risks when their peers are with them.

“I drive safe, I just don’t drive the speed limit,” said Penn Manor senior Nate Kreider, echoing a common response from teens at Penn Manor.

Do teens learn from their peers mistakes? Or do they figure “it won’t happen to me?”

“I don’t really speed anymore and when I see a hill or a corner I notice I slow down more than I would have before,” said Wubbolt.

Streeter Stuart, a history teacher at Penn Manor, made it a point to talk to his classes about the Manheim crash.  He wanted to ensure that his students learn from the four boys’ mistake.

“What people don’t appreciate when they are being reckless, etc; is how much their actions can impact other people,” Stuart told his classes.

Stuart explained to his classes that an accident such as this will always be remembered in the surrounding communities, especially when a similar accident occurs.

“You don’t learn from others’ experiences, you learn from your own,” said Stuart, “and sometimes yours is what kills you.”

Stuart, who is also the freshman football coach, went along with some football players and head coach, Todd Mealy, to be at the Manheim boys’ viewing.

“What they did has in some small way lessened the lives of thousand of people because people are impacted by their actions,” said Stuart.

Dr. Steinberg, who also helped with the studies at Temple University, thinks parents should be aware that groups of teenagers need close supervision.

“All of us who have very good kids know they’ve done really dumb things when they’ve been with their friends,” said Steinberg. “The lesson is that if you have a kid whom you think of as a very mature and able to exercise good judgment, based on your observations when he or she is alone with you, that doesn’t necessarily generalize to how he or she will behave in a group of friends without adults around. Parents should be aware of that.”

Penn Manor to Host Exciting Hoops Matchup

By Dayonte Dixon –

Penn Manor is hosting the section tie breaker between McCaskey and Hempfield  Friday and even though the Comets aren’t in the game, the hype around the school for the showdown is growing by the minute.

Many Penn Manor students and faculty say they are planning to attend this game of rivals.

“It’s going to be packed,” said Dan Elliot, a Penn Manor varsity basketball player.

Although he didn’t pick a winner, he said he loves watching basketball.

“I don’t really care (who wins),” Elliot said.  “But we should be right there with them.”

It’s not just the basketball players who are excited for this game, the students are just as enthusiastic.

Alex Kirk, a student at Penn Manor said he chooses McCaskey over the Comets’ arch rival, Hempfield.

“I rather McCaskey win because Hempfield just sucks!” said Kirk who also had a hard time picking a winner.

“I dont know, McCaskey is pretty athletic, and Hempfield is just… beast.”

With that much excitement, it’s sure to be a great game, but only time will tell who will come out the section leader, McCaskey or Hempfield. Many will be at the game to find out first hand.

Valentine’s Day Celebrated by Penn Manor Teens

By David Mohimani, Sarah Schaeffer, Morgan Fletcher, and Simon Zimmerman –

Briana Reisinger and Tatiana Roman contributed to this report –

Ahhh… Valentine’s Day.  Hearts.  Romance.  Love.  Most, but not all Penn Manor students “love” this time of year. They celebrate it in different ways.

Some Penn Manor students are sending their Valentines lollipops.

“I like it especially if I’m in a relationship,” tenth grader John Machado said.

One Penn Manor couple celebrating the holiday of love, Janelle Musser and Ian Toomey. Photo by Simon Zimmerman

Machado enjoys the gift-giving aspect of Valentine’s Day.

“Yeah, I’d like some chocolates,” he said.  Machado is planning to get someone a Valentine’s Day present this year but he’s not sure what he’ll get yet.

Bianeara Galarza is also in favor of the perks that come with having a significant other on Valentine’s Day.

“I like it. I’m going to spend it with my boyfriend,” Galarza said.  She’s planning to get him an outfit and she would like some clothes from him.

Also on the topic of spending, USA Today recently recognized the growing use of social media by big companies to promote Valentine’s Day.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie and friends, has created an entire online relationship dispute between Barbie and her ex-boyfriend Ken. The public can log on and see the ongoing arguments and vote whether they think the couple should or should not get back together and also purchase Barbie and Ken merchandise.

Similarly, Victoria’s Secret is offering online e-Valentines. Senders can select photos and messages to send to their loved ones.


They can also include a link to the gift they wish to receive.

Mulberry, a British clothing maker, is offering virtual flowers. The flowers wait to bloom until Valentine’s Day, but on Feb 14, when recipients click on the flower, they are treated to a beautiful bouquet.

Valentine’s Day is not so sweet for everyone –

Valentine’s Day is not always all fun and games for couples, however; sometimes they break up.

The thought of Valentine’s Day in general is enough to send some people into a sour mood.

“It’s  a day that reminds you that you’re alone,” said senior Katie Breneman.

Students at Penn Manor have heard and delivered the best (or worst) break-up lines and have shared with Penn Points in the spirit of the season.

“‘I’m not ready for a relationship,'” said Jesse Nogueras, regarding to what most people say when they want to break up with someone.  “But they only said that because they wanted somebody else.”

“You’ve changed” is a line Kyle Lively admitted to using in a past relationship.

“I heard one that this girl used on this guy, ‘you’re shorter than me,'” said Dezire Diaz.

“My cat doesn’t like you,” Tori Ressler recalled hearing.

Regardless of the words, it is agreed that over-text break-ups are unacceptable.

“Anything over a text [is not okay]. It doesn’t matter whether it would be good or not in person,” Tom Sowers said.


Fast Food and its Crazy Customers

By Kayla Pagan and Lyta Ringo

Working in fast food can be an interesting experience for all involved, but the only way to get the full effect is to experience it hands on.

For many Penn Manor students, working in the fast food field is almost second nature. And we’ve got the first hand scoop on it all.

Many people think that you only find “crazy” customers during the late night hours, and many do come out during those times, however some strange customers come out at all hours of the day.

One night while working drive-thru a man came up to the window, and while I was reaching to hand him his food, he threw all of his money into the air and said “I make it rain.”  I just stood there wondering if he honestly just said that and asked him if he was okay. And the funny thing is he came back later that night to order more food, and paid in complete change. I looked at him and asked “Oh, it’s not raining anymore?” -Kayla Pagan

Lyta Ringo (left) and Kayla Pagan (right)

One afternoon while working the counter, a middle aged lady came up and ordered a cheeseburger happy meal. After receiving her food she proceeded to sit down. A few moments later the lady returned, and threw her sandwich at the cashier screaming that her daughter was allergic to mustard. The cashier told the woman that you can specially order the burger and that they could get her another one however the woman just kept screaming that we should have known she was allergic to mustard. -Lyta Ringo

In fast food you see it all, anything from the woman who doesn’t know what she wants, to the man who can’t speak out his order. Or even the country man, with the hook as a hand.

Lampeter-Strasburg Names Former PM Principal as Superintendent

By Alex Blythe –

The Lampeter-Strasburg School District on Monday named Kevin Peart as their new superintendent. Peart, a former assistant high school and Hambright Elementary school principal at Penn Manor, will replace retiring L-S Superintendent Robert Frick starting July 1, 2011.

Photo courtesy of Lampeter-Strasburg school district website

Out of 10-15 applicants, Peart was chosen to carry out the superintendent duties at the neighboring school district.

Before joining the L-S administration as assistant superintendent in 2006, Peart was a former Penn Manor High School assistant principal and taught in the Gettysburg school district. He also lives in the school district with his wife, Megan, who works as an instructional aide at Central Manor.

“Dr. Peart is an excellent teacher and administrator as well as a friend of mine,” said Penn Manor Superintendent Michael Leichliter.

According to Leichliter, he and Peart have had similar careers.  They started as assistant principals together in 1997 at Penn Manor, Leichliter recounted,  took classes for their doctorate degrees, became building principals in 2000 and assistant superintendents in 2006.

“I am thrilled that he will be a fellow superintendent and we will get to work together again on issues related to improving education and programs in each of our schools,” Leichliter said.

Lampeter goes Chick-Fil-CrAzy

By Jake Shiner and Sam Valentin

If you like fast food but hamburger isn’t your thing, don’t fret, Chick-Fil-A is coming to East Lampeter.

John Erisman, Penn Manor history teacher and self-proclaimed huge fan of the fast food joint is absolutely jazzed about it coming to East Lampeter.

Erisman said, “I eat at (Chick-fil-A) as much as I can.”

And that was when the closest restaurant was in Reading or York.

According to Erisman it is the “best chicken in the world.”

Fans of Chick-fil-A are excited about the franchise coming to Lancaster.

Now that the first Chick-fil-A is coming to Lancaster County he plans to visit the new fast food joint as much as possible.

Plans for the 138-seat, 4,596-square foot restaurant were approved this month by the East Lampeter Township supervisors. It is to be located at Lincoln Highway East and Willowdale Drive. The hours of operation are 6:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. The restaurant plans to be open six days a week, closed on Sundays, which is one of its trademarks.

Erisman likes the customer service, quality of the food, and the chocolate milkshakes the best about the chick-fil-A franchise and expects the same from the one planned to be built in Lancaster County.

Chick-fil-A is a fast food chain that is mostly in the South but is making its way up the coast and will soon be easier to find in our area. They sell only chicken products, which is a difference from the other fast food chains in Lancaster. The chain will bring a diverse chicken menu that is unlike any other in Lancaster County.

“My boys love Chick-fil-A as well,” added Erisman.  “I’m sure that others are just as excited as the Erisman household. I am looking forward to the opening of the new restaurant.”