Caution: Do Not Cross Yellow Tape on Buildings

Walking into school in the morning, many Penn Manor students are noticing the yellow caution tape leading into the building.

Students are buzzing about the reasons for the tape. Rumors circulated concerning replacing steps, new light fixtures and school vandalism.

Photo by Robert Henry All existing dryvit was taken down in the walking area.

The real cause, according to school officials, is deteriorating ceilings.

Penn Manor High School’s principal Phillip Gale said the problems began to show over the summer after a part of the ceiling collapsed. The Dryvit, an external finishing material, was installed with a poor structural system. The screws used in the structure were too small to support the weight placed upon them. Because the screws could not hold the weight, the Dryvit began to pull away.

Over the years, the weather  has weakened the existing structure even more. Any rain water that was collected above the ceiling made its way into puddles above the Dryvit. The sitting water had been forcing the ceiling to part from the hardware. The risk and danger brought about by the deterioration was on a rise.

But is the Dryvit unsafe?   “Yes,” Gale said.

After seeing the caving of the outside ceiling, Penn Manor officials called professionals in to perform architectural studies of the structure.  The results proved the need for a reconstructed ceiling.

To keep the students out of harm’s way, caution tape has been put around all areas where the original Dryvit is still in place. The tape runs from the stairs leading outside of the bridge, under the overhangs outside of the cafeteria, all the way to the stairwell leading to Central Complex.

There is no hazard facing the students or faculty as long as they remain in the designated areas, Gale indicated.

All Dryvit in the walking path had been safely removed before school began in August, he said.

In order to fix the ceiling, the  existing Dryvit will be demolished. The demolition and construction should be completed by January of 2011.

Photo by Robert Henry All exisitng dryvit was taken down in the walking area.

In a recent article in the Lancaster New Era, Penn Manor’s superintendent Mike Leichliter, said the new overhangs will be installed with aluminum.

After it is taken down, a new structure will be installed that is much safer and will eliminate all threats the old one may have previously posed.

Because the original contractor built the structure to standards of that year, they are not liable for the costs of the project.

As of now there is no set cost for the demolition and re-installation. The district currently has the job out to bid. The price of the construction will depends on the bid themselves and the decisions of the overseers.

Penn Manor plans on paying for the costs with district funds as well as capital funds. Gale said the rests of the costs should be covered by the school’s insurance.

No other major projects are scheduled for Penn Manor High School in the near future.

By Toni Warfel

Penn Manor Freshman Flips for Success

Gymnastics is a very demanding sport, however one Penn Manor freshman has taken the challenge and excelled to incredible heights, even winning state-level awards.

Freshman Justin Gaukler devotes much of his time to being the best gymnast he can and has been for half his lifetime. At 14, he practices multiple times a week to better himself with the aid of friends and family. The support does not run short.

Gaukler Performing on the Pommel Horse photo submitted by Sherry Gaukler

“They (his family) always ask me how I’m doing and how I did at competitions,” said Gaukler about his support team.

Despite many people’s belief that male gymnasts aren’t true athletes, Gaukler seems to be making a better name for them.

“When people find out they usually think its cool.” Gaukler explained he hasn’t really experienced anyone criticizing his sport.

Even though he has had to give up personal time, he always finds time for school. He hasn’t seen a negative influence upon his grades or ability to do schoolwork with all the practice. Gaukler maintains good grades throughout the year. His parents encourage him to stay focused on school while staying active in the sport.

“Sometimes I have to give up hanging out with friends or going out,” said Gaukler.

Gaukler’s work regiment includes practicing four times a week for three-and-a-half hours. Practices are often held on weekdays. Some, however, are held on Saturdays. This doesn’t even account for all the time he spends traveling and participating in his competitions.

What kind of practice the gymnasts have depends upon their gymnastic level. The classes range from level one to ten, said Gaukler who started in second grade and who is now a level eight.

Gaukler said the practices begin with a standard warm up. From there, the gymnasts move onto their special focuses. The gymnasts split up into their events. Gaukler works on floor, rings, parallel bars, the high bar, vault and the pommel horse. His favorite happens to be the rings.

Gaukler performs on the Pommel Horse Photo by Sherry Gaukler

Gaukler has won several prestigious awards since he began. He was state champion for rings three times and state champion for the pommel horse twice. Not only did he win States, but he also moved onto the regional level to win All-Around Champion in his age group.

Gaukler plans on continuing gymnastics for as long as he is able to. He would like to go to the national competition once he reaches the ninth and tenth levels. However, Gaukler  still questions if he would like to stay with gymnastics as an adult.

“I’m not sure if I want to go to the Olympics, but if I’m good enough then I’d like to go,” said Gaukler.

For Gaukler, gymnastics isn’t just a sport. It’s a passion. And he is taking his love for the sport to a whole new level.

By Toni Warfel

Starbucks’ New Idea, Will it Pay Off?

On with the beans, in with the grapes and hops.

Starbucks Coffee in Seattle, Washington is testing a new idea of adding beer and wine to their menu along with bar food to catch the eyes of the evening crowd and some in Penn Manor hope it will catch on and come to this area.

Over 70 percent of their customers come before 2 p.m. ordering what they love most, coffee.  Starbucks tried to get more service by giving out coupons to get half off or a free coffee in the afternoon, but didn’t succeed.

By adding a bar menu with alcoholic drinks, Starbucks Coffee hopes to increase the flow of customers in the scarce hours and expand their brand.

Professor Elizabeth Sterns from the University of Washington Business School said, “If you look at how well entrenched Starbucks is in terms of coffee, I think it might take a while for people to realize it’s a great place to go after work.”

Starbucks shows off their new liquor license. Photo by google images

This location in particular has revamped their store to make people feel more like they’re in a neighborhood cafe.  They don’t want people to think Starbucks when they step foot in the door.

The alcoholic beverages will only be served after 4 p.m. for those who want to get their first taste of what it feels like to drink alcohol in Starbucks.

Senior project manager Major Cohen said that they will serve a half dozen kinds of beer and wine ranging in prices from $4 to $7 per glass.

“We’ll be equally as proud of our beer and wine as we are of our coffee,” said Cohen.

But don’t get your hopes up, only one Starbucks location has this to offer.

Starbucks tries out beer and wine. Photo courtesy of Google images

If this idea pays off and is a success, Starbucks may expand their concept to other locations.

According to Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm, selling alcohol is clearly their attempt to one up McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.  “But if I were sitting in Seattle, I’d go after the evening snack and dessert business, not alcoholic beverages.”

Views at Penn Manor from students were all for this idea.

“It’s really stupid, but it will totally work,” said Jesse Graham, a senior at Penn Manor.

“It’s a great idea for people that want to drink beer in a relaxed environment and enjoy themselves instead of in a bar,” said Jaq Presbery, a senior at Penn Manor.

Penn Manor science teacher Erick Dutchess thinks it will be good for Starbucks in the long run.

On the Today Show, one lady who would like to remain anonymous had opposing views, “Coffee and tea, that’s it.  I don’t want to sit down in a coffee shop and drink a glass of wine, I just don’t.”

What new idea will Starbucks come up with next time?

By Cree Bleacher

Vermont Ski Trip

Mount Stowe

It’s that time of year again. Lace up your boots and pull that wool hat snug around your ears. The annual Penn Manor ski trip to snow-capped mountains in the great state of Vermont will be held this year from February 10th to the 13th.

The trip will cost $350, which includes bus fair, lodging in Vermont and lift tickets used to access the slope’s ski lifts. The cost also goes toward some of the meals skiers will be eating in the snowy north.

“I’m really looking forward to Stowe mountain,” said Penn Manor senior Kyle Kahn,  “I have been there before and it has by far, THE best slopes on the East Coast.”

Unfortunately, unlike last year, the skiers will not be staying on the slopes of Killington, but instead will be staying in Northern Lights Lodge, located two miles from the bases of mountains Sugarbush and Stowe.

“I’m really excited because I’ve heard it’s one of the best slopes on the East Coast,” said Tyler Wilson.

“Killington is just too busy, Stowe and Sugarbush are much better and are my favorite mountains to go to,” said William Zapata, a nine-year ski trip chaperon and teacher at Penn Manor. Zapata also coaches girls’ soccer, ”

Last year was our smallest group,” he said. “We’ll have to see how quickly the buses fill up this year.”

“I’m looking forward to having the option to ride on two new [to the ski trip group] mountains. But I am pretty upset that we have to get up at the crack of dawn, and drive 45 minutes to the slope,” School Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein said.  “Two years ago it was so cold that I didn’t even take my skis off the bottom of the bus.”

By Ben Embry and Dillon Walker

Go Green or Go Home

Penn Manor students and faculty are going to be tested on how much they care about the environment.

A new recycling initiative, originally started by facilitator of the gifted, Sallie Bookman along with Jake Shiner, Mike Nitroy, Sarah Schaeffer, Kate Harrold and Ellen Blazer, was created after they attended a leadership conference in Penn State last spring.

“I do it at home so its hard not for me to do it,” said Bookman. “Its a good thing for all of us to do.”

Maddy Hess and Alicia Burns are part of a recycling program at Penn Manor. Photo by Kyle Hallett

At the leadership conference they had to pick one thing that they thought their school needs to improve on. Another school decided that improving on school spirit would best fit. Penn Manor picked recycling.

But it didn’t work right away.  That was six months ago.

This September a new and improved recycling effort was launched. And now several groups are working together to make sure they succeed, creating a club and getting more people involved.

Learning support teacher Rachel Taylor’s Life Skills students collect used newspapers for recycling and use containers set out by Waste Management.

“Bins randomly showed up after Mrs. Bookman left a message,” Maddy Hess, a senior at Penn Manor High School said.

School starting a new recycling program.

Extra bins were placed around the school to collect as much recycling materials as possible, including paper cans and empty plastic Turkey Hill bottles.

“By law, the school is required to recycle,” Hess said.

Everyday Penn Manor High School goes through an average of 800-1000 plastic Turkey Hill bottles.

One of the group efforts is to contact Millersville businesses to donate money in exchange for their logo that will be placed on the back of a recycling t-shirt to be sold at high school lunches in the near future, which will also support the environmental effort.

By Mary Treier

Congress Proposes Bill to Censor Internet

A new bill in Congress could change the face of the Web.

Senator Patrick Leahy announced the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, proposed Sept. 20, which would allow Congress to blacklist the domain name of any website it deems that is “primarily designed, has no demonstrable, commercially significant purpose or use other than, or is marketed by its operator, or by a person acting in concert with the operator…to sell or distribute goods, services, or materials bearing a counterfeit mark.”

Many students today use the Internet on a daily basis but some sites may go away under a proposed bill.

Uh oh kids, some of those sites you visit, like p2pnet and Rapidshare, could be in danger with this bill.

The main types of websites that will be in jeopardy if this legislation passes are hosting sites such as Dropbox and MediaFire, mp3 mashup sites like SoundCloud and Hype Machine, and any site that makes the case for piracy.

Five years ago, Youtube would have been one of those sites in danger. But given the amount of users and Youtube’s recent victory over Viacom, the likelihood of Youtube actually being taken down seems very small. However, any website similar to Youtube that contains copyrighted work? If this bill passes, they might just be taken down.

“This is wrong,” said Mark Hutchins, a sophomore, “The websites should at least be notified and taken to court before being shut down. They (Congress) could use this to take down anything that disagrees with them, like China does.”

This bill has caused an uproar in certain internet free speech organizations, including The Huffington Post (which has an online petition against the bill) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.The EFF has an open letter on their web site to congress from 96 people that helped pioneer the web. The link to the letter: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/open-letter

“…If enacted, this legislation will risk fragmenting the Internet’s global domain name system (DNS), create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation…” said the letter. Among the names who signed the letter were Jim Warren, who worked on the ARPAnet (one of the precursors to the internet), Bill Jennings, who was VP of engineering at Cisco for ten years, and Brian Pinkerton, founder of the first search engine, Webcrawler.

Locally, Penn Manor’s tech guru is troubled by the proposed legislation.

“It appears to be a knee-jerk, shotgun blast reaction that could potentially inflict considerable collateral damage on legitimate sites and content,” said Charlie Reisinger, Penn Manor’s Technology Director, “Clearly, the passing of this bill could have significant impact on teachers and students seeking legitimate content under the terms of fair-use. It would erode the fundamental, open architecture of the internet.”

Around the same time that the bill was announced, President Obama gave remarks at the United Nations General Assembly extolling an Internet without censorship, “We will promote new tools of communication so people are empowered to connect with one another and, in repressive societies, to do so with security,” he said.  “We will support a free and open Internet, so individuals have the information to make up their own minds.”

Those remarks were given between a call for civil rights and a comment on the enduring power of democracy.

The bill would work like this: Congress or a committee is alerted to the presence of a website that contains copyrighted content. This could include image sharing websites and hosting sites. Then the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is contacted, and the ISP blocks the domain.

Any user of that website would see their favorite page simply disappear, or could see the infamous “404 Not Found” message.

“No!” exclaimed sophomore Will Frank, “That would be horrible!”

“While I agree that the evolving nature of digital media and the Internet creates considerable pressures on legitimate copyright claims, I’m not supportive of COICA…I question the ability of the Attorney General to make determinations regarding the legitimacy of web content without due process,” added Reisinger.

This legislation is especially in direct confrontation to organizations like the Pirate Party, who work toward copyright law reform, government transparency and the User’s right to privacy.

“I don’t want this to happen,” said another student.

The Internet has had a close call.

The bill was delayed in Congress on September 30 for revisions, and many of the web’s civil rights organizations breathed a sigh of relief. According to Politico, Senator Leahy won’t try to push the bill through until after the midterm elections.

“Hopefully, it will not move forward at all,” said Reisinger.

“This is a real victory!” said an article on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website, “Make no mistake, though: this bill will be back soon enough.”

And so it will. Like a zombie rising from the grave, this bill will return.

by Gabrielle Bauman

Millersville Parade Finishes its Westward March

The Lone Ranger and Silver are once again riding into the sunset, this time along with the rest of the Millersville parade participants.

The parade took place Sat., Oct. 23 at 9 in the morning. In its 14th year, it experienced its largest number of participants with over 2,300 people, floats and animals marching through the streets.

Comet Man sits on top of a western-themed horse drawn carriage. Photo by Cassie Funk

With a special appearance by The Lone Ranger and his horse, Silver, and new additions to the lineup such as the inflatable mascots and the Original Hobo Band, the parade managed to entertain the hundreds of people that showed up to watch and cheer.

“This year we had good community support,” said parade chairman, Steven DiGuiseppe. “We raised over $21,000 to keep the parade running.”

DiGuiseppe has been the chairman of the parade since it began. He coordinates the participants and community groups that volunteer to march.

Native American dancers perform in the streets

“Doing the lineup is definitely my favorite part about the parade,” said DiGuiseppe. “I have to coordinate music groups next to non-music groups. It’s a fun challenge that involves so much thought process.”

Because of DiGuiseppe’s hard work and hours of devotion to the parade, it is an enjoyable community experience for the residents of Millersville.

The parade will continue for years to come as long as it is welcomed by the Millersville community and good support is shown.

With this year’s parade finished, DiGuiseppe can now relax until he must begin planning next year’s parade and start the challenging process all over again.

By Cassie Funk

League Champions, Once Again

We’re champions…. again.

The Penn Manor Field Hockey team showed how dominant they have been these past few years, earning their second straight league title, defeating Lancaster Mennonite 3-2 in overtime.

The game’s first points were scored with a goal by speed demon Madelyn Hess, with 20 minutes left in the half. The second goal was scored off a pass from McCoy to Kayla Bixler, putting the Comets up 2-0.

But the Blazers would come back and tie the game 2-2.  Mennonite’s team effort was led by their goal keeper Kaitlin Brubaker, who had a spectacular 13 saves.

Senior Katie Brenneman is a captain for Penn Manor's field hockey team. Photo by Jessen Smith

“The game was way too close for comfort. It was extremely nerve racking,” said Matt Soto, the head coach for the Comets.

The Comets got a little help from a high stick penalty, putting the Blazers’ defender Coleen Andrews on the bench for the last 2:55 of regulation and the first 2:05 of overtime. The Blazers would escape without allowing a goal while playing a man down.

Renee Suter plays aggressive for Penn Manor field hockey. File photo

Comets’ all-star Renee Suter smashed a corner at goal, but Brubaker continued to play strong all night.

“She’s (Brubaker) a very solid goalie,” said Soto.

Almost immediately after Suter’s game winning shot was called too high, hero Katie Breneman slammed one in.

“Katie’s shot was almost perfect, it was right in the upper corner of the goal,” said Soto.

By Jessen Smith

Penn Manor’s Online Newspaper had a Fantastic First Year

Just as Penn Points Online turned one year old, its website received its 80,000th view.

There are many students at Penn Manor that are very proud of the work they do for the newspaper, and put a lot of time into their articles.

The journalism class and club members say they love the success the newspaper had in the past year. Many people have won awards and others are in the running now for national awards.

Journalism Students celebrating one year anniversary. Photo by Angela Mayo.

“It’s really impressive for Penn Manor because no one really knows who we are and 80,000 people all over the world can access it,” said junior Sarah Schaeffer, the paper’s editor.

Schaeffer’s story on Chinese immigrant Mandy Li has been nominated for the National Scholastic Press Association’s multi-media story of the year, as has seniors Taylor Groff and Kendal Phillips’ story on the school’s mosaic project.  Out of four NSPA-nominated, multi-media stories, two are from Penn Points, one is from a school in Missouri and another one from California.

Some of the awards won in the last year are the NSPA’s Online Pace Maker Award given to the top seven online school newspapers in the country and the Pennsylvania Student Press Association gold level award. At the convention in November, the state organization will choose from the gold level nominees to name the top three students newspapers in the state.

The newspaper has improved a lot in the past year, according to its reporters. A lot more stories get posted and there are many more people in the Penn Points club.

“It used to hit 50 something per week, now were getting 500 hits or more per day,” said publisher Rob Henry.

Rob Henry has been a part of the newspaper since it started and was instrumental in launching a coffee cafe as a fundraiser for the club.

“I’m very proud to be a part of Penn Points because now were number one,” said Henry.

Many students in the class have developed a strong interest in the field of journalism.

“I like finding out things and telling stories and I like telling people the truth,” said sophomore Gabie Bauman. “Journalism is one of the careers that I’ve been considering for a while and I’ve known for a while that I wanted to write.”

Bauman believes Penn Manor’s journalism class is going to help her in the future.

“We’ve got deadlines and we’re pushed to find ideas, push out stories and produce quality material, just like in a real news room,” said Bauman.

By Liz Lawrence

Phillies Season On The Line

In a nail-biting comeback, the Phillies managed to stay alive in the National League Championships by beating the San Francisco Giants, 4-2, on Thursday night in San Francisco.

Although the Philadelphia Phillies are currently behind the Giants 3-1 in the playoffs, they aren’t losing their die-hard Penn Manor fans.

Penn Manor junior Marc Summy is one of many students who believes strongly that the Phils can pull off all the wins they need to in order to go to the World Series.

Game one was held October 16th in Citizens Bank Park.

Juan Uribe hits a game-winning sacrifice fly, Photo by Google Images

The Giants won that game, a nail biter 4-3, Saturday in Philadelphia.

But the Phils did not give up. On Oct. 18 the Phils blew out the Giants 6-1, which tied the series 1-1. Game 3 was held on the night of Oct. 19 and the Phils lost 3-0.

Game 4 was held Wednesday in San Francisco and the Phils lost a close one in the ninth 6-5.

Game 5 was played in San Francisco. If the Phillies win game 6 in Philadelphia, game 7 will be in their hometown.

Penn Manor junior, Austin Richwine, supports the Phils from start to finish, no matter what.

“No, (I am not gonna give up on the Phils but) they’ve been in and out, up and down all year round,” said Richwine.

Dylan Weber agreed.

“I will support the Phillies through the entire series,” Weber said.

Wednesday night’s game was especially heartbreaking when the Phils were winning and ended up losing a close one in the ninth inning.The Phils season is on the line due to trailing in the series 3-1. The Phils need to win every game from here on out.

“Phillies and the Texas Rangers are going to be in the World Series,” said Penn Manor junior, Brandon Schuman.

Although the Phils are trailing it is easy to see that Penn Manor has not gave up there faith quite yet.

“They’ve been working too hard all year,” Schuman said. “(Opponents) can’t beat the rotation.”

Penn Manor senior, Tanner Kennedy, believes the Phillies can win also because of there outstanding pitching staff and roster.

The Phillies had an up and down season. Injuries were a major problem for the Phillies, but somehow Coach Charlie Manuel found a way to make everything work. The Phillies had a record of 97-65 during the regular season and finished first in the National League East.

They still have one more shot at completing their season the way Penn Manor fans wanted – with two more wins.

By Tyler Funk