Stray Cats Run Loose In Lancaster

By Chris Gotwals –

Cat lovers, unite!

There are many more cats for feline fans to love but the problem is, there might not be enough love to go around – for all these cats.

The Humane League of Lancaster County recently  estimated there are as many as 84,000 stray cats in Lancaster County.

Aida Aquino from the Humane League of Lancaster Count says, “The numbers seems to be leveling out due to the TNR (Trap Neuter Return) program. As long we continue to TNR the numbers shouldn’t get to out of control. We have seen a slight decrease in the amount of cats coming in to us compared to before the TNR programs really started going.”

Dumped house cats hang out with outdoor cats which creates stray cats. The problem isn’t really the cats themselves it is the alarmingly increasing rate of them.

The more cats a area has, the less birds and small rodents are around, gardens and farms are less fertile, and the more screams from females people hear during the night.

But Aquino told Penn Points, “This number is very hard to keep track of as cats reproduce very quickly. As cats can reproduce every three months each time having a litter of 3-8 kittens.”

Taken from readingeagle.com

Aquino also said that “We offer a low cost program for feral/stray cats. It is $15 to have them altered, vaccinated, and ear tipped. Some parts of Lancaster county such as Lancaster City we host special clinics where the fee is waived completely for the strays of Lancaster City due to the high volume of cats they have there.”

The plan of the Humane League is to have the cats spayed/neutered through a Trap-Neuter-Return program. The cat is altered, given a rabies vaccine, and ear tipped so that everyone knows that they ar fixed.

Jesse Griffith a Senior at Penn Manor and a confessed cat lover said that the plan of the Humane League sounds good to me and that he will even help by volunteering to capture the cats himself.

Griffith said that “I have four of our own and two stray cats that stay in our garage. My dad even has a cat tattoo.”

 

An Accident Waiting to Happen

Richard Schulz –

Teenagers are always at high risk to be involved in accidents, but who knew I’d crash into a statistic.

Just another summer day hanging out with friends turned into to the worst. A car spun out of control. Three lives changed in seconds.

I was hanging out with two friends that day. Nick Young and Jordan Rineer, but we all called Jordan, Gordo.

My friend Gordo sums the accident as “life threatening” and “scary as hell.”

I agree.

We decided to play some basketball since it was such a nice day out. I had a video from before we left my house. Gordo had stepped on my skateboard and sent a Skittle from the opposite side into the air. He caught it in his mouth.

Who knew such happy guys would have the carpet pulled out from underneath them? Not me. Not Nick. Not Gordo. No one knew. But if I could I would take it back instantly.

Driving on the back roads of Conestoga, an accident was waiting to happen.

Literally.

Photo credit to Photo Booth.

Roads that turn sharper than ninety degree angles and have loose rocks that laid over them like a blanket.

As most teens do, I was speeding. Not to the point where my car was about to take off, but fast enough to lose control. I was making the turn and hit rocks that made my turns slide. My rear tires went over a grate leaving my front wheels on the actual road.

My dad always said,”When you lose control of your car, cut the wheel in the direction you’re sliding.” How I remembered that in the moment? I have no idea.

According to Gordo we were heading directly toward a tree but I was able to turn the wheel and only hit it with the front passenger side of my car. Guess all my luck didn’t run out.

The car and the tree made contact while the air bag made contact with my face, but I was in shock. We all were.We looked at each other wide-eyed and scared beyond belief.

I asked my friends if they were alright but Nick just pointed out that my face had been bleeding. Great, more things to add to my wonderful day. Exiting my car I felt fine, minus the thought of what my parents would do to me, but after a couple more steps I fell to the dirt. A wall of pain and light headedness hit me almost harder than the air bag. Almost. I looked at my car and at myself. It was like my car and I were having a competition to see which looked worse. We tied.

I had multiple lacerations and burns on my arms and face. To this day I don’t know why my wrist was bleeding or how it was injured. The seat belt had tore open my chest a little also. Who knew the “safety belt” would end up hurting me in the process.

My friends injuries, on the other hand, were less serious. Nick had stubbed his toe while Rineer sat on his lower region.

Though we joke about the accident and the things that had happened, I’m grateful. Not for my safety but for theirs. The remorse I have still haunts me and my friends are aware. To this day I apologize to the both of them for endangering their lives. I’m glad that after the incident I can call them friends. Still hanging out, having good times, sharing stories and continuing on with our lives. Except me.

Ok, I don’t let it keep me from living my life, but I always think to myself, “Their lives could be gone. Their families could be devastated. All because of me.”

That’s not the case though. They’re here and we are still friends, like it should be.

Empty Your Piggy Banks for a Night Worth While

By Breiana Herr  & Alexa Stewart –

Most students can’t wait for that big “shazzam” at the end of their senior year, but that “shazzam” might just cost them an arm and a leg.

Females overall spend more on the prom than do the males because they have a lot more to get done. They have to get their hair, nails, dress, shoes, make-up, jewelry, flowers, and more while males really only need to get their tux, shoes, haircut, and flowers.

“I spent $400 on my dress including alterations, $85 on my hair, and $30 on my nails,” said Senior Taylor Goldberg.

“I spent $260 on my dress including alterations, $70 on hair including hair pieces, $35 on nails, and $13 on flowers,” said Senior Angela Oppido.

“I spent $115 on my dress, $450 on make-up, and $25 on nails,” said Senior Courtney Jacobs. “My make-up was so expensive because I got a whole set of make-up from Sephora and it was also a graduation present.”

“I spent $99 on my dress, $12 on make-up, and $8 on nails,” said Junior Katie Irwin. “I didn’t spend a lot of money on prom because it’s only my junior year and my friends did a lot of things for me like make-up and hair.”

“I spent $300 on my dress, $60 on hair, $30 on nails, $40 on make-up, $25 on shoes, $8 on flowers, and $130 on jewelry, but I had a $100 gift card for my jewelry,” said Senior Lindsay Sympson.

“I spent $166 on my dress, $200 on hair, $25 on nails, and $20 on flowers, said Senior Glady Clay.

One senior, Rebekah Shue, saved a lot of money on prom by borrowing a dress from her neighbor for free, she used shoes she already had, her friend did her hair for free, she did her own make-up, and they only thing she paid for was her nails.

Friends at Prom. Photo Provided by Sherman Ave

Guys on the other hand spent way less . . .

“I spent $120 on my tux, and $32 on flowers,” said Senior Brendan Kincade.

“I spent $140 on my tux, and $20 on flowers,” said Senior Adam Morris.

“I spent $140 on my tux, and $20 on flowers,” said Senior Ryan Dettrey.

“I spent $175 on my tux, and &20 on flowers,” said Senior Austin Hess.

According to a 2012 Visa survey, the prom industry is valued at $4 billion, with the average family spending $1,078!

Most seniors agree that more students should of participated in the fund raising so that prom tickets were not as expensive as they were which each couple spending around $100 for tickets.

Katie Irwin is a class officer for the class of 2013 and said that they’re drilling it into their classes heads that they need to fund raising and it’s working. Their tickets should be around $30 as of now.

After the five hour night of fun, most seniors agree after prom is done that every penny they spent was well worth it.

 

 

 

Lady Comets look for success in Playoffs

By Sam Valentin and Bri Kelly-

The Penn Manor Softball team had three goals going into the 2012 season.

The first was to split the season series against section rivals. The second was to end the season above .500. The last goal was to qualify for the district tournament which was a lofty goal considering this had not been for over 10 years.

They achieved them all.

2012 varsity softball team.

The lady Comets ended the year with a 12-7 record overall and a 10-6 record in there section which was good enough to earn section one runner up to Warwick and a district berth. The Comets play Saturday at 4pm at Garrett Field in Willow Street.

“Proud since the programs been not very good,” said Penn Manor senior second basemen, Jenny Hanner about qualifying for playoffs. “My freshman year we won four games.”

 When this team were freshman or younger they only won a measly four games.But look how far they have come now.

Through April 10 the girls were sitting third in there section with 2-2 record behind Hempfield and Warwick. They dropped games to rivals, Warwick, and Hempfield early. The Comets took Solanco to the brink on April 13. The game went nine innings but the Mules charged on past the Comets. They then upset front running,Warwick at home on April 27. They continued to surge forward.

They found themselves tied for second in the section with rival, Hempfield on April 30. May second, senior night for the lady Comets was a pivotal game against Hempfield which would potentially decide the runner up in section one.

The game was an emotional one with it being senior night but it was also the biggest game of the year for them.

“I felt nervous,” said Comet’s senior hurler, Ashley Witmer. “The game had more meaning.”

Well they were excited to start the game. But after the top of the first inning they were all but excited since Hempfield scored four runs. In the dugout a sense of urgency and panic was felt. One of the coaches delivered a speech.

It worked to perfection.

The Comets answered back with a big first inning of there own, scoring five runs. They tacked on a few more insurance runs and never looked back on their way to an 8-5 win.

“I was more shocked that we actually beat Hempfield,” said Witmer on her thoughts after the game.

But that was not completely secured until the final game of the season which was a win at McCaskey.

This win slates them a rematch against section three champion, Manheim Central. Coming in off a hot streak gives the Comet’s some confidence heading in.

” We are feeling very confident heading into Saturday,”mentioned senior first basemen, Vicky Nase.” We have really been working as a team lately and have been doing really well offensively and defensively.” But to others its an unknown territory which brings nervousness.

“Don’t know what to expect, just hoping everything goes well,” said Witmer about districts and league playoffs.

“There are always nerves when there is a big game especially since this is out first playoff game while at Penn Manor,” added Nase.

” I am sure the will be (nervous) they have not been there since 1999,” added Head Coach, David Stokes. “They played basically three playoff games so hopefully that pressure over that span helps us.”

They already notched a win against the Baron’s in the beginning of the season.

“Mannheim Central is a good team but we will have our work cut out for us,” said Stokes.”We need to peak at the right time.”

Crazy College Costs Capture Corbett’s Consideration


By David Mohimani –
The average reader may not have noticed the small 500-word article tucked away on page A7 of the Lancaster New Era  Tuesday.
However the story can have some very real implications for Penn Manor students who are planning to attend college.

Monday a plan to increase Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s spending proposal by half-billion dollars was passed by state Senate Republicans.   This increase would allow for greater spending on higher education. Part of this proposal has $147 million entailed for state-related Universities such as Temple,Pittsburgh, and Penn state. An additional $83 million will be given state owned universities such as Shippensburg and Millersville.

Without the additional money for education the cost of tuition is set to rise dramatically.

The real story is the in-fighting among the Republican party. Corbett ran off the strength of his “no new taxes” campaign, but now his own party is trying to pressure him into modifying his original  budget in order to incease funds for education that can help lower the looming costs of college.

The proposed plan will now make its it way to the House.  Corbett admits considering negotiation but is far from sold on the new budget,“I think we need to be very, very cautious,” he said.

The proposal totals about $500 million for spending inside Corbett’s budget, but it is unlikey that the entire $500 million will be restored, “Would I consider putting some of that money in? Yes, I would consider it,” he said. “But $500 million is a lot,” stated Corbett. He also added that that figure ($500 million) is a ” ceiling.”

A large GOP majority approved the measure 39-8 vote, a fairly definitive result.

The plan would technically keep Corbett’s campaign pledge.

“This plan does not create a single new program. It does not raise a single tax,” said Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. “This is a responsible, sustainable state budget.”

So where are these funds coming from?

Corbett addresses lawmakers about points of his reform. Image courtesy of fox43.com

While there will be no new taxes, the plan is contingent upon collecting $900 million in state taxes, much more than originally projected.

It appears that either way the money will be coming out the peoples’ pockets some way or another.

If the plan is not approved by the House some project that  tuiton could rise an astronomical  30 percent in some cases, making what is already a financial hardship for most families even harder.

The parents of Pennsylvania will have to wait while their kids college funds hang in the balance waiting for the lawmakers final results.

 

 

Penn Manor Athletes are Stars in L-L League

By Daulton Parmer –

Congratulations to the spring sports and all of the athletes who achieved high honors in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.  The announcements were made in the past week.

Girls Soccer:

First Team Accolades– Lindsay Hutchinson (Junior), Logan Kramer (Senior), Sara Bennis (Senior)

Second Team Accolades– Demi Greenawalt (Senior)

First Team Sara Bennis

Boys Volleyball:

First Team Accolades– Cheyenne Weber (Senior), Dayonte Dixon (Senior), Dylan Weber (Senior)

Second Team Accolades– Mark Dano (Junior), Joey Jackson (Senior)

Honorable Mention Accolades– Colby Sangrey (Senior)

First Team Dylan Weber photo by lllsports.com

Boys Lacrosse:

First Team Accolades– Brady Charles (Junior), Alex Cummins (Senior)

Second Team Accolades– Connor Ream (Sophomore)

Honorable Mention Accolades– Damon Cummins (Sophomore), Alex Kirk (Senior),  Adam Hess (Junior), David Mohimani (Senior), Harrison Manning (Senior)

First Team Alex Cummins

Girls Lacrosse:

First Team Accolades– Emily Eddowes (Senior), Eryn McCoy (Junior), Shannon Sloss (Junior),

Honorable Mention Accolades– Lauren Ali (Junior), Emily McCoy (Junior)

 

 

First Team Emily Eddowes photo by engleonline.com

Other spring sports accomplishments coming soon. Also, good luck to the remaining teams still in the running.

 

 

Post Prom Preparations Progress

By Taylor Skelly –

The high school is being transformed for the post prom celebration scheduled to begin late Friday evening.  By mid-morning, parents who have worked on the decor for the past year were making headway with draping and installation.

The theme is supposed to remain secret until the unveiling for post-prom goers but seniors who were in school Friday morning witnessed a sea of Caribbean fish on the cafeteria walls as well as a colorful array of draperies over the windows. At the entrance to central complex, a medieval sea side village will greet all who are attending for this evenings festivities. There is even a jail for anyone that does not comply to the rules.

A senior parent volunteer refused to disclose the theme for this year’s post prom saying, “We’re not supposed to tell anyone until tonight.”

 

Young Guns in D.C. Star in Professional Arena

By Aaron Brown –

Bryce Harper and Robert Griffin III are two rising stars taking their talents to Washington D.C.

In the eight games that Harper has played in, he has already made a name for himself at the age of 19.

“He’s smart,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I think his baseball IQ, the way he adjusts and the things he does at his age are impressive. The double as well, to know what kind of arm you have in left field, just kind of the knowledge. He’ll learn. It’s only the beginning of it, that’s the scary part. He’s only going to get better.”

Although young sports stars can be role models and an inspiration to athletes here at Penn Manor, some believe early fame can go to their head.

“I admire his talent and ability, but I believe that it is overshadowed by his terrible attitude,” said Nick Tulli, a junior in Penn Manor.

Some think Harper is cocky, but what 19-year-old playing major league baseball wouldn’t be? He is trying to fit in with all the other major league all-stars. He is fulfilling his dream and making lots of money on top of that.

Harper may be the next five-tool player in the MLB.

Bryce Harper, pumped after hitting a double. Photo by USA Today.

The traits that make a five-tool player are: hitting for average, hitting for power, a strong arm, a strong fielding ability, and speed.

Harper has all five of these traits. He is batting .308, which is a superb batting average. He hits for power. He hit 5 doubles, but has not hit his first home run, yet. He has a strong arm, which he shows off in left field. He is a very good fielder, has not made an error. Also, he as good speed, which he puts on display on the bases and in the outfield.

Harper made history, by batting in the three hole at the age of 19. He is the youngest player to bat third, since B.J. Upton in 2004.

“I mean, he’s swinging the bat good. He’s had quality at-bats. It’s what you do. I don’t care if his name’s Harper or whatever. Or how old he is,” Davey Johnson, the manager for the Washington Nationals, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “He looks like a pretty good choice to me.”

Harper is boosting the moral of National fans and will have put the team on his back, with Jayson Werth out with a broken wrist.

“I just wanted points,” said Tulli. “Fantasy baseball is all about winning, not having a respectable team.”

Along with Harper, Washington D.C. added another phenom in Robert Griffin III.

The Washington Redskins drafted the Heisman winning quarterback  2nd overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.

“I think its exciting for the redskins since they now have a big name quarterback, but I feel like the Redskins have put a lot of pressure on him,” said Tim Harris, a loyal Washington Redskins fan at Penn Manor.

Robert Griffin III preparing for the 2012-2013 NFL season as the starter. Photo by US Presswire.

The coach of the Redskins, Mike Shanahan, named Griffin the starter after just one practice.

“He’s the starter,” Shanahan proclaimed after practice. “Period.”

“He’s ahead (of schedule),” Shanahan said later. “Very few people can take as much verbiage (from the playbook). Robert was able to pick it up very quickly and it showed on the field.”

Griffin is going to have a great chance for Rookie of the Year over Andrew Luck because Griffin is going to be put in an offense with many weapons, unlike Luck.

The Redskins are trying to improve on their 5-11 record last season. They are hoping Griffin can be the man to spark the offense, which has been dragging for years.

“He definitely has the skills and the ability to be a great quarterback in this league,” said Harris. “I hope he can take the Redskins to a couple of Super Bowls.”

 

 

 

A Mother’s Hardest Job

By Iris Santana –

Some people claim being a mother may be the hardest job you’ll ever apply for.

There’s the diaper changing, bottle feeding, screaming at 4 a.m., the first steps, the ‘boo-boo’s’ (cuts) and the first day of school.

Even with all the work, some people still fail to realize that being a full time mother is basically the same as having a full time job. The pay is just different.

“You have a lot more responsibility. You have to do EVERYTHING, especially if you’re a single parent. You have to basically play Mom and Dad.” said Kayla Brown, a junior at Penn Manor.

Instead of getting paid every two weeks, a mother is paid everyday with laughs, smile and the satisfaction of caring for her child and giving them all that they need. Especially love.

Stay-at-home moms never have a day off.

“A lot of the time your not able to talk to them and bond with them as much because when they’re getting in, you’re leaving for work or practice.” said Brown, who wished her mother was a stay-at-home mom rather than a working mother.

Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney claims stay-at-home moms “lack the dignity of work”.

On April 15, in a small town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, Romney stated this quote.

“I wanted to increase the work requirement. I said, for instance, that even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless.’ And I said, ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving day care to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that day care, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.”

“That’s false. It makes them work two times harder to provide more for their child to give them what they want and need.” Brown added.

Whether a working or not, when you're a mother you're never 'off the clock'.

The Pew Research Center say sixty percent of working moms work part-time because they feel that is the ideal situation compared to the 48 percent in 1997. The percent went up from 39 to 48 since 1997 for stay-at-home moms.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics state that 24 percent of working moms worked part-time in 2006.

The Pew Research Center also surveyed 2,020 men and women in 2007 about the increasing numbers of mothers of young children that are working. 41 percent of the people surveyed thought it was a bad thing. 32 percent thought it didn’t really matter or make much of a difference and 22 percent thought it was actually a good thing.

The Petting Zoo That I Call Home

By Austin Hess –

We have a rodent problem in our house, partly because we don’t try to catch them, we feed them.

It’s a zoo out there, or in there, if you live with my family. Our ridiculously dizzy dog Skip, our “pysch rat” Taya, Oliver the rescue chinchilla, Mia and Tia the hamsters the size of my thumbs, Muffie the escape rabbit, Jimmy the groundhog-sized guinea pig, (and our newest editions) Patrick the goldfish, and Kiki and Khloe our baby guinea pigs, make up the spoiled animal family that we’ve learned to love. Five of which are housed in my room and the others in my siblings rooms.

Every morning I’m greeted by the sounds of clicking water bottles, the scratching of our bunny trying to get out and play, and my mom waking everyone up for their morning treat. This chaotic cacophony has taught me more lessons than many people ever could. Responsibility, the meaning of a dollar, and what it’s like to have a lot of living things depend on you for attention, a clean home, and survival.

Austin Hess

So be honest, when you think of someone having ten animals living inside their house, 8 of them in cages, you assume that the house has to be messy, “they have too many pets for anyone too handle,” or, my personal favorite, that our house HAS to have some kind of funky smell to it.

I am proud to say that you couldn’t be more wrong. There’s a system to this madness, each cage is cleaned out once a week using a strong odor-eliminating cage cleaner and clean bedding. You know those huge bags of animal bedding that most families buy because it lasts them a year? We buy two extra large bags and they last us about 4-5 weeks, add that and the cost of food, treats, and toys and you have a typical Petsmart bill for us. You go to the pet store to buy one thing, and then remember my mother’s rule; you have to buy something for everyone to be fair.

So when did the madness begin? Back in 2001, we bought our dog shortly after 9/11 because my parents thought that life is too short to not let your kids have a dog. Taya was a social psychology rat and Oliver was a chinchilla we adopted from someone who kept him in their unfinished basement the first 10 months of his life. My mother gave both the guinea pig and two dwarf hamsters to my brothers while my dad was away for the weekend. Needless to say, he doesn’t go away too much anymore. The rabbit was sort of a late surprise Christmas present my parents brought home on New Year’s Eve and the two baby guinea pigs were given to me this year after my birthday. The goldfish was brought home against my parent’s will when my youngest brother Garrett brought him home from a birthday party.

Sometimes it’s stressful on all of us, having to find time to clean cages once a week and get each of them out for a good amount of time each night so they can play and tire themselves out. If one of us is slacking on keeping them clean, my dad will be the first to say something smells funny and we need to get the cages done. On top of the play schedule, each water bottle must be checked daily to make sure all three guinea pigs have vitamin C drops, the guineas, the chinchilla, and the rabbit all need hay every day, and food bowls need filled everyday. You can’t imagine how difficult it is to take a vacation because the first thing we need to plan is finding someone willing to care for 10 animals while we are away. There are nights when it’s just constant arguments between my siblings and I about them not doing enough or who needs to clean what cage, but in more ways than one these furry, attention seeking critters have brought us together.

When’s the last time you were sitting in your kitchen and a rabbit came flying down the hall hopping off the walls? Found a sleeping rat in a tissue box? Or had to cut open your box mattress to coax a curious chinchilla out of hiding? Some would say we’re a loving family, others simply think we’re crazy, but at the end of the day, no one could leave our jungle of a home without a smile.