Holiday Weekend Looks to Be the Best it Has in Years

By Kevin Holton –

Besides eating turkey and stuffing, there’s not much more to do on a rainy and cold Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Luckily, this year will not be that way.

Those stuffed with turkey and mashed potatoes will be able to take a leisurely walk or play a game of football to work off the extra calories.

According to the The Weather Channel, Thursday through Saturday will offer a stretch of beautiful weather for late November with temperatures rising high into the 50s.

Millersville University’s Meteorologist, Eric Horst, believes its going to be even warmer than that for the holiday weekend.

“If everything lines up, it could get up to the 70s this Thanksgiving weekend,” said Horst.

A beautiful thanksgiving day only brings joy. photo from wallpapertimes.com

This kind of warm weather is very unusual for this time of year.  But this has been a year for unusual weather.

“I looked through the records and 2001 was the last time we had a Thanksgiving this warm,” said Horst.

Penn Manor students couldn’t be more excited about the weather turning out this way.

“I’m gonna be tearin’ it up everyday on my quad,” said Penn Manor senior Dylan Tremellen.

Students plan to soak up the warm weather since it is usually quite scarce at this late in the fall.

“I will be playing a lot of basketball and also playing football with my friends,” predicted senior Reagan Forrey.

Senior Alex Cummins also plans on having a good time with family this year, outside.

“I’ll be eating a lot of food for Thanksgiving and then probably going to my cousin’s lake to hangout,” he said.

“I would love to go outside and play with my dog Bronson and take him for walks in the warm weather,” said senior Matt Noll, who was savoring the sunny forecast. ” Also I’d like to go to the beach and see the ocean.”

Everyone should enjoy the summer-like temperatures when they can because it won’t be long until winter sets in and snow begins to fall.  However, Horst said the winter of 2011-12 may be a mild one without much of the white stuff that has plagued the region for the past two winters.

“This winter looks to be an ordinary one with not too much snow,” said Horst. ” So for all you big snow lovers out there, sorry.”

 

Penn Manor Ice Hockey Dominates Palmyra

By Kevin Holton –

Penn Manor’s ice hockey team started off the season strong.

The first two games of the season, the team overpowers Palmyra at the Klick Lewis Arena in Annville on Monday and at the Lancaster Ice Rink on Wednesday.

“We played a strong aggressive game tonight,” said Penn Manor goalie Braden Kruger on Wednesday night.  “A lot of good hits and scoring opportunities.”

The team finished the game on Monday with a score of 6-2 and a score of 9-2 on Wednesday night.

Penn Manor discusses their game plan for the final period. Photo by David Burch

“We’re excited with the strong start to the season, this is a very talented group of young men and the potential is limitless,” said Penn Manor’s assistant coach Garth Bolin.

With Penn Manor keeping the puck away from their goal, Palmyra faced some challenges and was only able to take six shots.

“We moved the puck around, played like a team and had 42 shots on goal and that’s what you need to do to win hockey games,” said Penn Manor senior defenseman James Frese.

Even though there was a decent amount of penalties during the game, Penn Manor wasn’t going to let that stop them from playing their game and it certainly didn’t stop the fans from going crazy.

In only the second game of their season, Penn Manor is still improving and working out the minor scratches in game play in order to make them a more stronger, successful team.

“On Monday we had a lot of run and gun-style play, but we did manage to put up six goals. Tonight we improved and had  much more team play game,” Said Bolin

Penn Manor plays West York this Friday at the Lancaster Ice Rink.

“It’s going to be a tough game but if we play like we know how then we have a good chance to win,” said Kruger.

The hockey team invites everyone to come out and support them as they battle for another win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Sister Makes A Big Difference

By Tim Harris –

Kennedy Kulish is a big sister with a big story to tell.

When Kennedy was 6 years old her younger brother, Kaeden, was born with seven different heart defects and had three open heart surgeries at an early age.

Kennedy’s mother explained the first time Kennedy met her little brother.

“As parents it’s a hard decision to make, for a 6 year-old to see your child like that.” Mrs. Kulish said “but I believe that decision for her to see Kaeden like that is why she has such strong bonds for what she does for Kaeden.”

Kennedy will be the first one to tell you that her relationship with her brother is like almost any other siblings.

“I do get mad sometimes,” she said “but I realize that what we argue about is just stuff, and Kaeden is more than that and we are just lucky to have him.”

But what is truly amazing about this sister is how much she does for not only her brother, but hundreds of other children across the country. Kennedy was recently chosen as a WGAL Jefferson Award winner and has been selected to represent Pennsylvania in the national Jefferson Award Contest.

“I just really love giving back to other people,” Kennedy said. “It all just started with Kisses for Kaeden.”

Kisses for Kaeden is Kennedy’s organization that she started for her brother and children like him.

“I raise money for children who need major surgeries but don’t have good insurance,” she said.

Kisses for Kaeden to date has collected over $134,000, and has caught the attention of more than just local media.

The Kulish family with former President George Bush. Photo Courtesy of Kulish family

“I remember meeting President Bush,” Kennedy said with a smile.

The former President of the United States, George W. Bush flew into Lancaster Airport just to meet this little girl from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

“It all started when we got a call from the United Way lady who said Kennedy was in the running out of 40 others to meet the president, and we didn’t think much of it and we were just honored she was in the running,” Mrs. Kulish said “Then we got that call saying she was going to meet him.”

Kennedy got to speak with the president and they exchanged gifts, he then awarded Kennedy with a “Call to Service” pin. The Kulish family was also a guest on “The Nate Show” as well as other smaller television shows.

“None of this would be possible without the help of so many people,” Kennedy said.

As a member of Color Guard, Cheerleading, Do Something Club, Student Council and as well as being a Volunteer Fire Fighter, Kennedy has more than a busy schedule.

“It means so much when people volunteer to help out. It shows that others really care too,” Kennedy said.

“Kennedy is my little Mother Teresa,” Mrs. Kulish said “No matter what I know that Kennedy will always do what is right for others.”

 

Everybody Cut Footloose Again

By Amber Brenner-

The original footloose cover from 1987. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

That’s exactly what director Craig Brewer did to his remake of the 1984 movie Footloose. There are few differences between the 1984 original and the 2011 remake.

First off, it’s obviously more modern. The music, dancing and clothing were all inevitably updated. The music that the kids in the movie listen to was mainly hip-hop, with the exception of a few scenes with genres like pop and country. The dancing, of course, was more provocative. The styles of dancing included lots of hip-hop, some krumping and even some country line dancing. Some of the dances were taken from the original movie.

Under the same umbrella, the language was modified a little, adding an occasional swear word, which was generally taboo back in the ’80’s. The movie was also updated socially. Although racial segregation ended in the mid-1960’s, all of the actors and actresses used in the original Footloose were Caucasian. The remake seemed to cover all races and ethnicities.

The new 2011 Footloose cover. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

As for the actual screenplay, there are very few differences between the original and the new remake, but the ones that exist are blatantly obvious.

To start, the new movie opens with the accident that killed the town’s preacher’s son that the original only referred to. In the original movie, the main character moves to the small town of Bomont with his mother after a divorce. In the new movie, they do away with his mother completely. He moved in with his aunt and uncle after his mother passed away.

There aren’t many other differences and the ones that are there don’t change the story much at all.

All in all, Footloose (2011) is a refreshed and modern spin of the original made in 1984. It’s worth a trip to the theater.

As a warning, you may feel the spontaneous urge to dance, but don’t worry. That’s completely normal.

The United States Going for Broke?

By Corey Fry –

In 1791, Alexander Hamilton combined the states’ individual debts into one collective federal debt.  This was done as a post-revolutionary war tactic to economically unify the nation.

Now in 2011, this federal debt is threatening to tear the country apart.  As of October 22, 2011, the United States’ gross debt was $14.94 trillion.  The public debt has increased by over $500 billion each year since 2003, and that number is rising every year.

Unless we treat this problem soon, we’re going to be on the same road to economic collapse as Greece and Italy.  The only major action taken this year by the federal government to reduce the deficit was Obama’s Budget Control Act of 2011.  The most significant action of the Budget Control Act was the creation of a “Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction” (aka. Super Committee).  The job of the Super Committee is to manage all matters relating to the federal deficit.

Corey Fry talks about the national debt crisis. Photo by Eric Scholtzhauer

The Committee, however, has made only minor changes in how the debt is handled.  Their actions so far include: Raising the debt ceiling by $400 billion, and reducing excess spending by government officials.  Over the next ten years, the Committee plans over $917 billion of budget cuts.  But these precautions only scratch the surface of the problem.

Without major reform in how we as a country handle this, the debt will only continue to increase as it is now.  We cannot simply let it grow until we need to raise the debt ceiling again.  The situation is beyond the control of such temporary solutions.

We are roughly $15 trillion in debt and a couple of budget cuts aren’t going to make it go away.  The United States spends much more than its gross income and this is what’s causing the deficit growth.

Our first step as a country is to stop the unnecessary spending.  We can’t afford to keep spending billions more than what the government earns, it’s completely irresponsible.  The nation has to cut back somewhere, or increase their income.  This could mean the removal of government services, such as Social Security and unemployment benefits.

If the nation won’t accept budget slashes, than they’ll simply have to provide the government with more spending money.  Tax increases are inevitable.  We just can’t expect to continue getting all the government services for the same price, it isn’t working.

Something has to give. The public will decide which they prefer, before the Super Committee does it for us.

Talent no Longer a Necessity in Acting

By Julia Norton –

Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe will be forever remembered as two of the most iconic actresses of all time. Older actors of today such as Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney are also well known for their good acting and diverse roles. But are there any famous actors of this generation that can measure up to them?

When asked what famous actor represented their generation best, the majority of Penn Manor students responded with Robert Pattinson. Photo credit to: imdb.com

Penn Manor junior Zach Sinz does not seem to think so. He believes advances in modern technology have had a significant effect on how much pressure is put on actors to be the best.

“I do not think actors of today are as talented as older actors because years ago they did not have as much equipment to cover up things,” said Sinz. “Today the actors can look bad or do something wrong and it is able to be fixed using the technology we have today.”

Many of the young actors today are only famous because of connections they have. Emma Roberts, for example, probably wouldn’t have become the icon she is today if her aunt was not Julia Roberts.

Ben Nogueras, a junior at Penn Manor High School, thinks this may be part of the reason why this generation’s actors are not as talented.

“A lot of the younger people have everything laid out for them because of who their relatives are. These actors do not have to face the struggles that other great actors did because of their connections,” said Nogueras. “Advanced actors like Clooney are disappearing and no one is replacing them.”

Not everyone agrees that popular actors have gone downhill. Penn Manor junior Cobi Kremer thinks they’ve improved tremendously.

“I think actors today are much more talented than older actors because there are more opportunities for them to learn. They have better acting classes and other stuff they probably did not have back then,” said Kremer.

The most popular young actors of today were listed on latesttopten.com. Their “Top 10 Most Talented & Best Young Actors and Actresses in Hollywood Film Industry” list includes Dakota Fanning, Robert Pattinson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Roberts, Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Stewart, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Cera, Emma Watson and Shia LaBeouf.

While Dakota Fanning and Shia LaBeouf are well known for multiple films, Mia Wasikowska is known for little besides Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, although they can be seen in other films, are only really known for being the stars of the Harry Potter film series.

Perhaps the whole idea of actors of the past having more talent than actors of the present is based purely off of personal preference. However, it is definitely something to consider.

McCaskey’s Hispanic College Day Draws a Great Crowd

By Alicia Ygarza, Alexander Sanchez-Cruz and Amber Brenner- 

50 colleges, numerous schools, and a large crowd of productive students.

Penn Manor student unload from the McCaskey-provided bus at McCaskey East for the Hispanic College Day. Photo by Amber Brenner.

Students, regardless of race, are headed toward a bright future in Lancaster County area schools.

McCaskey East High School held its first Hispanic College Day, calling to a large crowd of students from different schools and of different ethnicities.

According to Fred Lane, Director of Operations, the event was set up by the school district, and was sponsored by Career Council Inc. Career Council Inc. conducts 75 college expos around the U.S. Only a few are held in Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, however McCaskey’s was the only one held around Lancaster.

Penn Manor student, Adrian Viruet, fills out contact cards. Photo by Amber Brenner.

“I think the College Day is a good idea because students can explore colleges and see what they can offer Hispanics,” said Chad Wise, senior at Central York High School.

“It’s shocking that many Hispanics aren’t going to college, but this is good because it helps students. I’m happy that McCaskey is making an effort,” said Wise.

The Hispanic College Day exists because Hispanics are being undermined in the college world. McCaskey is making an effort to help the Hispanic students in each school in Lancaster County.

However, some of the Hispanic students that attended the expo should not be undermined.

“I am planning to go to a four year college and major in criminal justice,” said Adrian Viruet, junior at Penn Manor.

“I plan on going to college for four years,” said Will Torres, senior at McCaskey.

Counselor, Mr. Yearsley, and administrator, Mrs. Cox at the Hispanic College Fair on Thursday, November 10. Photo by Amber Brenner.

One reason some students may not excel to college is because their parents never went to college.

“Neither of my parents went to college, and I wish they had because I would have more benefits,” said Robert Wolpert, senior at McCaskey.

When a person’s parents don’t go to college, they may experience a harder life because their parents do not work in a profession, therefore making less money.

The college expo was a success, and many of the students that attended had new thoughts about going to college.

“I learned about colleges I’ve never heard of. This really made me want to explore more minors and majors,” said Joziah Rodriguez, junior at Penn Manor.

“This made me more interested in college, and what I want to become,” said Wolpert, who plans to attend college but not immediately after high school.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

By Andrew Morales and Chris Fleming –

Skyrim, The fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series brings forth a vast world with a wide variety of possibilities.

Oblivion, the game before Skyrim, had amazing reviews and some people seemed to be addicted to it.

“Oblivion was amazing, I still even play it once in a while even though it came out so long ago,” said senior Liam Kline.

“I used to play Oblivion 24/7,” said Bob Warfel.

Image courtesy of www.giantbomb.com

But others thought differently.

“I could never get into playing Oblivion, but the newer one, Skyrim, is supposed to be really good and I’ve heard it got amazing reviews,” said senior Alex Sorce.

The new Elder scrolls is a RPG (role playing game) that sets you off as the last living dragonborn, a mortal who is born with the soul of a dragon. As a dragonborn you have the ability to absorb the power of a dragon after it is killed and learn special skills called dragon shouts.

Skyrim starts off with you being detained, and transported to a village. After arriving, you are removed from a cart where two other prisoners are also being held. A guard is reading off the names of the prisoners but you are not listed. At this time he asks you your name.

After being asked your name you are taken to a character creation screen where you can choose from a variety of races. The customization options in this game are more visually appealing than those in oblivion. Facial features are very in-depth and battle scars and war paint can be added to give your character an edgy look.

After creating your character, you listen to the chatter of guards and the roar of a dragon can be heard in the distance. Moments later, the village you are at is being bombarded by fiery breath and you are able to make a quick escape. Soon after, you find yourself running through a cave learning basics and getting a feel for combat.

Skyrim also has a new feature, unscripted dragons. Meaning that during your unimaginable quest, you are bound to run into a dragon sooner or later. The only thing the dragons will not be able to do is harm the main cities. The dragons are huge and able to shoot fire or ice at your character.

“The games free roam is unbelievable,” said senior Nick Zell,” So much freedom to do anything you please. Also, the dragons are supposed to be able to do endless things and if your fighting enemies in the woods a dragon could easily interrupt you.”

“The new combat style seems pretty sweet and you can now combine two spells together to make a single strong spell,” said Zell.

Photo courtesy to www.gamerant.com

“Skyrim seems pretty legit,” said senior Jake Mercado.

New features to the combat system include the ability to dual-wield one handed weapons, use a different spell in each hand, and a melee hit with the bow.

“I’m pretty excited to play it, the games before them were always fun,” said senior WIll Downs.

“This game is awesome. I got it last night and played it for three hours straight,” said senior Aaron Sellers,” I know that I will end up playing this game a lot.”

As you level up skills in Skyrim, from crafting to combat, you gain experience to your overall level. When you do level-up you unlock points that can be spent on perks that enhance individual skills. Perks can be a big buffer to how you play. If you put perks into the archery skill for example, you can get bonuses such as a zoom feature and upgraded damage with a bow. This doesn’t limit your options. It actually gives players a chance to specialize in their play style.

The World of Skyrim is huge and very detailed. The Bethesda team definitely worked very hard to create such a place. The game has over 300 hours of game play to keep you busy and keep the experience fresh.

Penn Manor and Hempfield Combat in Never Ending Rivalry

By Mark Dano and Kyle Musser-

Every time Penn Manor is on the verge of a sure thing in sports, it seems that there’s one school that can crush the morale of the Comets in a single night – their arch rivals Hempfield Black Knights.

It’s surely not every time, it just seems like it.

For example, a heavily favored Comets football team hosted the Black Knights this season. After maintaining a lead late into the fourth quarter, the Knights stormed back to an overtime victory.

The Penn Manor’s girls volleyball team took a 2-1 lead over Hempfield. Yet again, the Knights stormed back to a 3-2 victory.

This trend dates back for years. In 2005, Penn Manor boys volleyball team defeated Hempfield twice earlier in the season. Then in the state quarterfinals, the Black Knights came out on top.

Is it magic dust or something a little more tangible?

In the eyes of some Penn Manor athletes, Hempfield is an eternal enemy.  But does that rivalry mess with Comet athletes’ heads?

“Hempfield is not very likable, we don’t get along,” said senior varsity golfer and volleyball player Dayonte Dixon.

When the two teams meet, a competitive game always seems to occur.  But pure talent does not always dictate the out come of the game.

“Our skill level matches up, but people always say, ‘Oh my god it’s Hempfield,'” said Dixon. “We just lack confidence.”

Some coaches agree with Dixon.

“Hempfield has a lot of confidence, and some of our kids think that they can’t compete,” said lacrosse coach Erick Dutchess.

Others completely disagree.

“So many teams play Hempfield and they get intimidated,” said volleyball coach Jarrod Staub. “Penn Manor teams get more fired up.”

There may be another reason why Penn Manor struggles against Hempfield.

“They have about 2,300 students (in their high school),” said Penn Manor athletic director Jeff Roth. “We have 1,778 students. They have five-six hundred more students.”

The idea of how this affects athletic teams is simple, if you have more kids then you’ll have more athletes. More athletes will lead to more competitive sports teams.

There are other advantages as well.

The more spread out Penn Manor school district. Photo from lancasterdems.com

“In terms of amount of land, Penn Manor is actually the second largest school district. The district is more spread out, which is the problem. We have kids that live 45-50 minutes away from the high school,” said Roth. “Some of those kids choose not to play a sport because of the traveling time.”

On the other hand, Hempfield is the opposite.

“Hempfield is smaller in land size. It’s more of an industrial area,” said Roth. “As a result, everything is closer together. No one worries about a long travel time to and from practice.”

The Comets may even be destined to fail at birth.

The more compact Hempfield School District. Photo from lancasterdems.com

“A lot of it is just genetics,” said Jon Zajac, Penn Manor’s strength and conditioning coach. “Look at the size of our kids compared to their kids.”

All of these factors could affect the outcomes, but there is one key factor.

Dedication.

There are many hard working, and productive student athletes at both schools, but sometimes Penn Manor student athletes become lazy.

“We have practices where people are just joking around,” said Dixon.

“There are definitely some kids that are lazy,” said Zajac.

For Penn Manor, the weight room is what makes up for all these disadvantages.

“The best way to get better is to lift more and get more dedicated,” said coach Zajac.

Zajack conditions with many teams when they are in season.  In the fall he works with Football, Girls volleyball, Boys Soccer, and Field Hockey. He works with Boys and Girls Basketball in the winter, then Baseball, Boys Volleyball, Boys lacrosse, Girls lacrosse, Girls soccer, and Track and Field in the spring.

Injury prevention is the reason for in-season workouts.

“Our in-season injury rate is really low,” said Zajac. “I take pride in keeping it low.”

Although the faces and names of players will change, one thing will always remain the same.

“They’re always the teams (Penn Manor) kids want to beat,” said Staub.