Penn Points Online

Legal Drug Becoming Increasingly Popular

By Julia Norton and Corey Fry –

There’s a new, legal drug that has become popular among teenagers. It’s called spice, or K2, and can be dangerous in any quantity.

K2 is sold in small packages at convenience stores. Photo credit to: watchopp.wordpress.com

This drug can have negative side effects such as anxiety attacks, hallucinations, nausea and cause a chemical dependency. However, it is being marketed as synthetic marijuana and the high is said to be similar to that of original cannabis, only much stronger.

Because it is compared to marijuana, teenagers continue to smoke it, thinking it is safe.

“I was sitting in this chair and everything looked like I was in a cartoon,” said one Penn Manor senior about her experience on a strain of spice called Bayou Blaster. “Everything had rainbow outlines, I couldn’t move and I felt really light headed.”

“It hits you like a brick wall,” said another Penn Manor senior. “I didn’t like it. I was just kind of on the floor, non-responsive.”

While these two high school students have had negative experiences with K2 and did not enjoy it, there are many people who do. Some are also completely aware of how dangerous it can be, but continue to use it.

“I like it. One time, I felt like my brain was being sawed into little squares,” said a Penn Manor junior.

“Yes, it is bad for you,” he said, acknowledging the dangers of the drug. “It probably puts holes in your brain and chemicals inside you that aren’t supposed to be there.”

So how can this be legal?

The drug is actually not being sold as a drug. It can be bought in many gas stations and tobacco stores as incense. It specifically says on the packages that it is not meant for human consumption when that is clearly its purpose.

Many states have tried to make K2 illegal but have failed to do so. The reason behind that is that as soon as the government makes one strain of spice illegal, the companies manufacturing it change the chemistry of it the tinniest bit so that it is once again legal.

With teenagers being drug tested at their jobs, by their parents and by schools, some people have turned to spice as an alternative to smoking marijuana.

“My mom drug tests me now,” said a junior at Penn Manor. “I smoked it occasionally before she started testing me.”

Although K2 is beginning to be viewed as an equally safe alternative to marijuana by many teens, this is simply untrue.

How Old Is Too Old For Trick or Treating?

By Jacob Harvey –

With promises of free candy and a night with your friends, it’s no wonder kids enjoy Halloween.

But how old is too old for Trick-or-Treating? In some areas around the country, it is illegal for people over a certain age to Trick-or-Treat.

Although, in the surrounding Penn Manor area, there is no age limit or law restricting people from taking advantage of people’s good will, according to the Penn Manor Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein.

Many believe there should be rules mandating the popular holiday.

“Without a doubt there should be an age limit, and it should be 14 because it’s a holiday for the younger kids, and people dressing up who are in high school are just ruining it for the younger kids,” said Eric Howe an administrator at Penn Manor.

It’s not just the parents who feel this way, Penn Manor senior Cody Diehl also has similar opinions regarding Halloween.

“I think it’s fine for older people to trick-or-treat if they are with a younger sibling, but when older kids do it by themselves it’s just not right for them to take the candy that should be for the younger kids,” said Diehl.

Some argue that an age limit could be detrimental, because people in high school deserve to enjoy the holiday just as much as younger kids.

“I think high school kids should be allowed to participate in Halloween because it’s just a good time to have with your friends and not every kid over 14 is going to be trying to cause mischief,” said Penn Manor Senior Alex Sorce.

Mandating Trick-Or-Treating ages can be complicated. What about a family with a 17 year old son and two younger siblings? Would it be illegal for the 17 year old to enjoy the holiday with his family? That doesn’t seem fair, and Penn Manor assistant principle Krista Cox agrees.

“I think that there are families that really engage the holiday and have fun with it, and an age limit could ruin it for more spaced out families,” said Krista Cox, an Administrator at Penn Manor High School.

There is a national law that restricts anyone over the age of 16 from wearing a mask at any time. If you are caught being 16 or older and wearing a mask, the person will be asked to remove the mask and not wear it in public places again.

However, there’s is no restriction on the age for Trick-Or-Treating and the worst that can happen is the owner of the house will tell the overage Trick-Or-Treaters that they are too old and will not give them candy.

If that happens they will probably just turn around and go to the next house.

So far around Lancaster County there is no age restriction and people who are older and trying to Trick-Or-Treat are free to do so as long as they aren’t wearing a mask or causing any problems with the law.

Best Effort Not Enough For Comets’ Girls Volleyball

By Eric Schlotzhauer –

Penn Manor’s rally after the first set was not enough to hold the Black Knights from a win during last Wednesday’s League Championship Girl’s Volleyball game.

To start off the game, the Black Knights came out strong. Leading Penn Manor Comets’ throughout the whole first set, they dominated them in a 25-10 win.

Penn Manor did not stay quiet for long. Effortless spikes from junior Jessie Greenslade allowed the Comets to take the set 25-19 and tied it up at one game a piece.

With all the momentum in their favor, Penn Manor played astounding in the third set, showing an inspiring performance and causing the fans to react in roaring applause. They took the win after great defense in front of the net by Cassie Sangrey and took the lead two sets to one.

Penn Manor trying to hold their lead in last Wednesday's League Championship game. Photo by Eric Schlotzhauer.

The two-game rally executed by the Comets wasn’t enough to silence the reigning state champions. They fired back and picked away at the Comets defeating them 25-14, and tying it at two all, making it necessary for a first to 15, fifth and final set, to determine who would become the league champions.

Both teams had everything to lose in the fifth set. The desperation and desire to win was evident in the eyes of all the players.

With the game tied at 10-10 in the fifth set, Hempfield began to show why they were projected to be just as good this year as last year. They took the lead 11-10 and showed to be too much for the Comets, winning 15-12 and taking the title 3-2.

Both teams will be looking to go far in districts when they play their first games this upcoming Tuesday.

Alligators found in Pa. Reservoir – is Economy to Blame?

By Becca Frankford –

After “pet” alligators were dumped in local reservoirs, municipal authorities are fearing the amount of pets dumped along the streets will increase around the Lancaster area due to the falling economy.

Shelters across Pennsylvania are seeing an increase in the number of pets being dumped at them. Workers there blame the economy. According to www.Philly.com, the Animal Rescue of Berks County has seen and housed double the number of dogs this year than it did in all of 2010.

In Slickville, PA an alligator about five-feet long was found taking shelter in a local reservoir. The authorities around the county don’t believe the gator will last very long in the chilly water.

Kittens like these can be found in shelters across the country.

Berks County Animal Rescue and the York SPCA are no-kill shelters, which means that if over populated they will not kill any animals to help rid of the crowding.

With all the animals coming into these two shelters, chances for pets to survive is a lot lower with every new pet left behind. In Honesdale, Pa., a litter of puppies were dumped on the side of the road earlier this month.

Some factors include the rising price of pet food and the cost of taking a pet to the veterinarian being too high for pet owners who are struggling with their own expenses. To help decrease the amount of dogs, cats and other friendly pets being dropped off, the Berks County shelter has offered to donate food to pet owners who can afford to buy it for their pets if asked.

In Harrisburg, tenants Timothy Weltmer 44, and Michele Ryan 48, left 20 cats and kittens locked inside an apartment located on the first block of West St.

The landlord reported the cruelty act on July 13. When authorities arrived, eight cats were dead and two were emaciated. The couple is being charged with 69 counts each of animal cruelty, and 20 counts each for not vaccinating the cats and kittens for rabies. Weltmer and Ryan are being arraigned today, according to www.pennlive.com.

The SPCA has reported 200 more animals coming in this year then the same time last year. York Dispatch reports high numbers of smaller dogs compared to big dogs being dumped at the shelters among York County. Berks County shelter is offering discounts on cat adoptions.

Remediation takes on Penn Manor’s Juniors

By Becca Frankford –

After too many years of too-low PSSA scores, Penn Manor High School decided to make a change and although it’s taken a Herculean effort to execute the schedule, it’s in full operation.

“Not any major problems, so far it’s off to a great start,” Phil Gale said in an interview about what remediation entails and how it’s going to improve juniors’ test taking skills in the future.

Remediation to help Juniors Prepare for SATs and upcoming ACTs. Photo credit www.newsinus.us.

The remediation includes juniors at Penn Manor students who have had low scores based off the benchmark tests on reading and math. They have remediation every day during enrichment periods blocks one, two, three and four.

“Its for the 11th graders… It’s to help them prepare for basic reading and math skills for the PSSAs, SAT, ACT and core classes,” Gale stated on what the remediation sessions are for, and what they will be accomplishing, “It will be very beneficial.”

Gale has high hopes for the upcoming seniors of 2013, and has a little treat for the students who do well throughout remediation.

“Rewards will be given,” said Gale.

Remediation is planned to run until at least the PSSA testing in March. A decision will be made later whether remediation will run until the end of the 2012 school year.

Annual Spook House Slated for Friday

By Frank Herr –

You can’t purchase much with a dollar these days, let alone buying something with canned food.

But in what might be the biggest bargain this year, $1 or a can of food can entertain you and scare you senseless.

This is the case when it comes to Penn Manor High School’s Thespian Spook House. On Friday, October 28, PMHS International Thespian Society will be holding its annual transformation of the auditorium into a haunted attraction. Admission will either be covered by a $1 entrance fee, or a canned food donation.

image courtesy of toddfrisbie.wordpress.com

“It’s an ITS club activity, organized by club officers,” said club advisor Melissa Mintzer. Although this is a ‘haunted’ attraction, no chainsaws or daggers will be incorporated into the production, like those of similar Halloween spectacles.

From 6 to 8:30, ITS tour guides will be leading groups of six to eight people through two paths in the auditorium. Along with these smaller trails, the majority of ghouls and goblins will be found on the auditorium stage.

All donations will be given to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, through ‘Trick Or Treat so Kids Can Eat’ and the cash generated will be used to purchase even more canned goods for the bank.

For four of the past five years, Penn Manor’s ITS troupe has had the highest donation of canned goods in the state. After North Penn collected more than Penn Manor’s troupe last year, the Comets are hopeful that this will be fruitful. The nationwide goal for this charity is to bring in 375,000 pounds of food. Penn Manor averages a substantial 18,000 pounds of goods each year.

“Who doesn’t want something free or really cheap, to do on a Friday night?” said Mintzer. All in all, the ITS Spook House is a scary good deal, regardless whether folks are inclined to come for the fun, the food or the funds.

AMC’s The Walking Dead

By Chris Fleming –

The 90 minute premiere of The Walking Dead’s second season kicked off with a total of 7.3 million viewers on October 16, a new record.

The new season will have an hour long episode each week for six weeks. The last six episodes will start airing again on Sunday, February 12.

Season one of The Walking Dead held the record from its premiere last year. Season one contained only six episodes and the new season is going to have a total of 13 episodes, according to mediadecoder.com.

“It’s such a good series,” said Alex Sorce,” I wish season one had more episodes though.”

The beginning of the first season starts off with the main character, Deputy Rick Grimes, getting shot and going into a coma. Once he finally wakes up in the hospital, he soon realizes that zombies or “walkers” have taken over his city. When he arrives at home, his son and wife are missing and he is afraid that the zombies have gotten to them. He soon notices the pictures on the walls and family photo books are missing so he assumes they got away safely. Deputy Grimes goes on to Atlanta because he hears that there is a safe spot. Will the rumor end up being true?

All the suspense and excitement of The Walking Dead seems to be catching peoples attention at Penn Manor.

“The end of every episode leaves me curious and craving for more.” said Penn Manor senior Brian Le.

“I like The Walking Dead a lot. It’s a fresh new idea that sets this series apart from other series.” said senior Ryland Overly.

The TV series is based on events that some people believe could happen if a zombie apocalypse ever occurred. It’s obvious that some characters in the show become greedy while others try to help each other out. Throughout the series, some characters lose their cool and start to believe that there is nothing out there that can save them. The anxiety causes them to take their anger out on someone else. The group leader, Deputy Grimes is always trying to keep his cool and keep track of everyone.

“I’ve heard good [stuff] about The Walking Dead, but never found the time to watch it,” said Logan White.

“I’m so glad that season two is finally here,” said senior Bob Warfel,” I look forward to Sunday nights.”

Season two has already released the first two episodes and will continue to for the next couple of Sunday nights at 9pm on AMC. Episodes are available to watch on Netflix and On Demand.

Seniors Face Frustrations of Applying to College

By Julia Norton –
Applying to college is a pretty basic concept, right? Not always. There are many complications and frustrations to filling out college applications.

High school seniors are starting to stress over completing their many applications with deadlines approaching more and more quickly.

Filling out college applications is a rather difficult process. Photo courtesy of: education-portal.com

Tatiana Houser, Penn Manor senior, finds a few things about applying to colleges especially inconvenient.

“Making sure the information actually gets to the college, ridiculous application prices and each school having a different application deadline are the most frustrating things I’ve experienced,” said Houser.

Letters of recommendation are one of the most difficult things to acquire. Teachers are constantly being asked to write letters for students and trying to get teachers to complete them on time can be practically impossible.

Guidance counselors are there to guide you and help you out with deciding what you want to do and what colleges you may want to apply to. Students think they do a good job of that.

“The guidance counselors were helpful with the questions I had about applying and with sending my transcript,” said senior Alex Lombardo.

While students are finding the applications frustrating, school guidance counselor James Yearsley thinks they should focus more on the financial aspect of college.

“From a parent’s perspective, students think parents are responsible for all the costs. Most parents do pick up some of the slack, but kids should really be thinking about what they’ll have to pay back later,” said Yearsley. “They think that student loans will just pay themselves off.”

Yearsley also stressed, “visit schools before you apply! Something that seems as trivial as a dirty cafeteria can totally turn you off from a school.”

These complications are only a few of the many things that students applying to colleges must deal with.

Homecoming Queen is Family Legacy

By Julia Norton –

Being crowned homecoming queen in high school is something many girls only dream about. For Laura Wissler, however, it’s become a reality.

Wissler was crowned Penn Manor’s 2011 homecoming queen Friday, October 7th. The other members of the homecoming court were Michelle Dempsey, Kelly Lenahan, Ellen Blazer, Kayla Bixler, Sara Bennis and Demi Greenawalt.

“It was a good group of girls. We all got along,” said Wissler. “We’ve all known each other just through going through school and classes.”

2011 Homecoming Queen, Laura Wissler stands with her mother, Dannel Wissler, the 1986 PM Homecoming queen.

Wissler wasn’t the only person in her family to be crowned homecoming queen at Penn Manor. Her mom, Dannel Wissler, was also in the year 1986.

“I was surprised and excited,” said Dannel about winning. “I appreciated that my classmates selected that for me.”

Despite the family legacy, she wasn’t pressured to win.

“My mom didn’t pressure me at all. She was just proud that I was on the court. If I won, she was happy with it. If not, she was okay with that too,” Wissler said.

Dannel confirmed this by stating, “However it worked out was fine. Even being on the court was a privilege for her. Each girl at the school is special whether or not they’re on homecoming court. That doesn’t define them and it doesn’t define Laura.”

Some people might find the process of running a burden, but not her.

“It was a pretty cool experience. It was an honor to get picked out of those seven great girls. I’m very happy,” said Wissler.

President Richard Frerichs Named Master School Board Member

By Becca Frankford –

Richard Frerichs was named as a Master School Board Member recently, one of only five honored with the title by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Frerichs is one of more than 4,500 school board members across the state who could have been eligible to win the award.

Penn Manor School Board President Rich Frerichs.

The award recognizes outstanding board members of public schools who have been working to meet the needs of education students during the challenges facing schools today, Frerichs said.

This award recognizes board members who have accomplished goals in the five categories of effective board service, professional development, community engagement, advocacy and state involvement.

Frerichs service to the board entails his work for the district since 1997.

Now the President of the School Board, Frerichs makes a point of knowing what is going on in the district and keeping on top of upcoming issues the Penn Manor School District will face in the future.

To further his own professional development, Frerichs said he reads books on education, attends conferences, goes to various education sessions and often joins in on webcasts with the PSBA.

Outside of the board duties, Frerichs community engagement includes being the past president of the Millersville Alumni Association and a member of the Ryan Aument Education Advice Committee.

Advocating throughout the state he meets and sends letters to state legislators, as well as being associated with the Federal Relations Network. Being on the board he has to keep up with information from the 16 school districts in Lancaster County.

“I was both humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Frerichs. “First, I was honored because it’s only given to five people in the state. I was humbled because the fact that I was recognized for this, I felt that I was doing what any good school board member would.”