Broken Bridges in PA Take Toll

By Brandon McCormick –

Drivers be wary next time you cross a Pennsylvania bridge.

For the fifth year in a row, Pennsylvania tops the charts in percent of poor conditioned bridges throughout the nation. 26.5 percent of PA bridges were reported as structurally deficient.

This is compared to a national average of just 11 percent, less than half of PA’s percentage.

There are about 54 structurally deficient bridges in a 10-mile radius of Penn Manor High School.

These include SR3032 which crosses the Conestoga River just down the road from the school. South Creek Road bridge which crosses the Little Conestoga, as well as Eckman Road Bridge.

A deficient bridge is not necessarily unsafe, but needs to be monitored or repaired and does require significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement.

“There is a large inventory to keep up with,” said Greg Penny, the Community Relations Coordinator for PennDot.

The rating system to determine if a bridge is up to standards has three components, the deck, superstructure and substructure.

The substructure connects the bridge to the ground. The superstructure rest on the substructure and supports the deck. The deck is the part of the bridge that is driven on.

Each component is giving a rating out of 10. If any component of the bridge is scored a four or lower, the bridge is rated structurally deficient.

Bridges rated deficient are inspected every year, instead of every two years when most bridges are inspected. Bridges scored very high may be inspected up to every four years.

“The bridges have been active for a long time,” said Penny. “Rendell started the Accelerated Bridge Program so we get more money to address more bridges.

How much the repairs cost depend on the bridge and what exactly the bridge rating is. Some components take longer to fix resulting in a higher cost.

According to philly.com, due to the $4 billion budget deficit, PA will repair 45 percent fewer bridges this year than in 2010.

PennDot will repair 320 bridges compared to the 577 in 2010. The budget will be about $780 million this year, much less than the $923 million last year.

Corbett plans to continue borrowing $200 million a year for the Accelerated Bridge Program.

To find out what bridges aren’t quite up to code in your area, visit t4america.org.

Save the Date (and some money)

By Brandon McCormick –

What’s the hype for prom night? Every senior starts to worry when the first semester nears the end. This means prom is only a couple weeks away. But what does everyone get so stressed about anyway? One night at the end of your senior year that you probably won’t remember a couple years from now.

Senior women in particular spend outrageous amounts of money on dresses, hair, nails and accessories for the big event. According to deborarachelle.com, on average, women spend $250 on a dress! That’s such a ridiculous amount of money to spend for a dress you will wear probably one time in your life. Including hair, nails, accessories and other random girl stuff, they’ll spend about another $150.

On the guys side, buying two tickets for the night on top of a tux and transportation can add up quickly. Penn Manor’s tickets this year cost $35. This means $70 just on tickets for a gentleman who buys his and his date’s ticket. Plus a tux which costs around $150, and transportation for the night.

Brandon McCormick

Most seniors see this as the thing you kind of have to do. Girls get all pepped up for the event and guys get dragged along. There is reason to go. It’s traditional to find a date, get ready and have the night of your life. Yet traditional views aren’t always right, it is also traditional to have family dinner with relatives but who really loves doing that? Don’t forget you’re not spending a couple hundred dollars when eating dinner with extended family.

Traditions can be changed. Nobody likes to worry about things. Added pressure on top of graduation and senior finals isn’t needed. The pressure should be taken off of prom. The homecoming dance isn’t taken so seriously, why is prom. Go, or don’t go…who cares. If you enjoy dancing and want to spend money with your friends by all means go and have the night of your life.

Seniors need to stop feeling so obligated to attend prom, spend money and have an amazing time. College is near in the future. Some seniors should save the money for bigger and better things, and focus their attention on more important subjects. Take a deep breath, relax and make an informed, unemotional decision before deciding whether to go to prom or not.

Obama vs Gadhafi in the Fight for Freedom

By Hayden Gonzalez –

With the on-going crisis in Libya dragging on indefinitely, the conflict is affecting more then just people in Libya. It is also affecting American citizens as well as high school students who have very little information on this topic but know just enough to have an opinion of what is going on.

According to Penn Manor student Darrin Fry, “Obama wants oil for the United States, so that’s the only reason he wants to maintain peace in Libya.”

Libya is under control of Leader Muammar Gaddafi who has reigned supreme for 42 years. But Gaddafi turned on his own people, attacking them for wanting a new government with expanded civil rights

“Gadhafi is very reckless and needs to be thrown out of power,” said senior Noah Kuhn.

Involving the United States in Libya is going to have a high cost, according to some students.

“Were spending money that we don’t have,” said junior Dave Schneider.

Obama declared he would have a U.S. naval warship sail to the Mediterranean sea to try and help maintain peace in a country ran by a leader who is refusing to give up his power over Libya.

“Let it play out. We’re in everyone else’s business anyway,” said Darrin Fry, a 16-year-old junior from Penn Manor High School.

But there have been many different countries that are getting involved in this fight. The United States as well as France has sent several fighter planes to Libya to maintain peace but there has also been a report of a Danish f-15 plane roaming the skies as well.

Kuhn also said that he was surprise President Obama sent troops to Libya since he is “a pacifist liberal.”

Kuhn also said, “I thought his goal was to end the war (meaning the ongoing war in Iraq) not start another one.”

The United States has had several involvements with U.S. troops in Libya. In 1981 there were two Libyan jets shot down by U.S. troops. Also in 1986 and 1989 there were U.S. fighter jets shot down another set of planes from Libya.

School Board Discusses Future of Hambright

By Alyssa Jahnke –

The latest Penn Manor School Board meeting was held April 18 and, although not many citizens showed up to it, some had a lot to say.

One mother and daughter took their complaints about the daughter’s lacrosse coach to the school board who listened to the litany with interest but took no action.

Two student representatives from Penn Manor High School spoke about what is going on in the schools. They recapped on the spots seasons and what is going to happen during the upcoming weeks.

The board watched a power point presentation on the plan for students who have an individualized education plan, or IEP.  The information told school board members that the state requires schools to increase the PSSA test scores of IEP students by 10 percent each year.  The board learned that 95 percent of students with IEPs are educated in the district facilities while five percent have serious medical problems that need more attention.

Employee wages were discussed at the meeting. No decisions were made concerning the future of salaries considering the budget deficits faced by the district.  It was noted that some positions in the school district are not being replaced. Seventy-four percent of the budget is for the professional staff, which are the teachers.

The last item discussed was the future of Hambright elementary school building.  The two options are rebuilding it or remodeling it. The elementary students will be displaced only if the existing building is renovated. If a new school is constructed, the students will stay in the existing building until the new building is ready.

The next school board meeting will be May 2 at 7 p.m. at Manor Middle School.

California Dreamin’ Leaves PP Staffers Determined for Next Year

By Penn Points staff members –

California is home to Hollywood, the city of dreams. Penn Points headed to “Cali” with visions of another award of excellency at the Spring National Scholastic Press Association Convention, but not all dreams come true as they found out in nearby Anaheim.

As finalists, Penn Points reporters got special "Pacemaker Finalist" ribbons on their name tags.

Penn Manor was awarded a best in show in the small schools category, but left the Golden State without a consecutive National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker award.

They did, however receive an award as one of the Pacemaker finalists.  The designation means Penn Points is still considered in the top 20 student publications online in the country.

While in California, the Penn Points staff visited many sights including the world famous Disneyland. The staff explored downtown Anaheim every day, visited the outdoor mall and spent time at Huntington Beach. They also attended many conferences on student journalism and concentrated on workshops that dealt with online publications.

When exploring Anaheim the students conducted miniature interviews with random people on the streets.  They actually couldn’t help themselves.

Junior Sam Valentin thought the seminars were very beneficial, “I think the seminars were very informative, we got a lot of information to bring back to Penn Points.”

The eight Penn Points staffers are off to the first day of the NSPA convention.

Valentin said his goal was to use the insight from the conference to come home with the Pacemaker award for next year.

Sarah Garner, a senior at Penn Manor and a senior staffer on Penn Points,  enjoyed the different workshops.

“I liked going to the workshops that were taught by students, it was on our level and it let us have a better understanding.”

Senior editor and writer, Kendal Phillips, also appreciated the seminars.

Penn Points staffers dined Heroes in nearby Fullerton, Ca.

“My favorite (seminar),” said Phillips, who herself was a national honorable mention award winner for multi-media story last year, “was the one that talked about financing and how to promote our website. I think we really need to get on that.”

Valentin said, “We attended seminars on how to improve our online newspaper I thought were very beneficial. We also had a lot of fun.  We bonded together (as a staff) and just hung out and really explored Anaheim and had a lot of fun.”

Penn Points Co-Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Schaeffer went to several seminars on how to enhance online publications.

Not even random strangers in the airport were safe from Penn Points staffers inquisitive conversations.

“We learned how to get more traffic and enhance our website. We took a lot of notes to show the classes,” she said, “I also had fun going to the beach.”

Jake Shiner, a junior at Penn Manor, went on the trip to the NSPA convention because he intends on pursuing the journalism field in college and beyond.

“My favorite part of the trip, outside the convention, was the evening at Disneyland where I had my most memorable experiences.”

He too indicated he wanted to improve and refine the high school publication to ensure a winning spot on the podium in 2012.

 

Boys Volleyball Outlasts Ephrata

The Penn Manor Boys Volleyball team took down Ephrata in Tuesday night’s section one match-up.

It was hard to predict how the Comets would match up with the much bigger Ephrata team. Ephrata senior, David Witmer, leads the LL League in solo blocks with 48, and he had a match-high 6 last night.

Carrying a stat line of 25 digs for the Comet boys was sophmore Mark Dano, who was later awarded the game ball by head coach Chris Telesco.

Nearly halfway through the second game of the match, Coach Telesco pulled junior outside hitter Dylan Weber out of the game and the team, for a while, looked lost. It wasn’t until the end of that game that the boys reacted to the change. Down 20-23 in the second game, the Comets rallied back to take the game 25-23.

Sophomore Mark Dano helped provide defense support and left the match with 25 digs and the game ball.

The Comet boys gained momentum with this win, and leveled the playing field in the section, as Penn Manor, Ephrata, and Warwick are all tied for second in section 1 with a record of 4-2.

Hopefully for the Comets this momentum will carry them through the next couple of games as Telesco will be in Hawaii with the chorus for the next few days.

Where to Now?

By Katie Breneman –

From pre-school, to elementary, to middle school, to high school, then to …

Many students at Penn Manor High School will be attending a college or entering the workforce. Many students know exactly the major or area of study they want to enter, while others are undecided.

The college process is very crucial and, at points, can be stressful as well.  Students have to decide, big school, small school, in state, out-of-state and does the school have the right major. A popular saying students hear often with the college process is, “you’ll know when it feels right.”

But what feels right? Is it that feeling that gives butterflies in the stomach?

Zach Rayha is carefully considering which college to attend. Photo by Katie Brenneman

Deciding what college to go to is crucial. College costs a bundle of money and it is important to love the environment and to make sure the major is available.

Zach Rayha, a senior at Penn Manor High School is not positive but is leaning toward  James Madison.

“When I went there I thought I could see myself there and had a really strong program for my physics astronomy major. The people were very welcoming as well,” said Rayha.

Peter Ashworth, a senior at Penn Manor High School is still deciding between three colleges, Pittsburgh, Delaware and Grove City .

“My major is mechanical engineering. I chose to apply to Grove City because my brother goes there. My dad went to Delaware and I just liked Pitt,” said Ashworth.

Megan Wilson, a senior at Penn Manor has committed to go to Millersville University and will be on the soccer team there.

“I really liked it, and it’s close to home. It’s a great way to save money. I also really liked it because the soccer coach was interested in me and I wanted to play soccer in college,” said Wilson.

Emily Hess, a senior is not sure where she is going to school yet. She does know that she wants to become a teacher.

“Ever since I was little, I always wanted to teach. I love little kids and I would really enjoy my job,” said enthusiastically Hess.

Penn Manor High School’s graduation is on June 7, and theses students will then move onto the paths they have chosen.

 

 

 

 

Varsity Club to Sponsor Fund Raiser

By Bryan Buckius –

When tragedy strikes, how will you react? Here at Penn Manor some students took the initiative to take charge and help out a fellow classmate.

Penn Manor’s Varsity Club is in charge of a fundraiser to help support a family in the Penn Manor community dealing with a recent, unexpected tragedy. The club will have a table set up at various sporting events over the course of the next month.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to help out a family in need,” said Varsity Club secretary Dan Elliot.

Athletic director Jeff Roth was also a huge help in organizing this fundraiser.

Zach Rayha, of the Penn Manor Varsity Club, is helping raising money for the Penn Manor Family Fund. Photo by Bryan Buckius

“It is a great gesture on the part of the varsity club to help out a family in need,” said Roth.

Tonight Varsity Club will be setting up at the boys volleyball game against Manheim Township. The club will also be collecting donations on the following dates:

April 27- Baseball 4:15 p.m.

April 28- Boys Lacrosse 7 p.m.

May 2- Track and Field 4 p.m.

May 2- Softball 6 p.m.

May 3- Girls Lacrosse 7 p.m.

May 5- Girls Soccer 7 p.m.

All of the events listed will be home games. Girls softball will be played under the lights at Garrett Park. Track and field will hold their meet against Elizabethtown High School on the track outside of the West Gym. All other events will be held at Comet Field.  Anyone who can’t attend these events and is interested in making a donation can contact Mrs. Clugston or Bryan Buckius.

This is your chance to help out a member of our Penn Manor family. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Millersville University Tech Building Flirts with Flames

By Alex Geli –

Fire trucks, sirens, evacuated citizens, oh my!

No flames? Huh? So much for that.

When citizens were ordered to evacuate Osburn Hall of Millersville University, worries were abundantly dispersed around the campus. Firemen were called to inspect a “hot wall,” as University spokesperson Janet Kacskos said, after a fire alarm was set off because of a “ventilation issue,” campus police said, in room 311 of the tech building.

“There were no flames, there were no injuries,” Kasckos said.

In no time, things were back to normal.

Kacskos confirmed that the building was reopened just a mere two hours after the call to the fire department. By 3:00 p.m., students were left with either disappointment or relief.

Whatever feeling was in the minds of the Marauders of Millersville, the fact that it was anything but a big deal will remain stagnant.

 

Below are photos from the disturbance taken by Kendal Phillips.

 

 

The Ride Of Your Life

By Cassey Graeff –

Drinking and driving is common within various age groups, but Penn Manor High School is giving students the opportunity to take a ride in the Safety Bug.

“The Safety Bug, part of an innovative program developed by Pennsylvania Driving Under The Influence Association,” according to the website padui.org.

The Safety Bug

The Safety Bug is programed to demonstrate the feeling of losing control and operating a motor vehicle while being under the influence, hypothetically speaking.

The major difference with the Safety Bug is that it is the car that is “drunk” not the driver.

Any student at Penn Manor that has a valid license is able to sign up and drive the safety bug for the experience of what it would feel like to drive impaired.

“As you can imagine, lessons learned from a teen’s experience with The Safety Bug are likely to have a positive impact upon the participant’s future decisions- and help prevent risky behaviors, hopefully saving lives,” the website states.

The Safety Bug is a great teaching tool. Students don’t understand the risks of driving under the influence, but having the chance to drive the Safety Bug could change their opinion forever.