Motorommel Rumblin’

By Eric Gerlach –

Fumes, grease and motors. This would be Tyler Dommel’s life.

The Penn Manor High School senior is considered a racing superstar in some students’ eyes. Dommel competes in races all over the country and still manages to maintain good grades in school. He wowed them at his most recent and local race, Motorama, held in Harrisburg Saturday.

“Keep your mind focused on winning, that’s my secret,” Dommel said before the race.

Dommel’s success also comes from his experience. He has been racing competitively for more than five years. He made over $2,000 racing this past year and hopes to increase his winnings.

“I’ve competed in um… too many races to count. I’ve been racing since I was 13,” Dommel said.

Dommel is very committed to his racing and plans to race after high school. Dommel’s father owns his own plumbing business, and Dommel hopes to work and then run the family business.

“Racing is my life,” Dommel said, “the only thing else I do is hangout with Paige (girlfriend) and work on my quads and truck.”

Dommel has two race quads, one for racing, and one for practicing. He has a lot of aftermarket parts on his quads. His  seven sponsors help him get the parts he needs either by giving him discounts, or giving it to him for free. Dommel’s fastest quad has 60 horsepower and the top speed is 75 mph. Even if that seems slow to some, racing quads are geared for acceleration not just top speed.

Double click on the picture to view the video:

Dommel had some high points and low points in his racing career. During a race in 2008, he broke his ankle and tore his shoulder in 2009.

“My biggest race was National A Class, and I finished third out of sixty-five,” Dommel said.

Last Saturday Dommel raced in two races at Motorama, placing third and fifth. Racing against pros like Jason Dunkelberger, featured on the popular video game MX vs. ATV, was a challenge for Dommel.

Motorama is not just quad racing, it consists of go-kart, dirt bike and RC car racing, as well as a car show and, of course, a bikini contest. It also features a robot conflict, a battle between competing makeshift robots.

New Chess Craze Advances at Penn Manor

By Spencer Barnett –

The school wants students to become curious and learn.

Check.

Teachers love it when students challenge themselves.

Check.

The goal of education is to create an atmosphere of higher-level thinking.

Checkmate.

The game of chess is growing in popularity throughout the student body at Penn Manor High School lately. Students from different cliques are getting together to challenge and compete against each other during lunches and any free time students can find to play.

Librarian aide, Pam Yarnell, has seen first hand the growing popularity of chess since the library is one of the sites at which students congregate to play.

“There has been a significant increase of people coming in,” said Yarnell, “it’s becoming very popular.”

In the morning, Yarnell sees around six students playing chess. On homeroom days, there can be as many as 15.

Penn Manor student thinking of her next move. Photo by Spencer Barnett

“It was really popular last year, but it took about two months for it to come back this year,” Yarnell said, “I noticed it becoming popular around November.”

Chess has become so popular that the librarian had to buy two new sets because six wasn’t enough.

The people she sees playing are mainly the students with college classes, but she also notices other kids joining as well.

“I don’t think chess players are anyone specific, it’s very diverse,” she added.

While chess is an educational game that involves lots of thought, one teacher explained the effects of chess played at school.

“I think chess is both positively and negatively impacting the students of Penn Manor,” said Erick Dutchess, a science teacher at Penn Manor.

“They get to practice their problem solving and analytical skills as well as thinking and planning for the future,” he said and then, with a little tongue-in-cheek humor, added, “the downside to this is that they are wasting school time to play chess, as opposed to playing it outside of school and using valuable school time to learn factoids and rote memorize things.”

Students gathering together during homeroom to play and watch chess. Photo by Spencer Barnett

Jesse Graham, a senior class officer at Penn Manor, is one of the pioneers of chess in school.

“It started out with the four of us, Me, Josh, Eric and Jere,” Graham said, “we started playing early November.”

During this time, students began to take interest in it and wanted to play.

“When someone was not in school, other kids would come over and join in,” Graham said, “after that it just kinda of blew up and more and more people joined.”

Graham continued to explain the diversity of the players.

“I see a lot of people I never thought would be into chess,” Graham said, “it’s pretty cool.”

Harry Manning has been playing chess for 13 years and just recently started playing in school.

“It’s like a war,” said Manning with a smile on his face, describing the way he plays chess, “and I’m the general leading my forces into battle.”

When Manning isn’t playing in the library during homeroom, he said he plays on the computer.

Mark Curtin, a senior at Penn Manor, recently picked up on this new fad.

“It’s an interesting way to challenge your mind,” said Curtin quoting a popular movie line, “it’s mind bottling.”

Curtain has been playing for a month and continues to play every day.

He explained that it is a positive influence on the students.

“It is a good use of free time and it gives me a break from my schoolwork,” Curtin said.

The rush of getting your opponent into check-mate and the skill it takes to be good is what is driving kids to continue to play and get better. With chess seeming to be at the peak of its popularity, who knows how much bigger it will become.

Parking Made Easier for iPhone Users

By Sarah Schaeffer –

Driving down a city road, searching.

Finding a parking spot in a busy city is rarely easy and never enjoyable. Everyone has experienced the headache of seeing the perfect spot in the distance, speeding up to claim it and then feeling the crushing disappointment when a minuscule vehicle is already planted between the white lines.

There’s an app for that.

This headache may soon be eliminated by a new app available for iPhone users. This app, called Parker, was created by San Francisco-based company, Streetline, in an attempt to bring parking into the modern times of technology.

Parker iPhone app helps users find parking spots free of stress. Photo from socialmediaseo.net

Parker works with a system of battery-powered sensors installed in parking spaces. The sensors send information to a receiver located in a nearby lamp poles, which in turn sends information to a data center located in Dallas. From Dallas, the information is sent to the app and is then accessible by app users with the help of Google Maps.

“This is a creative way of showing parking availibility. It’s a good way to use technology to help the public..,” said Zia Yusuf, CEO of Streetline, in an interview with USA Today.

Currently, this technology is only available in Los Angeles, Roosevelt Island in New York City and, soon, For Totten Metro station in Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City.

Like many apps, this new technology has the potential to sweep the nation, especially since the price is right. Each year, the sensor system costs the city only $420 with the app costing purchasers only $1.99.

As for the possibility of such a system being installed in Lancaster, the general consensus of student drivers at Penn Manor is a “go.”

“I think that’s pretty useful. It’s a good idea,” said senior Corey Morales.

“Yes I would [use Parker]. That’d be pretty sick,” said junior Clayton Secrest.

“I would use [Parker]. It would save a lot of time when looking for a parking spot. It would be less stressful,” said junior Mitch Domin.

Only time will tell the fate of Parker, but Penn Manor is optimistic.

For more on Parker and to see the new technology in use, follow this link from USA Today.

Zodiac, the New Hot Spot for Teenage dancing

By Cheyenne Weber –

Many students from Lancaster County are getting their dance on in Harrisburg on Saturday nights.

Zodiac Dance Club is an under 21 dance club located in Harrisburg, PA serving York, Harrisburg, and Lancaster in south central Pennsylvania. Zodiac dance club costs $10 to get in.  The Club opens its doors at 8:00 p.m and closes at 11: 30 p.m. In order to get into to Zodiac you must have a state ID, school ID or Driver’s License.

“I laugh at kids who forget their ID and can’t get in because it says on the site must have ID,” said Evan Bigler.

“It’s definitely worth 10 bucks,” said Austin Richwine, a junior at Penn Manor.

Zodiac does have a dress code…

* No Hats, Bandannas, or Do-Rags.
* No Jerseys or Jersey style shirts.
* No Over-sized/Excessively baggy clothing.
* No Grills.
* No Sunglasses.
* No Bags or Backpacks.
* No Lighters or Matches.
* Short sleeve shirts must stop at or above the elbow.
* Shorts must stop at or above the knee.

“It’s dumb I can’t rock Jersey shore style with my sunglasses and hat to Zodiac,” said Jaq Presbery.

Presbery said the dancing is sometimes intense and would probably not be allowed at a high school dance.

“Grinding,” is Presbery’s description of common dancing techniques at Zodiac.

. The type of dancing inside of Zodiac dance club. Photo courtesy of couchfiresports.com

“There’s nothing wrong about getting down and dirty on the dance floor,” said Ryan Mays, a senior.

Zodiac dance club is Located on 706 N. Third Street, Harrisburg, Pa. The entrance is on Third Street across from the Pennsylvania State Museum. The drive is about 45 minutes from Millersville. The club is located off exit 43 of route 283.

“The drive is really not that bad once you know where your going,” said Abby Newport, a senior at Penn Manor.

The dance club has two levels the first level is the video and game lounge which is made up of…
* Soda & Juice Bar.
* Superior Sound System featuring today’s best Club Music.
* Multiple Monitors and large Projection Screens featuring Music Videos.
* Pool Tables.
* Video Games.
* Lounge Area.

The second level is where almost everyone is at and consists of…
* Soda & Juice
* Dance Floor & DJ.
* State of the Art Light Show featuring Lasers and Intelligent lighting System.
* Superior Sound System featuring Live DJ’s with today’s best Club Music.
* Multiple Video Monitors and Projection Screen for Viewing Entertainment.
* Lounge Area.

“The DJ is hot at Zodiac, he is always playing the newest and best music,” said Mays.

Zodiac house DJ is DJ  Squid.

Friday nights are heating up at the dance club, for all those seniors who are 18 years old, already  Zodiac has college night for ages 18 and up from 10 p.m to 2 a.m.

“If you’re looking for a night out with your boys or girls and if your looking for a successful night,  Zodiac is the place to be,” said Richwine.

TSA Advances Tech-Ed in the Elementary Classroom

By Brian Dunne –

The goal is to get a little technology to every fourth grade elementary class in the Penn Manor district by the end of this year.

Sean McKnight, Penn Manor technology teacher and a few high school kids from the TSA (Technology Student Association) are teaming up once a month at elementary schools throughout the Penn Manor district. Their goal is to introduce engineering to elementary kids while taking it down to the elementary level so younger kids can get engaged and perhaps be interested in a technology field in their future.

McKnight teaching tech-ed to fourth graders. Photo by Brian Dunne

The students in Wayne Martin’s fourth grade class were all put into groups and were all instructed to create water sheds with meat plates, straws and Turkey Hill bottles. The focus of the project was to obtain as much water in the bottle as possible, but also to block as much debris as possible.

Maeve Snyder, TSA President, and one of the student helpers, was very enthusiastic about the whole project.

“I think it’s cool that kids get to solve problems, that’s a really good experience to have,” said Snyder.

Research says at this age students are most receptive to this kind of information because they’re still willing to learn and are still very creative.

“Students have moved to being consumers rather than being problem solvers,” said McKnight. “Students are not creative like they once were.”

The students discussed some key topics before creating their projects and went over the five step loop called the technology design loop. They talked about things like procedures, consumption, conservation, brainstorming, stating the problem and identifying the problem.

The fourth graders loved working with technology. Photo by Brian Dunne

The design loop is the base of just about every tech problem, and it’s what McKnight used for his demonstration.

The five steps were:

Step 1. What is the problem?

Step 2. Brainstorm solutions

Step 3. Create the solution you think is best

Step 4. Test your solution

Step 5. Evaluate your solution

Billy Burke, a fourth grade student for Martin, thought that the project was pretty fun.

“I like that we were actually experimenting. I like to build science experiments,” said Burke.

This is the first tech-ed program for elementary schools in the state of Pennsylvania, according to McKnight.

He said the goal is to introduce this once to all of the fourth grade teachers and students, and eventually make it part of the curriculum for years to come.

Red Land nips Penn Manor 48-44 in District III Basketball

By Simon Zimmerman and Matt Ulmer –

Three-pointers almost overcame all the height Red Land had to offer.

The Comets traveled to Red Land for their opening District match up Wednesday night but the trip was in vain. The game was close throughout its entirety, but in the end, the Comets fell short by four.

The game was tied at halftime, but Penn Manor’s failure to execute in the third and fourth quarter cost the emotional boys the game, their season, and for some, their basketball careers.

Red Land star Mike Zangari was the difference maker with 22 points in last nights game. Photo courtesy of pennlive.com

“We needed to hit our shots down the stretch in the 4th quarter, and we didn’t,” said senior point guard Brian Ramsey.

For seniors Jaq Presbery, Dan Elliot, Teon Lee and Brian Ramsey, it was their final game to play on the hardwood for Penn Manor.

“My heart went out to them because they put in a lot of hard work this season,” said sophomore teammate Taylor Skelly.

At the end of regulation, reality hit the seniors and it was not easy to handle. Some seniors like Presbery had something to say about their love for playing ball post game in the locker room.

“It just sucked that I knew my Penn Manor career was over and I let my teammates know that they should enjoy it and don’t take anything for granted,” said Presbery.

The loss was not easy for Penn Manor basketball fans to grasp as well.

“It was a very hard, depressing thing to see the team I love lose, not to mention my best friend,” said senior Quinn Nadu an avid Comets basketball fan.

“I feel like a big part of my life is over now,” added senior cheerleader Sam McCreary.

Regardless of the disappointing outcome, this year’s team surprised many after losing all starters and still managing a 16-7 overall record.

Juniors Marc Summy, and Landon Alexcih will look to be the heart of the team next year.

Fan Bus, Team Spirit or Just to Save some Gas?

By Dayonte Dixon –

Madelyn Hess, student and athlete at Penn Manor high school, expressed an idea to director Roth about having a fan bus give students a ride to the playoff game Wednesday between Penn Manor comets and Red Land Patriots.

But could what was thought to be an idea to express school pride, actually be just a scheme to save some gas?

A fan bus will be escorting student to the playoff game tonight between the comets and the patriots

“Well I knew a lot of people wanted to go tonight, so I figured why make them drive.” said Hess. Only 20 signatures were needed for director Roth to accept the idea, but Hess says she is guessing over thirty people will be attending, but is hoping for more.

Throughout this school year there has not been a single fan bus to a game. As for tonight being the first time for a fan bus this year, coincidentally the game is in Red Land which is about an hour away, give or take a few minutes.

“The boys are going to play the way they’re going to play anyway, but maybe the fan bus will help them get hyped,” said Hess, who spoke less about the effect it would have on the team, but more on the idea of saving gas.

“Most of the people want to see the game, but I do think that a big reason for people taking it is to save gas,” says Jaquan Presbery, starting point guard on Penn Manor varsity basketball team.

The fan bus may be great help in showing support to the team and a quick scheme to save a few bucks.

No matter what, the “fan bus” will be full of Comet spirit.

Star Soccer Player takes Flight; Signs with Temple

By Bryan Buckius –

As the sun begins to rise on a hot August morning, most people are still asleep, but Willie Chalfant isn’t like most people.

Willie is a senior at Penn Manor high school and is the star of the Comet’s boys soccer team.

Chalfant has been a captain on the team for four years and is known for his hard work and dedication to the soccer team.

“Willie is a hard worker whose love for soccer is contagious,” said teammate Austin Rowley.

Willie Chalfant was named to the All State and All Region soccer teams. Photo by Bryan Buckius

Although Penn Manor has struggled over the past few seasons, Chalfant has been an LL League and state standout. This season Chalfant was the LL League MVP and was selected to both the All State and All Region team for his performances this season.

Over the four years Chalfant was at Penn Manor he scored 33 goals and had 22 assists. Chalfant also played for club teams such as MAYS, Lanco United, Lower Merion and Penn Fusion soccer clubs.  Chalfant also plays for the Olympic Development Program.

Pete Bournelis, the coach for Lanco United, has been Chalfant’s mentor for the last seven years.

“Pete is definitely a huge part of my success in soccer,” said Chalfant.

Outside of soccer, Chalfant is an average 17-year-old. He is a soccer referee year round both outdoors and indoors at Red Rose Arena. When Chalfant has a free moment off the field he enjoys hunting and fishing.

As the school year is coming to a close, some students are unsure about their futures. Chalfant, on the other hand, is ready for next fall.

“I can’t wait to play soccer at Temple. I am ready to compete at a higher level of competition,” said Chalfant.

Students Love McNuggets, McNuggets and more McNuggets

By Marc Summy –

The 50-piece chicken McNugget challenge has become very popular with high schoolers.

For the small price of $9.99 at McDonalds, one can buy 50 chicken McNuggets. Teens have been flocking with their friends to try this challenge.

High school student Maddy Hess poses with her hungry face. Photo credit Marc Summy

Why?

Students agree it’s for pride, bragging rights and a sense of manhood.

Although not everyone who consumes this challenge is a male.

Maddy Hess, an 18-year-old female, consumed all fifty of the nuggets.

“Barely,” she added.

Among the males was student, Alex Kirk.

One word to describe this challenge was “terrible,” according to Kirk.

“I did it for bragging rights,’ stated Kirk. He went on to say, “the lacrosse team doubted me.”

Many students have done the 50 piece McNugget challenge. Photo credit to mcillinois.com

The ultimate challenge, which not as many people know about, is the 50 nuggets, 2 large fries, and 2 large cokes all for the price of $14.99.

Sophomore, Travis Wells, tried the ultimate challenge.

“It was pretty bad,” he explained.

After finishing his 2 large fries, 2 large cokes, and 49th nugget he just had one more to go.

“I just swallowed it; no second thoughts,” said Wells.

The student agreed that this was a bad idea due to the fact that right after swallowing the last nugget his “ultimate challenge” came right back up.

“The rest of the weekend I couldn’t even think about chicken McNuggets,” said Wells with a disgust look on his face.

Verizon iPhone off to Slow Start

By Joey Jackson –
Verizon users’ long wait is over, the iPhone is here.

Apple’s iPhone was released on the Verizon network Thursday February 10, but after record claims of online pre-order sales, many were surprised with the turnout on the opening day.

The Apple iPhone is now available on the Verizon network
According to Dailytech.com, the iPhone sales for Verizon didn’t live up to the expectations many people had prior to opening day.

There are many theories for why the Verizon iPhone is starting out slow.

These ideas range anywhere from AT&T’s $49 iPhone 3GS that Verizon cannot offer, to the fact that people are unwilling to switch from AT&T to Verizon’s inferior iPhone.

There are a few differences between the Verizon iPhone and the AT&T version.  A few examples of the superiority of the AT&T model are that, on Verizon, you are unable to conference call with more than one other person. Also, it is impossible to surf the web while on a call.

The disappointing sales numbers of the Verizon iPhone can even be represented within Penn Manor, where only one Verizon iPhone user could be found.

Junior Alex Lombardo is the lone student at Penn Manor who went out to buy the Verizon iPhone on the opening day.

“So far I’m happy with it.  It was a little glitchy when I first got it, but by the end of the day it was fine,” Lombardo said.

Verizon almost lost Lombardo to AT&T, but then he said he heard rumors of a deal between Verizon and Apple starting at the beginning of the new year.

Alex Lombardo, one of the few willing to buy the iPhone opening day. Photo by Joey Jackson

“I was going to make the switch, but then I heard rumors that the iPhone was coming to Verizon, so I decided to just wait.”

Others at Penn Manor weren’t as lucky to hear the rumors before they switched.

Junior Bob Warfel was one of those people.

Warfel had the misfortune to switch to AT&T soon before the rumors surfaced.

Although he wouldn’t have switched had he heard about the rumors, Warfel said that he’s not upset that he switched.

“I’d rather have AT&T because I feel like Verizon will have some things to fix since its new with the iPhone, and I hear that the iPhone 5 is coming out six months earlier on AT&T,” said Warfel.

Sales of the iPhone 4 are starting to even out already between AT&T and Verizon, and only time will tell if one carrier will take control.