The News

North Korea by Nick Duerr, 2016

For weeks North Korea has been making multiple nuclear threats to the United States of America and South Korea.Kim Jong Un, the president of North Korea, tested a long-range missile, which brought fear to our country that they were close to nuclear attacks on the United States.But now, they have just gone quiet.So, after being on the brink of a “World War III”‘ why the sudden silence from Kim Jong Un?

United States ‘ Secretary of State John Kerry visited China last month, and placed premium importance on getting China to reign in North Korea.Kerry said that Kim Jong Un thinks he can get away with anything if China doesn’t hold him accountable.Kerry thinks that the North Korea threats could go quiet and then arise again for months.We don’t really know if they’ll launch a missile or not.north-korea-national-flag-clip-art_426700

President Obama Replies to Note Left By Newtown Football Coach and Teacher by Elizabeth Fernandez

On Sunday, the president spoke at Newtown High School, in the aftermath of the terrible massacre that took place of Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Obama spoke words of sympathy towards the citizens and families of Newtown, especially those affected by the loss of a child or family member. Knowing he President would be taking a walk through the school, one Newtown teacher and the school’s football coach wrote a message to the president on the locker room whiteboard. They thanked him for coming out there and expressing his sadness over the tragedy. The president responded to the message and said: “You’re in our thoughts and prayers” and signed it just putting his first and last name not adding “President” in front of it. By doing that it made the brief but heartfelt reply more personal.

The president said he is going to push harsher gun laws in our country to stop this violence that has happened this year, since we’ve already had three major shootings in 2012. Over all, President Barack Obama said what we all are saying and thinking : Newtown is in our prayers.

Class Resumes in Newtown by Emily Efthimiades

School resumed on Tuesday December 18, 2012 for schools in the Newtown, CT, area. Police officers have been stationed in front of the local schools, while one still remains closed. Sandy Hook Elementary School remains closed until further notice.

On Friday December 14, 2012 gunman Adam Lanza forced his way into the elementary school and took the lives of a class of first graders (ages 6 and 7) and took the lives of six faculty members. Although they returned to school today, school started two hours later and counselors are available for any student that was struggling with the previous event.

Although they are gone, they are not forgotten. Memorials are set up all over Newtown for the victims of this gun violence. Since this recent tragedy involving gun violence, and the recent rise in gun violence, people are pushing for tougher gun laws to prevent these types of occurrences. However even with these recent tragedies, people are still split on where they stand on the gun issue.

 

 

Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut by Daniel Pollack

All of us have heard about the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. 20 year old Adam Lanza was at his home and for no reason shot his mother. He then headed to his old elementary school Sandy Hook. Lanza shot down the door, then entered the school and began entering classrooms, and killing innocent 6 and 7 year olds. Those who couldn’t hide in the closet were shot and killed. Lanza killed 20 students at the school, all 6 or 7 year olds. Brave souls such as the principle and a few teachers tried to stop the gunman, but he killed them too. He killed 5 teachers and the principal, which means he killed 26 people total. After killing all those helpless people, he took his own life. This was a terrible tragedy and we mourn for the victims. Barack Obama made a speech in Newtown, and visited the families of the victims. People are calling for gun control after this horrible shooting. We pray for the families of the victims and those poor people who died.

 

 

Man Breaks Sound Barrier and Jumps from Atmosphere by Alexandra George

Are you afraid of heights? If you are, it would be impossible to complete the task which Felix Baumgartner completed on Sunday October 14, 2012. In efforts to break several world records, he fell to the Earth from the edge of the atmosphere from a space capsule. The free fall was a total of 23 miles long and he reached a top speed of about 833.9 miles per hour. Baumgartner is from Austria, but jumped above Roswell, NM because of good weather conditions. Retired Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger guided him from the ground during this perilous undertaking. Kittinger himself once was in Baumgartner’s place as a skydiver/ jumper. But this time he took on the crucial role as “Capcom” or capsule communication. It was successful. The full three-hour process from start to finish granted Baumgartner world record titles of the highest jump from a platform, the longest free fall without a drogue parachute and the highest vertical velocity. Not only that, but he broke the sound barrier. Baumgartner wishes to one day be in Kittinger’s shoes one day, and guide another daredevil in a world record-breaking jump. The fall was aired on television and was really interesting to watch. It’s neat that it will go down and history and that we lived through it. If interested, videos can be found on the internet of the record-breaking jump.

 

How is The 2012 Election Affecting Kids? by Megan Krance

As this year’s presidential election draws closer, the candidates are campaigning on why each one of them should be president. People think that whoever becomes president just affects the adults and their lifestyles, but did you ever realize that the presidential election has an impact on children and teens?

Education is important, and whoever becomes president decides the laws and requirements for it. President Obama and Governor Romney agree on some points. For example, they both agreed that the No Child Left Behind education law needs to be revised. However, President Obama and Governor Romney also disagree on some points, too. President Obama wants college education to be more accessible and to give financial aid to those who need it, while Governor Romney says that an increase in financial aid will mean that tuition will rise. In the end, they both agree that education is important no matter what.

Everyone needs health care, even us kids. Both President Obama and Governor Romney both agree that they want everyone to have health care. Obama set up the Affordable Health Care Act in March 2010 and he signed the CHIP Program in 2009. His Affordable Health Care Act was one of his biggest victories, but could also be considered one of his biggest failures. Some people agree that his health care act could be positive for some, but a big negative for others. The Affordable Health Care Act is constitutional, but is considered a tax. Governor Romney said that if he was elected, he would overturn the health care act. He called it “the biggest tax increase in U.S. History.” While they both agree that health care is needed, they disagree on each other’s ideas on the subject.

So in the end, President Obama and Governor Romney agree on most things that affect us kids. Even though we can’t vote for the candidate we think has our best interest, we hope for the best. The elections do have an impact on us. Education and health care are our biggest issues in life right now. So, hopefully whoever wins does what is best for us kids.

 

 

 

Punxsutawney Phil by Meghan Witcop, 2015

Today is Groundhog Day!  Is Punxsutawney Phil going to see his shadow or not?  Are we going to have six more weeks of winter or are we going to have an early spring?  The groundhog is a big deal, but did you know these fun facts?

Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long, but the average groundhog only weighs 15 pounds. Also, Groundhogs live for only 6 to 8 years.  Each summer during the Groundhog Picnic, Punxsutawney Phil drinks a magical punch that adds 7 years to his life.  Groundhogs are resistant to plagues.

Now that you know these fun facts about the groundhog you can share them with your friends and family on Groundhog Day.  While you think about an early spring or six more weeks of winter remember the groundhog.

 

 

Distracted Driving by Ellen DiMartini and Alexandra George, 2013

It takes five seconds to think about what you’re going to text, but it only takes one second to make a critical mistake while driving.  In Pennsylvania, there is a new ban to prevent texting while driving that is not only important, but is for everyone’s safety.

On Tuesday December 6, OLSH hosted a special program regarding distracted driving and the dangers that come with it.  Two stations were set up in the auditorium where students could simulate distracted or impaired driving.  It was set up kind of like a video game system where the steering wheel was placed on the desk in front of the screen and the pedals were on the floor.  The goal of the simulator was to get your friend home without crashing or getting stopped by the police while texting and driving.  Though not exactly like driving a real car (the brakes were a little touchy) it gave the feeling of taking one’s eyes off the road to make a phone call or type a text.  Of the students participating, many either crashed or were pulled over by the police.

After doing the simulation, participants spoke with the people in charge.  They were Darius Carlins and Jordan Hinds, OLSH class of 2002.  Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, partnered with the Allstate Foundation developed this driving simulation program called “Focus”.  The purpose of this simulation is to change driver’s habits and to make drivers aware of  harmful situations without really crashing.  The news is full of stories about car crashes and deaths due to distracted and impaired driving.   This program seeks to create awareness.  Focus was started in California and has maneuvered its way to Pennsylvania.  In the new driving generation, texting is a major problem.  The goal of the appropriately named “Focus” is that drivers can become more focused.  When asked if there was a program like this around when he went to school, Mr. Hinds answered, “No.  I took drivers ed, and it was just a lot of talking.”   Focus is a hands on experience.

The Focus challenge is a good learning opportunity for all teenage drivers because it shows through hands on experience just how dangerous texting while driving and driving under the influence are. Many thanks to Mr. Carlins and Mr. Hinds for bringing this opportunity to OLSH!

Honored by Ellen DiMartini, 2013

Anyone could be honored by their friends or family, but being honored by the President is not something you hear about very often.  Twenty-three year old, Jeremy Carr, had the lucky opportunity to be honored by Mr. Obama himself.  Not many can say they have had the pleasure, so what made Mr. Carr so special?

Coming from a family with a military background, Carr’s only dream in his life has been to join the armed forces.  Unfortunately,  Carr could never join because he has Down syndrome.  Carr never gave up his dream and determined to be as close to being in the military as he could  so he volunteered at Beaver County chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. Dedicated to his service, Carr wondered if President Obama was proud of him for what he was doing and made his mother write a letter to the President asking if he was.

Carr’s question was answered during a Veterans Day address at Arlington National Cemetery.  The President said in his speech “Jeremy, I want you to know: Yes, I am proud of you.  I could not be prouder of you, and your country is proud of you.”  Ms. Carr, Jeremy’s mother, could not have been happier.  After listening Ms. Carr said, “I think I might cry.  That’s wonderful.”

Carr has done everything he could for his country, even with his disability but he wondered if anyone was cared or noticed.  Now Jeremy Carr knows just how important everyone thinks he is and how much he is appreciated.  He is a proud American and  an inspiration to all.

Unemployment Rate Decreases in PA by Alexandra George, 2013

Most people look forward to what the future has to hold.  Whether they think about college, a career, a house, a vacation, or even a holiday, it is exciting, but also a little nerve-racking.  One of the most intimidating things about the future, for some people, is the fear of not finding a job.  For some, this may even be their daily fear as they are currently unemployed.  However, things are looking up, as the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania recently declined from 8.3% to 8.1%.  Though this may not seem like much from just looking at it, it is an improvement.  This is due to the addition of 13,800 jobs which were created last month.
The creation of jobs mainly occurred in the education and health fields where 6,600 jobs were created.  While, there is still a large unemployment rate, Pennsylvania’s is lower than the national rate which is 9.0% for October.  This also shows improvement because the number of people working and looking for jobs also increased last month, while the unemployment rate dropped.
So, for anyone looking for a job right now, this could be a good sign.  It also gives us hope for the future that finding a job will not be that hard.  A conclusion that can be drawn from this is not to worry about the future.  While it may seem scary or unsure, it is important not to stress out about things, because they usually look up, as can be seen above.

PA Texting and Driving Ban by Ellen DiMartini, 2013

We say that every seven seconds an angel gets it’s wings.  Did you know though, that about every three hours someone dies from a texting related accident?  Over the past few months, the State House has been revising and negotiating the bill to ban texting while driving.  Yesterday the long debate on whether this bill would happen came to rest.  The House voted 188 to 7 to approve the bill for Pennsylvania.  The bill has to be sent back to the Senate for some language tweaking before moving on to the governor, Tom Corbett.  The process should not take long and once approved by both Pennsylvania will join the 30 other states that have past the texting while driving ban.

Senate Bill 314, states that drivers of all ages are prohibited from using interactive wireless communication devices for reading, writing, or sending text messages while driving.  Many Officials are for this bill including Representative Josh Shapiro.  He has been pushing for this anti-texting bill since the beginning.  He said, “This has been a long time coming.  This will no doubt make our roadways safer.”

With this bill, police will be able to pull over anyone texting without having any other problems. Although they can arrest you for texting, they cannot do it for cell phone use, but they can add it as an offense if a driver is pulled over for another offense.  This ban on texting while driving has a generally favorable review from drivers in Pennsylvania.  Folks from Northern Tier say that it is about time.  While this ban cannot stop drivers from texting while driving, it will hopefully make them think twice before texting and driving.

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