By Rachel Lau
Staff Writer On August 24, Wallstreet received a huge surprise in stocks. The Dow lost over 1,000 points in early trading. A bad plunge like this hasn’t happened since October 2008. At the end of the day the Dow had lost 588 points, which has been the worst one-day loss since August 2011. Many factors influence the global markets. China in particular is a factor that is heavily focused on because of its impact. In June, China’s market went down -40% from its original number. With all of this loss in stocks, it’s also affecting oil and gas prices. On August 28 oil prices dropped below $40 for the first time since the Great Recession due to the fall in stocks. Senior Braden Naumann said, “I think gas prices are reasonable.” Carson Fritsch, who is an oil analyst, expects China’s problems to push a barrel of oil as low as $30 within the next few months. The global economy depends on the price of oil to boost our economic growth. Along with our own economy, Europe’s, China’s, and developing country’s are all weakening. At the same time, vehicles are becoming more energy efficient, so the demand for fuel isn’t what it once was. Senior Ethan Lane said, “I think gas prices are too high and they drain my bank account. I’m glad they are slowly dropping.” The two largest consumers of oil are The United States and China. Gas prices have fallen 40 percent in the past 6 months. There will always be a fluctuation in gas and oil prices as they have a history of doing so.
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By Helen Zeidman
Staff Writer The new school year is well underway, and the times have changed. The Red Lion High School has gotten a new schedule. Since last school year, the administration has implemented a new school schedule with updated class period lengths, the removal of the flex period, and the addition of an Academic Prep period. Instead of the daily rotating twenty minutes formerly known as Flex Period, a new feature has been added to the schedule: Academic Prep. This 38-minute period will take place in your homeroom and will occur every day between third and fourth period. According to Principal Mark Shue, “Academic prep will serve all kinds of different functions.” Some of the uses for this new period include classroom remediation, catching up on missed work, club meetings, and special projects. The period will work on a request system. Either a student can fill out a request form to ask to spend the academic prep period with a certain teacher, or a teacher can request to spend the period with a student. A student is not allowed to leave their homeroom without a request. With the addition of academic prep, students will not have to memorize a dozen different schedules. “There will be the same bell schedule every day,” Mr. Shue said. The decision to the switch from flex period to the academic prep period follows a principle of human nature. “Human beings love consistency and structure. Academic prep gives everyone both,” Mr. Shue said. The consistency can also be helpful to teachers. Ms. Ayres, the librarian and yearbook coordinator, admitted that she enjoys the structure of the new period. “Personally, I like the consistency in the schedule. I don’t feel like I constantly have to think about what is coming next, so it is one less thing to worry about in a teacher’s busy day,” Ayres said. Academic prep also gives students the opportunity to finish their work during school hours instead of having to stay after school. If a student misses a class due to a sport, or because of an appointment, they can make up the work in the academic prep period. Allyson Ayres has her homeroom with the yearbook staff. With the extra time that the academic prep period provides, Ms. Ayres plans to improve the yearbook. “The time will allow us to complete quality work in a timely fashion,” Ayres said. “It will give students the opportunity to use their creative skills because they will have more time.” As this school year begins, the high school is saying goodbye to flex and hello to a brand new schedule designed to meet the needs of students and teachers. By Giuliano Favorito Staff Writer There’s one man in this school who’s been at Red Lion longer than anyone. That’s Mr. Sam Neff. He graduated from Red Lion in 1967, when most of the current Red Lion student’s parents were not even born. Mr. Neff played three different sports; football, basketball, and baseball, and excelled in all of them. In basketball, he was an all county athlete, the first 1,000 point scorer at Red Lion, and received scholarship offers from several Division II colleges. However, his real passion was football, where he played quarterback and led Red Lion to 30 consecutive wins. He received offers from the Universities of Maryland, Tennessee, Minnesota, Clemson and Delaware, to name only a few. Initially, Neff committed to Maryland, but the coach who recruited him was leaving his coaching position, so Neff de-committed from Maryland and committed to Delaware. Neff didn’t initially choose Delaware because he thought their helmets weren’t the most appealing. He took the reigns of the team midway through his junior year, and never looked back. Neff called every single one of his plays, unlike today where the plays come from the sideline. By his senior year, his offense averaged about 470 yards and about 40 points per game, not to mention a number one national ranking. At the end of the season, Neff and Delaware were crowned national champions. He had phone calls from NFL teams but said that football wasn’t his life and he wanted to do other things. Now Mr. Neff has a big family and is in his 43rd year teaching. When asked if he plans on retiring anytime soon, he answered simply “I’m having too much fun.” Health Teacher Mr. Matt Denish attended Red Lion in the early 2000s, ran track and field, cross country, and played basketball. He excelled in all sports, bringing many championships to Red Lion. His cross country teams brought four county championships to the school and earned a spot in the state playoff. In basketball, Mr. Dennish turned the heads of several division two schools who were recruiting him. In track, he currently holds the 800-meter run record with a time of 1:54 and helped the 4x800 meter relay team grab the school record with a time of 7:53. Dennish said his times at states (like a 4:14 mile time) and desire to win are really what caught the eyes of Division I schools like Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, and East Carolina. Ultimately, Mr. Dennish chose East Carolina on a scholarship for track and field because other schools didn’t have the Health and Phys. Ed. major he wanted to take. East Carolina is where he ran alongside NFL running back Chris Johnson and broke the school’s mile record with a time of 4:08 and the schools distance melody record (combination of 4 distance events). He earned a spot on the All-Academic team that honored the best runners with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. He attributes his success to sleeping right, eating right, working hard, and being coachable. Biology Teacher Brad Lloyd went to Red Lion and is one of the school’s most decorated wrestlers of all-time. He is a three time county champion, a three time district three finalist and his senior year placed third in the state, losing to the number one ranked wrestler in the nation. What separated Lloyd? “Hating to lose,” Lloyd said. “Every morning I came to school, swam a half mile to a mile, went to practice, and then went home to lift weights or run and then repeat. I over-trained, but I had a goal.” That work ethic didn’t go to waste as Lloyd earned a scholarship to division one Lock Haven University to wrestle. Remember the number one wrestler in the nation who beat Mr.Lloyd in high school? He went on to Penn State, and Mr. Lloyd got some revenge with a win against him. Lloyd was a three time all-American and went to the NCAA tournament his freshman year and placed seventh. The following year, he placed third and by his senior year, Mr. Lloyd wrestled for the national championship and placed second in an overtime match. Now, Mr. Lloyd is a member of our science department. JD Granger hasn’t spent his whole life studying chromosomes and cutting up frogs in his free time. No, once upon a time Mr.Granger played football. And he didn’t just play--he dominated.
Granger attended South Western High School and played linebacker for the Mustangs. His senior year, he helped his team reach a perfect 10-0 record and a spot in the district playoff (back then, only four teams could qualify compared to today’s sixteen). This attracted the attention of several Division II coaches. Granger never thought he was on that playing level, until one day, he was sitting in class and was told to go to the office because the East Stroudsburg University coach wanted to see him. Granger attended ESU on a football scholarship and fought his way into a special teams spot his freshmen year. In a game against the number one team in the nation, IUP, (one of Granger’s first ever college games) he picked up a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown. His sophomore year Granger started four games on defense and after that year he started every single game for the rest of his collegiate career. His senior year, he was voted co-captain by his teammates. Granger graduated, and is now one of Red Lion’s biology teachers. He has been coaching football for the past thirteen years. By Bella McCarey Co-Editor-in-Chief Around the United States this past Patriot’s Day, people celebrated their pride and appreciation for this country and for those serving in the military. The National Journal reported people, especially military servicemen and veterans, laying flowers down on a bench in Washington DC that represents victims from the 9/11 attacks. NewYork.CBSlocal.com covered the ceremonies held at the World Trade Center Memorial and 9/11 Museum, as families remembered loved ones whom they lost during the attacks. Red Lion came together on Patriot’s Day to serve the community along with men and women who had already served their community in the military. Participants of the first official Habitat for Humanity 2014-2015 season consisted of Officer Mark Greenley, Mr. Cal Vanada and Mrs. Val Stone. “It only makes sense, spending the day giving back because of all those who lost their lives on this day, and those who serve and protect us daily,” said Dr. Scott Deisley. To Dr. Deisley, it was inspirational to see how far the house has come and to see that process continue on a day like Patriot’s Day. “I like to come here a couple times a month, when my schedule allows,” he said. “And I think our participation will increase. More folks are signing up than we can use.” The student response for Habitat has been very positive since the start last spring. Mr. Grant Gouker reports many students signed up last year, and even more signed up this year. Junior McKayla Cooley was one of the student volunteers on Patriot’s Day. “I do it because it’s a good cause, like helping the family out,” she said. “I live nearby, so everyday I got to see how it progressed.” Cooley, as well as the other volunteers, were working on placing up drywall in the main rooms of the house. Loud noises from hammers, drills, and boisterous chatter filled the house. Officer Greenley was found wedged in a wall, hammering dry wall. “I was skeptical at first, about coming today, but it has been great,” said Officer Greenley. “I really wanted to forget the tragedy of today, so it was a great way to forget and remember by representing the school and the Air Force.” Lending a hand to a great cause was certainly one way to forget the tragedy associated with that day. Red Lion has always been a community that bands together in times of need and the Habitat house is a representation of the district.
By Ian Adler Staff Writer “Yesterday was awful,” said Mrs. Carrie Smeltzer after receiving chemotherapy treatment. A health teacher at Red Lion Area Senior High School and a continuing fighter of cancer, Mrs Smeltzer graduated from Red Lion in 2000 and has been teaching at the same school since 2005. Mrs. Smeltzer was first diagnosed with breast cancer on December 20, 2011. “I was angry, I had a baby six months before and was supposed to be happy but at 30 years old, here I was.” Family and friends were speechless and heartbroken, however her husband had remained strong, supportive and “awesome.” She was declared “cancer-free” on May 30, 2012. Yet, there was still a problem. Cancerous cells remained in her body. “The pain in my arm I got while teaching turned out to be cancer that had spread, which is a scary thought.” Round two of her fight began on June 17, 2013. “I was angry but I knew I had to pick myself up and live with it,” she said. Family and friends were still shocked. Smeltzer says she “does not want the cancer to hold her back” and she looks forward to teaching in the upcoming school year and sharing her story of bravery and victory. Red Lion 2011 graduate Andrew Zeller and K-12 technology coach Mrs. Smith have been working hard to help out the Smeltzer family any way they can, and the money used toward the t-shirts goes to the family of four. “I came up with the idea of the shirt the day that I found out her cancer was back,” said Zeller. “Little did she know I was serious and that I would eventually try selling them to everyone that she has been able to grace her presence with.” It appears that Mrs. Smeltzer is not alone in this fight and she has a whole team to back her up for “round two”. |
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