Typhoon Haiyan’s Impacts Still Remain in the Philippines

Rachel Locke

Staff Writer

Approximately one month ago, a massive typhoon swarmed through the Philippine Islands. This superstorm, also known as Typhoon Haiyan, caused the fatalities of nearly 6,000 people. There are close to 1,500 still missing from this catastrophe, according to a study by the Philippine government released on Dec. 8.

 According to CNN.com, Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest storms that has ever hit in history. On Nov. 8, 2013, nearly 25 million people were in the typhoon’s path. There were  tremendously powerful winds, with the maximum wind gusts reaching as high as 235 mph. This category five hurricane stormed through the country and caused many to flee to evacuate. As Philippines president Benigno S. Aquino III stated in his address, the nation was involved in such a “calamity.” Roads were closed due to fallen trees and people were urged to stay where they were.  Many people left for shelter at set evacuation centers, where tens of thousands of civilians stayed for days. The most unfortunate part about this superstorm was not only all the fatalities, but the thousands of homes that were damaged in the storm’s path. When many homeowners and their families came back to their home many days after the storm, they came back to absolutely nothing. That was one of the most devastating parts of it all.

 After being the topic of conversation in many other countries not affected by the typhoon, many people decided that there should be a way for other nations to help. The United Nations donated $25 million in an effort to provide food assistance and and basic shelter and necessities. From the United States, an aircraft carrier, USS George Washington, was sent to sail to the Philippine Islands to provide extra assistance to those in need. Along with the carrier, the U.S. also shipped $20 million in immediate aid to use for basic needs. Many other nations, such as Japan, China, Canada, and the United Kingdom have donated dollars and personnel to assist people. Individual families and certain organizations in these countries have collected and shipped supplies to the Philippines. The relief efforts from many countries is certainly put to good use.

 There is still hope for the Philippine Islands and their recovery. There are many ways in which one can help. The Philippines are still in need of temporary shelter in the form of tents.  Donations are being collected by a wide variety of organizations, such as the American Red Cross and UNICEF. Please help to support these islands in their time of need.

Adopt-A-Child Returns to New Hope This Holiday Season

Nicole Martin

Bailey Hendricks
Staff Writers

What do you think when you hear the word Christmas? Do you think presents? Santa Claus? Decorations? Hot chocolate? Fires?  Family? Christmas Trees? Music? Cookies? Or Snow? For some children in our area, these thoughts do not come to mind. It is a time when all of their friends are receiving gifts, but they are in an unfortunate situation where their parents cannot afford the frivolous  things in life, including presents for their own children. No longer is it a season of joy for them, but a season of regret  and sadness  for the thought of waking up to a bare christmas tree.  

New Hope-Solebury High School is pairing up with Adopt-A-Child this year in order to grant the wishes of numerous children. Key Club is running the event partnering with Fisherman’s Mark, getting each homeroom to participate and select one child to grant their holiday wishes. Each homeroom  will attempt to buy each of the items from a child’s list and bring them back to the school on December 19th  in order for them to be delivered  to Fisherman’s Mark, where they will be  handed over to the parents’ possession.  A $150 maximum has been established for each child in order to make it fair in a household with numerous children. Make sure not to wrap the presents and preferably give newly purchased items! December 11th was when the money was due and we have already adopted all of the children, but any further money brought will go towards Giant gift cards for underprivileged families, so they can enjoy a lovely holiday meal. Ms. Soriano has stated that “ Adopt-A-Child is the most rewarding and fulfilling project we (Key Club) do.” Indeed Key Club has made quite a difference again this holiday season.

Adopt-A-Child for the Holidays began in 1995 at Fisherman’s Mark of Lambertville, NJ and they have been working with New Hope-Solebury High School ever since; it was originally started by the Community Service Club, it has now been renamed to Key Club. Since the start Adopt-A-Child has been helping more and more children every year. Starting with about 50 children in 1995 to an amazing number of over 300 in the recent years. To this date not letting one child go giftless for Christmas!

 

New Hope-Solebury’s own Ms. Alexa Gutter is Bucks County Poet Laureate

Bailey Hendricks

Staff Writer

Poet Laureate is an honor that is bestowed upon the poet of the given area who is expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. This person is usually appointed by government or a designated arts group. In the Bucks County area our very own English teacher, Mrs. Gutter was selected for the fresh and original voice present in her intensely crafted poems.

 “I was surprised and honored to get this type of recognition,” said Mrs. Gutter. She has been reading and writing poetry since the very moment she could start--around the age of four. It started just as a form of expression, but as she kept writing it became very rewarding to her to use the language in such a way.

  Mrs. Gutter found her greatest inspiration and influence in the poets Mary Oliver and Pablo Neruda. Neruda was a politically active writer from Chile whose poems she found just beautiful. Oliver wrote about the beauty and simplicity of nature, another topic Mrs. Gutter enjoyed as a child and enjoys now as an accomplished poet in her own right. We interviewed her before her first official reading was on Sunday, Nov. 17, and she was very forthcoming about what she was thinking about.

 “My reading this weekend, getting through that,” she said during a Thursday interview, but the award was definitely a good push to get her work out there and to start publishing. “I always thought I would just write when I got older.”

 She was surprised to receive such an honor so early on in her career, but she is eager to take up the challenge. With such great talent Mrs. Gutter could have easily pursued a writing career, but to her “it just didn’t seem realistic.” She loves teaching, and it allows her to continue writing. “Teaching doesn’t feel completely separate from writing,” she said.

  “I tried to capture moments that stuck out as meaningful or beautiful,” Mrs. Gutter said of the series of ten poems she selected to enter the competition.  

  One memory was of the birth of her nephew, while the other was of the time a man jumped in front of the train she was traveling on.

  “I like my poems to be sad, funny, beautiful, and true all at once. That is my goal.”

 Her many students at New Hope-Solebury High School are very proud of her. Mrs. Gutter “is a fun, creative, and inspirational teacher.” said Katie Steele, a freshman. Nicole Martin told us, “She pushes us to think deeply and expand our thought process. She’s always creative in how she goes about teaching us new things.” It is truly a rare experience to have someone with such high honors as a teacher, but all of us here at NHS are very fortunate to have this experience.

  As for Mrs. Gutter’s reading this past Sunday, it went very well, and she seemed very pleased when talking about it with students.

  Mrs. Gutter also wanted to tell young and aspiring poets to read. “Read as much good poetry as you can. That is where you learn by seeing others skills.”

  She also extolled the value of working with others. You can learn so much from your fellow poets.

  From everyone at New Hope-Solebury High School, Congratulations Mrs. Gutter!

Tim Radar connects to students

 Dalton Waterman
Sports Editor

Over the years the class of 2014 has gone through numerous dull presentations about drug prevention. Every time some doctor or some person that knows about all of the negative impacts drugs can have stands up there, they pour all of their knowledge onto the students and think that they will come to an epiphany and never do drugs again. The fact is that we listen to those presentations as they are happening, but immediately after, there is harsh mockery of the presentation; and not too soon after that there is no memory of what was supposed to be an informative drug assembly. It was soon realized that in order to get to students about drugs, there has to be a story behind it that teaches a lesson. When the sophomores and juniors took the PSATs, the senior class was inspired by a motivational person, with a heartwarming and informative story.

  Tim Rader is a former straight A student, captain of the football team, and one of the most popular kids in his school, but this soon became a thing of the past as he fell into the downward spiral of drug addiction. He started off talking about his high school days. He kept going back to how he tried to please everyone and get everyone to like him. He talked about his football days and how he was going to get recruited and get a full scholarship. He talked about how he saved his little cousins life when he rescued her from drowning in the pool. He talked about all of the friends he had, and how everyone liked him. It’s ironic because he succeeded in getting everyone to like him, but ultimately it is what ruined his life.

  All it takes is a couple of bad choices to spiral your life out of control. He explained how he made those mistakes, but he thought that nothing would happen to him, and nothing did for a while, until addiction came back to ruin his life. Addiction will always decide when to come back and ruin you, even if you have it all. This was the biggest lesson he was trying to teach through his life story.

  He kept mentioning how all of these drug presenters came to his school droned on and on about the effects of drugs, and how he would get nothing out of it. His story was inspirational and it seemed to move a lot of people. He even said that if you don’t get anything out of this presentation take a couple of “I nevers” and hold onto them for the rest of your life, but it seemed that everyone did get something out of  this presentation because it was different. If there is one presentation about drugs that the seniors will remember, it will be this one.

Navy Yard shooting highlights violence in the workplace

Matt Firth

Staff Writer

 On September 12, a flood devastated over 2,000 square miles of the Front Range of Colorado. Over eight inches of rain soaked the area. Many have called it a “thousand year event” because of the excessive rain and unprecedented flooding. So far eight people have been found dead, over 100 miles of road damaged, and thousands of homes have been ruined.

 Almost Immediately after the floods, President Obama, as well as Governor John Hickenlooper stepped in. The day after the floods began, Obama gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency permission to begin giving aid to the region. On Sept. 13, Hickenlooper said in the Denver Post, “Each time an issue arises, we’re saying ‘all right, do we need a special session or can we deal with that,’ “ on the topic of convening a special session to assess the damage and decide what to do. The next day he signed for $20 million for disaster relief.

 Everything began on Monday, Sept. 9, as rain began to fall over the Front Range. In just 24 hours almost a year’s worth of rain was dropped on the area. Over 2,000 homes were destroyed by the torrents of water that surged down roads and transformed small creeks into rivers. Roads and bridges were badly damaged and many were destroyed. Along with the eight dead, thousands of people have been evacuated.

 Approximately 14,000 people were evacuated, due in large part to the National Guard who began to evacuate people on Friday. Three thousand people and 900 pets have been evacuated by helicopter, and hundreds more from “high profile” trucks that “wade” through the water. Of the thousands originally missing, the final six were found alive on Tuesday. There is only one person left unaccounted for, but is believed to be dead.

 Among many activists there has been a severe concern about the multitude of fracking wells in the path of the floods, and recently their worries were confirmed. Many fracking and oil wells were destroyed, releasing chemicals and oil into the water. In Weld County, the site of thousands of fracking wells, many were submerged, and even some tanks containing the waste produced by the fracking were torn away. This connects to people living in Pennsylvania because of the immense amount of fracking going on in the state. Due to the high concern the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took helicopters out to do an aerial survey. They were looking for oil sheens, but were also on the lookout for any signs that an event like the Yellowstone River pipeline rupture of 2011 could happen again.

New Hope Wears It Pink

Bailey Hendricks
Staff Writer

Friday, October 18, 2013, New Hope Solebury High School was wearing it pink. Every year the Key Club sells t-shirts to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This year Key Club  sold over 200 t-shirts, raising between $800-1,000 according to Jessica Greenup, a key Club homeroom representative.

 Student government initiated a pink out at Friday night games. The football team had an outstanding win of 33-0 against Jenkintown Drakes. It was nice to see everyone out and supporting not just our school but also a great cause.

 In the United States alone in 2013, 232,340 woman have been diagnosed with breast cancer, but not just women are prone to the disease. Over 400 men have been diagnosed in 2013. Statistically this type of cancer affects about 1.3 in 100,000 men and 120.9 in 100,000 woman. It is not just a national issue though, it is much more personal than that. When surveying NHS students the Lion’s Tale found that more than 6 in 10 students know someone that has been affected, ranging from math tutors to moms. New Hope however isn't willing to let that go. Guys and girls alike were willing to put on their pink and stand up to a disease that has touched almost all of us at some point.

 There are other ways to show your support outside of school though. The Susan G. Komen Foundation holds 5k races for the cure, with 140 races around the US. There is no need to run though you can raise money or volunteer, but if you're really feeling it you could run.

 Although October has already passed and breast cancer awareness month is over, it doesn't mean you cannot still show our support. So, don't bury those shirts in the back of the closet and wait for next year to roll around again. Wear them with pride, knowing that you are doing the right thing, you are standing up to Breast Cancer.

School Shooting in Nevada

Lauren Mangano
Opinions Editor

On Monday, October 21, Sparks Middle School in Nevada was sent into chaos when a student opened fire in the early morning, wounding two students and killing a teacher. The shooter then turned to gun on himself.

 According to CNN, “Students described...how they ran into the school screaming and crying when they realized the pops they heard were gunshots just before the morning bell welcomed them back from fall break.”

 The shooter had taken a semiautomatic handgun from his parents to get the job done; his motive is still unclear.

 Amaya Newton, a student at Sparks Middle School, told CNN that the student who opened fire was always “a really nice kid” and made people smile whenever they were having a bad day. Newton also commented saying that she thought the shooter was friends with the two 12-year-old schoolmates he wounded.

 One of the wounded students was shot in the stomach, and the other was shot in the shoulder.

 Mike Landsberry, a popular math teacher at the school as well as a former Marine, was killed in the midst of the shooting. Reggie Landsberry, his brother, said that Mike was probably trying to “talk the kid down and protect whoever he could,” when he was killed outside on the playground.

 City officials said authorities received emergency calls about the shooting at around 7:15 a.m. on Monday morning. According to authorities, students were taken to a nearby high school to meet their parents. School was cancelled for a week for the students at Sparks, and it was cancelled for a day at closeby Agnes Risley Elementary School.

 As one of several school shootings this year in the U.S., Sparks Middle School is not alone in their recovery. A shooting took place at an Atlanta middle school in January, as well as in a high school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in August. And the country still has not forgotten about the Newtown shooting, when 26 students were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

 The tragic shooting in Nevada is just another reminder that parents, teachers, and schools need to continue finding solutions to keep students safe.