Japan's tragedy is our tragedy By Grahm Kwasnick

Over the past month and a half, through many forms of media that shrink the globe each day, one key event that shook the world on March 11 towers above every other story.  Newspapers have printed thousands of stories covering the event, radio stations have rambled countless hours about the event and news stations have had daily reports updating those who don't know about the earthquake that devastated Japan.
   
My generation needs a reminder that there are much more important things happening around the world than, “Oh my god! Can you believe what happened on Jersey Shore last night?”

Why do I feel compelled to report this story? Simple. It can affect you directly, and it probably already has. 

On March 11th a magnitude 9 earthquake shook all of Japan – in fact the world – on the northeast coast of that country. It was the biggest earthquake Japan has had in 100 years. Aside from the obvious damage to Japan's buildings, homes, cities and towns, the country's nuclear reactors took an unexpected hit. What many people think occurred was that the earthquake crumbled their power plant, which is false. What actually occurred was that due to the earthquake, the power plant's cooling system was affected and the fuel in the nuclear reactor was getting far too hot to be contained. However, Japan made a very intelligent move in making this plant, because thinking that an event like this may happen some day, the reactor's thick steel lining kept the fuel contained. Once the reactor became aware that its cooling system had given way, the backup generators kicked in. All seemed fine.

Then, one hour later, a second disaster hit Japan. A tsunami had taken out more of Japan's civilization as well as the generators and oil storage tanks. The Fukushima plant was designed to withstand a 6-metre tsunami, but the one that struck Japan was a massive, 15-metre tsunami –  which proved to be too massive for the plant to hold back. This tsunami killed 10,000-plus people, which left thousands in grief, as well as thousands missing among the wreckage.

Once this occurred, every reactor that was hit went into what is called “cold shutdown,” which cools the hot fuel in the reactors, but keeps the water circulating. However three of Japan's oldest plants weren't so lucky. At these three plants, once the power was lost, the water pressure drastically rose, causing the temperature of the plants to rise into unsafe amounts. The lining of the three plants couldn't sustain the temperatures, and burst. This is the image that captivated television viewers and web surgers.

Once the quake shook, the tsunami hit and the three reactors blew; the number one priority was to evacuate those that were in danger. Thousands were highly recommended to evacuate homes or businesses anywhere near the Fukushima area. Once this news made its way to the United States, the US Air Force assisted by flying emergency coolant to the site to cool the plant's damaged reactors down and ensure safety for civilians who hadn't yet evacuated.  However, in a bold move, Japanese declined the Air Force's offer and said that they wanted to handle this problem themselves.

So how can this affect you? Well, we may be temporarily safe here on the East Coast, but those who live on the West Coast face a much scarier reality. Those who live near the coasts of California, Washington and Oregon were ordered to evacuate due to the suspicion of another quake hitting the United States. Or, has it already made its presence?

California has been long overdue for an earthquake much like the recent one in Japan. California is home to the San Andreas Fault. However geologist Mark Johnson recently gave Capitol Weekly some reassuring words on a quake hitting California: “A magnitude 9 earthquake requires rupturing a fault surface thousands of square miles in area. The shallow faults making up most of California’s fault systems, including the San Andreas, simply do not have sufficient area to generate such an earthquake.”

There are many reports and stories out there confirming that California's San Andreas Fault simply cannot produce a magnitude 9 earthquake like the one that struck Japan on March 11th. Others insist that California is a ticking time bomb; the most pessimistic say it is bound to happen within the next five years. However many people are unaware that California has earthquakes daily. While they may not be as massive, they still shake the feet beneath Hollywood and give its inhabitants a good old fashioned “Hello” from mother nature. Nevada had a 4.2 magnitude earthquake in mid-April. But these are nothing like the aftershocks that Japan is still receiving today. On April 12, as we were thinking about April vacation, there was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Eastern Honshu, Japan. Nobody knows when they will subside.

By now, hopefully, you are aware of the immense travesty that is occurring overseas for the people of Japan. There are many relief funds to help aid the people who have lost everything, one being the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, which had rasied $3.6 million as of mid-April. Your donations are most helpful as you can imagine. You can donate to the organization through this link: http://www.japansociety.org/earthquake

Information for this article came from the following sources:

http://articles.cnn.com

http://bbc.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Yuck! Plagued With PDA by Isabella Baker

The student handbook clearly states: “Public Displays of Affection are not permitted. Hand holding and brief friendly hugs are permissible.” Why, then, do we see it so often?

There are some teachers who don’t pay attention to PDA, because it is no use stressing over an issue that will likely never be resolved since the culprits involved are a bunch of “in love” hormone-crazed teenagers. We all know that every teenager has authority issues to some extent, and who is really going to care about one school rule when it involves your relationship? You would do anything for that one special person, wouldn’t you? So who cares about the possibility of a silly detention? I mean, it is your life and you do have rights ... right?

Well, especially for any of us who have taken Mr. Carter’s Comparative Government class, you know that while we are in school, we give up some of those rights. For example, if you are at a store or a restaurant with your boyfriend/girlfriend and you kiss them, you have the right to do so. Chances are no one will say anything and you won’t get in trouble. However, when you kiss or make out with your boyfriend/girlfriend in the hallways at school, students react and teachers either call you out or at least notice and keep an eye on you from time to time. Think of school as your job. Wherever you work, you have to abide by the rules. You have to follow the dress code, behavioral rules and more. If you do not follow those rules then you get punished. These punishments, however, will differ greatly. In school you get warnings and detentions. At work, you can get fired.

How many times a day do you witness PDA? Once? Maybe twice? Many of us witness it two or three times on our way to each of our classes, which is a problem. Some people may think it’s cute or they may make jokes about it just for fun, but the real issues are the reactions we do not see or hear. That’s right. A lot of people -- young people -- get disgusted when they witness PDA.

When I asked how often they witness PDA in our school over the course of one day, 40 percent of students asked said 1-10 times, 20 percent say 10-20 times, and 40 percent say they witness it multiple times whenever they are in the hallway. This is clearly an issue.

Also, when asked how they feel about PDA in the school hallways, one student said “I feel like it is a distraction to my learning.”  Another student said “If you care that much about someone, you don’t have to show the whole world.”  Many students said PDA is disgusting or unacceptable, while some said it does not bother them. Some students even say that they see some people get away with more than others do.

Which leads us to the next question: “How well do you think the teachers do enforcing the ‘No PDA’ rule?”  This question was particularly interesting. Many students believe that the teachers just don’t enforce the rule or that they only care about the more extreme things, others say they do enforce it but are not successful. Some students even said, “There’s a rule?”  If the majority of students are saying that nothing is really being done, something is wrong.

According to students, most PDA occurs in the stairwells, where hallways branch out on both floors, and especially right outside of classrooms. If this is the case, why isn’t it being stopped? Do teachers really know how students feel about the PDA in our school? If not, would they make it clear that they are trying to fix it? My answer is this: it is not solely the teachers’ job. It is everyone’s job. We as a school should work to stop or at least reduce PDA. If it bothers you, tell someone. If you are a common offender, save it for outside of school. A relationship should be between two people - not the whole school.

Smart dogs train at PRHS to help college students by Kelley Handy (Photo credit to Bianca L'Italien)

You’ve noticed a few dogs running the halls here at PRHS, right? OK, maybe they're not running, but they're walking around with students and they're easy to spot. They are, quite literally, college bound.

These dogs are in training to become service dogs for college students who have physical impairments. I am sure you have seen or heard about me taking a few falls here and there. Picture someone like me in college with a  dog that is trained to help people walk, open doors, pick things up, and do “every day” activities that most of us take for granted. Of course, these dogs make for great companions.

These five puppies come to school every other day to learn the correct way to behave in a school setting. Students and their parents work 24/7 preparing these dogs. While most of you are sleeping on Saturday mornings at 8 a.m., student dog trainers and their dogs are at PRHS, working on and learning new skills.

Emily Buell and her family started the College Bound Canines program here in Maine when she moved from Arizona. The program there was going well until unforeseen and unavoidable situations developed. When Titan was left with no handler, Emily happily stepped up to the plate. Sadly, Titan could not be remain in the program due to bladder issues. But the Buells kept him at home, even though he was no longer a PRHS student! Now he is the ambassador of the program and demonstrates his skill whenever needed.

There are many different feelings surrounding the dogs being here at Poland. But for the most part, students seem to enjoy having them.

“It makes it feel like you’re more at home, and more comfortable with them here,” said Ms. Ross, who has helped with this program as well.

The major concern is allergies. “We want this program but there’s only so much we can do, said our principal, Ms. Medd. “I know it’s a huge commitment and these students should be commended for it.”

Although her dog training job is stressful, Emily Buell enjoys the rewards that this program gives. She enjoys helping people and dogs. Put these two together and it is a perfect fit for Emily.

"It's going to give (college students) more independence,'' Emily said. “ It's going to help them out all the way through the rest of their dog's life. It'll open doors for them in college. It'll make a difference in somebody's life in a really, really positive way."

College Bound Canines continue to move forward every day one step at a time. If you are interested in learning more about this program please visit www.collegeboundcanines.com and watch a video showing what these dogs will be able to do after there training!

Is This Any of Your Business? By Grahm Kwasnick

Students here at Poland Regional High School are part of a small community. With roughly 2,800 people in Minot, 2,500 in Mechanic Falls and 5,000 in Poland, you can safely say we’re no big city. Within our three towns, there are many families and locally owned businesses that keep the community running. They also help define the community.

Over the past ten years, there have been some bigger businesses making their way into our towns. They offer more products, perhaps even better products, and their service is unmatched – they are next-door neighbors of the school, in fact. But they are not locally owned. The change has been slow and steady, so it's easy not to notice – unless you take a long, hard look at your hometown.

Where once stood an old warehouse, now stands Dunkin Donuts, Subway, a bank, a natural foods grocery store, a physical therapy center and a Family Dollar. We're not talking mega malls, but we are talking about brand name businesses we see advertised around the world. They are popping up in more and more places around the state, and throughout the country. But as delightful as getting that warm cup of coffee before school is, could these businesses slowly kill off the local ones that have been around for years? Are they paving the way for even bigger business to make our towns look like any other place in the USA?

The Subway situated next to Dunkin Donuts, less than a half-mile from our school, has become a hot spot for athletes looking for a meal after a long practice. The Family Dollar is perfect for picking up last-minute things you may need around the house (or a Roundtable party, for that matter). But we can all say that the Dunkin Donuts is grabbing most of the attention from students and faculty members of our school. Every morning in the PRHS lobby I sit and watch how many people come in with Dunkin Donuts. Within minutes I have lost count.

(Which reminds me, why is it that students get such beverages as Coffee Coolatas or Iced Coffees when it's freezing outside? It just never clicks in my head. You’d think, “Oh it’s cold outside, I had better get something warm to drink.” Nope. OK, maybe it’s just me.)

A more important question is whether national chain stores are taking over our towns and putting family-owned businesses out of work. The students and faculty alone keep that Dunkin Donuts afloat. PRHS must be responsible for several hundred dollars of revenue there before the bells ring for A or F blocks. So what's next, if we're all creatures of habit and convenience?  Burger King? Pizza Hut?

How about the Big Daddy of them all?  Wal-Mart, welcome to Poland!

But first , let's talk about why these national chains succeed. With a full cash register at the end of every day, Dunkin Donuts plans to stay here for a long time. New students will always come in. And they will soon realize that the “icky stuff”  Dad drinks all the time is actually pretty good. More consumers equals more profit and more word-of-mouth advertising (which doesn't stop the television or radio commercials).  If a Burger King moved into one of the open buildings on Route 26, would it get business? You bet it would! You think caffeine and sugar are addictive? Never underestimate the power of salt, grease and fat!

The same economic principles apply to Wal-Mart. They provide products that people use, prices that people can afford, and they are right there, just a quick drive away. Every day.

Despite its track record of swallowing up locally owned and operated business,  Wal-Mart is and has been leaving a rather positive mark in connection with its name. Wal-Mart has become one of America’s “bests.” If the game is capitalism and a free-market economy (our game of choice in America), Wal-Mart is winning. 

In a very lengthy article I stumbled upon on the Internet, a man named Paul Kirklin had a lot of positive things to say about Wal-Mart. Here's his opening paragraph:

“Wal-Mart is one of the great shining examples of what a market economy can achieve. If I were to give a tour of the United States to visitors from a socialist country, who are used to experiencing chronic shortages of almost everything, Wal-Mart would be one of the first places I would take them. It is a perfect symbol of one of the most remarkable things that we have — an enormous variety of high quality, low cost products that are available to virtually everyone throughout the United States.” You can read the rest of his article at (http://mises.org/daily/2219).

Wikipedia offers some chilling stats on Wal-Mart – draw your own conclusions:

 “In 2005, Walmart had $312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200 facilities around the world—including 3,800 stores in the United States and 2,800 elsewhere, employing more than 1.6 million 'associates' worldwide.” Those statistics are six years old. It's a safe bet that Wal-Mart has not slowed down, even during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

If you fear Wal-Mart, rest easy. There's one in Oxford and another in Auburn, 20 miles apart, so it doesn't appear to make a lot of sense to put one in the middle.

On the other hand, if you love Wal-Mart (that would be an interesting PRHS poll), you may be overjoyed to avoid those trips to Oxford and Auburn. Think about it. Add a Wal-Mart to the Dunkin Donuts, Subway and Family Dollar … you may never, ever leave Poland!

Just don't call it your hometown. That baby is long gone.

*Photo credit to http://www.onefastbuffalo.com/Post.aspx?ui=10&title=La&nbsp%3BMadeleine&nbsp%3BEmbraces&nbsp%3BFrench-ness&postid=129*