Our Voice

February

2011

A product of the Stevens Point Journal & Boys & Girls Club

Happy INSIDE: History of Valentine’s Day

SPASH’S Madrigal Dinner Our Voice Poetry Contest

2

February 2011

HISTORY OF

By Hanna Burch Our Voice Staff St. Peter Middle School Eighth-Grader

Students share their thoughts on the romantic day

Valentine’s Day you have for it to be considered romantic or cheesy. Also, I think the day should remind us of love and how important it is to love one another,” Raflik said.

Eighth-grader Rebecca Hoerter thinks of Valentine’s Day as a holiday for love. She doesn’t have any special plans for the day, and the only tradition her family has is that her mom always gets her and her sister a small box of chocolates.

“I think Valentine’s Day is worth celebrating if you have someone to celebrate it with (like a boyfriend),” said eighth-grader Lisa Buelow at St. Paul Lutheran School. “Otherwise it isn’t that great because it can be a sad day for people that just had a breakup or something and the day just brings back memories.”

Source of history: History.com

Yellow Friendship and joy Pink Gratitude, appreciation and admiration White Humility, purity and innocence; often associated with young love Or, if you’re feeling ambitious and really want to earn big points, you can have your roses dipped in gold or platinum. You can’t go wrong with that.

SAY IT WITH ROSES

While receiving a dozen roses every now and then is a fantastic surprise, be careful what color you pick out for your significant other. When in doubt, stick with red. And whatever you do, don’t hand your best gal a yellow rose — meaning friendship — if romance is really what you mean.

Here’s a list of some popular colors for roses and what they mean: Red The lover’s rose; signifies romantic love and enduring passion Purple Enchantment and love at first sight Orange Enthusiasm and desire

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T

he true story of how Valentine’s Day came to be is a mystery, but some facts and theories are known about the annually romantic day.

February has been a romantic month for a while. Valentine’s Day, as we know it, contains both Christian and ancient Rome traditions.

Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, a specially recognized person in the Roman Catholic faith.

One legend says Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. An emperor at that time, Claudius II, decided that single men were to become soldiers instead of husbands and fathers. Valentine disagreed with the emperor, so he married men and women in secret.

When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s doings, he sentenced him to death.

Another legend says Valentine sent the first valentine ever. While he was in prison, he fell in love with a girl who visited the prison often. Before he died, he wrote her a letter and signed it, “From Your Valentine.”

Whatever the truth may be, many American’s will celebrate the special day with candy, gifts, cards and hearts.

Some students at St. Peter Middle School shared their thoughts, feelings and traditions about the day.

Seventh-grader Emily Hoerter says she thinks Valentine’s Day is both romantic and cheesy, but it’s nothing special in her family.

Eighth-grader Hannah Raflik said she doesn’t have any plans or special traditions for Valentine’s Day. “It depends on what kind of

VALENTINE’S DAY

3

February 2011

‘We should be accepted’

By Landon Nied Our Voice Staff Stevens Point Area Senior High Junior

L

ooking through today’s fashion catalogs, it’s no mystery that men are no longer limited to wearing a dress shirt and tie to look fancy.

A rise in popularity of metrosexuality is rapidly changing the appearance of men everywhere.

Metrosexuality is essentially the ability for men to get in touch with their “feminine side” by putting a high importance on how they look. This includes wearing fashionable clothing, being open to having manicures and pedicures, putting effort into their hairstyle design, among other things that many people consider “feminine.” Although the metrosexual man is a concept that many Americans are still adjusting to, their popularity in Europe is quite large. Companies such as Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, and Christian Dior are popular clothing suppliers to metrosexual

METROSEXUAL CLOTHING CHANGING APPEARANCE OF MEN men, and popular American stores such as Forever 21 and Express are taking notice to the metrosexual craze as well.

Twenty years ago, a man who was anything close to metrosexual was considered a homosexual. At that time, metrosexuality was simply wearing a nice sweater and pants!

Nowadays, many Americans are still having trouble accepting those who are metrosexual as heterosexuals, but many of these people have tried for long periods of time to show the world that appearance has nothing to do with sexuality.

That’s where I, personally, come in.

Being a metrosexual (and occasionally gender-bending)

high school student, I come across people who are intolerant of metrosexuality daily.

But I believe that I am living proof that appearance has no effect on anything.

Men should be allowed to wear clothing items such as V-neck shirts, slim, leather pants, and scarves, as well as fashionable boots, purses (commonly referred to for men as “man-purses,” or “murses”),andfeminine accessories. Men should not be mocked for the way they look! Plus, in the case of genderbending men, we should be accepted for using various cosmetics, such as eye makeup and foundation.

Looking in the media, people such as Ryan Seacrest, Tom Cruise, Zac Efron, and Chace

Crawford are wellknown metrosexuals who are heterosexual as well.

There are also popular “genderbenders,” such as Adam Lambert and Jeffree Star. Their success and fan base is a sign of people becoming more comfortable with the metrosexual lifestyle, but the intolerance is still very high. Once people, high school students in particular, can look at a metrosexual man without automatically assuming that his fashion sense reflects his gender, then people such as myself will become comfortable with sharing their controversial appearance with the general public.

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February 2011

Houghton Ski Trip 2010

By Danielle Pederson Our Voice Staff P.J. Jacobs Junior High School Ninth-Grader

Dec. 28, 2010 e are off and running to Houghton, Mich., at seven sharp. Three families are joining us on our caravan. All in count for this wonderful trip is: The Jordan family, the Kraft family, the Timmerman family, Hailey Thompson, the Barnes family, the Anderson family, the McGibbon family, the Williams family, the Medo family and our family (Pederson). Let’s get ready for the four-hour drive.

An hour and a half into the trip and we have made it to Rhinelander. I would say we are making good time, plus no one has killed anyone yet.

We reach Afterglow Resort, all super excited. We

W

Ninth-grader shares Michigan ski trip experience broke up our drive and did the thing we all love to do….ski. Two hours later, many miles have been skied. We ate our yummy lunches and took naps the rest of the way to Houghton, Mich. Only 90 minutes left.

We arrive into town at 4 p.m. (with the time change we lost an hour). We checked into our hotel rooms at the Super 8 and then cleaned up and unpacked for the next three days. At 5 p.m. we headed down to the lobby to regroup before we went to the Calumet High School for pasties. A pasty is like a soup bowl (without the liquid) but all the way

encased. I have to say they were AMAZING! Once everyone was full of very good food, the kids were instructed to play a round of Ninja. I mean who wouldn’t want to play Ninja? At 7 p.m. when we got back to the hotel some skiers went swimming while others went to bed knowing CONTINUED on page 5

Valentine’s Day: V

alentine’s Day will arrive soon, and while some look forward to the special day, others could care less that Feb. 14 is almost here.

I think Valentine’s Day should be truthful, not cheesy or fake. It should be honest. Valentine’s Day is not just about serious relationships or marriage, but rather it’s about being honest, truthful and loving toward all loved ones, including friends and family.

Valentine’s Day should be a forgiving day, where you let any grudges go from the past, and start fresh with your relationships. It’s a time to be open and honest about your feelings for others, and it’s

By Hanna Burch Our Voice Staff St. Peter Middle School Eighth-Grader a day to show you care. I feel it’s a magical day, one that can brighten your life. You never know what will happen, such as receiving a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates, the main gifts of Valentine’s Day. I also think there are some not so great things about Valentine’s Day. It can be a day to make or break a relationship, and if it doesn’t go your way, it ruins the day for you. I also can find it annoying when people are acting crazy because of a bad break-up or because they’re “crazy in love.”

Either way, Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for me, but I don’t go overboard with it.

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5

February 2011

Danielle Pederson Pederson, left, poses with a friend on the trip.

where you get really warm in a sauna then you run around the building the sauna is in. In our case it was our hotel. The pool that was chilly before was suddenly really warm.

But we all knew the fun was going to have to end so some went to bed.

Everyone is excited for the relay race tomorrow.

Dec. 30, 2010 Early morning again. We had a good breakfast and were ready to go.

You definitely need a tough mind set to ignore the soreness. We found our teammates for our relay teams and then we decided to pick our poison.

Skate or classic? My poison was skate.

Everyone had a great time skiing and we all had to have a snowball fight (all 120 kids or so) which was started by our own Randi Timmerman. We took our final pictures and headed back down to Stevens Point. All tuckered out and sore.

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that they had to get up early for the next day’s practice/ training. Good night and good luck tomorrow.

Dec. 29, 2010 We woke up at the lovely hour of 6:30 a.m. (which is 5:30 a.m. our time) and ate breakfast and dressed in our ski clothing. We hung out in the rooms until it was time to go to Swedetown.

The ski team started off with a technique called classic in the morning. It is exactly like it sounds.

It is the traditional way to crosscountry ski. We had a blast with that, a nice work out and the best weather ever for skiing. After two and a half hours of skiing food sounded pretty good so every ski team that was there went to the Calumet Elementary school for lunch. After lunch we went back to Swedetown and then did the other kind of crosscountry skiing which is called Skate.

It is also as it sounds, it is kind of like ice skating and rollerblading. We did that technique for two hours and then headed for the hot tub! Pizza with the team was the best! If you add “Pirates of the Caribbean” you defiantly get a party.

Peak Nordic joined Iola in a sauna run and if anyone doesn’t know what a sauna run is….it is awesome. It is

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February 2011

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Ye Olde Madrigal Christmas Feaste and Concert December 18 and 19.

A wassail and feaste took place at SPASH. There was a five course meal, complete with cinnamon sticks, honey oatmeal bread, salad, cornish hens with corn bread stuffing and squash, and plum pudding. The meal was provided by Rockman’s Catering.”

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February 2011

DEAD OR ALIVE Editor’s note: This is the sixth chapter of a continuing series. For Chapter 7, look for the March edition of Our Voice.

I

n the next two days, two main things happened. Angela’s sprained heel got better quickly.

She only walked with a slight limp at times, and a significant message/ sign came to Toady and the crew. It turned out that the unique, rainbow bird that had flown over the trees carried a letter. Angela and Luke had both tried to sneak a glance at it, but only got a few words that went like: Stinkin’ --- --- --- - deep trouble --- ---threaten--- -- bring back now----dare you ---tomorrow sun down----kids Angela and Luke could only make little of the mysterious words. They decided not to worry about it and spent their time out of sight talking, flirting, stealing small kisses and climbing trees, but Luke never wanted them to go very high in the trees. Angela rolled her eyes and pretended to be annoyed and that she thought nothing

over in surprise and blinked, not believing what she saw.

“Fender!” she sharply whispered. She held a glimpse of hope in her eyes. Fender made a huge leap over a heap of snoring men, and arrived at her feet. Angela held out her hands and scratched his ears.

Fender barked again, this time a more forceful but quiet one. He licked her sore hands. He sniffed the air and looked away, and then pranced over towards the ship. The fog had cleared over the ship and Angela saw him disappear in the doorway. A few minutes later, he ran out holding something gently in his mouth.

Anyone could tell he was being very careful and delicate with the item in his mouth.

He walked, slowly, and stepped cautiously over the heap of men again. He dropped the item on Angela’s lap when he reached her.

It was the letter the bird had brought. She was amazed at the visible alertness and intelligence of this dog. He was clearly something special.

She rubbed Fender

all over, silently rewarding him. Fender got lost in the bliss, but then snapped his head to the side and bolted away.

Very carefully, she pocketed the letter for reading later. It was too dark to see right now, anyway.

Angela had learned earlier that normally Fender wanted her to follow him. She tried to walk around the scattered men, stepping lightly and delicately. Fender

it had a handle. It was, she thought, a hidden trap door.

Angela grabbed the handle. Before she yanked it open she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that it wouldn’t squeak. Slowly and steadily she lifted it up. It was rusted, but easy and smooth to pull up as if someone had oiled it recently. Hmm, she thought. She and Luke had walked over it many times without noticing it, but yet again they were normally staring into each other’s eyes. She remembered Luke and wondered if CONTINUED on page 9

B

y now you’ve probably heard all about how martial arts lessons can help kids learn lifesaving self-defense skills.

Sure, we teach them how to kick and punch. But that’s just the start. The truth is that martial arts does so much more for children of all ages.

“My mom tells her friends that martial arts has been great for my confidence and that I’m treating my little sister better. That’s

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By Hanna Burch Our Voice Staff St. Peter Middle School Eighth-Grader

of it, but secretly she thought it was funny that he was worried about her.

That night, the sky was dark. Angela folded her arms across her chest and her teeth chattered. She was sitting on the bench and everyone else was asleep. Angela closed her eyes and concentrated on feeling at home. She imagined taking LuLu on a walk, turning the street corners and seeing the ice cream and fast food concession stands.

A dog would stand and bark at LuLu, tugging on its leash. He would growl and paw at the ground, staring at her.

Angie’s eyes opened.

Wait a minute. She had just heard a growl. It was faint, but it was there.

She sat up and froze for a minute as a head rush dizzied her. When she could see clearly, she made out a figure on the edge of the island, a few feet away from some sleeping men. Some fog had settled in and she couldn’t see clearly.

Another bark escaped the figure. It moved forward, smart enough to avoid the sleeping maniacs. The figure came into view, and when Angie saw him, she doubled

led her to the side of the island where she had first encountered his presence. He led her behind some bushes and took his nose and rubbed away at a larger pile of sand. Angela realized he was digging for something, so she got on her knees and rubbed the sand away.

When they had scattered the pile of sand, Fender took his paws and started digging in the dirt floor. A few feet down he stopped and sniffed. He motioned for Angela to take a look.

On the ground, there was a square patch. And

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February 2011 DEAD OR ALIVE from page 7

Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment of Dream Catchers in Our Voice. The eighth will appear in the March issue.

By Kaylyn Kluck

Our Voice Staff

St. Peter Middle School Eighth-Grader

Summary So far, we have learned that Lydia, Kat, and their friends are all Dream Catchers, mystical beings that live up in the clouds and distribute dreams at night while the earth sleeps. When Lydia and Kat were struck with lightning, they went to see Cairo, the only one who could have done this to them.

W

hen Kat and Lyd pushed open the door to the lair, they expected to see dark moats of blood, skeletons, and fire. After all, Cairo created nightmares.

Instead, they saw a well lit room that wasn’t gruesome at all, it was just strange. The walls were made of gray bricks, and tables and chairs were scattered around the circular room. It was filled with strange objects like giant hour glasses, green sculptures, cages of frogs, and glass balls.

“This is weird.” Lyd whispered.

At the sound of her voice, tiny black specks

of matter appeared out of nowhere. They spun around and around in a circle to form a figure. It wore long black robes and looked like a human, but there was some element to the face that looked scary and could make blood freeze if you looked at it too closely. Kat and Lyd were used to seeing outof-the-ordinary things, but Cairo was a new and frightening sight. Cairo had long black hair and black eyes that could see through your soul, not that Kat or Lyd had one.

They were trying not to make their fear obvious.

Then Cairo smiled.

“I’ve been expecting you,” he said.

Lyd spoke up, trembling. “You saw us coming here?”

“Perhaps. But I knew you’d come anyway,” Cairo said.

“Why did you hit us with lightning?” Kat got the nerve to ask. It was just like her to get right to the point.

“So you would come of course,” he answered, and Lyd and Kat, who normally never got along, looked each other in the eyes, not believing that

any of this was real. They were confronting the most powerful being in existence after all.

“You look very confused. I was half hoping you would figure it out for yourself.” Cairo smiled as he looked at them.

“What?” Kat pressed.

“Come here.” Cairo led them over to the center of the room, where he raised his hand and a hologram appeared of a green and blue planet. “This is earth.” Cairo showed them. “And so is this.”

The hologram changed to a planet with faded blue, green, and brown, all messy like a watercolor painting.

“So?” Kat had started to lose her fear and patience.

“This is Earth as well.”

Cairo changed the hologram drastically, now it was no longer a sphere, but a flat landmass that was gray, with mounds and bumps on the surface.

“That’s not Earth,” Lyd remarked.

“It will be,” Cairo said grimly. When he saw how confused they were, he smiled again and shook his head. “I thought you would be more intelligent than this.”

“Well we’re obviously not. So keep explaining,” Kat demanded.

Cairo looked as if he found her annoyance amusing and went on.

“These illusions represent the Earth in the past, present, and future.”

“What does this have to do with us getting hit by lightning and coming here?” Kat asked.

“Just tell us already,” Lyd said, gaining courage.

“It’s all part of my plan.

I need your help,” Cairo told them.

L yd, surprised, exclaimed, “You can do anything on your own.

You have more power than anyone else.”

“Power is a limited thing Lydia. For this task, I’ll need your power.”

Cairo stared at the Dream Catchers with his freaky black eyes.

“We have power?” Kat asked, seeming thrilled.

“Do all the Dream Catchers have power?”

“No. Just you two. And you know why? I’m certain you don’t.” Cairo saw the puzzled looks on their face.

“This isn’t a game.” Lyd spoke shakily. “Tell us.”

CONTINUED on page 10

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DREAM CATCHERS: The Reveal

she should awaken him, but curiosity got the better of her and she decided to see where this tunnel led and come back for him later.

There was a ladder leading down into darkness.

It was very narrow, but looked steady and safe.

Cautiously, without even thinking about what she was really doing and what she was getting into, Angela climbed down the ladder, one rung at a time. At the bottom was a small dugout hole made of steel. There was a narrow door on one side, but as she reached for it, she remembered Fender.

How was he supposed to get down? While she was thinking this, Fender slid into the dugout. He slid down the ladder on his paws head first. He seemed pretty experienced at it, Angela noticed. The trapdoor had swung closed by itself. He walked over and nudged another door with his nose.

She opened the door and was sucked into the darkness by an unseen force. ■

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Cairo gave in. “Because you aren’t really Dream Catchers.”

He watched the shock register on their faces. He had been waiting to see their reactions for years and years, and they didn’t even know the whole truth yet.

“Then what are we?”

Kat asked, scared to death again.

“Well I hate to break this to you, but you’re actually half-human, halfimmortal.” He said.

Both the girls felt sick.

Was he kidding? They were half human? They had spent their whole lives despising humans, Kat especially, and now they learned they were half of one?

“Are you serious?” Lyd coughed.

“There’s no reason for me to lie,” he answered.

“It can’t be!” Kat began to hit her head against the wall. It took Lyd awhile to recover, but it took Kat much longer.

After telling Kat to stop, Lyd went on, “Why are we learning this now?

How is it possible?”

“Part of the plan is telling you the truth.

Now for the rest of the plan.” Cairo gestured to his hologram of the flat, disheveled Earth. “This is the goal I’ve been working on for centuries. I need to destroy the planet and fast. Otherwise it will

Congratulations.” Cairo said this as if it was a good thing.

Both of the girls, who had just found out they were sisters, felt like they were being suffocated.

“No!” Kat screamed.

“You can’t be our father! And we can’t be sisters!” Lyd yelled.

“Well, you’re really twins, if that makes it any better. I’m sure this is good to know.” Cairo watched their dismay with satisfaction. He knew that they hated each other, and had only come to see him together because they were scared. But Cairo wasn’t the best father out there. He patiently waited as they both screamed inferior things at him.

“Again I ask, how is this possible?” went Lyd. Cairo explained, “Your mother was human. She lived several hundred years ago. Once you two were born, I brought you up here and kept you in lifegiving tubes. I developed you to exist in the atmosphere, and made you Dream Catchers when the time was right. And at this point, your powers have fully matured and are ready for use. I switched up your airball field since it was more in range and struck you with lightning.

I knew you’d come. And here you are,” he gestured towards them.

“And how is this going to help your plan?” Kat

growled, enraged by the turn of events.

He went on, “I was lucky you were twins.

You each possess half the power I have, and two halves equal one whole.

So by taking your immortal power, I’ll have double the strength. Get it?”

“Yes. But how will you take our power?” Lyd asked.

“You better not touch mine,” Kat said defensively.

“It won’t work out that way. Over the years, I’ve developed the power transfer machine. It will suck the strength out of you and will deposit it into

WI-5001245640

DREAM CATCHERS from page 9

destroy itself.”

“What about the humans?” Lyd asked, since Kat was still going insane from the news.

“They’ll die out, and we’ll take over. It will be a new era of life,” Cairo said enthusiastically.

“So you want to take over the Earth, but you have to disorient it and get rid of its inhabitants?”

Lyd seemed concerned.

“Precisely. The Earth isn’t in the best state anyway, so it won’t really matter. My empire will take over.” He stared at the ugly landmass with admiration. “But destroying something as huge as the Earth will take more strength than I have.

Double the strength, actually. I need more.”

“You want ours?” Kat finally rejoined the conversation. “But we’re half-human, wouldn’t that mean we have even less than a normal Dream Catcher?”

Cairo stopped looking at the hologram and faced the girls. He looked eerily sinister. “Yes, it would.

But because of circumstances, you have plenty.

And do you know why?”

Kat and Lyd were still and silent.

“I thought you would figure it out by now girls.

I’m almost ashamed.” he said. “The truth is you are part of my family.”

“Please say we’re only distant relatives,” Kat begged.

“Actually you’re my daughters.

me. So you’ll be half gone.

Unfortunately, you can’t survive with only one half of yourself.”

“So that means…” Lyd trailed off, dreading the answer.

“You’ll both have to die,” Cairo confirmed.

Kat and Lyd were natural born fighters, so they attacked their father.

“You’ll never do that!”

Kat screamed while throwing a glass ball at him. It went right through him.

“Relax girls. It’s for a good cause,” he assured them.

“No it isn’t! You’ll not only be killing us, but billions of people!” Lyd

February 2011

yelled.

“It really is sad, isn’t it?

But the humans don’t care about Earth anyway. Look how they treat it.” Cairo avoided another glass ball.

“Yeah, they’re careless, and you’re a psychopath!” yelled Kat. Cairo sighed. “So it’s come to this,” he remarked in mock-sadness. “Hopefully, the next time you see me will be at your execution. For now, you can wait in your cell.”

He snapped his boney finger, and in a blink, the girls were trapped in a different, enclosed room, where there was no escaping. ■

11

February 2011

Poetry Contest

Calling all writers

A

Calling all poets! and writing.

Our Voice is delivered to all households in the boundaries of the Stevens Point Area Public School District with students in grades six to 12. It also is available at the Boys & Girls Club sites. There is no fee to join the staff and students can write as much or as little as they want.

If you are interested in learning more, call adviser Nicole Strittmater at 715-345-2249 or e-mail her at nstrittmater@gannett.com.

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ur Voice is holding a poetry contest and we want you to participate. Send us your work and it might be published in the April issue of Our Voice for National Poetry Month. The first place winner will be featured on the cover and there will also be a story about him or her in the edition. The first, second and third winners will also be published in the edition.

The deadline to submit your work is 5 p.m.. Feb. 28. E-mail poems to Nicole Strittmater at nstrittmater@gannett.com. Only e-mailed poems will be considered. The work must be original and anyone in elementary, junior high or high school in Portage County can participate. You can submit two pieces per person.

Good luck and get to writing!

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WI-5001246584

re you a junior high or high school student in Portage County who loves to write?

Are you interested in learning what it takes to put a newspaper together?

Do you want your artwork or creative writing pieces published?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, this student newspaper in Portage County needs your help.

Our Voice, a monthly product of the Stevens Point Journal and The Boys & Girls Club of Portage County, needs students to write about issues affecting them, entertainment, fashion, books, sports and more.

Co-founder Sam Dinga created this publication in summer 2006, recognizing that youths often are disengaged from newspapers. He created it to boost interest in reading

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.../0" 1" / # PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY & ORTHODONTICS