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WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
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3600 Haywood Road, Hendersonville, N.C. 28791 • Volume XXIX, Issue 1 • October 28, 2010
11th District
Miller, Shuler fight for seat in Congress 2010 Homecoming Queen Hannah Wilson
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•Homecoming queen announced Senior Hannah Wilson was crowned 2010 homecoming queen at halftime of the football game against Pisgah on Oct. 8. Wilson was escorted by senior Wilson Billingsley. Also representing the senior class were Christa Cloud, escorted by senior Taylor Snyder; Lilia Kuznetsov, escorted by senior Colton Fouts; Aubrey Masters, escorted by senior Curtis Wiley; and Lauren Reneau, escorted by senior Cameron Brogden. Representing the junior class were Alisha Carland, Kennedy Galloway and Catherine Swift. Gabby Ball and Jamie Hunt represented the sophomore class, and Hayley Morris and Grace Levi represented the freshman class.
will be old 57seniors enough to vote in the Nov. 2 election
49of%eligible seniors plan to vote
85of%eligible seniors say
they prefer Rep. Heath Shuler
seniors say 15ofthey %eligible prefer county native Jeff Miller
Peregrine Poll
(based on school records and a survey of 154 seniors)
Do you follow college football?
Yes 56%
No 44% (based on a survey of 397 students)
Heard Hall in the
“Thank you for your inconvenience.” Dean Jones, principal, (on the temporary Internet failure) “How long is this eightinch sub?” Josh Wentzel, senior (discussing his lunch options) “I can turn the ‘men’ on if I want to.” Elaine Hooker, math teacher (on plotting lists on a calculator) “Gosh, don’t you know Auto Advantage is across from the Internet?” Brandi Martin, senior (attempting to give directions)
Josh Wentzel Web Editor
is campaign signs dot the streets of Hendersonville, boldly announcing the return of “Common Sense for Congress.” A Henderson County native and second-generation owner of Miller’s Fine Drycleaning on King Street, Jeff Miller is currently challenging Rep. Heath Shuler for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District seat. Jeff Miller Miller has been to Washington Republican numerous times in the past, not for candidate politics but to provide World War II Graduated from veterans an all-expense paid trip to Hendersonville the national memorial constructed in High in 1972 their honor. His program, Honor Air, has attracted national attention. Henderson Co. “I never really ‘became interested business owner in politics.’ I became interested in a shot at serving my country in some capacity,” Miller said. “Around the last four years, I’ve spent a lot of time around a bunch of heroes, the World War II veterans. They have taught me a lot about service, sacrifice and honor, and they were actually the first people to push me to consider running for office.” Miller has served as the president of the Henderson County Heritage Museum, president of the local Boys and Girls Club and president of the YMCA as well as chairman of the Small Grants Committee for the Community Foundation and a Chamber of Commerce director. Miller believes that while the federal government should provide standards for education, the bulk of the responsibility should be in the hands of local and state entities. “The federal government should give us a certain set of standards that every state has to make, but I would really rather see education more in the hands of the state and in the local area as opposed to the federal government,” he said. “The federal government can complicate it, and bureaucracies can become very bloated.” Miller supports lifting North Carolina’s cap on charter schools, primary and secondary schools that receive public funding but are not subject to some of the regulations that apply to other public schools. Under current law, North Carolina allows 100 charters. “Many of these charter schools have been very effective, and I would like to see them lift that cap,” Miller said. “We have to be very careful and not dilute the funding too much to public schools, but I think they are a good thing. They’ve been shown to be pretty effective.” As Miller has spent his time with World War II veterans from across Western North Carolina, they have shaped his view on the American right to vote. “Everyone who is just getting their first opportunity to vote needs to understand just how big a deal it is and how much of an honor it is to vote. A lot of people died, a lot of people sacrificed more than we can imagine so that we can have that right. So what you need to do is take it very seriously. Don’t get caught up in hype. Don’t just vote for somebody because someone else told you to. Because you are young, you should have the same right that the rest of us had: the opportunity at the American dream.”
Brandi Martin Editor-in-Chief
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ov. 2, 2010 will determine the color of Rep. Heath Shuler’s future. If reelected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Shuler will remain a Blue Dog Democrat. If not, he will forever be remembered as a Washington Redskin. Shuler is running against Henderson County business owner Jeff Miller to keep his seat representing North Heath Shuler Carolina’s 11th District. Shuler said his Democratic candidate experience and leadership give him an advantage over his opponent. Attends Biltmore “It is the leadership of being able Baptist Church to take a group of people and help lead them to build bridges that is key,” Has represented Shuler said. “I am usually the one to 11th District of work out deals with the Republicans North Carolina in Congress, and when the Repubsince 2006 licans need help on the Democratic side, I am the one that can do that.” Prior to serving his district, Shuler first started serving his community. At the age of 16, he was an entrepreneur, washing cars in his hometown of Bryson City, N.C. The support he received from his community is one of the main reasons he became interested in politics. “The community has always been so supportive of everything I’ve ever done,” Shuler said. “When I moved back after continuing my education and professional football career (playing for the Redskins), they were still so supportive. One way of giving back is to run for an elected position to be able to say thank you.” Now, Shuler is focusing on his platform and the changes that need to be made. He is confronting issues such as the recently implemented Race to the Top education reforms. North Carolina recently received a $400 million grant. Shuler said RttT will be an improvement over the previous No Child Left Behind initiatives. “What I find when I speak to students is that far too often they are just being taught the test, as opposed to being taught the material for the class,” Shuler said. “Also, No Child Left Behind put such a burden on funding for certain subjects that we have lost some of our vocational (courses). Race to the Top will improve these issues.” Shuler’s main objective is to increase the number of available jobs. “I want to close the loop hole for businesses that have been shipping our jobs overseas,” Shuler said. “I also want to reward the companies that are actually doing really well and give those companies advantages and the incentive to stay (in America).” Recent polictal ads have tried to tie Shuler to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “I think the most important thing to remember is the people who are doing these ads,” Shuler said. “They are outside groups trying to pull the wool over the voters of this district. The people of this district know how I vote.” Shuler offered advice for first-time student voters. “Look at both candidates and hopefully get a chance to meet with them,” he said. “Read up on them, not the blogs, but the actual legislation that is important. Also, always vote the person, never just the party.”
Online classes offer students academic options Hailey Johns Asst. Opinion Editor
space in the Career Center in V-building, students are currently experiencing waiting lists and classes that are filled to capacity and closed. “The number one demand for online classes is the fter a challenging day at school and a hard basketball practice, senior Nicole Ciaramitaro comes competitiveness of getting into college,” Senior Guidance home, pushes her athletic bag off her shoulder and Counselor Shannon Auten said. “There are a lot of kids, seniors especially, that are taking several ontypes in her username and password to login Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and to her online classroom. Virtual School line that really helps them compete with the rest As she scrolls down the page to view her of the state or the nation with what’s availassignments for the week, she believes her 72 courses are able to them. We can only offer so many “fifth” class is what will move her closer to offered through AP classes on campus, so the online classes the top of her class. provide students more options. We see that “Online classes educate students well, Blackboard people are taking them and there are more as long as you have the initiative to do the offered because they’ll go after them.” work. There isn’t a set lesson, so it’s more up 43 online classes Online classes help give students the opto you to do the lesson and learn what you want to learn,” Ciaramitaro said. “If you want currently offered at portunity to take a class that is not offered on campus. They can explore different areas and to get something out of the class, then you West fields they may be interested in. have to be the one to take the initiative. It has “We can’t offer everything that every stureally opened my eyes to be responsible for 37 students are dent is interested in,” Auten said. “So we will my classes and my assignments, and it has enrolled in online offer the core classes and what is required by taught me to really prioritize my time. I like the state. We will also have electives we’ve the fact that I can set my own hours and learn courses this always offered, and those get the most kids. what I want to learn from the online classes.” semester That’s about what we have to give, so we have Over the years that online classes have been offered at West, the number of students taking to look to online classes to kind of give them some more these classes has increased. With the limited amount of options because there are so many different careers out
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New trends can have harmful consequences
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High Tech Working on her online courses through N.C. Virtual Public Schools, senior Nicole Ciaramitaro completes assignments for her AP Psychology and AP European History classes. there that we can’t cover.” Online classes have a stronger appeal to seniors than they do to underclassmen. Because many AP classes are offered online, seniors can use this to boost their grade point average (GPA) to give them a competitive edge in
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• See “Online,” Page 2
Concussions hold hidden dangers