Texting While Driving Soon Illegal in Pennsylvania by Seth Culp-Ressler ’13
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February 2012 1 THEValley Voice CONESTOGA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL Lancaster, PA February 2012 Volume 14, Issue 1 Texting While Driving Soon Illegal in Pennsylvania By Seth Culp-Ressler ’13 ulling out the phone and when they were texting behind the replying to that text is going wheel,” Corbett said. “Technology to be much more risky come has brought us closer together. Pthis March—in fact, it won’t even be It’s hard to find someone who legal. Passed by the state Senate and doesn’t own a cell phone… or signed by Governor Tom Corbett, own a car. It’s poor judgment Pennsylvania’s new texting ban to use them in combination.” should start saving lives soon. The bill is primarily focused on Signed into law by the Governor stopping the rampant outbreak of on the 9th of November in an crashes being caused by texting AT&T store, the bill will formally drivers, a trend that has drastically take effect on March 8, 2012. increased in the past few years. This bill closely follows another In 2010 alone, 14,000 crashes recent driving bill that created occurred due to distracted driving more strict rules for teen drivers. and almost 1,100 of those were Pennsylvania is the 35th state to pass because a cell phone was involved. a bill banning texting while driving. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Robert Senior Chris Engel checks a text before leaving the CVHS parking lot. Photo Credit: Seth Culp-Ressler ’13 “All of us have heard stories about someone who was injured or killed Please see TEXTING, page 7 In this Issue . Gage’s Political We’re Happy and Report Card We Know It page 2 The city of Lancaster, PA is the happiest city in the US, according to a survey done Damian’s by Gallup’s Well Being Index. A total of one thousand Spending Cuts people a day from around the nation took the survey, page 3 with around 300 people from Lancaster completing the Well Being Index. Teachers’ Healthy Lancaster finished ahead of Ann Arbor, MI, Honolulu, Hints HI, and San Francisco, CA. page 4 The Interact Club celebrates after collecting jeans for homeless teens. Photo Credit: Seth Culp-Ressler ’13 Calling All Bands Students Donate Teens for Jeans Student Council is looking for LCCTC Spotlight: bands to compete in CVHS’s By Brandon Le ’14 Illiano Builds “Battle of the Bands 2012.” The event will be held on Saturday, page 5 eens for Jeans, sponsored in gathering 225 jeans from the Water Street Rescue Mission. April 28 beginning at 2 p.m. by the Interact Club, is a CV community. The program Across the nation, schools in the Conestoga Valley High Tnationwide project aimed ran locally from January 23 to collected the jeans in the name of School Main Gym. Cash prizes Secret Lives of at donating new or slightly used February 12 and consisted of charity and for competition. The will be awarded to the top two jeans to teens who cannot afford collection bins set up around school that collected the highest bands performing bands of Teachers: Hershey’s to buy new clothing. The whole Lancaster County, both in the number of jeans received $5,000 the day (to be determined by project is run by Aéropostale, high school and the surrounding and a free pair of jeans for every popular vote). If interested in Bliss who over the past four years has communities. Every person who student in the school. One school performing, go to www.cvsd.k12. page 6 collected over 1.5 million pairs donated at least one pair of jeans featured on the Aeropostale pa.us and complete the electronic of jeans for teens 18 and under. received 25% off a new pair of website, Evans Middle School, form or fax or mail the paper Interact advisor Adam jeans from Aéropostale. All of collected over 7,000 pairs of registration form, which can be DiPerna and his club assisted the jeans were donated to the jeans for their community. downloaded from the website. Trait of the Month: ”The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we Tolerance are in the majority.” —Ralph W. Sockman 2 February 2012 Political Report Card: Fracking fracking of the Marcellus shale, even in areas that contribute to the drinking water of Philadelphia. Because of the relative laxness of Pennsylvania’s attitude towards drilling compared to other states, there have been more problems in Pennsylvania. According to Frackaction.com, in Dimock, PA there is no clean drinking water and the drilling company responsible is now refusing to bring in any more clean water for the citizens of Dimock. On top of all this, our current governor, Tom Corbett, proposes to exempt drillers in Marcellus Shale of taxes. This is just outrageous, especially at a time of budget cuts, because if we are “I Voted” stickers line a voting machine inside Hand Middle School going to allow fracking, it only in Columbia, South Carolina, during the Republican presidential primary, Saturday, January 21, 2012. Voters were greeted with rain makes sense to bring in more and clouds as they cast their vote to choose a GOP presidential revenue to our state government nominee in the Palmetto State. (Gerry Melendez/The State/MCT) oliticians and energy you would be right. There are so more painful cuts to education companies are pushing plenty of regulations designed to and other important programs A Primary Primer Phydraulic fracking on the keep corporations from harming are not necessary. Beyond this, United States and especially those the environment and, in turn, fracking does untold damage By Gage Martin ’12 of us that happen to live near the citizens of the United States. to both our roads, because Marcellus Shale Formations. Both the Clean Water Act of of all the trucks necessary to This push is harmful for the 1972 and the Safe Drinking start a well up, and much more s the Republican Party receiving the district’s delegate, or environment and is not responsible Water Act of 1974 are designed importantly our environment. tries to decide who a proportional distribution where for our health and future. to keep water clean and protect It is completely illogical and Atheir candidate will be each candidate gets a percentage Hydraulic fracking is a method water from industrial waste. unfair to us Pennsylvanians to to run against President Barack of the delegates based on the of releasing gas built up in Unfortunately, these laws no not require drillers to pay taxes. Obama in 2012, there is constantly percentage of the votes received. underground Marcellus Shale longer apply to well contaminated Because of the utter lunacy of news coverage of primaries. While After all of the primaries have Formations. It works by blasting by fracking because in 2005 Pennsylvania’s policies on fracking, these primaries occur every four been completed, the delegates all up to 8 million gallons of water Congress created an exemption the state earns a grade of F. years, you may still find yourself go to the party’s national convention into the ground to break up the from these acts for natural gas Now if this is something that wondering how exactly primaries and vote for the candidate that rocks and release the gas that drillers. This is part of a complete bothers you perhaps you might work and what purpose they serve? won that primary delegate. Then then will flow out of the pre- failure on the part of the Federal wonder, “What can I do to stop It is important to understand the candidate with a majority drilled well. According to the Government to protect our this?” If you are wondering, the purpose of a primary before becomes the party’s nominee Academy Award Nominated environment or us as people there are plenty of ways you can trying to learn specifics about how and runs in the General Election. documentary “Gasland,” only from hydraulic fracking, and for try to take our environment back they work. The entire point of In recent races, as candidates half of the water used to frack a this failure the US government from dirty, polluting, energy primaries is so that a political party dropped out and others did very well is recovered from the well. receives a failing grade of F. companies, and all are forms can sift through their options for well, one candidate has had a This clearly is a problem as the If the Federal Government of exercising your rights and office, and choose the candidate majority of the delegates before other water, which contains all is not doing anything to protect responsibilities in a democracy. that the most people want to run. the convention, and the nomination sorts of “proprietary chemicals” us from fracking, perhaps we Obviously, the single best thing They have a vote in each state to see at the convention is a formality. It is in it, is going to go somewhere. can turn to state governments? you can do is vote for people who is the most popular option, and possible, however, that one candidate The director of “Gasland” Some state governments have who have the best interests of that person is chosen to run. What is may not have a clear majority journeyed across the United taken sensible steps to limit the environment at heart. Other tricky about primaries for president, going into the convention, and the States to make his documentary, harm from fracking or even options, for those both over however, is how spread out they are.