Vo1 XIV Issue 128 5 cents November 1, 2013 SAUGERTIES’ WITNESS TO HISTORY Our Nation’s Most Decorated Veterans Teach Saugerties’ Students By Skyler Sprague A wise man once said, ―What you are is God‘s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.‖ That statement came from America‘s hero Roger Donlon. Donlon grew up in Saugerties and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Vietnam War. Donlon was among several other American heroes that were at Saugerties High School on October 10, 2013. These men represented WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Iraq wars. All students in 4-6th grade attended this assembly. America‘s highest award for bravery. Donlon and his fel- In 1964, Roger Donlon led the defense of the Special low heroes spoke about their experiences and all gave a Forces camp at Nam Dong against a reinforced Battalion of Viet message about the importance of being good citizens to Cong. He became not only the first winner of the Medal of Honor preserve our country‘s freedom. of the Vietnam War, but also the first Special Forces recipient of (Continued on page 2) JPI Exclusive – ―That kid is never gonna win a Nobel Peace Saugerties Native Prize,‖ is a phrase that echoed www.justprintit.net through many towns about a great many children who seemed to walk Awarded Global Honor Inside this issue: to a different beat. Now, in the small town of Sauger- ties, NY, it resonates with Committee awarded its 2013 Peace Prize Mustang Bowl X 4 surreal irony . Thirty years on Friday to a modest and little-known and more than 7000 miles United Nations-backed organization that Four Square 3 later, ―that kid‖ and his col- has drawn sudden attention with a mis- leagues were honored with sion to ensure that Syria’s stocks of Sports 5 the world‘s most prestigious chemical arms are eradicated. The honor, the Nobel Prize for award, to the Organization for the Prohi- Mustang Bowl X Stats 8 Peace in Oslo, Norway. bition of Chemical Weapons, surprised Peter Zmiyarch, some Nobel watchers partly because of Morse Students 10 graduate of Saugerties High the unprecedented nature of its current School and St. Mary of the Snow School. was task: overseeing the destruction of a pre- Fiction Stories 14 recognized with his colleagues at the Organiza- viously secret chemical weapons program quickly tion for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons amid a raging civil war.” Did You Know? 15 (OPCW) for their work in ridding the world of In an exclusive interview with the Sau- chemical weaponry. gerties native who accepted this honor with his More Mustang Bowl 16 According to the New York Times co-workers, Zmiyarch reported in a recent inter- October 12 edition, “The Norwegian Nobel (Continued on page 3) PAGE 2 JUST PRINT IT VO1 XIV ISSUE 128 Veterans Teach Students (Continued from page 1) Along with Roger Donlon, Ronald Rosser, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War spoke about the responsibilities of being a US citizen. ―It is now your responsibility to keep our country free,‖ he told the packed SHS Auditorium. Rosser served in Korea and saved many injured fellow soldiers that were under attack. While injured, no matter what he helped his fellow soldiers who were more injured than he. Sergeant First Class, Dillard Johnson, pre- sented our school district with a very special artifact from the Iraq War. ―To the best of my knowledge, this is the first American Flag that flew over Iraq‘‖ he explained. Johnson is a highly decorated soldier from Mt. Marion sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Charlene Fraske, kisses the cheek of Peter Zmiyarch (top) and Roger Donlon the Iraq war. In a special ceremony, Johnson gave Col. Donlon in an expression of (left) are arguably the two most important the flag and a couple of artifacts to Mr. Glass, a thanks and admiration for his ser- graduates of Saugerties High School. teacher in the Saugerties District. Mr. Glass served in vice to the United States of America. the military before becoming a teacher. Johnson also challenged the students and teachers of the district. ―You have a hard task ahead of you. You have to take the legacy that we have left you and build something from it,‖ he said. He also reminded teachers to never give up on their students because one never knows Publisher‘s Note: what they might become if they are given a chance to succeed. Since 1991, students have created this news- paper. Each year the paper takes on the personality of the Russell Gackenback who wit- class that runs it. Students take great pride in this endeavor nessed the atomic explosions on Hi- and we are proud to share our work with you. roshima and Nagasaki, Japan, encour- Students perform all the tasks associated with the creation of this publication. As the publisher of the aged students to talk with grandparents paper, I feel that its unique and indelible value lies in about their experiences in the military. student ownership of the publication. This is a student paper run by students and read by students. Students are ―If any of you have grandfathers who involved in all areas of decision making, content selection, served in WWII, Korea, and all the writing, editing, proofreading and layout. Sometimes mistakes are made, but it is these mistakes that many other wars, don‘t be afraid to ask them valuable lessons are learned. My role as publisher is what they did. You might be surprised facilitator, coach and mentor. by what they say,‖ he said. ―For many Just Print It Editor-in Chief Kyiah Giannelli get the Publisher: honor of shaking the hand of all the distinguished years, we were reluctant to talk, but Mr. Defino veterans, including Saugerties’ own MOH recipient found it was necessary,‖ he added. Editorial Advisory Board Col. Roger Donlon. Carter Vail and Jeremy Corneli- Other veterans that spoke at son are moving down the line , as well. this assembly were Bataan Death Editor-in Chief Kyiah Giannelli March survivor Walt Straka; Pearl Har- nd bor survivor Chick Galella; 502 Airborne paratrooper Guy Whidden; Clarence Events Editor Jansen who participated in the invasion of Italy; Korean War Prisoner of War David Aidan Jurofcik Mills and US marine RV Burgin who fought in the Pacific region of the war. Composition Editor Annika Fisher These men gave every American the precious gift of freedom and the impor- Promotion Editor tance of serving for a higher purpose. Caleb Vickery News Editors Annika Fisher To see and hear more from the Veterans, visit www.justprintit.net. Much more to Aidan JurofcickSports Editor Ty Gallagher come on JPI TV, which can be found on Youtube and Vimeo as well as Channel 23. Clinton Stutzman Jaden Whittaker Entertainment Editor Caleb Vickery News Department Fiction Editor Matthew Morgan Edited by Annika Fisher Garon Buchtor Aiden Jurofcik VO1 XIV ISSUE 128 PAGE 3 Nobel Prize for Peace (Continued from page 1) view with Just Print It, ―This could not have come at a better time. For the last couple of years everyone has been overworked stressed, frustrated! We have been risking our lives on a daily basis in places like Iraq, Libya, and now Syria. Yesterday‘s surprise announcement has boosted everyone's spirits and morale! It is also a signal for countries to not just talk, but to give the re- sources for us to fulfill the mandate given to us. ‖ Zmiyarch has worked as the Assistant Head of Operations Security at OPCW located in The Hague, Netherlands, since 2007. ―It feels great to win, because the last few months have been like flying the airplane as we design and build it. No one has done what we are doing. The award is for the approximately 2000 people who served in the OPCW since its inception 17 years ago. It is a privilege to serve with such a professional and noble group.‖ 1990 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, re- marked in a statement of the award, ―O.P.C.W. has worked tirelessly to rid the world of chemical weapons, and the organization is a deserved winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.‖ Gorbachev‘s advo- cacy group Green Cross International, based in Geneva, has collaborated closely with the chemical weapons watch- dog. Never a wallflower, Staff Sergeant Zmiyarch Pete grew up in Saugerties and was involved in (left) with his troops of STA 11 Bravo TEAM all sorts of activities and sports as a youngster. He was also SPIRIT in South Korea. 1988. well-known for his humor and spirit. It was not uncommon to see Pete leading a crowd of buddies around town enjoy- ing their youth. Although he was an extremely capable stu- dent, it was hard to imagine him seeking the academic path- way to his future. After graduating from Saugerties in 1983, Zmiyarch joined the United States Marine Corps. While waiting to be called for training he attended Ulster County Community College where he played on the basketball team and continued to make many friends and keep the atmos- phere light. However, he needed more than basketball and Read books to keep him satisfied. GET THE The grin tells it all. Pete Zmiyarch, His military career with the Marines gave Just Print It FACTS! small town charm and values, demon- him an insight to the world that no textbook could pro- strating the power of the human spirit on the world stage. vide. He found his calling as a servant for the preservation of humanity.