Onondaga Central
Senior year can be the most joyous year in one’s life or for some, the most sorrowful. For many the year can be both, making it a bittersweet year. Senior year is by far the most memorable year. All one’s hard work finally pays off, they apply to the college of their dreams that will end one chapter of their life and start a new. This edition highlights yet another magnificent senior: Sam Geis. Sam Geis is attending the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University this coming fall and is majoring in biological sciences. According to Sam, she said “I knew I wanted to be a biology major, but wasn’t quite sure which specific branch of biology. Biological sciences offer content from all of the main types of biology and lets me experience more holistic approach to biology.” For many, going to college can be thrilling, exciting, nerve-racking and not to mention, scary. The entire college experience excites her the most. Sam can not wait to “take new classes, make new friends, and live more independently”. Being able to keep up with her classes and the possibility of getting homesick makes Sam nervous. Currently, Sam has been involved in many clubs and sports. She plays varsity soccer and volleyball. In soccer, she plays defense and in volleyball, she is the setter. Along with those sports, she participates in National Honor Society, Spanish Club, peer mentoring, peer tutoring, Key Club, and Character Ed. Many athletes who play multiple sports have a favorite, Sam’s favorite sport is volleyball. Her reason was the following: “I love it because of the fast pace and how excited your team gets during a game.” Sam had trouble picking her favorite club for she enjoys them all. However, if she had to choose, Sam would say Spanish Club. Sam is planning on pursuing a minor in Spanish and the lack of a Spanish course available draws an even greater appeal to the Spanish Club. She says, “ It’s the best way to keep up with my language skills while also continuing to learn about Spanish culture”. Leaving high school behind can be challenging to many, students can miss the safety, security and all the friendships they created over the years in high school. Sam is going to miss her friends the most, especially since she will not be able to see them every day. “Although not a single memory, I would say all the time spent with my friends,” remarked Sam for her response to her favorite High School memory. The most influential people in Sam’s life is her dad and her aunt, “My dad has worked hard throughout his life and that showed me that you have to work hard to get what you want. My aunt made me feel confident and comfortable to seek out new experiences and not be afraid to try new things.” Sam’s favorite subject is psychology, she finds psychology very interesting, finding out why people behave or act like the way we do and what influences them to do so is fascinating. Sam’s advice to any high schooler is that “ I think the most important advice would be to not procrastinate and be organized, especially as you go into the higher grades.” OCS has many memorable events throughout each and every year. Sam’s favorite event is Homecoming, she loves the fact that parents, students, and alumni all come together on this day. Something many people do not know about Sam is that "I love cleaning my room. It makes me feel a lot more put together and ready for anything.” All throughout high school, hard-working students work day and night to achieve great things. Sam’s proudest achievement is in high school is her acceptance into Cornell and all the hard work that led up to it. Congratulations Sam on all your hard work and your acceptance into a fantastic University! Good luck with all your future endeavors and on the beginning of a new, exciting chapter in your life!
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Super-Bowl Prize: Student Council started a new tradition for OCS regarding the Super-Bowl. Student Council sponsored a school-wide Super Bowl contest. Students from all classes had the chance during lunch had the chance to predict who they thought would win the Super Bowl and what the winning score would be. The student that guessed the winning team and the score most accurately won a $25 gift card of their choice. Jaxon Baxter won guessing the most accurate score, 34-20. Spirit Week: Student Council used a survey to ask OCS students about ideas they had for spirit week. This was the first time the Student Council used a survey to help establish school spirit days. This gave high school students more say and an opportunity to offer input. Although Student Council was not able to make Spirit Week 5 days this year, it was mentioned in the Principal’s Cabinet meeting and we are exploring this possibility for next year and upcoming years. Another new part of spirit week is the school spirit contest. This year classes can compete to see what class shows the most school spirit. The class that has the highest percentage of participation for each spirit theme day wins. Each member of the winning class will get a free snack/ice cream pass to the school cafeteria. Student Council and teachers will count/calculate the winning class daily to be announced each day with the winning class announced at the pep rally Friday. This is different than in previous years because it is no longer based on homerooms. The reasoning is that people are more tied to their class compared to their room, competing for their class to win will further incentive participation. Spirit Week Activities: Wednesday- Talent Show Thursday- Hypnotist Friday- Assembly in the morning & Spirit Week in the afternoon Spirit Days Monday- Merica Monday Tuesday- Favorite Character Day (Movie/TV Show) Wednesday- Western Wednesday Thursday- Favorite Sports Team Day Friday- Class Color Day Class Colors: 7th Grade– Orange 8th Grade– Red Freshman- Blue Sophomores– White Juniors– Black Seniors– Green Pep Rally: The pep rally activities this year are Hungry Hippo and a Trivia Game, that based on OCS facts. For Hungry Hippo, each of the five varsity teams will select two members to represent them. They will push students out on a scooter to collect balloons with a laundry basket. Whichever team as the most balloons when time out wins. The Trivia game will include a teacher and two students representing each grade. The Trivia game will involve different OCS trivia questions. Blood Drive: The Spring Blood Drive is on Monday, March 2. Student Council was able to schedule this between winter and spring sports seasons so more athletes can participate in the Blood Drive. In the first two Principal’s Cabinet meetings of this school year, several main topics were discussed between students, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Ciereck and Miss Sawyer. Student Council sets the agenda for Principal’s Cabinet. Members of the Principal’s Cabinet include Noor Almaliki, Ray Anderson, Caitlin Dankiw, Nicole Dooley, Zach Johnson, Lina Hayes, Ricky Kopp, Emma Kolowosy, Jacob Krell, Lauren Moore, Emmanuel Lammachia, Deshea Lettsome, Evelyn Loan, Allee Mack, Aubrey Mackey, Dylan Price, and Natalie Price. In both December and January, new ideas were proposed but in January, the Principal’s Cabinet had the chance to hear an update regarding December proposals. The first topic was about student’s computer access in school and library availability. One solution proposed was to post a schedule of the library available for the in front of the library or online to allow students to plan their time. In addition, using alternate locations for testing and classes that need to computers was also discussed. The goal of those is to keep the library available since it is many people’s favorite study hall or after-school destination. As most of you already know, Onondaga has a new school website. A student proposed having videos created to help students learn the new features, along with other How-to-Videos like calculating your average. Members of the Principal’s Cabinet also proposed to have teachers update grades in Schooltool weekly so students know where they stand. Another topic discussed is the amount of testing at Onondaga. Lastly, returning a breakfast for students with a 95 or above-average was mentioned. Several years ago students at OCS who had an average that was higher than a 95 for a certain number of marking periods were invited to breakfast in the Spring as a reward for students who were dedicated and excelled. Based on discussions in Principal’s Cabinet, this breakfast will return to the high school in May to reward students with above a 95. This is a great example of a positive change from the Principal’s Cabinet.
Over the past few weeks, National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society have been hosting a diaper drive here at OCS to support the CNY Diaper Bank. Members made posters to advertise the drive, notified staff and students, and of course, brought in diapers. Their goal was to collect 1,000 diapers throughout the school district. Managed by Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Bort, this project was a creative way for the students to contribute to their community. National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society are just getting started with their service projects because after this, they will be volunteering at our local Food Pantry as well as participating in the annual cemetery clean-up. The club is excited for another year of giving back to the community! Senate Acquits Trump President Trump was acquitted by the Senate by 52-48 on Article 1 and 53-47 on Article 2. Not a single Democrat voted to acquit Trump. Some of these Democrats will pay the price such as Senator Doug Jones of Alabama who is up for reelection this year in a state President Trump won with 62% of the vote in 2016. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan is up for reelection in a state President Trump won in 2016. Senator Krysten Sinema of Arizona claims to be a “moderate” but voted to convict Trump. Senator Joe Manchin is not up for election until 2024 but he voted to convict Trump despite West Virginia is one of the states where President Trump is most popular. The Lone Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah was the only Republican to vote to convict President Trump, making him the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a member of his own party. However, Mitt Romney had a conflict of interest. Top Mitt Romney adviser, Joseph Coser Black, also sat on the Board of Burisma- the company Hunter Biden sat on the board of- the whole reason president Trump wanted an investigation into corruption to begin with (NPR). Additionally, Mitt Romney begged for the endorsement of President Trump in 2012 to then join the Never-Trump movement in 2016. Then after President Trump was elected he asked to be Secretary of State. Mitt Romney’s vote for conviction was based on jealous Trump was President and he is not and being rejected for Secretary of State. Furthermore, in 2018 when Mitt Romney ran for Senate he perpetrated a fraud against the people of Utah promising to be an ally of President Trump. There is even a movement to have a recall election to remove Senator Mitt Romney from the Senate but this would likely require a constitutional amendment. On a further note, Romney states he voted to convict President Trump over his "values" and "conscience" but Romney is notorious for flip-flopping on issues. Most notably when Mitt Romney first ran for Senate in Massachusetts in 1994 against Ted Kennedy he was pro-choice but pro-life when he ran for President. In addition, he changed his position on gun control, the no new taxes pledge and healthcare are among many more. Based upon these flip-flops on key political issues arguing Romney's vote was based on values does not hold any weight. As a result, there is a growing push among Trump supporters to expel Mitt Romney from the Senate, including President Trump's son, Don Jr. This is unlikely, though, because it requires 67 votes to expel a United States Senator. Others are calling for his resignation. State of the Union
President Trump gave a strong State of the Union speech one of his best speeches and arguably one of the best State of the Unions. Former Senator Bob Dole and Republican Majority tweeted “.@POTUS really hit a home run last night. In my 36+ years serving in Congress, I heard quite a few #SOTU addresses. This was one of the best,” (Washington Examiner). Accomplishments President Trump Highlighted Booming Economy President Trump opened by stating the following economic statistics. “Since my election, we have created 7 million new jobs — 5 million more than Government experts projected during the previous administration. The unemployment rate is the lowest in over half a century. Incredibly, the average unemployment rate under my Administration is lower than any administration in the history of our country. If we had not reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witness to America’s great economic success. The unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans have reached the lowest levels in history. African-American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low. African-American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded. The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years — and last year, women filled 72 percent of all new jobs added. The veterans’ unemployment rate dropped to a record low. The unemployment rate for disabled Americans has reached an all-time low. Workers without a high school diploma have achieved the lowest unemployment rate recorded in United States history. A record number of young Americans are now employed. Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Under my Administration, 7 million Americans have come off of food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare. In 8 years under the last administration, over 300,000 working-age people dropped out of the workforce. In just 3 years of my Administration, 3.5 million working-age people have joined the workforce. Since my election, the net worth of the bottom half of wage-earners has increased by 47 percent — 3 times faster than the increase for the top 1 percent. After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast — and, wonderfully, they are rising fastest for low-income workers, who have seen a 16 percent pay-increase since my election. This is a blue-collar boom.” The vast majority of Democrats in Congress refused to stand and clap for these triumphs. In addition, President Trump highlighted slashing regulations, tax cuts, opportunity zones- as a part of the tax cuts to spur investment in cities and struggling areas, making America energy independent, granting paid family leave for federal employees, improving healthcare the V.A. for veterans, rebuilding the military, creating the Space Force, defeating ISIS, killing terrorists and reshaping federal courts through judicial appointments. Proposals for 2020: President Trump called on Congress to pass Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) legislation victims of crime by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities to sue that city, Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) legislation to cap the amount drug companies can raise drug prices at inflation, end surprise medical billing, protect those with pre-existing conditions, ban late-term abortion (Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act), enact paid family leave for all Americans and ban taxpayer funding of healthcare for illegal immigrants (Heritage Foundation). Notably, President Trump did not mention the trillion-dollar deficit. While President Trump did not go into detail, his administration will soon be releasing a plan for a middle-class tax cut. During the Speech: President Trump awarded radio legend Rush Limbaugh, who was recently diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer, the highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. He also reunited Sgt. Townsend Williams, who was serving in Afghanistan, with his wife and their two children. President Trump also announced $50 million in federal money for neonatal research after highlighting Robin Schneider whose daughter, Ellie, was born at 21 weeks and is not two years old. President Trump also stated his continued support for eradicating AIDS. Nancy Pelosi Tears Up Speech: At the end of the State of the Union, Nancy Pelosi tore up the State of the Union speech. It has now come to light that she was pre-ripping the speech before her spectacle of tearing it up. Democrats, however, remained in lockstep with Pelosi voting, 224-193 to table (end debate) on a Republican resolution introduced by Kay Granger (R-TX) simply calling her action of tearing up the speech “a breach of decorum”. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has called for the House of Representatives to censure Nancy Pelosi over this action. A censure is one of the strongest actions that can be taken against a member of Congress which is a public reprimand. Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced a resolution to censure Nancy Pelosi. Constitutional lawyer, Jonathan Turley, rightfully, called for Nancy Pelosi to resign as a result of her action. Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed an ethics complaint against Nancy Pelosi. This complaint is unlikely to go anywhere as Democrats control the House Ethics Committee. Pelosi violated clauses 1 and 2 of House Rule XXIII. The Department of Justice should investigate Nancy Pelosi to determine whether she broke the law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2071, Section 2071 it is illegal to destroy a government record. The debate is if her copy of the State of the Union is a government record. If her copy of the State of the Union is not a government record, Congress should pass a law making it so to prevent this from happening again. May I remind you that the document, Pelosi destroyed had the names of fallen American soldiers, a woman killed by ISIS, a current member of the military, a world war II veteran, a border patrol agent, a Medal of Freedom recipient along with other Americans. These Americans deserved to be honored but since it was Trump that honored them Pelosi could not give them the respect they were owed. Pelosi’s action was beneath the office of Speaker of the House. This is a link of Nancy Pelosi pre-ripping the speech before she actually ripped it after the State of the Union. youtu.be/GR5Z6bKRp9A Iowa Caucus The Iowa Caucus results are still in dispute. Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders are still vying for first with, results not certified yet. Senator Elizabeth Warren will likely be in third place and former Vice President Joe Biden in fourth place. Senator Amy Klobuchar will likely be in fifth place. This shows voters saw more Biden’s corruption as a problem and that the impeachment and Senate trial hurt Biden more than Trump. Since it has taken days for Democrat officials to count votes in Iowa and see what went wrong with the app used, many wonder how can they be trusted to run healthcare which is what would happen under many of their government healthcare plans. The heart shape, by a modern definition, is a metaphorical orsymbolic sense of emotion, affection, and love. It refers mostly, but not only to romantic love. One of the theories suggests that the origin of the heart symbol can be traced back to an ancient plant called silphium. Silphium was a species of giant fennel that used to grow on the North African coastline near the Greek colony of Cyrene. The Greeks and Romans used this plant as a spice, medicine, but also as a form of birth control. Its protective properties have been mentioned by various ancient writers and poets. The fact that it was extinct by the first century A.D. speaks about its popularity. Others believed the heart shape came from an upside-down pine cone. Another group believed that the shape came from ivy plants. One theory suggests that the heart symbol is probably shaped according to the writings of Galen and Aristotle. These ancient philosophers described the human heart as an organ with three chambers and a dent in the middle. So, many believed the heart shape was created during the Middle Ages by scientists who tried to visualize ancient texts. As you can see, there are many theories and beliefs about where the heart got its shape. No one really knows! Happy Valentine's Day!!!Sources :https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thevintagenews.com/2017/03/10/the-origin-of-the-heart-shape-
www.romper.com › why-are-pink-red-the-valentines-day-colors-30885 Why Are Pink & Red The Valentine's Day Colors? - Romper When you think of Valentine's Day, red and pink are often the first colors that come to mind. Right? But who decided that these colors represented love and romance? It turns out, the color red has symbolized passion, desire, and love, for longer than you've been celebrating Valentines’. The color red has been a symbol of status since the early Roman times, back when the most powerful man, called Cincinnatus, wore red. Red is an emotionally intense color and is attention-grabbing. It’s known to make our blood pressure rise, as well as our heart and respiration rates. This sounds like how love makes you feel, right? That’s exactly why red is the color of Valentine’s Day. A study conducted by two University of Rochester psychologists found that a red shade heightens a man’s attraction toward a woman. Women were also found to be more attracted to men’s pictures when they were against a red background versus other colored backgrounds. And it’s not just humans. Animals are all about red, too. In the animal kingdom, females are more attracted to males who have red on them. Red signifies high status, and they prefer their mates to have high status. So next time someone asks you why Valentine’s color is red, now you know! Last year hidden in between the pages of the New York budget were several pro-criminal provisions and gifts to career criminals, that Cuomo and Democrats in the State Legislature advocated for. Now, these laws have taken effect at the beginning of 2020 and are having dire consequences to the safety and security of all New Yorkers. These soft on crime measures include handicapping prosecutors and police, giving criminals excessive rights and eliminating cash bail for many criminals and repeat offenders. First, one new law to help criminals and hurt prosecutors and police is now prosecutors and local police must turn over all evidence within 15 days of trial- indictment or arraignment. On the other hand, defense attorneys have more than 30 days to turn their case over to the state. This new law also will cost taxpayers money to enforce. The reason communities will have to pay police officers overtime or hire more police in order to turn over the evidence in the newly required 15 days. For example, the mayor of Freeport Village located on Long Island, with a population of about 50,000 people, estimates this new law will cost taxpayers in Freeport Village $2.7 million and property taxes will have to be raised by 5.7%. Need I remind you, that this causes taxes to go up in already one of the most high-taxed states, not even to make you safer but instead to help criminals. The $2.7 million worth of costs includes $1.56 million for staffing and overtime, $690,000 for village court, $224,000 for additional pensions costs along with payroll workers and $118,000 in contract expenses (NY Post). In addition, accused criminals are now allowed to go to the scene of a crime with their defense lawyers. If your house is robbed, the burglar and his lawyers get to go to your house to collect evidence and take photographs. A rapist is now allowed to go back to the scene of the crime with his lawyers to collect evidence even if it is your house. This also means the judge can order the crime scene to remain unchanged so the defendant can collect evidence. If your house was destroyed by a robber, you may have to leave in that condition until a judge tells you that you can clean or repair the scene. If you do not abide by this you can be charged with criminal contempt of court- which could lead to jail (NY Daily News). So much for Cuomo caring about survivors or victims. Moreover, many existing protections for witnesses are removed. Witnesses to a Grand Jury lose the right for their testimony to remain anonymous unless under rare circumstances. However, no matter what the circumstance is defense lawyers now get the names, contact information of anyone with relevant information or eyewitnesses, even if the prosecution is not going to have them testify. This will lead witnesses to be unwilling to testify because they are in fear of their life, causing criminals to walk free. Under the new law, criminal lawyers are entitled to recordings of all witness interviews. Additionally, prosecutors only have three days before a plea deal expires to reveal all their evidence. This could make it harder for the prosecution to obtain plea deals which allow them to focus on more pressing cases (NY Daily News). Bail Insanity New York has eliminated cash bail for most crimes. All misdemeanors and any felonies no longer require cash bail. This means that criminals will simply be released without having to pay any bail. One obvious problem with this is it gives no incentive for the criminals to return for their trial. Many crimes that this law considers non-violent and allow you to be out without bail are actually quite violent including robberies/burglaries, certain degrees of arson, killing police dogs or horses, reckless assault of a child by a daycare provider, many different assault charges including third-assault as a hate crime (Fox News). Selling drugs near schools and laundering money towards terrorists also do not require bail. In addition, many criminals have continued to commit crimes while out without bail, when they otherwise would have been in jail. Serial bank robber, Gerod Woodberry, was continually freed due to bail reform. From December 30 to January 8. Over this time frame, Woodberry commits six bank robberies and after each robbery, he was freed since the judge cannot require him to post bail. Eventually, it took federal law enforcement agents to step in to arrest and charge Woodberry to keep him in jail and off the streets. Likewise, New York’s bail reform lead to the recent string of anti-Semitic attacks in New York City. Tiffany Harris, the assailant, was arrested for a total of eight anti-Semitic assaults but was released twice after being arrested three times in five days, each release allowing her to assault more Orthodox Jews. It finally took her being held for a psychological evaluation to not be released. Some of these assaults took place in December before the law took effect but Mayor Bill DeBlasio instructed police and judges to start abiding by the law before it went into place (NY Post). Both of these criminals’ reign of terror was enabled by “bail reform”. Right here in DeWitt, a recent bank robbery was committed by Christopher M. Seamans who was released without bail just days earlier for a bank robbery in Colonie, N.Y. This marks Seaman’s fourth bank robbery in only 14 years (Syracuse.com). Similarly, career criminal Anthony Mason, who has been arrested 67 times since 1991, committed two burglaries on the same day after being released earlier in the day. Later he went on to commit burglaries on January 2 and January 3 while still being released due to eliminating cash bail. In fact, even before this new law, New York’s bail laws were too loose and soft-on-crime. The most egregious example of New York being weak with bail was in December, just weeks before the new extreme law took effect. In early December a charity paid the bail of a sex offender, Luis Olivo. The bail was only $2,000 which shows New York’s previous system was too weak on crime since a sex offender could post low bail. A charity called the Bronx Freedom Fund posted the bail. While out on bail Olivo preyed upon an 8-year girl. This may lead many to wonder why this so-called charity enjoys the benefits of nonprofits (NY Post). Unfortunately, Cuomo’s weak on crime policies already have begun to take its toll on New York and we have seen an uptick in crime. According to the NY Police Department Stats, the number of shooting victims in New York City is up 31% and robberies up 29% since January 1. Overall, based on CompStat, a crime detection system initiated by former Mayor Rudy Guliani, there has been a 22% hike incidents in the new year and a 31% increase in the number of victims. Crime in Central Part is up 31%. Overall crime is on track to return to the levels of the 1980s, Pre-Mayor Rudy Guliani (R) who drastically reduced rime while mayor (NY Post). Sources: What to Know about Sweeping Criminal Justice Reforms Kicking in Come January.” www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-criminal-justice-reform-20190928-jdxqnmjn4rcvdcnxmhj3sqwgvy-story.html?outputType=amp. “NY Officials: Stingy Cuomo Making Criminal Justice Reform Too Costly.” www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/12/18/ny-officials-stingy-cuomo-making-criminal-justice-reform-too-costly/amp/. Bruce, Tammy. “Tammy Bruce: Legislating Failure and Chaos with Bail Reform in New York.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 18 Jan. 2020, www.foxnews.com/opinion/bail-reform-new-york-tammy-bruce. “DeWitt Man Charged with 4th Bank Robbery Released without Bail. www.google.com/amp/s/www.syracuse.com/crime/2019/12/dewitt-man-charged-with-4th-bank-robbery-released-without-bail.html?outputType=amp. “'Brick Man' Is NYC's Newest Bail-Reform Poster Boy.” www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2020/01/17/brick-man-is-nycs-newest-bail-reform-poster-boy/amp/. “Bail Reform Is Setting Suspects Free after String of Anti-Semitic Attacks., www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/12/28/suspects-released-without-bail-after-shocking-attacks-on-jews/amp/. Moore, Tina, et al. “Serial Bank Robber Suspected in Yet Another Manhattan Heist.” New York Post, New York Post, 15 Jan. 2020, nypost.com/2020/01/14/serial-bank-robber-suspected-in-yet-another-manhattan-heist-cops/. “Alleged Child Molester 'Strikes Again' after Charity Bails Him Out.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/12/04/alleged-child-molester-strikes-again-after-charity-bails-him-out/amp/. Common Core Failure Even after Common Core, which came in at a total cost of about $80 billion nationwide, U.S. test scores on Program for International Student Assessment, international assessments among OECD countries (developed nations) remained flat with no improvement or decline. Reading scores were the same as 2000, Math scores were the same since 2003 and science scores were the same as 2006 (OECD). Medicaid Fraud: Costing You Money According to a report from the Wall Street Journal $75 billion worth of Medicaid payments are fraudulent. In other words, 20% of Medicaid spending is eaten up by fraud. This fraud has skyrocketed after the Medicaid expansion, which was part of Obamacare which funded states to flood their Medicaid rolls with millions of new members, many people who are not eligible are still enrolled on Medicaid. Before Obamacare, the fairs rate was 6%. On a further note, New York States faces a $6 billion Medicaid shortfall (WSJ). Criminals Granted DACA DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals which is a program created by President Obama by an executive order to give legal status to illegal immigrants brought to the US as children. A recent report from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that 80,000 percent of DACA recipients have criminal records. 67,861 had criminal records before they were granted DACA while 15,903 were arrested after being approved for DACA. Some who committed violent crimes were part of DACA- 62 who committed a rape and 15 who committed murder. There were also 23,305 illegal immigrants arrested for DUIs as part of DACA (Fox News). Blood on DeBlasio’s Hands In New York City, illegal immigrant Reeaz Khan sexually assaulted and murdered a 92-year-old woman from Queens. There was an existing I.C.E. detainer (request for NYC to turn him over for deportation) on Khan, but due to Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s policy of having New York City be a sanctuary city, Khan was released into the public instead of being deported, allowing him to commit this atrocity. Furthermore, last year, I.C.E. placed detainers on 7,526 illegal immigrants in with 17,873 criminal convictions, including 200 murders that were released due to NYC’s sanctuary city policy. Democrats in Congress blocked Republican legislation to defund sanctuary cities. Several state legislatures have taken action against sanctuary cities by banning them within their states such as Florida. It is unlikely the Democrat-controlled N.Y. Legislature would take action against sanctuary cities (NY Post). Obama’s Ukraine Meeting Newly released emails show that on January 19, 2016, Obama administration officials met at the White House with Ukrainian officials to discuss the prosecution of Burisma, the company Hunter Biden was receiving $50,000 a month from. This information stemmed from emails where NY Times reporter Ken Vogel requesting information from the State Department about this meeting. Vogel’s story was quashed for unknown reasons by the New York Times. Vogel’s email exchange was with none other than the Ukraine whistleblower that lead to President Trump’s impeachment. The whistleblower, Eric Ciaramella, was the National Security Council staffer that checked the Ukrainian officials into the White House. One of the Ukrainian officials checked into the meeting, later worked with the DNC and Clinton campaign to find damaging information on then-candidate Trump (Fox News, Washington Examiner). This raises questions about the true motives of the whistleblower, was filing a complaint against President Trump really just to cover-up for himself and the previous administration? Furthermore, Obama’s administration, in fact, actually committed acts that if not worse, but were the same as what President Trump is only accused of. This raises the question: looking back, should President Obama have been impeached then or is there a double-standard with Trump? Australia Wildfires & Trillion Tree Initiative In Australia, there are devastating a series of 125 wildfires that have burned that have killed 33 people, burned 12 million acres of land, lead to 24,000 people evacuating and could lead to the extinction of countless species. Some are blaming climate change, but there is more to the story. In Australia, pro-environmental policies backfired. Environmentalists prevented the prescribed burning of forest in Australia. These burnings would eliminate underbrush and dead trees that increase the risk of uncontrollable wildfires. This practice dates back to the Aborjinee, but environmentalists blocked these burnings (The Federalist). As for the climate change aspect, House Republicans and President Trump announced that they are supporting the Trillion Tree Initiative. This initiative plans to plant 1 trillion trees worldwide because experts predict that planting 1.2 trillion trees worldwide could undo the last ten years worth of CO₂ emissions (NPR). Sources: “Common Core Fails: US Test Scores Show No Improvement despite Billions of Dollars Thrown at Education Reform.” Conservative Review, 3 Dec. 2019, https://www.conservativereview.com/news/common-core-fails-us-test February:Syracuse Winterfest (Feb. 14- 24) There are no age limits to Syracuse Winterfest! With indoor and outdoor events, the whole family is sure to have fun. There is anything from Chili cook-offs to ice carvings. Do not forget there will be fireworks!
March: St.Patrick’s Day Parade: (Saturday, March 14) Theme: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words- Syracuse’s classic St. Patrick’s Parade always brings the crowd every year. This will be the 38th parade for Syracuse. April: Country Folk Craft Show: (April 1) This craft show returns to the Fairgrounds once again with its beautiful spring show. The show will be displaying unique handmade decorations for your home. If you are interested in crafts or would like to adds some brilliant decorations to your home then come to this craft fair. Central New York Maple Fest: (April 1) This festival is in Marathon, New York and is put together entirely by volunteers. Thousands of people go every year to experience the delicious taste of New York Maple! May: Rochester Lilac Festival: (May 8-17) This is a free festival! Around every corner, you will discover magnificent gardens, musical gems, exhibits, and exhilarating special events. June: Taste of Syracuse: (June 5-6) This is held at Clinton Square. The event showcases something everybody loves: food! With exciting food and music, everyone will enjoy a trip to this festival. This event kicks off the start of all summer festivals at Clinton Square. NYS Blues Festival: (June 25-27) This festival also takes place at Clinton Square. This event presents are a variety of regional and national artists, including many different genres. So if you’re into jazz music mark down June 25 on your calendar and head to the NYS Jazz Fest. Greek Cultural Festival: This festival takes place at St. Sophia’s Church. It has delicious Greek gyros, baklava, and many other original greek meals and desserts. There dancers of all ages, church tours and more. No dates have been released yet. Polish Fest: A three-day festival is a family-friendly celebration of culture, heritage, and traditions. It offers a variety of entertainment, including the sounds of Polka, Pop/Jazz, Dance-Funk music along with folklore. This event offers attendees a taste of Polish-American cuisine along with Polish-American arts, craft, and games that kids can enjoy. The festival also has an opportunity for talented students to get a scholarship. Dates undecided. Varick Winery’s 15th Annual Cherry Festival: (June 29-30) Take your family somewhere new and different! Drive out to Romulus, NY to have some fantastic family fun. At this festival, you and your family can go cherry picking and enjoy delicious food. Admission is free! July: Middle Eastern Fest: (July 11-14) At the Middle Eastern Fest you can enjoy culture, food, music, and live entertainment! Enjoy a full-course menu of Middle-Eastern food made from scratch! There will be dance performances gifts. There are games and a playground for kids. Ukrainian Fest: The festivities include traditional dance, sweetbreads, and tortes for sale. You can take a tour of the church on Tompkins Street. The people who make the food for this festival spend weeks on end preparing the delicious made from scratch food you are sure to enjoy. Macedonian Fest: (July 31- August 2) There will be food drink and cultural entertainment the whole family will enjoy. There are kid-friendly games and inflatables as well. The festival is located at St. George Macedonian Orthodox Church Grounds. Syracuse Arts and Crafts Fair: (July 24-26) This craft show takes place over three days and displays fine arts of all types. August: Madison Bouckville Big Field Antique Show (August 16-18) This show exhibits antique furniture, accessories, signs, nick-nacks, and more. It will be a blast from the past that all antique collectors will enjoy or if you are looking for a project. There are plenty of food vendors and miles of tents. The Great New York State Fair: The 13 day fair may become 18 days in 2020. No matter the length, the fair is sure to bring family fun The NYS fair has been bringing families joy since 1841. It showcases thousands of different vendors, amusement rides, shows, concerts and so much more. September: Italian Fest: (September 18-20) Enjoy real Italian dishes and amazing desserts you could only find in Italy. If vendors abundant you are sure to find something good at Syracuse’s Italian Fest! Irish Fest: (September 11-12)With live entertainment, from singing to Irish dancers you are sure to have fun at this festival. October: LaFayette Apple Festival: (October 11-10) This festival brings the community together with non-profit vendors, and fundraisers for local businesses, clubs, and schools. This festival includes artists and crafters selling their products. If you do go, do not forget to get the amazing apple fritters and many other good foods. For the winter season, it is just nice to stay home and not go out in the dreadful cold and snow. But staying inside can be boring too. Something that is fun to do with your friends or family is to bake some tasty treats and cook delicious meals. Here are some that you might enjoy!
Pancakes (vegan) 1 cup of flour 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 tablespoon of baking powder ½ teaspoon of salt 1 cup of non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) 1 teaspoon of vanilla Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix the batter. Then make sure to grease your pan so it doesn’t stick. Pour the desired amount onto the pan and add any toppings like chocolate chips, blueberries, raspberries, etc. If you want to have a vegan chocolate option, Wegmans generic semi-sweet chocolate chips are vegan and are very delicious in these pancakes. These are super easy to make and they make up about 4-5 medium-sized pancakes, so if you’re feeding a family maybe double the recipe. Edible cookie dough 2 cups of flour 1 cup of brown sugar 1 cup of softened butter 2 tablespoons of milk 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 teaspoon of salt Additional ingredients You can add -Chocolate Chips - m&ms -peanut butter cups - Oreos You will begin by placing the flour on a cooking sheet and place it in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any bacteria in the flour. Then you place the flour in a bowl and add all the additional ingredients and mix. Add any additional ingredients you enjoy! Homemade Brownies 8-ounce chocolate bar (about 1 bar) ¾ cup of melted butter 1 ¼ cups of sugar 2 eggs 2 tablespoons of vanilla ¾ cups of flour ¼ cup of cocoa powder 1 teaspoon of salt First, cut up the chocolate bar into small chunks, and melt half of them and save the other half for later. Mix the melted butter and sugar in a bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla. Once they are all mixed add in the melted chocolate from earlier and mix it together. Then add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the mix and combine. Mix in the chocolate chunks from earlier if desired and mix them into the batter. Place the batter into a pan lies with parchment paper to avoid sticking. To bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. Source: Tasty Turn of the Key By: Ruth Ware Turn of the Key is a suspenseful, gut-wrenching, mysterious, eerie, thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last word. The Turn of the Key is Ruth Ware’s latest psychological thriller. Rowan Caine, a young woman who makes a living off of caring for children. Rowan stumbles over an ad, offering a live-in nanny post with a lavishly large salary. The job, not exactly what she is looking for, but an offer she simply can not resist. When she obtains the job, she was given an overwhelmingly large handbook to read over, three little girls and huge luxurious house, all in her care. The family, picture-perfect. The house, set into the lush Scottish hills, secured with “smart” cameras in every room and suited with high tech, modern conveniences. What she thinks is the job of a lifetime, is really a living nightmare. When she arrives, the model children she met at the interview, were not the same. No longer were the girls perfect little angels that were easily cared for and easy to love. The job alone was far different from what she imaged, it was not only the misbehaving girls that surprised her, but the fact that she was left alone weeks at a time, the so-called “smart” home malfunctioning in the middle of the night, a creepy attack giving off eerie noises above her bedroom, and the fact that she was the only adult for days at a time. That was not why she is in prison though. Writing from inside a prison cell, her story is told through letters, letters that the accused wrote herself. The novel begins with a series of desperate letters to a lawyer she hopes will represent her in the courtroom. She was being held accountable of a crime she did not commit, but if she did not kill the child, who did? She may not be a murderer but she is not innocent. Rowan made other mistakes, told other lies, kept other things a secret, just to acquire this “dream job”. Her name is Rowan if you can even call her that. The Guest Book By: Sarah Blake The Guest Book, a story told over three generations is a story of love, loss, mistakes, and betrayals all through the eyes of a privileged American family. It is a story of a powerful American family that used to “run the world” and when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton have the perfect life through the eyes of any American, a perfect family, gorgeous looks, a stunning home and a strong bond of love, but when tragedy strikes their family someone needs to pick up the pieces. To pick up the pieces and revive his once radiant wife, he purchases an island in Maine. The house will define the Milton family for generations to come and burnish their reputations. In her home, on her island, she will refuse to do something, something important and that something will haunt her until the day she dies. In 1959, Len Levy, a Jewish man will come to work for Milton’s firm where he will earn the love and admiration of one Milton daughter, but loathed by the rest. Len will bring his best friend, an African- American man, who is used to being the only one in the room. These men will come to shake the Milton family to its core. At the dawn of the 21st century, the last generations of Miltons are struck with a choice, one that is impossible to make through the heart, but easy to make through the brain. The family can not afford to keep the island. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears of her family’s disturbing past through her husband and the proposal of selling the island, she is determined to unravel her family’s secrets before it is too late. Three stories, three generations, one American family, weave together to expel the truths of their pasts and the fates of their futures. The Guest Book exposes racism, power, wealth, and the strength of love that intertwines three unique stories that all root back to the same exact place. For decades Politicians have been promising to “Drain the Swamp” as a reference to ending corruption in Washington. Most Americans know there is corruption or unethical behavior occurring in Washington. What is the current state of the “swamp”? Many members of Congress are simply career politicians. In particular, this is the case with members of the House and Senate in leadership positions. For example, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) has been in the House of Representatives since 1987 and the Majority of Leader (D) Steny Hoyer has been in the House of Representatives since 1981. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) has been in the Senate since 1985. Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been in the Senate since 1999. Before that, he was in the House of Representatives starting in 1981 and in N.Y. State Assembly in 1975, that’s a career politician. As you can see, these leadership positions are dominated by career politicians and swamp creatures. This means those who hold, wield the most power in Congress, determine which bills are voted upon, have the most control over which bills are enacted into law and are responsible for negotiating most major bills, spending deals/ budgets are not citizen legislators as our Founding Fathers intended and instead the political class is only focused on clinging to power. In this session of Congress, Republican Senators Mike Braun (IN) and Rick Scott (FL) introduced a constitutional amendment for term limits, as a part of their “Make Washington Work” plan. This would limit members of the House to six-terms-12 years and the Senate two terms- 12 years. This would be an uphill battle to pass as most politicians are not willing to set limits on their careers (The Hill). A constitutional amendment would likely have to exempt members of Congress or be phased in later in the future. One proposal to limit term limits without a Constitutional amendment is to reduce the pay of Members of Congress to $1 after 12 years of service, as proposed by Congressman Francis Rooney (R-FL). Currently, there are an astonishing 430 former members of Congress working as lobbyists and government influencers, showing a massive revolving door between Congress and lobbyists. Lobbyists are people whose job is to influence members of Congress and certain government officials about certain policies, usually by donating to their campaign. Lobbyists usually work for corporations, unions and other special interest groups. Furthermore, 60%, nearly, ⅔ of the 44 members of Congress taking jobs after leaving Congress to become lobbyists (Government Accountability Institute). One of the most notorious examples of this is Rep. Billy Tauzin (R) who became a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry the day after his term ended in Congress. While in Congress he spearheaded the budget-busting Medicare drug prescription expansion. Republican Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) are pushing for legislation to ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists, in order to combat the revolving door (Government Accountability Institute). President Trump signed an executive order on members of his administration to ban lobbying until five years after out of his administration and a lifetime ban on lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. In addition, former members of Congress who commit crimes are still eligible to receive pensions due to a loophole in the Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act of 2007. This loophole allows former members of Congress who are appealing their convictions to receive their pensions until they are “finally convicted” exhausting all options for appeal. Former Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced a bill “No Pensions for Corrupt Politicians Act” to close this loophole. One example of this is Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) was receiving a $55,000 taxpayer-funded pension after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for being convicted on charges of bribery, money laundering, fraud, and racketeering. Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) was also receiving her pension of $66,000 per year while fighting her conviction on fraud and tax charges (Washington Examiner). In 2016 the Supreme Court, in the case McDonell v. the United States, narrowed the definition of bribery making it much tougher for prosecutors to prosecute. In this case, the bribery conviction of Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was overturned. In response, former Congressman Claudia Tenney introduced a bill called “Upholding Integrity of Public Officials Act” which changes the definition of bribery making it easier to convict corrupt politicians. Furthermore, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have introduced legislation to readd statues to federal bribery laws overturned by courts, increase certain penalties regarding public corruption, adds new “things of value” that can be considered bribery and toughens bribery laws regarding entities receiving federal financial assistance. Likewise, members of Congress who have resigned due to sexual harassment are still eligible for their pensions. While taxpayers no longer fund sexual harassment settlements for members of Congress if they are accused since 1997 taxpayers have already funded 264 sexual harassment settlements at a cost of $17 million- with no requirement for the United States government to ever be repaid. Furthermore, there is a slew of federal laws that members of Congress are not required to abide by. One of the most notable examples is the Freedom of Information Act- which is a law that applies to federal agencies that require full or partial disclosure of unreleased information. Other laws Congress is exempt from that Americans must abide by are: certain reporting requirements about workplace safety, posting workers’ rights and training on workplace safety (Fox News). The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has a special exemption for members of Congress. Members of Congress receive $12,000 toward health insurance through the District of Columbia small business exchange despite not meeting the requirements, as Congress is not a small business and exceeding the number of employees allowed. President Obama intervened directly with the Office of Personnel Management to ensure this happened (Forbes). According to auditors from Forbes, over a four year period, Fortune 100 companies spent $2 billion lobbying and in turn received $3.2 in federal grants and subsidies. In addition, Fortune 100 companies received a total of $393 billion in government contracts. This leads to questions about why companies receiving taxpayer-funded benefits can also lobby to determine how these taxpayer dollars are spent. This also illustrates the government picking winners and losers. Some get subsidies and others have to pay taxes for the subsidies (Forbes). In a similar manner, family members of politicians are profiting from their relatives’ positions of power. The most notable example of this is Hunter Biden. While his father, Joe Biden (D-DE) was Vice President and overseeing Ukraine policy, Hunter was on the board of a corrupt Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, that was being investigated. Hunter Biden was earning $83,000 per month as a member of the Board of Directors of Burisma without having any experience in Ukraine or energy. In fact, Biden has even been discharged from the military for failing a drug test- testing positive for cocaine. Joe Biden has even admitted that he forced Ukraine to fire the special prosecutor investigating Burisma or he would withhold $1 billion worth of aid. Additionally, Hunter Biden was a board member of the Chinese company, BHR Partners and owned a 10% stake in the company. The deal for Hunter to purchase a stake in BHR Partners was finalized days after Hunter and Joe Biden traveled to China on Air Force II. Another deal that was finalized was for Hunter Biden’s company to raise $1.5 billion in investments for BHR Partners. BHR Partners is backed by the Bank of China- the Chinese government bank and BHR Partners acquired American companies that have technologies sensitive to national security. Rosemont Seneca was a “consulting” firm owned by Hunter Biden and the stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry (D-MA), which received payments from foreign governments in an attempt to influence their parents through shifty dealings (NY Times). There are many other notable examples such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who along with his wife Elaine Chao received an estimated $25 million gift from his father-in-law. His father-in-law owns a shipping company backed by the Chinese government. Years after the gift, McConnell attempted to block a bill that would punish China for currency manipulation (NY Post). The journalist who uncovered these examples of corruption has called for the Washington Corrupt Practices Act, which would limit the ability of the families of politicians to profit from foreign governments and to require public disclosures of these transactions. More about these instances about corruption can be found in the book Secret Empires. In closing, Republicans and Democrats and presidential candidates campaign on “Draining the Swamp” and as shown above there is a lot to drain. Stay tuned for Part II. Sources: Cannon, Michael F. “Congress Is Getting A Special Exemption From ObamaCare--And No, It's Not Legal.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 15 Apr. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2016/04/15/congress-is-getting-a-special-exemption-from-obamacare-and-no-its-not-legal/#50a9d5397823. Andrzejewski, Adam. “How The Fortune 100 Turned $2 Billion in Lobbying Spend Into $400 Billion of Taxpayer Cash.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2019/05/14/how-the-fortune-100-turned-2-billion-in-lobbying-spend-into-400-billion-of- For Juniors and Seniors, college is one of the most daunting ideas on our minds right now. Which one do you want to attend, where do you want it to be, what do you want to major in, the questions go on and on. For some students, they have been waiting for the chance to leave New York for college and explore somewhere new. For others, they would rather stay in New York State and take advantage of the great colleges we have here. What are the best colleges in New York State? The top college in New York State is Columbia University, located in Manhattan. Columbia is a part of the Ivy League, and its campus is in the center of a diverse, bustling city. Since it is an Ivy League, Columbia is extremely competitive to get into, with an acceptance rate of 7%. The most popular majors at Columbia University are Economics, Computer Science, and Political Science. Cornell University is a close second to Columbia University, and it is also apart of the Ivy League. Cornell is located in Ithaca, nearly an hour away, and has an acceptance rate of 13%. The most popular majors at Cornell include Biology, Computer Science, and Business. It has also been stated that 93% of alumni from Cornell go on to earn a starting salary of $64,800. For students who are considering entering the military after school, the United States Military Academy at West Point is located right here in New York State. The acceptance rate to West Point is 10%, making admissions extremely competitive. Popular majors include Business, Mechanical Engineering, and Systems Engineering. West Point is a small college that has an overall graduation rate of 86%. The next two colleges are located in close proximity to one another, and they are both ranked highly: Hamilton College and Colgate University. Hamilton College is located in Clinton, New York, and Colgate University is located in Hamilton, New York. They both have an acceptance rate between 24% and 28%, so they are both fairly selective. Both schools are fairly small and popular majors for both include Economics and Political Science. Here in New York State, we are fortunate enough to have the SUNY system. The State University of New York system is a comprehensive system university system that provides all students with access to higher education. The first SUNY school to note is Binghamton University. SUNY Binghamton is a large university with an acceptance rate of 40%. It´s one of the more competitive schools in the SUNY system, and popular majors include Economics, Psychology, and Accounting. The next noteworthy SUNY school is located right down the road from us, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, or ESF for short. SUNY ESF extremely small, and it neighbors Syracuse University. The acceptance rate is 52%, making ESF fairly competitive. Popular majors include Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Natural Resources Conservation and Management, and Environmental Science. These colleges are just a handful of the wonderful colleges New York State has to offer. Some honorable mentions include SUNY Buffalo, St. Bonaventure University, SUNY Albany, Clarkson University, St. Lawrence University, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Also, along with the newly implemented OCC Advantage program, college should not be a stressor for anyone here at OCS. Clear blue skies, feathery white clouds, arid lands, reds, and oranges smear the landscape, the sun bright and scorching, baking the ground dry; that is Arizona for you! The lovely state of Arizona, home of the Grand Canyon has so much to do. Arizona holds many natural wonders and phenomenon, the beautiful red rock brings in thousands of tourists and hikers. There are many gorgeous hiking destinations that are known to many but there are also equally as stunning places that many people do not know about. Before planning your trip to Arizona, know all that you can visit.
Antelope Canyon: Antelope Canyon is a canyon split between the Navajo lands east of Page, Arizona. The canyon is separated into two sections: the Upper Canyon or The Crack and the Lower Canyon or The Corkscrew. The upper section of the canyon is at around 4,000 feet elevation, with walls that rise 120 feet above its streambed. The canyon cuts into the red sandstones. Strong winds, rains, and floods carved the canyon. The canyon is known for its sloping angles and light beams that shine through the canyon. Upper Antelope is called Tsé bighánílíní in Navajo, which can be translated to “The place where water runs through rocks” in English. Antelope Canyon got its name from the belief that Antelopes once grazed along the canyon in the winter. If you are looking to view the sunbeams, the best time to visit around 11 am to 11 pm from March to October. November to March is a quieter time to visit the canyon for there are fewer tourists. To visit the canyon you must book a tour guide and purchase a permit. Your tour guide will help you purchase a permit. One popular company is Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours. Children cost $60 and $80 for adults. These tours are guided by a member of the Navajo Nation. If you are looking to spend the whole day, another popular company is Pink Jeep tours, they have an 11-hour tour. You will hike 1.5 miles, go on a 60 to 90 minute to with a Navajo guide, and lunch is included. This tour is known for its educational values. No matter what season you go in, it is advised you wear a hat for sand does often fall between the opening of the canyon. Horseshoe Bend: Just 7 miles from Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend is a must-see. Horseshoe bend has three options: hiking, floating or flying, to see the bend’s natural beauty. About 200 million years ago, a massive sea of sand dunes covered the landscape from Arizona to Wyoming. The dunes eventually became petrified, or turned to stone, by water and minerals, solidifying into a uniform layer of sandstone, that in some areas is over 2,000 feet thick. Eventually, other sedimentary layers of sandstone, mudstone, calcite, and limestone settled on top of the petrified dunes. During the constant winds, floods and extreme temperatures, the land began to wear away creating what is know Horseshoe Bend. Interestingly enough, there is a small, hard-to-find dinosaur track about 50 yards from the end of the trail. The hiking trail can become rigorous but is most certainly worth the hike. Views of red rock and the Colorado River can be seen. Beginning at the base of Glen Canyon Dam, half-day rafting trips on the Colorado River are available. These rafting trips will allow you to see Horseshoe Bend and go all the way to the Grand Canyon. You will see towering canyon walls, crystals blue and green waters, and many different types of wildlife. The tour lasts three hours and begins in a scenic town in Page, Arizona. Half-day or full-day tours are available through Wilderness River Adventures. On this tour, you will see the wondrous spectacle of the Glen Canyon Dam. The dam is 710 feet high, concrete arch-gravity dam that was built between 1956 and 1966. This dam forms Lake Powell. The dam was being considered in 1924 but the plans were soon dropped and replaced with the construction of the Hoover Dam. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area includes Horseshoe bend. Thirty-minute flights are available. The flights highlight, the stunning stone of Glen Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam, and the phenomenal 2,000 miles of Lake Powell Coastline. Another must-see natural wonder, that is included in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Rainbow bridge is one of the world’s largest natural bridges. A place nearby, the only place where you can drive to the Colorado River is known as Lees Ferry. Here you can get a taste of the pioneer life! Lees Ferry is a historical ferry boat launch that operated from 1872 until 1928. Here you can take in the historical sites, see the Lonely Dell Ranch, go fishing and even go hiking. Marble Canyon: Nearby, only 12 miles from Page is Marble Canyon. While visiting and hiking at Marble Canyon you can travel on the Vermillion Cliffs Scenic Highway. In Marble Canyon is the well known Cathedral Wash trail which ensures beautiful views. While in Marble Canyon, hike to Tatahatso Point for breathtaking views. Saddle Canyon: An hour and a half away from Marble Canyon is Saddle Canyon. This allows for vigorous hiking trails, for more skilled hikers who are ready for a challenge. Lake Powell: While visiting all these canyons, go swimming in Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. You can take Kayaking tours not only on Lake Powell but also on Lake Powell. Grand Canyon: Don’t forget to visit the most famous of them all- the Grand Canyon! The south rim is about 2 ½ hours from these other destinations. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long. It is estimated that the Colorado River has been at work for 5 to 6 million years, carving out the canyon. The South Rim is the most visited section of the Grand Canyon and it offers many hiking trails including switchbacks that take you down the canyon. You can take a helicopter tour over the canyon. The following are the best places to view a gorgeous sunrise or sunset: Mather Point, Yaki Point, Hopi Point, Navajo Point, Mohave Point, Lipan Point, Desert View. Some must-see historical buildings are Lookout Studio, Hopi House, Train Depot, Desert View Watchtower. Some well-known hiking trails in the South Kaibab trail, Bright Angel Trail, Hermit’s Rest and the paved 13 miles South Rim trail. The South Kaibab trail will be less crowded since you have to take a shuttle to get their and you can see more views. Your last option is to ride a mule into the canyon. One more astonishing place to go is the Havasupai Falls. There you can see Sinuous Falls. These falls are in the Supai village which is only accessible by an 8-mile hike. This would take you more than one day for the hike to the falls would take too long. Havasupai Falls Arizona is a major destination for hikers who want to visit the blue-green waterfalls. Hidden in the Grand Canyon, and difficult to get reservations for, this paradise is for those who can plan ahead and enjoy hikes. Sources: https://www.discovernavajo.com/antelope-canyon.aspx https://navajotours.com/ https://horseshoebend.com/ https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g31275-Activities-Marble_Canyon_Arizona.html https://www.nps.gov/glca/index.htm Welfare to Work: Lifting Americans Out of Poverty President fulfilled a campaign promise of welfare reform without the help of Congress. The Trump administration is implementing a new rule for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) that requires all able-bodied adults (18-49) without dependents to work at least 20 hours per week to receive SNAP benefits. Currently, there are many exemptions and waivers for states to maintain benefits for those not working, but with the new rules the only waiver of states with an unemployment rate higher than 6%. The elderly, pregnant women, the disabled and families are exempt from the new rules. This rule is expected to result in 688,000 individuals being removed from SNAP, hopefully motivating them to work and improve their status. However, the SNAP agency found that there are actually 2.9 million able-bodied adults on SNAP and 2.1 million that do not work, meaning the crackdown by the Trump administration could be much larger. Undoubtedly, SNAP has grown out of control. In 2000, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4% with 17 million Americans on Food Stamps now known as SNAP. In contrast, today there are 36 million individuals on SNAP and unemployment is even lower, standing at 3.6%. On an additional note, since President Trump has been President the number of Americans on SNAP has decreased by 2.4 million people. This is due to a booming economy along with the Trump administration not increasing SNAP spending like Obama and opting not to promote welfare as a lifestyle unlike Obama (ABC). Power Back to the People President Trump signed an executive order that allows cities, local municipalities, counties, and states to veto refugee resettlement. This gives local communities the right to decide if they want to accept refugees. This fulfills a major campaign promise of President Trump. Texas was the first state to take advantage of this executive order and will not accept refugees citing that their state resources are overwhelmed with migrants at the Southern border. The average cost of resettling one refugee for taxpayers is $15,900, $80,000 over five years. 92.5% of refugees sign up for SNAP after arriving and with 5 years 70% remain on SNAP. Taxpayers spend $1.8 billion refugee resettlement per year or $88 billion over five years (The Hill). Trump Administration Limiting Taxpayer-Funded Abortion The Trump Administration finalized a rule that will require insurance companies to bill customers with a separate premium for policies that cover abortions. Under Obamacare, millions receive taxpayer-subsidized insurance and when the policyholder who is covered by Obamacare gets an abortion, in the former system. the federal government was subsidizing that abortion by paying for their insurance plan. Likewise, in 18 states Obamacare insurers previously covered abortions and in California law requires insurers to. This executive order enforces federal law, the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion. Simply stated, taxpayer money will no longer subsidize plans that include abortion coverage, individuals will have to pay their own premium for that portion of coverage (Washington Examiner). Furthermore, the Trump Administration announced that a California law requiring all health insurance companies to pay for abortions violates federal law- the Hyde Amendment. As a result, the Trump administration will withhold funding to California. President Trump is the first President to speak at the “March for Life” in Washington D.C. (Wall Street Journal). Trump Anti- Semitism Executive Order President Trump signed an executive order to combat antisemitism by granting Jewish people Title XI anti-discrimination protections under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Another key component of this executive order is it allows the Department of Education to defund colleges and universities that fail to fight antisemitism. Most notably, this executive order will defund colleges that support the BDS-Boycott Divest Movement that boycotts and targets Israel (Washington Examiner). Space Force Established The sixth branch of the United States military, the Space Force was recently established with the enactment of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The main goal of the space force is to operate and protect America’s key space assets such as GPS satellites. The last time a branch was added to the military was in 1947 with the air force being added. Currently, 3,400 Air Force officers and 6,200 Air Force members are eligible to join the Space Force. The Space Force’s new logo has been released (Air Force Magazine). USMCA Ratified The long-awaited United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement to replace NAFTA was ratified by the House of Representatives by broad bipartisan support 385-41 and 89-10 in the Senate. Then President Trump signed the new trade deal he negotiated, so USMCA will now take effect by helping American workers and farmers. The USMCA is expected to create at least 176,000 jobs and add $68.2 billion to the U.S. economy/GDP. However, according to Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette 600,000 jobs can be expected to be created. Furthermore, this would spur $34 billion in investment in the American auto industry and 76,000 jobs in the auto industry. This new trade agreement also opens Canada as a new market for American dairy products, eggs and poultry (CNBC). Phase I China Trade Deal President Trump signed a Phase One Trade Deal with China and hopes to negotiate part two in the near future. The provisions in Part I include many intellectual property protections. These measures include China honoring patents of U.S. companies, ending the practice of forced technology transfer which is when American companies would have to give their intellectual property to China in order to do business, makes it easier for an American company to file for a criminal investigation in China for stolen trade secrets along with speeding up criminal trials involving intellectual property and China limiting the production/sale of counterfeit goods. China announced they will purchase at least $200 billion in American products. This includes: $32 billion worth of agriculture, $37.2 billion worth of services, $52.4 billion worth of energy and $77.7 billion in manufactured goods. In 2017 U.S. exports to China were only $130 billion meaning this deal could double U.S. exports to China. This agreement opens up Chinese markets to American financial companies and financial services. The U.S. in exchange cut tariffs from 15% to 7.5% on $122 billion worth of Chinese goods and the U.S. cancels tariffs on $156 billion worth of Chinese goods that were planned to go into effect. Conversely, the U.S. still maintains 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese products. If China fails to follow through on their promises, the U.S. will reimpose tariffs (NPR). Obama Lunch Standards Replaced President Trump recently rolled back Michelle Obama’s federal standard for school lunch nutrition. The new rules allow for more different types of food and less stringent rules regarding the amount or type of vegetables. The reasons cited were school lunches being wasted and administrative burdens on schools. This now paves the way for hamburgers, pizza, french fries, and cookies to be more frequently available to students. The fruit requirement for school-provided breakfast has been limited and can be substituted with a granola bar or baked goods. Some medical professionals worry this could increase obesity and lead to an overall decrease in children’s physical and mental health. Despite the well-intentions of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Initiative, 35% of children are overweight and 26% are obese, meaning obesity is still a major problem. While this new rule reduces overreach of the federal government, it could exacerbate the obesity crisis in the U.S. (Reuters). Protecting Religious Liberty President Trump announced his administration issued a new rule regarding school prayer, updating the existing rule which has not been modified since 2003. This rule protects students who want to partake in school prayer or as Trump deemed the rule "the right to pray”. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo rescinding the Obama era policy. The memo states that religion cannot be a determining factor in federal grants, in an effort to prevent religious groups from being denied grants based on their faith. Nine other agencies are issuing new memos similar to this one to ensure they follow this new policy, notably the Department of Education issued several new rules. These new rules were announced on National Religious Freedom Day (Washington Times). President Trump Supporting Victims President Trump signed The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019. This bill is named after a rape victim whose rape occurred in 1989 but the DNA was not tested until 1994. This law will grant funding to test the 100,000 rape kit backlog throughout the U.S. In addition, this law also provides DNA training and education programs. It is vital that these rape kits are tested in a timely manner, which this law ensures because the statute of limitations for rape eventually expires in many states (ABC). Sources: https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/trump-signs-bill-eliminate-backlog-rape-kit-testing/story%3fid=67997113 https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/trump-administration-adjusts-work-requirements-food-stamp-eligibility/story%3fid=67494780 Pearce, Tim. “Trump to Sign Executive Order Defunding Colleges That Fail to Fight Anti-Semitism.” Washington Examiner, 11 Dec. 2019, www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-to-sign-executive-order-defunding-colleges-that-fail-to-fight-anti-semitism. Best things to do INSIDE this winter:
· Corning Museum of Glass: Spend a day or a weekend at the Corning Museum of Glass. Here you can make your own glass creations, learning how glass is made, view glass making demos, and see many breathtaking glass creations! Best Places to Skiing, Tubing, and Snowboarding: · Greek Peak Lodge and Resort: Skiing and snowboard rentals are available. Passes for ski lifts for a weekend, a day or for an entire season. A lesson for new skiers and snowboarders are available as well. If you are planning to spend the whole weekend, plan on checking out the indoor waterpark for more family fun. Greek Peak offers tubing as well with a tractable platform to move you and your tube up the mountain. · Song Mountain Resort: If you are an avid skier and ski often, you can purchase a membership at Song Mountain Resort. Members get to enjoy a private lodge with wireless internet, a locker room and much more. · Camillus Ski Association: Skiing, Tubing snowboarding and lessons are all available. Family fun is just around the corner, you and your family can get active and have fun! Best Places to go Ice Skating: · Clinton Square: Clinton Square as a beautiful outdoor ice rink for exciting fun on the ice. · SunnyCrest, Meacham, Shove Park, Circo Twin Ice Skating Center: All of these ice rinks offer open skate hours. Best Places to go Snowshoeing and/or Cross Country Skiing: · Baltimore Woods: Baltimore woods offers many trails for snowshoeing during the winter. You can rent snowshoes inside the visitors center for just $5. Become one with nature and see the stunning wildlife and all the wilderness has to offer. · Beaver Lake: Beaver Lake has 7 miles of skiing trails. All except for the Three Meadows trail are rated easy. Ski trails are one way on weekends and ski rentals are not available. Snowshoe rentals are available for $5 from 9 am to 3 pm and must be returned by 4pm. Three trails are offered for snowing showing ranging from .5 miles to 2.2 miles. · Highland Forest: The terrain of Highland Forest is perfect for cross country skiing or snowshoeing. Horse-drawn sleigh rides are also offered. There is 40 miles of cross country skiing trails, 20 of which are groomed often and great for any level of skier. There are also three trails that are loops. Ski rentals are available, $15 for adults and $10 for Children (15 and under). Individual items such as Skis, Boots, and Poles all $7 each. Snowshoes can be rented for $10 (adults) and $5 for children 15 & under. Sleigh Rides are 20 minutes through the woods and calling ahead is recommended. · Onondaga Lake Parkway: The 7.5-mile paved pathway is not paved in the winter creating a lovely place to cross country ski or snowshoe along the lake’s edge. Festivals in Syracuse: · Syracuse’s Winterfest: Through February 13 through the 23, you can visit Syracuse’s Winterfest. With indoor and outdoor events, the entire family will have fun. There is anything from Chili cook-offs to ice carvings. Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest holidays of the year. Romance is all around, people buy flowers, chocolates, and other gifts for their significant others. Approximately 220 million roses are cultivated for Valentine’s Day each year. Cupid is the Roman god of love (also known as Eros in Greek mythology) and his mother, Venus, loved roses which is why they are associated with love. Americans spend about $20 billion a year for Valentine’s Day, but where did this holiday even come from? Lupercalia is a holiday that is traced back to the Ancient Roman Empire. It was celebrated to purify the city from evil spirits and celebrate the coming of spring and fertility. On February 14th they had a holiday honoring the goddess Juno, the queen of the Roman pantheon and goddess of marriage and women. There was a fertility festival the next day, called the Feast of Lupercalia, to honor gods Lupercus and Faunus. At the Lupercal altar in an ancient cave, a male goat and dog were sacrificed by one of the Luperci priests along with salted meal cakes. Young boys and girls were strictly separated, but for this festival, the names of girls would be written on pieces of paper and placed into a jar. The boys would all draw a name from the jar and the couples would be paired for the duration of Lupercalia, or sometimes for the year, until the next celebration. Most of the time, the couple would fall in love and marry. The festival later became known as Februa, which is Latin for purifications, and the month became Februarius in the Roman Calendar. This tradition continued annually until it was deemed un-Christian and that people shouldn’t be paired based on luck. Emperor Claudius II banned marriage because he believed that men wouldn’t join his army if they were married. A priest, Valentine, went against the Emperor’s law and married couples in secret. When he was discovered, Valentine was sent to death by being beaten with clubs and then decapitated. It’s said that his death occurred on February 14th around the year 270. Pope Gelasius declared the holiday dedicated to Saint Valentine. The day wasn’t necessarily about love until the 14th century, though. The first Valentine letters were sent in the 15th century and in the 1600s it became a tradition to exchange love letters. Valentine’s Day came to the U.S and in the 1840s, cards started to be manufactured and sold, leading to the consumer holiday it is today. |
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October 2021
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