Army Suicide

In 2007 suicide made a 20% jump from the year before. As many as 121 American soldiers committed suicide in 2007 alone. A total of 121, if all confirmed is more than double the 52 reported in 2001. Reports show an increase of self- inflicted injuries and attempted injuries. The soldiers who committed suicide showed signs of post- traumatic stress. 35% of soldiers are searching for medical health help after they have returned from the war. Officials have worked to set up a number of new programs and ones. These provide mental health care to the force. Troops that are avoiding counseling fear it will harm their career.


Written by:Alex Zanger
& Grace Behrensmeyer

3-team blockbuster trade

Did you hear about the last second trade right at the deadline? The teams that were included in this trade are the Cleveland Cavaliers,Seattle Supersonics,and the Chicago bulls.The Cleveland Cavaliers got Ben Wallace,Wally Szczerbiak,Joe Smith, Delonte West, and a 2009 second round draft pick. The Bulls got Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden,Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown. The Supersonics got Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall,and Adrian Griffin.
By:Zach
Skyler
Michael

Mission Rogue

If you have watched television or picked up a copy of your local newspaper lately, then you probably have heard about the plan to destroy an United States spy satellite. If you haven't you are probably wondering why they are destroying it in the first place. They are destroying it because they need to destroy the hydrazine tank, reducing or eliminating the risk to people on Earth to hazardous chemicals. Even though the intentions of this plan seems helpful, there are still faults. These faults are that some people are afraid that some of the three thousand pieces of debris, all smaller than a football, would land on Earth. Not to fear, it's unlikely that any piece of debris would remain in-tact to impact the ground. Experts are now saying that the mission to destroy the Rogue Spy Satellite was a success.

By: Courtney P.
Kaytlynn S.
Serenity N.

Top Ten Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.

1. Detroit,MI
2. St. Louis, MO
3. Flint, MI
4. Oakland, CA
5. Camden, NJ
6. Birmingham, AL
7. North Charleston, SC
8. Memphis, TN
9. Richmond, CA
10. Cleveland, OH

As a group we thought that finding the most dangerous cities in the U.S. would be interesting. The list at the top is what we found. As you can see, Detroit is the most dangerous U.S. city. We found statistics on this site. The thing that surprised us the most was that none of New Yorks sections were on the list. We thought that Harlem, New York, the home of Frank Lucas or the "American Gangster" would at least be on the list.

Dallas, D.J., Gage, Harlee

MDA event

Every year in Quincy, during the first few months, there is an MDA event (Muscular Dystrophy Association) and they pick some people to go to jail, but not for a bad reason. They do this to raise money. They get the money from the bail, and the bail money goes to the kids with the muscular disease. This year it just so happens to be my youth pastor who volunteered. By March 12, 2008 we have to raise 1,500 dollars for his bail, which as I said earlier, goes to the MDA. If you would like to help us raise money go to www.mdaevent.org/participantinfo and click the big orange button that says "click here to help me make my goal" and make a donation. Thank You

Jodie Kennedy
Samantha Skirvin

Nba All Star Weekend 2008

Wow! What a great turnout for the All Star weekend in New Orleans. First off, we think it was a great idea to have there in celebration of the restoration of the city. It kicked off with the Celebrities game on Friday evening. Next was the Rookie Challenge but yet again the sophomores came out on top . Then on Saturday evening there was a series of events. First off was the shooting stars challenge. This is where a NBA player, a WNBA player, and a NBA legend team up to make a series of shots. The Spurs were the winners. Following that was the skills challenge. This is where the top guards maneuver threw ab obstacle course of dribbling, shooting, and passing. Last years winner, Dwayne Wade, did not come out on top. Cris Paul won. Next was the Three Point Shootout where the best long range shooters come together to compete. Jason Kapono defended his title and won. Ending the night was the spectacular dunk contest . The competitors included Generld Green, Jamario moon, Rudy Gay, and the winner Dwight Howard with a perfect score of 200. He also had 2 dunks in the top 5 dunks of all time. Which included the superman dunk and the behind the backboard windmill. Next night on Sunday was the NBA All Star Game. The east dominated by more than 24 points at one time until the last quarter where he west came back and got the lead. But they could not keep the lead. the East came back and won 134-128. Lebron James was the 2008 NBA All Star Game MVP with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assist, and 2 steals. That concluded the 2008 NBA All Star Weekend.


Dylan Epley
Tyler Shelton
Aaron Edwards
Landon Epperson

Dog Fighting

Dog fighting is an illegal and organized, violent fight between dogs. An estimated 40,000 people are in dog fighting every year in the U.S. Fight purses can be as high as $100,000. The dogs used (such as pit bulls, terriers, and bull dogs, etc.) have to be trained to be tenacious, courageous, tireless, and powerful. To make the dogs jaws more powerful, they feed them smaller dogs or animals. Fights take place in garages, alleys, or abandoned buildings. The dogs fight to the death or until one cannot fight any longer.
Dog fighting is wrong. It is abusive and no one should even consider doing it. They are forcing animals to be mean and ferocious. They are also killing or extremely harming them. The animals could have been nice and loving, but they are forcing them to turn out like savages. Anyone who does this should be punished. Dog fighting is a crude sport. Would you want your pet to be put up against another to the death?

Lacey
Sarah
Megan

NBA Point Guards and Power Forwards

We chose are blog on NBA point guards and power forwards. Some of the candidates for point guards are Steve Nash with 17.5 points per game,11.4 assists per game, and .7 steals per game. Another is Ray Allen with 18.7 points per game, 3.1 assists per game, and 1 steal per game. Last but not least, Allen Iverson 26.6 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, and 2.05 steals per game.

For power forwards we have Amare Stoudamire, Kevin Garrnet, and Kenyon Martin. Amare Stoudamire has 23.7 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, and 2.3 blocks per game. Kevin Garnett has 18.6 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, and 1.4 blocks per game. Also we have Kenyon Martin which has 11.4 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 1.4 blocks per game. So that is it, you decide who do you think who the best point guard and power forward.


Christian Witte
Jacob Farr
Jake Voss

How Could You!

How could you hurt this?

Well, if you think nobody would you' re wrong! Many animals are abused each year. Thousands more are crying out for help like the Pitt Bull that was severely beaten and then set on fire. But for others help came too late, like the cat that was in the neighbors yard and was shot with a shotgun, or the dog who was shot, skinned, and then decapitated. To help other animals like these, you can join the ASPCA today!


Breanna
Brittany
Alexis
Gabby

My Chemical Romance Top 10 Songs

My Chemical Romance is one of our favorite bands. Here are their top 10 songs:
1.Thanks for the Venom
2.Cemetery Drive
3.To the End
4.Vampires will never hurt you
5.Helena
6.The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You
7.I'm Not Okay(I Promise)/drowning lessons
8.Demolition Lovers
9.The Ghost of You
10.I Never Told You What I Do For A Living

We like all of the songs. If you also like them then check out this website.

Melissa W.
Gretchen M.
Tiffany V.

Chevy trucks

This truck has only been in the shop three times. It has a 3 inch lift kit,It can pull up to 4,000 pounds. The engine is a 350 5.7 liter fuel injector. This truck gets 14-15 miles per gallon. This truck can really go through some mud. It has a lot of power in it.

Another good truck is a 454 ss big block. This truck is completely stock. It came with 400 pound of torque and 230 horsepower. The only thing rebuilt is the engine he put over $2000

worth of parts in it .

Caleb
Andrew
Jeremy
Brandon

Drama in Payson

WOW......coming to school is really a trip. Everyday this person hates that person and then the next day they're best friends. There is never a dull day in Payson! Like as of right now I know of two disputes, and I'm in them both. But honestly, it gets old! It's all stupid and pointless. You're going to see them every day so just put your differences aside! No one has the time or patience for it so just get along and stop all the drama! T.J. says '' Don't start none don't get none,and it's mostly the girls."

T.J.
Sadie

How Do Movies Effect People

Do you think movies effect a lot of peoples lives? Yes, because people can watch C.S.I. and it can encourage you to get more house protection. Movies like Juno can effect people by making you think about sex. Not all guys will claim the baby or help take care of the baby. When kids watch violent movies they may grow up to be violent themselves. The Punisher is a good example of a violent movie.

School Shootings

Did you know that violence in video games and movies can influence students, and other people to commit school shootings? Causes of school shootings include teasing, breakups, fights at school, bullying, depression, and mental illness. The publicity of past school shooters on the news- and/or in magazines, when the crime is committed, is not very smart. This creates idols for teased, picked on, and bullied teens all over the world. Most school shootings have been committed by current, or former, angry, and teased students. The majority of the shootings are committed by kids in their teens. Since the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, many other "small" shootings have occurred. Even though some picked on, teased, and bullied teens turn to guns to solve their problems, there are also many others that don't. So school shootings, we believe, should not get so much publicity, because they can become a source of encouragement for other angry kids.


Laaken Stotler
Courtney Rees
Daniellle Ellison

Northern Illinois Shooting

How could someone commit a shooting on Valentines Day? Well, 27 year old Steve Kazmierczak killed five students plus himself at Northern Illinois University. He took an anti-anxiety drug and a sleeping aid in addition to the antidepressant Prozac. He had stopped taking Prozac three weeks before the shooting. He didn't hold any grudges against anyone or have any social problems. We think the fact that he stopped taking Prozac is why he committed the shooting. Also, since he didn't have any noticeable problems no one thought he would do something like this. What do you think the cause of this could have been? For more information check out this article.
Cheyanne B.
Kellie M.

Wii vs 360

Which would you rather have Wii or 360? The three people in our group have different opinions. Two people in our group think the Wii is best because it is cheaper and you play like you're in the game. The Wii also keeps you active while you play. The other person in our group thinks the 360 is better. He thinks the 360 is better because it has better graphics and better games . He also thinks the controllers are better. What do you think?

Rap Music's Influense on Teens

Teenagers who listen to rap music tend to be like the people in the rap videos. These videos can give teens a negative attitude. The people who rap sometimes say bad words and it makes teens say these thing. For example, if the rap is about getting drunk the teens who listen to the rap will want to go get drunk themselves. Teens are being wrongly influenced by this music. Teens already have enough peer pressure, listening to this music just makes it all worse. Some people are starting to blame rap music for the way teens act. These teens need need positive role models. We recommend edited or Christian versions of rap music that teens love so much, but you need to step up and control what you listen to. We all agree that rap is good but kids that are too young, who don't know better, don't need to listen to it.

Abram, Johnny, Megan, Sierra

Cheating Superbowl Team

Should they win or not? The Patriot's have recently been caught cheating against opposing teams. One specific team was the Baltimore Raven's. Against this team, they illegally called a timeout during the game. Due to this occasion, the majority of our group believes that this team should have been immediately disqualified from the Superbowl. On the other hand, some people believe that they should have been disqualified from just that specific game. This undefeated team is now at the Superbowl for the fourth time within the past seven years. They will be facing the New York Giants. Within our group, the majority of us think that even though the Giants are not as good as the Patriot's, they should still win for the fact that they played fairly throughout their season. As with the Patriot's, there is another side to this conflict. The other side is that Giants should win because they are just an all around better team. Do you think that the Patriot's or the Giants should win?

A. Zanger
L. Cunningham
E. Davis
B. Hultz