Early winter storms pound eastern U.S., causing power outages and dangerous travel conditions12/11/2018 Pershelle Rohrer Two winter storms hit the eastern United States in November, leaving snow and ice from Maine to, as far south as, Louisiana. Winter Storm, Avery, occurred from November 14th to November 16th, 2018, beginning in Louisiana and Mississippi and ending in the New England states while Winter Storm Bruce began in Colorado and traveled east through the plains, Midwest, Great Lakes, and northeast over Thanksgiving weekend, causing travel complications for thousands of people during the holiday. Avery was an early snowstorm, bringing the first measurable snowfall of the year in cities such as Memphis, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Monroe, Louisiana received 0.4 inches of snow on Nov. 14, breaking the record for the earliest measurable snowfall by ten days. Five people were killed on the roads on the first night of the storm, including two on a casino-bound tour bus that overturned in Mississippi. 44 others were injured. The storm traveled toward the Ohio River Valley area, downing power lines and eliminating power for more than 70,000 customers in Kentucky, 67,000 in Indiana, and 35,000 in Ohio, according to NBC News. Cincinnati and Dayton saw ice accumulation of ¼ to 1/3 inch overnight from November 14thto 15th. The St. Louis metro area received six to nine inches of snow in places. Three dozen locations in Pennsylvania and New York picked up at least a foot of snow. New York City’s Central Park received six inches, the second heaviest day of November snowfall since tracking began in 1869. State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University, received 10.3 inches of snow as Avery passed through. Parts of New York had winds of over 60 miles per hour. A second track of the storm traveled up the Atlantic coast, meeting the main portion in the northeast. Snow covers the road in West Scranton, Pa. on November 16, 2018. Photo Credit: The Times-Tribune Winter Storm Bruce hit the central and eastern U.S. beginning on November 24th, creating unsafe travel conditions during the holiday weekend. Accidents occurred on the roads, including a 20-vehicle pileup on I-70 near Frisco, Colorado, and nearly 3,000 flights were cancelled as a result of the storm. The storm caused blizzard conditions in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois, and St. Louis experienced a funnel cloud, creating a rare blizzard warning and tornado warning in close proximity of each other. Chicago was mainly impacted by the storm on the night of November 25thand morning of November 26th, when some surrounding areas received thirteen inches of snow. It was the fifth deepest November snowfall recorded there since the National Weather service began tracking in 1884. 350,000 customers lost power, and about 16,000 were still without it as of November 27th. “Life threatening travel conditions” were reported by the National Weather Service, and an ice warning was sent out just before rush hour on the morning of the 26th. Over 1,000 flights were grounded at Chicago airports as of the 27th. Over three dozen Metra trains were delayed or cancelled as a result of the snow. People were advised to stay away from Lake Michigan as waves were measured as high as 16 feet in Cook County. The lakeshore bike path flooded as wind gusts of 50 miles per hour drove waves toward the shore. Waves from Lake Michigan crash against the shore in Chicago, Ill. on November 26, 2018. Photo Credit: The Chicago Tribune Madison Halsne, a student in Chicago, has lived there for three years and recently moved to Edgewater on the northeast side from downtown. “The past two years I had been living downtown, so it was weird to see that the sidewalks weren’t shoveled as promptly as they would have been if I were still downtown. It was very slippery on Tuesday morning when I was heading to class.” Areas on the northeast side of the city received anywhere from three to seven inches, and Halsne estimates that Edgewater received about five inches of snow.
Chicago’s northwest suburbs were hit the hardest. Schaumburg, one of the city’s major suburbs, received 9.2 inches of snow overnight. Some places in north-central Illinois topped a foot of snow like Bull Valley, which received 13.1 inches. O’Hare International Airport on the northwest side was hit with 7.4 inches of snow, and the Midway Airport to the southwest had 3.4 inches. The storm caused cancellation of classes and finals for students like Halsne due to the unsafe conditions for travel the day after the storm. Temperatures also dipped into the teens at times, and people struggled to stay warm. “It may not always snow a lot, but the cold weather here is no joke!” said Halsne. Ice became a problem in the days following the storm. “When I was leaving work on Tuesday [November 27th] night, I saw someone slip and fall downtown on the snow-covered ground,” Halsne recalled. As the temperatures began to rise on November 29th, ice began to fall from as high as 1,100 feet from the tops of skyscrapers. Roads surrounding the John Hancock Center, Chicago’s fourth tallest skyscraper, were closed after ice began smashing windshields and posing a threat to the public. Halsne was not affected by the falling ice. Winter Storm Bruce traveled through the Great Lakes region and New England after passing through Chicago. The storm reached Vermont by Wednesday, November 28th, and as of 7 AM that day the city of Rochester had 24.7 inches of snow accumulation. The snow and ice affecting the eastern half of the country in November made for an interesting holiday weekend.
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BRIAN ROCHA
Depression and suicide are in the top ten of leading causes of death in the USA in recent years. This is a huge problem, especially for teenagers who are in high school because more teenagers are suffering from depression right now, and the only exit that they find is suicide. To prevent and try to decrease the rate of suicide in young people, the Hope Squad was created at Logan High School. The Hope Squad is defined as a group of students that are been chosen by their classmates of the school to help students to prevent suicide and try to help the students who are depressed. This group currently has 26 members who have been trained to help students deal with negative feelings. This group of students is here in our school for the first time, and they are led by their teacher Mike Mudrow, but even though this is their first year in Logan High School, this is not the first Hope Squad group. Mike Mudrow tells us, "Hope Squad is created by a teacher in Provo, and he saw that are a lot of suicides in his school, and he said we have to do something about this." The idea of that teacher works, the suicide rate reduces a lot in the school. This Hope Squad people, when they find a person who is depressed, “They try to make friends with them. It's a lot harder making friends when you are depressed, and so part of the mission of Hope Squad makes sure that everybody in the school has friends,” Mudrow said. Ruben Cruz, who is part of this group of students, tell us, “Most of the time they meet to talk about ways to prevent suicide or ways to help other students dealing with depression.” That helps them to know how to act when somebody is depressed. Hope Squad members help the other people not only to decrease the rate of suicide. They help the people because their favorite part is going to other students and giving them the help they need to enjoy their high school experience more instead of bullying or having depressive feelings. This group, despite its first year, has had a good performance in the work of helping people with depression, and there is no doubt that they will continue to improve every day. Natalie Barfuss
Proposition 2 is a law that relates to medical cannabis in Utah that will be either passed or not be passed on November 6th2018. As of right now the currentUtah law requires the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to ensure by January 1, 2019, that marijuana (cannabis) is grown in the state of Utah and can be sold to research institutions or terminally ill patients with less than six months left to live. Proposition 2 although indicates other things, ballotpedia wrote “Proposition 2 was designed to legalize medical marijuana for individuals with qualifying conditions. Individuals could receive a medical marijuana card with a recommendation from a physician. Under the measure, a medical marijuana cardholder could not smoke or use marijuana or use a device to facilitate the smoking of marijuana. During any one 14-day period, an individual would be allowed to buy either 2 ounces of unprocessed marijuana or an amount of marijuana product with no more than 10 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol.” Although if if prop 2 passes, there will be some major adjustments to prevent problems. Medical use of marijuana is legal in 31 states and is going up every year. 6 other states are voting right now for proposition 2 in their states. The chance of it being legal throughout the country within some years is very high. More than less have medical marijuana legalized and a few even have recreational marijuana legalized. Many people in Utah had a few issues with prop 2 but the chances of it passing is surprisingly high based on some compromises. FOX 13 NEWS wrote, “Governor Gary Herbert announced he will call the Utah State Legislature into special session to pass a "compromise" bill on medical marijuana.” They also wrote, “The bill was the product of weeks of closed-door talks between groups ranging from the Utah Medical Association and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (who oppose Prop. 2) to the libertarian-leaning think tank Libertas Institute and Utah Patients Coalition, Prop. 2's sponsor.” The bill has a few changes to the law and if this law does pass there will be some amendments made. Deseret News wrote about some of the amendments that will be added, some of which include that no one with an autoimmune disease will be able to get a medical card, no one with gastrointestinal disorder will be able to get a card, and you can also not use medical marijuana in place of opioids if you only have a 2 week subscription for them, but if your prescription is longer and you are at risk of addiction it is allowed. Another compromise will be that Under Proposition 2, a patient may personally grow up to six of their own marijuana plants if they live more than 100 miles from the nearest dispensary, but that is not allowed in the compromise bill.Deseret News also wrote, “Aside from that, the only authorized forms of medical marijuana under the compromise bill would be a capsule, tablet, concentrated oil, liquid suspension, topical substance, sublingual pill, chewable or dissolvable pill, skin patch, or in limited circumstances, a resin or wax. The compromise bill does not allow patients to use edible marijuana products, whereas there is no such restriction in Proposition 2.” In conclusion, if it passes there will be compromises made by the state legislature in a way to prevent people from smoking and harming their lungs, there will be limited dispensaries, and there will be limited illnesses you can get it for. Whether it passes or not it will still be illegal for people underage and without a medical card. Medicinal marijuana will be monitored and taxed by the government. Alexis Robinson
Voting awareness has been on the rise this time of year. With the midterm elections being on November 6th some people who do not vote ignore and dislike most of the voting awareness. People who do vote encourage others to vote so that they can help bring to pass change. People who do not vote wonder why people who vote do vote. Voters wonder why people who do not vote don’t. Here are some reasons why people vote and why people do not. Participation is one of the biggest factors of why Americans do and do not vote. If you do vote and choose not to participate you waive your freedom of speech and you’re not helping choose what direction the country is going to go. On the other hand if you do vote you are somewhat responsible for what laws and people are put in charge. When something goes wrong in the office or a law is not working out well, people who voted for that law or person who they wanted in office are told that it was their choice on what they wanted. Another major factor of voting are a person's feelings towards a certain candidate or law. Many who do not vote say that they didn’t because of negative feelings towards the candidates or laws that are up to be voted for or on. Some Americans that do vote usually have strong feelings towards one option or the other. The “Lesser of Two Evils” strategy is one that is used by both voters and non voters. This strategy used by voters by choosing the candidate or law that in their opinion is the better option with the least consequences. People who do not vote use this strategy saying that in their opinion no matter what candidate or law is chosen they are both evil even if one is a “lesser evil”. The last major factor is voting itself. Many who do not vote claim that their vote is just one among thousands and that it won't matter. Some even liken it to a grain of sand in the sea saying it doesn’t make a difference. Common Cause, a grassroots organization whose mission is upholding the core values of American democracy, says that “One vote can make a difference. Many voters, together deciding they will make a difference, can change an election.” Many presidential, state, and even local elections have been decided by only a handful of votes. This article was to inform people some of the major reasons why some vote and others do not. It is your choice to vote or to not. If you vote you get your voice heard, your vote is counted and your opinion is noted. If you do not vote you do not have to participate, your opinion is kept to yourself and your vote is not counted. Whatever you choose to do is up to you. Dylan McCuskey
With midterms for Congress occurring today, pressure on both political parties to win the elections is increasing. At the moment, the Republican Party holds the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are enough available seats, however, for the Democratic Party to take both branches. Traditionally, the party in power loses some seats in Congress during midterms, but President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have been making an effort to keep this shift from happening. The midterm elections are poised to be extremely interesting. If history repeats itself, the Democrats have a good chance of taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Presidential popularity and campaign fundraising are two key statistics that have predicted previous “wave election” years, during which the party in power loses control of Congress. In the past, any time a president has had an approval rating of less than 50%, the opposing party has taken over both the House and Senate. Trump’s current rating is 42%, and so it could be another wave election year. The amount of donations each party has received also often predicts a wave year, as funding can be fairly representative of how much support each party has, and therefore how the elections will swing. This year, the Democratic Party has received about $200 million more than the Republicans ($430 million compared to $230 million), a number that highly suggests the Democrats could dominate Congress after midterms, as usually the party with the most financial support wins significantly more elections. Despite the evidence that the Republican Party will lose seats, there are also indications that they will maintain control of Congress. The strong economy that has developed under the Trump Administration is likely to gain votes for Republican candidates. Because of a 3.7% unemployment rate and a US GDP growth of 4.2% this year, voters who elected Trump in hopes of a stronger economy will likely be happy with the current administration and continue to support Republicans. Historically, the biggest problem the reigning party has had during midterm elections is getting voters to actually turn up. People who oppose the dominant party are more likely to have complaints, and therefore will be more likely to want to vote. This year, however, that may not be a problem for the Republicans. Controversial events, such as the Kavanaugh hearing, have given Trump and his party something to rally behind, causing Republican citizens to be more passionate about voting. Regardless of how the midterms swing the House and Senate, there could be drastic consequences. Democrats fear that if Republicans maintain control of Congress, Trump will be able to institute all of his ideas without any resistance, giving him too much power. On the other hand, Republicans worry that if Democrats win over Congress, it could lead to an impeachment attempt, which could serve to divide the country even further. Because of these possible results, the midterms might be some of the most important elections in the nation’s history. Cody Jardine
Welding courses at BATC and the career opportunities available in this field of work. BATC offers three welding courses you can take: Welding Beginning, welding – Blacksmithing, and Welding Certification and process. There are lots of careers you could pursue, such as Welder, Welder-Fitter, Welder/Fabricator, Fabrication Welder, Fitter/Welder, Sub Arc Operator, Aluminum Welder, Fabricator, Mig Welder, and Maintenance Welder. The typical wages for this field of work average across the U.S. are $40,240 yearly, and about $19.35 hourly. Almost 50% of workers in this field only have a high school diploma or equivalent, about 20% of workers have less than a high school diploma, about 25% of them have some college but no degree, and 10% or less have an associate’s degree. People starting in this career usually have no work experience and 1-12 months on-the-job training. New job opportunities in this field of work are likely in the future. In fact there are multiple local companies hiring welders right now. The company NEXEO HR located in Logan, Utah has been hiring welders since Aug. 3rd and they are still hiring people in that position. Source: kuer.org
On the morning of Saturday, September 1, around 3 AM, a wildfire started west of the Great Salt Lake. On Sunday, about 9,900 acres of the forest were left in ashes. Tooele County Fire Warden, Dan Walton, said the initial response to the fire was hampered because part of it comes within 5 miles of the U.S magnesium federal environment superfund site, meaning fire crews were informed they "could not go into" that particular area. By Sunday morning, the fire had grown to 3,600 acres and continued to expand, reaching 9,900 acres by the evening. The fire was 50 percent contained Sunday evening, the authorities said. The fire that remained practically for two whole days, did not threaten human lives, nor threaten any structure or construction, although the losses of the green area are very serious. Authorities are looking for the guilty suspect of another fire. Another fire in the state of Utah extends along Interstate I-80. This fire started on September 3, on Labor Day. The fire quickly spread to 300 acres. Tuesday, it was near twice that size at 575 acres. A slight break let firefighters make progress. It was at 50 percent containment late Tuesday afternoon. Fire investigators from several agencies have been searching for an arsonist whom they said set six fires along Interstate 80 from Tooele County to Summit County. Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands said that based on evidence at the fires, witness information, and other factors, he was confident all six fires were connected. They will work with authorities in Wyoming to see if fires along the interstate there are also connected. By Dylan McCuskey, Features Editor Over the past few months, more and more students have been taking action to support gun control. Spurred by the events in Parkland, Florida, many students have walked out of school in order to promote anti-gun legislation. The goal of these walkouts is to persuade the United States Legislature to change the laws concerning who can own a gun. Protestors are convinced that by regulating the sale of guns, we can prevent further school shootings. Logan High has participated in these protests along with many other schools nationwide. The first walk out at Logan High took place on March 17th. Many LHS students gathered in front of the school at ten in the morning for seventeen minutes to remember the seventeen lives lost in Parkland. Some students, including Amelia Strange, a junior, gave speeches about the events. Strange talked about her first experiences with hearing about school shootings. She also emphasized the fact that it kept happening and will keep happening unless students unite to make a change. “I got involved with the movement because I started to see people our age who were just as outraged as I was about gun violence,” Strange said when asked about her dedication to the cause. “Their leadership and courage is what inspired me to help organize the walk outs.” It wasn’t long before LHS students organized another protest. On April 20th, students across the country walked out again to protest for gun restrictions. LHS students left school at ten to march to the Logan courthouse. They stood outside the building for two hours, holding up signs that protested current arms laws. Strange believes the importance of the protests lies with the students. “I think the fact that young people are taking control of the issues that affect us is particularly important. We are taking a stand for what we believe is right.” Students are hoping that their voices will be heard and will influence the country to make a change. There are many ways for students to get involved with the movement. You can email your representatives and tell them about what you believe in. Donations are also accepted by organizations that work for gun laws, such as Every Town for Gun Safety. Also, you can learn about upcoming marches and protests by looking for announcements made by the Parkland survivors, who have a major role in leading the movement. If you are passionate about these issues, be sure to get involved, as your voice could make the difference. |
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December 2018
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