Category: Featured

Ceremony Honors Ben Clark’s National Achievements

Penn Manor senior Ben Clark left for Washington D.C. as a hopeful candidate with a strong project in the Siemens Competition and returned as a national celebrity.

Clark came home to Penn Manor Dec. 7, the previous day his life was changed forever. Clark was at the Siemens Competition in Washington D.C. where he claimed the grand prize, a $100,000 scholarship to any school of his choice for his research on binary stars.

“I feel fantastic, I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Clark about his victory. “My parents are absolutely thrilled, they cried when I won.”

Senior Ben Clark has been celebrated by students and staff at Penn Manor since winning the $100,000 Siemens Science, Math and Technology award. Photo by Brian Dunne

Jill Clark, Clark’s mother, was very proud of his hard work.

“I’m incredibly proud, I’m thrilled that his hard work and perseverance has been recognized by a panel of highly respected professors.”

Clark’s father, Jay Clark, was also very proud and glad all his hard work paid off.

“It was all hard work, focus, and just an incredible god-given gift and a lot of people opening doors for him and moving him forward.”

On Friday, Dec. 10th, there was a reception held in the library from to recognize and commend Ben on his first place finish in the Siemens Math, Science, and Technology competition.  A video of the competition was shown

With the money he has received, and his incredible smarts, the younger Clark has set his eyes on some of the nation’s top colleges. Among those schools are “Princeton, Cal Tech, Stanford, Harvard and MIT in no particular order,” said Clark.

“Ben put 7000 hours of work into his project. He also put 8000 hours of CPU work using IDL (Interactive Data Language),” said Clark’s mother.

The Siemens competition wasn’t all business, there was also time for games.

“We hung out, had fun, played capture the flag at like midnight the last night,” said Clark. “I just really loved being there, it was really fantastic to interact with all the other students.”

Along with the support of his family, Clark also had Penn Manor behind him rooting for him all the way.

Angie Stiklaitis, a Penn Manor math teacher and a former teacher of Clark’s was ecstatic when he won.

“During block two AP Calc BC, we watched it (Siemens Competition) live on the web cast and it was just really exciting when they began to announce in reverse order the individual winners. When they announced number two I literally jumped out of the desk. I haven’t jumped that high in 30 years,” said Stiklaitis. “He’s just a once-in-a-career student. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to work with him, I just predict that there are bigger things in his future.”

The perks of winning this competition have landed Clark with the opportunity to go to New York and ring the closing bell at the New York stock exchange on January 29.

Clark plans to continue with research in this project and other projects in astrophysics and physics.

“I want to find out how the universe works.”

By Brian Dunne

Penn Manor School Board Breakfasts at the High School

A milestone for Penn Manor staff and board members alike was marked with coffee and muffins Friday morning in the high school library.

It was the first time all of the school board members and staff had an official meet-and-greet and the outcome was reportedly positive.

“This is the first year we’ve had a meet-and-greet,” said district superintendent Dr. Michael Leichliter. “Last month was the first meet-and-greet with the Marticville staff. Next month’s in Conestoga.  It’s important for teachers and the school board to have an open and close relationship.”

Many teachers arrived early to get into the library for a quick bite and to shoot the breeze with school board members.

The newest school board member, Amber Green, who is filling a vacant position, was grateful for the chance to meet staff members as part of her responsibility to the board.

“It’s a very wonderful school board and there’s lots to learn, said Green, “I thought there would be drama, but there isn’t really. We work together to solve problems and they usually get resolved at the end of the meeting.

Teachers grab a quick bite during the Me
Teachers grab a quick bite during the high school's meet-and-greet Photo by Sarah Schaeffer

“There isn’t any cloak-and-dagger drama, like you see on TV,” added Green. “Everyone on the school board is really mellow.”

Green said she felt it was important for the school board to meet with the teachers and have a meeting that gave them some face time.

“Instead of just knowing their names,” said Green.

School board president Dr. Richard Frerichs said this was an opportune time to have a meeting with teachers and staff at various schools in the district.

Dr. Rich Frerichs addresses the board and faculty Friday morning. Photo by Sarah Schaeffer

“Now we have a governor that vowed to put money into public schools and we need partnerships with school board and teachers in order to make the best of things,” Frerichs said.

Staff members agreed.

“It’s helpful for a lot of teachers to gather,” said Teri Hay, an art teacher in the high school.

“There’s a lot of e-mail communication and open communication with Dr. Leichliter, Mr. Gale,” said Hay.  “I don’t have the e-mail addresses of the board members but if I needed them, I know I’d be able to get in contact.”

“Because of how big the building is, it brings all the different departments together,” said Krista Cox, an administrator in her second year of being part of the staff at Penn Manor.

By Ben Embry and Sarah Schaeffer

Penn Manor Senior Wins National Science Prize

Ben Clark is now $100,000 richer in scholarship awards after winning a national prize over the weekend for his work in the field of astrophysics.

Clark, a Penn Manor senior, won for his project The Close Binary Fraction: A Bayesian Analysis of SDSS M Dwarf Spectra, in a national competition held by the Siemens Foundation, which encourages research and development in science, math and technology.

“This incredible young scientists has quantified the fraction of low mass stars with close companions, a major piece of work and a significant step in our understanding of star formation,” said competition judge Marla Geha, an Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Yale University in an interview with PR Newswire.

The national Siemens Competition was held in Washington D.C. Dec. 2 to 6.   It is a competition for some of America’s top young scientists and is aimed at inspiring innovation.

“Determining the fractions of stars that, unlike our own Sun, have a companion star is important to understanding how stars form,” said Geha about Clark’s winning entry. (This work) has implications for the number of planetary systems in the Milky Way.”

Ben Clark studied star formation with the help of a astrophysics mentor from Princeton. Photo by Liz Lawrence

Clark started off in his region with 1300 other competitors. Half of the competitors took part in the competition individually, while the other half worked in teams. Clark was an individual competitor. He beat the competition in the regional event, eventually claiming first place overall.

Clark, has a astrophysics mentor from Princeton University.  He described his project before the regional competition.

“I was looking for binary stars and I used a very large, low-quality data set, but through my analysis I was able to get useful results,” said Clark about the data he used in his research.

“These students inspire us all with their passion and commitment to serious scientific research,” said Thomas McCausland, Chairman of the Siemens Foundation, in a press release. “As America focuses on reinvigorating math and science education, they remind us of what is possible when young people are challenged to do science at the highest level.”

To see more of Ben Clark at the competition, go to this website:

http://inr.synapticdigital.com/siemens/Competition-2010/

By Brian Dunne

Penn Manor is Very Thankful

A turkey for me and a turkey for you, students at Penn Manor are very thankful too.

Thanksgiving, the holiday to give thanks.

With Thanksgiving break arriving, students and faculty are eager to start their thanksgiving break. However, they are still very thankful for many different things.

“I am thankful for food,” said Jeremy Vital.

“I am thankful for almost being done with my high school career,” said Laura Revelt.

The senior lunch table ready for the thanksgiving break. Photo by Kyle Hallett

“I am thankful for my health,” said Ally Emmert.

“I am thankful for my freedom,” said Jen Rote.

“I am thankful for zebras,” said Chad Bomberger.

“I am thankful for not being grounded anymore,” said Brant Phillip Roth.

“I am thankful for having a house over my head,” said Matt Gross.

“I am thankful for pilgrims,” said Brock Kauffman.

“I am thankful for friends,” said Ryan Wissler.

“I am thankful for a nice home,” said Cassey Graeff.

“I am thankful for my dog,” said Erica Coakley.

“I am thankful for turkey,” said Jennifer Felegi.

“I am thankful for my home and bed,” said Janelle Witmer.

“I am thankful for my friends, family and food,” said Maddy Hess.

Brian Frantz smiles, thanking for the support of all the brave men and women in the armed forces. Photo by Kyle Hallett

“I am thankful for life and being able to have food 0n the table for Thanksgiving,” said Spencer Barnett.

“I am thankful to have two classes with Mr. Himes and my pals,” said Zach Rayha.

“I am thankful for my friends and family,” said Ryan Dicamillo.

“I am thankful for people like my son who volunteer and fight for our country, said Brian Frantz.

“I am thankful for coming here (school) everyday and educating the youth of tomorrow,” said Steve Hess.

“I am thankful for the soldiers that keep us safe,” said Austin Fink.

“I am thankful for my life and family,” said Clark Habecker.

“I am thankful for my family, three sons and a wonderful job enabling me to see all the smiles on the students faces,” said Pamela Yarnell.

“I am thankful for my wife and kids,” said Douglas Eby.

“I am thankful for my family and Joe Paterno returning to coach,” said Jason Hottenstein.

” I am thankful for my fantastic family and working with such wonderful people,” said Eric Howe.

Along with the annual turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, students and faculty at Penn Manor high school are very appreciative of their lives.

By Kyle Hallett and Cree Bleacher

An Unwanted Pest Makes Its Way to Bedrooms in Our Area

They’re HERE!

They may be guests, but they are uninvited.

As they hitch hike rides into homes on clothing, luggage, and various other things, bed bugs have certainly upgraded their vaguely known name.

As of this fall, exterminators have been called out to treat bed bugs in all districts throughout Lancaster County, according to a local exterminating business, Kirchner’s Pest control.

“Over the past two years, our calls have increased majorly,” said Londa Weaver, owner of the business. “We average five calls per week. Ten years ago, we had none.

“We had four treatments done yesterday alone,” Weaver added.

Anne Butterfield, a nurse at Penn Manor High School, explained what she knew about bed bugs.

“They live in seams of mattresses and feed off human blood,” said Butterfield.  “They

Bed bugs creep their way into beds. Photo courtesy of getridbedbugs.org

can give rashes as well as bites, and can survive in a whole range of temperatures. Last spring, I sent kids to their doctors concerning bites that may have been from bed bugs.

A science teacher at Penn Manor High School, Erick Dutchess, expressed his thoughts about bed bugs.

“Bed bugs are like Santa Claus, they are not real,” joked Dutchess.

“I am not worried about bed bugs because I’m clean and I wash my sheets once a week,” said senior Joey Carlyle.

“I change my sheets, and I’m not worried because I have a water bed. I suggest that everyone convert to a water bed,” said Tanner Kennedy.

Many people have that ex

Bed bugs survive on human blood. Photo courtesy of www.examiner.com

act misconception. Being clean and having water beds does not prevent bed bugs. Bed bugs can still infect water beds, according to killbedbugs.org.

Butterfield also explained the eradication procedures.

“They are pesticide and non-pesticide based, like mechanical approaches. Vacuuming, wrapping the mattress for a period of time and heat treatment,” said Butterfield.

According to bedbugplague.com, the thermal death temperature for bed bugs is approximately 125 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

At Kirchner’s Pest Control, they use the crack and crevice treatment.

“The guys on the job have to get rid of the infested mattresses, box springs, and any upholstered furniture,” said Weaver. ” It is much more expensive for people to have us do bed bug treatment. It’s more labor intensive and time consuming. Since bed bugs like to hide, the guys have to treat not only bed frames, but everything including picture frames that are hanging on the wall.”

By Jenna Reel

It’s Open – Bridge Construction Comes to an End

The bridge between Millersville and Conestoga is officially open.

At 3:15 p.m. Friday, A spokesman for the state transportation office said the barriers were being dragged away to open the bridge.

It had to open in the next 24 hours for the construction contractor not to incur a daily fine for going over the Nov. 20 deadline.

“If they didn’t have the bridge open by Saturday, they have to pay a fee,” said Greg Penny, a local PennDot spokesman, who is pretty confident the deadline will be met.

So the bridge will open, for awhile and then close partially so extra work can be done, according to state officals.

“I’m excited,” said phys-ed teacher, Britney Clugston, about the bridge. “It will make getting to Conestoga more convenient, and getting to the the Y(MCA) in Lampeter.”

When the last work is done and the bridge opens, the 6000 people inconvenienced every day will soon be able to go back to their normal routine of driving straight into or out of Millersville instead of going the whole way around.

The bridge in the district has been under construction for five months. Photo by Liz Lawrence

Tons of people all over the district are excited, even if it doesn’t inconvenience them directly.

“Maybe people will start going that way instead of my way,” said Jeremy Ostberg of Willow Street.

“It’s gonna save me gas money, instead of going the whole way around,” said junior Cheyenne Weber. “It will convenience me with sports and getting to the high school.”

“My sister-in-law lives over there, so that’s the only time I go over there,” said physical education teacher David Hess. “It will be great for us because we go there for Christmas, instead of going the whole way around.”

The construction, being done by J.D. Eckman Inc, was down to it’s last step of fixing the road to the bridge and the guide rails.

“They’re still waiting for the guide rail crew to finish sometime this evening,” Penny said. “The bridge will open then but there is still work to be done.”

Penny said work on the overhang, “sort of like scaffolding” needs to be removed.

He said that work and sealing the deck of the bridge will have to wait until December, probably the week of Dec. 6.

“A lot of the guys on the crew go hunting,” said Penny.  “So two days in December half the bridge (one lane) will be down in order to power wash the sealer and let it dry.”

He said the construction company would have to pay $3,500 in “liquidation damages” for every day past Nov. 20 that the bridge isn’t open.

For the most part, the construction project has proceeded routinely.

“I’m not aware of any construction problems,” said Penny, about the project’s time line.

The one big setback the workers faced throughout the last couple months of working on the bridge was when a 70-year-old elderly man died when he missed the warning signs and tried to walk across the bridge at 9 p.m. one night.

Police estimated the man had been in the water 20 to 25 minutes, according to a published report in Lancaster Newspapers.
By Liz Lawrence

The Man Behind The Athletes Wins Two Awards

Penn Manor sports have set themselves apart from other high schools in the area for more reasons than one.

Jeff Roth, Penn Manor’s athletic director, stood out among all others by winning not only one, but two awards, recently.

Roth recently won the Lancaster/Lebanon Athletic Director of the Year and District 3 Athletic Director of the Year award.

Penn Manor sports' biggest cheerleader may be athletic director Jeff Roth. Photo by Chassidy Sowersby

It all started in 1979. Roth had his first job at McCaskey High School where he was teaching business and also coaching basketball, cross country and track.

After that, he had the same jobs at Mansfield and Pequea Valley High School.

Roth took a break from school and took a job at RR Donnelly Printing, but it’s hard to keep this man away from sports.

It wasn’t long until Roth enrolled at Penn State to get his master’s degree in sports administration. He stayed at Penn State for four months then went to F&M to work after getting his degree. He worked in the athletic department at both schools.

Ten years ago, Arlen Mummaw (Penn Manor’s previous athletic director)  took a sabbatical and Roth filled in for him. Mummaw came back to Penn Manor but decided to give up his job as athletic director and take a teaching job. Roth was then named athletic director.

“When I first started, 10 years ago, I took the job as the athletic director as well as the girls basketball coach,” said Roth. “I stopped coaching basketball because it was hard to balance all the things I do. We currently have 1000 athletes and only 80 coaches.  I do the paper work for everything.”

Without Roth, Penn Manor sports would have a hard time functioning. Between scheduling contests and officials to run games and making sure there are fields to play on, courts to hold tournaments and coaches have their equipment, it’s a busy job.

“I’ve worked very hard to see our sports grow and succeed,” Roth said about his 10 years in the position.  “I do more than just stand on the side-lines, that is just what everyone else sees.”

“My kids attended Hambright Elementary school when I decided to start a run for kids 20 years ago. We called it ‘The Fun Run’,” said Roth.

But after years and years of hard work toiling behind the scenes of Penn Manor sports, Roth was officially recognized this year by his peers.

Roth said he was a little surprised to get the awards.

“There were five candidates for the pool of the Lancaster-Lebanon League (award), and I was very, very surprised that I won,” Roth said.

“The award usually goes to someone at the district or state level,” he said. “The reason I think other directors and such nominated me is I am more of a hands-on type of director.”

Penn Manor's Jeff Roth has been named athletic director of the year by the Lancaster-Lebanon League and District Three. Photo by Chassidy Sowersby

Roth has been very hands-on in the realm of sports for years.  He is a life-long runner himself.

Roth has coached a couple of different sports including track and field, girls basketball and even boys basketball.

But Roth is happy to work behind the scenes of the actual athletic contests these days.

“I have a great time doing my job and a great time working with the coaches and athletes,” Roth said.  “I just like to help programs succeed.”

And succeed they do.  Roth has been instrumental in improving Penn Manor sports for the past decade but he’s quick to not take the glory for himself.

“I give a lot of credit to the athletes and coaches,” Roth said.  “I’m sure that many of our athletes here at Penn Manor will move on to play sports for a collegiate level.”

By Mike Bouder,  Chassidy Sowersby and Kyle Hallett

Alex Geli also contributed to this story

The Beatles, Now iPod Accessible

The British invasion, finally invading iTunes.

Apple announced Tuesday morning it has nabbed the rights to all the Beatles tunes and fans at Penn Manor are already loving it.

Every album and song available is now posted on iTunes. The songs cost $1.29 each, albums for $12.99, double albums for $19.99 and even a complete boxed set for $149.00. The boxed set includes all of The Beatles albums and a few bonus tracks.

“I am really exited to buy their music and listen to it, I didn’t know it was released, but I’m happy to hear that it was,” said senior Charles Blymier.

Charles Blymier listening to The Beatles. Photo by Kyle Hallett

“I didn’t know that that the music was released, I’m pumped to get all of their songs because I don’t have all of them yet,” said Ryan Dettrey, a fan of the Fab Four.

Dettrey is a huge fan of the Beatles and was waiting for the songs to go up on iTunes. The boxed set will be Dettrey’s Christmas gift this year.

“I don’t know why Paul McCartney didn’t have the rights in the first place,” said Adam Swift, a senior.

Swift will be buying the songs “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude” and the entire White Album.

John Lennon had the rights to the catalog ownership before he died. According to pophistorydig.com, after Lennon’s death, Michael Jackson purchased the catalog by outbidding other potential investors. The money went to The Beatles recording label Apple Records, who they signed with in 1968. When Michael Jackson died, the catalog then went to his mother. iTunes got the rights to the downloads from Jackson’s mother.

Screen shot for opening day of The Beatles on iTunes

“It is very disappointing to see the Jackson family making money off of another artist’s work,” said music teacher Melissa Telesco.

Telesco has all of The Beatles CD’s so she won’t be purchasing the MP3s. She is, however, basically doing back flips because of her excitement over the music release.

So are a lot of other people.

“I have a lot of the music…however, I am going to get the rest of the songs I don’t have on iTunes,” said Alex Lombardo, a junior at Penn Manor.

In iTunes, Abbey Road is already at the number 11 spot for the top downloaded album followed by the White Album in number 12, box set at 13 and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Club Band sitting as the 14th most downloaded album. All of the other albums are in the top downloads on iTunes and have only been accessible for a few hours.

“I will buy a few of my favorite song for the car, just because I hate CD’s and I don’t pirate my music,” said art teacher Kim McMullen.

“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes, even though it has been ‘a long and winding road’ to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

By Kyle Hallett

Penn Manor Has a Plan To Change Schedule, Boost Achievement

Big changes are in the works for students, teachers and administrators after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Penn Manor has been seeking ways to help students improve academically, according to school officials. Penn Manor’s administration considered several options until they came up with a plan they think will work.

But hang on, it may seem a bit complicated at first.

Instead of having homeroom days only Tuesday and Thursday, Penn Manor students would have a homeroom period every day of the week. On Monday, during the homeroom period, students would go back to first block for more instruction in that subject. On Wednesday they would go back to second block during the homeroom period for additional instruction in that subject area.  Fridays,  students would go to third block during this homeroom time. The following Monday, students would go to fourth block and so on.

Principal Phil Gale explained a new schedule for Penn Manor High School. Photo by Christa Charles

On Tuesday and Thursday, students would have their regular homeroom period. On Tuesday, students would either go to their regular homeroom or tutoring. On Thursday, students would either go to homeroom, tutoring or their club.

Not all Penn Manor  students are in favor of this idea.

“I’m not going to be able to wait for lunch that long everyday,” complained junior Lauren Anderson.

‘We are 99.9 percent sure that this will happen unless someone has a good reason not to do it,” Penn Manor’s principal Phil Gale said.

“We plan to have the schedule change after Thanksgiving,” he added.

“I don’t want that at all. Seniors should not have to anyways,” Senior Joey Carlyle said.

Gale said the reason Penn Manor is doing this is because of decreasing scores and other academic challenges.

One senior student thinks the idea is a good one and wishes he would have had several years with the changed schedules.

“I heard about it from a couple teachers,” said Patrick Jones, a Penn Manor senior.  “It’s not too bad. It’s better for kids to help them understand what they’re learning.  I think I would have liked the schedule if they started it earlier. You could work on a lot more stuff for your classes.”

Gale indicated he believes the new schedule will help boost scores, including PSSA scores, PSAT scores and SAT scores.

He said he is not pointing fingers at any particular class or sub group but the changes are aimed at boosting academic achievement across the school.

By Tyler Funk

Marching Band Success on Top of the ‘Earth’ and out of this World

Penn Manor Marching Unit has the whole world in their hands.

While most of us were enjoying the last few days of air conditioning and days without school this August, the Comet’s band and color guard began preparing their 2010 field show in 90-degree heat.

The logo for this year's marching band show.

And this year’s show is out of this world.

“Our theme [this year] is Earth. We have three movements [that display] land, water and air,” said trumpet section leader Kelly Herr.

After weeks of learning and practicing the show during the summer, the hard work quickly paid off at competitions.

“We’ve been doing pretty good this year. We have three 1st places and two 2nd places, “ said Herr.

The band currently sits in a respectable second place in their division with a score of 88.75.

The band will end their season with a performance at Cavalcade Championships at Hershey Stadium on November 13, but not without a few more days of preparing.

Click here to see the marching unit’s highest scoring performance at Manheim Central

The band performs their show at a Friday night football game.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays the band spends hours preparing for their next performance, but the large commitment results in a huge payoff.

“I like band because the people in it are like my family and they are always there for me no matter what,” said color guard member Ashley Miller.

“This year, I feel like we’re a lot closer than we were before,” said Herr.

In the end, the closeness of the members may just be what keeps the success of the band marching onward.

By Mike Nitroy