Category: News

By Kevin Holton –

This article is one in an occasional series about Penn Manor grads who are doing interesting things with their lives.

He was the guy in high school you never wanted to mess with.

His towering 6′ 5″ height, his broad shoulders, and his massive biceps could cause some students to shake with terror when he’d walk their way.

“That guy is one massive dude,” recalled Penn Manor senior Brad Kruger.

Evan Singleton, the guy who could pick a student up over his head with one hand while curling a freshmen in the other, is realizing a dream to put his brawn to use,  less than a year after graduating high school.

This former Penn Manor graduate (2011) is training to be a World Wrestling Entertainment organization professional wrestler, a giant step toward his dream of being a wrestling superstar.

“I think he has the potential to make it,” said Singleton’s Penn Manor wrestling coach, Steve Hess.

Recently Singleton was invited to travel to Tampa, Fla.,  to try out for the Florida Championship Wrestling Association (FCW) which would guarantee him a spot in the WWE.

“A lot of people shot me down and told me it was only a phase, but I didn’t listen,” said Singleton recently who visted Penn Manor to be interviewed by Penn Points.

Singleton credits the Penn Manor wrestling team as the first step toward his possible career in professional wrestling. He also  worked out at a wrestling gym in York and Gold’s gym since he graduated to take steps toward his dream.

While training in York, Singleton was encouraged to try out for a spot at a  large, well known wrestling gym called Combat Zone Wrestling, in Philadelphia.  During his third week there, he met a man named Nick Berk who had many connections to the WWE all over the world.  Berk pulled Singleton aside and said he had many of the qualities needed to be a WWE wrestler.

Berk then became Singleton’s agent and sent out a letter to the top guys at WWE.

“The head coordinator for WWE called me and said they were really excited to see more from me,” said Singleton.

At the end of September, Singleton flew to Tampa for a week to try out for the FCW. While there, he had to show them everything he had learned over the years of being in and outside of the ring.

“I wore a suit everyday and did whatever I could to leave a good impression,” said Singleton.

The guys from FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) were surely impressed.  They told him he had the perfect attitude, the right skills and the right build.

Singleton is currently waiting for a call for his big break.  He would have to move to Florida to continue his wrestling career.  If all goes well the Penn Manor grad may soon be seen on televisions across the country.

“I am expecting a call back this week, so my fingers are crossed,” Singleton said.

 

 

 

 

By Matt Hatch and Mark Dano –

Penn Manor High School students may not be as “green” as you think.

Recycling comes naturally for some students at home, but when it comes to recycling at Penn Manor, a simple task can become a tedious chore.

“They just throw them (the recyclable bottles) away,” said Brian Frantz, a custodian at Penn Manor who said he is offended by the lack of recycling here.

Throughout the school, bottles are thrown in trash cans with recycling bins nowhere to be seen in classrooms.  Students are even putting water bottles in regular trash cans at lunch despite the fact that a recycling bin is sitting right next to it.

“It upsets me,” said Eddie Bley, a Penn Manor student who frequently recycles.

It may be laziness, lack of care or just plain ignorance.  Either way, the recycling efforts at Penn Manor are mediocre at best.  Many students admit to not recycling at school because they have “better” things to worry about.

“I think Penn Manor should give reminders to students or a public announcement,” said Lake Heckaman, a junior at Penn Manor.  “What we have now is too easy to miss.”

The tattered recycling sign in the cafeteria signifies what the students think of recycling.

“There’s always recyclable materials mixed in the trash,” said Frantz.

The students are not the only problem, the school is also to blame.

“It is not something that has been encouraged here like it is in many homes,” said Phil Gale, principal of Penn Manor High School.

At the same time, there is no way the school can effectively make students recycle.

“I don’t think (recycling) is something you can force people to do,” said Gale.

Despite efforts by both the school and some students, Penn Manor has failed to create and keep a successful recycling program. This goes against a Pennsylvania law.

“All state-owned institutions of learning must implement waste reduction and recycling programs in compliance with Commonwealth Management Directive #205.22 (8/7/89),” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“Recycling has gone in phases. There have been many attempts to begin recycling, but due to various reasons a sustained effort has not happened,” said Gale.

Recycling containers are located in the cafeteria.  Every time you drink a Turkey Hill drink or water, throw out the bottles in the blue and white containers. Every effort could make a difference at Penn Manor.

By Jacob Harvey –

One pen mark on a $10 bill can ruin a kid’s day.

Ask Will Downs, a Penn Manor senior, who tried to pay for his lunch in the school cafeteria recently with, unbeknownst to him, a counterfeit bill.  Downs had received the bill as change for a $20 bill from the Turkey Hill gas station in Millersville, PA.

“We don’t check $10’s because we get so many bills we don’t have the time to check smaller bills like that, but we do check like $50’s and stuff in the light to see if people are counterfeiting the big bills,” said an employee at Turkey Hill.

The counterfeit $10 bill was flagged by Lisa Caldwell, a member of the Penn Manor cafeteria staff,  who reported it to Doug Eby and Eric Howe.

“To check the bill we (lunch ladies) use a pen with special ink that will turn from yellow to brown on a faked bill,” said Caldwell. “The second I marked the bill it turned noticeably brown and I put it off to the side and brought it to the administrators attention.”

After Doug Eby received the bill, he brought it to school Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein’s attention and turned it in to him. Since it is a serious federal issue, the school couldn’t take part in investigating the counterfeit bill.

Once Hottenstein received the bill, he turned it back into the cafeteria. The cafeteria then turned the $10 bill into their bank who does an investigation to see who needs to be punished and how to go about contacting them.

“Both Mr. Howe and Mr. Eby came up to me and asked me how I got the $10. I told them I got it from the Turkey Hill in Millersville, and then they made me pay for my lunch again,” said Downs. “When they told me that I had to pay for my lunch again, I was so mad. I would have to say on a scale of 1-10 I was like a 7.”

Downs talked to administrators about getting his money back. They turned him down, saying that him paying with a counterfeit bill was similar to a kid trying to buy lunch with monopoly money.

In turn Will Downs lost $10, had to repay for his lunch which cost him around $5, and he had to give back all the change he got from the ten.

Ultimately, Downs spent nearly $20 on one cafeteria lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Mitch Domin and Cheyenne Weber –

Student: “Can you take my friend and I to school?”

New driver: “Nah, I just got my license, can’t take you it’s against the law, maybe in six months.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett intends to make this scenario happen.

Corbett is expected to soon sign into law a bill that increases mandatory  driving experience needed during the learner’s permit phase,  prohibits new drivers from transporting more than one person under the age of 18 and requires every young driver to wear a seatbelt. For the first six months teen drivers can carry one person under the age of 18, under the provision.  If the teen does not get in a accident in the six month time period, he or she will be limited to three people in the car at a time.

“I feel like it would make us safer if everyone actually followed it, but I can’t see that happening,” said senior Alec Keck.

But it’s the younger drivers who do not support the new law.

“It’s not fair, why do we have to wait,” complained freshman Mark Conrad.

“My main goal is to reduce teen driving fatalities,” said state Rep. Katharine Watson, the prime sponsor of the bill.

“It’s a hassle,” said Penn Manor senior Evan Bigler.  “People will do it (drive with more than one friend) anyway.”

This bill’s specific perks are. if a driver or passenger under the age of 18 is not following the safety actions – namely not wearing a seat belt, it will be a primary offense and police could pull the driver over. The learner’s permit requirement went from 50 hours of driving to 65 hours of driving. The bill also says the permit driver must have at least five hours of driving in bad weather and 10 hours of driving at night.

“People drive drunk, people drive without a seat bell and people drive with to many people in the car nothings going to change because of some bill,” said Nick Fonzi.