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    MANE EVENT
    FEATURES
    The staff at the
    Mane Event
    has received
    some mail in our
    “inbox”
    of sorts. We have received
    a message from an anonymous writer explaining his
    or her concern for a friend. The friend in question
    has begun hanging out with other friends. These
    friends aren’t the best influence on her anyway, see­
    ing as how our writer expresses a deep concern for
    her friend. She believes that she may be smoking
    pot. The writer writes,
    “Who should I talk to?”
    Well, in our minds one of the most obvious
    choices is to talk to your friend! You have to find out
    for yourself if that person is actually smoking the pot
    or not. If that person is truly your friend, they should
    at least enlighten you as to if they are doing it or not.
    Making sense of all of this in your own mind is es­
    sential for fixing anything that may be going on. This
    leads me to my next point; if you know what the
    problem is, don’t just assume that you can fix it. The
    person in question must be a willing participant in the
    healing process. What this means is that if the person
    does not want any help, them you must leave them to
    their own vices. They must want to help themselves
    before you can help them. Speaking of help, here
    are some numbers, websites and people that you
    could go to for help:
    www.na.org
    www.alanon.alateen.org
    Lyons Police Department: 946­5141
    Wayne Behavioral Health:956­5722
    Our Resource Officer Sgt. Jeff Shields!
    School psychologists
    Helping your friend get out of the hole is step
    one. Helping them get back on track with their lives
    is another. As the helper it is important that you try
    not to take on all of this yourself. Stress is something
    that can overcome you. You must take small steps
    with
    the person who is in trouble. They can’t do it
    alone, and neither can you. Think about it for a while
    and make a plan of action.
    Dear...Someone?
    The state has that ability, they knew that the break
    walls couldn’t possibly stand the force of the flood,
    and they should’ve used the ability to force people to
    leave their homes. At first glance it may seem a harsh
    thing to do to the residents of New Orleans, but I’d
    rather be alive than possibly die just to see if I can
    save my house.
    Also, the precise wording of the statements
    issued by the governess disgusted me deeply. It sick­
    ened me to realize that the governess said that all of
    the people that didn’t want to leave were unemployed
    blacks. I hate racism more than anything else, and
    that was racism in its highest degree in my opinion.
    Besides, it doesn’t cover two groups that logically
    would also want to stay: the elderly, who might have
    nothing else but the things in their homes, and the
    people who wanted to prevent looting of all of the
    objects in their house (although that isn’t a real good
    reason to stick around).
    The federal government also handled the situ­
    ation pretty poorly. Things like President Bush not
    ending his vacation to immediately survey the dam­
    age is an example. Another thing is how the National
    Guard didn’t arrive fast enough (although some would
    say that is due to the Guard being in Iraq, which would
    lead to Bush­Bashing). In addition, FEMA collapsed
    under its own weight (which would lead to similar
    arguments).
    Bush showed up after most of the rioting,
    looting and overall violence stopped (which, in hind­
    sight, was probably the smart thing to do, as the last
    thing we need right now is an injured President). The
    Guard did arrive eventually, and the situation is rather
    controlled now. And while FEMA still hasn’t fixed
    itself, FEMA Director Michael Brown has resigned,
    and since then that particular political fiasco has sub­
    sided. My point is this: Maybe the U.S. government
    did react slowly, and in the case of FEMA, poorly,
    but at least they reacted. The state seemingly didn’t
    even do that; the only thing they did was move the
    people to a football stadium without any supplies for
    the people, and that is why I find that the state is
    wholly more responsible than the U.S. government
    for the loss of life attributed to this disaster. They also
    stepped up their reaction time much faster after hur­
    ricane Rita.
    On a related matter, many people have gone
    so far as to compare Katrina to 9/11. And to them, I
    say you are wrong. 9/11 was a terrorist attack. A
    deliberate, willful act against the United States of
    America of which we had no warning, and Katrina
    was a natural disaster. Despite what government pro­
    paganda may lead you to believe, Katrina did
    NOT
    affect everyone in the nation. It did not and will not
    force a change on our way of life as 9/11 did, except
    maybe in future planning for disasters. In fact, the only
    reason I am affected by Hurricane Katrina at all is
    because of the grumbling of my parents over the ris­
    ing gas prices, which don’t really have
    ANYTHING
    to do with Hurricane Katrina anyways.
    I was affected by 9/11 the same way many
    were probably affected after Pearl Harbor: Confused,
    Scared and Angry. And I still am to a degree, and
    that was four years ago. Hurricane Katrina only brings
    forth pity, and that is obviously not how I will feel a
    year from now as this whole issue will likely be for­
    gotten by me. Not so for the people who lived in the
    area, but that is my point: it either directly affected
    you or not at all.
    Now, some would argue, “But Logan,
    what about the rises in petrol prices after both
    hurricane Rita and Katrina?”
    Well, that’s fodder
    for the next issue of
    The Mane Event.
    “Center”
    continued from page 1
    Germs!!!
    Have you ever wondered exactly how many
    germs you contract each day? Have you ever sat
    down and thought about all the people you shook
    hands with who didn’t wash their hands? If this
    sounds like you, you are right to be cautious.
    Eighty percent of germs, bacteria, and ill­
    nesses are spread by hand contact. That’s enough to
    make you want to wear gloves all day. One of the
    most common ways people catch colds is by rub­
    bing their nose or their eyes after their hands have
    been contaminated with the cold virus. So think about
    that, the next time you shake hands with someone.
    It is estimated that one out of three people
    do not wash their hands after using the restroom.
    Those are some scary statistics. So imagine you have
    twenty­four friends over for a party. About eight of
    those friends did not wash their hands and are touch­
    ing all of the food you’ve set out.
    So think about all of what has been said the
    next time you bend down to take a drink from a pub­
    lic drinking fountain or sit down to
    “relieve”
    your­
    self!
    Daycare Prices Rise
    Ashley VanValkenburg, Senior
    Have you ever noticed that when you pay
    your bills that more than half of your check goes to a
    daycare center? Being a parent is a hard job. Nowa­
    days it is even more difficult because many families
    are made
    up of one
    parent.
    This
    makes it
    harder for
    a parent to
    work and
    take care
    of his/her
    children. A parent then has to find suitable daycare
    but he/she can’t always afford it.
    Daycare centers are very expensive. Money
    paid to daycare goes toward food, the rent of the
    building, utility costs, insurances, wages, and other
    items connected to running a business. Usually the
    larger the city, the higher the cost of daycare. Don’t
    forget. Most daycare workers have to be trained
    and that costs money too. In addition, the younger
    children in daycare require more attention; there fore
    more workers are needed, thus more money is re­
    quired. Prices for daycare run from $3000­$15,000
    a year! Daycare workers are also hard to find at
    times, as many migrate to higher paying jobs.
    Parents also have to decide what type of
    daycare they want and what is affordable for them.
    Many parents would rather take their child/children
    with them. This would be considered a baby on the
    job daycare. It’s a lot cheaper, and the parents feel
    more at ease with their
    child being close to
    them.
    There are many
    types of daycare to
    choose from. Parents
    can choose a licensed
    daycare, private
    daycare, or homecare
    (like a nanny).
    For parents
    who don’t make a lot of
    money, daycare can
    seem like a hopeless possibility. However, there are
    programs offered through the department of social
    services and public assistance.

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