Saturday School for Misbehaved Students?

PORTSMOUTH — Delinquent students might have to start attending Saturday School. The suggested disciplinary measure was debated Monday night between parents, officials and students alike.
Tim Steele, a school board member, proposed the new policy in an effort to force students to learn about respect and responsibility at Portsmouth High School.
“I hope the threat of Saturday classes will make the students think twice before breaking school rules,” he said.
The sessions would begin at 8 a.m. and end at noon during the year. The program would cost taxpayers $3,000 per year in staffing.
Opposition arose during the discussion when Peggy Bacon, a parent, thought it was outrageous to inconvenience working parents.
“It’s bad enough to get my son off to school Monday through Friday,” she said. “Why should I have to worry about Saturday as well?”
The program would not make a difference for the students and ruin weekends for families, said Bacon.
Lisa Gallagher, a high school student, echoed Bacon’s resistance. She said if the program was implemented only faculty would benefit and students could rebel against the system – possibly skipping the Saturday sessions altogether.
If that was the case, Gallagher asked, “what are they going to go, make them stay all weekend?”
Steele replied to both Bacon and Gallagher’s concerns. He said that proposal would act as an instigator to reduce the number of in-house suspensions and students would not be allowed back into school if a Saturday session was missed.
He did, however, acknowledge the policy would not be ideal for parents, but emphasized the need to reform inappropriate behavior on school grounds.
Bob Farley, a resident, agreed with Steele’s suggestion. He said that news rules were necessary for children to regain a sense of responsibility.
“Maybe if they have to miss a few Saturday morning cartoons they’ll start wising up,” he said.
One of the major discipline problems present at the school is unlawful smoking.
In 1995, 154 students were placed under in-house suspensions for smoking. They were unable to make up class work and had to remain under the supervision of a staff member for a full day in an empty classroom.
Steele said the new program would allow disobedient students to stay up-to-date with their work while hopefully embracing the importance of following school rules.
“I just want to keep students from smoking in the high school bathrooms,” he said.
The board voted 5-3 and will hold another meeting on March 7. Steele is required to return with figures on the number of in-house school detentions this year.
In other business, Nathan Greenberg, Superintendent of Schools, delivered an administrative report focusing on the School Department’s efforts to go forward with a $21 million budget for the next school year. It would be a 5.5 percent increase from this year’s spending.
The School Board approved several school department service bills amounting to $13,568 and discussed four requests from teachers for leaves of absences while considering a retreat for administrators in June.
A financial report was presented to the School Board detailing the implications of federal budget cuts on the school lunch program.

UNH Institute on Disability Receives $600,000 for Autism Training

DURHAM — Too many children are going undiagnosed for autism and the UNH Institute on Disability (IOD) has stepped in to lend a helping hand.
In collaboration with the graduate program of Dartmouth Medical School, IOD recently received a $600,000 grant to screen and assess children suspected of having autism.
Autism, the fastest-growing developmental disability, affects one in every 150 American children. Due to the increasing rate of occurrence, children are not being properly tested for the condition, said Ann Dillon, a project director at IOD.
“There are just not enough people to test all the children suspected of having autism,” she said. “The children are the ones that suffer and the parents are put under significant stress.”
The huge boom in autism diagnoses have made it difficult for doctors to keep up. According to Michelle Jarvis, president of the Autism Society of New Hampshire, “it’s like being hit with a tidal wave – we need to play catch-up.”
The lack of in-state clinics that assist in screening autism has forced some families to go on waiting lists for as long as a year.
They wait for “diagnostic evaluations, and referral for and implementation of intense early services,” according to the 2008 Findings and Recommendations report of the New Hampshire Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Even six months is precious time lost for a child suspected of being afflicted with autism, said Jarvis. Her own son demonstrated red flags of the condition when he was younger than 18 months.
“He didn’t play with his toys, didn’t look at me,” she said. “There is no parenting handbook to get you through this.”
By the time he was 2-years-old, he could no longer repeat the few words he had learned in six months.
Early intervention (diagnosing children before the age of two) provides for greater future opportunities. The average child is not diagnosed until the age of four.
The IOD plans to use the grant to educate and hire more people to assist in screening and testing children. The aim is to alleviate the mounting cases of waiting families.
“It’s so important for the money to help children finally get the diagnosis they need to get proper treatment and to help out their parents,” said Dillon. “The challenges they face can be difficult.”
According to the Autism Society of America (ASA) Web site, some of those challenges include shifting “much of their [parents] resources of time and money towards providing treatment and interventions for their child, to the exclusion of other priorities.”
The affect on familial relationships can also be strained, especially with siblings trying to cope and understand the struggles.
“It is incredibly overwhelming when you put those challenges on top of just getting through the day,” said Jarvis.
Elizabeth Macdonald, mother to a 7-year-old boy with autism, stressed that it is important to integrate children with the condition into society and more importantly, within their home.
“Our daughter has princessism,” she said. “At the end of the day, we all have isms and my son’s is autism.”
IOD benefited her son with their determination and efforts in autism training, said Macdonald.
“Our son waited six months to see a specialist, but we were not the norm,” she said. “A lot of families have had to wait longer; we were very lucky.”
The federal grant, received from the Health Resources and Services Administration, is part of $5.6 million in funds distributed among universities and research organizations.
It’s goal to train people for screening autism would prove to be life-changing for some families.
The grant acts as a three-year expansion project with a total of 132 interdisciplinary professionals. They will strive towards enhancing their skills, knowledge and leadership, said Dillon.
The chance for the IOD to work closely with state agencies to develop a qualified work force for the community will hopefully produce maximal outcomes.
Autism screening should become mandatory routine, said Jarvis. The condition is prevalent in enough of America’s children that local doctors should meet qualifications for testing.
There is no known cause of autism, but there is intervention treatment.
According to the ASA site, “intervention may help to lessen disruptive behaviors, and education can teach self-help skills that allow for greater independence.”
Therapy, dietary changes, vitamins and minerals and occasionally medication are all possible remedies to ease the lives of children with autism.

New York Times Charged: Pro-Republican?

Recently, The New York Times has been charged with favoring the Republican Party.

During heavy political times, most readers will draw some favoritism from the publishings. Is it safe to say the criticism is justified? Most certainly - for most articles addressing the Republican Party. The same can be said for articles pertaining to the Democratic Party and those taking a neutral stance (yes; believe it or not, there are some!).

In "McCain's Uphill Battle, Winning Is an Option," Adam Nagourney warned Obama's supporters and talked admiringly of McCain's supporters. He said the Republicans "argue that he [McCain] still has a visible path to victory" despite Obama's higher poll ratings.

Here a clear attack is made against Obama and visible bias is exercised by Nagourney. His warnings hinted that people should not lose faith in McCain quite yet.

On the other hand, the Times has also written numerous articles favoring the Democratic campaign.

"Polls Show Obama Gaining Among Bush Voters" emphasized Obama's increasing popularity - even among Republicans. Jim Rutenberg and Marjorie Connelly wrote that "Mr. Obama led Mr. McCain among groups that voted for President Bush four years ago".

Similarly in a "Father’s Tough Life an Inspiration for Biden," Biden's emotional relationship with his father is showcased - aiming to tug at the heart strings of readers.

The paper manages to remain neutral at times, as well. Rather than taking sides and arousing anger in readers, many articles are published that are impartial. In "Candidates Look to the West for Undecided Voters," the article explores the paths both candidates are taking to secure votes.

The article neither favors one candidate nor belittles another.

Panic Spreads as Search for Wild Cat Continues

DURHAM — Chaos ensues as the adored rare spotted leopard allegedly escaped at Durham Zoo last night after 9 p.m.
Fluffy, the 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard, was missing from her cage this morning. There were no clues indicating how she escaped.
“Everything about her cage seemed normal,” said Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo at a press conference. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken”.
The search for Fluffy has intensified. Close to the zoo are residential neighborhoods and an elementary school. Police Chief William Blair said it is imperative Fluffy be found before kids get out at 3 p.m.
“It could be a very messy night,” he said. “These cats are nearly impossible to find in the dark – they can see everything, and we are blind”.
The search for Fluffy began at 7:30 a.m. on zoo grounds when she was noticed missing during feeding. So far, there have been no signs relating to her disappearance.
At the conference, Durrell appeared distraught as he choked back tears. “We are doing everything we can to find her and bring her back,” he said. “We love that cat, and we don’t want to lose her”. Blair said that if found and Fluffy cannot be tamed with a tranquilizer gun, the police force have authorization to shoot to kill.
Local police have enlisted the help of New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department in the search.
In addition, five helicopters with infrared sensors will be supplied by the National Guard, said Blair.
“We’re gonna find this cat if it kills us,” said Blair.
Fluffy is an incredibly rare animal – one of only five left in existence. She was a gift from Durham’s sister city in Romania, Durhamvoska. She was scheduled to be flown to China next month to mate with a male spotted leopard.

Newswriting

I don't like blogging. I'm a fairly private person, at least when it comes to cyber space, but unfortunately, I have to do it.

I have a lot of problems when it comes to successfully writing news stories.

First, constructing leads has given me a hard time. When I interview people, I typically find that I have a lot of information to sift through. While going through every thing, I also realize that I have lots of stories within my interviews. This leads me to question what would be an enticing article for readers.

Similarly, if writing leads is stressful, constructing the body text can be disastrous. Reading the textbook points me in the right direction, but it doesn't provide me with help on my own stories. I feel that after reading "Inside Reporting" I should know how to write a good story, but I only get frustrated when I find it incredibly difficult. Sometimes, the writing will flow naturally (the kind I love best), but more often than not, I'll sometimes stare at a blank Word document for 20 minutes.

And don't even get me started on interviewing. Most of my sources are very gracious and helpful. A few, however, have been disrespectful and bland. I spend my weekends chasing after people. I feel like a pathetic ex-girlfriend waiting for them to call me when they say they will and I'd say seven times out of 10, they don't.

One thing that has improved these last few weeks has been finding stories to write about. The UNH Media Web site has been especially helpful. There are always news stories about what is going on around campus.