Cops seek those who don't buckle up

The 2012 national Click it or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization kicks off May 21 to help save lives by cracking down those who don't buckle up. The Watertown Police Department is joining the enforcement to help save more lives. They are joining because way too many people have died from not wearing their seat belt in car crashes. In the past six months, WPD officers have given safety presentations to more than 3,000 students in Watertown. During the presentations, officers have been stressing the importance of seat belt usage. They definitely want the students parents to convince their children to wear seat belts if they don't already. They have had officers from Watertown that patrol the school after school some days to see how many kids are and aren't wearing their seat belt. They are definitely trying to encourage people to wear their seat belts because the death level keeps rising from car crashes for people that aren't wearing their seat belt. They are saying that so many people could still be alive if they would have had their seat belt on. I definitely think that not many students wear their seat belts because they think they will be fine but in the long run, they maybe won't be okay.

Fire Board Returns

The South Dakota Fire Board is no longer dormant. Governor Dennis Daugaard appointed five new members to this board. This board was in dormant, because of the lack of use. I think that it is a good thing that they have a fire board. A reason for this is because fires tend to happen anywhere. This board is specified to help, make decisions, and aid the state fire marshal. You don't want to have to leave everything related to fires onto one person. The state fire marshal has a lot to do on his plate as it is. It will be very helpful to have other people's input on what should be done. It will help connect all the fire departments in the state. It is good to have a system, because if the Black Hills have a huge wildfire and the departments need help, they can rely on the other towns in the area to help them out. Another reason why I think that it is a good thing is because fires can happen anywhere and anytime. You just never know. It is good because you need to have order in order to get the fire out as quickly as possibly. It was a smart move on Daugaard's part to have the fire board come out of dormant.

The Voice

It was the second season of The Voice this year and last night was the finale. Jermaine Paul was the winner of The Voice. He is a 33 year old background singer from Harriman, N.Y. Paul, was coached by country singer, Blake Shelton. He was awarded the show's grand prize of $100,000 and a record deal with Universal. Juliet Simms, the 26 year old indie rocker from San Francisco who was coached by Cee Lo Green, came in second place. Tony Lucca, the 36 year old who was coached by Adam Lavine came in third place. Chris Mann who as coached by Christina Aguilera who came in fourth place. The last years winner of The Voice was Javier Colon. In my opinion, I really wanted Jermaine to win and he did. I thought he was the best throughout the whole competition. I really liked him because he was on Blake Shelton's team. I love Blake Shelton. He is a very good singer and I love his music. I definitely think that Jermaine deserved to win!

Red Cross Stops Work

I just read an article in the Public Opinion about how the Red Cross has moved out of most of Pakistan. The purpose of Red Cross is to bring medical, disaster, and many more resources to a place. I think that them leaving this area is a safe move for them. If the people that are there to help and cure the people in Pakistan, what is the point of them being there? It's like a privilege. You have it, but once someone messes it up it is taken away. I think that it is only fair and reasonable that they move the operations out of the country. They don't want to endanger anymore of their workers and they want to make sure that they have a safe work environment. The people that need the medical attention will be hurting the most. The Red Cross isn't losing anything from this movement. They are just protecting their workers and don't want anymore damage to happen to them. If I was a worker for the Red Cross in Pakistan, I wouldn't feel safe working there. Therefore, I would be working and living in fear, and I wouldn't be working the best to my ability. I would want to be working to the best that I can, so I can think properly on what I need to do. I also think that Pakistan needs to somehow get rid of their violence. It is not a safe place over there. The violence needs to be resolved, so that it is safe for the Red Cross to get back there and perform medical procedures.

LCC Track Meet

(Junior Trevor Cassels clears the hurdle in the boys 110 meter hurdles.)

The track team competed in the LCC meet in Hayti on Tuesday. The team did pretty good. They had many people place and some people even qualify for state. The weather wasn't the greatest, which is alright. There were also school records that have been broken this year. The girls 1600 meter relay on Tuesday broke the school record. That's pretty cool to think that our team is able to break records and to qualify for state. The track season isn't very long. It is over with before you know it. We had a few meets cancelled because of the weather. The meets that we have been to though, people have done well. On Saturday the track team will be traveling to Britton for the NEC meet. The meets are my favorite to go to. A reason why is because of the people you get the opportunity to meet new people and you are able to compete in your events. It is also very fun to watch the other teams, because at practice all you see is how your team is. At the meets you can see what the other teams are like. It gives us chance to see where we need to improve and to make our times even better. I think that track is a great sport to have in the spring, because it brings you right to the end of the school year. I think that the individuals that made it to state or the ones that will be making it to state will do very well. I think that this track season has gone swell and that they will finish the year off strong.

Graduation speech.

Today we watched a video were J.K.Rolling gave a commencement speech at Harvard school. When we were first told about this video I can honestly say that I was not to excited about it. After it started and she was cracking jokes here and there, it seemed like it was something that could really get my attention. By the time that she started about being a gay wizard I was completely hooked! I loved the way that she went along from making jokes to getting in the first main topic of her speech and that was Benefits of failure. I know, it seems a little weird to have one of a speakers main points be about failure, but I know now, that she knew exactly what she was talking about. She talked about how it was okay to fail once and awhile. I really liked how she made her speech personal. One way that she made her speech personal was by talking about her collage experiences. How she knew what she wanted to do, and how she felt like she belonged when she wrote novels. She is one the best speakers that I have ever heard. Another thing that made her speech so amazing, and personal is that she talked about how she was just like everybody else, and she struggled with money just like everybody else. I could really relate to her and her speech when she started talking about how her family never really supported her with her dreams of becoming a writer. I do not want to become a writer, but what I do want to do does not really bring a lot of money. I have heard over and over that I shouldn't do it, that I will fail if I try, and it was really nice to finally hear from somebody that I should actually go for my dreams and that even if I fail, I can not only learn from failing, but you can not live with out failing.

Commencement Speech

In the Graduation Commencement speech that I watched today, she talked about two main things. She talked about benefits on failure and the importance of imagination. Her speech was definitely one of the best speeches I have ever heard. I loved her speech because she was funny and very outgoing. I don't like the long boring speeches. Her's was definitely not boring at all. When she was talking about the benefits of failure, she said that it is okay to fail as long as you try your best. In her life, she did fail in her younger years but she came out of it and now she is the best. Failure can be okay if its something that will push you forward. It is definitely impossible to live without failure. You will always live with failure. You will have your failure moments but you will come out of them. You definitely aren't going to live in failure. Life is not a failure itself. Life is a beautiful thing so you have to sit back and enjoy it. The other thing she talked about was the importance of imagination. She was really pulling at some heart strings when she was talking about that. While she was talking about that, she was telling about her worst nightmare. Her worst nightmare was when she was younger, in her 20's, when she was working. She never dreamed about that ever happening to her but it did. She definitely doesn't regret it or anything, it's just part of life and you have to move on. She also talked about not being judgmental. If you're a judgmental person, you will get no where in life because no will ever want to be your friend. If you don't judge you will have so many friends from all over the world, you would be so amazed. Judging is a mean thing, whether you're being racist or to calling someone a name or to calling someone fat. It all hurts no matter what it is. "Human beings can do anything or learn anything without having any actual experience" said by J.K. Rolling. Life is a good thing so do whatever you can to get out and enjoy it because if you don't, you will live the worst life ever. Don't be a hateful person about your life, love your life no matter what.

Harvard Commencement Speech 2008

Today, we watched a graduation speech that J.K. Rowling gave. Her speech was very inspiring. It was about how there are benefits of failure and about the importance of imagination. One of the quotes that she had said was, "Climbing out of poverty is something to have pride in." I think that this quote is very true. You may lose some of your pride when you go into poverty, but when you finally get out of it then you have accomplished something. By graduating you have accomplished a whole bunch, compared to people in other countries and the kids that didn't have an opportunity to graduate or even go to full schooling. When she hit rock bottom, she became the foundation of where she is today. If she didn't hit rock bottom, she probably wouldn't be where she is today. You, yourself, are the judge of what failure is. The next topic she spoke about was the importance of imagination. "Imagination is the power that enables us to emphasize with people," said Rowling. I think that with imagination you can do many great things. If you imagine something you are likely to reach for what you imagined. She also said that, "We have the power to change the world with our imagination." This is also very true. You can imagine a very positive thought and put that into reality, by doing what you imagined. She was an overall excellent speaker. She really knew how to capture the attention of the audience. I think that wherever you go in your life you are bound to be successful. You can go anywhere in your life. You are the judge of your failure and success. Anyone has the chance to succeed and to be who they want to be. It is important to do what you like in your life. You can succeed easily from your failures.

Photos&&Captions(art)

In these photos there are two pictures of Sophomore Ashley Stein painting the color hot pink on the inside of a clay, handmade box.

What's going on in Kindergarten?

Artwork that Mrs. Stoltenburg's kindergarteners did.
They are working on lines of symmetry so they drew lines of symmetry with paint.

What's Going on in the art room?

The whole class of art students working hard. 

Ashley Stein working on her art project. 

Richard Redlin working on his jar in art class. 

Agnes Lobbo on the computer, looking for designs in art class.

Paige Heiberger splatter painting her art project.

Art projects from the art students that they made.

A box that an art student made.

An United States of America art project that the 7th grade class made.

Photos&&Captions(shapes)

Here is a photo of a beautiful mix match of colors that bring out the kid in all of us just by looking at it. This is a pattern is not completely random how ever. This was based off of something that had to do with Native Americans. Mr. Trautman was the teacher of the class that participated in this project.

What's Going on in Mrs. Brandt's room?

In these pictures above, are students from 4th grade Mrs. Brandt's class.
Today was Pajama day for the elementary students. For the last 26 days, the elementary is dressing up in 26 different outfits based on the alphabet.

Photos&&Captions(caveman stories)

Here are two photos of the caveman stories that were in the hallway that separates the 1st and 2nd grade hallway from the 3rd and 4th hallway. These stories are made from hieroglyphics or pictures that represent words. The story that is shown in this photo was done by, Morgan Kwasnieuwski.

What's Going On in Mr. Trautman's room?

These pictures above are artwork that were done by 4th graders. The 4th graders made these in Mr. Trautman's Social Studies class.
I remember making these also in 4th grade social studies. It definitely took a lot of time to color it. I still have this at home in a box also!

Photos&&Captions(farms)

These photos are of little replicates of Laura Ingalls Wilder House on the prairie. The fourth grades had about a week to work on these little pieces of art. The creators of these houses are, Britney Lovre, and Ty Kenyon.

What's Going On in 4th grade?

These pictures above are of Little House On The Prairie Houses that the 4th Graders made.
When I was in 4th grade, I did make these houses also. I definitely remember making these. It was one of my favorite things that we did in 4th grade. I actually still have my house at home in a box. My mom wanted to keep it for my high school graduation! :)

Summer is Near!

I have been waiting for summer ever since the weather has been nice. I have also been excited ever since college students got out. Summer is a time to relax from school and to have fun. There are so many things that I want to accomplish this summer. Every student enjoys summer, the teachers do as well. It is a nice little break to have. During the summer there are many activities to do. I know one thing for sure is that I want to go to the rodeo and watch plenty of baseball games. The rodeo is tradition here in Clear Lake. It gives you a chance to see friends and enjoy a great rodeo. South Dakota is a state that is full of cowboys and cowgirls. It is cool to see them in action at this event. This year it is going to be weird, because Jerry Norton isn't going to be a bullfighter. I guess change is good though. Baseball is a big part of my family and I truly love watching the sport. Watching baseball is one of my favorite past times. Another thing that I am excited for summer just to lounge around and work at the pool. I just enjoy being able to hang out with friends. Summer is also a time to make many memories. I am overly excited for nice weather and for late nights. It will be a stress reliever when school is done and I won't have to worry about making sure I am doing the best I can in each of my classes. I can unwind and relax for a while. I think that this summer will be a very interesting and a great one.

Beyonce

I read an article in the paper today about Beyonce winning a journalism honor for a magazine story. Beyonce is usually getting awards for writing songs not writing for a magazine. The New York chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists will award Beyonce the first-place prize in arts and entertainment in its magazine category for a story she wrote for Essence magazine. The piece was called "Eat, Play, Love". It appeared in the July 2011 issue. In the article it talked about taking a break from music changed her life. The singer will receive the journalism honor at the association's Scholarship and Awards Banquet on May 15 in New York.

Mother/Daughter Cooking Videos

A mother and daughter duo make cooking videos once a week. They make meals that are simple to make and use the utensils that are already in the average kitchen. I think that it is very cute they make videos together. I know that for me cooking does not come easy to me. I have to think about what I am doing when trying a new recipe. I also end up using google to help me out. It is very convenient  to be able to see what they are making each week and to be able to watch how they did each step by step. Yeah, the cooking shows on TV are good in all, but they go too fast for me. Knowing that you can find simple recipes and watch how they make it is awesome. I think that having her daughter on the show with her, shows kids in younger generations that it is easy and fun to cook. Also I think that knowing how to cook is important in life. Being able to cook amazingly good food will get you far in life, I think. A reason why is because you won't have to go out and eat. You know where the food has come from. You also get to experience cooking and you might actually find that you really enjoy it. For some people it is a hobby. The people that have cooking shows don't do it for money or fame. They do it because they have the passion for it and really love to cook. If they didn't like to cook they wouldn't take the time and effort to show you how it is done. I think that it is good that this mother and daughter are doing a cooking show together online because it gives them bonding time. It also shows that they do like to cook. Here is the link to their videos. Amateur Kitchen

Ouija Boards.

Well, this topic that I am talking about is a little bit off the normal scale. I am going to be writing about Ouija Boards and what kind of effects that they can have on people. I am was not really into that kind of thing before this weekend and I thought that it was all smoke and mirrors, but I know now, that there are things on this earth that should not be messed with. This weekend, I was with a couple of my friends and it was late. We were all really bored so we decided that we would grab a Ouija Board and try it out. We got all the candles and the crosses. Before we were able to even get out of the camper and try it out side I dropped a cross right onto the ground, and it shattered everywhere. Now, if the idea was not scary enough, now that I had broken a cross, it just made the whole thing even worse. We made it outside and sat down in the tree's. We lit all of the candles and formed a circle around the board. We held hands then we said a prayer of protection over us. We all said amen, and we touched our two fingers on the Ouija Board. One of us girls spoke out, "Is there a spirit with us?. No reply. She asked again, and then there was nothing, she asked the 3rd time and then nothing. We decided that we would go in the camper and try it. We were all very cold out side. We went in and re did the starting ceremony. She spoke up once again, "Is there a spirit with us?". Almost instantly the device on the middle of the board start to slowly inch its way over to the word yes. We continued asking it questions for around 15 minuets. For those of you that do not know how a Ouija Board works, you need to ask the spirit if you can leave and it has to say yes. Well, now that you all know that, we asked if we could go, and it moved to the word no. We were all so scared, so we just kept asking it questions and we kept asking it if we could leave, and it kept saying no, until finally after about an hour and a half, it said we could go. We said goodbye, and lifted our fingers. WE prayed after we were done, then blew out the candles. Nothing else had happened.

Summer!

Summer 2012 is just around the corner. There is only 11 days left of school and summer will be here! I have so much stuff going on this summer. In June, the only weekend I have open is the first weekend. I am busy the rest of the month of June. I have a family thing going on, Crystal Springs Ranch Rodeo, and many other things. I also will be babysitting sometimes and helping my brother out with his business also. I am hoping to go to the lake a lot this summer with my friends and family. I will be going camping a lot with my family hopefully. In July I will be going to New Orleans with my youth group from my church. I am definitely looking forward to that besides the whole having to ride a bus there and back. We are going with a church from Clark and Dell Rapids so I'm looking forward to meeting lots of new people on that trip.

Apple

I definitely think that its wrong for them to do that because Apple is definitely going to lose money over it. Apple will lose money over it because people won't want to buy anything from them anymore. California is already in debt so they can't afford to buy anything else. Apple is really getting picky with their stuff now because they want to make more money. If you get any kind of iPod or iPad or anything from there, you would have to get a specific charger from the Apple company not from anywhere else because it won't work. It won't work because Apple made their products so you can't use other companies chargers so that you have to buy one from Apple so they can make more money by you buying from there.

Apple Taxes

The Apple company doesn't pay taxes. They don't pay taxes because the found a loophole. I don't think this is wrong because there are loopholes to about every law. I think it is  the government that should work on passing a law so that they have to pay taxes. Loopholes are found everywhere. The people must be smart enough to find them and the government is obviously not trying to do anything about it. The government should be smart enough to know that they found the loophole and should try to get rid of it. I think that in my book it is morally wrong, but a loophole is a loophole. From my point of view it is morally wrong. I think this because how could you not pay taxes like everyone else does? I also think that they should think about how California suffers. California's government could be much better economic wise than what they are. I think that Apple makes enough money that they can manage to pay their taxes just like everyone else can. Another thing is that the government in California should find a solution to have a better budget. They obviously don't seem to have a way to budget. They shouldn't have to rely on a big company such as Apple to pay taxes. The state should be able to operate with what they have. California is extremely populated. They should have a sales tax that could help with debts. They shouldn't have to be living on pennies. California should figure out how to budget. I think that it depends on what way you look at it. It depends on your point of view whether it is morally or not morally right.

Apple/Taxes

Today we were asked to give an opinion on if we think that it morally right or wrong for apple or any other company to do what it is that they were doing. If I am going to be completely honest, I do not think that it is morally right for Apple to cheat them out of so much money. I think that they are cheating California out of a lot of money. California is not the richest of all the states that is for sure, so that is just another reason why I think that it is wrong. I feel like just because they are apple, and they found a loop whole, that they think that they can get away with it, and they can't. Now that apple is doing it,  I can only about imagine how many other companies are going to try and do the same thing. There is just something that is not right about stealing from people, because, that is, actually, what they are doing. They are stealing money from California.  They are robbing California of what it is that they actually deserve, and that is money. Apple may be able to get away with it right now, but I am sure, that sooner or later, they will no longer be able to continue with it.