The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/733863
Page 2 September 30, 2016 Staff Editorial Students weigh in on the bond... Opinions Editorial Policy: Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the district, staff, or student body. We welcome signed letters to the editor. Names may be withheld upon request. We also reserve the right to edit submission based on length and/or clarity. THE BLU FFER STA FF Lexi Pritchard Editor-in-Chief News Editors Lexi Pritchard Julissa Villalobos Kourtney Sanders Shania Prieto Opinions Editor Britney Miranda Brooke Blythe Features Editor Claire Miller Gabriel Hale Sports Editor Becca Frey Sophia Cumpton Topics Editor Julissa Villalobos Editor-in-Chief Abby O'Sullivan Advertising Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Cartoonist Amanda Waugh Staff Writers Brianna Tackmier Trinity Stehno Sarah Herrera Yesenia Cerrillo Aly Smith A-&-E Editor Brooke Blythe Features Editor In our last issue of The Bluffer, we reported on the 26 million dollar bond Red Bluff High School is working toward earning. If our school earns said bond, the vast majority of the money will be directed toward repairs and much needed maintenance of the buildings and facilities on campus. However, this money would not cover the 50 million dollars of projects in or not yet in progress at our school. Mr. Kennedy's, Mr. Norton's and Mr. Dais's third period classes all took a survey that said, "If Red Bluff High School earns a bond, the money will go toward maintenance on our buildings/facilities on campus. While keeping in mind the fact that your answers will print in the September 30 issue of The Bluffer, please write down which two buildings or facilities you believe the money Amanda Waugh Cartoonist Too many to choose from, and not enough time. SPARTAN THUMBS Clothing changes Float construction New clubs Homecoming game The homecoming game is tonight. This year the styles in fashion have changed dramatically. Students want to do other things with their free time. Brock Turner It's unbelievable that he only got three months. Bluffer/ Trinity Stehno ***These Thumbs were acquired by Mr. Schwabauer's third period class. Aly Smith Staff Writer You don't leave your house to attend a fun event prepared for a bomb to mess with your day. It's cowardly to harm innocent people when they least expect it without warning, yet it's sadly our current reality, and the reality of these runners. For the runners of the 5K charity run, there is no sign that the race will be rescheduled. "It is a real shame since that charitable run that does so many great things for the Marines is now canceled," O n Saturday, September seventeenth, a pipe bomb exploded in a trash can along the route of a Marine's 5k charity race. This prompted the cancellation of the race and the lockdown of the surrounding area. When investigated, there were two other bombs inside, timed to go off, but never did. Due to some late registrations, over 5,000 runners were spared from being in the passing area when the bomb blew. Luckily, no injuries were reported. "Somebody had a beef with the military, being that it was a Marines-related event. They were obviously targeting the participants of the run," said Ocean County Prosecutor's spokesman Al Della Fave. They say it's unclear whether the motive was criminal or terrorist. I find it sickening that such evil is out there in the world. These men and women who risk their lives for our safety who were running for charity now have to deal with the thought that they could have died or been seriously injured that day. If it wasn't for the delayed registration that caused the runners to be away from the site of the bombing, this could have ended up like the Boston Marathon of 2013. Three years ago on April fifteenth, three people died whilst 250 others were seriously injured in a bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Both of these are examples of planned efforts to kill and maim innocent Americans, just because no one's mind was on the subject of terror. Pipe bomb explodes in New Jersey Pipe leakage in South O n September 9, 2016, a gasoline pipeline in a small city in Alabama released nearly 25,000 gallons of gas, which due to the heavy dependence of 50 million people per day, many gas stations have shut down because of the shortage of gasoline and will stay closed for an estimate of a couple weeks. This shortage will caused panic among people along with anger due to the inconvenience in their day to day lives. The government called for a code red on the situation and because of the expensiveness it takes to transfer gasoline from one area to another, gas prices are said to raise 15 cents per gallon. Until the shortage can be fixed, it's said that you should expect to see more gasoline trucks on the road. On Thursday Colonial Pipeline Co. pushed back the estimate of a complete start up of Line 1 another whole week. Because of the gasoline leak, the weather channel suggested staying inside due to the adverse weather conditions that occurred overnight and prolonged the cleanup and repair of the gasoline leakage. Even though we are quick already, they say that we still don't have the speed to deliver 1.3 million barrels a day, unlike the once broken pipeline did. Patricia Hemsworth, senior vice president at Paragon Global Markets in New York said, "The thing is that there is a time pressure. No one is exactly sure when the pipeline will be completely fixed." A solution they are trying to use is delivering a portion of the gasoline through a pipe that normally holds jet fuel and diesel, but we don't exactly know how much said portion is due to silence on the company's part. Because of what is called an "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance", many states including Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina have lifted rules that limit a fuel trucker to how many hours he or she can work. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency also had to temporarily lift requirements in order to fix the gas leak circumstance. In my opinion, I am really hoping that the government comes up with a solution beneficial in fixing the problem so it doesn't become worse. Media fails to cover Indian water protest A s of right now, the news is covering some girl dancing on a volleyball court when the Lakhota and Sioux Indian Tribes are fighting for clean water. This battle has been going on for almost a month, and there has been little to no coverage on the peaceful protest. The tribes, to whom are indigenous to those lands are fighting a pipeline that is to be built right next to the Mississippi, Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers. The pipeline is meant to go on for 1,200 miles carrying oil, that if it were to break, would contaminate all of the drinking water. It would be detrimental to wildlife and farmland. I mean look what just happened with the gas pipes breaking in Alabama. They declared a state of emergency. Pipelines don't seem to be quite fool proof for the United States, but if it broke they'd probably cover it up anyway. Also, I guess it's okay to go against the Act America signed saying that the government would not tamper with Indian Reservation land. There has been a very little amount of coverage for these people. Police forces have moved in to quiet the small masses that have gathered, arresting the natives for speaking out against the atrocities the government is allowing companies to do to their land. They have used intimidation factors as well to silence the people, and it's not fair. America has taken too much from these people. The least the government can do is protect their water supplies. There's much more important things to worry about like the gas pipe breaking that endangered thousands of Americans lives or our failing economy. Not only is this just affecting Indians, but it can lead to affecting everyone's lives as well. If people don't start putting their foot down, power remains less in the hands of the people and more in the hands of corporations and people of status. Imagine that the state wanted to put a nuclear power plant smack in the middle of California where all of our food produce comes from. The people of California rally against it, but we're bullied into silence. Not only should we care about our health, but the health of others as well. I stand with Flint. " The thing is that there is a time pressure." -Patricia Hemsworth should go toward fixing on campus." A total of 61 students took this survey. The survey yielded a popular opinion among the students as to what buildings and/ or departments the bond money should be put toward, shown at the left. However, students' feedback did not all support the ideas of putting money into bathrooms, air conditioning for the gym, the Ag building, and the football field. We received feedback that pointed toward 20 different facilities on campus that need some sort of maintenance or repairs, from locker rooms to desks to the PAC and many others on campus. As a staff, we support the opinion of the students because they know this campus better than most others here. They are the ones utilizing our facilities and as a result, they know which ones are in more need of immediate maintenance. Especially our main campus, since it was first constructed in 1954 and hasn't had any kind of technology rewiring since. Yes, we did update some computers in classrooms, but that technology is now outdated and doesn't meet our needs as they did. Della Fave said. "There's no word on when it will be rescheduled, but that's where we're at right now." Until then, the police will be investigating the scene and trying to find the culprit who caused this devastation.