The Worthington ALC Insider
Summer School Issue #2 July 1, 2004
Fourth of July Fun in Okabena By Kelly Wilking This Fourth of the July, Okabena is celebrating its 125^th birthday. Okabena’s theme is ‘Come home to the nesting place,’ since Okabena means nesting place of herons in the Lakota (Sioux) language. Current and past Okabena residents should have plenty to come home to. Many events and activities are being coordinated for this year’s celebration. Okabena will be having an all-school reunion, and the last time that was done was done was for the hundredth year celebration in 1979. There will be a buffet in the gymnasium at Southwest Star Concept High School, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will also be an ice cream social, also not normally a part of Okabena’s yearly celebration, from noon to 2:00 p.m. Saturday in the park.	Other events for July Fourth in Okabena will consist of : All generation dance 7-11p.m. at the Legion Hall Quilt show from 10:00a.m. – 4p.m. on Saturday and 11a.m. – 6:30p.m. on Sunday at SSC (Southwest Star Concept). Re -enactment of the alleged robbery of First State Bank at 3:30p.m. By: Bonnie & Clyde Classic car show noon to 4p.m. on Sunday. Come and have a whole lot of fun in Okabena this Fourth of July weekend. Come check it out!!

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"Live Longer, Stop Smoking" By: Brittany Palaschak Lots of people start smoking more and more each day. If you plan on living longer than 50, and you smoke now, I suggest stopping at the age of 30. Studies have shown that if you stop at least age 30 you could still live just as long as any non-smoker. It is most obvious that cigarette smoking doubles mortality throughout adult life. It also clear giving up smoking can eliminate a very large part of the hazard. You can get 25 diseases, which smoking seems to cause. Tobacco has killed more than 100 million people in this world. During the present century there will be about one billion tobacco deaths if this continues. Studies also show that men who were born in the 1920s and became persistent smokers, about two-thirds died from their habit! Men who smoke are at least twice as likely to die before the age of 70 as non-smokers. Smoking kills people and stopping works.

Know someone who drinks too much? Here are some signs suggesting someone you know has a serious drinking problem: v Do they drink alone when they are feeling down? v Does their drinking ever cause them to be late for school or work? v Do their friends ever get worried when they drink? v When they drink, do they ever forget what they did? v Do they use more alcohol than their friends? v Have they ever lost friends because of their drinking? v Do they ever stop and think that they may have a drinking problem?

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Hey, look at this story By: Frank White How many of you have bird feeders? Well if you do, here is a story for you. An old woman got tired of those weird squirrels eating in her bird feeder. Day after day, she finally got fed up with those squirrels. Alberta Jones, a 78-year-old-woman, loaded her 16-guage shotgun, expecting to kill something outside. However, when she went outside, she carried the gun with the barrel of it face down. Somehow, the gun discharged. When the police got there they realized that the pellets from the gun had ricocheted off the floor and went into both of her legs. In one of her knees, the pellet was so bad, that it needed surgery. Soon after the surgery, Jones stated, “I’ve tried to shag them away, and they keep coming back,’ referring to the squirrels. Jerry Shepard, a conservative officer who is with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said that it is not squirrel season, and hunting game outside of season is a misdemeanor. Punishment can be up to maximum 60 days in jail and up to $500 fine. But luckily for Alberta Jones, authorities are not pressing charges. However, Jones also vowed to keep shooting at squirrels and using firecrackers to discourage them from coming back. She also stated that she shoots at ground hogs and other animals that are a nuisance. So, if you ever see a squirrel, DON’T shoot at it!!!!!! Unless it’s squirrel season. Also, don’t ever shoot at your neighbors’ animals either.

State Doesn’t Pay for Sex Doctors By: Elizabeth De Leon Dr. Randall J. Smith, a doctor from Portland Oregon, was jailed after submitting false medical claims to the state. Smith had sex with one of his patients and then charged the state about $5,000 for his "treatments." Smith was jailed for 60 days and lost his license. Dr. Smith, 50, stated to the woman that massaging her "trigger points" would ease her pelvic pain. The treatments later led to sexual intercourse. Smith then billed the Oregon Health Plan for the 45-minute sessions at the Adventist Health Medical Group clinic in Gresham, Oregon, near Portland! As part of his plea agreement, Smith must pay $1,105 in fines and also perform 200 hours of community service. Smith must also remain on probation for 18 months. In addition, Smith had to turn in his medical license. The Adventist Health Medical Group clinic administrator, David Russell said, “Adventist repaid about $5,000 to the state.”

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Let’s Get to Know a Teacher Better! By: Hungphept Rachel Leovan Peter James Zotalis, or Mr. Zotalis as most of us know him, is a high school teacher at Worthington ALC. That’s basically all we know about him, right? Don’t you think that maybe if we got to know a teacher better, maybe our communication and interaction with a teacher would flow easier? Maybe then they would know and understand us better? Or how about, maybe we would understand them better. Well, Mr. Zotalis is a 27 year old teacher at Worthington ALC. He is the second oldest of three sisters and was born in Hastings, MN. A word that he says describes himself is sarcastic. I bet you wouldn’t have known that if you never attempted to talk to him. His favorite subject in school is obviously English since he teaches English. Other interests he has outside of school are sports and downhill skiing. He also coaches baseball for the Ninth grade and coaches basketball for the sixth grade. So, things that he likes to do when he’s not in school are play sports, watch movies, and travel. Okay, so what’s new? A surprising fact is that he has asthma. Well, it’s not that interesting, but it’s a fact. How about he used to watch Days of Our Lives when he was a college student? Pretty interesting now huh? Now if you don’t (Continued à)

know what Days of Our Lives is, it’s a daytime soap opera that is particularly popular with the female species. I know what you’re thinking, pretty different huh? Nowadays his favorite TV shows to watch are Twins Games, CSI, American Idol, and Friends. He also likes to watch movies. The last movie he saw was Harry Potter and he loved it. He likes music too! The kind of music he likes are Smashing Pumpkins, U2, and basically everything. He even likes some rap! His favorite foods are Italian and Greek. His favorite restaurants are Granite City and Bucca. In ten years, he would like to be married and have kids, have a house, and do the same things he does now. He would also like to travel to Europe. So why did he choose teaching for a profession and why did he choose teenagers to teach to? His response was that he likes to help others, watch people improve in things, and likes to hang out with young people. Believe it or not, high school was hard for him. When he was in school he always had teachers that were cool to him – theacher who seemed to really care about the students they taught. He always had teachers that he looked up to. ALC is a pretty good school in it’s own way, but one thing that he would like to change about ALC is he that would like more access to resources, i.e. computers. So now you know Mr. Zotalis a little bit better. Maybe you even found that you have something in common with him. This isn’t all that’s about Mr. Zotalis. He’s not uptight, mean, or a snob. Hopefully this could break the ice for you and give ease for a better and easier flow of communication between he and you.

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Interview with Resha By: Elizabeth De Leon Resha has been attending Worthington High School. She is recently attending Summer School at the ALC 2004. She has a family of 10, which consists of Mom, Dad, Sisters, Aunts, and Uncle. She is originally from Ethiopia. She is 18 years old. Resha favorite subject in school is, Chemistry, she also enjoys running. She is an interesting person who has lived a dramatic life. She also can express herself as unique. Ten years from now, Resha sees herself completing college with a Masters Degree in science. Her favorite T.V show is Sister Sister. She has also recently seen The Run Down. She is presently unemployed but is in search of a summer job. She enjoys listening to oldies and R&B music. The ideal vacation for Resha would be anywhere, as long as she is with her man, although she would prefer to be in some kind of resort. (Continued à)

One thing that she would like to change about the ALC Summer School is for the students to have shorter classes. The restaurant that she enjoys the most is Valentino’s, and she also likes all kind of fruit. Her plans for after graduation are to take a trip back home to Ethiopia. While she is not in school she also likes to go dancing, running, and as well as babysitting. A word that would describe Resha would be, spontaneous.

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