The Worthington ALC Insider
Volume 1, Issue 7 January 9, 2004
New math standard gives ALC students an unintended edge For the first time in seven years, Minnesota students will not be able to use calculators – at least on certain parts – of the Minnesota Basic Skills math test. Students in many schools are up in arms over the decision. But not students at the Worthington Area Learning Center (ALC). In fact, ALC students believe it will give them an unintended edge. “Are you kidding?” said student Ramon Barraza. “Like any of us have ever remembered to bring calculators on test day. People here have always taken the test without them.” “It’s the students in other schools who will be going bananas,” said student Dez Briski. “They are the ones who can’t multiply two times six in their heads.” ALC Dean of Students Paul Langseth had one comment on the matter. “You’ve got to hand it to these kids,” he said. “They have a way of finding a silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.”	Animation Factory Governor proposes school internet help Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that he wants Minnesota to spend $4.5 million to help rural school districts pay for internet services. District #518 schools in Worthington have their own server and system. As a result, it only costs Worthington $14.72 per student to provide internet access in the schools. Other rural schools are not so lucky. The Brewster-Round Lake schools pay $132.47 to $127.68 per student. The cost per student for Ellsworth is $96.90. Heron Lake-Okabena schools pay $81.87. Twin Cities suburban schools pay the least, averaging less than $10 per student. Pawlenty’s proposal will help rural districts catch up with their city cousins.

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Historical Worthington Stephen Miller By Dez Briski Stephen Miller was one of the founders of Worthington. He was a Civil War General. He was also Governor of Minnesota. Miller Street is named after him. So who was Stephen Miller? When the Civil War began, Miller enlisted as a common private, but Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey gave him the appointment of Lt. Colonel in the newly formed Minnesota 1^st Infantry Regiment. His pay was $80 per month. He served until September 16, 1862. He resigned his position in the Minnesota 1^st Infantry to accept the appointment of Colonel with the 7^th Minnesota Infantry. Colonel Stephen Miller

Governor Stephen Miller He served until the day of the Battle of Antietam in 1862. He returned to Minnesota to protect the frontier during the Sioux Indian Uprising of 1862 and 1863. He was eventually promoted to Brigadier General on November 6, 1863. He was elected Governor of Minnesota the following year. Miller was later a field agent for the St. Paul & Sioux City Railway Company in Windom, Minnesota. He then moved to the Worthington area and helped found the town. He died in 1881 at the age of 65 after suffering from what was called “mortification” of the left foot. The condition spread and was fatal. If you go to the Worthington Cemetery, you will find that Miller has the biggest gravestone in the place.

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Worthington: A good place to live By Chol Opiew How can we make our town a good place to live? Today people are looking for a place where they can get a job. People are moving from many regions to a place where they can feel comfortable. As we know, Worthington and several other cities were created as railway stations many years ago. Several towns, such as Sioux Falls, grew larger than others. Others, such as Bigelow, became very small. Worthington remained a mid-sized town. A friend of mine who graduated from the ALC three years ago says, “I would have stayed in Worthington, but it was hard to get a job here.” He eventually moved to Austin, Minnesota. “Worthington is a nice place,” says my friend, “But I would like to see more jobs open. Then I may come back. I had many friends in Worthington, but they also moved away because they didn’t have jobs.” We need to do what we can to keep people from leaving the city and encouraging those who have left to return. The city government should do everything possible to welcome business people to town. Those business people, in turn, will create more jobs.

Fun facts about Worthington By Phonesavanh Sengrasphon ü Joseph Nicollet came to this area in 1842. He named the lake “Okabena”, a Sioux Indian word meaning “home of the herons.” ü Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849 ü Minnesota was granted statehood in 1856. ü Nobles County was created by the Minnesota Legislature in May 23, 1857. ü Nobles County government began in 1870. ü A group of men from Toledo, Ohio, decided to settle the area around the “Okabena Railroad Station” in 1871. They took up land in the spring of 1872 and christened the town Worthington. ü Land sold for $8 to $10 per acre, except around the lake where it sold for $50 to $100 per acre. ü Worthington became the county seat of Nobles County in 1873 Main Street Worthington - 1895

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Thomas Crapper – A name to remember By Zara Nasers In the year 1904 – exactly 100 years ago – Thomas Crapper finished doing his business. And what was Thomas’s business, you might ask? He was the proud founder of the Crapper Co., manufacturer of the “silent valveless water waste preventer”, more commonly known as the toilet. Although Mr. Crapper did not invent the toilet, one of his employees, a Mr. Albert Giblin, did. In the year 1898, Giblin’s device was given patent number Crapper Co. advertisement

Thomas Crapper 4990 by the British government. The toilet continued to be manufactured by Crapper’s company until he retired a century ago in 1904. After that, the Crapper Co. continued to operate under different ownership. American soldiers who passed through England during World War I utilized Crapper’s device when doing their business. Most were farm boys who had never seen a flush toilet before. The soldiers called this device “the crapper” because the Crapper Co. name was printed prominently on the side. When they returned to America, they brought with them their nickname for the toilet. While this may sound like a crazy myth or some sort of urban legend, the facts surrounding Thomas Crapper are true. We just thought you’d like to know…

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Mad cow disease hits the U.S. DNA tests confirmed that the cow in Washington state diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease was originally born in Canada. The cow, a Holstein, was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalpathy, or Mad Cow Disease, on December 23, 2003. Genetic testing confirmed that the Cow’s mother and father reside in Canada. Contaminated feed is the most likely way cattle have been infected with the disease in the past. Feed regulations puts into effect in 1997 banned ingredients that once caused feed contamination. However, the cow in question was born before these regulations went into effect. Cattle affected with Mad Cow disease exhibit unusual behaviors that include staggering, foaming at the mouth, strange vocal utterances, refusal to comply with handlers, and a general bad disposition. Attempts to change the behavior of mad cows by sending them to the BLC have been generally unsuccessful in the past. Denial of $1 “fish prizes” to mad cows has also proved ineffective. Moreover, forcing mad cows to attend night school rather than day school has had little or no effect. Current practice is to immediately schedule all mad cows for slaughter. According to USA Today poll, Americans aren’t very concerned about the matter. Only 28% of Americans surveyed consider Mad Cow Disease a major problem, and 81% of those polled have not changed their meat consumption habits.

By Dez Briski Aries (March 21-April 19) Go see a new movie today. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Just relax, today is a good day for you. Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today you will meet someone new. Cancer (June21-July 22) Don’t believe the gossip today. Leo (July 23-Aug.22) Go your own way today. Virgo (Aug.23-Sept.22 Go home and sleep all day. Libra (Sept.23-Oct.22) Go out and do something today. Scorpio (Oct.23-Nov.21) Keep warm today or you’ll get sick. Sagittarius Nov 22-Dec21) Remember you are not always right. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Keep your mouth shut today, or you will get beat up! Aquarius Jan 20- Feb 18 You will go to the BLC today. Pisces Feb 19 –March 20 Don’t be annoying today.

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A letter of thanks to Joyce Ebbers By Ajulo Othow I was happy to see the story about our Senior Volunteer Joyce Ebbers in the last issue. I want to thank Joyce for being so generous to every one of us. I hope there will always be someone like Joyce at the ALC to help us. She has been a great help to those of us who have struggled to learn English. I will be graduating from the ALC on January 16, 2004. I know I will miss Joyce. I hope that we have the opportunity to meet one another again. Drawing by Tammy Jimenez

How to fill up blank space in a newspaper The mass communications class lesson of the day was how one might fill an unused space in a newspaper when there really is no story to put in that place. Several of the students suggested that one might start with a meaningless headline, utilizing a larger typeface than is ordinarily used. Doing so is guaranteed to fill up some space. Other students felt that if the first paragraph of the story contained an innocuous rhetorical question, then other paragraphs could be written to, in effect, answer that question. This, too, would fill up space. Still other students felt that if one simply wrote a sentence, a really long sentence – one containing numerous fragments and clauses – a sentence tied together with hyphens, commas, semi-colons, parentheses, etc.; a sentence essentially devoid of meaning (yet one that just goes on and on and on as if it conveys some sort of deep message); then one might, perhaps, possibly succeed in filling up unused space, thereby bringing a solution to the dilemma at hand. Alas, the class never arrived at a satisfactory solution as to how one might fill up unused newspaper space.

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