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The Worthington ALC Insider
Volume 3, Issue 17 February 14, 2006
The Story on Valentine’s Day By Desiree Briski On February fourteenth, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, but have you ever wondered why? Well I am going to try to explain it. February fourteenth is the traditional day on which lovers in certain cultures let each other know about their love, usually by sending Valentine's cards. These are often anonymous, except for couples who usually send or buy roses, candy, and a stuffed animal. These seem to the most common things purchased, especially by men. The history of Valentine's day can be traced back to an obscure Catholic Church feast day, said to be in honor of Saint Valentine. The day's associations with romantic love arrived after Medieval times when the concept of romantic love developed. (Continued à)	Animationlibrary.com The day is now most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "Valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion Valentine cards are sent each year, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, just behind Christmas. The association also estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all Valentines. The man who started Valentine’s Day was St.Valentine. The legends says that he left a farewell note to his lover, but their love was forbidden, so he signed it “from your Valentine”. St. Valentine served as a priest during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius. Things didn’t end well for Valentine as the emperor had jailed him for defying the Emperor’s authority. Click here for more info about Valentine’s day…

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What’s up with Cupid, anyway? By Amelia Torres Cupid is the most well-known symbol of Valentine’s Day. Everybody knows that naughty child with wings. He is armed with bow and arrows, known for piercing hearts. The arrows are supposed to represent desire and love. Cupid shot those arrows at humans and mythological gods. The arrows made them to fall deeply in love. Long ago, the Greeks called him Eros, the son of Aphrodite. She was the goddess of love. Romans knew this little fellow as Cupid. His mother was Venus. There is a mythological story about Cupid and his human bride Psyche. Cupid’s mom Venus was jealous of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish her. The old mother-in-law thing… But Cupid fell in love with Psyche. He married her, but since she was a human, she could not look upon her new husband. (Continued à) Graphic by Vithoune Thammavongsa

Psyche couldn’t resist the temptation and looked at Cupid. Cupid, in turn, punished his bride by leaving her. Psyche found herself alone. Her castle even vanished! She wandered alone for a long time. She finally came upon the temple of Venus, and Venus put her to work. She ordered Psyche to perform a series of difficult, dangerous tasks. The last task was the hardest. Psyche was given a tiny box to take to the underworld. She was supposed to find Pluto, the God the underworld, and put some of his wife Proserpine’s beauty into the box. Psyche couldn’t resist looking inside. When she opened the box, she let loose a deadly slumber. Cupid found his wife dead on the ground. He took the deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. The other gods were moved by Psyche's love for Cupid. They eventually made her a goddess. The sign of Cupid is the most popular sign of love – two hearts pierced by a single arrow.

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Valentine’s Day – 1929 By Jon Batcheller Valentine’s Day is usually associated with love, hearts and kisses. However, this Valentine’s Day story is very different. This story is about gangs, guns, bullets and murder. George "Bugs" Moran was a gangster who ran the North Side gang in Chicago in the 1920s. His rival was "Scarface" Al Capone. They fought for control of bootlegging operations in Chicago during Prohibition. Both men survived numerous assassination attempts. Moran's gang once drove ten cars past Capone's headquarters in broad daylight spraying the building with thousands of bullets. Bugs put a $50,000 bounty on Capone's head and this was the final straw for “Scarface.” Capone ordered Bug’s gang to be destroyed. On February 14, 1929, a delivery of illegal whiskey was supposed to be sent to Moran's headquarters. But Moran happened to see cops entering the establishment. He waited outside, thinking his homies were being arrested in a raid. But in reality, the cops were disguised assassins who massacred the seven men inside with machine guns. The murdered people were Moran's best killers. Supposedly, one of those shot in the massacre, Frank Gusenberg, was still alive when real officers arrived at the scene. When asked who shot him, Gusenberg, a ganster til the end, refused to snitch. He reportedly said "No one, nobody shot me."

Al “Scarface” Capone George “Bugs” Moran ******** Valentine’s Day in History 1962 First Televised White House tour First Lady Jackie Kennedy hosts the first televised tour of the White House. 1962 Kennedy authorizes military to fire in self-defense President John F. Kennedy authorizes U.S. personnel in Vietnam to return fire if fired upon. 1886 First trainload of oranges leaves Los Angeles The first trainload of oranges grown by southern California farmers leaves Los Angeles on the transcontinental railroad. 1896 Prince on Wheels Edward Prince of Wales, who would later become King Edward VII of England, became the first member of the British Royal Family to ride in a motor vehicle 1864 Sherman captures Meridian, Mississippi Union General William T. Sherman captures Meridian, Mississippi, allowing his soldiers a brief break before his famous "March to the Sea."

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. Selena By Kensy Trochez Selena Quintanilla Perez was born April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her mother was Marcella Quintanilla Perez and her father was Abraham Quintanilla. Selena had one sister named Suzette. She also had one brother Abraham Quintanilla III (A.B). When Selena was very young, her father taught her brother and sister to play instruments (drums and bass). Selena’s dad didn’t teach her an instrument, so she got mad. But he told her that it was because she was going to sing. Selena’s first honor was winning the Tejano Music Award for best female entertainer. After that she won every year for nine years.	In 1991, she was the first female Tejano singer to win a Gold Record. She won it with Ven Conmigo. After that she won best Mexican American performance for “Selena Live” and she stared a clothing manufacturing business. She was later nominated for a Grammy for Amor Prohibido. In April 2, 1992 she married Chis Perez. As time passed, they planned to have kids and live in a big house. That was Selena’s dream when she was 23 years old. Unfortunately, Selena’s dream never came true because she was killed by Yolanda Saldivar on March 31, 1995. Yolanda was Selena’s manager and friend! No one knows the real reason why Saldivar killed Selena or how it happened. Selena continues to live in her family’s heart. And more importantly, she lives in Chris’s heart, the man she loved and married. Everyone remembers her and misses her. She will always live in peoples’ hearts.
Valentines Day fundraiser By Alie Paine and Dez Briski For Valentine’s Day, the prom committee made Hershey kiss roses. We sold them for $1.00 for a single, $1.50 for a single with 2 fake roses, and $2.00 for a bouquet of 3. We made almost $50 from the sale. The earnings will go towards our prom on May 12,2006. We are planning to have more fundraisers like this around other holidays, so if you have any suggestions please let one of the prom committee members or Mrs.Schreiber know.

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By Joan Vasquez Pit bull senses Sight: Pit bulls can see movement at greater distances than we can, but they can’t see as well up close. They can also see better in less light, but cant distinguish many colors. Sound: Pit bulls, like all dogs, can hear about four times better than we can. They can hear high-pitched sounds very good Taste: Pit bulls have more taste buds than we do, so they're more likely to try anything. This is why it's important for owners to monitor their dogs’ food intake. Dogs are omnivorous, which means they eat meat as well as vegetables. (Continued à) Training is important for pit bull puppies

Touch: Pit bulls are social animals and love to be petted, groomed and played with. Smell: A Pit bulls nose is his greatest sensory organ. A dog's sense of smell is so great he can follow a trail that's weeks old. They can detect odors that are diluted to one-millionth the concentration we'd need to notice them. Pit Bulls can even sniff out a person underwater. Pit bull personality Pit Bulls love to be the center of attention. They adapt well to unusual surroundings and have a high tolerance for pain. These traits make pit bulls top breeds in canine therapy work. They love to show off their training or do tricks. Pit Bulls display a great deal of self-confidence. While aggression toward other dogs varies between individual dogs, Pit Bulls are often confident enough to ignore dogs of other breeds rather than pick fights. However, this is not always the case. From six months of age on, your Pit Bull can develop a desire to test other dogs. That's the main reason why training is so important.

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By Teresa Lugo

ARIES (MARCH 21- APRIL 19) Don’t try to fool others, because you will end up being the fool.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)

Thought you could be 2timer, but you thought wrong because two can play that game.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)

Stressing out lately? Don’t worry, everything will clear up and you will get something special in return.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)

Don’t be too greedy or you will end up living in a cardboard box.

VIRGO (AGU23-SEPT 22)

Don’t drink to much Hater-ade today, because you will end up having serious problems with others.

LIBRA (SEPT 23-OCT 22)

Today is your lucky day; you will be winning the lottery.

SCORPIO (OCT 23-NOV 21)

Start saving money because you will be facing financial problems.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22-DEC 21)

You will be meeting today with an old friend.

LEO (July 23- August 22)

Let the past go on and live the present.

CAPIRCORN (DEC 22- JAN 19)

Plans will come up today; the wise decision will bring you good money.

AQUARIUS (JAN 20- FEB 18)

Live life to the fullest because there’s only one life to live.

PISCES (FEB 19- MARCH 20)

Share with others and then later on in your road you will be rewarded with something special.

This week’s Separated at Birth

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