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The Worthington ALC Insider
Volume 4, Issue 15 March 6, 2007
In like a lion… By David Dawson Last week’s snowstorm was a great way to begin March. They even cancelled school for two days, and for Worthington that is saying a lot. Someone must have realized that not everyone goes by the alias “Clark Kent.” I thought it was a true sign of the Apocalypse. The highways were closed and the roads were as icy as Tasha’s heart. It took four days to get back to normal. Worthington schools had one “snow day” built into their calendar, so only one of the two missed days will have to be made up. Tentatively, it looks like the March 26 teacher in-service day might end up being a regular school day. The final decision has yet to be made. The whole mess began with an inch of ice followed by 19 inches of snow! There were cars all along the highways that went into the ditch. Many of the vehicles were completely buried by snowplows and had to be dug out when the weather cleared up. (Continued à)	Tasha Brisson stand atop the 15 foot high pile of snow next to the ALC parking lot Accidents were happening in town as well. Someone I know got sideswiped by a jeep because they couldn’t see around the snow drifts. Most drivers followed wise snowstorm advice: Stay safe, buckle up, slow down, and look both ways. It was a heck of a way to begin the month of March. But that’s just the way March usually is. Guess what, there is the possibility that we might get a lot more snow before the month is over…

The ALC Insider March 6, 2007 page 2

Our New Snack machine By Natasha B. We all love the vending machines. The lunchtime snack and caffeine boost often is the only way we make it through the day. Last Tuesday when we came in and headed to the machine for our before school snack, we found the snack machine face down on the floor. Oh the horror. The word around is that it was knocked down sometime on President’s Day (a school holiday). The staff found it Tuesday morning before the students arrived. They hoped that we would leave it down. Well, the students had to try and save their fallen soldier and so later that morning some students, I will not mention their names, decided to get the machine up. In the process of up righting the machine, most of the snacks and some money was dumped out. There was a slight frenzy as if a piñata was just burst open. But the students quickly got back under control and the food and money was recovered. The company that owns the machine has replaced the broken parts, so it is fully functional again. They have new lighting and new glass in the vending machine. It makes everything inside look like a piece of heaven. It makes your mouth water just by looking at it. Candy and chips have never been so tempting. It is hard not to be put in a trance while trying to pick out a snack. It is funny to watch ALC students stare endlessly into the machine while grunting their approval. (Continued à)

Eddie Marinez uses the new machine in the morning before class begins Even better, there is a new computer panel on this machine. The buttons beep extra loud so they can annoy everyone and an LCD read-out has lots of sayings. Here are most of the sayings so you don’t have to stand there for five minutes reading them: “To keep you on the run.” “Golden eye.” “Snack attack.” “Grand Central Energy Station.” “Have no fear.” “Hungry?” “J Have a great day J” “Refueling in process.” “Satisfaction served.” I hope you appreciate the list, I had to stand there looking like a total nerd to write this article. While I was reading all of the sayings the gym class made 3 entire laps around the building while I was standing there writing them down. My advice to all: Take care of this new machine…who knows if we will ever get another one if this one gets broken.

ALC Insider March 6, 2004 Page 3

How Winter almost killed this town… By Natasha B. Folks in Worthington love winter, right? Everyone here loves drifts of snow and below zero temps, otherwise we wouldn’t even live here. But did you know that winter weather almost killed this town? In 1880, Nobles County had 4435 residents, 636 of them living in the town of Worthington. They were hearty pioneers, all of whom had arrived in the seven years since the county was first opened up to settlement in1872. The settlers thought they were prepared for Minnesota winters, until the winter of 1880-1881. The season began with a rainstorm that turned to ice on October 15. Numerous blizzards followed, and the snows never let up until mid-April. The snow got so deep that the railroad tracks (the only connection to the outside world) couldn’t be cleared. It was called a “snow blockade.” At one point, not one train made it to town for eleven straight weeks! (Continued à)

Few trees existed in Nobles County at that time. It had been a wide-open prairie where grass stretched as far as the eye could see. People relied on coal from the outside to heat their homes. When the coal ran out, people resorted to burning dried “cow chips” and “horse pies.” They eventually began burning hay stored for animal feed. Barns were dismantled and feed to the fires. Some settlers even began dismantling portions of their homes and burning the wood in their furnaces! When spring finally came, many settlers simply packed up and left! Trouble is, many of them owed money to the local bank known as The Bank of Worthington. When investors in the bank from Geneva, New York, learned that they might lose a lot of money, they sent one of their own to sort things out. The man they sent to Worthington was none other than George Dayton. Dayton arranged enough financing to keep the prairie settlement going. He straightened out the financial mess created by the hard winter, made himself a pile of money here in Worthington, and built the Dayton House for his family. He later moved to Minneapolis and started Dayton’s Department Store. Photos courtesy of Mn Historical Society

The ALC Insider March 6, 2007 page 4

T.V. Review: I Love New York By Agustin, Ana, and Monica Her real name is Tiffany Pollard. She was the arch nemesis of the house on season one of Flavor of Love on VH1. On this crazy dating show, one character could not remember names so “Tiffany” became “New York.” She was a stand-out character on the show with her cocky attitude, mean stunts, and crazy mother. When New York came in second place, she went nuts. She became the returning guest from hell, and somehow ended up in season two of Flavor of Love. VH1 wasn’t ready to lose their cash cow, so they created a new show, I Love New York. In this crazy show New York (Tiffany) is again the center of attraction, and she loves it. But to keep the show interesting, Mommy New York is on site. Together these two ladies will put twenty men through the paces, testing them on everything from their physical appearance, to their "daddying" skills. I Love New York follows the same format as Flavor of Love. New York started out with twenty guys (most of them quite interesting), and she gave them all nicknames. All the guys live in the same house and fight for New York’s attentions. (Continued à) Tiffany Pollard, AKA New York of MTV’s I Love New York

Cast of MTV’s new reality show, I Love New York The guys do not get along very well and get jealous. This causes a lot of fireworks. At the end of every episode New York eliminates one guy, the goal being to get down to one guy she loves. If you have not seen I Love New York, you really need to get on board. The episodes are getting more exciting. The challenges to win a date with New York are getting tough. One guy, 12 Pack, ate a bee! After eight episodes there are only five guys left, and they are all fighting for New York’s love. In one of the newest episodes, New York makes the guys bring in their ex-girlfriends. The goal is to get dirt on the guys. They find out that one of the guys is gay, that another still loved his ex-girlfriend, and a third has a baby yet can’t stand little annoying kids. Wow! Again, we advise you to get on board and tune in! Click on the logo to see I Love New York show times…

The ALC Insider March 6, 2007 page 5

A Metal Massacre An Opinion piece by Dan T The Metal genre is coming back and with a vengeance. More and more teens are listening to heavy metal than any other genre. The rap and hip hop fad is dropping. That’s right! They are showing more and more rock on MTV if you haven’t noticed. Bands like Kilswitch Engage and their video “My Curse” is one piece of MTV’s new set of videos. The rock genre is knocking off the majority of hip hop and alternative bands like Weezer and Snow Patrol. In the last few years more metal and hard rock concerts have sold. The Metal trend started slowing in the late 80s early 90s, but Metal is back and this has lead to a fury of comeback tours. Bands such as Trivium, Lamb of God, and Bullet for My Valentine are selling out every show and that is pretty rare. Metal is coming back with a vengeance, and this hard rock and metal resurgence also means more goths, more ned kevs, more moshers, punks, and most of all more rockers in general. (Continued à) Metal band Lamb of God

Trivium’s Matt Heafy The decline of hip-hop is due to dropping concert and CD sales. Another reason is, and this is my opinion, they are running out of ideas. Hip-hop’s simple drum beats and/or instrumentals all kind of suck, or at least that’s what I think. I kind of question whether any one of these guys can even play an instrument! Most new-comers and old-school rappers such as Ice Cube have no idea what to write about. The majority of their songs have little or no meaning at all. Without meaning these songs have no effect on people’s thoughts or emotions and thus are irrelevant. I am not saying that all rock songs have meaning because many don’t. But if you haven’t had a chance to check out the metal genre lately, do so, I think you might be surprised.

The ALC Insider March 6, 2007 page 6

By Paul Martinez

Aries- (March 21- April 19)

Today is your day!! Wake up and smell the coffee! You are the leader for today.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Students will get on your bad side today. Just blow them off and take it easy it will help you in the long run.

Gemini (May 21- June 20)

Enjoy yourself man, you only live once.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

People are talking bad about you. Watch who you call your “friends.”.

Leo (July 23 – Aug 22)

Think of what you going to say before you say it. Some may be offended by your comments.

Virgo (August 23 –September 22)

If you got a cell phone (MISS ASHLEY!!) keep your cell phone in your pocket. Teachers are watching you. Be very afraid.

Libra (Sep 23- Oct 22)

You are looked up to. Whether it will be your little brother/sister or just the little kid next door.

Scorpio (Oct 23- Nov 21)

Love is in the air today, so don’t be afraid to ask for a number!

Sagittarius (Nov 22- Dec 21)

Try something new today. If you haven’t found what you’re good at you will find it today.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19)

You are loved! People love and care for you. You are a sweetheart!! Just keep doing what your doing because people love it!

Aquarius (Jan 20- Feb 18)

You are one smart son of a gun! Chances are people are always asking you for answers.

Separated at Birth

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