The failing economy forces more than homes into foreclosure

Written by: Alisa Bennett '11

         The Pledge of Allegiance clearly states “One nation under God…” But what happens when the nation just isn’t enough to support God?

       It is not a secret that the current U.S. economy is in a slump, a 1.3 trillion dollar slump in fact. Small business owners and local family-owned chains are falling and dropping off the face of the earth one by one because they can no longer afford to keep a steady flow of income to pay for their mortgages and operating costs. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. Churches around the country have been forced to close down and give up their sanctuaries because of lack of funding and government support.
       “Religious organizations may be subject to the laws of God but they are also subject to the laws of economics," said Chris Macke, senior real-estate strategist at CoStar in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Michigan, along with other states such as California and Georgia, are the states who will be the most affected by these churches closings because they are among the list of states that are currently experiencing the highest home-foreclosure rates.

         Even though churches are non-profit organizations, they still need a sum of money to run their services and partake in community-based services. A significant amount of the money churches acquire comes from donations provided by those who are members of the congregation and/or community. However, because of the economic crisis, a lot of people have significantly decreased the amount of money that they are willing to donate to the church because they have their own personal bills to pay.

         Instead of completely shutting down their congregations, some churches have decided to merge together in order to help each other make ends meet.

         Some banks try their best to help out churches and make deals with them because they don’t want to “foreclose on God.” Despite this fact, there are still churches who decide to just take the easier way out and just let the bank take their property.

Stretched to the limit, the pastors stopped making payments.
         "I just told the bank to take it," said Pastor Oliver of the Family Christian Center. "If you're a church with a piece of property upside down and no one will refinance the loan or lend you more money, there's not really another choice but to walk away."

          Luckily, people are still keeping their heads held high and a positive outlook in their minds.

         "A building does not make a church. We will find a way to continue," Mr. Zapara, a Sacramento pastor said

          Indeed, a building does not make a church, but will services be the same without the holy chapels? Only time will tell what will become of these sanctuaries.

Greyhounds team up against heart disease

Written by: Amanda Farhat '11

            The month of February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the number one killer in America, and a lot of people don’t even know it’s happening when they have a heart attack.

Eaton Rapids High School teamed up with the American Heart Association during Spirit Week and sold t-shirts to raise money for the organization.

It’s important to know your own personal risks and signs of a heart attack so you’re prepared if it happens to you. Heart attacks aren’t exactly like we see on TV and in the movies; sometimes they are that dramatic but more often than not they begin mildly.

Some signs of a heart attack include chest pain, discomfort in areas of the body such as arms, neck, and back, shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea, and lightheadedness.

Warning signs of a stroke include numbness or weakness on one side of the body, trouble speaking and understanding, trouble seeing, loss of balance and coordination, and severe headache. Many people who suffer from a heart attack or stroke don’t know it’s happening to them because they don’t recognize the signs. Early treatment is the key for minimizing potentially devastating effects of a heart attack and stroke.

As teenagers, we do not often think that a heart attack can happen to people our age, and while it is rare, it certainly can happen. The American Heart Association recommends to people in their twenties that they should check their family history of heart disease, don’t smoke and stay away from secondhand smoke, choose birth control carefully, and drink in moderation.

Your twenties may seem far away when you’re in high school, but they’ll sneak up on you faster than you think, and it’s essential to start educating yourself now about the risks you can choose to take or not.

Heart attacks and strokes do not happen to just the elderly, and if you don’t learn about them now, you could suffer for it later.

During Spirit Week, Mr. Smith and Mr. Warriner sold t-shirts in their classrooms to support the causes of the American Heart Association. The sales resulted in about $1,800 dollars, which is incredibly successful. Students who bought the shirts know that their $10 dollars went to a great cause and that joining together as a school has helped raise a substantial amount for an organization that has saved the lives of many people.

Mrs. Surato, an ERHS staff member who largely organized the t shirt sale on her own, has been personally touched by the American Heart Association.

“I am very thankful for the American Heart Association because without them my mother wouldn’t be alive. They taught me the warning signs for heart attack and stroke by sharing the stories of survivors. Heart attack and stroke are the biggest causes of death in the United States, and yet people still don’t view them as a major threat. I believe the students and staff did a great job participating in the t-shirt sale and has contributed greatly to the goal of spreading awareness and saving lives.”

Pledging to save lives with safe driving

Written by: Becca Waters '11

               “Driving is a privilege not a right.” Parents and educators remind their children and students, yet the privilege is taken advantage of more often then not, and consequently, the end result, all too often, is a motor vehicle accident with the possibility of a death.

                According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2009, 3,466 teens, age 13 to 19 were killed in motor vehicle accidents. That number is actually a decline from recent years. 2002 recorded nearly 6,000 teen deaths that were related to motor vehicle accidents.

                Although the numbers are decreasing the risk teenage drivers run is at an all time high. The root of the risk of danger seems to be the technology that the twenty first century has adopted.

                According to a Nielsen study from 2009, a typical teenager sends about 80 text messages per day assuming that the same amount is received in a day as well.

                A week day for a teen is usually spent at school, attending sporting practices or events, or working. Each of which, for most, would require some form of transportation to their destination. Most teens strive for independence and what better way to receive independence then driving?

                The independence that comes along with having a driver’s license though also carries a long list of responsibilities. One very important responsibility that has been on the minds of law makers and enforcers across the nation is the use of cell phones while operating a motor vehicle.

In 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA), an estimated 1.6 million teens drive while reading or writing text messages.

                Caught up in the hectic pace of an average day, most people want instant gratification, especially teenagers. Texting grants the instant gratification that teens strive for. “I don’t like to call people if I don’t have to, I can text them without interrupting every part of the moment we both are in,” said Izzy Bellville ‘12.

                Bellville doesn’t have his license but a lot of his friends do and he has found that they have a hard time putting their cell phones down and focusing strictly on the road, whether they have passengers or not. Proving that laws against texting and driving are necessary.

                For a teen in Texas a law banning texting and driving could have been the factor that saved her life. Alex Brown from Lullbock, Texas was killed in a single car rollover accident that was caused by her own texting and driving in November of 2009. The result of her death left her family devastated. Through the devastation though, her parents decided to campaign against texting and driving by putting Brown’s wrecked pick up truck on a trailer and take the truck to high schools around Texas telling their daughters story in hopes of changing teens minds about texting and driving.

                The Brown’s story was made public when the family was on ABC family’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. With the help of ABC a website for “Remember Alex Brown” was created. On the website, www.remeberalexbrownfoundation.com, people can sign a pledge against texting and driving. Carly Darrow ‘12 participated in pledging against texting and driving.

                “My best friend and I both have cell phones and drive. After we watched Extreme Makeover we visited the website for Alex Brown and signed the pledge to not text while we’re driving,” said Darrow.

                Browns parent repeatedly said that they don’t want to see another tragic and unnecessary death like their daughters happen. Parents of teens that drive can only do so much if the state they reside in doesn’t have strict laws against cell phone use while operating a motor vehicle but they can find information about safe driving at: www.KeeptheDrive.com.

                Teens can also find information and statistics about safe driving at keepthedrive.com. There are also many ideas for teens to show the people in their lives that they care about them and want them to be safe drivers.

                KeeptheDrive.com has many cool interactive ways to get involved with advocating against distracted and unsafe driving.