The search for an escaped spotted leopard is on, as town officials fear the worst

Durham officials are frantically searching the Zoo grounds looking for a rare spotted leopard named Fluffy who escaped sometime last night. Fluffy, a 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard that is black with white spots weighs 146 pounds and can run 60 miles an hour is on the loose and trained to kill.

Zoo workers noticed the animal was missing from its cage around 7:30 a.m. when a patron notified workers of the missing animal. James Petronkis a resident of Newmarket goes to the zoo every day to see Fluffy. When he arrived this morning he noticed that things weren’t right. “Everything seemed normal, until I got to the cage. Then I knew something was wrong right away, Fluffy usually draws the straw up into a nest when she sleeps, but there was no nest- there wasn’t even any straw.” Fluffy was last seen last night around 9 p.m. when the zoo closed.

Police Chief William Blair outlined the search for Fluffy. “We will first search every inch of this zoo. If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun. But if necessary, we will shoot to kill. If we can’t find her in the zoo, we will begin searching the neighborhood, moving farther and farther away from the zoo.” Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo says that they are unaware at exactly when Fluffy escaped or where she might have gone. He stressed that they are doing everything they can to find her and bring her back.

Kitty Smith the zoo’s chief biologist explained that Fluffy is one of only five of these animals in existence. She also stressed that Fluffy is considered to be extremely dangerous. “We urge anyone who encounters Fluffy to get slowly to the ground and lay still. Fluffy may do a lot of sniffing and licking, but unless she senses fear she’s not likely to react violently. Be especially careful to avoid eye contact.”

The town biggest worry is that Fluffy has escaped from the zoo’s property and is roaming around the town of Durham. “We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school. We have got to find her before 3 p.m. If we don’t, it could be a very messy night” said Blair.

In addition to Durham police and zoo staff searching for Fluffy, Blair has called in the state police and state wildlife departments to assist in the search. The National Guard has supplied five helicopters equipped with infrared sensors to find the missing cat. Officials are puzzled as to how she got as her cage is alarmed, and no alarms sounded during the night. The door was shut and did not appear to be tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken.

Fluffy one of the main attractions at the zoo was a gift from a sister city in Romania called Durhamvoska was set to be flown to China next month in order to mate with a male spotted leopard that is owned by the Chinese government. Many zoo patrons were angry when they were forced to evacuate and outraged that something like this could have happened. “I want my money back, and then I’m, never coming back here gain. This place is out of control” exclaimed a frustrated patron on his way out of the zoo.

Fluffy the only female spotted leopard in existence, has an appetite to kill says Smith. “Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone. But if these cats are cornered—or encountered on a dark night- their defense is to kill, and to kill quickly. They take the “kill now, ask later” approach to life.”

October 27, 2011

One of the top stories today was that people who are jobless are saying that they still have hope. That is nice to hear when we are so overwhelmed lately by the occupy protests. It's nice to know that those without jobs still feel that there is hope for them. I have to think that if they have hope that it will put them in a better place and our economy in general to have a job. When it seems that the country has no hope for a turn around those who are the most greatly affected still are being positive.

October 26, 2011

Today in the newspaper, there was a story that the CDC is recommending that boys age 13-21 receive the HPV shot that girls were recommended to get in 2006. I found this to be interesting because I think it is a good idea that everyone gets vaccines in order to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. I think that with the new technologies that we have any step towards a cure against sexually transmitted diseases are in the right direction. With the current status of shots preventing HPV, someday soon I can only hope that there will be a shot for HIV/AIDS.

October 25, 2011

A hot topic this year so far has been about drug cartels in Mexico. We as a nation have been watching the problems in Mexico with the drug cartels start to seep into our nation. We have seen a rise in drug trafficking at the border, human smuggling, and a rise in weapons in our nation. This scares me because what is happening over the border is basically a civil war. People are dying and these cartels are completely running Mexico. The US is so close to Mexico and the only thing diving us and them is one wall sometimes not even a wall. We as a nation however have taken a step is what the article is saying. US police have made a lot of connections with Mexican informant, so we now know more what is going on and can better plan and investigate the crimes that are occurring in the US.

October 19, 2011

So, I've said in the past that I hated politics and there was a story in today's paper about how the religion of presidential candidates has come into the presidential election. It quoted presidential candidates mocking and downgrading religions. The Mormon religion was especially targeted as a cult and non christian. I don't think that it is fair to attack people religions because they are not just attacking one person but a whole group of people. You would never hear someone attack someones race because you would be labeled racist. But for some reason people find it acceptable to attack ones religion.

October 18, 2011

After many years of fighting between Israeli and Palestine, I feel like they are taking positive steps forward to a peaceful relationship. In today's paper, there was an article about how Israeli and Palestine were making equal swaps of prisoners of war. This will be good I think for both sides because it shows that they are taking steps to communicate with one another and end the bad blood between the two. One of the Israeli soldiers being released will be released after five years of captivity. I'm really happy to see some positive news come out of this region FINALLY!

October 17, 2011

Today, one of the headlines was about a group of Amish people that are being targated and assaulted by another group. This other group who is supposidly responsible is going around and cutting off the Amish people's beards. This is one Amish group against another. To the Amish hair is their pride and glory. Women keep there hair long and men keep their beards long. For another Amish man to cut off the beard knowing how important it is has been inconcievable for many.

October 12, 2011

Blackberry is a thing of the past. I used to have a blackberry and then switched over to an iPhone 4. Today I'm reading about the downfall of blackberry and how they have been having major technological problems lately. I feel like blackberry's used to be all the rage, they were the cool phone to have...until the iPhone. Now, unfortunarely iPhone and Apple have taken over. I'm not going to say im surprised because I LOVED my blackberry and for a while was thinking about switching back to it, however now that I think about it there were a lot of faults in their system.

October 11, 2011

Today we talked about the Times in class but I think that its awful that states are adding drug tests to Welfare benefits. I think that they are sterotyping people who are on welfare and I dont think that is fair to do. I think that if you add drug tests we will for sure see a significant decline in people seeking welfare and finiancial support. Although I think that it is a reality that the people who are on welfare sometimes do do drugs, I just dont think its fair that everyone has to be put into the category just because they are on welfare.

October 10, 2011

One of the biggest stories in the sports section which is one of my personal favorites was about the NBA lockout. I think its rediculous that there might actually be an NBA lockout. I think its stupid that players and owners can not come to a mutual contract. It would be so dissapointing to not have an NBA season. It would also hurt them all in the long run because they would loose out on very expspensive TV contracts.

Saturday Classes being proposed for High School Students

No more sleeping in for Portsmouth High students who misbehave during the week if the school committee passes a new rule requiring delinquent kids to attend weekend classes. The classes would be held Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon.

Peggy Bacon, a parent, said she did not think the proposal was a good idea. “I work six days a week—including Saturday morning. I know my son isn’t perfect, and I know he’ll probably wind up on the Saturday list at some point, but I’m not going to force him to go. I just don’t think it’s going to make any difference, and the parents are going to pay for it – in higher taxes as well as in ruined Saturdays.”

School Board member Tim Steele feels the that new disciplinary measure is being proposed in an effort to reduce the number of in-house suspensions which are being given automatically to students caught smoking inside or outside of Portsmouth High School “I know this isn’t good news for parents, but I hope the threat of Saturday classes will make the students think twice before breaking the school rules.”

Steele reported that last year 154 students received in-house suspensions which required them to sit in an empty classroom with a faculty member for the day. An in-house suspension does not allow students to make up the missed work for that day. The new program would mean that the student wouldn’t miss any class time.

High School students are enraged at the new proposal. Lisa Gallagher, a senior, spoke against the rule. “In 12 years of school I’ve never had a detention, and I don’t intend to. But I don’t like this idea. I think it’s just being done to make life easier for the faculty, so they don’t have to deal with detentions during the week. Anyway, what is someone skips the session? What are they going to do, make them stay all weekend?”

Steele explained that students who have disciplinary problems during the week would return to school for a special Saturday morning session. It would run from 8 a.m. until noon several weekends during the year. Students would not be allowed to return to school until the detention had been served. The new program would require an allocation of about #3,000 per year for staffing.

Portsmouth resident Bob Farley liked the idea of the new rule. “Parents can whine all they want about this, but maybe it’s time parents in America were made to take a little responsibility for their kids. That’s the whole program—parents aren’t teaching their kids any discipline, so the kids have no respect for rules. Maybe if they have to miss a few Saturday morning cartoons they’ll start wising up.”

Steele says that smoking is not the only discipline problem at the school, but it is the worst. “I just want to keep students from smoking in the high school bathrooms. There are other problems, but smoking is by far the biggest one.”

The school board will re-table the issue after a 5-3 vote at its next meeting on March 7. Steele was instructed to return at that time with figures on in-school detentions so far this year.

Young boy runs to help stranded motorist on train tracks

A Seventeen year old boy is being called a hero after he ran 100 yards to the police station to alert police to an unconscious motorist stalled on the railroad tracks this morning.

James Laboke, a three year resident of Old Orchard Beach was on his way to work this morning when he saw a car on the railroad tracks. When Laboke went to investigate he found the driver slumped over the steering wheel unconscious with the car running. Laboke attempted to reach the driver, however all doors were locked and the motorist did not awake to pounding on windows. With no cell phone Laboke ran the 100 yards to the police station to get the motorist help.

“I never thought about it. I just knew I couldn't let that man get crushed by a train” said Laboke.

Captain Janet Paradiso of the Old Orchard Police Force was a mile away from the stranded vehicle when she got the call to respond. Paradiso arrived on scene at 6:05 a.m. and heard the train whistle of the 6:10 a.m. Amtrak Downeaster train from Portland approaching. “I knew there was no time. I had to do something” explained Paradios.

Chief of police Brian Paul explained that Paradiso rammed her police cruiser into the stranded car and pushed it from the tracks. Thirty seconds later, the train passed through the crossing at about 40 miles per hour. “It was that close,” Paul said.

The driver of the stranded vehicle was 80-year-old Francois Truffsault. Truffault, a tourist from Quebec City has been coming to Old Orchard Beach since he was a child. He said later from his hospital bed at Southern Maine medical Center: “I don t remember a thing.” Truffault is listed in stable condition. According to the police report Truffault, a diabetic, may have gone into insulin shock just as he reached the railroad crossing.

Laboke, an Afghan refugee reported to the Eezy Breezy restaurant where he works on time and didn’t mention anything about the incident to his boss Charles Champaigne. Champaigne only learned of his employees heroic actions when a reporter called. “It doesn’t surprise me at all. That young man is one of my most responsible employees. He’s just a great kid” described Champaigne.

October 5, 2011

The front page was ravaged with news from Afghanistand and political columns. However what caught my eye was a story about how Amanda Knox's family hired a public relations firm to help them deal with the press coverage after Amanda was arrested in 2007. This appealed to me because some day I would like to be involved with Public Relations. I didn't know there were firms out there that specialized in crisis management for families dealing with loved ones in the spot light. Sounds interesting to me though and right up my ally!

October 4, 2011

Today in the New York Times I read about Amanda Knox, an american who was being convicted of murder in Italy. Although I had heard about her case and the different sides around it, I was unsure exactly what happened. I still am not clear on the facts and I'm not sure if we will ever know if she is guilty or not. However, I have to say I always feel for the families of both sides. I'm happy that she is free and clearly the Italian government didnt have enough hard facts to convict her. One thing I did learn is that in Italy you may be cleared of all charges but they can re-try you unlike here in the US. The pictures of her family rejoicing were nice to see.

October 3, 2011

This darling cute little baby is on the front cover of the Times. When you read the caption it’s quite depressing. You come to find out that this baby is living in danger in Tijuana, Mexico. This story fascinates me because I have recently become very enthralled with the war along our borders. There is a show on TV that I watch that captures that war that is occurring along our borders and within our country. This baby is the face of that war. The border is where people are crossing both legally and illegally to try and gain a better life here in the US. However, it has become so hard for Mexican and other South Americans to get legal papers that many are forced to cross illegally. This saddens me because some of these people are in such retched conditions back home that are littered with cartel violence.

September 28, 2011

Today the Times had nothing of interest to me. It was the usual politics, war, and debt talks. I’m tired of people rashing on Obama for the stupidest things. I think that people are never going to be happy with our president. I’m also really getting tired of hearing about the national debt. It just doesn’t make sense to me why we can’t fix it. Ugh. What a depressing day for the Times!

September 27, 2011

Although this isn’t on the front page it still grabbed my attention in the health section. I find that my eye is naturally drawn to things that have personally affected me. My freshman year of college I was notified that my friend from high school had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. My first reaction was “people my age can get cancer?” This article outlined how doctors and nurses in Thailand are seeking innovated new ways to treat cervical cancer. The answer is: Vinegar. Doctors are treating patients with house hold vinegar to help rid women of cervical cancer. The new procedure is a lot less expensive than that of your typical pap smear helps poorer countries like Thailand fight disease.

Monday September 26, 2011

A beautiful building stands tall in one of the worst places in America. The Bronx NY is riddled with crime but yet his seemingly beautiful building is trying to shape the way the Bronx are. This new building which will be subsidized for low in-come and moderate in-come families will promote health and aesthetic appeal. This building is out of the ordinary for a place that once was a dump. People are set to start moving into the building at the end of the winter. The building not only will have a health club but also a vegetable garden and apartments with large windows for maximum sun light.

Tuesday September 20, 2011

As I read the newspaper I really like the article about Mayor Bloombergs apartment. Why you might ask do I like this? I want to badly to be able to right a delayed lead. The start of this article is more of a description that draws a reader into the story. Instead of answering all of the questions right off the bat it leaves something to be desired and you want to keep reading to learn more. I hope someday I can do this type of lead!

Monday September 19, 2011

I’m learning that the New York Times has no filter when it comes to their pictures. The main picture on the front page is gory and downright disgusting and I think humiliating. If I were these poor people that are laying down dying I would not want my picture to be plastered on the front page of the most popular paper in the US. The story that goes along with the picture describes that protesters were shot in Yemen. Twenty people died in these attacks. Yemen is a hot spot for Al Qaeda militants but the US has been working with Yemen to decrease this threat. I keep looking back at the picture which was taken at a make-shift hospital and I come to realize how dirty the area is and they are just laying in dirt with open wounds.

September 15, 2011

As I sat back to read the newspaper this morning, I was quite bored with the front page. Everything it seems these days it about politics or Libya or something to do with the downfall of our economy. To me that is all so boring and I have no interest in reading it. As I flipped through the pages I saw an article on a cat that was from Colorado and was lost. The good news: it was found! BUT in NYC! Now this intrigued me. The cat belonged to a loving family that had implanted a chip into the cat when it was a baby. This chip allows the cat to be traced back to its proper owners. How the cat got to NYC no one knows. It is presumed that the cat ended up in some kind of truck that was traveling cross country. When the cat was found on East 20th Street, it was turned in and now is on its way back to Colorado to its loving family. These types of story interest me more than politics do and I was really happy to see a piece of happy news in a regularly sad newspaper.

Wednesday September 14, 2011

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..well this article that I liked the most was about how laughter increases endorphins. Now this doesn’t really come as a shock to me. I have always grown up I guess knowing that laughter brings happiness and happiness brings healthy people. Well when you increase endorphins it makes you feel good. Laughter the article also says can help people become part of a group. It helps people to join in and is a common thing that people can bond over. I think that is so true, because I feel like the best way to become friends with someone is through laughter. Now I’m not saying nor is the article that laughter is the only way to create happiness and just because you laugh doesn’t mean that you don’t need to go to the gym. But I truly do agree that laughter creates happiness and happy people are healthy people. If only everyone would just laugh in this world. LOL

Tuesday September 13, 2011

What really grabbed my attention today was on the front page there was an article about bullying of gay students. As I read the article I was stunned to find that not all states have anti bullying laws. This lead me to go to the internet and search about which states have anti-bullying laws and which don’t. In some states bullying is considered a hate crime which holds big penalties even jail time. Through reading the article it made me reflect on my high school career and bullying and gay students. I went to a high school that I thought was pretty open to all students. As I read the article I learned that kids were not just being bullied because they themselves were gay but also being bullied if their parents or a family member were gay. What made this article even more prominent in my head was the fact that in some cases the school knew that these kids were being harassed and bullied and they did nothing to stop it. I believe that we need to have stricter rules and get the message across that this isn’t ok.

Parents Weekend Not a Washout

UNH was flooded with parents this past weekend as annual parent’s weekend events took place. The rain didn’t turn parents away from tailgating at the football home opener on Saturday.
The weekend was set to be a washout with Hurricane Ophelia off the east coast but parents were still lining up in full force to tailgate at the football home opener. The tailgate area opened for tailgaters at 8:30 a.m. and there was already a line to get in. Lucy Guild, a parking attendant at the tailgating area said “cars started lining up at around eight this morning. We opened at eight thirty and by nine we already had about three to four rows of cars already tailgating.”
The rain held off for the most part. Little sprinkles of rain occurred about every hour but no down pour at all. Tickets were sold out weeks before the football game was set to start. Freshman Emily Lundstead tried to get her mom tickets a few days before. “I went to the ticket office on Monday and they said they were all sold out. I didn’t know what to do because my mom just needed to get into the tailgate not actually into the game. We ended up just passing tickets from parent to parent just to get them into the tailgate.”
The UNH police were on close stand by throughout the tailgate event. On the hill sat three police cars, one special units van, and a state police SUV. Not only were there cars but police were walking around and stationed at all entrances. The day went off without any large incidents happening. As I sat at the Dunkin Donuts, I overheard police officers saying that there weren’t any large incidents or disruptions. They credited it to being parents weekend and that most kids are on their best behavior when parents around.
Other events were popular for parents to attend such as, the Men’s Hockey Exhibition game. Parents and students alike flocked to the Whittemore Centre Saturday Afternoon to watch their favorite team diminish New Brunswick. McKenzie Fraser was excited to be back at the whit, a place she calls, “My home away from home. I’m a huge UNH hockey fan from upstate NY. My parents have season tickets but we live and breathe wildcat hockey. I can’t wait for hockey season to start but it was nice to have all the parents and students there.”
Parent’s weekend also helps many parents of the University with funding. Parents are more likely to buy things than students are. The parent’s association depends on the donation of parents in order to buy things in need for programs that need funding. The parent’s association held an open house and brunch at campus rec with free skating and a free demo from the skating team. According to the parent’s association, with the donations from parents they are able to provide stim machines to the athletic training room, vans for sports clubs, and give’s grants to sports teams such as the skating team.
UNH Volleyball player, Amy Keding helped sell t-shirts in honor of two football players critically injured in a car accident. “I think that we were able to get more support for these two brothers because it was parent’s weekend. A lot of parents we’re really worried and really willing to help. Most students wouldn’t buy t-shirts and ribbons for twenty dollars but parents will and they did!” Parents are essential to the well being of students and the university.
Parent’s weekend gives parents a chance to visit their students and attend fun activities throught the weekend. According to their website, “We try to offer low cost or free events, programs or activities that you can attend with your entire family. We invite you to mix and mingle with other UNH families who are visiting for the weekend during the various events.”

UNH Moves Homecoming Weekend

The University of New Hampshire announced in August that the annual Homecoming Weekend would be moved to the weekend of October 28th. The change happened due to a scheduling conflict with home football games. The move allows spectators to attend the UNH vs. Villanova home football game.
UNH Homecoming has a long standing tradition of being a great even on campus. Many students attend the football game and other such happening around campus. This year however, homecoming will co-inside with Halloween.
Halloween on the UNH campus is another popular weekend for students. UNH sophomore Quinn Desiderio feels that, “they have robbed us of two fun weekends. Halloween and Homecoming are something that students look forward to. Those weekends are the main weekends that people in college look forward to. By combining those weekends you’re taking away our fun. Instead of two fun weekends we just have one this year.”
The UNH vs. Villanova football game is one that usually draws a big crowd for the football team. Athletics Ticketing Intern Marissa Smalley is “concerned that with all of these events happening on one weekend you take away a lot of the ticket sales for other games that might have had a decent turn out”. The homecoming game always draws a large crowd with alumni, current students, parents and other fans out to the game.
Villanova a long standing rival of UNH, usually comes and packs the stadium just because of the hype that surrounds the game. “I’m a little worried that the ticket sales will suffer this year due to all the hype being on one weekend and one game instead of being spread out between two weekends” explained Marissa.
Although athletics is simply looking at their ticket revenue, what most UNH students are worried about is their partying. Senior, Michele Venezio says “It kind of stinks that this happened our senior year. I liked when homecoming was one weekend, Halloween another, and the big football game another weekend. It gave us three weekends to party”.
Students are expected be their rowdy selves on homecoming. With no announcement yet from Scope about a fall concert students are starting to wonder if their will even be one. Students have been writing on Scope’s facebook wall which is the main way they announce their shows. However Scope has not commented back on when they will be releasing who is coming or if there will be a show.
Alumni will still show up to the game although it’s not sure if numbers will be done due to the Halloween weekend. “I’m not sure if I’ll go this year, I usually do Halloween weekend in Boston with co-worker and friends so now I feel like I have to pick” explained UNH Alumni Erin Strahan. UNH is confident that alumni will still show but is worried that some may miss out due to the Halloween festivities that they and their families may partake in.
It’s sure to still be a great time but students, alumni, and athletics alike are all a little worried that maybe this wasn’t the best decision. Due to poor planning of the football home schedule which is made about five year in advance, students, alumni and fans will pack into Cowell Stadium to tailgate and watch some Wildcat football.

Campus Rec Gym hitting maximum capacity

The UNH Campus Rec gym is as crowded as ever. With over 100 students in the small weight room at once, students want to see a change.
Students are asking student senate to help them renovate and expand the student gym. The overcrowding of the gym is forcing students to wait in line for machines and even worse be turned away.
Christian Beck a supervisor at the gym checks how many people are in the weight room every half an hour. “Every time I go in there, there are at least one hundred people in there at a time. If you have ever been in the gym from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. you know that it’s going to be busy. It’s “prime-time”.” Prime-time is the time where the gym is the busiest and when most students are at the gym. This also includes other areas of the gym such as the basketball courts, and racquetball courts.
UNH senior Alison Zebendon hits the gym every day. However lately she says “I’ve been getting up at like six to go because it’s so crowded in the afternoons and nights.” The busyness of the gym can be a good thing but sometimes it does turn students away. “Sometimes I get there at night and it’s so busy I leave. I hate when it’s busy because I don’t want to wait for a machine.”
UNH has been putting an emphasis on healthy living. The healthy living campaign incorporates the dining halls and the gym. It gives students an incentive to go and work out. With programs at the gym such as Make the Time, students are entered to win prizes if they get their cards signed everyday of the week for two weeks.
The facilities at UNH have just been remodeled. With brand new weight machines arriving at the beginning of the semester, the gym is seeing all time high numbers. Last year, the gym went above its estimated attendance. This year the gym is looking to break that all time high again. Director of facilities Dave Leach is excited about the popularity of the gym.
“It’s nice to see so many people working out. We definitely need some updates and some expanding but right now we just don’t have the money for that. The new equipment is great and I think that people are happy with that change, however there still is just a higher demand than what we have space for.”
Hanging up outside of the lock rooms at campus rec is a motion to the student senate to expand the student gym. The gym for varsity athletes is state of the art however the gym that accommodates the majority of the student body is suffering and overcrowded. The varsity men’s hockey team has their own personal gym in the Whittemore center which is for their personal use. Students are seeing this as giving varsity athletes special treatment for such a small percentage of the student body.
Although there isn’t a paper that follows up what the student senate has decided, students are hoping that an expansion will come soon. With a ten year renovation happening across the street at the field house, students are hoping that the student senate will help fund a remodel and renovation of the gym. Leach says that he is excited for the possibilities but isn’t holding his breath.

Students are forced back home after Hurricane Irene hits the East Coast

In the aftermath of Irene many students were heading home after just the first week of school. Although the University saw no real damage from the tropical storm many other places along the east coast such as New Jersey and Vermont saw extensive damage.
UNH freshman, Kristiana Ploss headed home to Woodstock, VT after just three days here, “I called my parents after the storm had passed and they told me that everything had been destroyed. They said that the basement and the first floor of our house had about four feet of water in it.” Soon after the call Kristiana rushed home to VT to help her family in salvaging anything they had. “It was hard to go home so early. I was just getting to know everyone, and I was going to miss classes but I knew I had to go home and help out my family.” Kristiana was just one of many students who were forced to miss classes and the first week of school due to the hurricane.
UNH Senior Kelsey Jardin has lived her whole life on Cape Cod. Although she endured Hurricane Bob and other hurricanes that had ravaged her home in Mashpee, Irene was going to do some damage. Un-like Kristiana, Kelsey never came to school. With the move in date for UNH changed to Saturday, Kelsey knew where her priorities laid. “I wanted to go back to school so badly, but there was a lot of work to be done at home in preparation for the hurricane. I live right on the ocean so any rough surf or big waves would hit the sea wall and possibly go over into my house. I helped my parent’s board up our house with ply wood and helped lay out sand bags. It was kind of funny because while everyone was moving their stuff into UNH, I was moving sand bags into my house.”
What usually is a fun first weekend back at school for UNH students became somewhat of a sad and missed out weekend. Many students were in the position of Krisitiana and Kelsey and many students worried about their families back home.
The University saw no real damage although power did go out for a few hours in some places. It seemed that Irene skipped right over the University as surrounding areas saw, downed trees and power lines and some damage due to high wind gusts. Students were given the first day of school off which to some started out the year on a great foot. Others are left to catch up on their Monday classes and lecture time missed.

Lt. Col. Salde speaks his mind at disciplinary hearing

Students and board members of the Barid School were shocked to see Lt. Col. Slade become so passionate about his views on character and integrity during Charlie's Simms disciplinary hearing.

When Trask asked if Slade was done he responded with a hasty, "No I'm just getting started!" The reactions of the other boys in the room were that of disbelief. Trask was clearly