Post Grad: Relationships

Most seniors at Lake Hamilton are looking forward to graduation. Finally, they’ll have freedom from parents, drama, high school, and… relationships? While some seniors will be jetting off to college, leaving nothing behind, many are saying goodbye to something very important: a relationship.

When people walk into college for the first time, it’s mainly overwhelming by all the changes. These are their first steps into adult hood. While they do have much more responsibility, they also have an abundance of freedom. Living alone, doing everything on their own time and conscience…it can be a blessing and a curse. For many students starting college, it’s a dire mistake walking into all the changes while in the middle of a monogamous relationship. Meeting new people, gaining newfound freedom? It can be very detrimental to any relationship. With all that freedom comes temptation and above all, stress. Temptation plus stress plus a relationship is a frightening math equation that almost never equals happily ever after.

            Now, while for some people college is the breaking point, for others it’s not so bad. If you’re college is only a few hours away from home or if you and your significant other have been apart before, college can almost be normal. Some couples need a break from each other by the end of high school, and therefore, college is like a breath of fresh air. Other couples just have such a strong bond, that nothing can faze them. It all depends on your personal relationship.

            Candace Boehm and Josh Ware have only been dating for around 2 months, but they are both dreading having to say goodbye at the end of this upcoming summer. “I don’t know what to think about it. I mean, I don’t know how things are going to end up. All I know is that come the end of summer, everything is going to change.” Josh, who will be attending UCA in the fall, is also unclear about what the future will bring to him and Candace. “I want to try and do the long distance thing. Since I’ll only be in Conway and I can be home on the weekends and during holidays, it shouldn’t be too hard, and I plan on putting in as much effort as needed to make this work, but I have no idea what college will be like, so I can’t be totally sure on how everything is going to play out.” There definitely is one thing that both Josh and Candace hit on the dot: only time will tell what’s going to happen.

            Although many seniors are so excited to the end of summer, when they can drive off to college, not everyone is looking forward to the day when they have to leave a part of their life behind them. High school is a seemingly easy place for relationship to flourish, but college is a world away. With more freedom to do what you want, a steady relationship where one person is back home, and one is away at college becomes harder and harder to maintain. All and all, there is only one defining factor in knowing what will happen to a long distance relationship, and that is time. 

Storm Damage

In Arkansas, April 19, 2011, a chain of storms ripped through the state. The storms caused major damage such as trees falling on houses, power lines, in the middle of roads to 14 Arkansas counties. These counties are Craighead, Crittenden, Garland, Greene, Hot spring, Independence, Jefferson, Johnson, Logan, Lonoke, Mississippi, Pulaski, Pope, and White county.

Almost all the damage reported in all of the counties was power outages. Some counties reported trees down in some areas, roof damage, and vehicle damage. A lot of effort has been put into helping people clean up the storm damage and help get everyone’s power back on, but, most of the cleaning up was delayed due to a new line of storms that came through the state. In hot springs most of the damage was trees falling on power lines.

          For example, on April 15, 2011, a deadly storm hit causing nine people to die. Therefore, the April 19^th storm caused the clean up to pause for the previous storm. Also, the April 19^th storm clean up will be delayed because of the storms that happened last night (April 25, 2011).

          Because of the storms, I believe people should be more aware of the weather around them by listening to the weather channel and paying attention to the news, I think if people do this deaths would be less and they could prepare for bad storms that cause a lot of damage possibly due to tornadoes.

         

Interviews

By: Ashley Kendall

Most high school students wish to acquire a job before the time they graduate. However, being at the student level, they are placed below the college graduate and more experienced skilled people. There are still numerous ways for students to get ahead in the business world. Most of which can be applied in the interview stage.

          First of all, take pride in yourself. Keep your head held high and you’re back straight to show you are confident, because a slumped over posture shows people you are not so confident. Don’t only take pride in your body language, but also how you clothe it. Dress for the occasion, don’t wear ripped jeans with a paint covered t-shirt to a interview to a job position you really want. Wear respectable, nice clothing to show you care about your appearance, as well as your attitude. People will appreciate—and value-- a respectable looking employee.

          Next, when preparing a resume ahead of time for a interview, take your time. If you hand in a wrinkled, smudged paper, the interviewer is more likely to place your resume in the garbage than in a permanent spot at the company. Showing you put effort into something seemingly small, shows you have much potential to become a hardworking employee. Also, who wants to have to work to read something because it’s so messy? Not the potential employer!

         

          Things such as these really matter in an interview because the person hiring looks for specific things being displayed in the applicant. It could be so important that it determines if you or the guy sitting next to you in the lobby receives the job. When you have a confident, respectful attitude and show initiative, it doesn’t matter if you’re a student or not, you have the means for the job. Remember this next time you see the ‘NOW HIRING’ sign in the window.

Ohh Noo By; Claire Booth

Have you ever been to a national park, national forest, or Army Corp of Engineers campground around Arkansas? Do you remember how pretty and peaceful it was when you were there? Hopefully, you do because the chance to return to one is now questionable. David Barna, spokesperson of National Park Service said that if the government shuts down because of Congress cannot reach a budget agreement, all of the national parks, forests, and campgrounds in Arkansas and across the country will be forced to close.

This is happening because of federal budget funding issues. Democrats and Republicans are fughting over the amount of the descetionary portion of the 2011 budget. The descretionary portion of the budget is the portion left after you take out defense spending, entitlement speing, and payments on the national dept. Rebublicans want big tax cuts and Democrats want to maintainor expand services. If the last minutes wrangling between the two partyscontinues and no agreement on the budget is reached, the government will be forced to shut down all non-essential perations. This is important to Hot Springs because many businesses and individuals depends on tourism for their income. Hot Springs National Park, Ouachita National Forestand the Corp of Engineers campgrouds around Lake Ouachita are a big part of why tourist come to Hot Spirngs. Close the parks and campgrounds down and the downtown shops, along with other stores in Hot Springs, will have a major decrease in customers. Directly or indirectly, everyone living or working Hot Springs and Garland County will be affected by an economic slowdown.

Government Shutdown

Thanks to the government’s agreement signed on Friday, April, 8, 2011, hundreds of working Arkansans will no longer need to be worried about losing their jobs in effect of a government shut down. If this incident had occurred, approximately 800,000 workers would have been affected.  Juxtaposed with the Arkansas work force being cut down, the shut down would’ve affected six national parks in Arkansas including Hot Springs National Park.

According to the THV newsroom, the government shut down would’ve “crippled” the recovery state of our country. Congressman Tim Griffin (who represents the 2^nd district in Arkansas) states, “This nation needs to find more money because of the current state of the economy. The United States is broke, and that’s the only way to put it.” He also says that he plans to keep putting pressure on the Senate and the President to meet goals to help our economy and nation as a whole which means he’s going to keep asking the government to help stop unnecessary spending. 

Thankfully, the White House and the congressional leaders finally struck a deal(that was made to cut spending), averting the government shutdown. Allegedly, the deal is supposed to cut spending by about 38 billion dollars, which would be the largest cut in U.S. history.  House speaker John Boehner said that it could possibly cut government spending by 500 billion dollars.

Many Arkansans are breathing a sigh of relief over this agreement. They are happy to know that they no longer have to have more stress in their lives. Also, Arkansans don’t have to worry about losing their jobs and not getting a paycheck to pay bills every month because their jobs were saved thanks to the “historic” deal. Hopefully with this new agreement being put to action soon, America can bounce back and not only fix the sinking economy, but thrive and revive what was once the strongest economic country in the world.

Government Shutdown

Thanks to the government’s agreement signed on Friday, April, 8, 2011, hundreds of working Arkansans will no longer need to be worried about losing their jobs in effect of a government shut down. If this incident had occurred, approximately 800,000 workers would have been affected.  Juxtaposed with the Arkansas work force being cut down, the shut down would’ve affected six national parks in Arkansas including Hot Springs National Park.

According to the THV newsroom, the government shut down would’ve “crippled” the recovery state of our country. Congressman Tim Griffin (who represents the 2^nd district in Arkansas) states, “This nation needs to find more money because of the current state of the economy. The United States is broke, and that’s the only way to put it.” He also says that he plans to keep putting pressure on the Senate and the President to meet goals to help our economy and nation as a whole which means he’s going to keep asking the government to help stop unnecessary spending. 

Thankfully, the White House and the congressional leaders finally struck a deal(that was made to cut spending), averting the government shutdown. Allegedly, the deal is supposed to cut spending by about 38 billion dollars, which would be the largest cut in U.S. history.  House speaker John Boehner said that it could possibly cut government spending by 500 billion dollars.

Many Arkansans are breathing a sigh of relief over this agreement. They are happy to know that they no longer have to have more stress in their lives. Also, Arkansans don’t have to worry about losing their jobs and not getting a paycheck to pay bills every month because their jobs were saved thanks to the “historic” deal. Hopefully with this new agreement being put to action soon, America can bounce back and not only fix the sinking economy, but thrive and revive what was once the strongest economic country in the world.

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls

A lot of people leave Hot Springs for summer break, whether they go out of town, to another state or maybe even country to vacation. But those who do expect to stay in Hot Springs don’t have to be disappointed. Even if you aren’t leaving town, there are a number of activities around, though it may not seem that way, to keep your summer entertaining.

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls has plenty of things for you to do to keep up an entertaining summer. From their moderate to extreme thrill rides, to the water slides at Crystal Falls, Magic Springs is a large theme park full of fun attractions. The park includes over twenty rides for all ages like the Rum Runner Pirate Ship, a pendulum ship which swings riders back and forth, or the Twist N' Shout that will have you screaming on every quick shifting turn of each corner. Magic Springs doesn't only have kid and family rides, oh no. Those of you who are up for the thrill and searching for that extreme adrenaline rush have your own set of nerve-jerking rides. One coaster not for the faint of heart at the park is The Gauntlet, with its 8 story drop, racing up to 50Mph and inverted loops all while being suspended beneath the coasters track. It is definitely a must for all adrenaline junkies. If that doesn't unnerve you, then the latest attraction to Magic Springs, the X-Coaster, surely will as you propel 150 feet into the air through a 360 degree corkscrew faster than 65mph, talk about a rush!

The park also has many areas in which you may play games to win prizes, and buy Magic Springs and Crystal Falls souvenirs. The park has several food areas scattered all over the area such as Deep Woods Diner, Split Rock Grill, Pizza Di Lago, and Ouachita Mountain Barbeque Company. You can also find cold treats like hand dipped ice cream at Edy's Ice Cream Parlor and Slush Puppie Mix-em Up Station where you can create your own slush puppie.

            Although cold treats can only cool you down for so long in the summer sun, you can head to the water park and get refreshed with even more fun attractions. Crystal Falls has the ever so popular Crystal Cove wave pool which creates all different sized waves, along with the Kodiak Canyon Adventure River for when you just feel like floating in a tube and letting the river take you along on its course. With three different areas for water slide fun, the thrill seeker is even entertained at the water park. The High Sierra Slide Tower includes four different water slides with their own fun bends and turns sure to get you soaked. The water park also has Seven Falls, which has three exciting body slides and four thrilling tube slides along with a play pool for family fun. If you're in the mood for racing, just head over to Rapid Falls Raceway, with over 310 feet of slide and 50 feet high, it’s an awesome adventure for any thrill seeker. Bring your friends and see who will win, with six racing slides and two large hills that take you on a plunge it’s sure to be a blast.

            Magic Springs and Crystal Falls hold a Pepsi Concert Series every year, where bands and musicians come and play for park goers at the Timber Wood Amphitheater. The 2011 Pepsi Concert Series takes place May 28^th  through August 13^th and includes the following artists; Easton Corbin, All-star Weekend with Kicking Daisies, Neon Trees, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Rodney Atkins, Blake Shelton, 3 Doors Down, Rick Springfield, Emily Osment, Sara Evans, and Casting Crowns. Season pass holders get free admission to the concerts at Magic Springs, but may pay extra for a ticket for VIP seating. The series of concerts begin soon after the parks season opening on April 30^th.

            Season passes at Magic Springs and Crystal Falls are $59.99 with tax, for a summer full of fun and even through till October. The park is open from 10am-7pm on opening day, 11am-7pm Sundays in May, and 10am-8pm Saturdays in May. Magic Springs open and closing times change to11am-8pm on weekdays and 10am-9pm on Saturdays at the end of May through August, when it is only open on weekends. Although Crystal Falls water park closes for the season on September 5^th, 2011 the rest of the park will be open even longer for the rest of the attractions. So if you’re sticking around in Hot Springs for your summer break, and are looking for a more than entertaining event, head down to Magic Springs and Crystal Falls at 1701 East Grand Avenue Hot Springs Arkansas, for your season pass!

-Ashley Hill

Downtown Music Hall

Downtown Music Hall in Little Rock Arkansas is a neat, down to earth venue established a couple of years ago. The original owner, Alan Wells, thought there should be a venue that people could have a good time and not get yelled at by rude employees. The main reason it was put together was for people who love the music scene of Arkansas, and dislike the hate that people put on it. It is a place for friends to come together around diverse tunes.

Downtown Music Hall hosts shows that many people can enjoy. Some of the past bands, of many who have performed at the venue are; Of Mice and Men, I Set My Friends on Fire, Sleeping with Sirens, Woe is Me and Amity Affliction. The venue usually has shows at night around 6 p.m and lasts about 4 or 5 hours. The amount of bands performing can range from more than 10, if its battle of the bands, to 3.  The shows usually get pretty intense with people dancing wildly to their favorite bands, but if you aren’t into dancing, the back half of the venue is pretty chill for standing and watching.

At the venue, there are tables set up as you walk in the doors that the band members hang around until their set is up. Afterwards they go back to the merch tables and sign shirts or what else you might be wanting autographed and take pictures with fans. The bands get super psyched to have such loving fans.

Downtown Music Hall throws events like this every weekend, there’s no age limit, though you have to be of age to drink. It’s a good time for anyone who wants to be part of and digs the music scene.

- ashleigh hunt