a walk in the woods - Woods Charter School

A Student Publication of Woods Charter School, Chapel Hill, NC Hello Mr. Principal!
January-­‐February 2013 Continued on page 5.
A Little Massengale.
See page 5.
A WALK IN THE WOODS
Since 1998 -­‐ Home of the Wolves! Have you ever
thought to
yourself, “Self, I’m
really tired, I don’t
think I’ll get that
honors essay done
by tomorrow?” I
know I have. There
is always the
option of turning
in the paper late
for a lower grade,
but that’s not a
very good choice.
Lately, students,
as well as many
other people, have
been turning to an
alternative
method, energy
drinks. But are the
side effects worth
it?
Until Next Time.
Dear
Mr. Durham,
Nickelback is really good
Imma go all Pablo Neruda on yo butt
“M” birds and stick figures and suns in the corners
with sunglasses
Clubbin baby seals in the club
Screws fall out everyday, the world is an imperfect
place
Outlines
Cyclist’s clothing
Youtube videos and ketchup blood
Dear Mr. D,
I remember the last 9 years of being at Woods Charter School, and
how you were, and still are one of my favorite teachers. You made art class
interesting and fun because you were interested in it. When you were my
advisor you made jokes that teenagers would make. You are an all around
awesome teacher and person. All the fun times that your class brought, like
when i was in 5th grade and you would draw pictures for people that
couldn’t do it themselves. Hopefully you don't stay away from Woods too
long! We would miss you too much.... -Zach Rossi
You are a cool kid. I remember all the inside jokes
and watching your epic youtube videos in class. And
making fun of your messiness and hating on
Nickelback. I shall now list all the inside jokes:
And I’m sure there’s a lot more that I just couldn’t
think of. Anyways, your art is really good and I have
learned a lot from your class. Joseph is too adorable
and I hope things are going well for you and your
family. Have a great rest of the year and I hope to
see you next year!
Yo home dawg,
Dominique Jabbour
Dear Mr. Durham,
I will miss you. A lot. And now I don't want to take art because you are
no longer the teacher. You were an amazing advisor and we talked
about a lot and laughed a lot. I will miss your random spur of the
moment art projects and the advisory breakfasts. I wish you and Joseph
tons of luck and hope to see you both back at school very soon!
Sincerely, Sarah Woods
2 \
3 Teacher Spotlight:
David Jester. What is your favorite thing about being a teacher at Woods? “The freedom. At Woods I have a lot of freedom to teach what I am interested in, and what I think will be good things for my students... I love the fact that I get to chose the books that we read, the assignments that we do, and I really get an opportunity to get to know the class.” We know that you teach students valuable lessons everyday, but what kinds of lesson do the students teach you? “I feel like it’s the same with all relationships that mean anything...my relationships with my students mean a lot to me. They teach me to be a better person everyday... I learn every day a new weakness and how to improve on it... the gift that I get from teaching is invaluable. You cannot put a price on it.” Favorite Color: “Orange because it follows me everywhere, but I also like gray and dark blue.” Favorite Artist: Bob Dylan. “He’s not necessarily always at the top of my playlist, but I think what I listen to often times filters through him... he’s the most constant, and he’s been there the longest.” What is your funniest memory of being a teacher at Woods? Singing the song “Hey Mickey” to his class while a crowd gathered outside in the hall. Also when I won the karaoke competition between me and Mr. Herschtal, as well as beat him in the middle-­‐ school lunch basketball tournament.“There are lots of really good times here at Woods,” said Mr. Jester. 4 What did you do before you came to Woods? I graduated from Guilford College in 2000 in Greensboro, NC. I then took a teaching job in Clover, South Carolina teaching 9th graders and stayed there for one year, but at the time I wasn't sure if teaching was what I wanted to do. I the left that job to look for something that I thought would be a more meaningful job, but couldn't find one. I then ended up working in an Audiologist clinic, checking peoples hearing. “The bulk of my job was talking to people on the phone with hearing deficits. It was really challenging at times but humorous at others,and sometiems frustrating. I wouldn't say the office climate was one that I really loved or thrived in, but I learned a lot about myself and what I didn’t want to do.” After my experiences there I went back into teaching. I taught seventh grade for three years at JT Williams Middle School in Charlotte. ”That was a really great experience...it was a really deprived school in a lot of ways and for me it was kind of an eye opener to how some people live and how my life was very different from theirs.” After running its course, my wife and I had a calling for something new. This calling led us to move to Villa San Secondo, Italy, in the piedmont area for the summer, and eventually to Brooklyn, NY. When we arrived we both picked up teaching jobs. I taught at Bushwick High School for Social Justice, also a 9th grade teaching position. My wife started to feel antsy and wanted to move closer to home and start a family. Coming home made sense to have our families support, so after one year in Brooklyn we moved back to NC. When we moved back, we decided to not teach, but then my wife ended up working at Northwood High in Pittsboro, NC as an English teacher. I decided not to teach because I was thinking about the family and how we would support them financially. I ended up taking a job in my father’s company as a financial advisor. “ I knew if I didn't try it then I never would. I knew that I loved teaching, and I knew that there was a good chance that I was going to come back to it. someday... but I didn’t know how quickly that would be.” It took me three years to realize that teaching was my true calling, “The rest is Benjamin MacNeill
Massengale was born to Alex
and Kelley Massengale. Kelley
gave birth at 9:41PM with
Benjamin weighing in at 9
pounds and 1 ounce. Kelley and
Alex were very happy to have
a new addition to the family
and are enjoying raising their
new son.
There are a few popular energy drinks, some being Red
Bull, Monster, and the newer, 5-hour energy. Although they
each give you more energy so you can productively get more
work done, the side effects are colossal. In recent years, the
numbers of energy drink users making trips to the emergency
room has skyrocketed.
Fox news reports, “From 2007 to 2011,
the government estimates the number of emergency room
visits involving the neon-labeled beverages shot up from
about 10,000 to more than 20,000.” That is a big boom.
Some side effects of drinking these beverages include
insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures
that are severe enough to require emergency care. Energy
drinks are mainly caffeine and one in particular, 5-hour
energy, contains as much caffeine as a premium cup of
coffee, however, a customer gets that in about two sips, so the
effects come on fast and last for hours.
Another issue with energy drinks is that people will
drink more than one at a time, and do this for multiple days
in a row. Most energy drinks aren’t going to cause significant
health problems unless you drink them multiple times a day
and/or in rapid succession over the course of a few days.
However, some people can do this with no health risks.
Those cases are rare though.
For the most part it doesn’t seem very smart to drink
energy drinks often, especially with all the related health
risks. There are alternative ways to stay awake during the day,
one of the best ones is to sleep at night. Also, the more you
drink energy drinks, the harder you will crash. And that’s no
fun at all. In the end, it’s best to avoid energy drinks
altogether and avoid the possibly lethal health risks
associated with them.
Energy Drinks by Alli Sparrow On January 17, 2013
5 6 Meko Visits Woods!
On March 15 Officer Phillip
Richards and drug dog
Meko visted Woods Charter
to demontrate Meko’s
unique abilities for the
elementary students. Meko
demontrated an attack and
found drugs around the gym.
Overall,
Meko’s
performance
was
outstanding.
The kids learned a lot
and were
entertained
the entire
time.
7 Entertainment:
New movie releases:
Ludicrous Laws,
Chemicals Between Us Bush She Blinded Me with Science Thomas Dolby Bill Nye the Science Guy Theme Mike Greene Chain Reaction Journey Lucretia My Reflection Sisters of Mercy P
E
A
S
E
’
S
P
L
A
Y
L
I
S
T
In White Mountain, New Hampshire:
~If a person is caught raking the
beaches, picking up litter, hauling
away trash, building a bench for
the park, or many other things
without a permit he/she may be
fined $150 for "maintaining the
national forest without a permit”.
In Alabama:
~Bear wrestling matches are
prohibited.
~It is illegal to wear a fake
moustache that causes
laughter in church.
In Georgia:
~It is illegal to use profanity in
front of a dead body which lies in
a funeral home or in a coroners
office.
~No one may carry an ice cream
cone in thier back pocket if it is a
Sunday.
-Brought to you by Miller Hart
Woods Charter Students.
Arts and Letters... Original artwork courtesy of
8 9 Welcome boys and girls. I hope these glorious tips are helpful to you. (P.S. - you guys can send me
questions too!) All you have to do is put your question in the pink and white box by the front office
window. I’ll answer as many as I can.
How do I write an entire essay in a night because I procrastinated?
Well, seeing as I procrastinate on all my essays, this advice can be for the both of us. I suggest
coffee or some sort of caffeinated beverage, but if the future, try not to procrastinate until the night before
the essay is due. (Bad procrastinator). Most of the essays that are assigned are given out a couple of
weeks before they’re due. In my experience, it takes me about two hours to write a three page paper if I’m
not distracted, but you could work on your paper for 15-20 minutes at a sitting and it’ll be done in no
time. Then you get to be one of the lucky people that sleeps the night before a paper is due.
How do I keep from getting caught speeding on the highway?
Don’t speed, ya’ silly goose! It’s illegal and dangerous and bad and you should not do it.
How do I balance my academics with my extracurriculars?
It’s all about time management. If you can’t keep your grades up, then you can’t participate in
your extracurriculars. If you need to skip practice to study for a test, then tell your coach or club leader
and I’m sure they’ll understand. They would probably rather that you sit out for one or two practices
instead of being off the team due to your grades. Don’t forget to keep a planner and plan out your time. If
you know you have a home game, an away game, and three practices in a week, plus a test, an essay, and
some reading to do for school, try to plan out times to study and do your work and not just focus on the
games.
~A
App of the week
Litsey Green
We all have busy lives between schoolwork,
extra curricular activities and social lives we
sometimes run short of time. The worst part
of being busy is not being able to catch our
favorite shows. Everyone has forgotten to
record the new episode on their DVR or
couldn't catch it live. The App Store has
made our lives a little bit easier. There are
now apps for TV stations where you can
watch the latest episodes or newscast from
your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. TV
stations such as ABC, ABC Family, CW,
CNN, NBC and many more. The best part is
they're free! Below are some reviews of
these Apps.
How do you do your homework when you really don’t want to?
I find that when I can’t get motivated to do my homework, or a project or whatever assignment it
may be, I have to take a short break. Sometimes I go and get a snack or a drink, but I don’t leave it for
more than a half hour. Then I lock myself in my room, turn my tv off, and blast music until I get my work
done. Life is full of annoying things that people don’t want to do, like homework, but you still have to do
them. Its not as if they’re going to disappear if you ignore them long enough.
Asking A...
"It's really easy to watch on every device,
you can watch anything, it's like TV on the
go."
- Dominique Jabbour 11th grade student
Netflix app user
"Convenient, updated and easy to use! "
- Sarah Woods 10th grade student ABC app
user
"Love this app!! Get to see all the episodes
of my fav shows on my iPhone!!"
- ABC app user
10 YOU DON’T SAY?!?
A BIOGRAPHY ABOUT NICHOLAS CAGE WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH GOLD AND JENINFER CAPPELLETTI. ELIZABETH Nicolas
Kim Coppola was born January 7, 1964 in Long Beach,
California to the parents of Joy Vogelsang, and August Coppola.
His father, August was a well- known writer and his mother,
Joy, was a ballet dancer and choreographer. In 1990 Nicolas
changed his last name from Coppola to Cage because he
wanted to become famous by his own talent and not by the
reputation of his parents. He started his big career landing a
role in Fast Times in Ridgemont High from 1982. Today he is
featured in all kinds of movies ranging from National Treasure
to Astro Boy. A different movie he was featured in was
Moonstruck. A comedy film about a crazy Italian family and
finding true love. Nicolas Cage plays a man who is falling for a
beautiful woman who is engaged to someone that her family
approves of. However she is falling out of love with him and is
deeply enchanted by the newcomer, Nicolas Cage's character.
Nicolas Cage started off his three marriages with Patricia
Arquette on April 8, 1995. He soon ended it in May of 2001.
Shortly after on August 10, 2002 he married Lisa Marie Presley.
Two short years later they were divorced. Nicolas is currently
on his third marriage with Alice Kim Cage. They have been
together since July 30, 2004. They have had one child by the
name of Kal - El, after superman's Kryptonian name. Quite
interesting wouldn’t you agree? For the moment he has stopped
jumping from woman to woman and has possibly settled down.
Nicolas’ first movie in 1982 has been just one of
many movies he’s starred in. In 2013 he is scheduled to star in
9 movies and has already been featured in movies expected to
appear in 2014. In total, Cage has taken part in about 71 films.
HE’S IN EVERYTHING. Many people say he is a terrible actor
while others say he is amazing, or just completely crazy. To get
into character for Ghost Rider, he wore a voodoo mask for
weeks before the movie even began to film. He sounds
completely insane for doing these things and has been criticized
If you go on the internet at all, you probably know about memes and gifs. A meme is like a
inside joke for the internet, if you don’t know what they are look them up because they are
difficult to explain. A gif defined as a form of computer image that moves as an animation. It
consists of frames, like a movie but with no sound. If you are already aware of these terms
then you know that Nicolas Cage is his own meme. It is titled as “You don’t say”, it was
made a meme based on a screenshot taken from one of his movies. Many of these can be
found all over the internet. Cage has also been impersonated by Andy Samberg on Saturday
Night Live. Samberg plays him in a segment called Get In The Cage with Nicolas Cage on
Weekend Update, where “Nicolas Cage” sits with fellow actors and discusses their recent
work. I highly recommend you watch these videos, as they are hilarious. The reason why
Cage is made fun of so much is because of his... lets just say unique. Yes, his unique acting
style, which can be interpreted in many ways.
Nicolas Cage has been criticized for his deemed “insane” acting tactics. He has had his
fair share of trouble with the law and his own personal life. Some love him, some hate him
but it’s up to you to come up with your own conclusions.
WOODS CHARTER FRESHMAN TRAIN FOR A 3.1 RUN THROUGH THE WOODS OF There are hundreds of things we all want to do before we
die - some dreams stand out more than others though. The
dreams that stand out the most become our bucket-lists - the
big things or even small things we want to experience in life,
the things we swear we'll do before we die….
Where do you want to go before you "go".
11 There once was a boy named Eduardo Smith who
had astounding similarities to Robert Pattinson. Eduardo
had a very serious problem. He absolutely despised
Twilight and all it’s characters. Every day at school, girls
would swoon over him. “ omg its edward ahhhhhhh” “omg
i love you!!!”. “darn you stephanie myer!” eduardo said.
he couldnt believe that people actually liked this stuff. he
even heard a rumor that his own girlfriend was telling
friends that she was dating edward cullen. “say it, out
loud. SAY IT!” eduardo wanted the truth. “okay it’s true i
did tell everyone i was dating edward cullen.”
“NOOOOOOO!!!!” eduardo had no choice. he had to break
up with his blood sucker loving girlfriend. eduardo
wanted revenge on rob pattinson, so he went to
hollywood, pretending to be rob. “lol im rob pattinson im
stupid herpa derp” eduardo soon became bored with
getting back at rob pattinson, so he randomly went to
beat up charlie sheen.
Darby Leinbach’s Bucket List.
1. Go to Los Angeles, California.
2. Wants Waka Flocka Flame to re-tweet her
on Twitter.
3. Go Skydiving.
4. Meet Justin Bieber and Drake.
5. Achieve major swag.
6. Get married and have kids.
7. Die a happy person.
Adrienne Berg’s Bucket List.
1. Read more Shakespeare.
2. Follow in Odysseus' wake in the Greek
isles.
3. Eat more sushi.
4. Wear a wig.
little did eduardo know that charlie sheen was a cia
ninja and knew how to kill a man with his toe. he arrived
at charlie sheen’s house and attempted to kick down the
door. he was not strong and it didnt work. charlie sheen
heard the commotion and ran out the back door towards
the front. he came up behind eduardo and used the white
snake technique to knock him out. eduardo woke 2 hours
later to charlie sheen singing “winning! winning! im
winning winning winning!!!!” suddenly robert downey jr
blasted through the roof in his P-61 Black Widow.
“awwwww pickles” eduardo screamed. charlie sheen
called for his velociraptor and road off into the sunset
with robert downey jr following close behind. They were
on a mission to save iowa from the zombie alligators.
A Fictional Tale by Dominique Jabbour.
12 This I Believe... Inspirational Essays written by Seth Herschthal’s 7th graders.
Written by Ryan Webster.
Can you imagine starting off life by having over twenty-five surgeries? I can, in fact. After
all, I have had that many surgeries. However I believe that it is important to never give up on
anything. This I believe. I must always keep trying my best no matter what. My surgeries have
shaped me both physically and mentally. In addition to these surgeries the everyday symptoms of
ADHD and Muenke Syndrome create challenges. The symptoms of Muenke Syndrome are effects
on the shape of the head and face, hearing loss, and learning disabilities. The symptoms of ADHD
are being distracted, becoming bored, daydreaming, dashing around, and having trouble sitting still.
For my entire life I have had to battle through these issues.
There are many ways ADHD and Muenke Syndrome have affected me and my family. At
home there is stress, yelling, and fighting. Sometimes my parents are angry and they yell at me.
They sometimes yell at me for forgetting my work, my grades, and being quiet. There are social
effects. I hardly ever talk to my peers at all. There is just quietness. My parents sometimes
complain that I don't socialize enough, and that I don't talk to people when I should, but I don't
understand what I did wrong. And other time when we're watching tv I am chatty and they want me
to be quiet. These issues also make school and studying hard because I have trouble with the
lessons. I have always felt lazy because I hate getting up and doing work.
I could have given up. How would that turn out? I don’t know. But I never did give up. If I
did, I would be miserable, and so would people around me. Because I have never given up, I will
have gained friends, family, school, and a positive future. I think that others should not give up
because they will be happy if they don’t and be miserable if they do. This I believe.
13 Written by Grace Sieck. Be Yourself – Everyone Else Is Already Taken
Not thinking about it makes me think about it more. If you think
you are not being yourself you should. No one should make you do
something if it isn’t you. I believe that people shouldn’t worry about
being themselves. This I believe.
The whole reason I believe this is because I’m tired of my
parents telling me what they think I should do. For example, the other
day I was at a restaurant, then my mom corrects me on how I want
my steak. My parents were controlling my life, and I didn’t enjoy what I
was forced to do. I was at that same restaurant, but I corrected her
on how I like my steak. A few minutes passed by with me explaining
what I felt. I was so furious I could have screamed the whole thing to
them.
This belief is great because now I can order on my own without
any corrections. I hope this will inspire people to be themselves. The
importance to this belief is that people are doing things that don’t
really make sense to them. Being yourself is important because it will
help you to embrace yourself. If all your emotions are bottled up you
might just explode. This I believe.
“ I don’t think we’re meant to understand it all the
time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith.” –
Nicholas Sparks, A Walk To Remember. Since I was born, I
have been going to an Eastern Orthodox Church. Going to All
Saints, I have learned important lessons and values. It also
has taught me that not everyone will always accept me, but
that doesn’t mean I have to change who I am. I believe that
faith is the key to life. This I believe.
Some people don’t know what faith is, but it’s
important. Growing up in an Orthodox Church, I have
always been a believer in faith and God. However, some
people make fun of my religion. They judge me and tell me
it’s weird. Last year someone told me “You’re not a real
Christian, you’re Orthodox.” I never really cared about what
people said about me until that happened. It made me feel
angry and upset. Why would anyone say that to someone? I
figured they didn’t have faith and then felt bad that I had
gotten so upset. I also felt judgmental and rude. At church I
have faith and feel welcome. But at school I feel that faith is
not understood and it’s not accepted. When I learned that
someone didn’t want me to be who I was, I felt hurt. When I
told my family, they said I don’t have to change who I am to
be accepted by my peers. It’s important to have faith because
it centers you and makes you stronger. I also think faith can
take you far in life by teaching important lessons and values.
My Orthodox experience has helped shape my belief
because through God I know I can do anything with faith. As
I have gotten older my faith has gotten stronger. It’s
important for people to know because faith can give you
hope and peace. I also think faith allows you to let go. Most
importantly, faith brings you closer to God. This I believe.
14 Video Games Harming Our Youth?
Today’s world is surrounded by technology, and the
youth of the world is growing up immersed in it. Parents of
young children are saying that video games are making their
kids more and more violent. I disagree. Parents are accusing
video games of corrupting their children, but it is actually the
parents who are at fault. All video games today are labeled
with an age recommendation, and parents are ignoring this
suggestion. In the US, stores will not allow someone that does
not meet the age requirement to purchase said game. This
suggests that a game that is “too violent” may have been
purchased by a parent or an adult friend or acquaintance.
This does not however account for how violent the games
are. Teenagers are exposed to these graphic images and can
be desensitized to violence. When teenagers are approaching
adulthood, they are exposed to more adult subjects every day.
The only difference is that teens are seeing these images
through a television instead of in real life. If there is any effect
on teens, it is a positive one.
The age limit for video games has been enforced since the
1990s, and has helped parents choose video games for their
children. If a video game is rated for a mature audience, it is
the job of whoever is purchasing the game to decide what is
appropriate. If an eight year old child wants to buy the new
Call of Duty game, they need to have someone else buy the
game for them. That being said, it is not the game developers’
fault for making a game violent, it is the parents fault for
buying a violent game for their eight year old. Parental
vigilance involving these purchases is a must!
By: Adam Carpenter
Kids these days spend hours upon hours playing video
games. There is an enormous selection of video games to
choose from, and many different platforms to play them on.
Video Games can be played on electronics like television,
Xbox, Game Boy, Nintendo DS, or even the Internet. In recent
times, violent video games such as Call of Duty, Modern
Warfare, Grand Theft Auto, and Mortal Kombat have become
increasingly popular. Generations new and old are intrigued
by the violent, bright, vivid, and intense scenarios projected in
these games.
Kids of all ages are developing unhealthy habits and
obsessions with violent video games. Many games call for the
player to kill, battle, deceive, or hurt someone in order to
progress to the next level. According to CNN, a 2004 study
found that teens who play violent video games tend to be
more aggressive, more likely to get into arguments with
teachers and fights with peers, while simultaneously
experiencing a decrease in academic success.
Not all the effects of video games are negative; in fact,
many video games prove beneficial to children and teens.
Some games are educational, and teach skills in a creative and
fun way. Other games promote logical thinking, memory
skills, manual dexterity, and computer literacy. According to
www.pamf.org, many video game developers are addressing
the concerns that violence in their products is harming
children. Many games have alternative settings that can turn
off foul language, sounds, and graphics. Many shooting
games even have the option to turn off blood, so that when
characters are shot, kids cannot see it. It is up to each of us to
teach future generations that the violence seen in video
games is not okay in real life.
By: Darby Leinbach.
15 Sinkhole Disasters:
Sinkhole swallows golfer on
Illinois course on Friday, March 8,
2013.
Giant sinkhole swallows man
in Tampa, FL on February 28,
2013.
Mark Mihal fell into an 18foot deep sinkhole while playing
golf in Waterloo, Illinois midMarch earlier this year.
Woman files law suit after
falling into sinkhole on Monday
March 18th, 2013.
North Carolina – The State of the State North Carolina’s new governor Pat McCrory is the first Republican Governor in 20 years. As the 14-­‐year mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina we have a pretty good sense of how a big city mayor for one of North Carolina’s largest cities might run the state. First as a Republican we know there will be a focus on trying to solve problems locally within the state. Republicans don’t look to Washington to what they consider federal handouts or support of the state’s programs. The government should not be an obstacle to progress. But North Carolina has a lot of problems. We have some of the highest education drop out rates, unemployment and lack of energy efficient plans. What are McCrory’s plans to deal with these big issues? North Carolina has 22% of students who fail to graduate form high school. McCrory has a plan to help students get a better education and graduate. His view on education for K-­‐12 is first gives families and students education choices. He is proposing two ways to help students. According to his website ad political platform, one of the ways for success is to have one diploma for those who are college ready students and one diploma for a career ready student to enable them to get a job or attend a community college. This eliminates the taking of remedial classes for those who fail to compete on a college level but, at this time, it is unclear how he would accomplish this and fund these policies. McCrory is also for increasing the number of Charter schools. While it gives parents choices it is a very controversial issue. He also proposes changing some of the Gateway testing such as third graders needing to pass end of grade tests before going on to the next grade. He is also for better salary for teachers. As he stated in his inauguration address, “In our schools we will provide unlimited opportunity and multiple pathways to success through vocational and professional development…we must exercise and use our brains and ignite the spark of potential that teachers of us have to lead us to succeed. ” His programs have great potential to help students not only graduate but to find jobs but, as in all things congressional, this does not happen over night. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in December 2012 North Carolina had the 5th highest unemployment rate of all the 50 states and at the rate of 9.2%. McCrory is planning to expand private sector jobs and the growth has been five times slower than State government over the last decade. Other states are growing private sector jobs. North Carolina thinks that government is the solution. As he states, recently “We have too often relied on short term solutions to complex long term problems….and we need to find ways for the government and the private sector to work together in job creation”. McCrory’s solution is through education and advanced technology. Through this he feels this will help students and people with businesses to be successful and better compensated. Governor McCrory, in addition to focusing on high quality education and new technology, has a major focus of unleashing energy plans and policy. McCrory is planning to take North Carolina into the Energy business and to unleash our resources to bring down the cost of power for families and businesses. Hopefully this approach creates more jobs and attracts new companies to North Carolina, helping to revive North Carolina’s manufacturing industry in the process. Governor McCrory also wants a new energy plan in place for North Carolina termed “All of the Above,” Biofuels, clean coal, natural gas, solar, wind and nuclear energy are vital components to a successful energy future in North Carolina. He also will establish partnerships with offshore resources where applicable. Our new Republican Governor McCrory has a lot of plans for the state of North Carolina. While the plans for education and technical training are good, they will cost money. Focusing on technology and energy is also a move in the right direction. We know as a Republican he will probably not look to the federal government to fund these programs. It will be interesting to see just how successful he might be. 16