the wayland high press - My High School Journalism

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Indepth
Page Editor:
Emily Hodel
Behind the scenes
Snow-days decision based on safety
By Emily Hodel
“I get up every school
In-depth Reporter
During the winter, teens
are noticed to watch the news
more than in any other season.
However, it’s not an increased
interest in what’s going on in
the world; it’s watching for twohour
delays and snow days.
Many students wonder what
exactly determines whether
or not school is in session
for that day.
day at 3:00 a.m. to check
the conditions outside, and
if it all looks good, I go back
to sleep,” said McDaniel. “If
I need to check roads, I start
driving by 4:00 am so I can
make it around the district,
checking all types of roads,
main, gravel, hilly, and back.”
Other districts, however,
play a part in the decision also.
According to
the Transportation
Secretary,
there’s one big
thing; safety.
“The safety of
the students and
drivers are the
main concern behind
a snow day,”
says Sharon Walma,
the Secretary
of Transportation.
“If the students or
drivers will be put
in danger by being
CLEANING UP
on the roads, there
THE LOTS: Mr. Scott Glupker is the man behind the removal of snow
will be no school.” for Wayland Union Schools. “Plowing the schools is usually pretty
We a t h e r stressful, with the time crunch and coordinating the other trucks,” said
conditions also ef- Glupker. “The most stress comes from the fact that all the responsibility
of getting the schools accessible lies on you.” Glupker has no say
fect whether or not
in whether school is in session or not. Media Credit: Emily Hodel
we have school.
“The main things that I
look for is stopping distance,
visibility, startup ability, what
type of precipitation there is,”
said Transportation Supervisor
Mike McDaniel. “And also
I check what the forecast is.”
Superintendent Eivor Swan,
with the help of McDaniel, are
the people behind the decision.
“Other districts provide
weather reports and information
as well,” said Walma.
“Middleville, Caledonia, Hopkins,
and Martin all give us input
or heads up on weather.”
Snow day decisions arehoped
to be made before 5:15
a.m., or when the first bus
By Emily Hodel
In-depth Reporter
Student drivers hear
the ominous warning from
their parents most every time
they go to get
behind the
wheel; drive
safe, watch
out for the other
guy, slow
down before
you think you
need to, etc.
However,
students honestly
need to
be paying attention
to this
monotonous
but extremely
i m p o r t a n t
warning. With the winter weather
making driving conditions
dangerous, all drivers need to
be more cautious than ever.
Mr. Harry Werkema agrees
with the typical warning parents
give their teen drivers.
leaves to begin its route. Sometimes,
this just isn’t plausible.
“Fog rolls in late, or rain turns
to ice,” said Walma. “Mother
Nature is very unpredictable.”
When the decision is
made, Eivor Swan uses the
Instant Alert System to call everyone
at the same time within
3-5 seconds; faculty, students,
community, and bus drivers
are all called. The district finally
had a chance
to try out the new
technology twice
as of today, First
was on a snow
day and the second
was on a
two hour delay.
Students look
forward to snow
days for different
reasons. Junior
Lindsey Niemchick
likes snow
days for a couple
of reasons.
“I like to
sleep in on snow
days, of course,”
she said. “Most
likely all day, actually.
Then I
drink hot cocoa
and eat soup.
Typical snow day stuff.”
Other students like to
embrace the wintry weather.
“If the roads aren’t too
bad, I go snowboarding,”
said junior Kyle Kenyon.
No matter what you decide
to do, know that snow days are
decided with your safety in mind.
Winter weather creates hazardous driving conditions
“When snow
exists on the roads,
everyone should
driver slower and
more cautiously.
Lack of experience
makes teens even
more prone to
winter accidents.”
-Mr. Werkema
“When snow exists on the
roads, everyone should driver
slower and more cautiously,”
said Werkema. “Lack of experience
makes teens even more
prone to win-
ter accidents.”
According
to the National
Safety Council,
traffic crashes
are the leading
cause of
teen fatalities,
accounting for
44 percent of
teen deaths
in the U.S.
Because
sometimes accidents
are inevitable,
all drivers
should have
an emergency kit in their car
at all times; winter especially.
“Your kit should contain a
blanket or some way of maintaining
warmth, along with
a flashlight,” said the Police
Department. “There should
also be enough food and
water for at least 24 hours.”
A poll of 100 students
revealed some interesting statistics.
A whopping 74 percent
of students involved in the poll
said they did not or their parents
did not have emergency
kits within their vehicles.
A small 26 percent of
students asked did indeed
have an emergency kit, and
everyone with an emergency
kit also stated that they would
know how to use it if they
were ever in the situation.
“Yes, I have an emergency
kit in my car,” said
junior Stacey McConnaughey.
“I have a spare tire,
jumper cables, a jack, and
some other helpful things.”
Other students, however,
are unprepared.
“I don’t have an emergency
kit,” said junior Tim
Door. “If I did, I wouldn’t
know how to use it anyways.”
According to State Farm
Insurance, keeping the windows
clear, the car’s speed
steady and slow, (but not so
slow that the car gets stuck
in deeper snow), and using
the brakes cautiously are
all things that drivers can
The PawPrint Press
January 2008
A WINTER SCENE: A fresh layer snow covers the student parking lot in Decemb
more cautiously,” said the Police Department. “Lack of experience makes teens
caution; everyone needs to slow down and be more aware. Media Credit: Katie D
do to be safer in the winter.
So teens, take note
of those nagging warnings
from your parents;
they could save your life.
WINTER WEATHER A HAzARD: Winter weather is sufficiently more dangerous
to drive in because of the hazardous conditions such as white-outs, ice
and snow on the road, and lack of friction. “When snow exists on the roads,
everyone should driver slower and more cautiously,” said Werkema. “Lack of
experience makes teens even more prone to winter accidents.”
Media Credit: www.totalcarcrashes.com