Save The Polar Bears!

Hey there! My name is Pauly the Polar Bear! I live in the Arctic environments of Canada! I have a lot of families all around the world, but we only in the Arctic Areas! Arctic areas mean that i live in cold environments. I love to play, and hop around on ice burgs to catch my dinner for the day. I also love my environment and my home, along with of course the cold weather! Lately, I have been noticing a lot of my family is disappearing? I realized it is from people hunting them, and my environment is getting warmer. The warm is melting the ice and snow around me, which is making it so i am not able to hop around on my ice burgs and catch my food or do the normal fun things polar bears do to live their lives. These problems now, are what makes me and my family members on the endangered species list. If you are on the Endangered Species list, sadly this means that a lot of your family members are dying and becoming almost extinct forever like the dinosaurs. Fluffy cute polar bears being extinct? NO WAY!  Since me and my family are on this, i need your help to get us off of it! Come along and learn about how you can save us! 

Why Are We Endangered?

The main problem of the reason why we are in trouble is called Global Warming. Global Warming is affecting us because instead of making our environment cold, chilly and icy like we were made to live in, it is warm and hot! This becomes a problem for me and my family members because our nice, white, thick fur is made for the freezing cold and it hurts our bodies. It's like wearing a big snow suit in the summer, all the time! Which in the long run really hurts our bodies, we can't deal with the heat. Also, the ice and snow around us makes momma bears like me to be able to build ice dens, which are like a home for my baby polar bear cubs and I. With the snow and ice around us melting, our dens melt. This makes us not able to have homes and protect our families. The last reason global warming hurts me and my family, is because to get our yummy food we hunt the little fish in the Arctic Oceans, we hop on ice burgs like you see in the picture. We dip our head in the ocean, or we dive in the get them and jump back out onto the ice burg! With the ice burgs melting, we cant do this and me and my family will not have anything to eat. 

Another reason why me and my family are in trouble is because of the mean hunters that like to hunt us. The hunters want us for our beautiful fur, that sells for lots and lots of money in auctions. What they are not realizing is they are hunting too many of us and it is starting to really damage the amount of polar bears left. There are rules all over countries which says we are not allowed to be hunted. The law is called The Endangered Species Act. This law states that people are not allowed to hunt and kill us, except the law sadly is not passed where my home is in Canada. I see a lot of my family, and me hiding from the mean men chasing us everyday! Even though we try to fight back with our big ROARS their guns sadly over match us.

How to help us with these problems!

Thankfully, there is a lot of ways to help save me and my family! Adults and grown ups have a lot of  world wide organizations that help save us, also the laws are made to make the mean hunters stop chasing us, and since the law was made, our population has went back up! The main problem is global warming. This subject is very serious, and is harming more environments than just my family & I. Usually this is an adult people problem, they need to change and handle this by using smarter and better ways to live to keep our environment healthy. Good thing there is a few ways you can help us too! Here is a few ways you can help us fight against this problem by doing very simple tasks in your everyday life:

• Recycle- Throwing away your empty water bottles in the recycle bin.
• Save energy-Turn off the lights in the rooms you are not using in your house.
• Stop littering- Don't be lazy! Always throw your trash away in the garbage. 

I hope hearing about our fight has made you hope on board too! Doing all these simple things everyday can save me and my family fight our problem with the climate change. Thank you for learning! Hop on board, and save the polar bears! 

References

(2016)Clean Trillion. https://www.ceres.org/campaigns/clean-trillion?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5qrXBRC3ARIsAJq3bwq4eDQKTiTqt78kYY9l02HEfY9UzkJLL044IPaALks5Z-IcMfLo0Dw

https://www.google.com/search?q=animated+pictures+of+polar+bears&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHmcKv5eraAhXQjVkKHd9_BYcQ_AUoAXoECAAQAw&biw=1440&bih=826#imgrc=ihylqy-sQWNAeM:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=826&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1b_rWpe_Co765gKSjpTYAw&q=animated+polar+bear+saying+thank+you+beary+much+&oq=animated+polar+bear+saying+thank+you+beary+much+&gs_l=psy-ab.3...95584.106138.0.106384.37.34.0.0.0.0.160.3422.18j16.34.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..21.0.0....0.HrlEvTXR9Vo#imgrc=YwbcT-8R2gSLXM:

https://www.google.com/search?q=animated+polar+bear+trying+to+catch+fish&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUtMLv_uraAhVCs1kKHbMDCOkQ_AUoAnoECAAQBA&biw=1440&bih=826#imgrc=eda9S8jJdWV4MM:

Build-a-Baby

Figure 1: Building a baby

What if you were able to pick and choose what your next sibling could look like? Like building a bear at Build- a - Bear the store that allows you to pick all of the traits and features that you want your stuffed animal to have, but just for siblings as shown in figure 1. Choosing if your parents were going to expect a boy or a girl and what hair color you would want the baby to have. Or increasing the babies athletic skills creating a future Olympian. All you have to do is  go to a store and pick these things out ? This is what many people believe is done when designing a baby. However, the process of creating a baby aren't as easy as some are lead to believe. Phil is going to share his families story with you and the realities of how to design a baby.

Figure 2: Phil

  Hi ! I am Phil a 14 year old from Philadelphia and being the only child isn’t so much fun especially since I live in such a big city that offers so many activities for teenagers. I am glad that my parents have decided to have another baby, that way all of their attention won't be me anymore because they can get overbearing. I have Cystic Fibrosis, which is a genetic disease that  is hereditary disorder which means this disease can be passed on from my parents to myself or other potential children they will have. This disease makes my body produce abnormally thick mucus in my lungs and digestive systems. Having Cystic Fibrosis requires for me to take four pills a day, go to chest physical therapy, and has put me on the waiting list for a new pair of lungs. My parents don't want the new baby to get the same disease and have to suffer and go through numerous procedures like I have. They told me that the safest and most efficient way to ensure that the baby wouldn’t get Cystic Fibrosis is to genetically modify the baby, in better words design the baby. Design the baby ? I thought you could only do that with material things like clothes, stuffed animals and shoes but not an actual human being !

  How are the babies made?

Figure 3: Scientist looking enzymes

Designer babies are a fairly new trend that allows families like mine to be able to modify the genetics of the child. My parents sat me down and explained to be me how the baby was going to be created. They told me that doctors had not yet figured out how to create certain features and abilities in babies so we weren't literally designing the baby.

They explained since the baby needed a certain gene

removed my parents could not naturally conceive by having sex. Instead, the baby was going to be made with the technologies IVF and CRISPR. An IVF is  a reproductive technology in which an egg is removed from a woman, joined with a sperm cell from a man in a test tube the egg and sperm are then united. The CRISPR technology is the gene- editing technique which is the essential part what will help the baby not develop Cystic Fibrosis. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions in the body and almost all biochemical reactions in living things need enzymes.

Figure 5: Fortnite

The CRISPR technology uses an enzyme to cut strands of the DNA out of the egg to pick out the genes that you do not want the baby to have. The CRISPR acts as scissors and cuts the bad genes out. In our case the enzymes will be cutting the gene that carries Cystic Fibrosis. The CRISPR technology is like in Fortnite when you build and edit walls, arch's, and doors. The purpose of building and editing the walls and things in Fortnite is so that it can protect you from bad things. That is what the CRISPR technology is doing for the baby editing and protecting the baby from the bad genes.

After that step is completed the egg will be inserted to my mother’s uterus using a catheter. A catheter is a flexible tube inserted through a narrow opening into a body cavity. Then, we just wait for the baby to grow until birth.

Figure 6: New born baby

 After my parents explaining to me how  designing a baby works I learned that this method can not only be essential for my family but yours or someone you know too! Giving a child the opportunity to be guaranteed healthy is something that I wish could have happened for me. This can change the future, and in 20 years you never know you could be designing your baby as well.

References

Baird, L.S. (2007). Designer babies: eugenics repackaged or consumer options?. Technology Teacher, 66(7), 12-16.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=9964c529-ca0b-42ff-b098-f36218be35dc%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=24658576&db=iih

Are we ready for designer babies? . (2016). Popular science, 288(2),35.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=11&sid=5fbefbb8-2eba-407a-a038-dc741da042af%40sessionmgr4009

Sandel,M.(2007). Designer babies: the problem with genetic engineering. 22(5), 40-85

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=37c04738-07c6-4b0c-99b3-bfe1c618e6fe%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=edspmu.S2164004107500147&db=edspmu

The Best Cheesesteak In Bloomsburg

The Best Cheesesteak in Bloomsburg

        When I told my aunt and uncle that I would be attending Bloomsburg University, the first thing they told me to do was to go to Berrigans Subs and get a cheesesteak. They both went to Bloomsburg when they were younger, so they are always telling me about what their lives were like when they lived here. My uncle said that him and his friends would take the walk , even in the blistering cold, just to get one of their sandwiches. Growing up about 30 minutes from Philadelphia meant that I would eat cheesesteaks a lot and they are one of my favorite foods. So when they told me it was the best cheesesteak in Bloomsburg, I just had to try it for myself.

        

       Berrigans is a restaurant that has been making cheesesteaks, hoagies, and many other delicious items for over 51 years. The people who own it now are not the same people who started the place, but they try and do everything the same way it has always been done there. They have a homemade oil recipe that they have been making and putting on their sandwiches to give it their classic flavor. Although it is a family business, most of the people they hire are fellow Bloomsburg students. The restaurant has a family friendly atmosphere with employees who aren't afraid to have a little conversation while you wait for your food. The business does not condone rude behavior in there customers, but being on a college campus, the workers said weekend nights can get a bit crazy.

        For a college student living on campus, Berrigans is a quick and easy place to get a meal any time of the day. Walking down the street with the chilly winds blasting, hitting all your exposed skin with an icy burn, you will come across a building not far into town. The big green sing that reads "Berrigans Subs" might catch your eye. Just from walking in customers will instantly know that they have made the right decision. Through a narrow walkway passing the red and blue cushioned diner stools you will see people talking happily and enjoying their meals. The sound of meat sizzling on the grill teases people waiting in line. The tan walls are barely visible behind all the Bloomsburg banners, hats, white boards, and other knick knacks. Passed the counter it opens to a bigger dining area with nine black wooden tables for groups to sit. Once at the register, a short, brown haired girl in a dark green shirt will kindly take the clients order. While waiting, mouths might start to water at the sight of cheesesteaks being eaten by other college students. Finally it is ready. The first bite into the sandwich is filled with so much flavor that your mouth will barely be able to take it. The cheese oozes out the top of the soft, warm bun. When finished, you will leave the small sub shop full and satisfied.

        All in all, Berrigans is something everyone should experience for themselves. They have been around since 1964, and with the way they make food, they wont be going out of business anytime soon. If it wasn't for my aunt and uncle I may not have ever went to the place that will forever be a big part of my college experience. So if your sitting around your dorm one night and get hungry, take a walk over to Berrigans and try the best cheesesteak in Bloomsburg.

Cream or Sugar? 

Sprinkled Donuts for Valentines Day

When visiting your local Dunkin Donuts you typically get your coffee and go, but have you ever wondered what goes on behind the counter? Dunkin Donuts is one of the worlds largest coffee and baked goods chain in America. Having over 13 coffee flavors and  4 different types of coffee, customers can never get bored of the rich flavors DD has to offer. Running through gallons of coffee and dozens of donuts a day, the employees at Danville Dunkin Donuts do some serious work that does not go unrecognized by the town.

Coffee Display

 Customers open the doors to Dunkin Donuts and instantly get hit with the sweet smell of donuts and coffee. The door bell rings from behind and directly inside is a bright display that includes coffee, k-cups and reusable cups available for customers to buy. I am greeted by a tall girl, with long blonde pony tail, brown eyes, khaki pants, a blue shirt, and a visor on her head. All around customers enjoy their coffee. In the background the drown out sound of others conversations and soft music playing fill my ears. The sounds of ice being scooped into cups, coffee pouring and wax paper being pulled to pick up donuts occupies the restaurant. Cars pull in and out of the parking lot and consumers come and go, all being greeted with the same wide smiled "Hi what can I get for you today?". There are granite counter tops, with the mixed colors of emerald and hints of white. Tan benches and chairs take up the restaurant, accented by a grey tiled floor with black cracks separating each one. The windows are covered with pink and red signs showing featured Valentine donuts for the month. The store gives off relaxing and comfortable vibes, making it easy for the customers to enjoy themselves. 

Brownie Batter Donuts

  Shana, the employee who waits on me has worked at DD for over one year. She is a crew member, but also a finisher which means she makes the Donuts. "We start by separating the pre cut donuts into glazed and non glazed, they are baked accordingly and then ready to be filled, frosted and decorated. As soon as they're done they're ready to be served to the customers", She says.  These Donuts are the freshest in the area making Danville Dunkin Donuts a go to for many people. 

Working the job at the drive thru means getting orders out as fast as possible to make a happy and satisfied customer, along with moving the line. " It's extremely fast paced. It can get super crazy especially if a customer wants to make a change in their order when ordering through the drive thru. We have a timer that runs out at two minutes, meaning orders need to be out within two minutes", Shana explains.  A lot more goes on behind the counters than what the customers think.  "We are constantly cleaning everything, from the coffee earns, to wiping all the machines down, to restocking everything. There is always something to be done, nobody gets to stand around", She claims.

Vanilla Frosted Donuts

During the month of February, Danville Dunkin Donuts takes pride in their decorative and heart shaped donuts for Valentines Day. The shelf includes over 21 different types of donuts on the regular and includes specialty donuts during the holidays. " The most popular donut during valentines season is the famous brownie batter donut. It's a brownie batter filled donut in the shape of a heart. It is chocolate frosted and topped with brownie crumbles. We sell out of them very quickly", she informs me. Not all Dunkin Donuts make their donuts fresh, making Danville one of the best. 

Danville Dunkin Donuts is a great place to sit down, read a book, get work done, or just relax. Having what seems like an endless supply of donuts and coffee makes customers never want to leave. The phrase "America Runs on Dunkin" may seem tacky, but for the town of Danville, Pennsylvania it's true. 

Steph Subs

 Strolling towards Steph's Subs, two navy blue signs greet customers as it plasters the windows of the store. The intense smell of onions and oregano fill the senses as the door opens. Customers stand at the counter on the left ready to order their food before taking a seat at the red seated chairs and wooden tables. While waiting customers look out the window and can hear cars roaring as they   drive by on main street as well as the occasional person walking by. Customers can even gaze at the chalkboards with the menu on it or their specials they are suggesting.
   Logan greets all the incoming customers and takes the orders. He wears a red shirt that says Steph's Subs on it as well as a white hat. After correctly taking the orders, that is when the magic happens. He then is to make the orders with the help of other employees. "I would say our most famous sub is the regular sub," claims Logan. The regular has mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers. "Also our 6ft sub which is a party sub is another one," he adds. That platter typically serves 30-35 people. Logan also stocks the supplies; this means he restocks the wraps which is the paper they use to wrap the sub in and all the containers, the chip racks, make sure all the correct ingredients are fully stocked in their bins this means making sure the onions, tomatoes are freshly cut and ready to be used. He is to also make sure the refrigerators where they have sodas are fully stocked too.

Steph's subs is a very friendly place and ask for anyone to come in a stop by. Everyone loves their sub platters for parties and also they have a variety of many different side orders and hot subs. Their prices are low and very reasonable.

The Perfect Event

The Hillside Catering is a family owned business located in the heart of Montoursville, Pennsylvania. The owner David Miele has had this business for over 35 years,  it opened in 1979 and is currently now being passed down to his son Michael and his daughter-in-law Adria. They strive for excellence with everything they do and receive nothing but positive feedback and complements. Hillside can do any event and will do whatever to make sure that the event is perfect and fits the person's needs in every way possible. "We execute parties flawlessly and appreciate challenges," says Adria Miele, a manager of The Hillside. Some events include weddings, company parties, holiday parties and so on. Hillside will do any kind of event, even one that takes a challenge. Events vary in size, but the largest group of people was 2,500. They have served presidents, congressman and senators. This past Christmas, there was a Christmas party for the owner of Moran Industries, John Moran,  a half-millionaire if not yet a billionaire. He chose the Hillside for the amazing staff and food, and they've done their Christmas parties for the last couple of years.

The Hillside makes sure all of the food that leaves the kitchen doors is fresh and perfect. Not to mention, all of the foods are homemade from scratch and they make their own dips and spreads as well which are always amazing and tasty. They offer a variety of different menus to choose from, or you can choose what you want to eat and Hillside will make it. As you walk in the Hillside, you enter into a workplace with people cooking or baking or someone cutting vegetables or meats you name it, they do it. The aroma of the food is always so pleasing to smell. The kitchen is fairly large with stoves, freezers, fridges and a clean up area as well. Beyond the kitchen is where almost everything is kept, such as silverware, plates, display boards, chafing dishes and linens. Everything is organized nicely and has its own spot, so nothing should ever be misplaced. Behind this room is the office where people come in for tastings, bookings or just to go over things such as pricing for an event.

Display with The Hillside Catering logo

When asking Adria what her favorite part of working at Hillside was she responded with "working with brides to make sure their day is perfect and designing menus and food displays." So far, Hillside has done over 700 weddings. Adria loves to make sure everything goes well and it always does. She has been working with Hillside for 6 years now and loves what she does. Michael and Adria have both accomplished so much working here and are great employers with a great staff that is like family. The staff is always uniformed in classy black button up shirts with "The Hillside Catering" printed on them, black dress pants and black dress shoes. "Wearing black is unobtrusive, sleek and doesn't show stains," Adria claims.

The Hillside will travel anywhere for any type of event and they stay busy. They have traveled to places like State College, Virginia Beach, Philadelphia and the owner, David, has done an event in New Zealand. Hillside is advertised by word of mouth and Facebook and Instagram and you can find them @The Hillside Catering. Pictures of all different kinds of events are displayed on these platforms to show what went on that special day. The reviews for Hillside are always great and people could not be happier to have chosen such an amazing catering business that offers so much. You can tell they do their absolute best with every event and will continue to do so. Adria and Michael tied the knot in July of 2017, and the Hillside staff made sure to make their managers wedding beyond special.

Adria and Michael's Wedding

Bloomsburg Public Works

                                              The Men behind the Town 

 “It’s not a not an easy job but it

pays the bills and keeps food on

the table,” says haggard veteran John Fritz, a thirty-year member of the Bloomsburg Public

Works Department. “Without us the town

would fall apart,” remarked John.
The Public works street department is in charge of maintaining the streets and everything involved with the town.

The Public Works department is located on Catherine street in

Bloomsburg. The long tan building

is stuffed to the brim with heavy


equipment of all kinds. All are
painted a shade of safety yellow. Many showing faded paint and rust with the exception of one shiny new red dump truck. Each truck gets equipped with a heavy steel plow and massive salt spreader getting ready for the impending snow. The wine of an air gun rips through the silence of the small break room as mechanic Larry Brown changes tires on an old beat up pickup truck.

  Although winter is full of plowing and salting supervisor John Barton claims that summer season is the busiest

time for the department. Summers 

consist of day after day of pipe

maintenance, grass cutting, and

paving streets. "The warm summer

temperatures provide us the only time to dig up and repair water and

sewer pipes without the headache of

digging through frost," explained Barton.

The job of cutting grass in and around town is usually given to three-part time teenagers who are willing to brave the heat.

  Disaster relief also falls under the

wide umbrella of what Public works is responsible for. Floods like what happened in 2011 which flooded most of the town leave damage that takes months to repair. Whole weeks are spent collecting and hauling tons of flood debris and thick mud to landfills and dump sites. "It's tough to see things people have worked for their whole lives destroyed by water," says town employee Dave Eyer. Eyer has seen his fair share of floods over his thirty-six-year career. A look of distain is obvious when he proclaims, "those are the days when it's tough to show up to work."

  Through the days in the blistering heat and freezing cold Public works is always there. The work isn't easy and there is very little appreciation from anyone. But if you ask the guys who work there they will all tell you they don't need the attention they are perfectly fine being the men behind the town.