The event will take place at the CanyonISD district service building at 3301 N. 23rd St and is open to the public.

Goods being accepted are; canned vegetables, boxed meals, and personal hygiene items. Donors should avoid breakable and perishable items for their donations according to the Food Bank.

Last year postal carriers collected over 20,000 pounds of food and other products for the High Plains Food Bank just in the Amarillo area. The goal that the food bank has set for this year is 30,000 pounds of food to be distributed to families in need throughout the Panhandle area.

The High Plains Food Banks’ purpose is to alleviate hunger in the Panhandle area in different ways. Their mission is not just to feed the hungry but to educate people in nutrition and wellness. They believe that knowledge is power and that is why they offer classes on nutrition, cooking, shopping with a budget, and cooking with what you have. They distribute food to 165 agencies that play a part in their main mission. In 2011 they donated 6.2 million pounds of food to the 29 countries that they serve. They deliver food to people who need it to help get them back on their feet.

If you are interested in this organization and wish to play a bigger role in their mission they accept volunteers to serve in The Garden sorting food out in their warehouse or helping serve meals in the Kids Café.

In the state of Puebla the holiday is celebrated with military parades, recreations of the battle and fiestas. At these fiestas, mariachi music will be heard along with women dressed in traditional colorful dress. Entertainment will always be around and the casa will be decorated brightly and colorfully. Foods such as burritos, flan and tacos will be served. Although it is not recognized as a federal holiday it is a day full of Mexican pride.

In the United States Cinco de Mayo is a day to learn of Mexican heritage and culture. The day is celebrated with parades, Mexican mariachi bands, Mexican folk dancing, concerts and traditional foods.  Through the years this Mexican holiday is becoming better known and seen more widely throughout the United States, it is being put on people’s holiday calendars more each year. Although known widely throughout the states it was not introduced here until the 1960s and 1970s when Chicano activists identified themselves with the Mexican Indian and mestizo soldiers’ victory over the French army during the Battle of Puebla. 

Whether celebrating in Mexico or in the United States this holiday is one to recognize, learn about and celebrate the triumph of the Mexican army over the French army and a day to express Mexican pride.

The idea that nearly half of all Americans are depressed is unsurprising, to say the least.

Back in the caveman days of the Homosapien species, depression was vital to the continuation of the species. One person was chosen to watch over the camp during the night, forming the complication we know now as insomnia, which is proven to cause depression. Without the watchman, predators or competitor tribes could attack and take their supplies. Fast forward 200,000 years or so, and now between a lack of conventional bedtimes and the stressful circumstances required to stay alive and make money, it is no wonder depression continues to exist.

Bills, debt, long work hours and an unstable economy make the average human’s stress level far higher than it was meant to be. From an early age, children and teens are expected to meet rigorous educational standards, challenging the brain and often contributing to feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and a legitimate reason to lose sleep. We rely on far more than our primitive ancestors to stay alive, with additional stressors of the modern world like money, family, and education. This is just a modern example to show that depression is prevalent because we need its basis to continue to thrive as a species.

Are anti-depressants becoming the new multi-vitamin? According to the New York Times Magazine article, “in 1988, a year after the Food and Drug Administration approved Prozac, 2,469,000 prescriptions for it were dispensed in America. By 2002, that number had risen to 33,320,000.” From this statistic alone, it seems like the norm may become that Americans take a morning happy pill along with a glass of orange juice. However, according to a fact sheet by the Uplift Program, a program designed by mental health professionals to help people with mental disorders, 54 percent of Americans consider depression to be a personal weakness, even after all the studies have been done to show just how many factors go in to diagnosing this strange mental disorder. Thus the problems of lack of awareness and denial hinder half of Americans who have this disease but refuse to acknowledge it or have no resources to do so.

Walk into a room and count the number of people who are smiling. This personal survey alone can rebut the ideas those opposed might have about depression and the American population. Currently, there are three out of twelve where I am. When combined with the facts—that humans have more reasons to stress than ever before—the idea that about half of Americans have depression is not a surprising one.

Depression is a valid mental disorder that most Americans have—whether they choose to acknowledge it or not. However, the causes are logical and easy to understand. The fixes, however, involve overall awareness and lifestyle changes to slowly turn the trend around.

Article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/the-science-and-history-of-treating-depression.html?pagewanted=all

Depression statistics: http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html

Although looking over the applicant’s public social networking profile may be fair access, snooping into a person’s personal account and messages is unethical and morally incorrect.

Looking onto a person’s profile is one thing, as social networking users choose what they display to the public and what they choose not to. However, looking into a person’s personal account is completely different. People may choose to keep certain pictures private, yet they keep them stored on their Facebook so they are not lost from their computer. If they are responsible enough to hide what is not appropriate for the networking world to see, no one should be allowed to discover them against their will.

Not only can pictures, notes and updates be hidden from the public, but messages are also another factor that makes a person’s social networking account private. Just as phone conversations and text messages are not reviewed, neither should personal messages. Messages are meant to be kept within the party they occur in, whether that’s family, spouse, or friends.

Passwords are used for a reason, to be confidential and to keep private information private. Snooping into someone’s Facebook, or other social networking site is unethical and goes against a person’s right for privacy.

Employers should continue to look on applicant’s Facebook pages, in which they design for the public to see. However, looking within a person’s account and requesting username and password upon hiring is unethical and unfair. People may choose what is put on their public page, however, messages and other hidden information should not be considered during the hiring process within a business.

What’s great in spring?

• Drugstores
• Restaurants
• Retail
• Tutor
• House sitting/ baby sitting

What’s hot in summer?

• Vacation destinations
• Pools
• Amusement parks
• Ice cream/snow cone shops
• Lawn mowing

 What’s cool in fall?

• Grocery stores
• Retail
• Office supplies
• Lessons with instruments

Some students will be working over the summer at camps and participating in internships. These can help students gain work experience and also prepare them for a future career.

 In 2010, only 24 percent of ACT-tested high school graduates were deemed college ready in all four subjects. Also, 74 percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher were employed full time, compared to the 65 percent with an associate’s degree, 55 percent with a high school education, and 41 percent of those without a high school diploma. Recently President Barack Obama gave a speech on the importance of more Americans gaining access to higher education, not just at four-year universities but at community colleges and occupational training programs too.

By a number of indicators, hundreds of thousands of high school students are graduating unprepared for college. Studies show more students have been trying to get into colleges via scholarships, which have helped students go on to study what they want to do and what career fields are open to them. Other students who go through a vocational training or enter a job that can eventually promote them into higher positions are successful too. However employers continue to say job applicants with a college degree is more recognizable than someone without one.

Facing facts:

• From 1990 to 2002, the percentage of tenth graders aspiring to college rose 21 percentage points, to 80 percent
• 6.7 percent of the world’s populations are college graduates
• 38 percent of all college students in the U.S. are 25 and older, with the majority attending school part time only
• The U.S. ranks 16th in getting people to complete a college degree
• Currently there are over 18 million students enrolled at about 5,000 U.S. colleges and universities
• Today it is over 400 percent more expensive to attend college than it was 30 years ago