Breaking News - Hebron

LifeStar medical helicopter at Amston Lake. Arrived at 7:30. Road blocked. No other info yet. Ambulances and fire crews. Rotors still running. More info as it becomes available.

[Brian S. reporting]

Despite Economy, Amazon.com Has Best Holiday Season Ever

According to Forbes.com, e-commerce giant Amazon.com has had its best holiday season to date, selling over 6.3 million items by the first half of December. Analysts attribute some of Amazon's success to the failure of retail stores. Despite the 8% drop in consumer spending this year, the second half of the month and post-Christmas sales are poised to raise Amazon's revenue even further.

Fatal Car Accident in Meriden

A gruesome car accident took the life of 18 year old Melissa Cahill in Meriden on Wednesday night.

According to Courant.com, at Cahill was walking on Route 15, near exit 67, at around 11p.m. This is when a horrible three car accident took her life.

The first car who hit Cahill fled the scene but the two others pulled to the side of the road. No charges have been issued but the State Police continue to investigate the case.


The State Police ask that if anyone has information or was a witness to the accident, they should call 203-393-4200.

Keri Hilson Music Review.

The R&B industry has been growing rapidly lately and new up and coming stars are taking the spotlight. Artist Keri Hilson, born in Atlanta Georgia, is climbing her way to the top with her different style in both music and fashion. In the video for the love/hate song title "Energy" it features Hilson in a boxing arena taking out all of her "energy" on a former love. Though working up a sweat, Hilson still remains a style icon in the video. She has also collaborated on a song with Lil Wayne called "Turnin' Me On", a song essentially about reaching a woman's heart and not just touching the surface. In the video, Hilson is seen wearing many different styles all resembling a modern 1950's vibe. There are a lot of women and men seen dancing in the background and even a section where kids take the lead. Keri Hilson is not an average artist, she is deeper and likes to have more meaning in her songs and engage with the listener. Hilson has been featured in video's with Rap artist Timbaland and is also associated with Chris Brown. She is part of a collective of producers known as "The Clutch". She does have an album out entitled "In A Perfect World" and Keri describes it as saying that the world is not perfect and she wanted to write songs that a woman could relate to from real situations. Keri Hilson is sending out a good message to everyone from kids to the older population and is a real artist. She wants to become big some day but doubtfully will gain an ego. She is level headed and wants to continue to make music for eveyone to enjoy whenever they are in a tight situation.

Chemistry Classes Make Ice Cream With Nitrogen

At RHAM High School, the chemistry classes used liquid nitrogen to make ice cream. The chemistry teachers, Mr. Linden, Mrs. Lichatz, and Mrs. Bjorbekk recieved the liquid nitrogen on Monday night. The temperature of the nitrogen was -196 degrees Celsius. The students had been learning about the different states of matter over the previous weeks and before they made the ice cream they experimented with the nitrogen by shrinking ballons in it and freezing various items. The favorite part of the class period was making the ice cream, however. The recipe included:

5 cups of milk

1 quart heavy cream

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

2 tablespoons of vanilla

a pinch of salt

some liquid nitrogen

Second Annual Tyler Cormier Night

Tyler Cormier Night was created in memory of Tyler Paul Cormier, a RHAM student-athlete who passed away in February of 2007. Tonight was the second annual Tyler Cormier night and the gymnasium was full with RHAM students, RHAM graduates, family, and friends to all remember this wonderful person who touched many lives.

Tyler's athleticism started at the age of 8 and grew from there. He started as the boys' varsity basketball manager when he was in eighth grade and continued in that position for seven years. He was a very active participant in many events in the Special Olympics, and a very important player on the RHAM Unified basketball team.

Not only was Tyler very succesful in athletics, but he was a excellent student. He made the honor roll all of his RHAM career. Also he was voted the Senior Prom King in 2005, which is only one of many honors that Tyler has been awarded.

A scholarship was established in the name of Tyler Cormier. The money raised at the Tyler Cormier Night basketball game, and the golf tournament in the summer go to the Tyler Cormier scholarship fund. The money raised for the fund will go to two college bound RHAM students who helped in the local Special Olympics.

To learn more about Tyler go to:

http://tylercormier.com/index.html

To learn more about the golf tournament go to:

http://tylercormier.com/fundraiser_information.html

Student Teacher Leaves Impression on Students

The science department has a student teacher who will leave an impression on her students for many years. Mrs. Gutierrez, Human Physiology student teacher, came to RHAM in order to get a better look at the teaching lifestyle and to experience what a real classroom was like. While here, she taught science classes including College Prep Biology, Human Physiology and Anatomy. She especially got to know the students in period 6 Human Phys quite well with an experiment that no other teacher had ever attempted. From the start, Mrs. Gutierrez had an idea in mind for her sixth period students. She called them her guinea pigs and wanted to create the perfect lab practical. A lab practical is what Human Physiology students take as sort of a hands-on test. Mrs. G and Mr Moshier agreed from the start that they wanted it to be kept a secret and surprise the students. It consisted of a Forensic Science scavenger hunt in which students investigated different crime scenes and gathered clues as to who the murderer was. What was interesting, was that Mrs. Gutierrez made the students badges as if they were actual CSI agents and she used the school as a simulation of the heart! The atrium was the Aorta, (main part) and all of the hallways and such acted as veins. Her kids found this really different but the most interesting part was when students performed the lab practical, there were many pieces of evidence throughout the test indicating who the murderer was. In the end, Senior Derek B. was in fact the culprit. He was guilty of "murdering" another student in the class, Rachel. A trooper from the school came in and "arrested" Derek yet he had a smile on his face because he knew it was all in good fun. The students and Mrs. G had a great time with the practical and the semester was a very fun time for both. She says she will miss teaching the kids but quotes that she "never says goodbye". She believes she will be back very soon to visit and who knows? She could possibly have a job here at RHAM in the near future. Mrs. Gutierrez is being published in an educational magazine called NSTA. The National Science Teachers Association for her outstanding work and creativity! This could be a job opening opportunity for Mrs. G. Nonetheless, this was an excellent time for her and students do hope that they see her face around very soon.








(Picture to follow up)

Loss for RHAM Boys Basketball Team

The RHAM boys basketball team played home on Thursday night at 7pm. They lost a close game to Berlin 54-64.

Uconn and Florida State Coaches Agree On Schedule

Uconn Women's Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma and Florida State's Sue Semrau have agreed on a two year deal to play each other throughout the regular season. This will start next December, in the week between Christmas and New Year's, in Tallahassee, Florida.

The teams have met three previous times, most recently in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, with the Uconn Huskies winning each of the three times.

The Florida State Seminoles will be coming to Connecticut to play the Huskies 2010-2011.

According to Courant.com, "The Huskies play FSU Sunday in the final game of the Caribbean Classic. UConn currently has road games at Oklahoma, Florida State, Duke and Georgia Tech on their non-conference schedule for next season.UConn will also play North Carolina and Stanford in Connecticut."

Uconn's Defense Looks To Improve For Next Season

Ask any football coach, one thing they will always say they want to improve is their defense. Most coaches will tell you, plain and simple, defense wins games.

The Uconn football team looked back on the season and saw that their biggest fault was in their defense, allowing other teams to create big plays and score. With theses big plays, the opposing team would gain momentum in the game and in many games, win the game over Uconn.

Big plays happened in many of the last seven games for Uconn, and the Huskies only won two of the seven, ending the season with a record of seven wins, five losses.

With their 34-10 loss to Pitt, the Huskies were sent to the International Bowl in Toronto on January 3rd to Buffalo. According to Courant.com, the Huskies lead the overall series with the University of Buffalo 12-4, but Uconn hasn't faced UB since winning 38-0 at Rentschler Field in 2005.

According to Courant.com, Linebacker Scott Lutrus, who leads the team with one hundred tackles said "As a defense, we feel like we need to bounce back because we've struggled, and we want to prove we're a good defense."Uconn wants to show that they can have a really good defensive squad in their game against UB.

Both teams have something to prove and they will hope to come out on top in the International Bowl.



UConn vs. Buffalo: International Bowl, Toronto, Jan. 3, noon, ESPN2

The All-American Rejects Music Review

The All-American Rejects 3rd CD finally hit stores. Their newest CD "When the World Comes Down" came out December 16th. It features their newest single "Hope it Gives You Hell" and other hits like "Believe" and "Falling Apart". The band consists of four members, Tyson, Nick, Mike, and Chris. The four are great friends and have high hopes for the band.

The newest hit "Hope it Gives You Hell" has a pop rock kind of feel to it. The music video shows two neighbors who are messing with each other. One neighbor is a clean preppy couple where the other couple is showing a more rock and roll type of group. The song is well written and has good meaning behind it. If you like pop/rock kind of music you should definitely check out this song. I would give the song a 3 out of 5 stars (0 being the worst, 5 being the best). The song has a good beat and lyrics but isn't something I would personally listen to.

If you want to check out their band here's their website- http://www.allamericanrejects.com/

Winter Concert Brings out the Spirit

RHAM held its Winter Concert last night which included Symphonic band & Wind Ensemble, Chamber Singers, Encore and Combined choirs. The concert was started off by Symphonic band directed by Timothy Keterrer who played a variety of pieces in which one had Mr. Mueller, assistant Principal, on stage reading a Christmas tale about Saint Nicholas and the band accompanying him with many sounds. Wind Ensemble sounded very good as well with pieces chosen from the acts of"The Nutcracker". One of of the pieces selected, Ali Thompson played the piccolo which brought an upbeat undertone to the song. After the band, Mr. Mirakian directed the combined choir act in which all of the singing ensembles came together to sing a song that haad to be explained to the audience through Mr. Maraikian as the performers went along. Chamber singers performed the interesting "Fum Fum Fum!" song as well as being accompanied by Trumpet Player, Michaela Connely in one piece. Encore brought in a taste of good cheer with "Ding! Dong! O melody on high!" Kaitlyn Williams had a solo type melody over the rest of the group in one of the more slower melodic pieces. The choirs were then split as one half of the stage would perform a song and then the other would go. It was a complex show and there were a lot of elements that people enjoyed. The songs selected were perfect for the holidays and the performers had a good time bringing out the spirit.

Mr. Ruddick Named CT Tech Ed Teacher of the Year

In a letter read to the Board of Education Monday evening, Paul Hoffman,
President of the Connecticut Technology Education Association (CTEA),
announced that RHAM's own David Ruddick has been named 2009's Connecticut
Technology Educations Teacher of the Year. He was selected from over six
hundred eligible teachers in the state. The letter cited his leadership
along with "dedication, enthusiasm and commitment" as reasons for his
selection. He is slated to be honored at a convention of the International
Technology Education Association (ITEA) in St. Louis this March.

Congratulations to Mr. Ruddick!


For more information, you can visit the CTEA's website here and the ITEA's
website here.

RHAM Sports over the next Week

CORRECTION: Boys basketball at home on 12/18 vs. Berlin. Also, games this Saturday and Monday.

Twilight Sequel Release Date Has Been Announced

According to courant.com, fans of the new movie, Twilight, don't have to wait a long time to see its sequel called New Moon. New Moon is scheduled to be released twelve months after the first movie and it is going to be released on November 20th, 2009 during the same weekend, when Twilight was released. Summit Entertainment has picked Chris Weitz to direct the sequel, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series about the romance between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, who happens to be a vampire and is fighting his bloodsucking instincts to be with Bella. Chris Weitz is taking over as director from Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first movie. Twilight has been brought up to $150 million at the box office, ever since the movie premiered on November 21st.

Connecticut Earns 12 Million Dollars From Lead Settlement

The toy company, Mattel Inc., now owes Connecticut, along with 38 other states, 12 million dollars as the result of a settlement that will get lead contaminated toys out of the marketplace. Mattel will also adopt new standards on how much lead is allowed into their toys. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's Attorney General, was angered by the amount of lead found in the toys. He has been trying to remove all toys containing lead from the shelves since 2007, when the issue first became apparent. Overall, the state will earn $218,028 from the settlement. Half of the money will go towards the states general fund. The state of Connecticut has made a law banning lead toys from the state's shelves. Consumers can go to www.healthytoys.org for a printable list of toys that do not contain lead.

Information provided by courant.com.

Ice Storm Affects All of New England

As a result of Friday morning's heavy rains and ice in some parts of New England, about 1.2 million people lost power. According to www.msnbc.com, there were widespread blackouts in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York. Specifically, over 400,000 homes and businesses in New Hampshire were without power, constituting more than half of the state. A state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and parts of Maine, as a result of "the worst ice storm in a decade" according to the American Free Press. The northwestern corner of Connecticut also suffered severe blackouts, enough for several school systems in that area to close for the day. Officials have stated that it will be several days before all power is restored.

Fortunately, the weather was warm enough around the Hebron area to prevent a large amount of ice from forming on the roads. There was severe flooding on Lake Rd., Bunker Hill Rd., Parker Bridge, and other areas throughout the tri-town area.

Picture courtesy of www.msnbc.com

Sailors Speak Of Hardships Near The End Of World War 2

Throughout the War, Michael Kuryla endured many hardships aboard the naval vessel USS Indianapolis. The last hardship was after he and the rest of the crew completed a mission vital to a turning point in the war.

In July of 1945, Kuryla and the rest of his crew mates delivered parts of the atomic bomb named "little boy" to Tinian Island where it was assembled and later dropped on Hiroshima. But, on July 30th, on their way back from the mission, a Japanese submarine attacked the vessel and sank it, killing eight hundred and eighty men and leaving 317 stranded in the ocean for 4 days and 5 nights.

63 years later, Kuryla still recollects the scene like it was yesterday, speaking at on many occasions, of the disasters that took place and then men who died serving their country.

According to Courant.com, Kuryla said, "People should know what happened near the end of the war when we delivered the atomic bomb. I hope they remember that freedom is not free, that men gave their lives for us, for what we have today." Many people urged Kuryla to speak up about what happened to try to show people how much men in the military sacrifice for their country. "There's 880 guys out there that died and they can't talk about it, but you can,'" Kuryla said.

His speech includes everything from the ships purpose before the war and its combat engagements during the war to the men floating in the water and also being attacked by sharks.

According to Kuryla, it was very difficult to talk about the incidents in the beggining but now it is much easier. Also, many of the men have reunions with the remaining 70 survivors. To make peace, he and other veterans took a trip to see Japanese veterans and make peace with them. According to Kuryla, "We made peace, we hugged the Japanese. It felt good to get that hate out of me."







Doors for the event open at 6 p.m., and tickets are $10 for museum members and $15 for the general public.



Tickets can be reserved by calling the museum, 36 Perimeter Road, at 860-623-3305.



Kuryla also will appear at the West Springfield Collector Show, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, Mass., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Auto Bailout Fails in Senate

The federal government's plan for a $14 billion bailout of the auto industry, which was approved by the House of Representatives Wednesday, was voted down last night in the Senate 52-35 for "procedural reasons", according to ABC News. GM and Chrysler, the proposed beneficiaries of the bill, have released statements that they are disappointed but will continue to search for solutions to their economic troubles. It is unclear at this point whether a revised bill for an auto bailout will be proposed, but Democrats in both the House and Senate hope to push through financial rescue measures for Detroit.

Local Flooding

Students, staff, and buses struggled into RHAM High School this morning through severe road flooding and ponding. Route 87 in Columbia, a road on the side of a hill, was inundated by water flowing down the hillside and crossing the road. The water was deep enough and fast enough to push this reporter's 1-ton diesel pickup slightly to the right as I drove through. Other RHAM staff members have reported similar flooding on Route 85 in Colchester.

Meanwhile, local volunteer fire departments are responding to service calls for help with flooded basements in the Andover, Hebron, Marlborough area.

Check out http://www.wfsb.com/weather/18262291/detail.html or http://www.courant.com/community/news/fv/hcu-rain1212,0,634724.story for more on this developing story.

Hartford Police Arrest 3 on Drug Charges

Hartford Police arrested three people on Wednesday in an apartment at 58 Fairmont Street. According to Courant.com, "Sgt. Christine Mertes said police seized 170 bags of heroin, five grams of crack cocaine, a small amount of cash and a revolver that had been reported stolen out of Russell, Mass."

Officers from both the vice and narcotics unit along with other patrol units executed a search warrant and found many illegal items in the multi family house on Fairmont Street.

The three people who were arrested were Orlando Fornez, 30, Jose Rios, 32, and Ashley Maldonado, 18, all who lived in Hartford. They were arrested on drug and weapons charges and held on bonds ranging from $300,000 to $700,000.

Accelerating America

On Thursday night, RHAM High School showed the film "Accelerating America." The film was about a special school in Providence, Rhode Island were kids can complete two years of school in 180 days. The school, named UCAP(Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program) accepts students that have repeated at least one grade. The film focuses on three students. They are America, Yazmine, and Jason. Their principal, Rob DeBlois, was determined to turn these children's lives around. Rob and the filmaker Tim Hotchner were present at the showing and answered questions at the end of the film.

The Wizard of Oz Actors Have Been Chosen

On Thursday, December 11th the results of the Drama Club auditions for the upcoming play, The Wizard of Oz were announced. The results are posted on the drama board for anyone, who tried out for the play to see if they have been chosen to be in The Wizard of Oz. Some of the roles included: Dorothy-Elizabeth D., Sorceress of the North-Kaitlyn W., Mayor of the Munchkins-David D., Scarecrow- Christopher L., The Tin Woodman-Dan E., The Cowardly Lion-Alex C., Gloria-Meghan O., Aunt Em-Katelynn M., Uncle Henry-Peter O., The Wicked Witch of the West-Julie D., the Wizard of Oz-Billy Y. The Wizard of Oz meeting is on Tuesday, December 16th from 2:30 to 3:15 in the auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to go over drama ground rules, hand out scripts and music, take the Drama Club photo, and hand out the rehearsal schedule. All cast members must attend.

Semi Rollover on Rte. 2

At 12:25 PM Brian reports that there is a tractor-trailer rollover on CT Route 2 near exit 13. Police on scene. Road open but traffic moving slowly. No further information at this time.

Auto Bailout Passes House

The beleaguered auto industry is saw new hope for a lifeline tonight, as the House of Representatives approved a $14 billion bailout plan 237-170, according to the New York Times. Those opposing the bill claimed that the auto industry should be allowed to fail in accordance with free-market principles, or that federal oversight of the process was too weak. Proponents of the bill cite a chance to save thousands of jobs in General Motors and Chrysler.

The bill still needs to pass in the Senate, where it is expected to face stiff opposition from Republicans. The Times went on to say that should the bill fail, Democrats would try again once the next Congress starts, and with it a much stronger Democratic majority.

Thoughts? Questions? Post a comment below.

Spanish Classes Take A Trip to Willimantic

The Spanish classes levels 1-honors took a trip to Willimantic earlier today to get a more in depth experience as to what Spanish culture is really like. The trip was organized by Senora Nochton and Senora Rametta. Accompanying the teachers were English teacher, Mrs. Anger and Assistant Principle, Mr Wilson who in fact is of Bolivian background. The group arrived at SAMA, an organization that was created in order for primarily Latino traders to attend in order to gain a better understand of the economy. They offer services to the homeless and also a community college such as QVCC. Students were introduced to Senor George Hernandez, from Puerto Rico,who works for SAMA and is associated with other businesses as well as Robert Fernandez, from Columbia. He is an Associate Director of the Willimantic Center. After asking a few questions, the students then visited "La alcaldia" meaning the mayor's office or town hall. There, students were informed of how the police force operates in the four districts and the types of crime that happen in Willimantic. From there, the group was then separated into four small ones which each ate at a different restaurants including Cinco De Mayo, and Don Taco. The last place the students went to visit was Eastern Connecticut State University and there they met a man from Columbia named Jaime. He explained all about the college and the many different classes it offers. The President of Eastern, from Puerto Rico, explained what life in Puerto Rico was like compared to the U.S and also becoming the president of the University. The third speaker was named Anthony and he spoke about his early life Puerto Rico before moving to the U.S and why his family decided to leave. Overall, the students got an excellent taste of the Spanish culture and were enthusiastic about meeting people outside of the classroom with whom they could apply their language skills with.

Encore Takes a Trip to Andover Elementary

The RHAM Encore choir group took a small field trip to Andover Elementary School today to perform in front of the staff and students. Their program for this show consisted solely of Christmas music and the group sang to various favorites such as "Carol Of The Bells", "Candlelight Carol" and the ever so popular, "Jingle Bell Rock". Encore is a choir group limited to girls only and it has about 30 enrolled in the class. The group performs at many concerts with Chamber Singers, another choir group with boys and girls, and also with the various bands here at RHAM. The class is led by Music teacher Mr. Maraikian and the girls say that he is an excellent teacher and they enjoy his teaching greatly. All in all, the field trip was a success. The kids at Andover Elementary enjoyed the selections put together and the girls did an excellent job performing.

Julianne Hough Music Review

You may know her as the two-time Dancing with the Stars champion, but Julianne Hough is now in the spotlight for another reason. She has released a self titled country album. She has released two singles so far. The first, was "That Song in My Head" and the most recent "My Hallelujah Song."

The second single to be released, "My Hallelujah Song," is a country song with a good beat. The song's lyrics send a message to her fans. She says that hard work can bring happiness. Her "Hallelujah song" is what kept her going throughout her life. I am not usually a country fan but this song quickly caught my attention. She has an excellent range. She proves that she is not just a 19-year old with good dance moves, but one who has an incredible voice to match them. From the lyrics of the song to the singer herself, this single is very well done. I would give it a 5 out of 5.

RHAM's Drama Club Holding Auditions

On December 9 and 10, RHAM's Drama club will be holding auditions for the spring musical, The Wizard of Oz. On December 9th, the club held singing auditions for the singing roles from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. On December 10th, they will be holding reading auditions for speaking parts. The reading auditions are from 2:30 to 3:15 pm. Invitation-only callbacks will be on the 10th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. All are encouraged to attend and if you have any questions, go to the drama board for more information.

House on Marlborough Lake Catches Fire

A house that is on Lake Ridge Drive went up in flames less then an hour ago and is completely engulfed. An update to this story will be coming shortly.

The house's address is 35 Lake Ridge Drive.

It is 8:35 p.m. and the flame is still going as fiercely as it was when the whole house caught on fire.

UPDATE: The homeowner was at a neighbor's house at the time of the fire and was uninjured. A car was also damaged in the fire and a cat is missing.

[photo 1 courtesy of Kathy Hood]

State Radio Goes Acoustic

Last night at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, Chad Stokes Urmston of State Radio preformed the second of two acoustic sets, the first being on Saturday night. Both shows were part of a five day celebration in honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Universal Human Rights. The Anniversary, officially this coming Wednesday, will also be commemorated by a panel who will speak about their personal experiences with human rights abuse.

This festival also marked the foundation of a new organization, "Calling All Crows", run primarily by Urmston's girlfriend, Sybil Galagher. The purpose of this society is to call attention to, curb, and eventually eliminate violence against women worldwide. All proceeds from ticket and merchendise sales from both shows were donated to "Calling All Crows".

Urmston preformed not only songs that he has written with his current band, State Radio, but also some that were made popular by his former band, Dispatch, which broke up in 2004. Fan favorites from the Dispatch era like Flying Horses and Bats in the Belfry got a rousing response from the 200 fans at the concert on Sunday. Urmston also played songs that will likely be on State Radio's next studio album, including Calling All Crows and Mansin Humanity. State Radio is currently in-studio recording this album, but neither a track listing nor a title for the record has been released as of yet.

What set this show apart from other State Radio or Dispatch concerts was that the audience was shown a glimpse into Urmston's personal life and the stories and motivations behind his songs. For example, Mansin Humanity delves into the controversial topic of the Armenian Genocide of 1914. It became a running gag throughout the night for Urmston to play the first few chords of a song and then stop suddenly to explain some lyrical detail.

Since State Radio almost always preforms electrically and with a full band, this was a rare and different experience, even for those who have attended their shows in the past.

Brutha Music Review

Def Jam has another new group of musicians trying to break into the music business. The newest group is called Brutha. The group is composed of 5 brothers from Los Angeles. The brothers range in ages between 19-25.The band has an R&B sound and say they get their inspiration from Harrel, their own father.There first single is called "I can't hear the music".You can listen to the song when their album hits stores December 23. The band even has a reality show in the works called "Brother to Brother, and can be seen on BET on Nov. 18.

After listening to the bands first hit I could tell the band was a talented group. All 5 of the boys voices are very well put together and all have different strengths that make the band unique. Along with there incredible voices, the brothers also are great dancers and take pride in their moves. They say that the moves take you back to the day when groups moved rather then just walked around on stage. The lyrics in the song are very well put together and are definitely catchy. If you're into R&B music or songs to dance to you should definitely check out their first hit. If I had to rate this song 1-5(1=worst 5=best) I would give it a 4. It's a very catchy song and has a great beat. You can check out the band at their website: www.defham.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=696

Fierce Fire In Berlin Proves Deadly

A fierce fire destroyed a house on Deerfield Drive in Berlin on Tuesday, killing a woman and injuring two others.

According to Courant.com Neville H. Mahoney, 60, and his daughter, Catherine A. Mahoney, 29, escaped the fire and were taken to Hartford hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. The woman who was killed was later identified as Martha Mahoney, 58, who also lived there. She was burned severely.

When firefighters were called to the scene, the fire was raging, and with the help of some exploding oxygen tanks, extremely dangerous. The volunteer firefighters who arrived at the scene first tried to enter the house, but were driven back by the explosions. Then, when the firefighters tried to enter the house again, they were sent back by yet another explosion.

After about 20 minutes, the firefighters doused the flames and searched the house. Berlin Deputy Fire Marshal Matt Odishoo said that the firefighters checked all of the "hot spots" in the house and that's when they found the victim.

The fire tore through much of the house and destroyed much of the roof and walls. Along with the two people who escaped the blaze, a dog and a cat escaped too, but one dog died.

Odishoo says that the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

New Alert Systm At Rham

Starting this year RHAM High School will be having a new alert system take place to warn people about snow days and early closings in the winter season. This system has been tested with the teachers and has worked in reaching to the teachers and letting them know what is going on. Now that this has been tested with the teachers the school will give the parents of the students the option to sign up to get the alerts just like the teachers do. The parents can sign up to either recieve a voicemail/call or an email and they can also receive a text message on their cell phone. This will be a lot easier for parents to get the information about what is happening in our school with the weather conditions that are going to be happening with winter coming. More information on how to sign up for this service will follow shortly.

RHAM Equestrian Club Rides Again

On December 2nd, the RHAM Equestrian club went to Grandview Stables to learn how to ride professionally on horses. The event was held from after-school to 4:30 pm. Everyone who went to ride had a great time learning to ride at Grandview Stables. The club will start back up again in the spring with their usual activities.

Newport Mansions

Yesterday, Tuesday the third of December, the Junior class took a trip to Newport Mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. About 175 students visited the Elms Mansion and the Breakers Mansion, both near the coast of the Long Island Sound. The Breakers was built for Commadore Cornelius Vanderbilt, a steamship tycoon in the 19th century. Richard Morris Hunt was commissioned to design and build the Mansion in 1893. He brought in the finest materials from all over the world, and by working two teams of laborers twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, was able to finish the mansion in just two years.

The other Mansion, The Elms, was constructed for Mr. and Mrs. Edward Berwind by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. Mr. Berwind was highly successful in the Pennsylvania coal industry. It was modeled after a Parisian chateau and finished in 1901 at an estimated cost of $1.4 million. It is furnished with French and Venetian paintings as well as several works of art from Asia.

Three busses were needed to transport the group of students to and from Newport. Once they arrived, the group split into two parties who took turns touring each of the Mansions. The trip was a very educational one; the students were able to glimpse into the past and see how upper-class citizens lived over a century ago.

A picture of The Breakers are shown below:

Picture Credit: www.newportmansions.org

RHAM Gymnastics Team Prepares for Another Strong Season

Of the winter sports, gymnastics is one of the less common. What most people do not know is that the 2008 RHAM gymnastics team was ranked third in the state during the previous season. They plan to do well once again. They are lead this year by Krystine Carey and Sam Shook. There are 11 girls on the team total. The gymnasts practice everyday after school at Patti Dunne's gym. Their first day of competition will be on January 3rd, at Patti Dunne's.

Tran-Siberian Orchestra comes again to Connectic

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, possibly one of the best Christmas shows around, returns to Connecticut on their annual tour around the USA. TSO was formed in 1996 by Paul O'Neill. Paul was looking for a way to give music a more emotional meaning. He tried to write music that sounded so good it did not need lyric and lyrics that were so poetic they did not need music. When put together Paul found he created something with that new sound he was looking for.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra puts on a show unlike any other. The unique music combined with a light show to make any age amazed is worth seeing over and over. I personally have seen the TSO concert the last two years. Last year I didn't think it could get better but it did. If you have a chance to go see TSO in concert take it. Young or old, male or female, TSO has something for everyone. From their crazy electric guitar solos to the story of the wayward angel on Christmas eve that the concerts revolve around. Trans Siberian Orchestra will amaze you.

http://www.trans-siberian.com/