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N ov. 2, 2010 will determine the color of Rep. Heath Shuler’s future. If reelected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Shuler will remain a Blue Dog Democrat. If not, he will forever be remem- bered as a Washington Redskin. Shuler is running against Hender- son County business owner Jeff Miller to keep his seat representing North Carolina’s 11 th District. Shuler said his experience and leadership give him an advantage over his opponent. “It is the leadership of being able to take a group of people and help lead them to build bridges that is key,” Shuler said. “I am usually the one to work out deals with the Republicans in Congress, and when the Repub- licans need help on the Democratic side, I am the one that can do that.” Prior to serving his district, Shuler first started serving his community. At the age of 16, he was an entrepreneur, washing cars in his hometown of Bryson City, N.C. The support he received from his community is one of the main reasons he became interested in politics. “The community has always been so supportive of ev- erything I’ve ever done,” Shuler said. “When I moved back after continuing my education and professional football career (playing for the Redskins), they were still so sup- portive. One way of giving back is to run for an elected position to be able to say thank you.” Now, Shuler is focusing on his platform and the changes that need to be made. He is confronting issues such as the recently implemented Race to the Top educa- tion reforms. North Carolina recently received a $400 mil- lion grant. Shuler said RttT will be an improvement over the previous No Child Left Behind initiatives. “What I find when I speak to students is that far too often they are just being taught the test, as opposed to being taught the material for the class,” Shuler said. “Also, No Child Left Behind put such a burden on funding for certain subjects that we have lost some of our vocational (courses). Race to the Top will improve these issues.” Shuler’s main objective is to increase the number of available jobs. “I want to close the loop hole for busi- nesses that have been shipping our jobs overseas,” Shuler said. “I also want to reward the companies that are actu- ally doing really well and give those companies advan- tages and the incentive to stay (in America).” Recent polictal ads have tried to tie Shuler to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “I think the most important thing to remember is the people who are doing these ads,” Shuler said. “They are outside groups trying to pull the wool over the voters of this district. The people of this district know how I vote.” Shuler offered advice for first-time student voters. “Look at both candidates and hopefully get a chance to meet with them,” he said. “Read up on them, not the blogs, but the actual legislation that is important. Also, always vote the person, never just the party.” 8 6 Concussions hold hidden dangers “Thank you for your inconvenience.” Dean Jones, principal, (on the temporary Internet failure) “How long is this eight- inch sub?” Josh Wentzel, senior (discussing his lunch options) “I can turn the ‘men’ on if I want to.” Elaine Hooker, math teacher (on plotting lists on a calculator) “Gosh, don’t you know Auto Advantage is across from the Internet?” Brandi Martin, senior (attempting to give directions) 2010 Homecoming Queen Hannah Wilson •Homecoming queen announced Visit us at wingspanonline.net wingspan 3600 Haywood Road, Hendersonville, N.C. 28791 • Volume XXIX, Issue 1 • October 28, 2010 WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL 4 New trends can have harmful consequences H H eard in the all Yes 56% No 44% Do you follow college football? (based on a survey of 397 students) P eregrine P oll Senior Hannah Wilson was crowned 2010 home- coming queen at halftime of the football game against Pisgah on Oct. 8. Wilson was escorted by senior Wilson Billings- ley. Also representing the senior class were Christa Cloud, escorted by senior Taylor Snyder; Lilia Kuznetsov, escorted by senior Colton Fouts; Aubrey Masters, escorted by senior Curtis Wiley; and Lauren Reneau, es- corted by senior Cameron Brogden. Representing the junior class were Alisha Carland, Kennedy Gal- loway and Catherine Swift. Gabby Ball and Jamie Hunt represented the sophomore class, and Hayley Morris and Grace Levi represented the fresh- man class. Online classes offer students academic options High Tech Working on her online courses through N.C. Virtual Public Schools, senior Nicole Ciaramitaro completes assignments for her AP Psychology and AP European History classes. Hailey Johns Asst. Opinion Editor Miller, Shuler fight for seat in Congress A fter a challenging day at school and a hard bas- ketball practice, senior Nicole Ciaramitaro comes home, pushes her athletic bag off her shoulder and types in her username and password to login to her online classroom. As she scrolls down the page to view her assignments for the week, she believes her “fifth” class is what will move her closer to the top of her class. “Online classes educate students well, as long as you have the initiative to do the work. There isn’t a set lesson, so it’s more up to you to do the lesson and learn what you want to learn,” Ciaramitaro said. “If you want to get something out of the class, then you have to be the one to take the initiative. It has really opened my eyes to be responsible for my classes and my assignments, and it has taught me to really prioritize my time. I like the fact that I can set my own hours and learn what I want to learn from the online classes.” Over the years that online classes have been offered at West, the number of students taking these classes has increased. With the limited amount of space in the Career Center in V-building, students are currently experiencing waiting lists and classes that are filled to capacity and closed. “The number one demand for online classes is the competitiveness of getting into college,” Senior Guidance Counselor Shannon Auten said. “There are a lot of kids, seniors especially, that are taking several on- line Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and that really helps them compete with the rest of the state or the nation with what’s avail- able to them. We can only offer so many AP classes on campus, so the online classes provide students more options. We see that people are taking them and there are more offered because they’ll go after them.” Online classes help give students the op- portunity to take a class that is not offered on campus. They can explore different areas and fields they may be interested in. “We can’t offer everything that every stu- dent is interested in,” Auten said. “So we will offer the core classes and what is required by the state. We will also have electives we’ve always offered, and those get the most kids. That’s about what we have to give, so we have to look to online classes to kind of give them some more options because there are so many different careers out there that we can’t cover.” Online classes have a stronger appeal to seniors than they do to underclassmen. Because many AP classes are offered online, seniors can use this to boost their grade point average (GPA) to give them a competitive edge in Become a fan on Facebook wingspan (based on school records and a survey of 154 seniors) 57 49 seniors will be old enough to vote in the Nov. 2 election 85 15 Jeff Miller Republican candidate Graduated from Hendersonville High in 1972 Henderson Co. business owner Heath Shuler Democratic candidate Attends Biltmore Baptist Church Has represented 11th District of North Carolina since 2006 Final Harry Potter installments coming to theaters H is campaign signs dot the streets of Hendersonville, boldly announcing the return of “Common Sense for Congress.” A Henderson County native and second-generation owner of Miller’s Fine Drycleaning on King Street, Jeff Miller is currently challenging Rep. Heath Shuler for North Carolina’s 11 th Congressional District seat. Miller has been to Washington numerous times in the past, not for politics but to provide World War II veterans an all-expense paid trip to the national memorial constructed in their honor. His program, Honor Air, has attracted national attention. “I never really ‘became interested in politics.’ I became interested in a shot at serving my country in some capacity,” Miller said. “Around the last four years, I’ve spent a lot of time around a bunch of heroes, the World War II veterans. They have taught me a lot about service, sacrifice and honor, and they were actually the first peo- ple to push me to consider running for office.” Miller has served as the president of the Henderson County Heritage Museum, president of the local Boys and Girls Club and president of the YMCA as well as chairman of the Small Grants Committee for the Community Foun- dation and a Chamber of Commerce director. Miller believes that while the federal government should provide standards for education, the bulk of the responsibility should be in the hands of local and state entities. “The federal government should give us a certain set of standards that every state has to make, but I would really rather see education more in the hands of the state and in the local area as opposed to the federal govern- ment,” he said. “The federal government can complicate it, and bureaucracies can become very bloated.” Miller supports lifting North Carolina’s cap on charter schools, primary and secondary schools that receive pub- lic funding but are not subject to some of the regulations that apply to other public schools. Under current law, North Carolina allows 100 charters. “Many of these charter schools have been very effec- tive, and I would like to see them lift that cap,” Miller said. “We have to be very careful and not dilute the funding too much to public schools, but I think they are a good thing. They’ve been shown to be pretty effective.” As Miller has spent his time with World War II vet- erans from across Western North Carolina, they have shaped his view on the American right to vote. “Everyone who is just getting their first opportunity to vote needs to understand just how big a deal it is and how much of an honor it is to vote. A lot of people died, a lot of people sacrificed more than we can imagine so that we can have that right. So what you need to do is take it very seriously. Don’t get caught up in hype. Don’t just vote for somebody because someone else told you to. Because you are young, you should have the same right that the rest of us had: the opportunity at the American dream.” 11th District • See “Online,” Page 2 Brandi Martin Editor-in-Chief Josh Wentzel Web Editor of eligible seniors say they prefer county na- tive Jeff Miller of eligible seniors say they prefer Rep. Heath Shuler 72 courses are offered through Blackboard 43 online classes currently offered at West 37 students are enrolled in online courses this semester Virtual School % % % of eligible seniors plan to vote
