It takes a very committed person to actually get up off the couch and do something with their free time. Most people sit around, sleep, eat, stay on the computer, and watch television instead of getting into action.  Here’s an idea, get up and go fishing!

            “Whenever the weather is warm, and I know the fish will be biting, I go fishing during any free time I have.” said Johnny Virgil.

            “Depending on the kind of fishing you want to do, the places you fish, and the conditions in which your fishing, all make up what you’re looking for, if you’re looking for the right fishing rod to suit you. I use Pflueger every time I go out and fish, but also a good cheap brand of fishing poles is Zebco.” said Everly Burkhardt.

            The type of fishing rod you need can only be determined if you know the conditions, kind of fishing, and the places you’re going to be using the fishing rod. There are many types of fishing rods to use during freshwater fishing; carbon fiber, fiber glass, ultra-light, and telescopic rods are just a few good examples. Like mentioned earlier, it all just depends on your kind of fishing.

            “I have never bought a fishing licenses and I never even knew you needed one, I have always fished on my land, in my pond or at my nanny’s, other than that I get permission and if I ever need to, I will get a licenses, but I’m pretty sure I won’t need one.” Aj Furrow.

To fish on your own land, or a place you have received permission to fish on, you do not need a fishing license. In many cases you do need your fishing license and in order to purchase a fishing license you have to be at least 16 years of age.

            Lakes, ponds, creeks, streams and even state parks in Spotsylvania are good places to visit if you want to go freshwater fishing. You just have to find the right spot, the right weather conditions, and the right time and you will find the fish you have been looking for.

It’s not just the location or type of pole being used that makes your trip worth it, bait is also a necessity. Good freshwater natural fishing baits include worms, leeches, minnows, crayfish, crickets and grasshoppers. Freshwater bottom-feeders like catfish and carp are also attracted to cut fishing baits (cut-up bait fish) and prepared baits called dough balls. You may also use fishing lures which, at first, can be overwhelming but part of the excitement is finding the best kind. Many companies have lots of different colors, shapes and sizes but most lures are priced about the same.

Buddy Pullen stated, “I enjoy fishing, and I really don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t fish, but I’m glad I live in Spotsylvania county cause, I don’t think I have to ever worry about not being able to fish.”

If you ever need something to do, when you’re just sitting around, and bored, get up of the couch, and get hooked!

            “I have never had as much enjoyment with anything besides hunting. Hunting is like a sport to me, and I just can’t get enough of playing it. I would never stop hunting even if I have to.” said Troy Sacra.

            Hunting has recently become more of a competition than a fun sport. As a result of this “need to win” attitude, hunters are more inclined to surpass the number of deer they are permitted to kill. Luckily, it is a requirement for any licensed hunter to “tag” every deer he or she kills so that it is easy to tell who is exceeding their limit and who is abiding by the rules.

If you are 16 years old or younger you may hunt without a hunting license only if you are accompanied by someone 18 years or older with a valid hunting license. Licenses may be purchased as young as age 12 and the cost varies depending on the location of your purchase. However, it is not required for a hunter to obtain a license if he is hunting on his own property.

 “I learned to hunt from my brother, and I have loved from the very first day started. Like my brother I hunt as much as I can, and it’s so fun. Whenever I get the chance I’m going to kill a buck bigger than my brothers, and I can’t wait.” said Devin Carter.

          When hunting, you also have to understand the laws and regulations that need to be followed, and if they’re not followed, hunting may be dangerous.

            In the store where you purchase your hunting license, there will be a hunting safety book that tells you everything you need to know before you go hunting If you find that some of the information is unclear, there is a phone number in the book or you can talk to a game warden and they will clarify it for you. Just remember to pay careful attention to everything you do while hunting, it may be dangerous if you’re not paying attention, but also remember to lay one down!

Also known as Black Friday, this holiday for shoppers consists of buyers going crazy over the hottest new toys and electronics that everyone wants because their prices dropped tremendously.

Apart from all the great sales, Black Friday is also one of the most vicious days of the year. There are long lines and people rush to get the marked down electronics and toys before the objects are gone.

There are people who will stand outside a store for hours before the store actually opens on Black Friday just to be one of the first people in the store.

A lot of stores take extreme measures to keep their Black Friday shoppers in line. According to myfoxaustin.com, Toys R Us put in a magnetic strip in their floor to stop carts from being stolen. A lot of stores had lines that you couldn’t cross. If the shoppers crossed them, then security would escort the person out of the store.

Some people on Black Friday even take drastic measures. This past Black Friday, a southern California woman pulled out her pepper spray in the video game aisle of a Wal-Mart. The pepper sprayed a few adults and even a child was reported getting hit by it. According to cnn.com, the woman was not charged because detectives are still investigating the incident.

According to glennbeck.com, this past year, a man in West Virginia was at a Target trying to get his own Black Friday gifts. While he was shopping, the man supposedly had a heart attack and collapsed. While the man lie on the ground, the Black Friday bargainers continued to do their shopping and stepped over the dead man’s body.

Huffingtonpost.com reported that two citizens got in a fight over a $2 waffle maker at a Wal-Mart in Arkansas.

In 2010, according to mainstreet.com, a shopper in California was arrested for pulling out a handgun and threatening to shoot the other shoppers in line. He didn’t actually shoot.

Last year, a temporary Wal-Mart employee was trampled and killed by a pack of determined Black Friday shoppers in New York, As stated on USAtoday.com; the police blamed Wal-Mart for the incident.

As shopping in a store on Black Friday becomes more dangers, more and more shoppers are turning to online shopping on Cyber Monday.

“High school is supposed to be great, but for some students it isn’t so great,” according to Alexus Harris, a Spotsylvania High School student.

Some new students might not know how to balance school, friends, sports, and clubs.  Harris said, “High school is way harder than middle school. It’s harder to stay organized, and they get stressed.”

There is a lot more responsibility, which sometimes can be hard to handle, and some students get stressed.

SHS freshman, Morganne Mcmanus said it’s very hard for her to balance out everything. “High school is nothing like what you see on T.V. It’s like you’re stepping into a whole new world, and you don’t know how to act in it,” said Mcmanus.

“It’s not the easiest thing to do, but when you get half way through the year you’ll know how to balance out all your school work and extra-curricular activities,” said Erika Ramirez, an SHS Cheerleader.

Student that are on a sports team and that are in a club are sometimes stressed the most.  “I get stressed out because I have a ton of homework to do, and I don’t get home until 8:00 p.m.,” said Ramirez.

For some of the freshmen, high school is the time when you get tested on whether you can handle the stress of becoming independent, being responsible, and focusing on school.

“Student sometimes gets stressed and they choose not to come to school, they miss out on all their work and they end up falling behind,” said McManus. Students get stressed and just give up because they think they can’t overcome it, but if they learn to manage their time then they will make it through high school.

According to Napier, dropping out of school was more common during the time she was in high school. “Everyone was doing it,” she said.

After marriage, Napier started regretting dropping out.

She would have loved to have gotten her diploma even though she didn’t need her diploma for work at a CVS distribution warehouse (back then diploma’s weren’t needed.)  

The GED was an opportunity given to her, but she had a child not long after she got married and didn’t have time to prepare for the test.

According to Virginia.gov, “Virginia had the 14^th lowest drop-out rate in the country in 2010.”

“7,000 students drop-out of school every day, that’s 1.3 million kids a year,” noted Alliance for Excellent Education.

One-third of American students drop-out every year, while the other two-third of students graduate with their class.

Dropping-out is not free to our country. Citizens pay taxes for these young adults who choose to end their education path.

 According to the American Youth Policy Forum website, “[Drop outs] cost our nation more than $260 billion dollars…that’s in lost wages, lost taxes, and lost productivity over their lifetimes.”  

Barbara Pytel, author of the article Dropouts Give Reasons wrote that these days students drop-out to become parents, get a job, they’re failing, have missed too many days, family, not motivated, or aren’t even interested in education.

Students drop-out due to drugs and alcohol, according to Alliance for Excellent Education. If a teenager gets obsessed with drugs, excessive drinking, or partying, that becomes their new life style.

James A. Turner said, “Marijuana use can hurt a teenager’s education, family ties, and his social life. Marijuana use can confuse teenagers or even destroy how they think, and if one are not thinking clearly they can make bad decisions. It is not safe to use marijuana; using it can change, for the worse, a teenager’s life.”

Students are considered at high-risk of dropping out if they are falling behind in school, their grades are steadily declining, they often get in some trouble, or they are frequently absent from school.

Some members of the older generations look at teens as if they are lazy because instead of calling, teens text. Others say teens are just adapting to a technology-driven new way of life.

There are several signs of phone addiction, according to digitaltrends.com, which are easy to spot, and many teenagers show these signs in daily life. One of the first signs of phone addiction is using a phone in private places like the bathroom. Another sign is panicking when you think you lost your phone, but it’s really sitting somewhere out in the open.

Spotsylvania High School student Micbeth Tunseeprasert said, “When I reach to find my phone at the bottom of my purse and it is not there, I literally feel my heart skip a beat. Then a few moments later, I usually find it somewhere out in the open, and then I feel stupid for being so worried.”

Tunseeprasert thinks it is ok to use a phone during school hours. “First off, I do use my phone in class during school hours, personally. So since I do, I don’t think it’s wrong to use it in school. I only think it’s wrong if you’re doing it when a teacher is talking. So there really shouldn’t be a problem if you are not being disrespectful,” said Tunseeprasert.

Tunseeprasert feels there is no problem using her phone a lot. “When I use my phone out of school in life, I feel it should be no one’s business how often I use it, which is a lot – not just for texting, but for going on Facebook [and] Twitter or even just apps I feel like playing. I don’t think it has anything to do with kids being addicted to phones. I think it has to do with the new era we are in.”

Tunseeprasert explained what she meant by new era, “Well since we are in the new era of technology, we are just trying to fit in with all the new things. Of course it has changed from the past generations, because they didn’t have the things that we do now. If they did, things wouldn’t be changing so much. It doesn’t mean we are lazy; it just means we are progressing.”

“My favorite part about celebrating Christmas in Germany is getting up and going to church on the twenty-fourth,” said Dettmer.

“It will be kind of awkward to get up on the 25^th instead of the 24^th because we don’t have a Christmas Eve,” Dettmer shared.

While Christmas in America is celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December, in Germany, her tradition is to celebrate on the twenty-fourth.

Dettmer mentioned that there is only one thing she dislikes about Christmas and that’s the shopping part. “It’s so hectic, I don’t like buying gifts for other people,” she said with a smile.  Dettmer is looking forward to two gifts in particular this year, and she hopes to get them both.

Dettmer has her eye on one particular item this year. “I really want a Hello Kitty stocking, it is so cute,” Dettmer said.

Dettmer’s favorite Christmas gift of all time will always be her acoustic guitar. “I’m not very good at it, but I love my guitar,” she said.

“My family usually gives me really big boxes filled with gifts,” she admitted. She is also looking forward to her family back home sending her German chocolates and gifts

In America, if you’re naughty, Santa might leave you a stocking full of coal. If you’re naughty in Germany, Santa might leave your parents a whip.

“The whip is for your mom and dad to show you, as a symbol, that you’ve been naughty,” Dettmer said.

To Dettmer, Christmas is the best experience ever. Back in Germany, she would participate in big family dinners with lavish spreads of fish, duck and geese after church.

This year, she started her Christmas by attending the Spotsylvania Christmas Parade. “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she said.

Dettmer also said that American decorations are a little different than in Germany. “Our decorations are mainly just gingerbread men everywhere,” Dettmer said.

She also mentioned that she’s excited to go pick a Christmas tree and decorate it.

Germany and America share similar traditions when it comes to celebrating Christmas; the trees, decorations, dinners and the quality family time. Dettmer gets to experience something completely new and exciting this year in a new place with new friends and family.

The key to putting together a successful holiday party outfit is to plan ahead. You need to make sure your outfit is appropriate for the company you’ll be keeping. Of course you want to wear something that looks good on you, but a short, low cut holiday dress with high heels is not okay to wear to a family gathering.

Outfits are one of the first things people look at.

Stephanie Smith said, “When I go to Christmas events, I see people wearing red or green, rarely do I see people that wear cute dresses, tie and long sleeve, and any kind of outfit that you don’t have to look beside you and see them wearing the exact same thing. You want to add some color to make your holiday outfit stand out. Glitter or sparkles would be a cute and fashionable way to spice the season up. It’s something different; different is not always a bad thing.”

One yahoo messenger wrote, “You have to make your first impression to people plus it builds my self esteem up.”

Some people struggle with putting together an outfit because of a self esteem problem; they don’t want to dress up because they feel someone will say something bad about them to embarrass them. Other people just want to look nice, and a lot of times it’s a popularity competition.

Smith said, “If you are going to any kind of teen party, you will notice that they’re all about the entrance and how they show themselves.”

However, Smith reminds teens to remember what the holidays are really about.

“It is not always about what people look like, it is about the love and care they have at a holiday party. It’s not a competition on who looks the best. It’s about getting together with friends and family and talking about the non-fictional topics are what Christmas parties are all about,”  Smith said.

She continued, “It seems confusing, but no matter where you go you should always look nice, especially when you’re with the ones you love most. Plus you are celebrating, who doesn’t want to look nice at a celebration?”

On Saturday, December 3, 2011, the Jaycee’s of Fredericksburg sponsored their annual Christmas parade. Many families and friends were there to enjoy themselves and get into the holiday spirit. With Christmas just around the corner, this is how many Fredericksburg area residents kick- off the holiday.

According to area officials, there were over 5,000 more people than in the previous years.

While viewing the parade near Fredericksburg Baptist Church, there was a gentleman standing against the wall of the church in total amazement.

Jim Thompson was there with his wife and two children. He said several times, “Wow, this is just amazing. I have never seen a local parade this big before, this is just wonderful.”

Some of the local businesses, schools and community clubs that marched in this year’s parade were CVS, James Monroe High School of Fredericksburg, Mountain View High School of Stafford, the Fredericksburg Area Greyhound Club marched with their dogs, as well as the Marching Knights of Spotsylvania High School.

After several marching bands and floats, another lady that happened to be standing beside a light post named Valerie LaRowe, a native of the Fredericksburg area, stated how cold it was that evening and how long the parade was.

“I’m cold. This is the longest I have ever seen it since I have been coming to the parade. It’s so long, I just want it to end,” she said.

After standing in the cold for so long many children and parents were all wondering the same thing: “Where’s Santa?” With frozen toes and chattering teeth, they spotted him and knew that meant the end of the parade. They all gathered their belongings and fought the crowd making their way to their cars.

Before the new road, a line of cars trying to turn to the student parking lot would be backed up in front of the school.

The principal of the school, Mr. Rusty Davis, was highly involved in the project because the students and school buses have to go through the road. The road was built for the students and buses to access the parking lots without trouble.

In the past, the school resource officer, Deputy Lohr had to control the traffic because the long lines that blocked traffic.

Carlos Ramirez, a student that attends Spotsylvania High School, drives to and from school every day. He said, “I think the road helped out a lot. It is easier to get into the student parking lot then it was before the new road. Like, I use to have to come to school a couple minutes early so I wouldn’t be late, because it would be a five minute wait to get into the parking lot.”

Another student who drives to school most of the time is Zach Miller. His opinion was that “the new road was a good idea, but it was kind of confusing at first.”

He said, “It got easier as I came to and from school every day. I’m glad the new road is finished though. It is less troubling now that I won’t have to wait in the line just to park my car.”

Alexus Harris, whose brother drives her to school every day, thinks the road is amazing. She said, “It makes everything way faster and there is no wait except for the stop light.”

Asst. Principal Mrs. Lisa Andruss explained that the road has been planned for a very long time ago, but budget issues delayed the opening of the intersection until now. There’s more road to be built.