Let it snow, let it snow…..in October?

Yesterday morning, astonished students were looking outside their windows instead of sitting in class; but for a good reason. Right before their eyes, snow was falling. This phenomenon created an unexpected stir; snow in October is not common in Trumbull. To the dismay of some, there wasn’t enough snow for a day off or a delay. Saturday and Sunday is expected to be cold and rainy as well. So grab your hot chocolate and slippers to stay warm!

Car Crashes Into Trumbull Center Dunkin Donuts

Early this morning, a pick-up truck drove past the curb and hit the front of Dunkin Donuts on White Plains Road. Thankfully, nobody was injured. According to Elan DeCarlo, a sophomore here at THS, “the driver of the vehicle thought it was the drive-through.” A few windows were shattered, but no serious damage was done. The Trumbull Police were immediately on their way and are currently investigating the incident. The restaurant made a speedy recovery; as of 11:15 a.m., it was open for business.

Fly It By The Eagle's Eye

I don’t have time to do homework after work. What do I do?
Balancing homework with our daily lives can be challenge; whether it is sports, work, or after school activities, many students at Trumbull High find themselves coming home during dinner time. They’re tired and exhausted, but still have about three hours of homework to do before hitting the bed. So what do you do? Time management is key. The best way to manage your time is by making a schedule. Calculate every minute of your day and schedule your homework in those extra fifteen or twenty minutes you have free. You may find that you have quite a few of these small chunks of time and they can add up quickly to 3 hours. You can always try and multitask during your free periods; eat your lunch while you do your homework or try and get to school early so that you have time before class to finish up your work. But remember, school always come first. If you feel as if you’re struggling with coursework, you should think about your priorities; you may have to sacrifice one of your hobbies in order to find time for homework.

What can you do on your first date in Trumbull?
The Bow Tie Marquis Cinema is probably the best place to go for your first date. It’s really the only place in Trumbull for teens besides the mall. It also adds a less stressful environment since you don’t have to make small talk if you’re completely nervous. Avoid the mall at all costs; not only will you prevent your date from having wandering eyes, your date might also feel uncomfortable if they feel like they have to buy you something. Marie’s Sandwich Shop in Trumbull Center, which is now open after dark, is also a great place to go and eat; you might want to go to Starbucks to have a coffee and nice chat as well. The Parlor Rock has a beautiful trail too, if you want to go for a walk or bike ride.

Grading Obama

On Tuesday November 4^th, 2008 history was made with the election of the first African American president and on January 20, 2009 he took office. During the time period before president Obama took office he chose cabinet members sooner than any other president in history. It seemed at the time like Obama had a plan and was ready hit the ground running once he was in office. Now about a year later after all the campaign promises and the debates, is President Obama living up to his word? Is he a better president than former president Bush?

So far on the list of successes for President Obama, he has worked rapidly to try and get America out of its economic depression. His cash for clunkers plan boosted auto sales for American companies. His bailout money helped get America out from the bottom of America’s economic depression. For all his effort and success I would give him an A on this issue.

Obama still faces many challenges one being the War in Afghanistan. He will soon have to decide whether or not to add additional troops to Afghanistan. In Iraq he must keep one of his campaign promises to withdraw troops. We will have to wait and see what Mr. Obama does in the coming weeks. However the House Armed Services chairman, Ike Skelton urged Obama to focus mainly on Afghanistan and not Iraq. He warned Obama not to make the same mistake as former President Bush made in 2003. In my opinion President Obama has made no major mistake in Afghanistan but has not made any great steps forward besides sending more troops to Afghanistan earlier this year so I would give him a C. I feel sending more young men and women will not help. The Soviet Union also tried a similar plan in the 1980’s but it failed.

Many would argue that President Obama’s greatest challenge right now by far would be the battle over healthcare. American healthcare is currently ranked 37^th out of 191 countries world wide. President Obama does have a legitimate reason to want to reform healthcare in America. He promises not to raise taxes for people making under $250,000 in his healthcare plan. It is estimated that this plan will cost about $856 billion over the next 10 years. Many Americans believe that if President Obama’s plan is passed then there will be long lines in doctor’s offices and the overall quality of healthcare would go down. Others argue that it will insure that this plan will benefit the millions of families struggling without health insurance. According to Cnn.com 86.7 million American families were uninsured between 2007 and 2008. I feel that Obama is working hard and trying to be bipartisan with his proposed bill. I would give Obama B on this issue. Opponents still argue that under this plan people making over $280,000 a year and businesses will face the burden of the cost for this program.

I think President Obama’s biggest mistake was getting involved in a fight between a Harvard professor and a Cambridge police officer in which he called the police stupid for arresting long time friend Henry Louis Gates. This was unlike the President’s usual careful choice of words. This was a mistake, however, President Obama was quick to apologize for his choice of words after his original statement. Besides this isolated incident, I do not think President Obama had made any major mistakes.

Overall I think Obama deserves a B. He has faced the toughest economic recession since the Great depression and was left with two wars when he took office. Has he done everything right, no but at the same time no President is ever completely right because there is always someone who disagrees.

Kevin Choi

Staff Writer

JV Soccer Update

Yesterday afternoon Trumbull girls J.V soccer played Bridgeport Central and emerged victorious! The final score 6-0. The first five goals were scored within the first sixteen minutes of the game. Even though Trumbull dominated the game, the Bridgeport Central girls never gave up and fought hard until the end. This is the first year that Central has a J.V team and the team needs to be given credit for trying their hardest even though they may be less experienced than other teams in the conference. Other games that took place last night were J.V football and Varsity volleyball; both teams prevailed.

Camille Bova

Krista Veikos

Staff Writers

Senior tradition gets a little nontraditional

It is a tradition that every year the seniors take pictures on the bleachers and spell out various things such as “SENIORS 2010,” or “BEST FRIENDS UNTIL THE END -SENIORS 2010.” However, this year things were not only a little more creative than before but were also a little more catty. While one group spelt out, “Don’t Act Like You’re Not Impressed!”, another responded back on their shirts, “We’re Not.” . Although there was a minor dispute over the “We’re not” shirts, the makers of the shirts assured the student body that they didn't mean any harm. Other than that, some of the other shirts were, “CAUTION!” with girls wearing hard hats as a theme of the construction currently happening at THS, “THS 2010”, and “In 10 Years We’ll Still Look This Good”. One student even dressed as “Where’s Waldo?” for the picture. It seems that the classic “Seniors 2010” has gone out the window to make room for more creative ideas, which just shows the spirit and the character of the Senior Class of 2010.

Rio would be a great bid...if it was going up against Liverpool, Saigon, or Baghdad

When we think of the four candidates for the 2016 Olympic bid, we think of classy, exciting, somewhere where i would actually like to see the Olympics. So when I found out who got the bid, I was shocked and appalled. Rio de Janeiro. Really. Now, don't get me wrong, Rio would be a great bid...if it was going up against Liverpool, Saigon, or Baghdad. There is only one time I would ever want to go to Rio, Carnival. But for the other 361 days of the year, Rio is just a mess where gang violence runs the city. Rio has the number one most gun crimes in Brazil and in 2006; there were 2273 homicides in Rio. Not only are the deaths by civilians off the charts but the police are just as bad. American police killed only 347 people in all of the United States during 2006. In Rio, the police killed 1,063 people, in just one city. Rio will also have the second smallest main stadium in over 60 years, with Olimpic Stadium holding only 60,000 people. (Madrid in 1992 was the first) Madrid's main stadium will hold 73,000. Chicago has one stadium for nearly every event, as well as the second largest convention center for indoor events like gymnastics and weigh lifting, not to mention, it would house all IOC (International Olympic Committee) and USOC (United States Olympic Committee) press offices. Chicago's main airport, O'Hare International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world. The Chicago region is served by two other major commercial airports, Midway and Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport, along with several smaller airports. The city is served by all major worldwide airlines, and O'Hare is an international hub for both American and United Airlines, while Midway is a hub for domestic carrier Southwest Airlines. There is also a considerable network of rail lines and interstate highways in the region. Chicago has over 30,000 hotel rooms in the immediate downtown area alone, and it has the largest skilled-labor workforce in the US catering to conventions and other large-scale media events. Also, the USOC planned to build a 80,000 seat stadium adjacent to Soldier Field which would result in dueling Opening And Closing Ceremonies. Why wouldn't you want that? I know I would be enthralled by it.

So now we're stuck with Rio. Now if I'm in Rio in 2016, which is where I would like to be only for the fact that there would be an Olympic Games being held, if i was there I would probably be enjoying myself. I'd go and enjoy the tram up Sugarloaf Mountain, see Christ the Redeemer, visit the famous Botafogo neighborhood, and enjoy the world's game in its purest form. All this while hiding from the drug lords running the Shantytown which actually spill into the tourist areas. Unlike most major cities, where there is a buffer zone between the upper class and the drug-lord-run towns, in Rio, its everywhere.

There has been a lot of discussion about why exactly Rio got the 2016 bid. Most seem to believe that it's because of Rio's need for an economic boom. But at this point, what city doesn't need an economic boom. Now the citizens of Rio will be stuck with a massive price tag which may or may not be offset by the economic gains of the Olympics. In Chicago, the McDonald's Corporation was expected to help cover many of the costs similarly to the way Coca-Cola did in Atlanta. Since the McDonald's Headquarters is only 20 miles outside Chicago and McDonald's is already a title sponsor of the Olympic Brand, it was the perfect fit. In addition, according to Chicago2016.org, the official Olympic bid website, all debts not covered by the sponsors, will be covered mostly by the Federal Government. The state would only be left with 15% of what the Federal Government was covering.

Why the IOC didn't choose Chicago we will never know, but the real question here is why was Rio chosen. I congratulate the citizens of Rio on 6 years of construction, millions of headaches and tax dollars spent. See you in 2016!

Brett Rosen

Co-Editor in Chief

Eagles Coast to Victory over Westhill

For the past few years, Trumbull Football has had a shadow cast over it by the power of the rest of the FCIAC.

In arguably the toughest conference in the state, Trumbull's talent has been lost in the powerhouses of Greenwich, Staples, and New Canaan. This, ladies and gentlemen, is their coming out party.

Trumbull Football gave us a look into their crystal ball last season at their game against cross-town rival St Joesph's. They crushed the traditionally solid team in the most anticipated game of the season. And now, they're doing it every week, this season.

Now with two games left on the road, the Eagles save their biggest challenges for the Mack. (McDougall Stadium) After this week's game versus Norwalk, the Eagle's get Greenwich, Stamford, Danbury, Ridgefield, Staples, all at home except one (Stamford) in the final push toward the big game on Thanksgiving.

After what coach Bob Maffei called a "sloppy week"win the previous week's victory over Wilton, Trumbull rebounded beautifully and went on to win last weekend 35-0 over the Vikings of Westhill.

Trumbull's ground attack split through the Westhill line which lead to over 200 yards of rushing. 178 of those yards came from Seniors Mike Romano (QB) and Will Melvin (RB).

In the air, Mike Romano balanced the strong running game with sharp passes including a touchdown pass to Junior Phil Terio.

late in the fourth quarter, after four touchdowns, the Eagles were confident in their victory over Westhill, but they weren't done yet. After a great block by junior Will Testani, Will Melvin drove himself through the Mack Truck size of a hole and rush down the field for a 60 yard touchdown run.

On defense, the Eagles ferociously stood their ground, even causing fumbles (Steve Sam), and interceptions (Anthony Matera). Coach Maffei called his defense "Solid", and they "made no mistakes." The Eagles coasted to a 35-0 victory over Westhill and brought some attention to itself.

The Eagles need to work on their penalties, however. Even coach Maffei called his team "the most penalized team in the country."

This weekend they look to improve on that and they face the challenging Norwalk. Coach Maffei is confident and is looking for a battle, "it should be a battle, everywhere is a battle."

Brett Rosen

Co-Editor in Chief