Wilkes-barre

Anna Lowery 
Feb. 3, 1994 
Anna M. Lowery, Of The Little Flower Manor, Wilkes-barre, Died Thursday In The 
Manor.

By JENNIFER LEARN; Times Leader Hazleton Bureau
 Saturday, February 05, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS
FIND THEIR VOICE IN SCHOOL NEWSPAPER 





HAZLETON -- A crew of cub reporters has been stirring controversy and
lively discussions at Hazleton Junior High School through their school
newspaper. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In a recent issue of the Castle Chronicle, ninth-grader Ryan Kelly
criticized the policy to keep the school locked to students until 7:35 a.m. in
his article, "Too Cold to Cry Out." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Vito Logudic, also a ninth-grader, is writing an editorial on building
problems at the central high school. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And eighth-grader Kathleen Steven described a program that makes students
volunteer for community service to graduate. Most readers were relieved the
program was implemented at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, not Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The articles stem from the newspaper staff's efforts to draw teens into
news they normally consider boring. This year the staff agreed to fight
teenage apathy toward world news and school policies by focusing more on
investigating important topics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "How many kids go home and read about what's happening in Bosnia? Most of
them are more worried about who they're taking to the dance or what they'll
wear tomorrow," said Logudic, 14, of Hazleton, editor of the Castle Chronicle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I don't think kids know enough about what's happening in the world," said
Kelly, 14, of Drums. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gun control. Television violence. Stereotypes. No subject is too complex or
controversial for the 55 eighth- and ninth-graders who create the paper four
times a year. The paper's circulation is 1,400. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Castle Chronicle is really more than a school newspaper. We're the only
source of news some kids get," Logudic said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ninth-grader Maria Marsicano, 14, of Hazleton, is considering conducting a
student poll on whether ice skater Tonya Harding should go to the Olympics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We have to be careful what we say," Marsicano said. "We don't want to turn
our paper into a tabloid. We want to be factual, but not to the point that
we're boring." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kelly, dubbed the "investigative writer" of the bunch, is asking fellow
students whether they ever felt discriminated against by local businesses
because they are teenagers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 English and foreign language teacher Dolores M. Norce oversees the staff in
between classes, during lunch and after school. The group raises the $1,200 it
needs to print papers annually through candy sales and donations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The group named the Castle Chronicle after the towers on the junior high
school building on North Wyoming Street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 School principal Edward Ecker said the newspaper is a medium for teenagers
to vent their frustrations and feelings, which is important during junior high
school years filled with peer pressure and turmoil about the opposite sex. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Kids learn that other kids have the same feelings, whether about academics
or world issues. The articles can show students that it's OK to be scared,
afraid or different, that they're not alone," Ecker said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although Ecker already planned to open the school doors earlier than usual
during the cold weather, Kelly's article reaffirmed the decision. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He took a shot at me, but I didn't get mad," Ecker said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/BOB ESPOSITO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Editor Vito Logudic, Ryan Kelly and Meagan Murphy discuss the layout of the
next edition of the Castle Chronicle at Hazleton Junior High School

Junior High Students Find Their Voice In School Newspaper If It Matters To Teens, Then It Matters To The Ambitious Staff Of The Castle Chronicle