FHSTheFlash The Flash Volume 46, Issue 1 October 2005

The

Flash

Fraser High School - 34270 Garfield Road. Fraser, Michigan 48026 - Issue 1 - October 2005

Hurricane Katrina: Death and destruction

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

Jerica Pitts ‘08

news that she was one of accepted to compete for the title
of “Miss Teen of Michigan.”
“My mom brought it into my
In the hallways of Fraser High
School you tend to bump into room the day it came in the mail.
everybody without taking a sec- We opened it together and
ond glance at who they are. Just started to scream,” Hinchman
the same happens if you were says.
The competition came quickly
to run into Senior, Nicole
Hinchman. She looks like the and Hinchman’s average life
typical teenage girl; in reality was about to change into something new. The competition inshe is much more.
During the summer of 2005 volved a series of interviews, a
the Miss Teen of America pag- general awareness test a pereant was taking place at Cen- sonality and poise test. After all
tral Michigan University in late was said and done Hinchman
July. Before the competition took home the title of Miss Teen
could begin, a process of apply- of Michigan.
ing was necessary. Out of “It was such an amazing feelroughly 700 applicants only 70 ing to stand on stage in front of
were able to compete. The ap- hundreds of people, knowing I
plication required a review of won for who I am, not based
on my appearance,”
said Hinchman.
Hinchman was
also awarded with a
$1,000 cash scholarship, $500 savings
bond and $250 for
Fraser High School.
Although the prizes
were appreciated
Hinchman believes
the real prize will be
the result of the next
two
years.
“I think it’s important to stress to teens
that you can accomplish anything you desire,” said Hinchman.
“In the next two
Nicole Hinchman won the title of Miss years I hope to make
Teen of Michigan in the summer of 2005. a difference.”
Hinchman will
keep her title as Miss Teen
academic achievement, community service and personal Michigan for the next two
years. She will be competing in
achievements.
One of Hinchman’s main rea- regionals (via mail) and if that
sons for applying was because goes well look to see her at the
the competition was not based nationals in Minnesota.
Congratulations from everyon the physical traits of a teenage girl; it dealt with academ- one at Fraser High School and
good luck in your upcoming
ics and personality.
After several months of an- competition.
ticipation Hinchman received
Flash Staff Reporter

Hurricane Katrina destroyed not only people’s lives but their homes and their happy memories there.
Photo courtesy of www.fema.gov

“We were very lucky.
Everything we lost
were things that can
be replaced.” - Tom
Crew
By Sarah Zealewski ‘06
Flash Staff Reporter
Passing west through Florida,
tropical storm Katrina was being closely monitored by the
weather stations for the chance
of becoming a hurricane. Little
did the weather stations know
that, that chance would become
a reality.
While building up power in the
Gulf Coast, tropical storm
Katrina became a full- blown
hurricane that threatened the
cities along the Gulf Coast.
On August 29th, Katrina’s
fury was fast approaching and
was proposed to hit the United
States by morning. On August
30th, hurricane Katrina made
landfall. She was a category
five hurricane that brought extreme damage and winds up to
175 miles per hour.
Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi with an unimaginable
force. Many inches of rain fell
in a matter of an hour and there
was total darkness. Roofs and
houses were being ripped a
part, windows shattered, and
trees were being uplifted by
their roots. There was massive
flooding everywhere and
Katrina knocked out power to
over a million people.
Katrina just missed hitting
New Orleans head on but the
city was still ruined. It was built
on land fifteen feet below sea

level so it was completely
flooded.
Many people were robbed
and stores were looted from.
They had a fear of never being
able to get out of the flooded
areas. They feared the rats, alligators, and water moccasins
(snakes) that were lurking in the
floodwater. They went days
without food or sleep. Others
needed medical treatment. Others fled to the superdome for
shelter.
It was estimated that Katrina
killed over ten thousand people
and hundreds of thousands lost
their homes, their belongings,
and their lives that they once
knew of before Katrina terrorized their cities. She left them
with nothing.
It will take at least two
months for New Orleans to be
drained out. The money
needed to rebuild these cities
will cost in the billions. Thousands of people will need all the
help they can get while others
will need help to bury the dead.
Mississippi’s infrastructure
will need to be rebuilt. There
are no roads to drive on and
there are no schools for kids.
Hurricane Katrina’s impact
on the Gulf Coast cities makes
people realize how fortunate
they are and reminds them of
the most powerful force on
Earth: Mother Nature.
Between the Red Cross,
F.E.M.A. and every cities and
countries effort, there are many
relief funds towards helping the
victims and rebuilding the cities that have been hit by hurricane Katrina. Call the Red
Cross at 1-800-HELP-NOW.
The money will be directly sent
to the victims of the hurricane.

Sending money always helps
but also send care packages to
the victims containing helpful
items: like fresh water, toiletries, food and clothing. The basics go a long way.
Even though hurricane
Katrina hit hundreds of miles
from here, it still affects Fraser
in many ways. Mrs. Rorai’s
brother, Tom Crew, lives in
Biloxi, Mississippi. He lost his
home and all of his belongings
because of hurricane Katrina.
“We were very lucky. Everything we lost were just things
that can be replaced,” he said.
Also, students of FHS have
made announcements about the
relief fu