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Vol. 78, No. 21, May 24, 197.
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Susquehanna Times & The Mount J
MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA.
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WOR 1040
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FIFTEEN CENTS
A smouldering issue
Massive crackdown on student smoking at DHS involves
locked bathrooms, federally-paid “sniffers’’ prowling the halls.
The kids still smoke.
American public schools
have been trying to prevent
students from smoking for
at least a hundred years.
Tom Sawyer played hookey
to smoke his pipe, and
most grandfathers can
remember how they or
their friends lit up behind
the outhouse near a
one-room school, or
sneaked a smoke in the
lavatory in the new
consolidated schools.
In those days, smoking
was considered a foul-
smelling but relatively
harmless vice, and arbi-
trary rules like the smoking
ban were not questioned by
anybody—not even by the
puffing students.
Things have changed.
Secretary Clifano’s anti-
smoking campaign has
brought to the news media
a growing debate between
those who see smoking as a
right and those who want
to ban it as a menace to
non-smokers as well as
to those who smoke.
Smoking has become an
‘‘issue’’ everywhere, in-
cluding the schools. Some
people think the students
have a ‘“‘right’”’ to smoke.
Other people think that
teachers, as well as
students, should be forced
to give up the smoking
habit.
This issue has been
smouldering at Donegal
High, as at most high
schools, for years. This last
year the administration
launched a new attack on
student smoking with two
federally-paid CETA work-
ers, who are technically
secretaries, but who are
universally referred to as
‘‘sniffers.’” The sniffers
hang out around the lava-
tories, where students
smoke, and try to catch
violators of the cigarette
prohibition.
In addition, the school
has taken to closing lava-
tories which are not
watched by sniffers. De-
spite these vigorous mea-
sures, smoking continues in
DHS.
Several local schools
have set up smoking
lounges to solve this
universal headache. There
is a state law against any
minor smoking on school
property, but the law is
never enforced.
These smoking lounges
at other schools have
worked out fairly well,
although they cause the
school district some pro-
blems. For example,
parents sometimes blame
the school if their child
starts smoking.
Other nearby schools
have banned smoking for
everyone, including the
teachers. This causes pro-
blems too. The local
teachers’ union generally
protests, and nicotine-
addicted teachers become
indignant, uncomfortable,
and unable to concentrate
on their work. They may
even start sneaking into the
lavatories to smoke, which
is hardly a good example
for the students.
Last week the Times
spoke to students, teachers
and administrators at DHS.
Opinions were sharply
divided.
Most of the teachers and
administrators were oppos-
ed to establishing a
smoking lounge. Most of
the students were in favor
of one, many pointing out
that the teachers and
administrators can smoke if
they choose to. ‘‘Teachers
can burn down the building
just as fast as we can,”
said student Jenny Freed.
Other, non-smoking -stu-
dents, also wanted a
lounge, because they don’t
like being exposed to the
smoke and soggy butts that
now fill the lavatories.
Student Pat Kenney III told
us that a lounge ‘“‘would be
a good idea. When you go
into the lav you can’t
breathe, and when you
come out you smell like
smoke. It’s unhealthy for
every student who doesn’t
smoke.’’ Another student
said, ‘‘Get the smokers
out. It’s a mess in there.’’
Most of the pro-lounge
students (mostly smokers)
simply felt it is unfair that
teachers can smoke and not
students.
Several students we
spoke with were against
the lounge idea. ‘‘I feel
that any money used for a
smoking lounge would be
foolishly spent,’’ said a
student council member.
““The money should go to
our education.’”’ Student
Vickie Fogie noted that a
lounge might increase
smoking among students
by ‘‘making the non
-smokers feel left out.”’
However, the majority of
students wanted a lounge
either to smoke in, because
of fire hazards and mess in
the lavatories, to unlock the
unpatrolled lavatories, and
to reduce friction between
students and teachers. A
student who transferred
here from a school with a
lounge said that ‘‘it worked
out very well’’ at her old
school.
Teachers tended to be
split down the middle on
the issue. Some came out
strongly against permitting
smoking, like Jack W.W.
Loose, who said, ‘‘I am
totally against any kind of
smoking in the school. It
should be stopped by
everyone in the school.”
‘“‘Sniffer’” Carol Jackson
said, ‘‘I don’t feel that
there should be a smoking
lounge, because it encour-
ages smoking, and smoking
is bad for your health.”
An administrator, who
asked not to be quoted by
name, said that the lounges
in other schools caused
trouble when ‘‘the novelty
wore off.”” Kids began
making trouble, he said,
and students took to
forging the parental per-
mission slips that gained
them access to the lounge.
According to the BOCCA
Code, students caught
smoking can be fined. The
district was considering
this earlier this school year
as part of the war on
cigarettes.
Planned tax hike is 3 mills
in preliminary budget for Donegal school district
Last Thursday the School
Board met and gave
approval for preliminary
adoption of the 1978-79
school district budget. If
finally adopted, the tax rate
will rise three mills, from
103 to 106.
Most of the costs of the
various aspects of running
school district have increas-
ed by a few percent, which
can be accounted for by
inflation. The new budget
will raise the cost of
administration by .1%, for
example, and the cost of
instruction by 7.0%. Oper-
ation, and maintenance will
go down 18.5%, and
capital outlay down a
whopping 60.6%.
The cost of roof repairs
and heating system repairs
at DHS and Beahm will be
covered by a $200,000 loan.
Last year the board
estimated the amount to be
borrowed at $250,000, but
the repairs cost less than
anticipated. The loan will
be paid off in four years,
with the first payment next
year.
The budget shows a
balance from last year of
$366,752. The proposed
budget shows local incom-
ing revenues up 8.9% over
last year to $4,410,290;
state monies up 10.1% to
$1,725,921; and federal
dollars rising 34.9% over
last year to $106,611.
Final adoption of the
proposed budget is slated
for the June 15th board
meeting. The budget will
be advertised and will be
available for inspection in
the district office at the
Washington School until
then.
. Donegal’s share of the
Vo-Tech budget is estimat-
ed at $153,330.06, and the
diversified occupation bud-
get share at $7,143.13.
In other action the board
re-appointed National Cen-
tral Bank as district
[continued on page8]
Rev. Steedle of Maytown Reformed
by Linda Good
On Sunday, May 12,
Reverend Mr. Edgar
Steedle of the Maytown .
Reformed Church celebrat-
ed his tenth year in the
ministry. He was presented
with a plaque honoring
him for serving the United
Church of Christ since
1968.
Mr. Steedle is the son of
Mrs. Steedle and the late
Elroy Wilson Steedle.
He graduated from the
University of Delaware in
1950, and received a
Bachelor of Mechanical
Engineering Degree. On
May 27, 1968, he was
granted the Bachelor of
Divinity Degree by Lancas-
ter Theological Seminary.
Prior to attending the
University of Delaware he
served in the United States
Navy from March 1942
until June 1946. Following
college he was employed as
a mechanical engineer for
fourteen years.
Mr. Steedle and the
former Mrs. Carolyn C.
Nye of Millersville Pa.
were married on July 9,
1977. Their combined fa-
mily includes six children
and six grandchildren.
Rev. Steedle served as,
pastor of The Trinity
U.C.C. in Glen Rock, PA.
prior
for nine years
to coming to Maytown.
He was installed as pas-
tor of the Maytown Re-
formed Church on February
12, 1978. We are happy to,
welcome him into our:
14
community.