February 2011 Chatterbox - Ruston High School

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Ruston High School February 14, 2011 Page 24
An Eagle Scout Walks the Halls of Ruston High
by Amber Brown
Senior Editor
Thomas Gray Taylor, both a member of Chatterbox and FBLA, has earned the Eagle Scout rank, and according to statistics, only four percent
of boy scouts across the country make it to this prestigious ranking.
Gray has been a member of the Boy Scouts since he was twelve, but was a member of the Cub Scouts since kindergarten. He is a member
Troop 59, along with other Bearcats: John Ramsaur, Nicona Lacy, Hunter Humble, Logan Young, and Mark Weir.
One of the requirements to become an Eagle Scout is to earn a minimum of twenty-one merit badges, but Gray excelled and earned a total of
twenty-five! As a another major requirement, a scout has to lead his own Eagle Project that benefits the community; as Gray‘s project, he chose to
help the Ruston Community Theatre renovate, organize, and relocate their props and set pieces with a group of other volunteers. Once the project
was completed, it was time for the most important part of a scout‘s life, the Eagle Scout Board of Review. He prepared for this monumental day
by studying the handbook and reviewing basics (knots, first-aid, etc.), and he ended up over preparing, but that goes along with the Scout‘s Motto
is to ―Be Prepared.‖ So, congratulations, Gray Taylor on your awesome achievement!
Happily Never After
The Story of Divorce
Information accessed at: http://www.divorcerate.org/
submitted by Justin Welch
RHS sophomore
Divorce destroys family relationships faster than almost anything else. Not
only does it affect the parent‘s lives, it affects their children‘s lives drastically if
they have any. The United State ranks number one in divorces with Puerto Rico
at a close second. On average, 43% of the marriages in America end in divorce
every year. In 2009, there were 2,355,005 divorces and the number is constantly
growing! For every marriage one person has after their first one, there is
a higher percentage rate of the next marriage also failing. Sorry ladies, but according
to divorcerate.org, women who marry under the age of 20 years file for
divorce over twice as much as the men.
Fortunately though, 67% of all divorces are between two people who are
childless. Children of divorce typically act like things are okay or that they
don‘t care, but the truth is, most of them are feeling pain and it is sometimes
hurting them on the inside. They may go into a depressive state or feel like
there is nothing left for them. Parents and children‘s relationships get torn apart
because the children feel resentment towards parents for splitting up.
Kids also think that just because their parents don‘t live together, they have
to choose where to live. In most case, parents should have a joint-custody
where kids are allowed to go visit both parents on an equal time scale. Frankly,
divorce is never the answer but it all depends on how the divorce goes down in
court. No matter how bad things may seem, divorce only makes things worse.
So if your parents are divorced or choose to get divorced (which I hope
never happens), don‘t get yourself down. Hold your head up and go on with
your life and make sure that you don‘t make the same mistake when you
choose to get married.
According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America:
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%
Age Women Men
Age at marriage
for those who
divorce in
America:
Under 20 years old 27.6% 11.7%
20 to 24 years old 36.6% 38.8%
25 to 29 years old 16.4% 22.3%
30 to 34 years old 8.5% 11.6%
35 to 39 years old 5.1% 6.5%