A note from the coordinator Sue Ann Gerhard: A special “thank you” to Bruce Frassinelli for his comments on tnonline regarding the Carbon County Student News column.

Mr. Frassinelli is a longtime journalist for several newspapers, and I am extremely pleased that the “Student Column” sparked his interest.

After reading this submission from Mr. Frassinelli, I must say, I am truly delighted that someone of his stature appreciates what these students are accomplishing.

Thank you to the students for continuing your great work.

Also, thank you principals for allowing your talented students to participate in this unlimited opportunity and to the Times News for sponsoring this column.

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

By Isabel Wentz

CCTI will be hosting a winter semiformal on Feb. 2. The event will be hosted at CCTI’s cafeteria from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Students are permitted to bring a date/partner, but must have a signed permission slip for that person, and admission will be charged if they are not a student at CCTI.

The Buzz Newspaper is officially printed and will be distributed in Lehighton, Palmerton, Panther Valley, Weatherly, and Jim Thorpe.

Members of the National Honor Society are selling meat sticks to raise funds for their organization. If interested, contact any member of the NTHS. They are awesome!

The National Technical Honor Society is conducting a fundraiser for 2022-2023.

Rite Aid has teamed up with schools to support organizations and raise funds for student activities.

Anyone can participate - it is free - and it will benefit NTHS. All store purchases will qualify.

Simple steps to participate: click on https://bit.ly/3JlMrYZ and follow the steps and you are ready to support our students.

You can also transfer your existing prescriptions to Rite Aid. Every time you fill a prescription and use your Rite Aid Rewards, you’re helping to support NTHS. For each qualified prescription or in-store purchase at Rite Aid using your Rite Aid Rewards account, NTHS will receive funds from RXfundraising.

Invite your friends and family to help support Carbon Career & Technical Institute too! Just share this custom registration link.

Thank you so much for supporting our students.

Students in AP English are selling Gertrude Hawk candy bars

The Salon will be open to the public the week of Jan. 30 through Feb. 3 on the dates/times listed below:

Call 570-325-3682 ext. 1129 for an appointment.

• Monday (11 a.m.-1 p.m.), Spa services and environment only, no chemicals.

• Feb. 3 (8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), all services.

Lehighton

By Josiah Kimmel and Gabriella De Dea

First off we would just like to say thank you to Bruce Frassinelli for giving us such a kind shout-out on Jan. 19. It was greatly appreciated!

This week in Lehighton a lot of the buzz has quieted down. The cheerleaders returned from states in Hershey and had a successful weekend. Senior night for the boys basketball team and for the cheerleaders will be on Feb. 3, so please come out and support their night.

FBLA continues to sell their tickets for their upcoming cash prize bingo, and is planning for their Make-A-Wish fundraiser that will be held in early March. More information and events will be upcoming later on, so stay tuned for next week.

Weatherly

By Michael Berger and Kelly Michaels

Kicking off this week in Weatherly our service activities are in full swing.

The Kindness Club food collection for families in need is still accepting donations.

The Interact Club will also be holding a bake sale to raise profits for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The bake sale will take place on Feb. 3 as well as the senior recognition night here at Weatherly.

The cross country and girls softball teams will be receiving their division banners as well.

Thank you for your support, Wreckers!

Panther Valley

By River Knoblauch and Kyle Lin

Athletic Updates:

Basketball: Feb. 3 is a special day for the Panther Valley basketball program, which is dedicated to honoring the life of Panther Valley girls basketball Coach Brian Carol.

Last Saturday, the girls team held their Senior Night for their class of 2023 member. This solo senior Sera Robin surpassed the school record for career three-pointers on her Senior Night against Salisbury High School, securing a 66-35 win alongside her team.

The Panther Valley boys basketball team won the first half against Pine Grove last Friday, but lost a close match with a final score of 59-57. However, the team made a comeback 77-56 victory the following Saturday against Hamburg. On Tuesday, the boys will face Pottsville at home.

Wrestling: The Panther Valley Wrestling program, which has just restarted this 2022-2023 school year, participated in this year’s Coal Cracker Tournament. Riyell Wann took first place in the JV tournament in the 173-pound bracket, and Jah Bushati placed second in the JV tournament in the 135-pound bracket.

School Updates: Brent Reabold, the Panther Valley JSHS Physics and STEAM teacher, and winner of the December Staff of the Month, will be busing his students to the Blue Mountain Ski Resort for a snow tubing trip. On this annual trip, students get to incorporate the physics of friction into a fun day’s worth of snow tubing.

Palmerton

By Natalie Mosier and Kira Hauser

The week of Jan. 16 was a very busy one at Palmerton Area Senior High School. The students wrapped up the end of semester one and then had two days of final exams. Our new semester then started on Thursday with the students reporting to their new classes.

Maddie Everett, a member of the junior class, will be competing at ArtsQuest in the Poetry Out Loud competition. She will be competing against students from schools in Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. Admission to the event is free.

The Drama Club has started rehearsals for their performance of “Grease” after a successful production of “White Christmas” in December. We are excitedly looking forward to seeing “Grease” in April in the high school auditorium.

And finally, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, senior Beth Morgan scored her 1,000th point for the basketball team. A junior football and basketball player, Matt Machalik, was honored at halftime of a recent basketball game for being named the 2022 Times News Player of the Year. Matt rewrote the record books for Palmerton football this past season.

A senior CCTI/Palmerton student, Josh Reif, was selected for the PMEA District 10 Band. Their concert will take place on Feb. 10 at Nazareth Area High School.

Carbon Student Updates is a weekly feature compiled by Sue Ann Gerhard at Carbon Career & Technical Institute.