Area students are writing a weekly column for the Times News. The column is being coordinated by Sue Ann Gerhard from Carbon Career & Technical Institute.

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

Gracie Heintzelman

This week as a Times-News Correspondent for CCTI, there are a few things I would like to talk about. The first thing is that CCTI is hosting a Bag Bingo and Basket Raffle from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 9. Tickets are $25 and the event will be held in the CCTI cafeteria. Doors will open at 4 p.m. and the game will begin at 6 p.m. The bingo will benefit more than 300 CCTI students. For more information call 570-325-3682, ext. 1500.

I would also like to congratulate the CCTI DECA students who placed at districts on Dec. 19 at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville. First place winners were Savannah Klotz, Breydon Hand, Jalin Burns and Makenna Montefour. Second place winner was Jordyn Drumbore. Third place winners were Sapphira Marcozzi and Jalin Burns. Fourth place winners were Victoria Brown and Breydon Hand. Fifth place winners were Alex Damron and Sapphira Marcozzi. Sixth place winners were Haley Hartung, Lillian Heydt, Kyra Moore, Elizabeth Lutte, DaShae Brubacker, Natalya Rivera, Syndey Amorim, and Sierra Scheier. Seventh place winners were Javion King, Trent Hausman, Grace Politi, Haley Kuehner, Brooklynne Winger, and Jazzelle Keyser. Congratulations again to all the students who placed.

The Winter Masquerade Dance has been postponed until Friday, Jan. 26. If any student is still interested in purchasing tickets, they may do so until Wednesday.

Lehighton High School

Koy Wentz and Abby Bauder

Hi readers, a lot has been happening in our great community of Lehighton.

A major upcoming sport event was held at Lehighton High School and Lehighton Elementary Center. The Coal Cracker Wrestling Tournament is a wrestling tournament in which wrestlers from all over the commonwealth and nearby states competed. The wrestling tournament was held Friday and Saturday.

The high school will be giving students the opportunity to learn CPR. The class will be held after school, and it will allow students to gain the knowledge of how to perform CPR. This useful class can also be used as a piece of evidence for a student’s graduation pathway, here at the high school.

LCCC will be providing an informational session for any 10th grade student interested in learning more about educational opportunities that are offered by Lehigh Carbon Community College through the dual enrollment and the College Scholars program. These programs offer students the ability to earn college credits through LCCC while still in high school.

Also, group tutoring is occurring at the high school. Chemistry and Biology tutoring sessions are available. Tutoring allows students who may be struggling in a particular class to seek help from an experienced individual.

Finally, shout out to Aidan Gruber who won his second straight Schuylkill League title and also claimed his 100th career victory. Also, congratulations to Reese Balk who won the Schuylkill League Championship at heavyweight.

Jim Thorpe High School

Gabriella Cerra

At the PA FBLA Region 21 Leadership Conference, held at Palmerton High School on Thursday, Jan. 4, qualifiers for the State Leadership Conference, to be hosted at Hershey from April 7-10 were announced. Candidates for regional officer positions gave their speeches and were voted on. In addition to this, Region 21 announced the addition of two new chapters, Jim Thorpe’s district’s middle schools, Penn Kidder Elementary and LB Morris Elementary. From Jim Thorpe, presidential candidate Jonathan Duffy succeeded and is now the PA FBLA Region 21 president. Congratulations to Jonathan. As far as State Leadership Conference qualifiers go, Jim Thorpe had an impressive 85 students: 13 first place, 12 second place, 11 third place, 17 fourth place, 18 fifth place, and 14 sixth place.

First place

• Gavin Baker, Management Information Systems;

• Gabriella Cerra, Introduction to Financial Math;

• Jack Decker, Parliamentary Procedure;

• Joseph Demarco, Parliamentary Procedure;

• Jonathan Duffy, Cybersecurity;

• Tobias Garner, Parliamentary Procedure;

• Adam Kosciolek, Network Design;

• Autumn McKenna, UX Design;

• Logan O’Connor, Parliamentary Procedure;

• Arianna Onofre, Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure;

• Grace Ossowski, Help Desk;

• Noah Pastor, Parliamentary Procedure;

• Makena Scherer, Management Information Systems;

Second place

• Aubrey Bonner, Advertising;

• Luke Bosi, Network Design;

• Chris Chowaniec, Banking and Financial Systems;

• Kyle George, Broadcast Journalism;

• Zachary Grosse, Banking and Financial Systems;

• Aubrey Holland, Business Management;

• Conor Holland, Network Infrastructures;

• Cooper Kresge, Banking and Financial Systems;

• Mara Levins, Business Management;

• Logan O’Shura, Introduction to Business Concepts;

• Alexander Plesniarski, Computer Problem Solving;

• Lena Quezada, Introduction to Business Communications;

Third place

• Bowden Chicarelli, UX Design;

• Anjali Chiulli, Introduction to Public Speaking;

• Victoria Ciafrei, International Business;

• Zoey George, Network Design;

• Cole Harwood, Introduction to Marketing Concepts;

• Ehren Hassler, Economics;

• Amaya Heffelfinger, International Business;

• Kalla Miller, Sports and Entertainment Management;

• Hailey Mosteller, Network Design;

• Monika Sarzynska, Network Design;

• Hannah Yoder, Sports and Entertainment Management;

4th Place:

• Abbey Baier, Business Management;

• Harmony Berk, Help Desk;

• Lila DeJessa, Public Policy & Advocacy;

• Mason Domski, Banking and Financial Systems;

• Samantha Exner, Word Processing;

• Maggy Hallihan, Sports and Entertainment;

• KaylaAnn Kandy, Introduction to FBLA;

• Abigael Kuhn, Introduction to Event Planning;

• Hailey Malaska, Introduction to Business Concepts;

• Oleksa McAndrew, Sports and Entertainment;

• Kaia Mehnert, Business Management;

• Natalie Numrich, Banking and Financial Systems;

• Madison Schwartz, Business Management;

• Gavin Strohl, Introduction to Information Technology;

• Kaylee Tate, Journalism;

• Aidah Wise, Business Communication;

• Lea Yemm, Agribusiness;

Fifth place

• Sophie Durange, Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure;

• Anna Figura, Hospitality & Event Management;

• Haylee Fischi, Insurance & Risk Management;

• Devon Frantz, Supply Chain Management;

• Kaden Hess, Introduction to Information Technology;

• Emily Lanigan, Entrepreneurship;

• Nicholas Lombardi, Introduction to Financial Math;

• Savanna Marstellar, Advertising;

• Brooke Mitzen, Business Management;

• Tanner MoDavis, Public Policy & Advocacy;

• Kate Newstead, Hospitality & Event Management;

• James O’Neill, International Business;

• Matthew Pinto, Human Resource Management;

• Aidan Ramey, International Business;

• Jack Sanwirja, International Business;

• Madison Sargent, Entrepreneurship;

• Brianna Snisky, Business Management;

• Sadie Strack, Hospitality & Event Management;

Sixth place

• Mikayla Andreas, Marketing;

• Adriana Day, Marketing;

• Eva Getz, Introduction to Business Procedures;

• Ben Goldberg, Help Desk;

• Rylan (Spencer) Moore, Accounting I;

• Natalia Niermirka, Entrepreneurship

• Zak Pompa, Entrepreneurship;

• Jadon Reese- Introduction to Information Technology;

• Dani Rimsky, Health Care Administration;

• Stephanie Russo, Accounting II;

• Kimora Seales-Griffith, International Business;

• Noelanie Sepulveda, Introduction to Business Concepts;

• Iyanah Sockwell, International Business;

• Michael Strika, Human Resource Management.

Lastly for Jim Thorpe FBLA news is the lottery ticket fundraiser and State Leadership Conference payment. For those who placed at the Regional Leadership Conference and paid their $50 commitment fee, your remaining dues must be paid by Feb. 12. FBLA members at JTAHS, LB Morris, and Penn Kidder are selling lottery tickets for $10 each with a 50% personal profit in the form of FBLA credit. Ticket stubs and payments are due from sellers by Jan. 22, so make sure to sell and buy while you still have the chance.

Mock Trial is still accepting and encouraging students to join. Active roles are potentially available. Case planning is hosted after school every Tuesday, this week Jan. 23, in Mr. Strubinger’s classroom. Those interested in criminal trial proceedings, law, or just becoming involved in the extracurricular atmosphere at Jim Thorpe are encouraged to attend. Trial dates are set to be in the second week of February.

Jim Thorpe’s literary and arts magazine, The Flame, is hosting a meeting during PODS on Wednesday, Jan. 24 in Mrs. Maccorkle’s classroom. Active members make sure to attend so that the ball can get rolling again after an extended break. Anyone else interested in poetry, short-story writing, art, or joining a new club is welcome to attend.

Also hosted by Mrs. Maccorkle, in her classroom, the Scholastic Scrimmage team is having weekly practices on Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in preparation for upcoming competitions. For those who are unaware, Scholastic Scrimmage is an annual, tournament-style trivia challenge, hosted and broadcasted by PBS-39. This year, Jim Thorpe’s team advanced to the second round but was unfortunately beaten by Parkland. Anyone interested in trivia or knowledgeable in regards to it is encouraged to attend practice or contact Mrs. Maccorkle.

Once again, history club is hosting its weekly meeting after school this Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 2:45-4 p.m. Anyone with interest in history or trying new things is welcome to attend. For the week, a history club representative will be selling Blow Pops for 50 cents each during each lunch. If you would like to buy Blow Pops, bring your money to lunch, and a member will either approach your table or make an announcement.

Lastly, the most active sport is currently basketball. The district’s teams’ games schedule for this week.

• Middle School Boys, home (Penn Kidder Campus) vs. North Schuylkill; today, 6 p.m.

• Varsity Girls, home vs. Pottsville; today, 6 p.m.

• Varsity Boys, away vs. Pottsville; Tuesday, 6 p.m.

• Middle School Boys, away vs. Pottsville; Wednesday, 4 p.m.

• Middle School Boys, away vs. Panther Valley, Thursday, 4 p.m.

• Varsity Girls, away vs Tamaqua, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

• Middle School Girls, home (Penn Kidder Campus) vs Panther Valley; Thursday, 6 p.m.

• Varsity Boys, away vs. Tamaqua; Friday, 5:30 p.m.

• Varsity Girls, home vs. Mahanoy Area High School; Saturday, 11 a.m.

Weatherly High School

Mellanie Marshman

Weatherly Wreckers have had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off this week.

All clubs and sports have been put on hold until better weather comes.

The second marking period for Weatherly Wreckers is ending in a couple days, and we will be halfway through our school year.