The Murderer that Jumps Oceans

CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US

On Tuesday, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in Dallas, Texas. US doctors have contracted this disease before, but were all diagnosed in Africa and then transported to and treated in the United States. The unnamed patient returned from a trip to Liberia earlier this month, but just began to show signs of the deadly disease. He or she has been receiving treatment in isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas since late last week, when the first symptoms began to show. Ebola has been a major killer in West Africa, killing over 3,000 people; however, because Ebola only becomes contagious at the onset of symptoms and is spread through close contact of bodily fluids, the CDC is not worried about any other cases of this disease in Texas.

The impact of this news spreads worldwide. Not only will fear spike in the United States of contracting the disease, but other established countries with no previous cases of Ebola will also see that they are not beyond this fatal disease's reach. I believe the CDC, however, when they say that they are not worried about a widespread epidemic in America, which is what has happened in West Africa. Because of the lack of sanitary resources, the countries like Liberia are more susceptible to the spread of any disease. In addition, different experimental treatments for Ebola, although not officially approved, have started to save many lives. Because the United States has seen the havoc Ebola wreaked in West Africa and since doctors and researchers have been preparing for this first case for many months, I am not worried about a mass outbreak.

Wanted: One Man and One Woman

Arrest warrant issued in case of missing Virginia student-- CNN.com

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday, September 23, 2014 for a man suspected in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student who has been missing since September 13. This man, Jesse Matthew, is the last-known person to see or talk to Graham prior to her disappearance. Graham was last seen by friends at an apartment complex following a party, but was traced by surveillance tapes to a pub and then the Charlottesville downtown mall. Graham and Matthew supposedly had drinks at a bar before she is assumed to have gotten into his car which surveillance cameras show sped away. Although Matthew walked into the police station a few days ago, he could not be arrested because police did not have a warrant. He has not been seen since the warrant was issued today.

This event impacts Graham and Matthew and their families; with this news report, one family is hopeful of their daughter's return and one is scared for their son's arrest. However, other people who have seen either Matthew or Graham are also impacted because this article calls on them to give information to the police officers. This article also highlights the events leading up to this disappearance, and the places where Graham was before going missing. Inhabiters of this city and other young women who read this article can be informed of these happenings; hopefully, some good can be done by spreading this story to those who could be affected in the future.

This article saddened me by informing me of the missing Hannah Graham, but I found that it gave lots of information about her last known movements, which helps bystanders assist the police in piecing together the night she disappeared. It also made me very suspicious of Matthew, as he has not been seen since news of his arrest warrant. I will be following this case closely and praying for the best outcome-- the finding of a safe Hannah Graham.

Civics 101: What's Missing from the Article

To begin this blog, I would like write a response to the article quoting my classmates that was recently published in the Rapid City Journal.

As a student of the St. Thomas More High School senior class, I am upset with the negative angle employed by Meredith Colias in the article entitled “C-SPAN bus rolls into town, but students still skeptical of political process.” Having witnessed the interview, I can attest that the quotes in this article were small sections of opinions from a fraction of our 240 students, taken out of context, to paint a picture of us that is not accurate. In addition, the statement about our students’ political participation was skewed; our students took trips to Pierre and Washington D.C. last year and have attended City Council meetings in the short weeks of this school year— not just “to satisfy class requirements.”

My class is upset to have been represented in the way Ms. Colias wrote, and we are embarrassed to have shed a bad light on our teacher, Mrs. Freidel, and our school. Although I am disheartened by the negligence shown in Ms. Colias’ writing, I am thankful that my class had the learning opportunity that this unfortunate encounter with the media supplied.