Sprinklers Flood a Police Station

There are sprinklers in some of your houses. What if they cracked? Then what? A leak or nothing might be expected, right? But, what if the results were much more worse... Like a flooded police station?!?!

In the South Brunswick Police Station, cracked sprinkler heads created turmoil and damage on the first and second floors. The damages made cost about $158,327. There was also lots of damage done to the equipment. ”The fire sprinkler heads burst and it caused substantial damage to the lower floors at the Police Department,” claimed Ron Schmalz. “Once our dispatchers saw the heads leaking they called in Public Works, but those sprinklers throw out a lot of water so by the time they got it turned off there was substantial damage.” Mr. Schmalz also mentioned that the police were in the middle of some work while this had happened, but they evacuated soon enough. Mr. Schmalz also said that repairs are almost done. Although, out of all the damages, the worst is probably the carpet! $74,918 will be needed to replace it! A computer, a projector with a lamp and new ceiling tiles also need to be replaced.

To learn more about the disaster, click on the broken sprinkler.

Iraq Moves Towards Democracy

Finally, the moment has come. Iraq is making swift movements toward Democracy. Although only 51% of registered voters showed up to vote, everything ran as smooth as ice. There was no violence or riots. There was lots of precaution taken to avoid any violence and riots. This is the first time that voting has been set up the same way it is set up here in America. Voting centers were set up based on addresses and location. Iraq is divided into 18 provinces. Each one is led by provincial councils. Provincial Councils monitor the budget and infrastructure projects. In the election that took place, over a thousand people ran for a position that was only meant for 440 people! President Obama had a very positive outlook on the whole thing. He had said "I think that you have a sense now that the Iraqis just had a very significant election with no significant violence that we are in a position to start putting more responsibility on the Iraqis and that's good news not only for the troops on the ground but for the families who are carrying an enormous burden." I, myself, am very proud with the Iraqis. They are doing a fantastic job with coping with us. Of course it will take a while to count up all those votes, but until then, GREAT GOING IRAQ!

Click this to learn more and see where I got my information from.

National News - The Presidential Inauguration

Just a mere twenty four hours ago, we lived a moment in history that will be in all new history books to come for the rest of forever. Barack Obama is the first African American to be President of the United States. This historic event is so important to America. Every battle that has been fought in the Civil War, every protest that has been protested in the Civil Rights Movement, and every boycott that has been boycotted in the
Civil Rights Movement has finally been paid off.

An article on CNN Online discussed the greatness of Obama becoming President. It was said that over a million people attended the inauguration. Other than the person who was being inaugurated, everything else was the usual. Obama put his hand over the same Bible that Lincoln did. Obama gave a powerful and thoughtful speech after his inauguration. The article said that "Obama thanked those who sacrificed so much so 'A man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.'" This was powerful to me because Obama really jumped a whole big step in this world. Obama's inauguration was celebrated all over the world in many ways. Students crowded in auditoriums, colleagues huddled in the break room and kindergarteners worked on coloring pages while watching the inauguration. Overall, this article discussed the greatness of Obama and his accomplishments. Click on this to learn more.

Yahoo News had a positive outlook on the inauguration of President Obama. It was said that there were many happy and jolly spirits standing in the bitter cold to witness the great event to come. The article also talked about what Obama is planning to do this week. “Obama plunges into his new job in earnest on Wednesday, meeting with his economic team and Iraq advisers while Congress gives his economic revival plan a going-over and takes up the nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state,” said Yahoo News. Already, it is very clear that Obama is being responsible. "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly," Said Obama. "This is the price and the promise of citizenship." It is clear that Obama won’t let us down. Obama is already taking his job very seriously and it is not even Day One. Obama’s speech just was a giant piece in showing us great promise. He gave us many words of wisdom. Click here. to see the article

To summarize, I feel that Obama has great promise. His speech was moving and effective. Usually, I just can’t seem to focus on speeches because they bore me, but this was an exception. I held on to every word that Obama spoke, and I think I understand why all my friends and family are so excited about this. I wonder what Obama will do first. I have high hopes in Obama and I hope to see high things coming from him. More than anything would I love for him to get him out of this mess that America is in. If he does that too, then I truly believe he can do anything.

Social Studies: Technology: Internet

The Internet is an amazing advancement in technology. The Internet has made a great impact on us humans. The Internet provides so much for us. Communication, information and fun are only small pieces of what the Internet gives us. Day by day, the Internet is updated. Additionally the Internet is also getting bigger and better day by day. With the Internet, you can do things like chat with your friends and family, get the latest celebrity gossip and research stocks. All this is beneficial because the Internet gives the whole world a lot of things. Without the Internet, how would you know to sell your stocks and gain money? How could you keep up with friends and family? The Internet lets us gain much more than knowledge or money. It pulls us together. I believe it has made a great "footprint" on society because the Internet provides us everything we need. There are many online stores to shop from, there is communication, and there is so much information. If we wanted to, I bet we could just stay at home with the Internet and have everything we wanted. Today we can even order food online and have it delivered to our door. What is there that we can't do with the Internet?