The Break In

Mark slept on the couch the night he wrestled a kid breaking in to his truck. Not feeling well at 3 a.m. he got out of bed and headed for the couch. As he was settling in, car lights hit the curtains. Thinking nothing of it, he tried to sleep.

Five minutes later the lights were back, this time moving much slower. He found this strange due to the fact that it was three in the morning and a week day. Glancing out the window he noticed his truck door wide open. The truck was parked on the street in front of the house and it was unlocked. There were several cars on the street that night but Mark's truck ended up being the target.

He saw someone going through his glove box with their back to the house. Without thinking of calling the cops or waking his wife he bolted out the door. Without the slightest chance for the kid to escape, Mark grabbed the kid by the neck. Man handling the kid while walking to the house, Mark was yelling for his wife.

"Ann call the cops!"

Ann who was startled by the yelling immediately made the phone call. While getting twenty questions from the cops the kid managed to wrestle away from Mark. The kid didn't get far because before he knew it, Mark had thrown him to the ground and was on top of him.

The kid was pleading and begging for Mark to let him go. Thinking about giving into the plea Mark let up on his hold. But deciding not to let him go Mark began to wrestle with the kid.

The kid broke free and ran up the street like this wasn't the first time he had done this. Mark chased after him because he was not about to let this punk get away. When the kid got out of Mark's head lock, his hat flew off into the yard. Not realizing he lost the hat, he ran up the street, running past his getaway car.

"Start the car, start the car." He was yelling to his getaway. The car started and plowed up the street. After running a couple blocks, Mark didn't catch the kid. But he did catch the license plate number.

Out of breath, not feeling well, and no kid in hand, Mark was determined to get the cops the license plate number. Picking up the hat on the way into the house he noticed the kid’s full name was written on the inside. Having both the license plate number and full name gave this kid no chance of actually getting away.

The cops caught the two kids on their way to Mark's house. Satisfied with this kid not being on the streets anymore, Mark thought that was the end of it. He had landed a story in the Journal Star and was the talk of the neighborhood. A couple weeks later he received a letter from Cedars group home. Not knowing anyone in a group home he was very interested in what the letter was about. The letter was concerning the kid who attempted the break in. It was asking permission for an apology to be mailed to Mark. The apology letter never made it to Mark's house but he decided this kid will never be seen in his neighborhood again.

Not feeling well and sleeping on the couch started this crime stoppers event. Mark locks his truck now and all of the neighbors do as well. Mark didn't intend on being on neighborhood watch that night but instead it was the right time, right place.

Contact Mark Moss at 402-464-3728

Teach what the Students want to Know.

School systems thrive on making their education program the best it can be. Nebraska thought they did just this when a large lump sum from the federal government was given to teach abstinence only. The abstinence only program teaches children nothing about sex, it’s just a regular health lesson. When the chapter about sex comes up, students are simply told, “don’t do it.” Students do not receive any information about protection, birth control, or how to use them correctly. If students don’t understand all there is to know about sex, then how can they make the right choices? Nebraska public school systems must teach sex education the correct way to ensure students can be safe in the choices they make with sex.

Sex education does not corrupt students but rather it helps them be prepared. Sex is a part of life, just like driving a car. We have students take drivers education to prepare them, sex education can be used in the same way. Teaching abstinence only simply leaves sex a big mystery and that doest not prepare them for when the time comes. Being prepared for anything in life is what school teaches us. School teaches us how to read, write, add, subtract, and even how to become apart of society. But why does the public school system leave out a big part of life? This is because the school system sees sex education as promoting sex.
Promoting sex is one thing but promoting safe and protected sex is the correct way. Teaching students how to put on a condom may be scary to any parent, but the outcome will be great.

Promoting safe sex will help reduce high school pregnancies. Parents will be happy to know their child is being safe and this can ease their minds. Public schools must teach sex education because parents don’t always have the talk. Parents avoid the talk at all costs because it’s awkward for them to tell their teenager about sex. If this was a required subject in Nebraska schools, then parents wouldn’t have to worry about this. Their child would be learning about sex in a safe environment and they wouldn’t be required to talk to their parents about this.

Nebraska public schools needs to take the issue of sex education into their own hands. Having sex education in schools will help promote safety and a life long education. We all learn about where babies come from in school, but what they don’t teach us is how to make them. Sex education needs to be a required course to allow students to make the right choices. Nebraska public schools needs to give the federal money back, and teach the students what they want to learn. Teaching sex education is a must for all public schools, especially in Nebraska.

Katie Moss

Revision is the Best Process

International adoption requirements must be revised in order to allow more children to have homes. The United States adoption agencies need to work hand in hand with international agencies in order for the adoption process to move quickly. Waiting 12-14 months for a just a referral is enough to shy families away from adoption.

This complex policy has families waiting more than a year to even meet a child and to top it all off, their religion becomes a factor. Religion should not play a factor when adopting a child because everyone has their own rights to religion. Requesting what gender and age of child should not be allowed. When you get pregnant you don’t decided the sex of your baby, so why should it matter now. Older children are not being adopted as much because most families want a baby. If the factor of not being able to choose wasn’t there, then older kids would have a better chance of being adopted. The policy requires the family’s marriage to be more than 10 years. Most families have kids before they have been married for 10 years, so this rule can easily allow more couples to apply.

Haiti is in a crisis and hundreds of children have become orphaned due to the fact. The adoption agency in Haiti made a mistake and closed all adoption applications for the time being. The United States needs to step in right now and take over that process. Allowing families to adopt these children now would be a blessing because the kids would be safe and out of Haiti. But instead the Haitian government is too afraid to let these kids leave due to trafficking. Let’s put trafficking into a new light for everyone to consider. If the adoption process wasn’t so long and open right now, then the kids in Haiti wouldn’t be trafficked, they would have families. The government in Haiti is allowing trafficking to happen by turning their heads the other way and focusing on a different issue. Making plans to revise the adoption policy could stop trafficking and make Haiti a better place to live.

Haiti has too many current orphans at this moment that are not eligible for adoption for 1-2 years because of the earth quake. Haiti needs to take a stand and allow these children to be eligible. The government would be helping themselves out because that would be one less child to worry about being trafficked.

International adoption is a long and complex process that most families don’t want to go though. They would much rather adopt from the United States because the process is easier. We need to step up and help the International policy become easier and more appealing. Revising the policy may take years but when the next disaster strikes, the kids will already have homes.