THE COUNTRYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
PAW PRINT 3000 SR 580
Friday, February 2nd, 2007 - VOLUME 28, Issue 5
Clearwater, Florida
What’s the price of extra school security? shrutiLAKKANIKI
staff writer
Winding one’s way through the lunch line during the short break leaves students and staff lost in a massive sea of rowdy, hungry, and frustrated individuals. Hidden from plain view though, in this unstructured and chaotic world anything can happen, from individuals stealing a French fry to another much worse scenario; robbing a person’s identity. Luckily for the young and defenseless, this problem took a turn for the better when the Department of Food Services presented a solution to all Pinellas County schools concerning lunch lines. They suggested using an innovative new techonology that reads individuals fingers as an image. This new equipment takes some of the chaos out of the typical lunchline by speeding up the process of food payment and wait time in the cafeteria lunchline. “We are seeing less horse play and there is a significant amount to decrease in theft,” said Debbie Ferguson, Countryside High School’s cafeteria manager. The previous lunch line program included Winsnap, a windows based database program that requires cafeteria cashiers to punch in the students’ four digit lunch number or their name and the variety of foods chosen. However, the problems with this system became apparent as the computers lapsed into unpredictable malfunctioning because of keyboard keys that get stuck and computer viruses. “The old lunch line program was not efficient because it took a long time for the student information to upload,” said Ferguson. Also, one of the growing problems as a result of this old program was theft. Students who either forget their account numbers or just don’t intend to pay their share would make up a random number on the spot until they pinpoint another’s student account number by chance. Additionally, with the 2000 plus students navigating in and out of the cafeteria and lunch supervisors trying to monitor all students, it can be hectic.
“It is a big improvement in students’ behavior,” said Ferguson. Finger imaging lets students slide their finger, and with careful supervision of lunch assistants, the line glides by. “All the lunch specialist assistants are trying to include as many students as possible in fifteen minutes of lunch period,” said Ferguson. While the new lunch line program was improved to accommodate more students in a fifteenminute time period during lunch,there is a huge cost factor. With the cafeteria on a slim profit margin it will be quite awhile before the Paw Print photo by Megan Hays system can pay for itself. tudents wait in line to purchase lunch as Vivian Panagopoulos collects cash using the new The new lunch line system Horizon imaging system, created by Software International LLC. comprises of four terminals equipment, should not be confused with fingerprinting. It in which each touch-screen computer costs $2,100 and each finger scanning machine is merely a captured picture of the pattern of the middle finger by using algorithms and binary code to create a is $500. “The cost is astronomical,” said Debbie Johnson, food template (a mathematical representation of the finger services assistant. “Even though the Department of Food print). “I don’t really mind finger imaging that much because Services is paying for this school, the new lunch line system is not making enough profits to balance the cost,” without it, the line wouldn’t go as it is now,” said freshman Amber Broadus. she continued. With the cafeteria unable to capture everyone’s finger A commonly mis-led belief students have about fingerprinting is that the fingerprints might be used against image, the line does move slow at times and the staff must revert back to the old system of collecting the money. a student during a felonious situation. “We don’t have everyone’s finger images because many “They started out with fingerprinting, and then what’s students believe that finger images are an invasion of next after that?” said sophomore Johnny Dedanilla. Finger imaging, according to the developers of the privacy,” said Johnson.
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Carpet cleaning leaves some noses pinched samanthaMALONE
of the carpet. It takes one plant operator an estimated ten hours All of Countryside’s students and staff have come across to scrub the length of the main concourse. Countryside is a peculiar unidentifiable odor at some time or another while equipped with two of these scrubbing machines. Whether walking through the halls of the various campus buildings. one or both of the machines is used at the same time is a Everyone has different ways of coping with this mysterious matter of the staff availability. airborne Only the main concourse is cleaned scent: some on a regular basis of every three to four make use of weeks. The hallways leading to the their jackets classrooms are cleaned on a somewhat as odorregular basis, depending on the need masks, a few of a cleaning and the number of staff. brave souls Classrooms are scrubbed as needed attempt and during the summer. to breathe “The more it’s cleaned the shorter through their the life span,” said day-time plant mouths and operator, Jerry Reynolds. ignore the Countryside’s carpets get a deep taste, and scrub once a year. A strong cleaning the rest hold chemical is sprayed, and then a more their breath intense scrubbing machine is used for as long followed by cleaning by the normal as possible, scrub machine with Edge 5 carpet Paw Print Photo by Megan Hays only inhaling shampoo. ach of the two carpet cleaners are equipped with scrubbers that to supply the The cause of the musty smell that penetrate the floor with rotating wheels. much needed resonates throughout the school after oxygen to the brain or to complain about the smell. the carpets are cleaned is the result of leftover water The carpets are actually the culprit. In the main marinating in the carpet. The water stays in the carpet concourse they are vacuumed every day and scrubbed until it dries, taking anywhere from two to four hours to do every three to four weeks by the plant operators using a so. The rate at which the carpet dries is dependent on the large rolling machine. This machine drops water onto the humidity outside. Unfortunately, while the leftover water carpet as a rotating wheel scrubs the floor using a shampoo sits in the carpet, it develops a peculiar smell. The carpet called “Edge 5,” then a vacuum pulls the excess water out shampoo does help to deodorize the carpets but does not
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staff writer
prevent the smell from spreading throughout the school. To switch methods of cleaning, chemicals used, or add another element to further help deodorize the smell would cost more money. Most schools throughout the county use the same methods for carpet cleaning. “We work with what we have,” said plant operator Jerry Reynolds.
What Does Clean Carpet Smell Like? “Wet dog.” -John Angelo. “Old, moldy clothes.” -Senior Joaquin Cornonado. “Rotten cheese.” -Junior Alyee Kerr. “Rotten milk,” -Sophomore Ajla Cengic.
Did You Know? Emergency Contact For License Brandin Milton, Design Editor
Register emergency information on your driver’s license at https://www6.hsmv.state.fl.us.dlcheck/findcustomer. Enter your license number and birthdate, then information of two people that you want to use as your emergency contacts.
Check out The Paw Print online at http:// my.highschooljournalism.org/fl/clearwater/csh/