Welcome to the Vandal Times!!

The Vandal Times website is run by the journalism classes at Miami High School as part of ASU’s Stardust program. We hope to provide the Globe-Miami area with a valuable news source, covering events that are relevant locally, nationally, and internationally.

New Theater Opening Soon

    The Globe-Miami area will be happy to have a movie theater for the first time in years since the old theater burned down. The new theater will be opening this Friday, November 20, 2009. The movies scheduled to play are Disney’s A Christmas Carol; The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock, Michael Jackson’s This Is It; Old Dogs, starring John Travolta and

The H1N1 Flu Virus, often called the Swine Flu, is now in season. The Center for Disease Control is now recommending that everyone get the vaccine. The vaccine is available, however, the supplies to make it are limited. There are groups of people who are more susceptible to get the virus include pregnant women, young children, and adults 24-65. The Heath Department held vaccinations at Lee Kornegay Jr. High earlier this month for anyone wanting to get the H1N1 flu vaccination. People across town received this vaccine so that we can keep our town a healthy place to live. A local doctor, Matt Bolinger M.D., says, “The best possible thing you can do is wash your hands constantly.”

-Rebekah Bolinger

Inspirational Assembly at MHS

An NFL football player visited Miami High School on November 12 for a presentation. Ken Johnson played in the NFL for the Cincinatti Bangels for 8 years. He talked about his whole life story and how his dreams became a reality.

Johnson never played ball his junior high school years, but when he got to high school he started playing basketball. His life got twisted up side down and he got involved with drugs, and he gave up on his basketball career. Right when his hope was all gone, his coach said “I bet you couldn’t play football”. He was challenged to do “An All American D,E”. When his senior year was over, the Dallas Cowboys gave the young man a call to try out for the team. In order to make the team, he had to run the 40-yard dash in a decent time, something he’d never done before.

A few days later, the scouts called and said he ran it in 4.3 seconds, good enough to get him on the team. He asked if he could think about it and eventually made the descion to play for them. Unfortunately, after a year the Cowboys released him as a free agent, but the Bangels picked him up for eight years.

At the end of Johnson’s eighth year, he had a life changing experience. He was  driving in his brand new customized van when it stalled on railroad tracks. A train hit the van and sent it flying. A few minutes later he was in the hospital, with only 7 stitches. At that point, he knew there was a greater force out there who had put his hand on him.

He made the decision to give his life to God and talk to students around the nation about never giving up on your dreams.

-Jeremy Swann

Holiday Spending 2009

AARP did a telephone survey of 1,046 adults ages 50 and older from September 23 to October 4, 2009, questioning how much they planned to spend this holiday season. Sixty percent of people who responded said they plan to spend the same amount on holidays this year as they did last year, while nearly 70 percent of the respondents said they would be doing their shopping at malls rather than online, through catalogs, or street vendors. The worst news this year goes to the credit card companies- the poll found that this holiday season, people aren’t planning on using their credit cards. Instead, consumers are opting to use cash, checks, or debit cards for most purchases.

-Catina Blanco

Robin Williams; and the newest installment of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, New Moon.

Ticket prices are $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for children 2-12.

    There was an open house held the weekend before to show off the new building, which has four screens, two bigger and two smaller rooms. Larry Brown has painted murals on one of the lobby’s walls, and the walls have all been textured and painted.

For show times and other information, visit the theater’s website, www.holliscinemas.com