Zion Nuclear Power Plant out of sight, but not out of mindBy Brian CashinWebsite ManagerThis is part 1 of a 2-part series on the decommissioning of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant.

Few members of the community realize that the most crucial stages of dis-mantling the Zion Nuclear Plant are currently and quietly under way only a few miles from their homes. The overall decommissioning process is being managed by the Exelon Cor-poration, a family of electric companies which is the leading energy provider in the United States. However, the license to decommission the Zion Nuclear Plant was transferred in 2010 to EnergySolutions, a Salt-Lake City based company which spe-cializes in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the disposing of nuclear waste. EnergySolutions, which began to dismantle the Zion Nuclear Plant in Septem-ber of 2010, is known for its express method of dealing with nuclear waste, and it plans to have the decommissioning process finished by 2020.

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College rejection not kind enough Colleges are deceiving; they send out mail and encourage visits, convincing you that you’re good enough to apply, so you do. Then you wait several weeks or months for the response until finally that letter or email of your admission status arrives. So, you eagerly open it, only to read, “It is with regret that I inform you…” Then you stop there as there is no point in reading farther because, you see, you’ve been rejected. I get it; not everyone who applies to a given college can be admitted, but rejection letters, I believe, should be formatted more carefully.

To read the rest of the story, buy The Stinger on Thursday, April 23 for 25 cents.Blythe Kramer

Z-B senior plans on attending NYU; shoots for movie starsBy Samantha NeargarderBusiness Manager Currently, a business major is the most popular major in the United States, followed by psychology, nursing, biology, and education. However, Ana Beck, senior, dreams of pursuing a major that few seek. Beck decided to major in dramatic writing with a focus on screenwrit-ing in order to become a screenwriter for TV and films. This fall, she plans to attend New York University, a school known to produce many talented writers of books, movies, and plays. The process of becoming a screenwriter takes four years, plus graduate school, if one chooses to take that route, Beck says.

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Foreign exchange students taking on Zion-Benton lifestylesBy Kelsi GoshinskyArt/Photo Editor

Zion-Benton is considered to be a racially diverse school, but this year Zion-Benton became even more diverse. Zion-Benton welcomed foreign exchange students KE-walee MuangKaew, junior, and Kwanghyun Kim, sophomore. MuangKaew, from Thailand, is currently living with her host mom Nicole Timmreck in Waukegan, and Kim, from South Korea, is currently living with his host family Cahill in Zion. “I don’t actually have a host family, like a host mom and dad. I was set up with a single parent to experience the culture,” MuangKaew said.

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Collecting still an alive-and-well hobby in social studies By Tiffany DelgadoStaff Editor Instead of collecting typical items such as rocks, dolls, and cars, Zion-Benton’s social studies department col-lects history. Members of the department are known for having ar-tifacts for students to look at when a lesson is being taught, but who knew that these precious artifacts were just a small part of the teachers’ own personal collections? Dr. Jasey Kolarik is one of the many teachers who brings history to the classroom. She collects coins and some World War II memorabilia, ranging from the 1800s to the present day. Her collection started when, as a little girl, her parents brought her currency backfrom the Bahamas. Being a collector comes with a price, but Dr. Kolarik thinks of this collection as a small investment. Her collection can be very valuable, depending on the coins.

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Softball players fight to earn key starting positionsMarquis HudsonStaff Editor “Weighing the options” is a phrase Ms. Tina Meyer, Var-sity softball head coach, is taking advantage of while she assigns only a select few to regular starting positions to build humble-ness and grit within the team. The Varsity softball team starts every game with a dif-ferent starting line-up, with the exception of a few players in-cluding Sam Cunningham, sophomore third base; Allison Lopez, junior pitcher; Claire Crane, senior centerfielder; Meg Cross-white, senior catcher; Janie Torola, senior shortstop; and Kyra Lenzi, senior pitcher. Coach Meyer says that this method ensures hard work and competition within the team because everyone wants to be a starter.

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Boys tennis team looks to improve recordBy Kenneth CaplesStaff Editor

The Z-B boys tennis season is underway and they are work-ing to improve from last year’s record, which only included two wins. Boys tennis Varsity coach, Mr. Kevin Smyk, said, “We were off to a rough start in our match against Wauconda, but the team is coming along well and we are looking to improve our record.” So far the team has a record of 2-3. The team got their two wins against Round Lake and North Chicago, and lost to Wauconda, Grant, and Maine East. There are many more di-vision and conference matches on the upcoming schedule. For many seasons, the North Suburban Conference has had many powerful tennis teams who consistently send players to the State Tournament. This season, the Z-B boys tennis team will be facing top competitors such as Steven-son, Lake Forest, and Libertyville. The team has many ex-perienced players who are ready to take on this challenge.

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