Oregon

In December, Rachel Daggett, who had just turned 18, was a senior at Sam Barlow High School.  In a series of unfortunate events, Rachel made some unhealthy choices and was found dead in a Gresham home.  That morning, her family lost a shining star, and students at Sam Barlow High School lost a true friend.

Although reports were sketchy at first, I did some more investigation on who really was Rachel Daggett.

Everyone who knows Rachel says that she was always happy, upbeat, and not the kind of girl who would use drugs or drink at parties.  Rachel loved her family very much.  She also loved her beautiful long blond hair.  Rachel loved her cat, Lily, who surly misses her human.  She loved cars, playing in the water, and her friends.  One of her favorite things to do was to go to the beach.   As a senior on the brink of graduation, Rachel had big plans for the future.  She wasn’t the kind of girl who just sits around lazy and let the world pass her by, she was a girl on the move.

Initial reports made about the night Rachel died said that she was at a 21-year-old male’s home who had just been evicted and was throwing a huge party on the last night in their home.  No one spoke about what had happened at the party, and friends close to her and the boys who were moving from the home say that there was no party.

Sources say that Rachel was helping the two young boys who lived in the home move, and that the boys were both 18 and hadn’t been evicted.  Friends believe that she stayed over night to help them clean up the home and finish moving because that’s what kind of friend she was.

What killed Rachel Daggett?  Toxicology reports show that Rachel died from an  overdose of Oxycodone that she smoked with her friends.  Three men are now in custody, accused of selling the pills that killed Rachel.  33-year-old Ronald Zaloznik had the prescription and used his little brother and his brother’s friend to sell the pills.

How could such a bright and beautiful young lady be led down the path that caused her death?  Only people closest to Rachel would know why she made the fatal choice of smoking a prescription drug.  She’s not alone. Prescription drug use is a huge and largely fatal problem in teens.

Oxycodone is fast becoming the top drug abused by teens.  Gresham-Barlow School District and Police will be holding a meeting on March 2^nd at Sam Barlow High School’s auditorium to address the issue of drug use in teens. 

Every year on February 2^nd thousands of people flock to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for festivities and the prediction of the most famous groundhog in the world, Punxsutawney Phil.  Also, every year on February 2^nd, when the rest of the world gets the news, the debate begins on what it means if the groundhog saw or didn’t see its shadow.  Just tonight, a news anchor who was trying to explain the logistics of the shadow confused herself.  If he sees his shadow, what does it mean?  Why a groundhog?  Here is a brief history and explanation that’s sure to answer all of your Punxsutawney questions.

Groundhog Day originated in the 1700’s by the people who settled Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, believed in the legend of Candlemans Day.  If the sun shone on Candlemans Day, so far the snow will swirl in May,” or so the legend goes.  Candlemans Day fell in the middle of Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.  Clergymen would bless candles to be placed in everyone’s windows.

The earliest recorded reference to Groundhog Day in America is displayed at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, and is dated February 4^th, 1841.  It explains that German settlers believe that if the Groundhog peeps out of his winter home and sees his shadow, he naps for six more weeks, but if it’s cloudy, he stays up.

Originally, the Germans were watching a badger for its shadow, but in Pennsylvania, it was replaced by the Groundhog.  In 1886, a newspaper editor named Clymer Freas printed in The Punxsutawney Spirit, “Today is Groundhog Day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow.”

Then, the groundhog was given the name “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”.  Suddenly, Punxsutawney was named the “Weather Capital of the World.”

On his first appearance, there was no shadow, which meant there would be an early spring.  The next year, the tradition of going to Gobbler’s Knob began.

Today, Punxsutawney is still a fairly small town of under ten thousand people, but on February 2^nd every year, thousands flock to Gobbler’s Knob to see the famous groundhog predict the coming of spring.

In 1993, a movie starring Bill Murray called ‘Groundhog Day’ created an even bigger buzz for the annual ritual visit to Gobbler’s Knob.  Suddenly thousands of people became tens of thousands of people.

Just how often does Punxsutawney Phil get it right?  According to http://www.groundhog.org/about/ he gets it right 100 percent of the time and is 120 years old.  In reality, the guessing groundhog only gets it right 39% of the time.  Since the first official trip to Gobbler’s Knob, he’s seen his shadow 97 times, no shadow 15 times, and there is no record for 9 years of the festivities.

February 2^nd, 2009 marks the 123^rd trip to Gobbler’s Knob for Punxsutawney Phil’s official prognostication.  Among the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be fireworks, fun, and the official prediction at about 7:25 a.m. Eastern Time.

Most Oregonians won’t be awake when the groundhog shows himself, which will be at about 4:25 our time, but every morning news show will be doing a report on the famous fur ball.

Want to celebrate with a movie and your favorite brew?  Alberta Street Pub will be showing the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ at 9 p.m.  Alberta Street Pub is located at 1036 NE Alberta Street.