DEAR ABBY:"Heartbroken Teacher inOakland, Calif." (Jan. 14)did absolutely nothingwrong! He wrote a letter ofrecommendation based onhis knowledge and impres-sion of one of his students.That was all he could andshould have done. He wasn'tobligated to do a back-ground check or any kind ofresearch. That is for thefuture employer to do ifhe/she chooses.

I also teach, and wouldhave done exactly the sameas he did. It is shocking andsad to discover that one'simpression of a studentwas partially incorrect.Keeping secrets about pastwrongdoings is nothingnew. But social networking

sites makethe evi-dence ofs u c hbehaviorm o r eaccessible.This is anissue forour socie-ty toaddress. --H E L E NIN LOM-

POC, CALIF.

DEAR HELEN: I agree.And only time will tellhow it will be resolved.That letter, from ateacher shocked to learna respected student hadposted inappropriate sto-ries about herself online,generated tons ofresponses from both hereand abroad. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: I am a 25-year-old education student.I don't have a social net-working site, nor do I haveany desire to create one. Idon't understand the impor-tance of posting picturesand personal informationon the Internet for all to see.My father, a computer pro-grammer, taught me thatonce something is posted onthe Internet, it's there forev-er, regardless of whether itis deleted or not.

When I ask classmateswhy they use a social net-

working site, the most com-mon answer is, "To stay intouch with family andfriends." The last time Ichecked, the telephone wasused for that reason. -- KIMIN ORADELL, N.J.

DEAR ABBY: I am tiredof living in a world thatrevolves around social net-working sites. As a 20-some-thing, I have friends whodon't think twice aboutwhat they post. They'll tellthe world anything -- fromdrug use, sex stories, theirlatest vandalism to theirdisgusting underage drunk-en escapades. They alsoinclude semi-nude photos ofthemselves because theythink it's cute. I truly am ...ASHAMED OF MY GEN-ERATION, RED OAK,TEXAS

DEAR ABBY: As teach-ers, we never completelysee the character of our stu-dents. I interact with themoutside of the classroom,but only at lunch and in stu-dent groups. No matter howfriendly I become with mystudents, I am always theirteacher, so I can never fullyknow who they are, and Inever assume that I do.

When I write a recom-mendation, I can only com-ment on the person I wasable to observe as theirteacher (or rarely, mentor).My recommendation letters

often mention my bound-aries of perception, and Inever go beyond that.Teachers shouldn't fear therepercussions of their com-ments if they honestly statewhat they observed. --CHRISTENSEN IN DAEGU,SOUTH KOREA

DEAR ABBY:Employers managed forcenturies without beingable to learn a person's lifestory at the click of a but-ton. There's a reason it'scalled "social networking."If we wanted our employersthere, we'd invite them.Anyone who snoops unin-vited is invading our priva-cy. My employer pays me forthe time I am at work. Therest of the time, I should befree to do as I please. --CHRISTOPHER INCOLUMBUS, OHIO

DEAR ABBY: Yearsago, we had a different defi-nition of "friend." A friendwas a flesh-and-blood per-son with whom one visitedface-to-face, not some imageon an electronic screen.Before I'm branded an oldfogy, let me say I realizesocial networking sites haveadvantages and disadvan-tages.

In my youth -- and occa-sionally even now -- when Iget together with friends,discretion is sometimesthrown to the wind. But if Idecide to put the proverbiallamp shade on my head, it'sin the company of a chosenfew. Why do the youth oftoday pride themselves inexposing their indiscre-tions? Do they really need arecord of all the times theyacted like a jackass? --RATIONAL IN JOHN-STOWN, PA.

Dear Abby is written byAbigail Van Buren, alsoknown as Jeanne Phillips,and was founded by hermother, Pauline Phillips.Write Dear Abby atwww.DearAbby.com or P.O.Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA90069.

Page 6 Thursday March 24, 2011 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

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Raton Police DepartmentINCIDENTS:

03-23-11*Terrence Stohr: victim of burglary and larceny ■ Alfred Sanchez: victim of larceny ■ K-Mart: victim of shoplifting

CITATIONS:03-21-11Agapito Moralez: driving while suspended Desiree Segura: driver to be licensed03-22-11■ Jesus Perez: dog at large ■ Jude Anaya: battery■ Angel Baca: battery 03-23-11■ Michael Bernal: shoplifting

ACCIDENTS:03-22-11■ Lucas Cimino and Antonio Vigil: slight damage to vehicles

POLICE BLOTTER

By TIM KELLER

Raton High School’schapter of FCCLA – Family,Career, and CommunityLeaders of America – sent15 students to compete atthe organization’s annualNew Mexico convention inAlbuquerque this month.Raton’s four teams all wonfirst or second place in NewMexico, advancing theentire Raton contingent toJuly’s national conventionin Anaheim, Calif.

In addition, a pair ofRaton students was induct-ed into statewide office, ledby Makayla Mondragon,who is now the NewMexico FCCLA President.Tucker Berry joins her onthe state board as presidentof public relations. Eachwill fulfill a term of oneyear.

Raton’s NationalProgram in Action team –Moriah Daniel, AutumnHunnicutt, and LakkenMedina – won the state goldmedal with its Stop theViolence program. Teammembers presented theirPowerPoint presentation toa panel of judges, demon-strating their anti-bullyingprogram and interspersingit with true stories.Remarkably, every judgegave the team an identicalscore, 100 out of 100.

Raton’s ParliamentaryProcedure team conducteda formal business meetingfor its judges, then took atest over parliamentaryrules. When the scoreswere combined, BreannonTrujillo, Kori Vukonich,Courtney Harrison, LeahCimino, Michelle Guara,and Mondragon had won a

silver medal for Raton.Meagan Holland, Kay

Love, and Haley Ganszmade up Raton’s Advocacyteam. They produced a pro-gram to reduce teen drink-ing, with a theme thataimed to dispel any percep-tion that student athletesare prone to drinking.Their program won a silvermedal.

Finally, Helen Seguraand Kristin Vance enteredthe Chapter ServiceManual competition, pre-senting their communityservice project in whichthey spent holiday timewith residents at MCMCLong-Term Care Facilityand conducted a ginger-bread cooking activity withmany of the residents.Their project, too, won a sil-ver medal.

The students earned

their own way toAlbuquerque withFebruary’s all-you-could-eat homemade Chocolate

Factory. As they set theirsights on competing at theAnaheim ConventionCenter July 10-14, the pub-

lic might hope the studentsthrow another deliciouslyedible fundraiser to helpthem on their way.

Raton’s FCCLA headsto nationals in Calif.

Photo courtesy of Carmella Berry

Raton High School sent 15 students in four teams to the annual New Mexico Family, Career, andCommunity Leaders of America FFCLA convention this month in Albuquerque, where, withoutexception, every student and team won first or second in competition, advancing to the nationalsin Anaheim, Calif., in July. Here, the students proudly surround sponsor Myra Baird, in yellow.

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The Chronicle News

The TrinidadCommunity Foundationrecently handed out grantsto 10 local non-profit organi-zations. Among thosegrantees was Seniors Inc.,that received $1,000. SeniorsInc. Home Care ProgramManager Curtis Padillaaccepts the check from TCFBoard President Phil Rico.Also on hand are TCF boardmembers Mary Ellen Hadadand Howard Lackey at left,and TCF board SecretaryAngela Ann Cesario at

right. The grant from TCFallows Seniors Inc. to pro-vide home care to agingindividuals who cannotafford to pay for this servicethat includes personal care,transportation, meal prepa-ration, medicationreminders, light housekeep-ing, and companionship.Padilla said the localSeniors Inc. takes care of 62clients through Medicaid,11 through private insur-ance, and four who are sub-sidized. For information onthe program, contact kcan-della@totallongtermcare.org.

Seniors Inc. receivesTrinidad CommunityFoundation grant

Photo by David J. Santistevan Jr.

Boy Scouts official speaks to Kiwanis Pictured from left are Jeff Mangino, Kiwanis speaker chairman for March; Jeff Berger, executivedirector of the Boys Scouts of America, Rocky Mountain Council Pueblo District; and EdTrommeter of the Kiwanis Club of Trinidad. Berger spoke to Kiwanis Club members about localBoy Scout Troop 269, and about the Boy Scouts’ “New Century New Director” model for thefuture.