1995-1996 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest
Responsibility Who Has It And Who Doesn't And What That
Means For The Nation
Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
Teacher: Terri Buechler / Rochelle Rasmussen
1st Jodi
Welsh 
2nd Annie Wrigg 
3rd Michael Lounsbery
"The last and most important example of responsibility is the responsibility to
your family. I am very thankful for my family, I am very grateful that I have a loving
family. I have two parents that care about me very much and a brother who is always there
for me. If I did not have these people in my life, I would not know what to do. Sometimes
it seems that they are too hard on me, but I know in my heart they are just trying to do
what's best for me."
Michael Lounsbery, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Another example of people who do not take responsibility are students who do not
get their assignments done on time and then cheat to get them done before they have to
hand them in. I see this being done on a daily basis. What these students do not realize
is that they will probably not understand the material that they have just copied. Which
then will not do them any good once test time rolls around. If the student does not do
well on the test, it will show up on his/her report card. If the student decides to go to
a college or university, the college will look at the student's past report cards. If they
see that a student does not have a high enough GPA, the college will decide to not let the
student attend their college, without a college education the future looks very dim."
Michael Lounsbery, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"In Boston, Massachusetts a man had just installed a ceiling fan in his home when
he discovered the blades were not rotating properly. Reaching up with his own hand, he
tried to push the blades. His hands were too big and could not fit in between the blades.
Beside him, was his five year-old son. The father then had an idea. He decided to have his
son stand on a step stool and reach up with his own hand. The son's hands were much
smaller and they could easily fit between the blades. While the young boy was pushing the
blades they became unstuck. He had no time to remove his tiny little hand before a blade
sliced off one of his fingers. The father then sued the. . .manufacturer. He complained to
the company that there were no warning labels located on the fan or on the box. Without
these labels, the father felt it was safe to have his son put his hands between the
blades. If the father cannot take responsibility for his own son, who can?"
Kim Miller, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"People think that teens of today are all bad and we are not all bad. There are
some who are, but they do not make up all of us. So in small towns or in big cities there
are people who are out there who will help. So do not think you're alone."
Maribeth MacPhail, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"One day after school I was driving down a side street in my home town. As I was
approaching an intersection I saw two little children standing on the side of the street.
. . .One of the children saw that I was slowing down to let them cross the street and that
child crossed the street. While the other one stood on the side of the road who I thought
was going to let me drive by and then cross the street. That is where I made my mistake. I
should have known to come to a complete stop and let the child cross the street, but I
didn't, thinking that the child was going to stay on the side of the street. I kept on
driving through the intersection and about 10 feet before the crosswalk the child decided
to run across the street. I hit the brakes but it didn't help since the intersection was
icy, the child jumped for the side of the street just as I was about to hit him. The child
was fine, just shaken up a little, as was I. I learned my responsibility for other people
that day."
Michael Lounsbery, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"A woman sued her car insurance company after learning she became pregnant in the
back seat of her own van! She insisted it was an ACCIDENT! The insurance company should
have to pay for all hospital bills and all expenses thereafter."
Kim Miller, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Another example of good community behavior is, when my grandparents home was
struck by a tornado the whole farm was destroyed. Since their home was t he only one hit
by the tornado, the whole community got involved in the rebuilding of their farm. Their
farm was on TV and the TV reporter asked for help and donations. Even the Sioux Falls
Penitentiary had bus loads of men come and build buildings and clean up their farm. My
grandparents farm is all done and it is nice thanks to everyone who helped."
Nathan Poppenga, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Some of the good things that are happening, in my community, are things like the
building of the new community library. The whole community came together to raise the
money needed to build it. After nearly two years of collecting donations and having
fund-raisers, the community raised enough money to start building. Now the library is
completed, it is a great asset to the school and the community. The library is equipped
with computers and many new books of all types. They are currently looking into getting on
the internet."
Annie Wrigg, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"The last example of irresponsible behavior is this. In our small town of
Centerville, SD, there has been a few occasions where some people, of Centerville or some
other surrounding town, have been vandalizing the seasonal scenery. At the end of the
boulevard, some town people put up a life size Santa Claus. The Santa Claus was stolen and
all the reindeer were scattered everywhere. They also tried to start Santa's sled on fire
by pouring oil on it and then lit it up. I really thought the display was unique. I work
at the local grocery store. There were upset parents, students, little children, and
citizens. Although there was no one found guilty of the crime, some people put up a reward
for anyone having information leading to an arrest. Communities always have some sort of
irresponsible behavior. I believe that all of the responsible behavior makes up for all
the bad things."
Jennifer Bertrand, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Although there are numerous bad things happening in this world, many are doing
great things also. Recently my grandmother passed away. This was a very unfortunate thing
in my life, but through the pain my family and I learned how loving and wonderful people
really are. We all have some great friends! People have brought over food, cards, and have
made thoughtful phone calls. I have decided that people do not need to be nice to each
other only when something sad happens. Why not just make supper for someone and take it
over to them when you know that they are very busy with work or some other activity? I am
going to try to do this at least once a month."
Leigh Gullickson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Another good example is fund-raisers. I think fund-raisers are the best thing
people can do to help others out. On New Year's Eve last year, there was a fund-raiser for
a man who was working on the roof of someone's house when he fell through and hit his head
on cement below. The man was in a coma and now has a brain injury. He is in a home because
he has to be cared for properly. He has a wife and a son who bring him home for visits all
of the time. I think the fund-raiser for this man I know was a great idea because now his
family will not have to worry so much about how they are going to pay all of the bills.
The people who helped his family out really care about him and his family."
Amy Johnson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Studies show that people discriminate others because of their weight. If a light
weight woman were to apply for a job, and she has little experience she is more likely to
get the job than an obese woman with a lot of experience. So my question is should it be
right that people judge a person by appearance and not by experience?"
Melissa Larsen, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"There are a couple of people in the town of Centerville that walk around in the
winter time with shovel in hand and scoop the snow off of the sidewalks. Most of the time
the owners do not even know who did this good deed. It sometimes makes me wonder whether
or not they would give the credit to the person that deserves it if the owner found out
who did the shoveling for them. These people do not do this task for any money or even
anything that can be seen. They do this because they feel good inside when they know that
they have done something to help someone out."
Jamie Martz, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Another example of something good happened when my Grandpa fell and broke his
hip. My Grandpa was a farmer and was busy working on his corn crib in the fall time of the
year. He fell off the roof onto cement and broke his arm and hip. Since this happened
during harvest time, there was a lot of field work to be done. Relatives and neighbors
took time out of their busy schedules and came over with their machinery and did all the
field work. I feel that this was very kind of the relatives and neighbors to take time to
help my Grandpa when they themselves were so busy."
Ben Murra, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"One thing we do in our local town is at half time of our basketball game we have
a drawing called Half at Half. You can buy tickets and if your ticket is drawn, you will
win half the money taken in on ticket sales. The other half goes to the organization that
is putting it on. Our student councils have raised money, and put the money toward prom,
uniforms, and a stereo for our gym. This helps improve our town in numerous ways."
Shane Nelson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"In Custer, South Dakota, a rancher bought $1,200 worth of clothes from a store
that was going out of business and distributed warm shirts and sweaters to men at the
Montana Rescue Mission. This clothing had retailed for about $3,600."
Tonya Olson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"We have certain school classes that you can go to the retirement home and visit
the elderly patients over a semester and get to know them better."
Eric Peterson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"In Sioux Falls, South Dakota Morrell and Company is being fined $3 million as a
penalty for dumping illegally in the Big Sioux River. This is one of the largest rivers in
the United States. There was one count of conspiracy and five counts of Clean Water Act
violations. They just did not want to take the time to take the garbage somewhere to
dispose of it properly. In other words, it was an easy way out."
April Poppenga, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"I believe that if we all do our part the irresponsibility of others will be far
outweighed by our responsibility and that in the long run irresponsibility can be helpful
because it sparks others to action to right our societies wrongs."
Mike Shubeck, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Linda Bremner started a volunteer organization, Love Letters, Incorporated, in
Lombard, Illinois. They send up to seven thousand cards and packages every month to
children with cancer and other illnesses. Their budget depends all on donations. For
Christmas, they mailed about eleven hundred Christmas toys and goodies. Linda Bremner
started the organization after she saw her own son who has cancer get disappointed every
time he did not get any mail."
Lisa Vasgaard, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"On the 'Oprah' show one day, they were discussing good things people have done.
One of those was a man who sold T-shirts on a corner. Kids were always stopping by to
borrow money. This took place in the 'lower' part of town. The guy told the kids if they
would sit there for an hour and learn chess, he would give them money. Now, he has these
kids going to chess contests and doing quite well. He gave them confidence and made them
proud about what they could achieve."
Jodi Welsh, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota