Pulaski County High School - Cougar Pinnacle Yearbook (Dublin, VA)

Page 25 text:

Checking to see if a book had been checked out, librarian Mrs. Elinor Morgan waits for the computer to locate it. The system speeded up the time it took to locate books, and to check them in and out. While installing the cables for the new computerized air-conditioning system, a maintenance enginee r from the school board checks to make sure everything is hooked up correctly. Typing in the code number for a book, librarian aide Susan Riddle makes sure she hits the right key. 21 Computers

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CQNT’D. SKUTCHJMG The math pod, which housed the computer classes, had different needs for the computer. Mr. Fran Shelton who oversaw the student parking lots, decided to computerize the parking places so that students kept the same places their junior and senior year to save on paper work. Probably the biggest switch over came in the IMC (Instructional Media Center). The librarians started in the spring of ' 83 with a new li¬ brary computer system that checked out and checked in books faster than the manual way. By the time school opened, the system was just about debugged and ready for the students to use. Student ID ' s were taken up and computer bar codes placed on them. When a stu¬ dent or teacher wanted to check-out a book they just ran a light wand over the book title and your ID and you were on your way. The system enabled the li¬ brary to search, locate and print out overdue book no¬ tices faster than by hand. Mrs. Eleanor Hullinger stated, At the beginning it was a new program that hadn ' t ever been used and as the company debugged it we received an updated pro¬ gram. It took about six months to get everything in order and working correctly. Now, we can do everything about ten times faster than it was manually and it ' s a lot more accurate than going by handwritten book cards and check-out lists. The first two months of school, students had to put up with missing ceiling tiles and drilling, while mainte¬ nance men installed the new air conditioning system. The new system was controlled by a computer that moni¬ tored the atmosphere inside and outside of the school with the help of sensors in various locations. The sys¬ tem turned everything on 20 Computers Mr. Milton Aust fine tunes the con¬ trols of a new air-conditioning sys¬ tem, making sure that the tempera¬ ture is |ust right for everyone to keep their cool. Reading over his computer pro¬ gram, U. S. History teacher Mickey Hickman checks to see if his presi¬ dent program is written correctly. and off before and after school to help save an esti¬ mated $30,000 a year. The vocational depart¬ ment kept up to date and computers popped up ev¬ erywhere, from the printing department to the auto-me- chanics department. There were computers for type setting, graphics, word pro¬ cessing, and analyzing a car. The yearbook staff comput¬ erized their index and also used the computer to set copy to save on paper. One thing was for sure, computers were here to stay and whether they were used for business or fun they were changing our everyday lives.

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Start VROOM! That was the sound the typical student ' s car made on its way out of the parking lot on Friday afternoon. That student usu¬ ally had a weekend full of plans, and the car was most likely a major part of them. The automobile was trans¬ portation, a way of showing off, and a friend. In other words, it took you there, you looked great because you had your own wheels, and it went cruising with you when no one else would. On weekends, the cars were taken on various roads, highways, and interstates across the country en route to the game, the store, or the movies. Sometimes these rit¬ uals were performed with a date. Sundays usually saw cars at church or parked in a friend ' s driveway. On week¬ days, the cars hobnobbed in the student parking lots about where they had been over the weekend, and where they would be going in the future. Many of the cars had the Your Engines same maker, so they resem¬ bled each other, but each car was different in respect to the personality of the owner. In one corner of the lot was a black Nova with a dual ex¬ haust and a V-8 under the hood. In the other corner was a Volkswagen Rabbit with Smurfette swinging from the rear view mirror. One of the most seen cars was the Chevrolet Chevette, but they came in a rainbow of colors and personalized license plates. Bumper stickers could tell you about the owner ' s fa¬ vorite team, radio station, college, and sport all in one glance. Some bumpers told you to Beware of Cougar, while others simply said ”K- 92 . Inside of the car was as personal as the outside. Where the owner just ate dinner was evident by the McDonalds and Hardees bags strewn over the back seat. The all-important op¬ tion, the car stereo, usually cost up to three paychecks and played a variety of tunes from cassette or radio. Some people had seat covers, oth¬ ers used a blanket. Carpeting was anything from plain black to red shag. Rebel flags and desert scenes often hung from the back win¬ dows. Having your own car was great, but there were also a few minor drawbacks. Mon¬ ey was one of the factors when cars sat idl e for days at a time. Rising gas prices were the reason for empty pock¬ ets, lifeless paychecks, and allowance advances. Cars also had a tendency to break down just when you needed them most. Many a student has felt the humiliation of sit¬ ting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. The massive metal mon¬ sters were a way of life. Ad¬ ministrators, teachers, and students all recognized the value of your own set of wheels. It was well put by Miller Bushong when he said his car was nothing fancy, the radio ' s broken. I love it! Varieties of cars — even in the teacher parking lot. Everything goes, from vans to Hondas to Buck Sta- tionwagons. Teachers weren ' t the only ones who couldn ' t afford brand new cars. 22 Cars