High Life: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Parents Told of Teen-Age Smoking

More than 54 million Americans smoke, and more than 3 million of these smokers are teen-agers. And, for the first time, more girls than boys are smoking cigarettes.

Should parents be alarmed? Yes. According to the American Heart Assn. Each year cigarette smoking contributes to the deaths of more than 300,000 Americans, most from heart and blood vessel diseases. Still, as more adults quit, young people continue to start smoking.

The American Heart Assn. offers a free pamphlet titled, “Children and Smoking: A Message to Parents.” The pamphlet, available in both English and Spanish, helps parents better understand why young people start smoking and what they can do to prevent it.

To order your free pamphlet, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope with your request (specify Spanish, if desired), to the Orange County Chapter of the American Heart Assn., P.O. Box 6046, Irvine, Calif., 96001.

Catherine Baker of Fountain Valley has signed an apprentice contract with the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet for next season.

Baker, 20, a former member of the Fountain Valley High School dance team, began studying ballet at the age of 12 with the Orange County Dance Center in Huntington Beach. From ages 16 through 18, she attended the School of American Ballet in New York on scholarship. Last year, she attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet School on scholarship.

To encourage students in the natural sciences, biology teachers Dan Jundanian, Phil Oram and Charlott Hall of Troy High School in Fullerton assigned insect collection projects to their first-year biology students during the school year.

“We’re not trying to make the students into professional entomologists,” Jundanian told the school newspaper, “but we want them to go outside and become aware of three-fourths of the world’s animals.

“People get too used to viewing all animals as big creatures and forget about the little guys.”

“In America, anyone can become President. That’s one of the risks you take.”

--Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)