Senior, Gio Fuentes takes advantage of the newly installed water bottle stations.
Students quench thirst with newly installed bottle filling stations
One small step for the environment, one giant leap for mankind
Traditional water fountains can be found in many places. From museums to schools, water fountains have been around since Mesopotamia. A once amazing tool for people, water fountains have now become distasteful from the metallic after taste they leave the user.
Though not a very new concept, bottle filling stations were first introduced in 1922, and have just in the past few years become an important and more common part of public water.
These bottle filling stations serve as a stepping stone to a better world through sustainability and cleanliness.
Linganore High School recently took the initiative to incorporate two new bottle filling stations into the school during the 2020-2021 school year. Along with those two stations, Linganore will be installing five more bottle filling stations, located at the C side (upstairs and downstairs) and then three more over the summer (Main Street and Cafeteria).
“By having water bottle stations in schools it provides a more sanitary place to fill up a water bottle and reduce the spread of germs. Bottle filling stations will reduce the amount of wasted bottles and the updated filters also provide a better taste to the water,” said lead custodian Mike Bowles.
The water bottle stations are from the company, Elkay. These two stations cost Linganore around $1,150 for both of the stations.
Elkay provides buyers with a couple ways for the bottle filling stations to be established. They offer on the wall, in the wall, and outdoor models of these stations. Along with the stand alone fountains, Elkay can retrofit fillers to the top of already existing traditional Elkay water fountains. That is the case for Linganore.
Although these stations provide more sustainability and water cleanliness, the taste is still up for debate.
Class of 2022 member Jamie Donohue said, “I recently used the new bottle filling station and was kind of disappointed. I don’t usually use the water fountains because I don’t think they taste very good, so I had high hopes for the stations. Sadly, they didn’t live up to my expectations because it tasted about the same as the water fountains.”
Some think it is much better than the traditional water fountains.
Principal’s secretary Kathryn Rich said, “No more metal tasting water here at LHS!!! So far, with the station located downstairs in the A wing, the Lancers have saved over 70 plastic bottles of water. I know you’re probably skeptical because the water has tasted so much like metal in the past. Ted Mosteler [School Resource Officer] and I can testify that the filtered water . . . tastes great.”
What do you think about the water from the new stations?
Why are these stations good?
The Elkay website has specific information about the filling stations. “Elkay filtered ezH2O bottle filling stations reduce lead and other harmful contaminants, putting cleaner, healthier water within everyone’s reach. This innovative and award-winning product line upholds our commitment to delivering clean water and sustainable design. It provides a rapid fill of drinking water to quench thirst and minimize plastic bottle waste in the environment.”
One of the biggest problems that we face today is plastic waste. Plastic bottles is a huge plastic waste source, with humans on average purchasing 1,000,000 bottles per minute and around 23% get recycled. When plastic bottles get thrown away and sent to landfills, they don’t just disappear. They sit there and decompose over a long course of 450 million years. So, these stations offer people a place to reuse plastic bottles instead of throwing them out and getting a new one. The stations increase the likely hood of someone refilling the bottle because the water is filtered very thoroughly, unlike the traditional fountain.
Not only do these stations provide an environmental benefit, but they offer so many health and cleanliness benefits.
- Clean water through the internalized filter that has been certified by the NSF to help put cleaner, healthier water within reach by reducing lead and other contaminants.
- Hands-free operation, minimizing the hand contact and germ spreading through sensors that detect when water bottles are placed to be filled.
- A true drain that provides a more efficient drainage and elimination of standing water.
- Key plastic components that contain a special ion antimicrobial protection that inhibits the growth of mildew and mold.
Hopefully we continue the expansion of these stations to provide our environment with as much support as possible.
Welcome to LHS: New admin Bittner is sweet fit for LHS
This story is part of Lancer Media’s fall series welcoming new staff. We enjoyed learning about many teachers but apologize that we were unable to cover every new teacher.
Mr. Christopher Bittner: A glutton for punishment or a sweet fit? Assistant principal Bittner is one of the three administrators and ten teachers starting fresh at Linganore in 2016.
The one thing that can be used to bribe Bittner is the Butterfinger. Might as well call it the “Bittnerfinger” because it is the perfect way to explain this new teacher.
The Wrapper
Just from looking at the outside wrapper, it is clear that Bittner is a seasoned educator. He has spent numerous years as an administrator at both Walkersville and Middletown before accepting his current position. Prior to that, he was a teacher in Charles County and at Thomas Johnson (TJ) Middle School. There he taught social studies, specifically, Non-Western Cultural Geography, American Studies, and Government.
“I had the most fun with Government. I was a glutton for punishment, I suppose,” said Bittner.
Bittner believed that his knowledge of government could be useful in an administrative role which led to his gradual transition into an assistant principal. Bittner is excited to begin creating new memories while experiencing old traditions and meeting new people.
Chocolate
Underneath the thin wrapper lies a sweet chocolate coating. The flavor in Bittner’s life comes from his family at home and his childhood experiences.
Bittner is the father of three girls, ages nine, seven, and five.
His children are still young, so he’s trying to expose them to multiple sports. He wants them to discover the sport that they are truly passionate about. As of now, they are enjoying softball, soccer, and basketball.
For Bittner, the mornings are one of the hardest parts of the day because he has to wake up early to make the trek from Washington County to Linganore. He believes that the drive is less dull when he listens to favorite radio station, ESPN 980, which brings back fond childhood memories.
As a kid growing up in Pennsylvania, he was raised to support the Steelers football team and the Pirates baseball team. Even though he’s grown older, Bittner still loves the Steelers. However, his allegiance towards the Pirates crumbled in the mid 80s.
“My one act of childhood rebellion was that I started to follow the Mets…I wasn’t gonna follow the Pirates–but I respect them,” he said.
He recalls a bittersweet memory of watching the opening game between the Pirates and Mets. The Pirates crushed the Mets with a score of 12-1. His parents decided to throw salt in the wound and hung up Pirates signs all around the house just to torment him!
The Crisp
Bittner attended Northern Garrett High where there were only a hundred students in his graduating class. In high school he considered himself to be part of the athletic crowd since he played basketball, football, and baseball. He also ran the 100 meter and 200 meter race in track.
In addition to being an all-around athlete, he kept up his grades. Bittner’s inspiration for achieving his goals comes largely from his favorite high school teacher, Mrs. Betsy Deem.
“Mrs. Deem was a… stern individual who taught calculus. She had three masters degrees in math, meteorology, and English. She was awesome in everything,” Bittner said.
Deem’s principle of not being a person who could be put in one box stuck with Bittner through his career. He too wanted to be a multifaceted person, so that is why he made the move from teaching to becoming an administrator.
Previously, her words helped him while he was at University of Maryland for a year in their engineering program. He learned from her that he should not waste his time doing something he was not enjoying, so he dropped out of the engineering program and switched to education to follow his passion.
The Crunch
Bittner loves gardening and the movie, Despicable Me.
In his free time, he loves to sleep, which aligns with many teenagers’ favorite pastime. His second favorite thing to do in his free time is to tend to his vegetable garden. Bittner loves tomatoes the most but also has a surplus of peppers and kale.
“A kale and bacon meal is some good stuff right there!”
In the fall, Bittner looks forward to spending Halloween with his three daughters. However, he does not dress up and yearns to just be able to spend the evening sitting in the driveway by a fire pit.
Although, Bittner did say that if he were to ever dress-up, he would take the appearance of Gru, the protagonist in Despicable Me. Adorably, his three girls would also dress-up as Gru’s own three daughters. His English Mastiff could be a minion.