[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 75 (Thursday, June 11, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6259-S6260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DOVER HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AND NATIONAL FEDERATION OF PRESS WOMEN AWARD 
                    WINNER--PATTY RICHARDSON HINCHEY

   Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, as we focus on improving our 
education system on the national state and local levels, it is my 
pleasure to offer congratulations to an award-winning teacher from 
Dover, Delaware who exemplifies excellence in education for her 
students, her community, my home state of Delaware, and indeed, this 
nation.
  For the second consecutive year, Patty Richardson Hinchey received 
the second place award in the category of

[[Page S6260]]

Achievement/Research--Faculty Adviser of Student Publications for 
Secondary Schools. This award is given by the prestigious National 
Federation of Press Women. The award recognizes the outstanding high 
school journalism advisers/teachers.
  Patty also won first place in the State of Delaware competition for 
the past two years in the same category from the Delaware Press Women, 
which made her eligible for the national award.
  What my colleagues might find most interesting and ironic--the name 
of the student newspaper at Dover High School for which Patty is the 
faculty adviser is ``The Senator.'' The 24-page award-winning issue 
captivated the pulse of student activities, highlighted the history of 
soon-to-be graduates, spotlighted student leadership during their four 
years at Dover High School, congratulated Athletes of the Year, and 
featured articles about teachers who make a difference.
  Patty's work on the student newspaper goes well beyond the final 
afternoon school bell. She and her students calculated spending more 
than 6,000 hours in the last four years putting editions of ``The 
Senator'' to bed. Even more remarkable, due to a school-related 
accident leaving Patty unable to walk, she worked from her home with 
the students to get the final issue to press on time.
  I have spoken often about the need in this day and age to give young 
people an ``excuse'' to stay on the road to achievement, stay in 
school, stay away from alcohol, drugs and gangs, and stay off the 
streets. Student newspapers, like Dover High School's, and teachers 
like Patty Hinchey, are providing these students with that valuable 
``excuse.'' This is positive peer pressure, and our country needs more 
of it. The students know they have to keep their grades up, get their 
work done on strict deadlines, and keep out of trouble or else they 
will not experience the thrill and pride of seeing their byline on an 
article they researched and wrote.
  So, I want to thank Patty for providing these award-winning students 
the opportunity to be their very best and strive for excellence in 
their work. The lessons and values they have learned working on the 
school newspaper will serve them well throughout their lives--the 
lessons of deadlines, responsibility, accountability, how to 
communicate verbally and in writing, and most importantly how to get 
along with and respect other people.
  I could go on about how impressed I am with Patty, but listen to what 
her students say about her. The Editor-in Chief of ``The Senator'' 
said: ``Mrs. Hinchey is an inspirational, talented, creative, hard-
working, and most importantly, loving teacher. I am currently a senior 
and have been in her class since my freshman year. Over this time, I 
have been able to observe how many students she has become close to and 
how many people both trust and respect her.''
  Another student, Kate Basone, Advertising Editor, said: ``Mrs. 
Hinchey inspired the students to produce work that reflected their best 
effort. She would not accept articles that she felt were not up to the 
standards of ``The Senator'' which she established. Therefore, because 
of her constant pushing and sometime pulling, many students found 
themselves producing some of their best work.''
  Patty is not only a talented teacher, she is a terrific mother to her 
daughter Andrea, who is student at the University of Delaware, and a 
career military wife to the now retired Lieutenant Colonel John 
Hinchey.
  It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Patty Richardson 
Hinchey for her outstanding accomplishments as an awarding-winning 
teacher and faculty adviser for the Dover High School newspaper ``The 
Senator.''

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