ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512260071
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
Regional science fair
DUBLIN - The fifth annual Blue Ridge Highlands Regional Science Fair, co-sponsored by New River and Wytheville community colleges, will be held on the New River campus in Edwards Hall on March 29 and 30.
More than 200 students are expected to compete for college scholarships, savings bonds, gift certificates, ribbons and more than 20 special awards presented by private and governmental organizations such as Eastman Kodak, the American Meteorological Society, American Chemical Co., U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.
Two senior division students will be chosen as grand award winners and, with their teachers, get all-expense-paid trips representing this region at the 47th International Science and Engineering Fair in Tucson, Ariz., during May 5-13.
Competition is based on the quality of student projects, the results of which are reported through exhibits and oral presentations during the fair.
Such fairs are held to stimulate interest by students in science and engineering, provide an educational experience through exposure to judges and the public, and give public recognition to talented students for their work.
Twenty-three public and private schools in the service regions of the two community colleges have already registered for this year's fair.
Any teacher who has not been contacted and has students interested in participation should call fair director Donald Linzey at 223-4824 or 951-9717. Any parent or student seeking additional information can also call Linzey.
Cougar presentation
WYTHEVILLE - Donald Linzey, professor of biology at Wytheville Community College and director of the region's science fair since it started four years ago, will make a scientific presentation of his own next month.
He will speak on Appalachian cougars during the fifth annual Wilderness Wildlife Week of Nature, which runs Jan. 13-20 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Linzey will give a multimedia presentation and lecture Jan. 15 on the question, "Do Cougars Still Roam the Southern Highlands?" He has spent years researching the subject, seeking evidence that the cougar, long thought extinct in the region, still exists in the Southern Appalachians.
Co-author of the only book devoted to Virginia snakes and author of a volume on mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Linzey has taught at Wytheville Community College since 1989. He lives in Blacksburg.
Linzey also was principal investigator for endangered species research on the northern flying squirrel and northern water shrew in the Southern Appalachians for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He is currently studying the causes of declining amphibian populations in Bermuda.
A complete schedule of events at Pigeon Forge is available by calling (423) 429-7350.
Computer drafting
WYTHEVILLE - A course in computer-aided drafting will be offered during the spring semester at Wytheville Community College.
The beginning class is for people with an interest in drafting, civil engineering, electronics or other areas who want to learn to draw using a computer and CAD software. A background in drafting is helpful, but not essential.
The three-credit course will meet Thursdays from 6 to 9:30 p.m. starting Jan. 11. Tuition is $141.45.
E&H scholar
EMORY - Darden Freeman of Dublin is one of two Emory & Henry College students named as George C. Marshall Undergraduate Scholars for the 1995-96 school year.
He and Joel Brasfield of Kingsport, Tenn., will receive stipends from the George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington for yearlong research projects. The stipend will cover travel to Lexington and use of the resources of the Marshall Library.
Freeman, a senior, is pursuing a double major in history and German. He plans to do research on the Berlin airlift and its relation to post-World War II diplomacy and American foreign policy.
He is a member of the student government's judicial board and has been awarded the Ogal Preston Crew Scholarship for outstanding achievement in the study of history.
Meeting change
WYTHEVILLE - The Joint Industrial Authority of Wythe County, Wytheville and Rural Retreat has changed its regular monthly meeting from the fourth Tuesday at 2 p.m. to the third Tuesday at 9 a.m., starting in January.
Benny Burkett, the authority's executive director, told the authority at this month's meeting that he has met with Assistant Pulaski County Administrator Peter Huber for ideas on funding sources for a second Wythe County industrial park being planned. Anderson & Associates of Blacksburg will do an engineering study of potential sites under consideration.
Home-study courses
WYTHEVILLE - Twenty-two home study courses will be offered during the spring semester by Wytheville Community College, starting Jan. 4.
The students do not attend traditional classes but work at home through learning modules using such items as print materials, audio or videotapes.
All classes will meet at 7 p.m. Jan. 4 in Grayson Hall Commons on campus for course orientation, to receive handout materials and buy textbooks.
Further information is available by calling Dan Jones, chairman of the Business, Humanities & Social Sciences Division at the college, at 223-4736 or toll-free, 1-800-468-1195.
E&H honor society
EMORY - Beth Cox and Sally Higgs of Wytheville, Don Hanshew of Radford and Amanda Howery of Floyd are among 28 new members of the Emory & Henry College chapter of Pi Gamma Mu, an international honor society in the social sciences.
The organization, founded in 1924, has more than 180 chapters on campuses worldwide. Membership is open to junior, senior or graduate students in the top 35 percent of their classes with a grade average of B or better in at least 20 semester hours of social science classes.
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