National Contest

bonnieb@herald-mail.com GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Local fourth-graders learned Internet research skills while following the travels of a globe-trotting soccer ball, and brought national honors to their school in the process. Students in Beth Wilson's class at Greencastle-Antrim Elementary School participated in the Around the World with B.O.B. program sponsored by UPS and Mail Boxes Etc. The companies celebrated the opening of their 5,000th worldwide location by helping teachers teach geography, according to the UPS Web site.

Middletown Middle School won a $10,000 award through a contest sponsored by the “Henkel Helps” program, which promotes youth fitness and helps combat childhood obesity.   The winning schools submitted nominations answering the question, “What would your school do with $10,000 to improve youth fitness?” Middletown, which competed against thousands of other schools to win the national contest, will use the money toward the cost of repairing its 60 year-old decaying track that is used by students and the community.

The Washington County 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging teams competed at the state level this fall. The state contest was held in September during the Maryland State Fair. The junior team finished first in the Jersey division and second in the Ayshire and Brown Swiss divisions. The Intermediate team finished first in both the Brown Swiss and Jersey divisions. Overall, the Junior and Intermediate teams finished third. As individuals, junior team member Macayla Wiles was second, Cory DeBaugh was sixth, Rachel Wiles was 14th, Carol DeBaugh was 18th and Erin Corbett was 19th.

HAGERSTOWN -- One of the three area students participating in the National Bible Bee has advanced to the round of 20 in his age group. Isaac Mulford, 8, of Hagerstown, a student at Shalom Christian Academy in Marion, Pa., made it through a rigorous first day Thursday at the Bible Bee to make it to the top 20 of the national contest, his father Mark Mulford. Thursday's action consisted of two oral rounds as well as a written test. Isaac will compete in oral rounds this morning, and will learn around noon if he makes it to the top seven, Mark Mulford said.

The American Pet Products Association is accepting poems for the fourth annual Pets Add Life Children's Poetry Contest through Jan. 31. Students in grades three to eight are invited to write a poem about their pets, what they love about them, the joys they bring and post them online at www.petsaddlife.org or mail their final poem and submission form to Pets Add Life, 661 Sierra Rose Drive, Reno, NV, 89511. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. One student from each grade level (six total)

pepperb@herald-mail.com BOONSBORO - Three young Boonsboro model rocket scientists will trade in their book bags for the launch pad at a national contest in May. Boonsboro High School sophomore Ameen Mirdamadi, 15, and Boonsboro Middle School seventh-graders Kayvon Mirdamadi, 12, and Brett Rosenthal, 12, will compete in the first Team America Rocketry Challenge May 10 at Great Meadow, The Plains, Va. The boys qualified among the...

A Funkstown girl added to her already large collection of poster competition awards last week, taking second place for her entry in the National 1998 Savings Bond Poster Contest. Jessica Gonder's mother, Dottie, estimated that her daughter has won at least two dozen awards, including five in national competitions. A map of the United States made up the background of her winning illustration. A large eagle, carrying savings bonds, flew across the map to a nest made of leaves and more bonds.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer CLEAR SPRING - Local agriculture students routinely compete in national Future Farmers of America contests, but Heidi Drury made Washington County history when she tied for first place in one of the events. Drury, 17, part of a team of Clear Spring High School students who competed in the contest in Kansas City in November, received top recognition for developing a new breakfast cereal. It was the first time a Washington County student has scored that high in the national contest, and the first time in about 15 years that a student from Maryland has scored that high, said Terrie Shank, agriculture instructor and FFA adviser at Clear Spring High.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania District 21 Veterans of Foreign Wars winners of the 2005 VFW student essay contests were honored March 12 during a ceremony at Chambersburg VFW Post 1599. The Voice of Democracy, an audio essay contest for high school students, had a theme this year of "How I Demonstrate My Freedom. " Patriot's Pen, a written essay contest for middle school students, had a theme of "Who are Today's Patriots. " Amos Rawley of Greencastle, Pa., won $600 for winning the Voice of Democracy contest at the district level, then won first place at the state level to win a $5,000 savings bond.

TOWSON, Md. - To combat the dangers of children and traffic as well as the perils and challenges facing new teen drivers, AAA Mid-Atlantic is announcing its 2005-06 Traffic Safety Poster Program. The contest offers students an opportunity to be creative while reinforcing key messages that are critical to the safety of area youth, according to Ragina C. Averella, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. Traffic crashes are the leading killer of children ages 2 to 14, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Drug-prevention campaign holding home-decorating contest The National Family Partnership is holding a national contest for its 27th annual Red Ribbon Week, which is Oct. 23 to 31. Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug-prevention campaign in the country, according to a news release. Families can enter Red Ribbon Week's contest to win a $1,000 grant for their school and a new iPad for their home. To participate in the contest, families and students will decorate the front of their homes with this year's message: “The Best Me Is Drug-Free.” For more information, go to www.redribbon.org/contest . Conococheague Institute annual membership meeting is Saturday WELSH RUN, Pa. - The Conococheague Institute's annual membership meeting will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Welsh Barrens Visitors Center, Rock Hill Farm, 12995 Bain Road in Mercersburg, Pa. The annual meeting will feature a potluck membership luncheon and silent auction, followed by a business meeting.

The American Pet Products Association is accepting poems for the fourth annual Pets Add Life Children's Poetry Contest through Jan. 31. Students in grades three to eight are invited to write a poem about their pets, what they love about them, the joys they bring and post them online at www.petsaddlife.org or mail their final poem and submission form to Pets Add Life, 661 Sierra Rose Drive, Reno, NV, 89511. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. One student from each grade level (six total)

Middletown Middle School won a $10,000 award through a contest sponsored by the “Henkel Helps” program, which promotes youth fitness and helps combat childhood obesity.   The winning schools submitted nominations answering the question, “What would your school do with $10,000 to improve youth fitness?” Middletown, which competed against thousands of other schools to win the national contest, will use the money toward the cost of repairing its 60 year-old decaying track that is used by students and the community.

Thirty minutes may not seem like a long time to some, but spent creatively it can help make a difference in a life. Just ask Master Sgt. Tim Blankenship of the West Virginia Air National's 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, W.Va. Blankenship's entry to design a racecar for Toyota's Sponsafier 3 contest earlier this year bested more than 45,000 entries. And he didn't have to search far for an inspiration when coming up with a unique design for the Toyota Camry stock car. The Berkeley Springs, W.Va., man chose the logo and two-tone pink color scheme of "Chelsea's Hope" for the race car's signature design.

John Strauss is as well-mannered an seventh-grader as you'll find, with good grades, a large vocabulary and a love of reading. So when he entered a national contest based on letters written to favorite authors, John wrote to Darren Shan, author of a favorite young-adult book - "Lord Loss," the first book in the Demonata series of gory, graphic fantasy novels. John said Shan was a natural pick as the author to whom he would address a letter in the contest. "He's my favorite author so far," John said.

HAGERSTOWN -- One of the three area students participating in the National Bible Bee has advanced to the round of 20 in his age group. Isaac Mulford, 8, of Hagerstown, a student at Shalom Christian Academy in Marion, Pa., made it through a rigorous first day Thursday at the Bible Bee to make it to the top 20 of the national contest, his father Mark Mulford. Thursday's action consisted of two oral rounds as well as a written test. Isaac will compete in oral rounds this morning, and will learn around noon if he makes it to the top seven, Mark Mulford said.

Q1: How many books are there in the Bible? Q2: What does El Shaddai, one of the many names of God, mean? Q3: Ruth showed kindness by taking care of her mother-in-law. Who was her mother-in-law? If your children can answer these questions correctly, you might want to consider entering them in the National Bible Bee. They could join more than 14,000 other children who have registered for the contest this fall. The competition will begin with local contests in communities nationwide Sept.

My neighbors are wonderful people To the editor: Having resided on Thames Street in Hagerstown for almost 13 years, I knew my neighbors always exhibited kind and caring attitudes through their actions. But recently when both of my parents developed serious medical problems at the same time, my neighbors, Ann and Ron Thomas and Kathleen and Dave McLaughlin, showed extraordinary kindness and compassion to my parents and me. When my mother had to be rushed to the emergency room of the hospital by ambulance late at night with heart problems, Ann Thomas came to the emergency room to offer comfort and support to my mother, father and me. Upon my mother's release from the hospital, a winter snow storm left three and a half inches of snow on the ground here, and Ron Thomas shoveled the snow off my entire driveway and walkway.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - It is three o'clock on a Wednesday and the faint sound of a piano fills the empty corridors of Shepherd University's Creative Arts Center. Down the hall, a professor jingles his keys as he locks his office. The usual bustle of students going to and from class is gone. It is spring break. "I will see you next week," Professor Scott Beard says as he opens his office door and waves goodbye to one of his piano students. Closing the door, he sighs and sits behind his desk.

The Washington County 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging teams competed at the state level this fall. The state contest was held in September during the Maryland State Fair. The junior team finished first in the Jersey division and second in the Ayshire and Brown Swiss divisions. The Intermediate team finished first in both the Brown Swiss and Jersey divisions. Overall, the Junior and Intermediate teams finished third. As individuals, junior team member Macayla Wiles was second, Cory DeBaugh was sixth, Rachel Wiles was 14th, Carol DeBaugh was 18th and Erin Corbett was 19th.