Shepherd

Michelle McDonald, who has attended Easter Seals Adult Day Services of Hagerstown for three years, attended the program's Christmas meal Wednesday with people she said were like her family. “You're with people that you love and care about here,” said McDonald, 46, of Hagerstown. “I'm very happy and grateful. Easter Seals has been very helpful to me in being with people and making friends.” Easter Seals local adult daycare program, which serves adults with disabilities, provided a Christmas lunch for its participants along with The Good Shepherd Ministries on Wednesday at the church on Longmeadow Road.

The detour through the Bavarian Inn was closed and traffic was resumed Wednesday from Shepherd Grade Road to the stop sign on W.Va. 480 (North Duke Street) for the first time since last spring when construction began on an underpass linking Shepherd University's East and West campuses. Students will begin using the underpass when they return to classes after the Christmas break in January, Dan Yanna, the university's director of facilities management, said Wednesday. Workers are finishing the concrete walkway and steps leading out of the tunnel onto the west campus.

Shepherd University's Department of Music will hold a piano sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, in the Frank Center McCoy Rehearsal Hall. The sale is open to the public. The selection includes baby grands, uprights, consoles, Yamaha Clavinovas (digital pianos), and Yamaha Disklaviers (interactive player pianos). The instruments are less than a year old and come with full manufacturer warranties. For more information, call 1-866-742-6673.

Shepherd University will host "The Relationship Tour," a forum for students to explore how to build and sustain healthy relationships, from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5,  at the Frank Center Theater. The tour's creator and moderator, Jason Ottley, also a counselor for Shepherd's TRIO student support services, said this is a discussion for students that is needed and long overdue. The event will feature a panel discussion with faculty and students, and Student Government Association president Elizabeth Greer will serve as mistress of ceremonies.

The Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies will host a debate on the issue of the national popular vote for president and vice president on Monday at 7 p.m. in the center's auditorium at 213 N. King St. on the campus of Shepherd University. The debate will feature Del. John Doyle of the West Virginia House of Delegates and Patrick Rosenstiel, senior consultant for the 501(c)4 National Popular Vote issue advocacy group. The debate is free and open to the public. During each presidential election the question always arises about whether the Electoral College has outlived its usefulness and that this Constitutional provision should be altered or abolished so that presidents can be elected by the direct popular vote of the people.

Shepherd University's Department of Music will host its annual vocal competition on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, in the Frank Center. The competition is open to high school juniors and seniors. The application deadline for the competition is Dec. 28. The daylong event will consist of preliminary auditions, a selection of finalists, an honors recital presented by Shepherd students, and an awards ceremony including performances by the chosen prize winners. The honors recital and awards ceremony are free and open to the public.

De'Antwan Williams ran 30 times for 152 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as No. 11 Indiana (Pa.) knocked off No. 25 Shepherd 27-17 in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Hawks (11-1) ran for 203 yards, becoming the only team to rush for more than 110 yards against the Rams this season. Shepherd (8-3) took a 17-14 lead midway through the third quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Ryan Earls. But IUP ruled the rest of the game. Williams scored on a 5-yard run with 1:45 left in the third to give the Hawks a 21-17 lead.

The Shepherd University Common Reading Program will show the movie “Miss Evers' Boys” in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies auditorium on Thursday at 7 p.m. An after-film discussion will be led by Kathy Corpus, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences. The movie is free and open to the public. The film tells the story of the Tuskegee Experiment, a secret medical experiment on poor African Americans from 1932 to 1972, designed to study the effects of untreated syphilis.

Shepherd University police are investigating a reported armed robbery Thursday night on the college's east campus, university spokesman Tim Haines said Friday. The campus community was alerted of the reported incident at 8:03 p.m. and advised to use caution. A possible suspect in the reported incident was described to as a tall male who was wearing a white bandana, black pants and a hoodie, Haines said.

Shepherd University President Suzanne Shipley said Tuesday the university's new Center for Graduate and Professional Studies to be built in Martinsburg will open next August for the 2013-14 academic year. University officials are looking at several sites with an announcement regarding their choice due in a few weeks. Shipley told a gathering of 22 stakeholders at the first of three scheduled informational breakfast meetings Tuesday at the Holiday Inn that the new center will have eight classrooms, faculty and student lounges, study rooms, offices and IT systems and support space.