The regional competition is set to take place at Holston High School today, Sat. Feb. 11, 2012.  Eastern Montgomery High School, the district runner-up, also advanced to the regional competition.

Cutline: Photo courtesy of the Hawke Family Radford High School Scholastic Bowl team members Walker Mogen, Nishant Grover, Daniel Hawke, Shelby Brooks, Neha Desai, Matt Turk, Aaron Smith, Zeke Shaffer, Jeff Feng and Cypress Beach, seen here at the Scholastic Bowl District competition held January 18 at RHS, are heading to the regional competition today.

Four teams – Auburn, Eastern Montgomery, Glenvar and Radford – competed at Districts.

Scholastic Bowl is a Virginia High School League double-elimination competition. This is the 14th year of its existence in the VHSL, and about 87 percent of Virginia schools participate in Scholastic Bowl.

Elaine Argabrite, who has been the RHS Scholastic Bowl Coach for all of those 14 years, says she is continually impressed at the knowledge and dedication of the student team members.

“Questions are asked in many areas covering such topics as medicine, architecture, art, music, philosophies, sports, and the basic English, Math, Science, and Social Studies,” she explained.

“This type of competition is not for the faint of heart,” she continued. “Not only does it take knowledge but it requires the ability to recall the knowledge very, very quickly – almost instantly – and buzz in to lock an opponent out.  These are quite dedicated and competitive students.”

Argabrite said she is eagerly anticipating today’s competition.

This is a very strong team with a wide breadth of knowledge,” she said. “They have been wonderful to work with and I look forward to competing at the Region Tournament.”

Correspondent

Families across the New River Valley watch plenty of TV shows, but they could be watching a home-grown war of the wits at their local high schools.

Mountain Academic Competition Conference (MACC) is the name of the local brain game most people are missing. It usually takes place on Monday evenings, and it can give adults a glimpse of what a smart, motivated high school student can accomplish with practice, a competitive spirit, and a love of knowledge.

MACC is a competition that pits school teams against each other without a single spherical object; it is not a sport.

It takes place on a stage and it includes tension and drama, but it isn’t a play.

There are judges present, but it is not a court case.

Willing kids, with both intelligence and nerve, volunteer to be on MACC teams at each area high school. The teams represent each of the four core academic areas: English, science, math, and social studies. A fifth team is the all-around team, comprised of students able to field questions on multiple subjects, including business, philosophy, religion, the visual arts and music, in addition to core subject areas.

The first part of the season includes matches that allow all five teams from one school to face off against the five teams from another school. Each team starts with a round of 10 directed questions. During this part of the competition, team members can collaborate and agree on an answer if they do so within 20 seconds.

In the next round, each team faces fast-paced toss-up questions, where quick, accurate thinking is essential. One team’s members have to know the answer and buzz in before members of the opposing team. No conferring is allowed.

“The tension gives me adrenaline and makes me work harder,” Kim Jennings said. A senior at Auburn High School and captain of the social studies team, she said the toss-up round is her favorite, even though it is also the most challenging phase of the contest.

Scores for all the matches are recorded and posted on the internet, so each team from each school can see exactly where they stand. At the end of the season, in March, there will be a bracketed tournament to determine the winner of each district. Then, another all-day contest, Super-MACC, takes place, determining the top teams in each category.

Accidental secret

MACC is unintentionally a well-kept secret. It lives in the shadow of local schools’ well-developed sports programs.

“Unlike sports events, people don’t usually hear about the matches,” explained Alanah Horning, captain of Christiansburg’s English MACC team. “It’s a very quiet and intense process.”

But there was some polite noise Monday night when Eastern Montgomery traveled to Auburn for a match. There was applause for correct answers, and sometimes opponents were applauding each other. Picture that at a sports event.

A MACC meet involves about 40 participants, including time-keepers and judges, and there were only about 60 people in Auburn’s auditorium Monday evening.

“My friends don’t think of MACC as cool,” said Auburn’s Anne Peters, a senior and captain of the science MACC team. “But I don’t mind. I still choose to participate.”

“Teachers and school staff support us more than friends,” said senior Steve Shelton, a member of both the social studies and all-around teams at Christiansburg High School.

Adding hours to school day

At a practice Monday at Blacksburg High School, the all-around team started their session with refreshments. Later that evening they would travel to Giles County High School to compete. Buzzers were set up in the classroom of Karen Costen, a social studies teacher and sponsor of two MACC teams.

Sam Bernhard, a senior, was quick to sound the buzzer when Costen called out questions. He demonstrated that being captain of both the social studies and all-around teams has given him confidence, as he attempted many practice questions and got most of them right. None of the team members had seen the set of questions Costen was using, she confirmed.

Most students polled said their friends rarely attended their matches, but Bernhard had a few words of encouragement. “This year more people have come (to watch MACC matches) which is really exciting for me and my friends who play MACC,” he said.

Christiansburg High School’s math team practiced Tuesday afternoon in Dee Davidson’s classroom. She sponsors the math team and coordinates the school’s MACC program.

“I want to start by saying you guys did a great job last night,” said Davidson. “I was so, so impressed with you.” CHS’s math team beat Floyd’s Monday evening.

Then she brought out the review questions. There have been matches going on for 27 years, and all the previous questions are fair game for practices. There were probability problems and lengthy equations and complicated questions about polygons and triangles.

Sitting in desks, which they had already been doing for 6½ hours, students puzzled and computed and attempted each question. When they struggled, Davidson stood at her overhead projector to show them how to tackle the problem.

Looking over one question before posing it to her team, Davidson quipped, “The probability of getting the answer to this one in 20 seconds is zero.”

Jiyun Chang, CHS math team captain, said her favorite part of the competition “is the teamwork utilized to solve slightly longer problems.” She said her goal is “to make my team proud and not lose points.”

Chang said Davidson sometimes sweetens the practice session with homemade brownies.

Calculating the gains

“I’m getting leadership experience from being captain,” Julie Greider said. A Blacksburg senior, she heads up the English MACC team. Greider said she gets nervous at matches, but added her nervousness “probably helps me be more alert.”

Matt Moschella, a senior and captain of Christiansburg’s All-Around team, said he values the camaraderie of being on the MACC team as well as the knowledge he gains. He described the split-second decision that is critical to winning the toss-up round: “You have to balance your chances of beating the other team to the buzzer with your assuredness that you know the correct answer.”

“I gain knowledge and a feeling of accomplishment when we win,” said Shelby Brooks, a junior at Radford High who is captain of her school’s English team.

AHS senior Kelly Jennings is captain of math MACC and twin sister of the school’s social studies captain. “I gain friends who share the same interests and a greater knowledge of the subject,” she said.

“I get to apply everything I have learned in science to answer MACC questions,” said Jeff Feng. He is captain of Radford’s science team and has been participating since eighth grade. Last year he started the season as the only member of the science team, but succeeded in recruiting some friends. Participating in MACC, Feng said, has taught him that “winning involves taking chances.”

“The most challenging part is staying focused when you have a string of questions that the team struggles with,” said Radford’s Daniel Hawke, a junior and captain of the social studies team. He said he expects to put in about 60 hours of practice for MACC this season, plus another 25 hours at competitions.

MACC, which started in Southwest Virginia back in 1985, now has participants in 17 schools. MACC’s success inspired the Virginia High School League to launch its Scholastic Bowl contest, according to Karen Trear, MACC coordinator at Auburn High.

These days there are enough MACC teams to have a show-down between the Eastern and Western counties of the area. Radford marks the western boundary of the Eastern District MACC teams. The Western District teams lie between Pulaski and Grayson.

On Monday night you can see the action in person. Auburn will travel to Floyd County to compete. Eastern Montgomery will host Narrows. Blacksburg will compete against Christiansburg at CHS. Radford will travel to Giles. Matches begin at 6 p.m.

Chris Lee, Christiansburg’s science MACC team captain, said he won’t be letting the tension of meets get to him. “Getting an answer wrong isn’t the end of the world,” he said. “I’m just there to have a good time and compete.”

“The cleanup of almost 2 million railroad ties from a site in Radford brings to an end a multi-year effort to clear the former industrial location and eliminate a potential environmental concern,” reads a statement from the DEQ released Thursday. “Norfolk Southern Railway Co. completed removal of the ties earlier this month, delivering on a long-standing offer to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to transport the ties for free if a suitable disposal site could be found.”

The removal, which took about five months, opens up seven acres of industrial property, with rail service and utilities in place, for redevelopment. Radford Economic Development Director Basil Edwards has been working on the removal since he started with the city in 1999 and said Thursday he is “tickled to death” the ties are finally gone after all these years. Edwards also credited the late Larry Amy, who was an engineer for the city’s public works department, for working on the problem for a decade prior to Edwards working on it. Edwards said the removal not only takes care of an environmental and safety hazard; it is also good for economic development.

“There are a least two good, flat lots down there that now can be used for new business, with rail access,” he said.

In a “state of the city” presentation to Radford City Council last year, Radford City Manager David Ridpath announced the clean-up project and said at the time the removal of the railroad ties is good for Radford on several fronts.

“Over a million crossties have been lying around there for 25 years,” Ridpath said. “I am very excited about [the removal]. It eliminates a big fire hazard, it opens up land for potential development, it’s good for the environment and it helps beautify our riverfront.”

The ties were stockpiled by a private developer, not the railroad, and DEQ Director David K. Paylor credited Norfolk Southern for stepping up to the plate.

“Norfolk Southern deserves a great deal of credit for this project,” Paylor said. “They willingly removed these old railroad ties at their own expense, and the result is a new opportunity for productive use of industrial property in Radford. This effort is a clear demonstration of their commitment to stewardship.”

According to the DEQ, the ties date to the 1980s, when they were “sold and stockpiled for reuse on a private site known as the Hammond property.”

“The owner eventually declared bankruptcy, leaving the property abandoned and the ties posing a fire hazard and other environmental concerns,” reads the DEQ statement. “Three years ago, DEQ’s Brownfields Program, with support from the DEQ regional office in Roanoke, began researching alternatives to traditional disposal by working with private companies to remove the ties.

“In early 2011, in response to DEQ’s ongoing efforts to get the site cleaned up, Norfolk Southern proposed a solution that involved transporting the ties via rail to approved disposal facilities. DEQ and Norfolk Southern signed an agreement in July to begin the voluntary removal of the ties.”

The ties have been taken to a facility in Pennsylvania that specializes in incinerating treated wood to create energy.

The current program includes all second graders getting a six-week swimming lesson course at the Dedmon Center pool through a partnership between RCS and Radford University. By the end of the school year, all second graders will be getting six, one-hour swimming lessons through the program. Tuesday, students, parents and McHarg teachers told the Radford City School Board what the program has meant to them.

McHarg Elementary School second graders enjoy the water at the Dedmon Center pool recently. A new swimming program is underway in Radford City Schools, with all second graders getting six, one-hour swimming lessons by the end of the school year.

“This program has been beyond our expectations,” said McHarg Principal Ellen Denny. “It is one of the best programs I have ever seen at McHarg.”

Dedmon Center’s Natatorium Director and Head Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach Randy Jarman has been an excellent partner in the program, said RCS Superintendent Dr. Becky Greer.

“This is a great partnership,” said Greer, who also thanked Radford Mayor Dr. Bruce Brown for offering the idea that swimming should be part of the physical education curriculum for Radford City Schools.

“Mayor Brown said he felt children growing up in the New River City should be taught to swim,” said Greer, “so we thank him for the idea.”

Brown was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting along with Councilmen Tim Cox and Keith Marshall to hear public comments about the future of the McHarg School building. With discussions underway about the future of McHarg School, the addition of an indoor pool facility in a renovated McHarg was broached on several occasions at Tuesday’s meeting. If the school was to be renovated and a new gymnasium was added to the structure, Greer, parents and teachers said they would like to see a pool facility added so the swim program could be expanded to more grade levels. The pool facility would also be used by the Radford High School Swimming team and likely would be open in some capacity to the public-at-large.

Three second graders from Dana DeHart’s class spoke at Tuesday’s meeting about their experience at swim school.

“I learned how to do new things,” said Allie Brown, who spoke along with Nicole Robinette and Autumn Howard. “I want to do it again.”

City and state officials will gather with the private developer to celebrate the public-private partnership on Thursday, January 12 with a grand opening celebration. The public is invited to take a look at the new project.

Taylor Hollow Construction, the City of Radford, New River Valley HOME Consortium, Virginia Housing Development Authority, and New River Community Action will be hosting the grand opening of the W.R. Roberts Building, formerly the Radford Fitness Building.

“The W.R. Roberts building is a mixed-use project featuring eight affordable, energy efficient, one-bedroom apartments and 4,500 square feet of street level commercial space,” reads a statement release by Main Street Radford about the project. “This historic renovation was completed through a partnership between the City of Radford’s Community Development Block Grant Program, New River Valley HOME Consortium, and the Virginia Housing Development Authority to create eight one-bedroom apartments affordable to those earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income, or $28,740 per year for a single person household.”

In addition to offering residential apartments, the rehabilitated building also includes 4,500 square feet of commercial space. That space will become the new offices of New River Community Action, a non-profit agency tasked with reducing poverty, revitalizing low-income communities and helping low-income individuals and families work toward self-sufficiency.

City leaders say the project is a good example of a public-private partnership making a positive impact on the city.

“We’re excited to have this building that stayed vacant and unused for the last 10 years come back to life,” says Radford Economic Developer Basil Edwards. “Plus, the City of Radford is happy to have such a great example of a public-private partnership.”

This is the second affordable housing project completed by Taylor Hollow Construction in downtown Radford in conjunction with the City of Radford.

The W.R. Roberts building is located at 1061 East Main Street. The grand opening will begin at 5 p.m. with a dedication of the building at 5:30 p.m.  Tours of the upstairs apartments and light refreshments will follow after.  Please contact Becky Haupt, Director Main Street Radford at 540-731-3656 for more information about this event.

Wilson, who was surrounded by his family and coaches and dressed in a coat and tie, ran for 1,709 yards this season, breaking Ryan Williams single season rushing record of 1,655 yards set in 2009.

The ACC Player of the Year is projected to be the third running back taken in the draft by ESPN analyst Todd Mcshay, likely late first or early second round, and could better his stock at the NFL combine.

Earlier in the week, Jayron Hosley, a junior cornerback, announced he would enter the draft.

Submitted from Virginia Tech

Photos submitted by Bryant Altizer

This large snowman sits atop the hill in front of the Radford High School to greet visitors as they enter into the New River City.

The clock near the farmer;s market is trimmed with light and garland in downtown Radford.

The Christmas tree at the Radford Public Library Stands tall for everyone to look upon.

A funeral that required a coliseum to hold it was nevertheless personal and touching as family, friends, and fellow officers paid respect Monday to fallen hero Deriek Wayne Crouse, 39.

The most personal words came from Sgt. Danny Sweeney, who served with Crouse in the army, and Sgt. Tom Gallemore, who worked with him at the Virginia Tech Police Department.

Crouse’s life ended Thursday when he was shot during a routine traffic stop on Tech’s campus.  Police have said the shooter, Ross Truett Ashley, 22, took his own life minutes later.  While the investigation continues, police say they believe the incident is a random act of violence.

By the time Crouse’s funeral began on Monday afternoon, seats on the west side of the Cassell Coliseum were filled with the black and navy uniforms of police from all over the East Coast.  Tech’s Corps of Cadets were present, occupying seats in the coliseum’s rounded corner.

Photo by Bryant Altizer The Virginia Tech Drillfield was illuminated as thousands gathered to pay tribute to fallen Virginia Tech Police officer Deriek Crouse during a candlelight vigil on Friday.

Members of the public nearly filled the east side of the coliseum.

All those present could easily see that down below, a bank of funeral sprays flanked a casket draped in an American Flag.

When the Virginia State Police Pipes and Drums began playing, the crowd went silent.  Even with thousands of people in attendance, the coliseum was noiseless as people waited respectfully for hundreds of honored guests, additional law enforcement members, close friends, and family to take their seats on the first level of the coliseum.

On the front row were Lisa Crouse and her five boys:  Dustin Crouse, Logan and Hayden Schack, Tyler and Peyton Robinette.  Nearby were Deriek Crouse’s parents, Tony Crouse and Bonita Akers.

“None of us wanted to be here,” Rev. Thomas McDearis said. He is chaplain to the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg Police Departments.

“Our hearts were gripped by sadness.  Such acts of violence can never be explained,” said Gov. Bob McDonald.  He said he spoke his condolences on behalf of the eight million citizens of Virginia and had given Tina Crouse the flag that flew at half-mast on the Capitol.

“From the sands of Iraq to the rolling hills of Blacksburg, Deriek Crouse was a public servant and a warrior,” McDonald said. “His bravery will not go forgotten.”

McDonald praised the Tech community for gathering an estimated 10,000 people for a candlelight vigil Friday night.  He also praised their resilience for persevering through exams and starting a scholarship fund that has already garnered $80,000.

Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum thanked Tina Crouse and her five sons for their sacrifice.  “Our families make sacrifices right along with us,” Flinchum said, referring to the demands of law enforcement.  “Deriek understood sacrifice.”

Sgt. Danny Sweeney’s emotions made it hard for him to speak when he first began his eulogy.

He said Crouse, with whom he served in Iraq in the army’s 424^th Transportation Company, had a talent for lifting the spirits of those around him.  “If you knew Deriek for 10 minutes, he would put a smile on your face,” he said.  Crouse, a tanker and truck driver in Iraq, “took great pride in what he was doing.”

“He would rather we celebrated his life than mourn his passing,” Sweeney said.

He had words of comfort for Crouse’s closest relatives.  “I don’t think they (his sons) would have changed a thing about Deriek,” said Sweeney.  “His parents can hold their heads high.  Tina, you and your family will always be part of the 424.”

“In true Deriek style I waited until the morning to write this,” said Sgt. Tom Gallemore as he began his eulogy.  The crowd murmured a quiet laugh.  He told of his friend’s adoration for Pittsburgh sports teams.  “He would jump up and down and scream,” Gallemore said.

“Deriek would not like all this attention,” he said.  Gallemore wept as he spoke about missing Deriek.  “I turn around at my desk and look at where he always stood.”

“He always thought about others,” Gallemore said, recalling how Crouse made a point to ask a Tech worker about his son who is in the service.  He told how Crouse counseled a weeping student he noticed on campus one day.  “He told her that he had learned that just because you have trouble with your family doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”

“Somehow we will get through this,” Gallemore said, addressing Crouse’s family.

“The most important stories were about how much he loved you, Tina,” Chaplain McDearis said.    “Some were funny and some were touching.”  He told Crouse’s family, “You will never be separated from the love he had for you.”

McDearis said Crouse’s life illustrates “that it truly is not the length of a life that gives it meaning.”

Occasionally during the long ceremony Tina Crouse ’s shoulders quaked from her sobs.  She comforted Dustin Crouse and her smaller children who were nearest to her.

When the family left the building eight color guards from colleges and police departments up and down the East Coast flanked their path in a symbolic show of protection and comfort.

A large funeral entourage proceeded to graveside services at Memorial Gardens in Blacksburg.

Virginia State Police have identified a Spotsylvania County man as the subject responsible for the murder-suicide that occurred Thursday (Dec. 8, 2011) on the Virginia Tech campus. Investigators have confirmed that Ross Truett Ashley, 22, of Partlow, Va., took his own life approximately a half-hour after fatally shooting a Virginia Tech Police Officer. Ashley also had a local residence in the 1000 block of East Main Street in Radford, Va.

At this time, there remains no prior connection or contact between Ashley, who was enrolled part-time at Radford University, and the Virginia Tech Officer he killed. State police investigators are continuing their work to establish a motive in the killing and to recreate Ashley’s movements in the days and hours leading up to the murder-suicide.

Ashley has been identified by Radford City Police as the individual responsible for the theft of a white 2011 Mercedes SUV from a real estate office in the City of Radford on Dec. 7, 2011. The Mercedes was stolen at gunpoint at approximately 11:25 a.m. Wednesday from Gilbert Real Estate in the 600 block of Calhoun Street. A male entered the business armed with a handgun and demanded the keys to an employee’s vehicle. No one in the real estate office was injured. The subject got away in the SUV, which was located the next day (Dec. on the Smart Road at Virginia Tech. At the time of the armed robbery, Radford City Police had issued a multi-state “Be On the Lookout” (BOL) for the stolen vehicle. When Blacksburg Police responded to a call of an abandoned vehicle on the Smart Road on Dec. 8, they immediately notified Radford City Police of its recovery.