Woodstock, VA – An innovative program in the Valley has involved students in helping to save energy in the Shenandoah County School District.

The results:

Through the efforts of school and division energy management teams, the Shenandoah County Public Schools were able to save $47,551 in electrical service costs during the months of January, February, March, and April 2010.

Due to the school division’s efforts, the Shenandoah County Public School have saved $121,355 in electricity expenses when compared to the same time period during the 2008-2009 school year.

During these same four months in 2010, the school division reduced its water consumption by a total of 198,300 gallons. The reduction equates to 7.49% less than last year.

The winning schools:

As a part of the school division’s Go Green! Competitions, three schools are being recognized for their efforts to reduce electricity and water consumption within their buildings.

Electric expenses

- At the elementary level, W.W. Robinson Elementary in Woodstock, VA, saved the school division $16,388 and reduced their consumption as a rate that was greater than the other elementary schools in the division.

- Signal Knob Middle School in Strasburg, VA won the middle school competition by reducing consumption at a rate that was slightly over 1 percent better than the division’s other two middle schools.

- The high school winner and the overall division winner was Strasburg High School. Through their reduction strategies, their electrical consumption decreased by 6.99%.

Water usage

- Sandy Hook Elementary School in Strasburg, VA reduced their consumption by 13.93%. They are the elementary school water conservation winner.

- The middle school winner was North Fork Middle School in Mount Jackson (Quicksburg), VA. Their water usage decreased by 5.71%.

- The overall winner and the high school winner is Stonewall Jackson High School in Mount Jackson (Quicksburg), VA. Their water consumption decreased by 30.86%, saving the division $3,246.

*****

During the first ten months of the 2008-2009 school year, the Shenandoah County Public Schools expended over $1.5 million on water, electricity, and heating costs. However, during the first ten months of this year, the school division has expended slightly over $1.3 million on these same utilities. This has resulted in a total utility savings of $227,161 when compared to the same time period last year.

For two years, the Shenandoah County School have participated in the Go Green Competition as a way to encourage environmentally-friendly practices in the schools, while at the same time reducing overall expenditures during a difficult economic climate.

During the two years that this program has been in existence, the Shenandoah County Public Schools has reduced the amount of money expended for utility costs by $320,538.

How the Go Green Competition works

Each school’s Energy Management Team has worked with personnel in their buildings to implement specific strategies that have assisted the division in reducing energy costs, while at the same time making an effort to preserve precious environmental resources.

Without their leadership, these accomplishments would not have been possible. Again this year, the Shenandoah County Public Schools Energy Management Committee has decided to participate in the VSBA Green Schools Challenge.

Shenandoah County Public Schools is committed to leading by example and helping everyone in the school system take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. The Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) Green Schools Challenge is a friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce the carbon emissions generated by the local school division and the broader community.

The goal of the challenge is to become a certified “Green School Division.” Recognition will be given at the VSBA Annual Conference in November 2010 to the top three school divisions in each of three student population brackets (less than 5,000; 5,001-10,000; 10,001-plus).

The VSBA Green Schools Challenge is sponsored by Moseley Architects. At the VSBA annual convention in November 2009, the Shenandoah County Schools earned third place in this competition.

What tips do you have for energy savings. Write your Comment below.

Baltimore, MD – “I can’t stop shaking,” is what the 64-year-old woman said as she sat down to chat with Lottery officials this afternoon about her big win. The grandmother of six literally scratched her way to a $250,000 win playing the King Size Cash scratch-off ticket.

The lucky Baltimore City player was getting her regular Pick 3, Pick 4 and jackpot game numbers when she decided at the last-minute to purchase a couple of scratch-offs, the first of which was not a winner. So, she tried again and could not believe her eyes as she scratched.

“I saw that I matched $10,000, then another $10,000, then another $10,000 and it kept going,” she said. The retailer confirmed her win and she quickly went home to tell her daughters. “She was in tears,” said one daughter. “I thought something was really wrong.”

The journey to Lottery Headquarters to claim the prize was also unbelievable. She started out early in the day, but left her wallet in her sister’s car. “I went back home to find it before I realized it was with my sister,” she said. “So, I had to go all the way to her house for my wallet and then back down here.”

The winner, who has struggled since her husband’s recent death, said she will give gifts to her children but is unsure of what she will do with the rest of the winnings.  The winning ticket was purchased at World Wide Liquors located at 5910 Pulaski Highway in Baltimore.

For more information about the Maryland lottery, click here.

Shepherdstown, WV – Fun for all ages. Don’t miss these geeks compete! It’s time to register for Brain Games XIII, a trivia tournament and annual fundraiser for Literacy Volunteers of the Eastern Panhandle (LVEP). The team registration deadline is March 26, 2010.

This fun event will be held Sunday, April 11, 2010 at Ram’s Den at Shepherds University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Brain Games consists of four rounds of 25 trivia questions each. Each team must have a minimum of three and a maximum of six players. The games begin promptly at 1 p.m. (Required check in for teams is between 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. the day of the event.).

The trivia tournament is free for the public.

There will be door prizes, a silent auction and a book exchange. (Donate your used books to the cause.)

It costs $25 per team to enter by the March 26 deadline. Space permitting, teams may enter for a $30 fee up until the event begins on April 11. Space is limited; register your team early.

If you have questions, call (304) 264-0298, send an email to BrainGames2010 at Verizon.net, or visit the BrainGames web site.

There are also registration forms at the Martinsburg Public Library, 101 West King Street, Martinsburg, WV 25401. (Please make checks payable to “LVEP”.)

Martinsburg, West VA – After all of the enthusiasm generated last year in finding the Eastern Panhandle’s largest tree, Delegate John Overington has announced that he’s continuing the hunt. In 2010, he’s looking for the largest oak tree located in Morgan, Berkeley, or Jefferson county in West Virginia, as a way to encourage identification of different species of trees.

Similar to last year, Overington will donate $500 to the person who can find the area’s largest oak tree measured by its height and its diameter a few feet off the ground. The winner will also receive a copy of the poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.

During 2009, 56 people submitted over 60 entries hoping to spot the largest tree (of any type) in the Panhandle. Dan DeSarno submitted the winning entry – a huge sycamore tree outside of Ranson, WV, that is over 20 feet in circumference.

Sara Wuertenberg, a Conservation District Education Outreach Specialist in the area, and Forester Herb Peddicord will assist by compiling and evaluating the entries. Call Sara at (304) 263-4376, extension 116, by June 15, 2010, with the circumference of the oak tree at four feet above the ground and estimate its height.

Delegate Overington’s grandfather, Fred W. Besley, was Maryland’s first state forester, serving in that capacity from 1906-1942. He launched Maryland’s “Big Tree Contest”. Over the years, Delegate Overington and his wife, JoAnn, have planted thousands of trees to carry on the tradition.

A reminder from the Fall issue of 7Bends of the Shenandoah Valley magazine…

Strasburg, VA – 7Bends is proud to announce our Inaugural Winter Soup Recipe Contest,
“Soup To Soothe The Soul.”

Show us your stuff! Create a winter soup concoction that will knock our socks off – because it brings so much goodness and warmth to the body. Perhaps, throw in some hearty fresh winter veggies, or whatever suits your fancy. Surprise us.

One entry per person. The deadline for entry is October 15, 2009. Our judges – JoAnn and Becky – will narrow the field down, and select the top three recipes based on: taste, originality, and use of fresh ingredients.

The top cook will be awarded a Saturday night stay at a Shenandoah Valley hotel and a dinner for two. The cooks who come in second and third will each be awarded a $25 gift certificate from a Valley restaurant. Winners will be announced on 7Bends.com around November 17, 2009. No purchase necessary to win. Tell your friends.

Enter your lucious soup online.

Strasburg – As we feel that nip in the air, 7Bends is proud to announce our Inaugural Winter Soup Recipe Contest, “Soup To Soothe The Soul.” Show us your stuff! Create a winter soup concoction that will knock our socks off – because it brings so much goodness and warmth to the body. Perhaps, throw in some hearty fresh winter veggies, or whatever suits your fancy. Surprise us.

One entry per person. The deadline for entry is October 15, 2009. Our
judges – JoAnn and Becky – will narrow the field down, and select the top three recipes based on: taste, originality, and use of fresh ingredients.

The top cook will be awarded a Saturday night stay at a Shenandoah Valley hotel and a dinner for two. The cooks who come in second and third will each be awarded a $25 gift certificate from a Valley restaurant. Winners will be announced on 7Bends.com around November 15, 2009. No purchase necessary to win.

Tell your friends.
You can send them this link: 7bends.com/recipe/

Looking South on Virginia Route 11 in Strasburg, VA.

Susie Hill, Director of the  Shenandoah County Economic Development Department, has coordinated this year’s event once again, working with all of the historic towns along Old Valley Pike for many months in planning the day-long extravanganza. The route starts in Stephens City in the north, and runs to New Market in the south.

One of the event partners, the town of Woodstock and the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, have provided an informational flyer for reference – available at: http://va-woodstock.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=310