15 hands equine club formed at Catawba

Catawba College students have an opportunity to be involved with a new student club on campus this academic year. The 15 Hands Equine club has been organized by club president Trilby Kirk of Salisbury, a sophomore, and faculty advisor Dr. Amy Holmes, an assistant professor of psychology.

This new club promotes equine welfare, helps students develop leadership skills and gain experience working with horses and supports the community. Any student may join the club regardless of their experience with horses.

The club partnered with Midnight’s Promise and Rowan County 4-H on Sept. 9, to present “Pony Palooza,” a fundraiser for Midnight’s Promise Equine Rescue, a nonprofit located in Salisbury. Club members set up the event, managed the horse arena and ran the concession stand. Local residents brought their ponies, miniature horses and horses for a fun-filled day of competitions including best trick, best costume, pole bending and an obstacle course.

On Oct. 1, 15 Hands will volunteer at Heart Centered Horsemanship’s Obstacles Clinic and Competition in Salisbury. Heart Centered Horsemanship “teaches respect for boundaries, facilitating relaxation, and gentle pressure-release techniques to work through resistance without force, threat or increasing stress.”

Advanced Manufacturing Week kickoff event at DCCC

Each year Davidson County Community College hosts an Advanced Manufacturing Week which offers opportunities for students, employers and the community to explore the growing field of advanced manufacturing. To kick off the event this year, the High Performance Manufacturing Association is hosting an event on the Davidson campus of DCCC. The event is planned for Monday, Oct. 2 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and is open to the public with a registration fee of $25 — which includes dinner.

During the event, drone displays and demonstrations, an ELF car that is a solar and pedal hybrid and regenerative medicine 3D printing will all be showcased. Reservations are required by Thursday, Sept. 28 at noon. To register, contact Bridgett Roach at the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce: broach@lexingtonchamber.net or call 336-248-5929.

Events to celebrate 50th anniversary of N.C. Arts Council

Arts and cultural organizations in all 100 North Carolina counties will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the North Carolina Arts Council in October through music, dance, visual arts, theater, literature and other art forms presented across the state.

“The celebration in October is a tribute to our collective achievements over the past 50 years,” said Susi H. Hamilton, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “The N.C. Arts Council along with local Arts Councils have created a truly welcoming and exciting environment for citizens and visitors to North Carolina.”

Residents and visitors can participate in close to 175 cultural events that are slated now through late November in recognition of the anniversary of the North Carolina Arts Council. These events demonstrate the diversity of arts expression developed or supported by the N. C. Arts Council.

“The ideal that founded the North Carolina Arts Council in 1967 was ‘arts for all citizens,’” said Wayne Martin, executive director, North Carolina Arts Council. “Since that time, we’ve worked to create an expansive network of nonprofit arts organizations so that citizens can participate in the arts and artists can contribute to our state’s growth and development.”

The concentration of events will occur during the Statewide Arts Celebration in October, scheduled to coincide with Arts & Humanities Month, a national celebration of arts and humanities across the U.S.

Events are listed on a comprehensive calendar at www.NCArts50.org or you can search by county here.

Applications open for Youth Legislative Assembly

North Carolina high school students are invited to apply for the 48th Annual Youth Legislative Assembly (YLA).

The assembly teaches high school students about the laws governing North Carolina’s citizens as well as the lawmaking process. Students draft, debate and vote on mock legislative bills while developing skills in research, interviewing, group facilitation and policy writing. As the bills are debated, the students get a chance to practice communicating their ideas, opinions and experiences in a team-building environment. At the conclusion of the three-day program, the participants have a better understanding of the lawmaking process as well as enhanced written and oral communication skills.

The Legislative Services Office, under the North Carolina General Assembly, is now accepting applications for the conference to be held April 6 – 8, 2018, in Raleigh. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 11. The application can be found online at http://www.ncleg.net/ncgainfo/YLA.html.

The assembly provides the opportunity for North Carolina’s youth to engage with peers from across the state in a structured, positive, youth-focused environment. The program is open to students in North Carolina who are in good standing at a public, private, charter or home school. For more information please email coordinator erica.gallion@ncleg.net or call 919-301- 1372.

Catawba’s Luke Dollar shares science and conversation in Naples, Fla.

Just a week before Hurricane Irma pounded Florida, Dr. Luke Dollar, chair and professor of environment and sustainability at Catawba, was in Naples and Collier County, Florida, to talk science and conservation with fourth graders there. It was Dollar’s fifth annual visit to the area, where Collier County District Schools use a National Geographic Science Methods Textbook featuring Dollar and his Madagascar research to train fourth graders on the scientific method.

The Naples Zoo, the longest-running continuous supporter of Dollar and National Geographic’s Madagascar research involving the fosa, was the site from which two live streamed “fun talks” were played in all Collier District elementary schools. More specifically, Dollar was broadcasting from the Naples Zoo’s fosa enclosure.

During his visit to Naples, Dollar also spent two days visiting 35 individual classrooms at several schools and gave a larger public talk at the Naples Zoo.

The Collier County School District presented Dollar with an award in recognition of his fifth year of service in this event. Over the five years, Dollar has visited every single fourth grade classroom in Collier County, all 150 of them.

Editor’s Note: After Irma made landfall in Florida, the Naples Zoo suffered much damage. However, of all the animals on display there, only two greater kudus (a type of large antelope) died as a result of the storm. Dollar and some of his students from Catawba are planning a relief recovery trip to the zoo at a future point in this academic year.

Shive students help out Hurricane Harvey victims

On Sept. 1, Shive Elementary students loaded a trailer with supplies for the citizens of Texas who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. All week students brought in necessities for the body, such as bottled water, food and blankets, as well as necessities for the soul, such as stuffed animals and letters of encouragement. Students worked hard collecting items, organizing them, boxing them up and loading them into the trailer.

 

Football players teach Shive students positive behavior

On Sept. 19, Shive Elementary celebrated positive behavior during their EBEE Kick-off. EBEE stands for Extraordinary Behavior Expected Everyday. Brothers Brayden and Grayson Carter started the Kick-off by playing the drums and the electric guitar while the students rocked out. Afterwards, Coach Ahmaad Smith and several Catawba football players spoke to the students about leadership, positive behavior and doing well in school.