Taking notes

A look at what’s going on in the field of education.

Independence Bank names scholars

Two local seniors recieved some of the $14,000 in college scholarship money awarded by Independence Bank.

Candice Harwood and Laura Newton, both of Greenwood High School, received the awards.

The Independence Bank Scholarship Program is designed to encourage high school seniors in the bank’s seven-county service area of Daviess, Henderson, McLean, Hancock, Webster, Warren, and McCracken counties to continue their education. Applicants are judged on high school grades, ACT/SAT scores, essays and personal interviews.

Isenberg selected for another term on board

Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed Jimmy Isenberg, campus director of Bowling Green Technical College’s Glasgow Campus, to a second four-year term on the Kentucky Board of Nursing.

Isenberg was elected president of KBN for the past two years, an event that’s happened only once before in the history of KBN. Isenberg was also named Practical Nursing Educator of the Year by the Kentucky State Association of Licensed Practical Nurses.

Isenberg attended the Glasgow School for Practical Nurses, graduating first in his class of 41 nurses in June 1978.

After graduation, he worked at T.J. Samson Hospital in the CCU/ICU as an LPN and continued his education at Western Kentucky University, finishing his associate’s degree in nursing in 1980 and his bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1989.

In 1996, Isenberg became a full-time nursing instructor for BGTC Glasgow Campus. He earned his master of science degree in community health administration that same year. In December 2001, Isenberg earned his Ph.D. in health with an area of concentrated study in the field of natural health.

On July 1, 2002, Isenberg took his current position at the Glasgow campus, where he also serves as the Allied Health Division chairman for all health programs offered by BGTC.

Thornton taking part in Kentucky Teen

Ann-Blair Thornton of Bowling Green is rehearsing for Miss Kentucky Teen at Georgetown College on Saturday.

Thornton, Miss Bluegrass Area’s Outstanding Teen 2006, is the daughter of Steven Owen and Terri Ann Thornton.

During the June 3-4 competition she will play piano and promote Alzheimer’s awareness and research.

For ticket reservations and information, call (606) 843-7289 or e-mail misskyteen@aol.com.

Canoe team gets regional title again

The &#8220Topper Chopper” carried Western Kentucky University’s concrete canoe team to its 11th straight Ohio Valley Regional title and into next month’s national competition.

The WKU concrete canoe team placed first in academics and won all five canoe race events at the April 28-30 competition at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati.

WKU engineering students also competed in the steel bridge and surveying events at the Ohio Valley Regional. The steel bridge team placed first in aesthetics and fourth overall while the surveying team placed first in the plumb bob event.

Concrete canoe faculty adviser Matt Dettman, the James D. Scott professor of civil engineering, said this year’s competition was the closest ever as WKU edged Youngstown State to advance to the 2006 National Concrete Canoe Competition June 15-17 at Oklahoma State University.

WKU’s concrete team placed 10th in the nation last year and has finished in the top 10 five of the past six years, including fourth in 2002.

Concrete canoe team members include Ben Cox of Hardinsburg; Kal Vencill, Eric Broomfield and Jon Allen, all of Richmond; Christian Crear of Clarksville, Tenn.; Matt Stone, Cody Humble, Heath Crawford, Sarah Kohler and Jason Wilson, all of Bowling Green; Brian Gregory of Leitchfield; Bryan Phillips of Glasgow; David Erickson of Hopkinsville; Parker Sloan of Shawnee Mission, Kan.; Kevin Collignon of Philpot; Ben Matthews of Alvaton; Catie Gay of Evansville, Ind.; Kelly Stolt of Nashville; and Stacey Tinius of Owensboro.

Steel bridge team members include Tony Kelly of Brandenburg; Adam Evans of Monticello; Chad Doughty of Woodbury; Justin Young of Morgantown; Scott Embry and Sarah Kohler, both of Bowling Green; and Austin Shields of Lexington.

Surveying team members include Bryan Phillips of Glasgow; Brian Ferguson and Brandon Bagby, both of Greensburg.

Greenwood SBDM has meeting Tuesday

Greenwood High School’s site-based decision-making council meets at 6 p.m. May 16 in the school library.

Greenwood senior National Merit winner

Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corp. recently announced the names of 2,500 distinguished high school seniors who won National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.

Jessica M. Wilson, a senior at Greenwood High School, was a winner of one of the scholarships. She plans to study physical therapy.

Merit Scholar designees are chosen from a talent pool of approximately 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2006 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Finalists in each state were judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Richardsville student gets 3rd in art contest

The Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board is proud to announce Emerald Smith of Richardsville Elementary School as the third-place winner in the Junior category of the third Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board Art Contest.

This year, students were challenged with a new theme, &#8220Soybean Production in Kentucky.”

Professional artists Larry Frost of Eddyville and Bill Granstaff of Princeton reviewed thousands of entries to select the winners of the contest.

The Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board sponsored the art contest to further promote the use of soybeans in the classroom.

Soybean crayons were used in the contest to not only give the students a chance to explore another medium, but to win cash prizes for their efforts.

Emerald’s art will be used in a calendar and displayed at the Kentucky Soybean Board exhibit in Louisville during the 102st Kentucky State Fair.

To find more products made with soy and to view the winning students’ artwork, visit www.kysoy.org.

RV enthusiasts to hold schooling here

Recreational vehicle enthusiasts from across the U.S. will gather Friday through Monday at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on Western Kentucky University’s South Campus.

The annual Life on Wheels conference attracts hundreds of novice, intermediate and advanced RVers.

The three-day series of 80 educational classes on the RV lifestyle features more than 20 experts, writers and educators from the industry, each presenting seminars and workshops related to RV recreation and travel, equipment and maintenance, and a variety of lifestyle enhancement courses.

Fees for the Life on Wheels conference are $199 per person. Dry camping is available for no charge.

To register or for more information, go to www.rvlifeonwhe els.com.

More than 9,000 participants have taken advantage of the lessons to learn at Life on Wheels.

2005 Talisman a Pacemaker finalist

The 2005 edition of the Talisman, Western Kentucky University’s yearbook, is a finalist for a national Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award.

Winners are announced during the National College Media Convention Oct. 25-29 in St. Louis.

Katie Clark, a Bowling Green senior, was editor of the 2005 Talisman.

The Talisman, which resumed publication in 2003 after a six-year absence, won national Pacemakers in 2003 and 2004.

Gordon Ford holds dinner of recognition

The Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University held the ninth annual Student and Faculty Recognition Dinner on April 28 at the Knicely Institute for Economic Development.

Faculty and staff receiving recognition for the 2005-06 academic year included: Craig Martin, Outstanding Teaching Award; Sam Thapa, Outstanding Research Award; Brian Strow, Outstanding Public Service Award; Jerry Bennett, Outstanding Student Advisement Award; Jan Colbert, Outstanding MBA Teacher; Sheri Henson, Prida Student Service Award; Ruthene Glass, Anne and Dan Greenwell Support Staff Award; Harold Little, Gordon and Glenda Ford Faculty Award for Faculty Excellence; and Leo Simpson, the Vitale Award for Initiative, Innovation and Leadership.

Carole Ledbetter was recognized upon retirement for her outstanding service to the college and university.

Two awards were given to acknowledge achievement by Gordon Ford College of Business alumni. Lee Goodpaster Knight was recognized as the 2005-06 Outstanding Alumni for the Ford College. Knight, a 1974 accounting graduate, serves as the director of the Accountancy Program and the Delmer P. Hylton professor of accountancy at Wake Forest University. Alan Taylor, a 1995 MPA graduate and partner with the regional CPA firm of BKD, LLP, was the 2005-06 Recent Alumni Award recipient.

Students receiving presentation awards were as follows: Jessica Malloy of Bowling Green (first place), Ashley Schonhoff of Bowling Green (second place) and Wayne Jackson of Park City (third place) for the Ramsey Best Paper in Economics Award; Lauren Hilgadiack of Portland, Tenn., Eaton Student Leadership Award; Leah Shiloh Pendley of Rochester, Delta Sigma Pi Golden Key Award; Ashley Schonhoff of Bowling Green, The Wall Street Journal Award in Economics; Chris Staley of Bowling Green, The Wall Street Journal Award in Finance; and Ashley Pinson of Franklin, the Leon Page Scholar.

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation recognized David &#8220Seth” Burkhart of Woodlawn, Tenn., and Kristopher D. Upchurch of Edmonton with Entrepreneurial Spirit Awards for their participation and leadership service with the Students in Free Enterprise Program at WKU.

The Gordon Ford College of Business recognized the following as outstanding students for the 2005-06 academic year: Jin Wang of Bowling Green, Outstanding Junior in Accounting; Cora Newsom of Jasper, Ind., Outstanding Junior in Economics; Rebecca Jewell of Bartlett, Tenn., Outstanding Junior in Finance; Shane Bradley of Bowling Green and Megan Cleveland of Glasgow, Outstanding Juniors in Information Systems; Michael Lee Meredith of Brownsville, Outstanding Junior in Management;

Lauren Hilgadiack of Portland, Tenn., Outstanding Accounting Senior; Leah Shiloh Pendley of Rochester, Outstanding Economics Senior; Juraj Lord of Bowling Green, Outstanding Finance Senior; Joshua Knight of Bowling Green, Outstanding Information Systems Senior; Melissa Shields of Glasgow, Outstanding Management Senior; Jennifer Hutton of Villa Hills and Elizabeth &#8220Kristin” Land of Richmond, Outstanding Marketing Seniors.

Millie Mathew of Bowling Green was recognized as the Outstanding MBA Student for 2005-06. Jennifer Hutton of Villa Hills received the Robert W. Jefferson Award for the Outstanding Gordon Ford College of Business Senior for 2005-06.

Academic team wins bowl championship

Western Kentucky University’s Educational Talent Search Academic Team won the Academic Bowl Championship in the Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel competition.

The team, composed of 11 middle school students enrolled in WKU’s ETS program, also won the spelling bee and placed third in the written exam and super quiz. Sakoyia Hodge of Bowling Green Junior High School brought home a trophy for her second-place finish in the written exam.

Other team members include: Andy Goins and Rachel Hill, Edmonson County Middle School; Cody Sanders, David Chhouk and Gabriel Mercer, Warren East Middle School; Dee Walker and Jasmine Grimes, Franklin-Simpson Middle School; Indyea Nixon, Bowling Green Junior High School; and Storm Browning and Wesley Poteet, James E. Bazzell Middle School.

The 11 members were selected after receiving high scores on an assessment given to more than 100 eighth-grade participants of the WKU ETS program.

The team entered the competition in Atlanta after winning the Kentucky championship. Members of the team were also praised on their creative T-shirt design which included the phrase &#8220Great Minds Think Like Us.”

Purples news staff earns contest awards

The Purple Gem newspaper staff had four winners in the Kentucky Professional Communicators journalism contest.

Junior Annie Erskine won first place for cartooning and her entry will be sent to the national level, where a win will mean a cash prize.

Kayla Golliher, a sophomore, won second place in two categories: Graphics and Single Page Layout. Junior Harrison Donnelly received an honorable mention for his Sports Writing entry.

Governor’s scholars from Bowling Green High School include: Nick Austin, Sam Earls, Jessica Lee, Colin Moss, Nathaniel Richmond, Julie Rosing, Richard Taing and Anne Taylor Wilson.

The 2006 Governor’s School for the Arts students from BGHS: Scott Gardner, Instrumental Music; Colton Jessie, Drama; Doran Song, Instrumental Music; David Stites, Musical Theatre; Richard Taing, Instrumental Music.

During the recent WKU Robert Penn Warren Center Program, teachers from all four county high schools and from the Baylor School in Chattanooga were invited to submit essays for the annual essay competition.

Two Bowling Green High School students took first and second place, earning certificates, T-shirts, and monetary awards of $100 and $50. They were: Lil Sturmann, first, and Kyle Russell, second.

Student Paige Minton won the Law Day Essay Contest for 2006.

Seven of Tiffany Hatcher’s English students have had their poetry selected for publication in Creative Communication’s &#8220A Celebration of Young Poets.”

The students are Troy Armentrout, Tiosha Beasley, Tiffany Belcher, Jessica Blair, John Hughes, Chris Hutcheson and Kevin Trice.

The publication will be released this summer.

The student’s poetry was selected from thousands of entries that were submitted.

Adult learning center graduation is May 19

The Bowling Green Technical College Adult Learning Center will have its graduation at 6:30 p.m. May 19 at the school, 1845 Loop Drive Building F.

For more information, call 901-1017.

Crandell credentialed for work in childcare

Sherry Crandell of Sherry’s Day Care of Bowling Green was recently awarded the Child Development Associate Credential in recognition of her work with young children.

The credential is awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C.