More News

Pam Walasik, a co-leader for Junior Girl Scout Troop 81729 of Kemptown, said that the troop recently completed a Bronze Award project, the highest honor a junior troop can earn.

The award winners, Amy Chaisson, Emma Pettinati, Alison Root, Melissa Varros and Amanda Walasik, are all in fifth grade.

The girls of the troop gathered pet food and supplies for Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary, located in Woodstock, Md.

Frisky's is a nonprofit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sanctuary, according to its Web site, www.friskys.org. Frisky's also rescues small exotic pets, and serves as an adoption shelter for domestic pets as well, the Web site states.

The Bronze Award project, which Junior Girl Scouts must undertake to advance, is very time-intensive, Walasik said. She said that the project requires 15 hours of planning, and seven to eight hours of work. She said the girls surpassed this by a significant margin, spending months soliciting donations from neighbors and businesses, and they also advertised the event and collected donations at Kemptown Elementary School, where the girls attend.

"The girls gathered donations at various different locations for two months," Walasik said.

Their final collection was at Kemptown's talent show on May 8, Walasik said.

With the project successfully completed, the girls have since advanced to Girl Scout Cadets, Walasik said.

She said that Troop 81729 is a special group of Girl Scouts, having been together since they were Girl Scout Daisies. When they reached fifth grade, many chose to leave scouting, but Walasik said the girls of Troop 81729 have stuck with it. The girls' dedication to community service is reflected in their choice of project for their Bronze Award: they wanted to help creatures that could not help themselves, Walasik said.

"This was the one they chose because they all have a love of animals," Walasik said.

New Market native presents research at conference

Chase Wrinn of New Market presented psychology research, "Personality, Attitudes Toward Social Issues, and Identity Status Development," at the eighth annual Salisbury University Student Research Conference on April 24 in Salisbury.

Wrinn's study tested participants in the ages between adolescence and full adulthood on the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale and the Social Dominance Orientation scale, both of which are intended to examine individuals' attitudes toward social hierarchy, authority and conventions. The study also examined other variables believed to help youngsters develop adult personalities.

Urbana Middle Student

runs through history

On June 7, Tyler Makosy of Ijamsville took first place in the 30th "Run Through History" in Sharpsburg. Tyler ran in the two-mile event with 50 other runners and his winning time was 14:14, according to his mother. Tyler is a rising seventh-grader at Windsor Knolls Middle School and the son of Doug and Chris Makosy of Ijamsville.

All proceeds from the race benefit APPLES for Children, Inc, a nonprofit organization providing child care referral services, training and technical assistance to Washington County residents and agencies and Head Start of Washington County, according to the race's Web site.

Students make deans' lists

at universities

- Katelyn Marie Noble, of New Market, made the dean's list at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. for the spring semester.

- Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., named Casey Breslin of Frederick to its dean's list for the spring semester.

- Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., has named Zachary E. Berger of Urbana; Matthew T. Bozzonetti, of Monrovia; and Paige R. Givens, of New Market to its dean's list for the spring semester.

Do you have an item for News and Notes? Contact reporter Chris Brown at 301-846-2132, e-mail chbrown@gazette.net, or fax news to 301-846-2124.