Latest news with #MountViewHighSchool
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
School year will be a few days longer for some
tazewell, va. — Some area students will be spending a few extra days in the classroom next month. That's due to instructional days that were lost due to the weather. But it wasn't just a bad winter and snow that contributed to a loss of instructional days this school year. A February flood, and the remnants of Hurricane Helene last September, also caused school closures. In Tazewell County, days had to be added to the end of the school year to make up for the loss of instructional time due to the various weather events. The last day of school for students in Tazewell County will be Thursday, June 5, according to Tazewell County School Superintendent Dr. Chris Stacy. The last day for teachers is Friday, June 6. 'We missed some school for weather, flooding and a hurricane,' Stacy said. 'It was quite a weather year. This is the first I can ever remember us missing school in September.' The original school calendar for the 2024-2025 school year had school ending in late May. The remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed into the region on the morning of September 24, 2024, toppling thousands of trees and power lines across the region. It also caused localized flooding. Thousands across the area were without electricity for more than a week. Stacy said several schools in the Eastern District of Tazewell County, including Graham High School, lost electricity following the storm. In neighboring Mercer County, the last day of school for students is June 10 and the last day for employees is June 16, according to Amy Harrison, data and information specialist for Mercer County Schools. Although the school year will stretch into the first 10 days of June, the instructional days lost due to the weather were recovered during spring break, according to Harrison. 'We did not have to extend the school year because the number of snow days over our built-in days in the calendar were taken during spring break,' Harrison said. While some students will be in the classroom a few days longer, seniors will soon be graduating across the region. In McDowell County, graduation is set for May 22 for both Mount View High School in Welch and River View High School in Bradshaw. In Mercer County, graduation will be held May 30 for Montcalm High School, Bluefield High School, Princeton Senior High School and PikeView High School. In Monroe County, graduation is also set for May 30 for seniors at James Monroe High School. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Athletes, environmentalists debate proposed statewide ban on artificial turf fields in Maine
Apr. 9—There is a price to be paid whenever Ben Grassi plays soccer on synthetic turf. The senior Mount View High School defender told state lawmakers Wednesday that his knees and hips ache from trying to start, stop and jump on the slippery, pebble-topped surfaces at rival schools. And because the rubber absorbs heat, turf fields leave him more tired and dehydrated than grass. The varsity co-captain says synthetic turf slide burns are more painful and heal slower than grass burns. "As you consider state policy around artificial turf, it is my hope that you prioritize the health and success of Maine student-athletes, rather than any perceived benefits regarding ease of maintenance and cost savings," Grassi said during a legislative committee hearing on a proposed artificial turf moratorium. The proposed legislation, LD 1177, would pause the installation of new synthetic turf statewide for three years while the Maine Department of Environmental Protection completes a study of its environmental and health impacts. Existing fields could remain in use but could not be patched or replaced. Artificial turf has been a topic of heated debate for years, in Maine and across the country. Critics highlight the environmental and health risks. Synthetic turf contributes to microplastic pollution and often contains toxic chemicals and heavy metals like lead and mercury that can leach into the soil and groundwater. It can become dangerously hot in the summer, posing risks to athletes. Supporters like its durability, low maintenance and year-round usability. Synthetic turf doesn't require watering or mowing, making it attractive to communities looking to save on upkeep costs. It provides a consistent playing surface in adverse weather conditions, like those in Maine. Biddeford Athletic Director Dennis Walton led the charge in defense of synthetic turf during Wednesday's three-hour public hearing. He said synthetic turf had some environmental benefits over grass fields that critics didn't want to admit, like not needing pesticides and using less water. His biggest complaint was about the bill's top-down approach to making community decisions. "This legislation undermines the principle of local control that should govern these important decisions," Walton said. "If the goal is truly to gather information, why not conduct the study without restricting local control in the meantime?" His concerns were echoed by the athletic directors from Lewiston and Sanford high schools, as well the University of Maine — which highlighted student-athlete support for playing on synthetic turf — and a trade group of independent high schools and colleges that include Colby, Bates and Bowdoin. The Mills administration didn't take a position on the bill, which was introduced by Assistant House Majority Leader Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach. DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim said it was logical to question the use of synthetic turf but warned that her department would need funding to conduct such a study. The number of Maine middle and high schools with artificial turf has more than doubled in the last decade. There are 35 middle and high schools with artificial turf fields, plus another 20 or so at Maine colleges, said Mike Burnham, executive director of the Maine Principals' Association. Many of those projects have met with local resistance from groups worried about environmental damages. But new artificial turf fields have replaced natural grass fields at several high schools in the last five years, including at Kennebunk, Messalonskee in Oakland, Cony in Augusta and Gardiner. South Portland will ask voters to choose whether they want to improve the school's athletic complex with a $4.3 million natural grass option, a $5.1 million artificial turf option or no improvements. Kittery, Cumberland and the Gray-New Gloucester district have all grappled with the issue over the last year. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FEMA processes being streamlined says administrator
welch — Making the aid application process simpler and less stressful for disaster survivors that lost everything and even loved ones to floods and other disasters is one of FEMA's ongoing goals, the agency's administrator said Friday while visiting a county still recovering from February's devastating flood. Acting FEMA Director Cameron Hamilton stopped at McDowell County's Welch Armory with U.S. Senator Jim Justice, to see flood damage firsthand and speak with county officials about the ongoing recovery. McDowell County experienced the worst flood in its history on Feb. 15. 'Driving through the area, we saw the waterlines where a lot of the flood waters came up and communities have this really amazing support, neighbors helping neighbors,' Hamilton said. 'I saw a couple of distribution points for supplies.' One goal was to see how FEMA could make its responses to disasters better. 'We always want to improve. There are things we've done well and things we haven't done well,' Hamilton said. 'That's why I'm here, to understand all that. Like I said, every day we want to get better. Every day, we want to get faster. We want to insure we are communicating more and more clearly as the time goes on.' Hamilton said FEMA is still encouraging flood victims to apply for aid. 'That's absolutely true. Number one, if you don't know if you've been impacted, please go to he said. 'You can find information there. You can find out if you're in one of the regions that's been assigned and if you're also not sure, go to your state, county and local officials. Ask them for help. Ask them for their feedback and advice. Contact your emergency management.' FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers are located at Bradshaw Town Hall and Mount View High School for survivors who want to speak with the agency's representatives personally. Another goal is to make applying for assistance easier, Hamilton said. 'We are. We're making sure we find ways to cut red tape everywhere,' Hamilton said. 'The president cares very deeply about eliminating bureaucracy so that the American people can have simple and understandable solutions, so we're looking at a variety of different methods, ways within DHS (Department of Homeland Security) within specifically FEMA to achieve that. We're simplifying the application process for survivors. We're simplifying our public and individual assistance programs so that they're more easily understood. You don't need a Ph.D. in government bureaucracy to understand what you qualify for.' 'Those are some of many examples that we're trying to make easier, more discernible because we care about survivors,' he said. 'They've faced their worst day ever. There's a woman I spoke to in North Carolina who lost her home, lost her husband within the same incident. These are some of the people applying for aid and assistance, so the easier and more comprehensible that we can make this application process, the better. That's what we want to strive for.' FEMA is also working with the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to streamline bureaucracy and find savings, Hamilton said. 'We've had the opportunity at FEMA specifically to work with some of our DOGE counterparts and I can tell you they've been incredibly helpful and very informative,' he said. 'We've saved right now about $170 million worth of contracts that were duplicative and not necessary, so there's been a variety of things. They've been incredibly informative and they've been strong partners with us to decentralize and cut bureaucracy. I can also tell you DOGE does not have the authority to fire federal employees. That's not their role. It's not been their job. They're advisors. They're advisors that are trusted by the president and we've implemented them at FEMA. ' Hamilton also told the audience at the armory that President Donald Trump reviews each disaster declaration requests personally. 'I can tell you the president reads every single declaration because the man deeply cares about people,' he said. 'He cares about insuring there's a way we can provide resources and support and that we do so. That is the intention and the focus of this president and this White House. He reads every single declaration request that comes across his desk.' Senator Justice said that President Trump knows about McDowell County's people and cares about them. 'And you would think in all honest here's a guy that always a tough guy – and he is – and he's a super smart guy, and I've said it over and over you don't know,' Justice said. 'I know. I'm his buddy and he cares. He genuinely, genuinely cares. He wants to help. He really, really wants to help.' Hamilton said that his family has been touched by natural disasters. 'Natural disasters are very personal to me and my family. I have the honor of being a FEMA administrator, but I can tell you that disasters have impacted my family in a variety of capacities,' he said. 'I've had friends and loved ones lose their homes in the fires of Northern California in 2017. I've had family impacted by the flooding of western North Carolina. I've also had family impacted, my own parents, in the flooding in Florida, so when I come here and talk to your constituents, talk to the citizens of this state, my counterparts, it's because I do understand some of what they've gone through.' 'As the senator said, there are lives that have been lost that will never be replaced. I recall a phone call I had with a woman in North Carolina who watched her home washed away with her husband still inside of it,' Hamilton said. 'Think about that. That's what keeps me up. That's what makes me want to make sure that the FEMA we respond with today is the FEMA that the American people deserve, so I just want to thank for your hospitality and the opportunity to speak with you specifically about disasters.' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
