Pictured are the Blue Ridge Elementary, December 2013, Citizens of Month: 1st row – Gehrig Dibble, Evander Dutcher, Brooke Kenny, Micah Landis, Lindsey Shaw; 2nd row – Jaydon Barile, Libby Zick, Hannah Snedaker, Emily Marvin, Calvin Connelly; 3rd row – Ryan Mills, William Colwell, Lance Heeman, Megan Kibler, Ronnie Phillips; 4th row – Mr. Button, Giavonna Fiore, Alyssa Sherwood, Benjamin Bleck, Milia Stilloe. Absent from photo – Hailey Wooster, Hunter Page, Katelynn Lewis, Connor Mills.

The Elk Lake Forensics Team began the new year by putting in a strong performance at the 41st Annual Blue, Maroon, and White Tournament at Shikellamy High School on January 12.

Four of the team’s five debaters advanced to Semi-Finals and two advanced to Finals.

Leading the team was senior Austin Cohen in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate who compiled a 3 win and 1 loss record during the preliminary rounds by defeating debaters from Shikellamy, Notre Dame, and Pennsbury High Schools. His only loss came to Tyler Martin from Southern Lehigh HS.

Pictured is EL Forensics Place Winners at Blue, Maroon, and White Tournament: Matthew Horvath – 4th Place in Varsity LD Debate; Austin Cohen – 1st Place in Varsity LD Debate; Kenneth Brittingham – 2nd Place in Novice LD Debate; Keeley Carney – 4th Place in Novice LD Debate.

Senior Matthew Horvath also compiled a 3 win an 1 loss record during the preliminary rounds by defeating debaters from Notre Dame and Southern Lehigh High Schools. His only loss came to Meaghan McDonald from Danville.

As a result of their records and speaker point totals, Cohen and Horvath were paired up against each other in Semi-Finals. Cohen’s higher seeding made him the team’s choice to advance to Finals.

In Finals, Cohen won a unanimous 3-0 decision to Alex Fried from Abington Heights HS.

In Novice LD Debate, freshman Kenneth Brittingham earned a trip to Semi-Finals by compiling a 3 win and 1 loss record during the preliminary rounds by defeating debaters from Abington Heights, State College and Danville High Schools. His only loss came to Joey Shirley from Truman HS.

Sophomore Keeley Carney also earned a trip to Semi-Finals in Novice LD by putting together a 3 win and 1 loss preliminary round record. Her wins came over debaters from Truman, Central York, and Abington Heights High Schools. Her only loss came to Joey Shirley from Truman HS.

Once again, as a result of their records and speaker points, two EL debaters were paired up against each other in Semi-Finals. This time, based on seeding, Brittingham advanced to Finals.

Brittingham dropped a split decision in Finals to Barron Williams from Danville HS and placed second overall in Novice LD Debate

“This was a tremendous start to the second half of our season. We worked really hard to prepare for this tournament and it really paid off,” commented EL Forensics Director Keith Brosious.

The EL Forensics Team was to travel to Meyers HS January 19 to compete at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Tournament.

Brook trout are showing up in large numbers in one classroom at Montrose Area High School. Nearly 300 have hatched in Mrs. Terri Evans Advanced Placement (AP) Biology class. The class is participating in the Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program. The Susquehanna County Conservation District partnered with Montrose Area High School to implement the TIC program in the AP Biology class.

Pictured are MAHS students raising trout in the classroom; front row - Meagan Hinds, Ashley Lewis, Myra Lattimore, Ally Stocks, Courtney Harding, Courtney Kimmell; back row - Rachel Mordovancey, Donnie Arnold, Nicki Lewis, Shelby Stocks, Sean Regan, David Koloski.

TIC is an interdisciplinary program that introduces coldwater conservation education in Pennsylvania schools by raising brook trout, a coldwater species, from eggs to fingerlings. Throughout the school year, students monitor and record aquarium water quality and trout behavior. The program will end with the release of the fingerling trout at Salt Springs Park into Silver Creek, an approved stream for trout stocking. The program is designed to foster awareness and knowledge about coldwater conservation and encourage continued participation in coldwater conservation, management and recreation programs. The TIC program exists statewide due to a partnership between the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited (PATU), Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the support of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The Trout in the Classroom program was funded as part of a start-up grant awarded to the Susquehanna County Conservation District from PATU. The grant covers some of the equipment, fish food and trout eggs.

Mrs. Evans attended a training day during the summer at the PA Fish Commission’s Benner Springs facility to prepare for the care and feeding of the brook trout. In early November about 450 fertilized trout eggs arrived at the school from a PA Fish Commission hatchery. After the students sorted out the nonviable eggs they placed 348 eggs in the aquarium. About 300 of those eggs soon hatched into yolk sac fry which hide in the gravel bottom of the aquarium. In late December after absorbing the yolk sac the fry began to swim freely in the aquarium and to feed on fish food added by the students. At this stage they are an inch long and quite thin. However they will grow rapidly and by mid May will be 3” to 4” long and ready for release into the wild. The students are excited raising and learning about our state fish and the coldwater environment in which the fish live.