Fredericktown sweeps 1st place in the Urban Invitational Soils Competition

Fredericktown sweeps 1st place in the Urban Invitational Soils Competition

GAMBIER – The Fredericktown FFA chapter recently sent two teams to compete at the District-level Invitational Soil Judging competition, one in Urban Soils and one in Agricultural Soils. 

The event was held at Bill Lawhon Farms in Gambier. Fredericktown's teams placed first in Urban Soils and third in Agricultural Soils.

In Urban Soils, members must measure slope, depth of the topsoil, subsoil and substratum; determine the structure, depth to seasonal high water table, depth to any restrictive features, soil type by texturing it, and much more information from the soil pit. Contestants must be familiar with the management practices and the requirements for those practices for various land uses; such as for buildings with basements; sewage and septic treatment systems; driveways and local roads; and lawns, gardens and landscaping. By identifying all of the factors they can determine what that site will be best used for with regard to urban development and urban purposes. 

The Urban Soils judging team from Fredericktown swept first place overall in the District Invitational. Katie Mull took first place overall in the county, Makayla Scott took second place overall and was just one point behind Mull, and Emily Rook took third place overall just one point behind Scott. Other team members were Macy Thorne and Andrea Smith.

For the Agricultural competition, students must measure slope, depth of the topsoil, subsoil and substratum; as well as determine the soil type by texturing it, determine the seasonal high water table and root restriction levels, and much more information from the soil pit. Contestants must be familiar with the requirements for various land management practices and land uses and identify what is best suited for that field. 

The Ag Soils judging team earned third place overall in the Soils Invitational with Kaleb Randall placing fourth individually for the entire contest. Other members were Kelsey Scott, Emma Scott, Kaid Benson and Chloe Wells.

Fredericktown's FFA advisor is Debra Burden. 

Leaf pick-up for Mount Vernon

The City of Mount Vernon will begin picking up leaves on Monday, Nov. 2. We will have three machines operating this season. The machines will be picking up all of the main streets first, then proceed to the side streets and outlying areas.

We emphasize that leaves be raked to the curb, but not out into the street. Raking leaves into the street results in clogging up storm sewers. Please refrain from parking on the street when leaf pick-up is scheduled for that area.

A list of streets, in the order of pick-up, can be found on the City’s website: http://mountvernonohio.org. It will be updated daily after leaf pick-up begins. How quickly or slowly we reach your street depends on the weather and how many people do or do not have their leaves raked to the curbs. 

Again, please have your leaves raked to the curb and not out into the street. Raking leaves into the street results in clogging up storm sewers. Please refrain from parking on the treet when leaf pick up is scheduled for that area.

COTC Awarded $99,000 from Facebook to Enhance Remote Learning

NEWARK – Central Ohio Technical College (COTC), a leader in career-based technical education and transfer degrees, is once again expanding critically needed access to higher education for central Ohioans. The two-year college has been awarded $99,000 from Facebook to create a one-button digital studio and smart classroom at its Newark campus and complementary smart classrooms at its three extended campus locations in Coshocton, Mount Vernon and Pataskala. COTC plans to implement the smart classroom technology in time for its spring semester, which begins on Jan. 11.

With a dedicated, technologically enhanced remote-learning classroom at each campus, COTC can quickly begin bridging the technology gaps that currently exist as a barrier to success for some students. These gaps, which include lack of reliable Wi-Fi for students in rural settings as well as inadequate access to personal technology, were recently thrown into stark relief as the college moved to mostly remote learning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Should the effects of the pandemic continue through the winter, COTC students will immediately benefit from access to the smart classrooms’ enhanced remote-learning capabilities.

But the long-term benefits to area students will extend far beyond COVID-19, noted COTC President John M. Berry. As more courses are offered through dedicated remote-learning spaces at COTC’s extended campuses, access to higher educational opportunities for all local citizens will significantly increase. Through Facebook’s support, COTC will begin to level the playing field for people and communities with challenges ranging from educational accessibility and job loss to childcare issues. 

“COTC is committed to supporting student success by meeting students where they are in both academic skills and life situations,” Berry said. “We know that students experience transportation challenges and that many adult learners need flexible, close-to-home options because of job or family responsibilities. With this Facebook gift, COTC will bring STEM-based education that leads to in-demand careers to an even broader population in our communities. Our thanks to Facebook for their generous support of this important Ed Tech initiative.” 

The integration of the one-button studio, planned for late spring 2021, will further expand COTC’s digital learning framework by allowing faculty, staff, students and community members to design a wide range of academic-, professional advancement- or entrepreneurial digital experiences. Featuring a soundproof podcast room and video studio space with adjustable microphones, lighting and green screen; the studio will utilize a simple “one-button” hardware and software combination that will walk nontechnical users through the process from beginning to end. 

Additionally, students and faculty with COTC’s digital media design technology program will use the studio’s high-end capabilities to connect with employers in designing promotional and real-world projects. 

“Our mission at Facebook is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together," Amber Tillman, community development regional manager at Facebook, said. "This investment at Central Ohio Technical College illustrates how we work with our community partners to bring that mission to life in a meaningful way Since we broke ground in New Albany in 2017, Ohio has been our home. Through partnerships with organizations like COTC and through our Community Action Grant program, we’re proud to assist with projects that will have direct benefits to our community.”

COTC is a fully-accredited, public college dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible programs of technical education in response to current and emerging employment needs. COTC is the only technical college in Ohio operating four full-service campus locations: Newark, Coshocton, Knox and Pataskala. The mission of Central Ohio Technical College is to meet the technical education and training needs of students and employers in the area.