MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Middle School students chose Nova as the name for the Police Department’s therapy dog.
Naming rights were won by one team of students from the sixth grade for raising the most funds for a local animal charity. The three sixth-grade teams raised a total of $3,661 and chose Dogs of Knox Fund Inc. as their charity recipient.
“The sixth-graders seemed to get into it the most and they had three teams within the sixth grade. Team Fidelis won the naming rights by raising $2,992,” Mayor Matt Starr told the Mount Vernon News.
School resource officer Jeremiah Armstrong brought Nova to the middle school on Thursday to congratulate the winning team and learn what name was chosen.
“The school had a goal of raising $5,000 to go to different animal charities in the community,” he said.
The total had reached $4,522 by Jan. 13, and money is still coming in.
The seventh grade raised $740 for the Friends of the Knox County Animal Shelter. The Underdog Society will receive the $120 the eighth-grade students raised.
Mayor seeks citizen volunteers
The mayor is looking for people who want to get involved in serving the city. The volunteers would be part of citizen participation and oversight of local government, he said.
“I've been quite busy calling around and asking people to fill in different boards and commissions. We've had a number of people whose terms have expired or are going to expire here very soon,” Starr said.
Legislation will be presented to City Council soon to fill those openings.
