News Updates: Sunday, Feb. 14

- Rotary Club raises $10K for Haiti
- Wilson Library offers free admission for students on Presidents’ Day
- Talk on human cloning at Bridgewater College

Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

Rotary Club raises $10K for Haiti: The Waynesboro Noon Rotary Club has raised $10,026 to support Haiti Outreach Foundation’s efforts to provide emergency food and assistance to the people of La Gonave Island in Haiti.

The earthquake in Haiti has devastated not just the buildings in Haiti, but it also destroyed the distribution infrastructure for the entire country. These funds will be transferred directly to La Gonave for the purposes of buying rice and other food which will be then transported by sail boat to the island.

“At this point, the immediate concern is for the survival of the people of Haiti. For every dollar we raise, we can purchase approximately one pound of rice. Believe it or not, a pound of rice goes a very long way in a country that was already at the bottom of the economic ladder,” said Brett Hayes, Chairman of the Waynesboro Rotary Foundation.

“Dr. Linda Kofeldt has been a fantastic partner in the past in providing support to Haiti. Unlike other charitable outlets, every dollar we give Linda’s organization is directly translated to food for people who literally have nothing,” Hayes said. 

　

Wilson Library offers free admission for students on Presidents’ Day: The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum has announced that children and students accompanied by an adult will be admitted for free this Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Guests can enjoy an engaging guided tour of President Wilson’s birthplace, a beautiful pre-Civil War manse, and the Woodrow Wilson Museum, where six galleries tell his inspiring story as a professor, President, and peacemaker. Families will especially enjoy exploring the Museum with the challenging scavenger hunts, playing and learning in the Museum’s improved Kids’ Corner, and viewing the President’s Pierce-Arrow limousine. As always, the Presidential Library’s year-round Hometown Advantage discount of half-price admission for residents of Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County applies.

All guests will enter into a newly renovated entrance area in the Woodrow Wilson Museum, including a new front desk and new signage. These improvements will soon be followed with a new World War I trench exhibit, to be completed in March.

　

Talk on human cloning at Bridgewater College: Bioethicist Gregory Pence will speak on “Medical Ethics: Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Carter Center for Worship and Music at Bridgewater College.

Optimistic about biotechnology, Pence believes his opponents are creating a new Age of Darkness. He is a defender of cloning and genetically modified food.

In 2001, he testified before Congress on opposing laws against cloning and, in 2002, before the California Senate.

Since 1976, Pence has taught in the philosophy department at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also teaches medical ethics in its School of Medicine and directs the University’s Early Health Professions Acceptance Program.

Pence is the author of numerous books including Who’s Afraid of Human Cloning,? Cloning After Dolly: Who’s Still Afraid? and Elements of Bioethics.

He has been interviewed by Time magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In addition, he has appeared on numerous television shows and National Public Radio.

He graduated cum laude from the College of William and Mary and earned a Ph.D. from New York University.

Sponsored by the Anna B. Mow Endowed Lecture Series, the program is free and open to the public.