Julian Ridings selected in 2013 MLB Draft

Chris Graham

Julian Ridings came to the attention of MLB scouts after his Valley League MVP season with the Waynesboro Generals in 2012. Now Ridings is on his way to pro baseball. The Western Carolina junior outfielder was drafted in the 18th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Ridings, a 6’2”, 170-pounder, hit .377 for the Catamounts in 2013 on the heels of his monster summer in Waynesboro in 2012, when he hit a league-leading .419 with seven homers, 39 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Ridings also put up an otherworldly 1.111 OBS and led the Generals with 24 extra-base hits.

Virginia approved to begin offering coordinated healthcare for Medicare-Medicaid enrollees

AFP

Gov. Bob McDonnell today announced that Virginia has been approved to implement a new healthcare initiative, the Medicare-Medicaid Enrollee (dual eligible) Financial Alignment Demonstration, aimed at coordinating care for more than 78,000 Virginians currently enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

Waynesboro YMCA program gives kids free guitar lessons at Valley Music Academy

AFP

Celicity McLain is learning how to play the guitar by practicing on “Ode to Joy” at the Valley Music Academy through a program sponsored by the Waynesboro YMCA and the Waynesboro Rotary Club. The guitars are provided courtesy of the Fender Foundation, which has supplied instruments for children enrolled in the YMCA’s childcare program to use in classes at the Valley Music Academy in Waynesboro.

Ken Plum: Children and outside learning

Ken Plum

Research highlights the benefits of outdoor and environmental education for children–ranging from increased academic achievement, improved social skills and interest in school, and boosted health, according to environmental education leaders who have organized NoVA Outside: An Alliance of Environmental Educators (www.novaoutside.org). I attended their School Environmental Action Showcase last week at George Mason University, and I was impressed by the students and their projects. The Showcase is like a science fair but with the emphasis on environmental science.

ACC announces Grant of Rights deal: Realignment coming to an end?

AFP

The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents announced today that each of the current and future 15-member institutions has signed a grant of media rights, effective immediately. The news might not mean much at first glance, but according to analysts, the deal will prevent the ACC from having its members poached until the 2026-2027 academic year at the earliest, meaning a likely end, for now, anyway, to the ongoing instability that has marked college conference memberships.

Gov. Bob McDonnell to college, university presidents: Limit tuition increases

AFP

Gov. Bob McDonnell issued a letter earlier this month urging college presidents and boards to voluntarily keep in-state tuition increases for the upcoming fall semester to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index. Virginia colleges and universities worked closely with the administration last year to hold tuition increases to an average of 4.1 percent, the lowest average tuition increase in a decade. Virginia’s colleges and universities are currently determining tuition rates for the upcoming school year.