McDonnell, Cisco, college presidents highlight tech-sharing initiatives

AFP

Today Gov. Bob McDonnell joined John T. Chambers, chairman and chief executive officer of Cisco and university presidents Alan Merten (George Mason University); Linwood Rose (James Madison University); Charles Steger (Virginia Tech) and Teresa Sullivan (University of Virginia) via Cisco TelePresence to discuss the progress of the 4-VA initiative and the pilot projects for instructional…

Harbor Counseling opens in Waynesboro

AFP

School’s out for Russ Ingersoll. After over 30 years as a high school counselor, Ingersoll has opened a private counseling practice, Harbor Counseling Services in Downtown Waynesboro. The practice is focused on college, career, and personal development counseling. “Especially in today’s economy, college cannot be a time to extend adolescence without a serious purpose and…

Storm chaser to speak at BC

AFP

Extreme storm chaser Reed Timmer will speak at Bridgewater College on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Carter Center for Worship and Music. The program, sponsored by the Harold H. Hersch Endowed Lecture Series, is free and open to the public. Timmer’s storm chasing career began at the age of 12, when he…

Gateway to offer group-dance lessons

Chris Graham

Steve Shergold of Shergold Studio in Charlottesville will begin dance lessons at the Gateway on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. Shergold taught salsa lessons before the Gateway performance by the Afro-Caribbean band, Orquesta Tropikiimba in August and found the Gateway a perfect venue for teaching dance. “I am looking forward to teaching four-week sessions…

Festival to mark neighborhood improvement

AFP

Join residents of Commerce Avenue in Waynesboro as they celebrate positive choices and the revitalization of their community. The Fall Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 22 from noon-3 p.m. at 280 N. Commerce Ave. in Waynesboro.  Commerce Avenue residents are celebrating the opening of a new Resource Center on the property, sharing multicultural food,…

JMU students honing skills as TEACH ambassadors

AFP

On their way to developing into full-fledged teachers, 14 James Madison University students are already honing their teaching talents as TEACH Ambassadors in the university’s wide-ranging teacher education program. Not only are they serving younger students in the program, but also they are learning important leadership skills. “In the teacher education program, we value the…

Ken Plum: Devolution all over again

Ken Plum

In this column I made the assertion a couple of months ago that the Commonwealth of Virginia was shirking its responsibility in funding its share of public school K-12 budgets.  I wrote that the state has a responsibility under the constitution to fund 55 percent of the cost of public schools but is providing only…

Wilson Library hires local educator to head up museum program

Chris Graham

Tracey Michael joins the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum as the new museum educator. Michael will be responsible for developing and presenting programs for students, expanding outreach to schools, and coordinating general public programming. She will continue and expand the work of recent staff retirees, Karen Church and Ellen Abernethy. Don Wilson, President and…