A32-Uncasttr Farming, Saturday, Juna 28,1986
Westmoreland Co. Tops State Envi
BY CRAIG BINGMAN
Snyder Co. Correspondent
STATE COLLEGE - West
moreland County captured the
gold medal at the third annual
Envir-Olympics competition held
at Shaver’s Creek Environmental
Center on June 21. The Penn State
facility hosted 28 teams from
across the commonwealth,
challenging their knowledge of
outdoor skills.
The overall goal of the Envir-
Olympics is to cultivate a desire to
leam more about our natural
environment through competitive
events. The competition provides
students with experience in en
vironmentally oriented activities
to enable them to become aware,
action oriented adults.
The first place team,
representing Derry Area High
School in Westmoreland County,
scored 392% points out of a possible
500. Team members Virgil
Wilford, Joe Prengaman, Paul
Scansaroli, Chuck Rachocki, Joe
Lipinski, and alternate, Chris
Chang, each received a first place
medallion for their winning efforts.
Team advisor Fred Goodman
accompanied the team.
Second place medallions were
awarded to Shannock Valley High
School representing Armstrong
County under the advisorship of
Albert Baranisk. Students on this
team included: Mike laconis, Mike
Bill Porter of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission lectures
on fish identification.
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Bohan, Mechelle Petruzzi, Melissa
Petruzzi, and Jim Basco.
Greenwood High School in Perry
County took third place honors.
Under advisor Frank Corbin, the
team members were Bob Taylor,
Andy Kline, Brad Dreese, Roger
McGowan, Matt Polski, and
alternate Mark Beers.
The Envir-Olympics is a com
petition that stresses team effort in
seeking solutions to environmental
questions by confronting students
with a variety of tests. Rotating
through five testing stations, the
students answer questions on soils,
wildlife, forestry, aquatic life, and
current issues. Agencies par
ticipating at this year’s com
petition included the Soil Con
servation Service, Pennsylvania
Game Commission, Bureau of
Forestry, Fish Commission, and
Department of Environmental
Resources, Solid Waste.
A team consists of five high
school students. Teams range from
vocational agriculture to en
vironmental science to accelerated
students. An alternate and an
advisor may accompany the team,
but cannot assist the team in any
way. A prerequisite to the state
competition is participation in a
local or regional Envir-Olympics.
Originally the brainchild of
Fulton and Schuylkill Con
servation Districts at the local
level, the state Envir-Olympics
Truck-Mount
has multiplied five times since the
first competition in 1984. Even
individuals and organizations are
becoming active in the planning
and funding of local and state
competitions. Sponsors of the state
competition include the Izaak
Walton League, Glatfelter Pulp
wood, Pennsylvania Federation of
Sportsmen’s Clubs, Pennsylvania
Wildlife Federation, wildlife ar
tists Dick Losch and Ken Hunter,
and the Pennsylvania Association
of Conservation District Directors.
Warren Werntz, a field
representative for the Bureau of
Soil and Water Conservation and
one of the fotmders of the state
Envir-Olympics, has nothing but
praise for the competition. “It does
my heart good to see so many
teams compete,’’ he said. “I hope
we take home one thing, and that is
that we’ve learned something new
today.”
This year’s test questions proved
quite difficult for student as well as
any adult taking the tests. The
Game Commission test involved
bird call, tree nut and animal
identification. The Fish Com
mission quizzed the teams on
aquatics and the identification of
fish. A test in soil types as they
relate to urban problems from the
Soil Conservation Service had
students checking soil profiles for
clues. Tree identification as well as
questions on gypsy moth, energy,
and tree measurement came from
the Bureau of Forestry. And the
current issues station had the
teams calculating the demise of a
fictional Garbagetown, USA.
Every student that participated
in the state competition received a
certificate of participation and an
Envir-Olympics hat. West
moreland County will receive
further honors in October at the
Association of Conservation
District Director’s Annual Meeting
in Cambria County.
The future of the competition
looks promising. “I’d like to see
the state Envir-Olympics progress
to a regional or even national
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r-Olympics
The Westmoreland County team from Derry Area High
School took first place in the state Envir-Olympics com
petition on June 21.
competition,” says Carolyn
Hollenshead, another fourJer of
the state Envir-Olympics and
district manager of the Fulton
Conservation District.
At this year’s competition,
Walter Rossman, president of the
Pennsylvania Association of
Conservation District Directors,
praised the progress of the annual
event. “I hope the Envir-Olympics
will continue to expand,” he said.
“We have such a diversity of
nature to learn here in Penns
Potato Growers Program
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania growers will administer the funds
potato growers, by a two-to-one to designated research areas,
vote margin, have approved “Research into resilient strains,
creation of a self-financed potato disease prevention and marketing,
research program, according to should prove beneficial to all
state Agriculture Secretary potato producers in the state,”
Richard E. Grubb. Grubb noted. “It is one of the ways
Of the 74 growers who voted our growers can remain com
during balloting conducted June 2- petitive and successful.”
13, a total of 54 approved Approximately 180 growers were
development of the program and eligible to vote and are affected by
collection of two cents on each 100 the outcome. These growers have
pounds of potatoes marketed to at least 25 acres or more devoted to
finance the research. potato production.
Department officials estimate Those who voted for creation of
that the assessment will raise the program produce 67 percent of
$45,000 annually. A ten-member the potatoes grown by 74 growers
advisory board of participating who participated in the balloting.
Woods.” Rossman, along with
Harry Bittle, Deputy Secretary of
Environmental Protection, DER,
and Dean Steinhart, Dean of
Environmental Education at Penn
State, presented the top three
awards and distributed hats and
certificates to each team.
There were no losers at this
year’s Envir-Olympics. The 28
teams went home with new ex
periences, increased knowledge,
and a greater respect for their
living environment.