The Duke’s Preview: Central vs Page County featuring Coach Mike Yew

Central (8-0) hosts Page County (1-7) for their Senior Night in the penultimate regular season High School Football Game of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450 WFTR, theriver953.com and the Tune In Radio App.

Central has continued their great success from last season which ended in a State Championship game appearance into an undefeated regular season so far this season.

They have used the same formula including a bruising rushing attack led by an experienced offensive line and a battering ram at running back, senior Tyler Forbes.

Forbes leads all area rushers in Region 2B with 1,172 yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Central defense has remained stout all season long, allowing only 7.8 ppg with only two opponents scoring more than once all season.

Page County and Coach James May continue to try to build up their program and the offense has been able to produce points at times.

Quarterback Hunter Petit has been dangerous on the ground and in the air.

Last week against Madison County, he had a passing touchdown and a highlight 51 yard touchdown run.

He has two young weapons that he has formed a great connection with including tight end Isaac Foltz and wide receiver Dawson Richards, both of who are sophomores.

Defensively, Page County has struggled, allowing 46.6 points per game and 69 points last week against Madison County.

Central will need to avoid looking ahead to a potential, de-facto Bull Run District Championship Game against Strasburg.

The Falcons should be able to stay focused on their game plan and get the win due to their experience and control over the line of scrimmage, 56-8.

Press play below to hear my interview with Central Head Coach Mike Yew.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS hosts 2nd Annual Showcase Education Expo

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools will host their 2nd Annual Showcase Education Expo on Saturday at Mountain View High School.

The event will be held October 21st from 10 am to 1 pm and is free and open to all SCPS families and community members.

Musical performances from different school bands and choirs will be held each half hour.

Parent Academy Chats will be held throughout the day on a variety of topics including Discipline, Attendance, and Code of Conduct, Mental Health Resources, and College and Career Planning.

The expo will also provide free books, offer children’s activities, and more.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

FCPS appoints two new administrators

Frederick County Public Schools Superintendent George Hummer announced the appointment of two new administrators.

Ms. Kristine Hickey succeeds Dr. Jessica Nail as the new principal of Admiral Richard E. Byrd Middle School.

She has worked in education for 30 years, most recently as an assistant principal at James Wood Middle and Sherando High.

Dr. Robin Shrum will replace Kellie Solenberger as assistant principal at Middletown Elementary.

She previously held a variety of roles in Shenandoah County Public Schools, starting as a music teacher before advancing to assistant principal, principal, and last year served as the district’s special education administrator.

Superintendent George Hummer spoke on the decision stating, “We are thrilled to recognize Ms. Hickey and Dr. Shrum in their new roles. They both have a wealth of experience in education and a strong commitment to student success. I have no doubt they will continue the strong leadership foundation already established at Admiral Richard E. Byrd Middle School and Middletown Elementary School.”

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Three local school districts awarded for innovation

Three local school districts were honored with the Everfi Empowered District seal.

Those districts include Frederick, Warren, and Shenandoah County Public Schools.

Everfi is a leading social impact education innovator that evaluates public school districts based on their exemplary commitment to comprehensive, digital-first education strategies on topics like financial literacy, social-emotional learning, sustainability, and health.

School districts are awarded the Everfi Empowered Seal on a variety of criteria based on high impact practices across diverse well-being topics that are translated into measurable technology metrics along with at least 10% of the student population utilizing Everfi’s resources.

Some of those criteria include the use of efficacy based programs, well trained staff, appropriate placement, sufficient reach, and outcomes evaluated.

Students within Empowered Seal school districts are eligible to participate in the essay-based scholarship competition which awards $6,000 in scholarships each fall and spring.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS takes top honors at the Virginia FFA Convention

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools students recently competed and excelled at the 97th annual Virginia FFA State Convention held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Shenandoah County brought home the top chapter in the state for both high school and middle school categories with Central and Signal Knob earning the honors.

Central competed against 188 chapters around the state for the competition which looks at all activities conducted by the chapter throughout the year.

The contest was divided into three areas including Growing Leaders, Building Communities, and Strengthening Agriculture.

Central won first place in the northern area for Growing Leaders.

Strasburg High School also was named a Superior Chapter with a gold rating and ranked in the top 10% of chapters in the state.

Individual State Winners will represent the Commonwealth at the National FFA Convention held November 1-4th in Indianapolis.

Some of those first place winners include Central’s Tavion Dodson in Poultry Evaluation and Strasburg’s Marketing Plan team of Kerrigan Bauserman, Hannah Fisher, and Tinleigh Rusher.

Bauserman also won first place in Agricultural Sales Proficiency.

To view SCPS press release on the results, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Sinkhole repairs begin at PMMS

ryan lingle

Repair work has begun at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School after the discovery of a Karst anomaly beneath a portion of the building.

This type of sinkhole was created during construction when significant fill soil was placed over weaker residual soils.

These soil conditions led to a change in the foundation causing cracks in the west wing of the building including classrooms, hallways, and the library.

Pressurized grout and pier systems will be installed over the next to summers to repair the Shenandoah County Public School with costs estimated at $500,000.

Repairs made this summer will be completed by the third week of July and will not impact the school year.

FdNCON and Triad Engineering are contracted for the repairs.

President of FdNCON Freddie Neal spoke on the safety of the school stating, “Based on our experience with other underpinning and compaction grouting projects in similar conditions, the building is safe for students and staff. ”

To view the SCPS press release, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS awarded $114,000 grant to fund new program

ryan lingle

The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation awarded a $114,167.00 grant to Shenandoah County Public Schools to fund start-up costs for a new Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Aide program at Triplett Tech.

The funds will cover equipment, textbooks, and the first year salary and benefits for the instructor.

The Foundation has been an avid supporter of SCPS health science programs, previously providing grants for a new EMT simulator ambulance, Anatomage Tables, and funding short-term credentials for scholars in phlebotomy.

Todd Lynn, Supervisor of CTE and Workforce Outreach said, “The OT/PT Aide program will allow students to start careers immediately in these high-demand and high-wage fields once they successfully complete the program at Triplett Tech. They can also go on to two-year or four-plus-year secondary programs to earn additional credentials.”

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

New CTE programs coming to Triplett Tech

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools announced the addition of two new career and technical education programs for the 2023-2024 school year.

HVAC and Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy aide programs will soon be available to all Triplett Tech students.

The School Board voted to approve the $330,000 of funding needed for the programs at a budget meeting held on April 27th.

Included in the funding is $150,000 for materials and supplies and $180,000 for salaries and benefits of instructors.

Both programs will allow students to start careers immediately in high demand and high paying jobs once they have successfully completed the courses at Triplett Tech.

Shenandoah County Public Schools plans to continue developing CTE programs to expand opportunities for more students to find in-demand jobs upon graduation.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS staff member named Va’s Administrator of the Year

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools announced that Todd Lynn, Supervisor of Career and Technical Education and Workforce Outreach, was named the Administrator of the Year by the Virginia Association for Career and Technical Education(Virginia ACTE).

The announcement was made at the 2023 Professional Development and Leadership Seminar for the state level Excellence Awards.

Administrator of the Year recognizes administrative CTE professionals at the state level who have demonstrated leadership that ensures student and teacher success.

Selected candidates also have shown significant contributions toward innovative, unique, and effective career and technical education programs. 

The state winners of the ACTE Excellence Awards were submitted to Region II for the next level of the competition.

The Region II winner will be announced at the conference held in Huntsville, Alabama October 11-14.

Winners from Region II will be selected as a finalist for the national competition.  

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

SCPS announces changes in administration

ryan lingle

Shenandoah County Public Schools announced some changes to administration at schools within the district following a recent School Board meeting.

Principal Ryan Lingle is transferring from Peter Muhlenberg Middle School to Sandy Hook Elementary.

Tara Mason is moving from her assistant principal role at Sandy Hook to become the principal at W.W. Robinson Elementary.

Brady Kibler is transferring from his Physical Education role at North Fork Middle to Assistant Principal at Signal Knob Middle.

Derek Hartwig is also moving from his position as a Math teacher at Central High School to the assistant principal role at W.W Robinson.

These transfers are all effective beginning July 1st,2023.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.