RoboNinjas Continue Winning Ways

A pair of robot enthusiasts at Plymouth High School continues to trounce the competition. Josh Kuhn and Kennedy Schneiders, seniors at Plymouth High School traveled to Crown Point Saturday, Nov. 8 to compete in their first VEX Robotics competition for the 2014-15 season. The two time reigning state champions unveiled their robot and quickly discovered they had an advantage over the competition. They toppled their opponents and grabbed the title of Tournament Champions giving them an invitation to the Indiana State Tournament in March. They will next compete at the Warren Central Tournament on Dec. 6.

In the VEX Robotics Competitions, teams of students are tasked with designing and building a robot to play against other teams in a game-based engineering challenge. Classroom STEM concepts are put to the test on the playing field as students learn lifelong skills in teamwork, leadership, communications, and more. Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state, and national levels.

The Great American Smoke Out Encourages Smokers to Quit

The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke Out is today. It challenges smokers to put down tobacco for one day and is held every year on the third Thursday in November. The number of adults in Indiana who smoke has decreased significantly since 2011, however Indiana’s smoking rate remains among the highest in the nation with over one million adult smokers. Tobacco Control Network Program Director Rachelle Back says today is a big step for those wanting to quit.

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Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Helps Local Families in Need

The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce is doing their part to help families in need this holiday season. They have a Christmas tree on display for individuals and businesses to decorate with new pairs of socks. Donations will be collected until Dec. 19th at the chamber office at 120 North Michigan Street in Plymouth. Collected socks will be donated to the Marshall County Neighborhood Center. The nonprofit social service agency collects clothing donations to help the community.

Culver School Board to Meet Tonight

The Culver School board will be discussing the balanced calendar survey results from student’s families tonight. On Nov. 3rd a public hearing was held with Rochester Community School Corporation representatives to discuss the pros and cons of being on a balanced calendar. The school board is still considering the switch in calendars and hope the survey results help their decision.

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Indiana State Troopers Still Seeking Recruits

The opportunity to apply for the Indiana State Police 75th Recruit Academy is quickly coming to an end. Applications must be received via email by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sun. Nov. 30. You must be a United States citizen in order to be considered for a position with the Indiana State Police as a trooper. You must also be at least 21 years of age and less than 40 years of age, meet minimum vision standard requirements, possess a valid driver’s license, be willing to serve anywhere in the state, and be a high school graduate or have a general equivalency diploma.

The Indiana State Police Department is competitive with its salary wage, according to the department’s news release. A recruit is paid $1,417 bi-weekly during the academy training. When training is successfully completed, the starting salary is $38,444 a year. Benefits are also included.

Anyone interested in a career as an Indiana State Trooper can visit http://www.in.gov/isp/2368.htm for detailed information on the application process.

Trees Coming Down in Culver

The town of Culver will have a total of 24 trees being cut down this month. Town Tree Commission representative Tom Kearns told the town council Tuesday evening they had 6 bidders and went with the least expensive. Pro Tree Services had the winning bid of just over $6,500. Kearns said all 24 trees will be taken down by the end of the month.

Culver Middle School Lock-in Scheduled

The Culver Community Middle School will be holding a lock-in this month to raise money for the 8th grader’s end of the year field trip to Kings Island. Both 7th and 8th grade students from the middle school will be able to participate in the evening’s activities. Games and food will be available during the lock in which starts at 6 p.m. ET and runs until 11 p.m. Middle and High School Principal Brett Berndt says although it’s not a traditional all night lock-in students will still be able to have fun and raise money for the trip.

“It takes them to a place where they can have fun and it’s a safe place they can have fun. That’s the biggest thing about it. We are going to have different rooms open doing different things so we are going to have plenty of activities to choose from which is nice for them. Add the factor of playing a dodgeball tournament, basketball tournament and getting an extra dollar out of each team is just a way for them to have fun and still raise money for themselves. It’s a double win for them so to speak. It’s a good idea by the 8th grade class. They did a great job of coming up with this so hopefully it turns out to be a successful one for them,” said Berndt.

Berndt added it has been awhile since the 8th graders went on an end of the year trip.

“Unfortunately I know in the past couple of years they haven’t had a chance to go to Kings Island because they didn’t get enough funds to do so. So here is a good incentive for the kids to try to participate, raise those funds so they can lower their cost per individual to go to that trip,” said Berndt.

The lock-in is scheduled for Nov. 21st and will cost $5 per student for entry.