BSWCD News Release

“Wetlands are Wonderful!” was the theme for the 2012 poster-and-essay contests sponsored by the Beaufort Soil and Water Conservation District and the N.C. Association of Conservation Districts. Students in the third through sixth grades from various schools in the county submitted entries.

Joe Rogers, Beaufort SWCD vice chairman, presented cash prizes at a gathering held at the Agricultural Center in Washington. Each first-place winner received $25 and a chance to compete in the next contest level, the Area 5 competition.

Prize money for each second-place finisher was $20 each, and $10 for each third-place finisher.

The following is a list of poster-contest placers:

Third grade: Lauren Kellie Ricks, Pungo Christian Academy; first place; Austin Tate, Northeast Elementary School, second place; Nicholas Jordan, Northeast Elementary School, third place. Ricks finished third in the Area 5 contest.

Fourth grade: Dawson Cox, John Small Elementary School, first place; Mia Pagnani, John Small Elementary School, second place; Sophia Melk, John Small Elementary School, third place. Cox took second place in the Area 5 contest.

Fifth grade: Samantha Warren, Northeast Elementary School, first place; Julisa Moreno, John Small Elementary School, second place; Jazmin Vega, John Small Elementary School, third place.

Sixth grade: Walton O’Neal, Pungo Christian Academy, first place; Amelia Whitfield, Pungo Christian Academy; second place; Nathaniel Thomas Arthur, Unity Christian Academy, third place. O’Neal took second place in the Area 5 contest.

The teachers who submitted the winning entries received $25 cash prizes each. They were Angela Lee and Anna Anderson of Pungo Christian Academy, Lisa Moore of John Small Elementary School and Kathy Brinn from Northeast Elementary School.

Sixth-graders entered an essay contest with the same theme as the poster contest. The district’s winner of $25 is Jesse Skinner from P.S. Jones Middle School. His teacher, Dawn Landen, received a $25 prize from the district for submitting essays from which the local first-place winner was chosen.

The district also awarded honorable-mention ribbons and prize bags to several students. The recipients were: Northeast Elementary School — Elyse Brinn, Mollie Tetterton, Kaylee Cahoon, Gwen Lincoln, Nijaia Bonner, Hunter Taylor, Roque Acuna-Flores; John Small Elementary School — Mary Michael Bilbro, Irvin Tellez, Daniel Jimenez, Angela Garcia, Braxton Phelps, Zephaniah Moore; John Cotten Tayloe School — Naturi James-Britton, Faith Revels, Nivea Jones; Chocowinity Middle School — Miranda Wright, Madison Bunting; Bath Elementary — Alyssa Wilson; P.S. Jones Middle School — Ben Crawford, Kiante Freeman, Andrea Griffin, Laken Barnes, Jalen Harvey, Devin Bunch, Katelyn Woolard, Grace Wilder; Pungo Christian Academy — Hannah Daniel, McKayla Oliver; Washington Montessori Public Charter School — Cory Paniagua, Gina Del Monte, Amber Ellis; Unity Christian Academy — Parker Williams, Meredith Woolard.