Inventerprise winners

The following Central Oregon students were named winners in Inventerprise 2014, an annual science problem-solving contest sponsored by Bend Research:

Summit High School senior Annie Jarvis and Summit High School junior Tristan Fischer tied for first place. Jarvis proposed legislation to encourage the planting of wildflower groves to help support bee populations. Fischer proposed promoting the ancient grains quinoa and teff in drought-hit regions of Africa. Summit High School sophomore Quintin McCoy took second place for a slow-release, biodegradable fertilizer cube that retains water. Culver High School freshmen Kyle Caldwell and Chris Castellanos received honorable mention. In the middle school division, grand-prize winners were Anna Marie Covlin, Peter Davio and Jason Thompson, all students of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School.

The annual contest challenges Central Oregon students grade K-12 to invent ways to improve agricultural equipment, systems and processes.

VFW essay winner

Emily Osborne, an eighth grade student at Elton Gregory Middle School in Redmond, was named first-place winner of the 2014-15 VFW Patriot’s Pen essay contest for the VFW District 10. She wrote her essay based on the theme, “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans.” Benjamin Saito and Alexis Calavan, also eighth-grade students at Elton Gregory Middle School, tied for second place.