From Staff reports

Three Hinds Community College students have placed in a statewide competition.

The students, who are part of Hinds’ Secondary Career Tech program at the Vicksburg campus, competed last week in the Skills USA contest at Hinds’ Raymond facility.

Jarrod Ettinger, 17, the son of Mark and Sheila Ettinger, placed first in cabinetmaking; Kristie Barefoot, 18, the daughter of Dale and Diane Barefoot, and Lindsay McCaffrey, 18, the daughter of Randy and Penny McCaffrey, placed second in promotional bulletin board; and Shelby Kurtz, 17, the son of Greg Kurtz and Sandra Thomas, placed third in food and beverage service.

The four attend Warren Central High School.

In addition to the four student awards, the Vicksburg-Warren Chapter was named the state’s Most Outstanding Chapter. Tommy Lee is adviser.

The students will advance on to the National Skills USA Contest, set for June 21-28 in Kansas City, Mo.

Alcorn places second in national quiz bowl

Alcorn State University brought home $25,000 after placing second in a national scholar’s competition.

Students participated in the 19th annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Tournament. The event, held in Orlando, Fla., March 27-31, is a quiz bowl and is open to the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.

A total of 64 schools participated. The teams were divided into eight divisions with eight teams in each.

The students representing Alcorn were Jeremy Nelson, Onika Angus, Robert Patrick, Ava Barrett, Byron Brown and Chanse Travis. The team is coached by Dr. Larry Konecky.

Alcorn was placed in the Wells Division along with Cheyney University-Pennsylvania, Lincoln University-Missouri, Sojourner-Douglas College, South Carolina State University, Tuskegee University, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Winston-Salem State University. Alcorn placed first in its division with a 7-0 record and second overall.

Alcorn, located south of Vicksburg in Claiborne County, enrolls about 2,700 students.