The Scottsbluff Robotics Club received a $12,722 grant from the Oregon Trail Community Foundation on Oct. 31 to help support the technological/equipment needs of the rapidly expanding program. The Oregon Trail Community Foundation grant will be used to update meeting spaces with whiteboards and TV monitors to promote collaboration among team members. Funds will also be used to purchase additional robot kits and parts to ensure every team has two robot kits to practice with and extra supplies needed to problem solve/create innovative solutions. Additional computers capable of handling the computational bandwidth necessary to run the First Tech software and coding programs will be purchased. This will allow more team members to gain coding and design experience. Four years ago, the Scottsbluff Robotics Club had only one team of eight youth. The program has continued to expand each year and now serves five teams of 42 youth across Scotts Bluff County and nine coaches. Maintaining the club’s technology with the program's growth has been a huge struggle. Each team needs computers, robot kits, research tools, innovation project supplies, and meeting space. Teams will also receive a cabinet to lock up their supplies and toolboxes to organize robot parts, creating a more organized workspace. Lastly, a display case to showcase the robotics club’s hard work from the last six years of competition will be placed in a foyer outside the county extension offices, allowing the public to view the accomplishments of their community’s youth. Scottsbluff teams begin meeting in September and meet each week for two hours until the state competition in March. The FLL challenge consists of four main sections: Robot Performance, Robot Design Presentation, Innovation Project, and Core Values. The State FLL competition in March will take place in Lincoln, Neb., and consist of around 100 teams from across the State of Nebraska. The top 2 to 3 teams get bids to compete at World Tournaments across the United States. In the last two years, the Scottsbluff Robotics Club has sent three teams to World Tournaments located in Arkansas and Florida, competing against teams from over 20 other countries. The First Tech Challenge is designed for high school students to continue their FLL career. It increases the difficulty as teams learn industry programming languages, build custom-designed parts in CAD, and use machine learning/AI to train autonomous robot missions. First Robotics releases a new challenge each year that teams work all year to complete. FTC also focuses on community outreach, with our local Scottsbluff FTC team serving as mentors and role models for our younger FLL teams. In their first year of competition, Scottsbluff’s FTC team won multiple awards at each regional tournament and earned a bid to compete in Colorado’s State Championships. The Scottsbluff Robotics program consists of four First Lego League (FLL) Teams (ages 9 to 14) and one First Tech Challenge (FTC) Team (ages 12 – 18). The FLL program centers around teaching youth about programming and engineering through the annual LEGO challenge. The Oregon Trail Community Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects that improve education, schools, wildlife preservation, historical landmarks, the arts, health care, and scientific research. The Foundation offers grants, scholarships, and other services to organizations and individuals through funds provided by donations, memberships, bequests, trusts and other financial vehicles. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Absences are meaning Swope, Jimerson are logging a lot of minutes for SLU; maybe too many
After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event this holiday season. , the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo ( , Broadway's ) as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. It runs at 12.30pm or in Gold Class at 6pm. runs at 10am, 11.30am, 3.30pm and 6.30pm. For the young and young at heart, is playing at 10am, 12.30pm, 3.30pm and 8.30pm. Otherwise, action fans can settle in for from 7pm. or signup to continue reading Saddle up for the 69 annual Golden Spurs at Myrtleford. The rodeo is a family fun day where you can just kick back and enjoy the thrills and spills of a country rodeo. Held at the Myrtleford Showgrounds, the rodeo is in a natural amphitheatre with plenty of room for everyone to see and be part of the action. Big screen replays ensure you won't miss out on a thing. Gates open at 11am for junior and second division events and the main program starts at 4pm and runs until 10.30pm. Barrel races, team roping, saddle bronc and bareback riding build up the day's events to the open bull ride, where the bravest cowboys try to stay on for eight seconds on some of Australia's Happy Gill's best bucking bulls - Gold Bandit and Vertical Exit. The rodeo is fully catered, and there is a strict no BYO alcohol or glass policy. Patrons are urged to bring their own chair, jacket or blanket for the late evening. Pass-outs are available to get these items from your car. Entry: adults $35, teenagers $25 (13-17), children $15 (6-12), under 6 free, family $85. Camping $20 for the night of December 26. Ticket does not include rodeo entry. No free camping. Limited EFTPOS available (no cash out). The rodeo is run by volunteers with all proceeds donated back to the community. Do Christmas Recovery right at Cofield Wines. Savour tasty bites from food trucks while enjoying your favourite wines, beers and refreshing cocktails. The event will feature live performances, perfect for dancing the day away in the beautiful vineyard. Whether you're celebrating with friends or family, it's the perfect way to keep the holiday spirit alive. Don't miss out on this festive celebration of good food, great drinks and fantastic entertainment. Bookings: Put on your runners and make a beeline for the Boxing Day sales throughout the Border and North East. Stock up on homewares, active wear and cosmetics while the prices are rock bottom. It's also the best time to cash in your Christmas Day gift vouchers to get more bang for your buck. Frequent a local eatery to fuel up for the exercise. Then pace yourself! SOS The Australian ABBA Tribute show takes you back in time when ABBA ruled the world stage. From their debut of at Eurovision right up until today, ABBA's music has left a sparkle in our eyes and a beat in our hearts. The music of ABBA lives on with SOS, performing their greatest hits of hot disco tracks such as , unforgettable pop classics like and heart-clenching ballads like This full show, costumed, choreographed with a high-energy band, will make you believe you're seeing the real thing. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement Advertisement
Looking Into FirstEnergy's Recent Short InterestOregon Trail Community Foundation invests $12K in 4-H youth robotics