Vol. 9, Issue No. 2
February 8, 2021
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From the Hawk's Nest, New River CTC's employee newsletter, is distributed twice a month, and we need your input! Have story ideas or photos for From the Hawk's Nest? Send them to the Office of Communications for the next edition.
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Lunch and Learn sessions
coming soon
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We’re excited about our upcoming Lunch and Learn sessions. We’ll be sharing our schedule soon and wanted to go ahead and share some wellness tips and resources with you here:
- Set reminders to get up and move at 10 am and 2 pm using the stretches we provided.
- Line dance to one song.
- Buy, wash and cut-up (if needed) fresh fruits and vegetables. If we have our fruits and vegetables ready to eat, I find that my family of four goes through them quickly. We had a container garden for the first time last summer, and we also enjoyed eating what we grew.
- Step/march in place. You can stand in front of your desk or workspace. If possible, being in front of a window where you can see the sky or sun shining through helps.
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Visit our regional state parks and go for a walk (when weather permits) https://wvstateparks.com/things-to-do/hiking-trails/
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Volunteer WV is holding a FREE webinar on COVID-19 Wellness on February 10 at 1 p.m. Register online at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqfuCvqjMvHdUk6W7UCmh1Uvvy7ebtN6ly.
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By completing our online survey, you can help us with securing grant funds in the future and help us to plan sessions based on your interests.
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Congresswoman Carol Miller visits campus |
Congresswoman Carol Miller met with New River Community and Technical College President Dr. Bonny Copenhaver on Wednesday, along with college staff and student Amber Hamrick.
Miller had planned the college visit to learn about the steps that New River CTC had put in place since the COVID-19 pandemic hit to continue to offer educational programs to students and to tour the facility in Beaver, W.Va.
“We are pleased with the way that we have adapted our programs and services to meet the needs of those in our service region, and Congresswoman Miller’s interest in New River CTC is appreciated,” said Copenhaver. “The support of Congresswoman Miller and our Congressional Delegation during this time has been vital to continuing our operations and assisting our students. Without funding through the COVID relief measures passed by Congress, our operations would have been seriously impaired. We appreciate their efforts, and always look forward to hosting our elected officials at our campuses.”
“Thank you to New River Community and Technical College for showing me how you are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Miller. “New River CTC is doing a great job utilizing their CARES Act funding to continue educating our next generation. It is imperative our institutions of higher learning have the resources they need to operate safely and effectively, and I will continue to advocate for that in Washington.”
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New River CTC’s EMS Program was awarded 15 scholarships from the West Virginia Office of EMS for the current AEMT class in the amount of $1,500 each ($22,500). The scholarships help with tuition costs, testing fees, and program administration. The College's current AEMT class will test in May, and most students will begin the paramedic program requirements during the summer. The students will then be eligible to test to be paramedics, like the students from December.
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100% pass rate for AEMT students |
On January 25, 2021 21 candidates were tested for their National Registry Paramedic Psychomotor exam at our ATC center in Ghent. Also testing were 2 AEMTs.
Because COVID-19 has made it difficult for many to test, we opened these tests up to the public. Some of the candidates we tested were six hours away.
Of those students tested, the nine pictured here are the first to complete New River CTC's AEMT to paramedic “bridge.” They have completed EMT-B testing and passed, took and passed the NREMT AEMT class and test (all of these students completed the additional WV higher scope of practice education), and now have completed the additional requirements to become paramedics.
Once obtaining their cognitive exam, they will be credentialed in their respective state. Two of these students practice in Virginia and have completed our AEMT and now paramedic program. The others practice in some of the most rural areas of West Virginia.
The student from the most rural county (and subsequently the farthest traveling to a lab closest to her home) completed her testing while being ready to give birth (literally next week). She lives on the Pocahontas/Randolph county line. She has already passed her cognitive, and now passed her psychomotor testing. She passed both on her first attempt!
Eight students tested in their first attempts at the six stations and three of our students from past classes retested on single stations. All 11 of our students passed! They have given the last year of their lives and overcome so many challenges with COVID-19 and the efforts to get them to this point. Congratulations!
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Spring campus connect events |
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The spring Campus Connect events were once again a success! Even with a couple of snowy days, there were 28 students that attended, 22 of which were registered. With both weather and COVID-19 obstacles we did our best to address the students needs prior to the event and were able to maintain social distancing. Our spring events concluded with 79% of students attending being registered and 100% of them being kept safe, which was our number one goal. These events help our students have that in-person attention that so many need to take the next step on their journey with New River CTC. Thank you to our amazing staff and faculty who consistently put the needs of our students first. |
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The published work of Barry Pyne |
Barry Pyne, one of New River CTC's math and science tutors, recently wrote an article about his love for Winter that was published in a small local newspaper.
Blue Rondo à la Winter
Of all the seasons, winter is my favorite. One of the best things about it is its coziness potential. Thomas De Quincey expressed it well when he wrote, “Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.” One imagines passing many happy hours becoming well acquainted with a stack of books and a long line of steaming beverages, and availing oneself of the long winter nights to enjoy many long, hot baths, and deep, satisfying slumbers, snug under the covers.
For me, reminiscences of childhood occur more frequently in winter than at any other time. I think of those long, blissful days out of school that we spent sleigh riding down “7 Foot,” which was a hill with a hump that, when you careened over it, made you jump at least 7 feet (in theory). Then there were the times that my best friend and I built fires outside, pretending the snowy ground and leaden grey skies represented all the dismal succor provided to us by the harsh, forbidding surface of some alien planet that we had crash landed upon, lost somewhere deep in starry depths of space.
There are also the memories of food, or really the smells of food. Oh, how I do linger over those memories of coming home on a cold winter’s day and finding our cozy little kitchen awash with the mouthwatering scents of my mom’s home-cooked food. There was meatloaf, green beans, brown beans, boiled potatoes, onions, cornbread – always a veritable smorgasbord of delectable delights, much of which was grown in our garden that very summer. How grand were those days! Little did we realize just how good we had it.
With the coming of winter, gone is the dull, enervating blanket of summer tide. Rather than leaving one gasping for breath, the cool, crisp air now sweeps into the lungs seemingly of its own volition. It goes in bracingly, swirls about inside, and retreats, seeming to carry with it some miasmatic poison, thereby transforming one’s view of the world entirely.
Now we find nature stripped down to its bare essentials. Having temporarily cast off all its glitzy festoons and fancies, it now lays open for our observation and contemplation its bare skeletal structure. The starkness thus presented opens to the keen and studious eye a portal of understanding and meaning. The now denuded forest not only allows us to see through it to behold hitherto unseen vistas of scenic beauty, but also to apprehend new hierarchies of beauty in the cosmic order.
Winter walks offer up a special treat. I like to take special care to fully absorb the sights and sounds of this, the last and first season. A few courageous birds remain, singing their doleful tunes as though they wish they too had wintered south. Wind soughs through the green needled pine branches, reminding one that not everything has given up the fight. Leaves, newly released from their bonds, skitter and play along one’s path in one last bacchanalian dance before the first snow sets in.
And who cannot but revel in the enchantment that falls upon the Earth with the season’s first flakes? Oftentimes it foretells itself by sending forth a peculiar odor. Which of us can say quite what its characteristics are – the scent of frozen water! Sound carries far and seems to be much amplified in the cold, dry air, as is witnessed by the loud scrunching of snow under foot and the baying of a lonely hound somewhere off among the snow scalloped hills. And yet at such times nature is capable of creating the most astonishing silences!
Walking along a snowy track, one enters a world of muted colors, all shades of black, gray, and white, often wildly contrasted against an azure sky of startling clarity. Sometimes of an evening there is a faint misty blue tint to the air, turning old, gnarled trees into a ghostly apparitions walking the lonely fields. Sundogs are a common sight, owing to the low angle of the winter sun. Caused by tiny ice crystals suspended high aloft in cold cirrus clouds, these rainbow-hued mini suns offer cheerful tones to a world devoid of color.
Sometimes one finds a dark, secret cove in the side of a mountain where the laurel grows thick. An icy stream trickles over rock formations, forming long, dripping icicles. Such a place seems almost a sacred shrine, magical and mysterious - a crystal cave where one can almost hear the faint tinkling of chimes.
Of the snow itself there are two chief varieties. The first, wet, sticky snow, clings to windshields and steps, and is usually considered a menace, while also creating some of the most stunningly beautiful of winterscapes. It lies in great dollops among the pine boughs, and forms delicate traceries along barren tree branches, fence rails and the tops of mailboxes. The second type, feathery, dry snow, while generally considered much tamer, has still a menacing tendency to form huge drifts. Breezes send it flying in a screen of shimmering diamonds, as though some strange snow djinn were about to materialize out of the sparkling crystals.
Winter sunsets are remarkable for their duration and the intensity of their fiery colors. The low sun, now plowing through many layers of dense, cold air, adorns itself in showy veils of orange, gold, and crimson, taking its merry time as it slips obliquely below the horizon. Once darkness has descended, the stars come out in all their magnificent glory. They seem magnified in their brilliance, burning with white hot intensity in the inky blackness. The outer spiral arm of the galaxy is now plainly visible, hanging in a great milky curtain across the firmament, shielding us from the terrifying depths of the intergalactic void. There simply is no better time to observe the sky than on the icy cold nights of winter.
While one might be inclined to stay snug indoors this winter - and there are indeed plenty of enticements to do so - if you are willing to bundle up and brave the cold and snow, there are many sights to see and discoveries to be made. Maybe you too will discover that winter is the most wonderful season of all.
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Free activities to keep you moving |
In-person Programs
Free Virtual Challenge
Fri February 19 - Sat March 20, 2021
Online Free Fitness Classes
Self Guided Resources
Located in Nicholas, Fayette, Raleigh, Summers, Boone, and Kanawha Counties
*Please visit our event pages before programs for updates, descriptions, Covid-19 guidelines, cancellations and locations. Active SWV programs are free and open to all people in a welcoming and safe environment, directed by Community Captain volunteers. Active SWV is always striving to serve members of all of our southern West Virginia communities. If you are interested in volunteering, donating programming space, or working towards adding activities in your town, please contact us for more information.
Trusted Partner Online Resources
Mindful techniques to help kids de-stress - Monday Feb. 22 11am - Zoom
New River Yoga - Workday Yoga - Mondays 12pm Feb. 8th, 15th, 22nd - Zoom
Staying Active in the Winter video
Click HERE to view this list of resources on our website.
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Forgotten driving safety topics to rediscover |
Fleet Management provides monthly driving tips to provide agencies with a way to promote good defensive driving techniques ensuring the safety of state vehicle operators. For February, Fleet is providing information on 15 of the most forgotten driving safety topics for every motorist to rediscover.
Remember when you first got your license? There was a sense of freedom and possibility. There was excitement and fear the first time you pulled onto the highway. You knew the driver’s ed manual from front to back-you even knew some of the driving safety topics that you didn’t understand, like where to put your hands on the steering wheel.
Like anything else, though, as we gain experience, we also learn shortcuts, both good and bad. We get more comfortable and skilled at those things we once thought terrifying. We also tend to forget some important rules and procedures. That’s why it is smart to revisit some of those driving safety topics now and then. Here are some you may have forgotten.
1. Parking on a Hill
Pop quiz: Which way do you turn your wheels when you park on a hill?
It’s a trick question. When you park facing uphill, turn your wheels toward the street and use the curb as a block to keep your car from rolling. If you’re facing downhill, turn your wheels toward the curb. Also, be sure to set your parking brake and put the car in first gear if you have a manual transmission.
2. Adjusting Mirrors and Headrest
Especially if you share a car with another driver, check your mirrors before getting on the road. Adjust the headrest, too. The headrest is designed to prevent whiplash in the case of a rear-end collision. Position your headrest so it is even with the top of your head and, ideally, about one inch away from the back of your head.
3. Wear Your Seatbelt
By now this should be a habit; however, there are still too many people who ignore the life-saving feature of car seatbelts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that wearing a seatbelt in the front seat of a car can reduce fatal injury by 45%.
4. Driving in Fog
Driving in thick fog is a stressful experience. The National Weather Service offers these tips for driving safely in fog: slow down, turn on your lights, use your low beams, follow the lines of the road to ensure you stay in your lane, and do not multi-task.
5. Using High Beams
Fog isn’t the only driving condition where high beams are detrimental. Whether you’re on a city street, back road, or on the interstate, switch to low beams when you see another car. High beams make it difficult for oncoming traffic to see, and for cars in front of you, that bright light is distracting. It is also preferable to use your high beams when driving along a dark road in rural areas.
6. Stop for School Buses
It’s hard to miss a stopped school bus; the sizeable yellow transport with flashing red lights and a bright stop sign is one of the most visible vehicles on the road. Yet a study by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services estimates that there are over 13 million violations by private motorists every school year. The point? Don’t risk the lives and safety of children. Stop for school buses.
7. Driving in Rain
Driving in heavy rain is similar to driving in fog. Turn on your headlights (low beams), slow down, and be aware of the possibility of hydroplaning.
8. What to Do When You Hydroplane
Anytime you drive in the rain, or on wet roads, there is a chance you might hydroplane. To prevent this, slow down, take care of your tires, skip cruise control, avoid puddles, and drive thoughtfully.
9. Driving in Snow
From black ice to slippery roads, there are plenty of driving safety topics to explore for winter driving. At its most basic, however, the best way to drive in snow is to leave plenty of space between you and the car in front of you, plan extra time into your commute, and expect slippery roads.
10. Four-Way Stops
Who has the right of way at a four-way stop? The first car at the intersection has the right of way. The hard part is when two or more cars approach a four-way stop at the same time. What then? The car to the right goes first.
11. Share the Road with Bikes
According to Edmunds.com, cyclists have the same rights to the road that motorized vehicles have, and some states have a “3-foot rule” for passing bicyclists. Share the road, pass when it’s safe to do so, and remember that’s one less car creating traffic jams, during your morning drive.
12. Avoid Distractions
Distracted driving accounts for 10% of all fatal accidents and is responsible for more than 1,000 motor vehicle accidents per day, according to the NHTSA. Texting and phone calls, especially for teen drivers, is a primary culprit, but other distractions include eating, talking to passengers, and adjusting the GPS.
13. Don’t Tailgate
Driving too close to the car in front of you only accomplishes one thing: putting you, your passengers, and other drivers in danger. When you tailgate, you severely reduce your ability to stop in the event of an emergency. You also reduce your ability to look ahead for road hazards. It is recommended to leave at lease three seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you.
14. Give Tractor-Trailers Plenty of Space
A tractor-trailer could weigh 20 times what your car does, and it takes the length of two football fields for it to stop. Don’t pull out in front of a tractor-trailer, and when you are behind them, remember that they can’t see you unless you can see their mirrors.
15. Driving Tired
Did you know that driving without enough sleep is just as bad as drunk driving? U.S. News reports that drivers who sleep for less than 4 hours in a 24-hour period are 11.5 times likelier to crash. If you find yourself getting sleepy behind the wheel, try to pull into a rest stop and take a nap. Light exercise is also good for rejuvenation, as is drinking caffeine or rolling down the window to get some fresh air. Be aware, however, that these are just temporary fixes.
Anytime is a good time to revisit driving safety topics. Not only can they help keep you safe, they can help improve your confidence behind the wheel.
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MARCH 1
Rolling Start Options Classes Begin
Classes run through May 14
MARCH 31-APRIL 3
New River CTC Invitational
Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center
APRIL 1
LPN Application Deadline for Fall 2021
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APRIL 10
Volleyball 4 Autism
Memorial Baptist Church
1405 S. Kanawha St., Beckley
APRIL 30
MLT Application Deadline for Fall 2021
MAY 1
LPN-RN Bridge Program Application Deadline
for Fall 2021
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New River CTC does not discriminate in its educational programs or in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, veteran or military status, disability, or genetic information or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal or state laws. The following office has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the College’s non-discrimination policies relating to disabilities, sex, Title IX or other forms of discrimination: Peter Hoeman, Interim Dean of Student Services and Title IX Coordinator, 304-929-5027, phoeman@newriver.edu, 280 University Drive, Beaver, WV 25801. Additional information can be found on the College’s website at www.newriver.edu/nondiscrimination.
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