Tasting success

BY FRANCINE FULTON

Students from the Octorara Junior-Senior High School (OJSHS) Culinary Arts program recently participated in the Pennsylvania ProStart competition held in State College. Chefs from OJSHS created a tasty threecourse dinner for the judges, and members of the Management Team earned a third-place finish in their event.

“It was awesome for these (students) to go to this particular event because you saw 400 other students all wearing white chef coats and vying for first place. It validates what we do on campus,” said Darren Hodorovich, culinary/baking and pastry arts instructor. “This is our first year in competing in management. I’m particularly proud of this group. They took the spirit of the competition and followed it through.”

At the event, which was sponsored by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, students from across the state participated. “It is open to any school that is using ProStart curriculum,” said Hodorovich. “There were teams there from Williamsport and Erie and all over Lancaster and Chester counties.”

OJSHS student chefs volunteered to take part in the cooking competition. “That group of students have been working every day after school for an hour to two hours,” noted Hodorovich. “We start with ideas in November and by the time we get to January, the dishes are set in place.”

See Culinary students pg 4 from local high schools who demonstrate the qualities of dependability, service leadership and patriotism. The students are chosen for the honor by their respective high schools.

This year’s winner from Octorara Junior-Senior High School was Tyler Remphrey, who was honored along with the other Good Citizens during a ceremony held on March 9 at the West Goshen Township Building. Tyler was accompanied to the event by his parents, Byrne and Stacy Remphrey. Jacqueline Smith, Octorara guidance counselor, was also in attendance.

Tyler, who was presented with a certificate and a lapel pin, provided a list of his activities, which were read during the program. He is a member of the high school marching band, the high school Physics Team and the LifeTeen youth group at Our Lady of Consolation in Parkesburg.

See Good Citizen pg 2

Students construct dream homes as part of annual contest

BY FRANCINE FULTON

Treehouses, as well as solar- and wind-powered homes, were some of the submissions featured at the 20th annual Build a House … Build a Dream contest presented by Habitat for Humanity of Chester County.

During the competition, held on March 11 at the Church Farm School in Exton, local fifth-grade students worked individually or in teams of two to build their own three-dimensional model dream homes. The model homes were then judged by professional architects, engineers and builders from the community.

This year, there were a total of 48 homes submitted by 59 students. “The sustainability theme was really prominent this year,” said Christy Kane, Habitat’s director of development and marketing. “In the past years, we saw a few homes with sustainable features. This year, one child not only had solar power, but he also had wind power with turbines that he created on his property. There were some treehouse models, and one kid grew his own grass for his home.”

See Dream homes pg 8

Tyler, a member of Atglen Boy Scout Troop 20, also recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout. For his service project, he created a digital map of the graveyard at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Compass, located in Gap. Using a database that he created, the church leaders can now search for the names of those interred and the location of graves in the cemetery.

Once a student is chosen as the DAR Good Citizen, he or she is invited to apply for a scholarship at the state DAR level. Part of the application is completing an essay. Students are required to write the essay with no reference materials.

This year’s topic was “Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It: How Will the Essential Actions of a Good Citizen - Dependability, Service, Leadership and PatriotismMeet the Challenges That America Faces in This Decade?”

“It’s a timed essay; you have two hours,” Tyler explained. “(The topic) is in a sealed envelope until the timer starts. There was an option to type, but I handwrote (the essay). I went through each of the four points and gave examples of why it was important.”

During the program, Tyler read his essay, which included an excerpt about the importance of being a good citizen. It read, in part, “An ideal citizen is one who is dedicated to improving the lives of others for the benefit or all. Through the attributes of a good citizen, America will rise and unify to combat hardship and preserve the values that it was built on.”

The DAR Good Citizen Award, which was established in 1934, was originally bestowed upon only one student per state. By 1952, the award was expanded so that each high school could select one Good Citizen honoree.

The Chester County DAR is open to women age 18 and up who are able to provide proof of their ancestral connection to those who served in the American Revolution. For more information, visit www.ccdar.wordpress.com.

The Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point will take place on Saturday, April 1. The event will take place this year on Saturday instead of the usual Sunday at the H.E. Myrick Conservation Center, 1760 Unionville Wawaset Road, West Chester. Gates will open off Route 842 at 11 a.m.

Brandywine Hills race day will include horse and pony races; family-friendly activities like the stick pony races; and attractions like the parade of foxhounds and antique car display. Refreshments may be purchased onsite from Saloon 151.

The Junior Field Master Chase will kick off the festivities at noon. This event will be followed by four pony races on the flat; these races are the Leadline Pony Race, the Small Pony Race, the Medium Pony Race, and the Large Pony Race. The featured jump races will begin at 1:45 p.m. with the Ladies Race, followed by the Amateur Apprentice Race. Races will continue with the Novice Timber

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