Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. In this column, we highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we’ll feature their stories.
Tick talk
We may be basking in the early days of spring, but with April comes the start of that dreaded 5-month period known as tick season.
Ticks have a tendency to spread Lyme disease and, as rates for that illness are already relatively high in and around the New River Valley, a little expert advice on the subject certainly couldn’t hurt.
That’s where Jenny Hall comes in.
In addition to being a Radford University associate dean of interprofessional education and practice and a professor of public health, Hall also founded Ticks in Virginia, a website that helps interpret and share scientific information, statistics and advice about those sticky, icky external parasites.
She recently spoke to Cardinal News for a March 30 story about ticks and, among a host of details, the article covers the “four Cs” that can help prevent exposure to the maladies they spread.
COVER yourself in proper clothing and repellent before going outdoors.
CLEAR yards and other areas of vegetation and animals that attract ticks.
CHECK yourself “often” and “everywhere,” Hall said, particularly during and after periods spent in the outdoors.
CLEAN up after time outside, and Hall recommends using a lint roller on clothes to catch tick larvae; putting exposed clothes in the dryer to kill ticks; and showering as soon as possible.
Another suggestion: Take steps to repel wildlife, such as deer or mice, from yards and homes. “Mice are big, big hosts and carriers, as well as deer,” Hall explained.
Hall also fights against ticks in the off-season. Here’s a Pulitzer Center piece on her work and research from December.
“A homegrown leader”
Starting this summer, Salem High School will have a new captain at the wheel – Jamie Garst, M.S. ’13.
Garst begins his tenure as the school’s principal on July 1, according to a March 20 release by the City of Salem.
That will be familiar territory for him. A native of the city, he’s currently serving as Salem High’s assistant principal, and his teaching career started in the school’s classrooms as a chemistry instructor in 2008. Five years after that, he began a decade as an administrator at Andrew Lewis Middle School, but ultimately he found his way back to Salem’s chemistry labs, according to Division Superintendent Curtis Hicks.
“After venturing back in the classroom in 2023 to regain his ‘teacher perspective,’ Jamie returned to administration with renewed energy and a vision that is squarely aligned with the future of Salem High School,” Hicks said in the release. “We are incredibly fortunate to have a homegrown leader of his caliber ready to take the helm at his alma mater."
Garst, too, said his teaching background has provided him with a solid foundation for the post.
“My time back in the classroom strengthened my commitment to supporting teachers and helping every student find a path to success,” said Garst. “I’m very thankful for this opportunity to return to the role of principal and continue to serve this school community that has given so much to me.”
Garst will succeed Kelly Linkenhoker, who has taken a position as principal of Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Inside “Information”
Virginia's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) offers state residents timely access to certain public records upon request. And while FOIA is a valuable tool commonly used by journalists, it's available to everyone within the commonwealth, whether they have media affiliation or just simply a general interest.
Cardinal News recently asked an intriguing question about this process: "[H]ow does a local government treat residents when they come in and ask for public information … when the government entity knows that residents may not know all their rights under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act?"
To find out, the online news site drafted 20 students from two Radford University journalism classes and tasked them to see for themselves. The students approached multiple government offices across a dozen area localities with a range of information requests just to learn whether they could get what they sought or were delayed or denied.
The resulting article offers a useful primer on FOIA, as well as an incisive look at how different localities approach information requests.
It also netted 20 Highlanders their very own contributor byline. These journalists, students under Associate Professor of Communication Hyeri Jung, included Davidson Baker, Jalen Bennett, Lena Borges, Lucas Burton, Katherine Clarke, Greta Cline, Jacquelyn Dwyer, Brianna Goss, Ian Greco, Elizabeth Jeans, Matthew King, Rylee Lyons, Anderson Miller, Carter Mullins, Joshua Poslusny, Lillian Pratt, Matthew Rutley, Elizabeth Villa and Joelle Watkins.
You can read Cardinal's full overview of this process and its findings in this March 20 article, and you can also find extensive information about FOIA within Virginia’s State Legislative Information System.