Planet Blacksburg is taking its part in the Relay for Life cause. To donate or
even join PB's team, go to our team's website.
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Public Relations Students Wanted!
August 24, 2010
Would you say you're friendly and outgoing? Like to chat and interact with a variety of people? Think you could engage with the community, attract readers and create partnerships? If so, then we'd like to hear from you!
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Are You A Freelance Writer? Interested in contributing to Planet Blacksburg and gaining media experience? Love to write or report but realize that you don't have a lot of time on your hands? That's all right! Planet Blacksburg welcomes freelance writers! (Click to read more) PBTV: Bruce Taylor & Andre Smith Interviews
PBTV: Billy Hite Interview
"OM" World Finals Coming Soon The 31st annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals competition will take place at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., from May 26 to May 29. Teams from about 25 countries will compete at World Finals, some against the team from Virginia Tech. Odyssey of the Mind, or OotM, is a global problem-solving competition that incorporates creativity into an eight minute performance that satisfies one of five general problems that change annually. The long-term problems include vehicle, technical performance, classics, performance and structure. Each problem has different scoring components, limitations and rules that must be followed. The Benefits of the Farmers Market Fresh grown flowers, herbs and baked goods fill the air with blissful scents as children and pets frolic around the benches. While this scene may seem too idyllic to be true, it can be seen every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning at the Blacksburg Farmers Market on the corner of Roanoke Street and Draper Road, in the newly completely Market Square Park. Homeward Bound Sophie was paralyzed from the waist down when she was just 4 years old. Sophie's family dropped her on her back, causing her to lose the ability to walk. Afterward, they took her to get help. The doctor told them Sophie would have a chance to walk again -- if, and only if, she underwent surgery within the next 24 hours. Rather than pay Sophie's medical costs, her family decided to give her up for adoption. An Interview With Fiction Editor Lee Boudreaux Lee Boudreaux is a fiction editor in New York. In 15 years she has climbed the publishing ladder, from being an unpaid intern at Longstreet Press, to being an assistant editor, to being a senior director at Random House, one of the largest publishing houses in the world. She currently works for the HarperCollins imprint Ecco Publishing as its editorial director. An imprint is a smaller division of a larger publishing firm. It is usually a smaller publishing house that is absorbed by a larger one. Boudreaux has helped to publish novels by several noted authors such as Adriana Trigiani, Stephen King and David Wroblewski, author of the recent bestseller “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.” Hokies Big Spring In Baseball Also Includes A Loss To Davidson Virginia Tech’s baseball team hadn’t lost to the Davidson College Wildcats since 1981 but that changed this month even as the 16th-ranked Hokies are enjoying one of their best seasons. The 29-year run by the Hokies came to a close last week, as Davidson’s hitters swung their team to victory, 14-10. Now, the Hokies’ May 18 game at Davidson will have a little extra spice on it. It comes in the middle of a schedule-closing Carolina road trip featuring three-game series with Duke and North Carolina. |
Staff Writers and Reporters Wanted! Hope everyone had a fantastic summer! As the semester approaches, Planet Blacksburg is looking for talented writers and reporters. Specifically, we're looking for dedicated students to join our staff and produce content for our site! Interested in working with us? As a writer or reporter for Planet Blacksburg you'll be expected to: Photographers and Videographers Wanted! Today, student journalists need to have a variety of skills. Here at Planet Blacksburg, we're looking for students who not only know how to write but are handy with a camera as well. Do you like photography or film? Want to show how talented you are behind the lens? PBTV: Bud Foster Interview
A Gift For More Than One Village
Jane Vance - an adjunct professor of the Creative Process through the Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech, an aide for special needs children at Blacksburg Middle School and an established painter of South Asian styles - resides in the unique, aqua-blue house in Blacksburg, Va. As I pulled up the rocky path leading to Vance's home, I left Virginia and crossed into an unimaginable world in a different place in time. Hokie Ambassadors Add a Warm, Soft Touch to the Cold, Hard Facts For many high school students, college visits can be an overwhelming experience, especially universities with campuses as big as Virginia Tech. Couple that with an hour-long tour jam-packed with facts and figures about the school, and any teenager’s (and their parents’) head is sure to spin. Hokie Ambassadors (HA) is a volunteer-based group of student tour guides at Virginia Tech who serve to embody the university for prospective students. Being current students themselves and having gone through the process of choosing schools, the members of HA know firsthand what it’s like to visit a college and have to make a major life choice based on an hour or two of their lives. Ambassadors recognize that since their words are a major contribution to the decision process, it is valuable to the visitors to give each of their tours a personal perspective of what life is like at Virginia Tech beyond the brochures and Web sites. Tech Food, How Healthy Is It? America is fat. There is no denying that, as a nation, we are getting increasingly larger. Game shows such as “The Biggest Loser,” documentaries like “Super Size Me” and commercials advertising the easiest new way to lose weight all bombard the public with one single message: Eat healthier to lose weight. Obviously this is easier said than done. Event Planning Is Her Challenge Planning an event can be stressful enough from worrying about guests, decorations and organization while making everything run as smooth as possible. Whether it’s high class occasions or small business socials, Diamond Events says it seeks to provide clients a wide range of style to fit many occasions. Diamond Events is a full-service company that specializes in event planning for family social gatherings, business functions, and of course, weddings. The Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia areas are markets where Stephanie Hughes, founder and president of Diamond Events, showcases most of her work. When There's Trouble, The Task Force Deploys A disaster can occur at any time, without warning or without notice. The members of the Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team (VA-TF1) are one of the first to respond to these disasters. VA-TF1 is comprised of 200 trained men and women from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. VA-TF1 also includes canine search specialists, physicians, structural specialists and rigging specialists. They are the world’s first “responder community” when an emergency occurs. The team responds to both domestic (Virginia Task Force 1) and international (USAR Team 1) disasters. |
Antoine Wilson caught up with Virginia Tech running backs coach Billy Hite at Media Day to talk about the Hokies' wealth of talent in the backfield. With record-breaker Ryan Williams and a healthy Darren Evans back for this season, will there be enough footballs to go around?
Virginia Tech football consistently ranks among the top team defenses year in and year out due, in no small part, to defensive coordinator Bud Foster. On Media Day he spoke to Neal Turnage about his expectations for this season, the leadership of defensive tackle John Graves, facing another top 10 team in the first game of the season and which players to watch this year. 
Tibetan prayer flags lined the unpaved path to an aqua-blue house hidden among the trees. A statue of Buddha rested upon a towering shrine of glimmering stones and metals. The breeze propelled the Tibetan prayer wheel surrounded by a garden of vibrant flowers. A postcard image of the mountains glowing beneath the sun grew beautifully in the distance. This is not South Asia. I am in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia.