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Bowie residents who are eager to break open their winter holiday decorations can get a head start by entering the city's annual holiday house-decorating contest.
The contest is free and open to any resident who lives within city limits and submits an entry form by Dec. 7.
Judges will rank the decorations in areas such as creativity, color coordination and overall presentation. Houses will be judged in three categories: colonial, religious or traditional.
Entry forms are available in the November-December issue of The Bowie Spotlight; on the City's Web site, at www.cityofbowie.org/
Government/CommunityServices/
SpecialEvents/special_events.asp; or at Bowie City Hall.
Entry forms must be returned to city hall by 5 p.m. Dec. 7. Lights and decorations should be visible when judging takes place from 6 to 11 p.m. Dec. 10.
Adults interested in judging the contest can contact Matt Corley at 301-809-3078 or e-mail mcorley@cityofbowie.org.
All entrants are invited to an awards reception at 7:30 p.m. Dec.16 at city hall.
Mitchellville resident awarded scholarship to pursue nursing
Kristine Newsome of Mitchellville was awarded one of 20 scholarships worth $10,000 to attend Marymount University's School of Health, according to a press release from the university.
The scholarships are paid by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program to maximize diversity and increase the number of students enrolled in Marymount's accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program.
Newsome, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Virginia State University, plans to become a nurse midwife after completing the four-semester program.
Professor from Bowie gets faculty award
Prince George's Community College adjunct faculty member and Bowie resident Indravadan Shah received the Faculty Senate Award for Excellence for Adjunct Faculty from the college's Faculty Senate Excellence Committee on Oct. 27.
The award honors Shah's contributions to the college in and outside of the classroom. He has taught chemistry at the college for 10 years and founded the college's chemistry club three years ago.
"In the chemistry club we are assisting the students in developing their study skills," Shah said. "We help them in solving difficult thinking problems.
Shah also volunteers with the college's International Education Center each week, mentoring international students who need help finding resources for financial aid or finding the right career path.
College receives grant to provide biotech training
Bowie State University has received a $559,994 grant from the National Science Foundation to support the establishment of a genomic training lab and the introduction of a new applied biotechnology course at the college.
The grant will support an intensive on-campus summer training course in biotechnology for undergraduate students selected from nearby historically black colleges and universities and high school teachers from schools in Prince George's County, according to a press release from the university.
Each year, three students who graduate from the training programs will be selected for research internships in one of the labs at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The overall goal of the award is to enhance minority participation in the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines by improving minority undergraduate students' competitiveness in the biotechnology job market and postgraduate education programs, according to the press release.
"The NSF-funded program is significant because it provides Bowie State the opportunity to address the workforce needs of the state in a major industry while providing minority students training in a field where they have been underrepresented," BSU president Mickey L. Burnim said in a statement.
Metro looking for input at public forum Nov. 18
Metro will hold a public forum in Largo this month to address the transit authority's critical budget issues, including operating challenges and capital needs for the fiscal year 2011 budget. The transit agency is facing a potential $100 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 18, at Prince George's Community College, in the Largo Student Center, located at 301 Largo Road. Metro Board Members Elizabeth Hewlett and Marcell Solomon will attend the forum.
Metro General Manager John Catoe will give a presentation that outlines Metro's fiscal challenges as well as some possible solutions. The forum then will be open to public comment.
Bowie CLAW hosts pet portraits session
Bowie Citizens for Local Animal Welfare is sponsoring a pet portrait session from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 14, at Prime Care Animal Hospital, located at 750 Route 3 in Gambrills. The fundraiser will benefit Bowie CLAW, which works to address animal welfare issues in Bowie. Call 410-923-7387 for more information.
Glenn Dale nonprofit gets grant to benefit cancer patients
All Shades of Pink Inc., a Glenn Dale-based nonprofit organization that assists women and their families diagnosed with breast cancer with resource referrals, nonmedical advice and/or emergency financial assistance during their treatment period, received a $1,500 grant Oct. 16 from the Wal-Mart Foundation in recognition of ASOP's efforts in helping families fight breast cancer.
Denice Whalen-White, founder and president of ASOP, said the nonprofit will allocate specific percentages of the grant to buy yarn and have volunteers make blankets for the Comfort Blanket program, help fund the utility assistance program and make available a coloring book free of charge to breast cancer patients with young children.
For information, visit
www.allshadesofpink.org.
County-sponsored financial forum coming to Landover
The "Meet the Lenders Day" half-day financial advice event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 12 at 3400 Pennsy Drive in Landover. The event is being held by the Prince George's County Office of Central Services Minority Business Development Division and the Maryland Small Business Development Center and the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce.
Residents can attend the "Writing a Business for Your Banker" and "SBA Recovery Act Lending Resources" and meet with lenders to discuss their businesses. Call 301-883-6480 for more information and register at www.princegeorgescountymd.gov.