a varsity sport for the mind
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TRANSCRIPT
By Pamela [email protected]
Forget football and cross country, it’s open-ing season for the varsity sport for the mind.
Want to play?Team 456 Siege Robotics, a high-energy
group of students who design, program and build game-playing robots for competition against other teams, is forming for the 2012-
13 season. Appli-cations will be accepted until Aug. 31 from all inter-ested students in Warren County — whether from public, private or home schools.
“We are a highly competitive, very successful, award-winning competi-tion robotics team — not a club,” said engineer Chuck Dickerson, a team mentor since 2004. “We are going to select the best kids
based on their applications and interviews, without regard to school, sex, race or any-thing other than merit. There is no quota from any particular school. We’re looking for kids from all the schools.”
This will be the 13th season for Vicksburg’s FRC Team 456 Siege Robotics. The 2011-12 team, which included students from Warren Central and St. Aloysius high schools, attended regional competitions in New Orleans and Dallas, winning awards for cre-ativity, “coopertition,” industrial safety and professionalism, Dickerson said.
“FRC” is FIRST Robotics Competition, a national organization that wants high school students to discover the thrills and rewards of science and engineering. FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — calls its robotics games “a unique varsity sport for the mind.”
“FIRST is trying to change the culture,” said engineer Eddie Melton, a six-year mentor. “If you ask kids what they want to do, you get answers like, ‘be on American Idol,’ or, ‘play in the NFL.’ Only a few kids will ever have the chance to do that. So what we are trying to do is get kids excited about engineering or science, something that has substance to it.”
Robotics team members show up seven
Business • B9 Topic • c1
JOB FAIR WALTER HALLBERG57 employers expected Tuesday Auto parts salesman at it 70 years
s u n D A Y, A u g u s T 5, 2012 • $ 1 . 5 0 W W W. v I c k s B u R G p O s T. c O m e v e r Y D A Y s i n c e 1883
INDEXBusiness ..........B9Classifieds .......C7 Puzzles .............B8Dear Abby ......B6Editorial ...........A4People/TV .......B6
1864: During the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut leads his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala.1921: A baseball game is broad-cast for the first time as KDKA radio announcer Harold Arlin de-scribes the action between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Phila-
delphia Phillies from Forbes Field. (The Pi-rates won, 8-5.)1962: Actress Marilyn Monroe, 36, is found dead in her Los Angeles home;
her death was ruled a probable suicide from “acute barbiturate poisoning.”
1969: The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flies by Mars, sending back pho-
tographs and scientific data.
WEATHERToday:
partly sunny, chance of rain, highs in the mid-90s
Tonight:mostly cloudy, chance of rain,
lows in the mid-70sMississippi River:
3.3 feetRose: 1.2 foot
Flood stage: 43 feet
A9VOLUME 130 NUMBER 218
3 SECTIONS
DEATHs• David Wayne Bailey• Randall E. Hoofman• Ronnie Edward Whitley
A9
cONTAcT usAdvertising/News/Circulation
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By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can’t be anything but man-made global warming, a new statisti-cal analysis from a top government scientist contends.
The research by a man often called the “godfather of global warming” said that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than 1 in 300. Now, the odds are closer to 1 in 10, according to the study by NASA sci-entist James Hansen. He said that statisti-
VICkSBURg ROBOTICS TEAMSEEkINg NEw MEMBERS fOR UpCOMINg SEASON
The 456 Siege Robotics team robot, being con-trolled by Warren Central student Kelcey McMaster, 16, daughter of Paul and Janet McMaster fires basketballs into a target hoop.
Eli Baylis•The Vicksburg PosT
BrEndEn nEvillE•The Vicksburg PosT
To applyApplications for the FRC Team 456 Siege Ro-botics are linked at www.Team456.org and www.siegerobotics.org. The deadline is Aug. 31 to submit all required parts of the applica-tion. Letters of recommendation are accepted but not required. A $200 activity fee is due by Dec. 31. Individual interviews and selection of the team will follow in September.
To helpTeam 456 Siege Robotics is a non-profit or-ganization and welcomes volunteer mentors and tax-deductible donations. To volunteer, email [email protected]. Donations can be mailed to: 456 Robotics, P.O. Box 821792, Vicksburg, MS 39182.
See Robotics, Page A2.
‘We are a highly competitive,
very successful, award-winning
competition robotics team —
not a club.’ChuCk
DiCkersonTeam 456 siege
roboTics menTor
See Giffords, Page A9.
New study linkscurrent eventsto climate change
‘This is not some scientific
theory. We are now
experiencing scientific fact.’
James hansennasa scienTisT
See Warming, Page A9.
TODAY IN HIsTORY
Plea dealwould giveaccusedGiffords’shooter lifePsychiatrist set to testify Tuesdaythat Loughner is competent to pleaBy The Associated Press
PHOENIX — A possible plea deal in the deadly Tucson shootings that wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would send Jared Lee Loughner to prison for the rest of his life, a person familiar with the case said Saturday night.
A court-appointed psychi-atrist will testify Tuesday that Loughner is competent to enter a plea in the shoot-ing rampage that killed six people and injured 13, including Giffords, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A status conference in the federal case had already been scheduled for Tuesday in Tucson.
The person, speaking about upcom-ing events in the case, said the plan is for Loughner to enter a guilty plea in the mur-ders and attempted murders. The plan is contingent on the judge in the case allow-ing Loughner to enter the plea.
The Los Angeles Times reported earlier
Jared LeeLoughner
A1 Main
days a week during the winter “build season,” travel to competitions that pit their creativity and workmanship against that of hundreds of other teams and continue to show up for meetings during the summer.
“Hands-on experience, definitely,” said 16-year-old Wally Wibowo, a rising junior at St. Al. He said robotics has given him the chance to take learning out of the textbook and off the teacher’s white board and apply it practically, working with other people to produce a product that works.
“It’s fun; it’s a good experi-ence,” said Stephanie Rive-ros, 17, a senior at St. Al who was on the team in 2011-12. “You get to meet new people when you go and compete against other teams.”
After they apply and are interviewed, students who win a place on the team are assigned to a role — if pos-sible one that fits his or her talents and interests. Team members must re-apply each year.
Cory Schweitzer, 16, a rising Warren Central senior who’s been on the team three years, was safety captain last season. During his 2011 inter-view he talked about safety, and Dickerson put that inter-est to work.
“It’s a fairly labor-inten-sive job,” Cory said of being safety captain. “You have to go through hours of training with individual team mem-bers to make sure they know how to operate power tools safely.”
Kelcey McMaster, 16, a Warren Central High School junior and 3-year team member, used her creative and artistic talent to make up the 16-page 2012 safety manual given to each team member. She created “Safety Nut,” a cartoon character, to illustrate rules, procedures and reminders.
“We have to go through safety training each year,” said Kelcey, who is fully proficient in operating the power saw — wearing safety glasses, of course — to cut strips of aluminum and other materials in the fabrication room.
Melton and Dickerson are both engineers at the Environmental Lab at the U.S. Army Corps Engineer Research and Development Laboratory on Halls Ferry Road, and are among the seven professionals, includ-ing Dickerson’s wife, Ginny,
who mentor the team. Four former team members also come back to volunteer as mentors.
ERDC, one of a dozen local and national sponsors, pro-vides the team’s workspace, which includes a practice area, fabrication room with raw materials and tools, design room, programming lab and other areas. Other
sponsors provide materials and ever-important grant funds. The robotics team budget is about $50,000, with expenses for travel, entry fees, hotels and other needs, Dickerson said.
The team receives its chal-lenge in early January and spends the next six weeks — weeknights from 5:30 until 11 or midnight, hours on Satur-
days and Sunday afternoons — studying a thick book of rules, brainstorming, design-ing, building a prototype, programming, testing and readying their competition robot.
“The number of hours these kids put in is enor-mous,” Dickerson said. “It’s fairly intensive but the kids get a lot out of it.”
Team members are told to get their homework done after school, because their evenings are spoken for.
Among the awards that Team 456 has won is the Gracious Professionalism Award at this year’s Bayou
Regional competition in New Orleans. The award honors sportsmanship “in the heat of competition, both on and off the playing field.” Vicks-burg’s team won it because they helped another team whose robot had a mechani-cal problem.
The kids are willing to help other teams because it keeps the competition fierce — everyone wants the best robots on the field of play, Kelcey said.
“We all just want to have fun. We want to win, but we want the other teams to have fun, too,” she said. “We want everyone to compete at their highest level.”
“It’s not all about winning,” Melton said. “It is all about learning.”
“We do what we do with the kids because we believe it makes a difference in the lives and futures of the stu-dents, in our community, and to our nation’s future,” Dick-erson said. “Yes, it takes a lot of our time and other com-mitments, but we get to see the direct payoff in the stu-dents, so it is well worth it to us. It’s a lot of work but it is also more fun than you can imagine.”
A2 Sunday, August 5, 2012 The Vicksburg Post
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CLUBSAmerican Legion Post 213 — Dance, 8 tonight, The Hut; admission, $3 singles or $5 per couple; DJ “Horseman” Mitchell, cash raffle drawing. VAMP — Noon Tuesday; Margaret Gilmer, Outlets at Vicksburg, speaker; bring of-fice supplies or cash donation; Ameristar Heritage Buffet. Vicksburg Kiwanis — Noon Tuesday, Jacques’ Cafe; Patrick House of “The Biggest Loser” to speak. Sons of Confederate Vet-erans — John C. Pemberton Camp 1354; 7 p.m. Tuesday; Michael Madell, superinten-dent of the Vicksburg National Military Park, short program; discussion of the 2013 SCV National Convention; pro-spective members welcome; Southern Cultural Heritage Center. Military Order of the Purple Heart and Ladies Auxiliary — Meeting 9 a.m. Wednes-day; all Purple Heart recipients are invited to attend; Charlie Tolliver 601-636-9487 or Edna Hearn 601-529-2499; Battle-
field Inn.Lions — Noon Wednesday; Jamie Creel, principal of WC High School; Toney’s.Port City Kiwanis — 7 a.m. Thursday; Doug Huskey, War-ren County Coroner; Shoney’s.Vicksburg Tea Party — Patri-ots Rally, 6;30 p.m. Thursday; Jeppi Barbour, Stacey Picker-ing, Julia Hodges and Alex Mounsour, speakers; Toney’s.Rosa A. Temple High Class of 1968 Reunion — 6 p.m. Thursday; planning meeting; 1732 East Ave.
PUBLIC PROGRAMSSenior Center — Monday: 10 a.m., chair exercises; 1 p.m., card games; 1:30, beginner oil; 5, dance class.Tuesday Vicksburg Al-Anon — Noon Tuesday; sec-
ond floor, First Presbyterian Church, 1501 Cherry St.; 601-634-0152.River City Mended Hearts — 5 p.m. Tuesday; Dr. John H. Agnone, cardiovascular sur-geon, speaker; rooms A and B, River Region Medical Center.Serenity Overeaters Anony-mous — 6-7 p.m. Wednes-day, Bowmar Baptist Church, Room 102C; 601-638-0011.NAMI Connections — 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday; support group for adult consumers of men-tal health services; conference room of River Region West Campus; 601-400-1695.J.Deche and Friends Concert — 5 p.m. Aug. 11; performers include Sequoyah, K. Park-er and Khayno; giveaways of school supplies, electronics, gift cards and more; Warren
Central High School; tickets, $5, at WCHS, Platinum Cutz, Fred’s Barber & Beauty, Tipz and Toez and Perfect Image; 281-677-1951.Hunter Education Course — 6-9 p.m. Aug. 14-15; must be 10 years old or 10 in the cal-endar year and must attend all three nights to be certified; social security number re-quired; Lonnie Friar, 601-636-8883; Hinds Community Col-lege, 755 Mississippi 27.
CHURCHESEbenezer M.B. — Combined revival with St. Paul Baptist, 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; the Revs. Michael R. Reed and John Al-len; 2346 Grove St.Cool Spring M.B. — Revival, 7:15 p.m. Monday-Wednes-day; the Rev. Bernard Mitch-
ell, evangelist; the Rev. Byron Maxwell, pastor; 385 Falk Steel Road.Jones Chapel M.B. — Busi-ness meeting, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; 1340 Bay St.Calvary Baptist — Special meeting, 7:30 p.m. Wednes-day; 406 Klein St.House of Isarel Hebrew Cul-ture Center — Taekwondo classes, 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; ages 5 and older; 601-352-3793 or 601-906-8121.Greater Mount Lebanon — Success conference for men, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday; the Rev. Dr. Booker T. Camper, speaker; continental break-fast, lunch and door prizes; tickets, Johnna H. Pilate, 601-415-5149 or Deloris M. Green, 601-415-7095; 339 Alpine St.
COMMUnIty CALEndAR
RoboticsContinued from Page A1.
456 Siege Robotics team members stand beside some of their robots at ERDC Tuesday. Team members are, front row from left, Lara Lamanilao, 16, a 11th-grader at St. Aloysius High School, and Kelcey McMaster, 16, a 11th-grader at Warren Central High School. Back row, from left, Kimberly Melton, 18, a senior at WC; Wally Wibowo, 16, a 11th-grader at St. Al; Cory Schweitzer, 16, a senior at WC; Stephanie Riv-eros, 17, a senior at St. Al; and Jacob Kitchens, 15, a 10th-
grader at at St. Al. Lara is the daughter of Roberto and Evelyn Lamanilao; Kelcey is the daughter of Paul and Janet McMas-ter; Kimberly is the daughter of Eddie and Amy Melton; Wally is the son of Dr. Johnnes and Christina Wibowo; Cory is the son of Ron and Lisa Schweitzer; Stephanie is the daughter of Evelyn and Guillermo Riveros; and Jacob is the son of Steve and Teresa Kitchens.
ELI BayLIS•The Vicksburg PosT
• FIRST Robotics Competi-tion is designed to help high-school-aged youth discover how interesting and reward-ing careers in engineering and science can be.• Participants learn from the professionals, designing, building and programming remotely controlled robots in a real-world environment.• Teams design and build from new game rules each year, and compete against
other teams in regional and championship events at-tended by thousands of fans, with referees, judges and awards.• FRC has grown from 28 teams in 1989 to an expect-ed 2,400 teams in 2012-13, involving 60,000 young peo-ple, 24,000 mentors, 7.500 other volunteers, 3,000 spon-soring companies, 53 re-gional events, two qualifying championships, 15 qualifying
competitions and one final national championship.• FRC participants are three times more likely to major in engineering; 10 times more likely to have an internship or co-op study in their fresh-man year in college; more than twice as likely to pursue a career in science or tech-nology; and more than twice as likely to volunteer in their communities.For more fast facts about ro-botics, visit www.usfirst.org
‘We all just want to have fun. We want to win, but we want the other teams to have fun, too. We want
everyone to compete at their highest level.’KELCEY MCMAsTER
Warren cenTral hs junior
About robotics