Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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December 23, 2008

Spanishburg School in the running for $100,000

By GREG JORDAN

SPANISHBURG — If enough local people cast their votes, a Mercer County school could received $100,000 from a national telecommunications company.

Spanishburg School is one of two West Virginia schools competing to be among the 10 schools that will share $1 million from U.S. Cellular, the company announced recently. The second school is Midland Trail High School in Hico.

“I know a parent contacted me and said U.S. Cellular had a program, and here are post cards,” said Principal Phoebe Meadows of Spanishburg School.

“That’s how it started. I know we had three packages of them, maybe 300 in a package and now they’re all gone,” she said.

The cards, available at U.S. Cellular stores, have free postage, Meadows said.

“I know that parents and staff members have taken them to neighbors,” she said.

The program, known as “Calling All Communities,” will award $100,000 to 10 schools receiving the most votes, company officials said. The Hico school is now number 5 in the rankings, and Spanishburg is number 17.

People who want to vote for a school can visit any U.S. Cellular store before Jan. 15, 2009 for a postage-paid postcard ballot. All schools in the United States, serving kindergarten through high school are eligible for the award, company officials said. Winners will be announced in Feb. 2009.

Winning the $100,000 would be “wonderful,” Meadows said. Deciding how to spend the award would be a joint decision.

“My process would be to meet with members of the staff and the PTO and have input from both groups,” she said. “We would establish a list of priorities and taking a vote to decide how it would be best spent to serve the students at the school. That’s why we come here every day.”

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