Maureen "Mo" Earley of Vienna is a big person on campus at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Earley, a 2009 graduate of Parkersburg Catholic High School, was elected Homecoming Queen by the student body during Wake Forest's Homecoming the weekend of Sept. 22. Earley said she was advised by the previous year's queen to wear the Homecoming crown for the entire second half of the football game or else the Demon Deacons would lose the game. She wore the crown and Wake Forest defeated Army, 49-37. Earley co-hosts a campus radio show, "Mo Emma, Mo' Problems," that airs live on Sundays at 11 p.m. The show, which can be accessed at www.radio.wfu.edu and clicking the play button, features music, discussion on current topics and jokes, Earley said. Earley is president of the Outdoor Pursuits adventure program at Wake Forest whose members will be attending Bridge Day at the New River Gorge on Oct. 20. She will be attending a conference called "Terra Madre" this month in Torino, Italy, a gathering of the "Slow Food" movement, which promotes fresh foods obtained from local farms and small stores. Earley is a senior majoring in sociology, entrepreneurship and social enterprise. Her parents are Fred Earley and Donna Smith of Vienna. It has been a "phenomenal experience" attending Wake Forest, Earley said.
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Frieda Owen of Parkersburg is being honored this weekend by her alma mater, Augustana College, in Sioux Falls, S.D. Owen, Class of 1951, is one of six alumni being recognized for outstanding contributions to their fields of endeavor and for exemplifying the college's values, during Viking Days. Owen, a former assistant superintendent of Wood County Schools, has a busy schedule today riding in the Homecoming Parade, watching the Vikings play Minnesota State in football from the president's box at Kirkeby-Over Stadium and attending the Blue and Gold Gala tonight. Owen and her son, Ky, a Charleston attorney, hosted a party Friday night for friends in South Dakota's largest city. Owen was nominated for the Alumni Achievement Award by former Wood County Schools superintendent Bill Niday and Mary Weber, a Wood County Schools Teacher of the Year. Owen is an adjunct professor of English at Washington State Community College in Marietta.
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Austin, Texas, resident Ryan Gerrard will be rooting for West Virginia University tonight as the Mountaineer football team battles the University of Texas Longhorns at Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Gerrard, a senior at WVU from Washington,W.Va., has been working as a fall intern since Aug. 20 at the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Austin. Gerrard told me Thursday he did not have a ticket to the game but would be cheering on the Mountaineers at his Austin apartment. Gerrard said he is enjoying his work with the foundation, providing information to those affected by cancer, and living in Austin, a city known for its music scene. Gerrard, the son of Larry and Linda Gerrard of Wood County, is a 2009 graduate of Parkersburg South High School.
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The crew teams from Parkersburg South and Parkersburg high schools continue to work together for the survival of both programs. Last Saturday at City Park, the crew teams raised $1,800 at the Cross Town Crewzz-In car show, with the proceeds evenly split between the two schools. Those attending the fundraiser asked questions about the crew team boats on display, said Cliff Hecker, car show co-coordinator and treasurer of the South crew boosters. Today, the two crew teams will be displaying their boats at the Lowell Octoberfest at 9 a.m., before rowing back to Parkersburg through the Devola Lock and Dam along the Muskingum River and then onto the Ohio River, a 21-mile trip. Hecker said Parkersburg has the only two high school crew teams in the state, with many of the students receiving college scholarships.
Contact Paul LaPann at plapann@newsandsentinel.com
