By Liz Beavers, Mineral News and Tribune
KEYSER, W.Va. — Mineral County Board of Education president Lara Courrier and superintendent of schools Troy Ravenscroft faced off against members of Keyser and Frankfort middle schools’ West Virginia History Bowl teams recently … and couldn’t make the grade.
Under the direction of Randall Reid-Smith, cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, a series of questions involving the history, government, culture and economy of the Mountain State was asked during the impromptu session at a recent board of education meeting. Most of the time, buzzers sounded before Reid-Smith barely got half-way into the question, and those buzzers were almost always sounded by a student rather than either the board president or the superintendent.
In the end, with barely a score to their names, Courrier and Ravenscroft quietly returned to their seats while Reid-Smith praised the students as “incredible.”
To be fair, the students participating in the demonstration were members of the KMS and FMS History Bowl teams who earned accolades once again at the regional competition.
“It’s been forever since we’ve had a regional winner from some other county other than Mineral County,” Reid-Smith said.
“Frankfort and Keyser just continue to ‘whip up’ in Region 8,” he said. “We’re very proud of what you do here in Mineral County.”