Letters&grads

A2
NEWS
SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015
SMYTH COUNTY NEWS & MESSENGER
By Jasmine Dent
Correspondent
LINDA BURCHETTE/SMYTH COUNTY NEWS & MESSENGER
Submitted photo
These second-graders at Oak Point Elementary School have been learning while showing their support for a U.S. airman stationed in the Middle East.
From Page A1
there.
The students also learned
about the observation of
Memorial Day.
Whitt said the students
showed great interest in
writing to Patterson, who
is currently serving his second tour in Saudi Arabia.
You wouldnt believe
how excited they got just
to write a letter, she said.
I heard one of them say, I
wish we could talk to him.
Nurse
From Page A1
care units from 1982-1990.

During this time, De
La Rosa joined the U.S.
Army Reserves as a citizen
warrior, serving with the
emergency medical section. He became interested
in active duty but needed
a bachelors degree so he
attended East Tennessee State University and
earned a BSN in 1989.
This was planned and
the Lord helped us along,
said De La Rosa. It was
tough. I went to ETSU to
earn my bachelors degree
specifically to join active
duty. My reason was twofold. First, when active
one can get a house loan
through the G.I bill. And
second, I was interested
in being a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
I was trained and certified as an operating room
nurse by the Army. So I had
the skills and certifications
to work in ICU/CCU, the
emergency room and the
operating room.
De La Rosa entered U.S.
Army active duty in September 1990. He underwent officers basic training in Texas. In 1996 he
earned a masters of science degree in nursing/
anesthesia through the
Army but conferred by the
University of Texas Health
Sciences Center.
In 1997 De La Rosa retired from active duty and
returned to the reserves.
www.swvatoday.com
CHS works to
keep grads safe
At its monthly meetings the Francis Marion VFW Post 4667 in Marion typically presents cash donations to schools and community organizations from weekly bingo game proceeds. This month, the favor was returned when the VFW post was the recipient
of a donation. Representatives of Education Management Corporation that manages Blue Ridge Job Corps Center attended the
meeting and presented the post with a check for $2,000. It was received by former post commander Herbert Turk Johnson,
who said it would be used for the Memorial Day program. Presenting the check were Ben El-Qasem from EMC in Massachusetts;
Suzan Widener, BRJC center director; Solmarie Fontanez, vice president, and Elizabeth Beachy, treasurer, of the BRJC student
government; and Delores Boehm, president of the centers community council.
Students
And I told them that this is

a way to talk to him, just
not over the phone.
The students were given
the opportunity to show
gratitude to the airman as
well as to ask questions.
Whitt said students
were curious about such
things as what Pattersons
job entailed, and why the
militarys
camouflaged
uniforms were different from the camouflage
the children see at home.
They also asked questions
about geography and native plants and animals.
Sheets son Grayson said
He went to work at Smyth
County Community Hospital from 1997 to 2012 as
a CRNA. And during that
time he was deployed five
times.
De La Rosa was deployed
to Germany in 2003 and to
Ft. Jackson, S.C., in 2006
for Operation Enduring
Freedom. He went to Iraq
in 2008 for Operation Iraqi
Freedom. And he was deployed to a hospital in
Washington (state) in 2010
to Ft. Belvoir in Virginia
and to Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii in
2012 for Operation Enduring Freedom.
He retired from the U.S.
Army Reserves in 2013.
Then my second life
started as a volunteer, De
La Rosa said. He had joined
Francis Marion VFW Post
4667 in Marion, where he
has served on the honor
guard usually carrying the
American flag since 2012
and he volunteers at the
Mel Leaman Free Clinic
and as an usher at the Lincoln Theatre.
Through all his service
and travels, his wife supported him from home.
Amanda kept the home
fires burning, he said. I
couldnt have done all this
without her.
The couple has five children, who were grown by
the time De La Rosa began
his military service, and
they have 10 grandchildren and four great-greatgrandchildren.
His recognition by the
International Nurses Association will appear in
he liked the idea of his

classmates writing to his
cousin.
I think its cool because
you get to write a letter to
someone all the way to
Saudi Arabia, he said. It
feels good. Im really proud
of him.
Grayson said he asked
his cousin questions like
what the weather was like
and how the time differed.
Parker White, one of the
students who wrote to Patterson, said she liked the
experience.
I thought it was very
cool that we got to send
notes to a soldier, she

said. I learned that they
are risking their lives to
protect us. Its very nice for
all the soldiers to go and
fight for us.
Parker said she could
now also point out Saudi
Arabias location on the
map.
Its right beside Egypt,
she said.
The students look forward to Pattersons responses. Whitt said she
and the class anticipate
Pattersons letters to be delivered very soon.
As Chilhowie High
School seniors anticipate
their impending graduation, plans for after-commencement celebrations
are under way.
Pop culture often associates graduation parties
with heavy alcohol consumption and substance
abuse, but for the last 25
years CHS administrators
and parents have helped
steer graduates away from
risky celebrations with an
annual commencement
event called Project Graduation.
Project Graduation began as a small scale program in Maine in response
to multiple alcohol- and
drug-related deaths and
injuries in the 1980s. Now
it is a nationwide initiative
that provides fun and safe
ways for graduates to celebrate their commencement without the use of
drugs or alcohol.
I think its a great idea,
said Ronnie Corvin, 2015s
project coordinator. It
gets them out of harms
way and gets them away
from partying on graduation night.
Each year CHS assembles a committee of parents to coordinate Project
Graduation. Committee
members are responsible
for organizing activities
that entertain graduating
seniors on commencement night as an alternative to those riskier forms
of celebration.
Corvin said graduates
will participate in a number of activities such as
swimming, indoor recreation, and games with
chances to win prizes
throughout the night. The
committee will also hold
drawings and food will be
provided by local restaurants.
We wanted to provide
one last celebration in a

fun and protected environment, said Lori Martin, parent and committee
member.
Martin added that the
projects purpose isnt just
to protect graduates from
their own risky behaviors,
but it is also to protect
them from the risky behaviors of others.
They might not be out
there drinking and driving, for example, but you
have to think about what
the other people out there
are doing, she said.
Traditionally,
Project
Graduation was held at
CHS, but in recent years
Corvin said the committee
has decided to relocate to
other settings to expand
the graduates experience.
This year graduating seniors will celebrate their
commencement at the
community center in Wytheville.
During the celebration,
graduates will have the
opportunity to capture
one last image of their
high school days via a
photo booth provided by
the project committee.
I think its going to be
fun for them on graduation night, but the memories theyll take with them
will mean the most to
them, said Martin.
Martin believes this final
gathering as high school
students is important for
graduates.
It gives them one last
time to be together as kids
and close that chapter in
their life, she said.
Its probably the last
time some of them will
see each other, Corvin
added.
Corvin said that remaining funds from the project
will be divided up and
distributed to graduates
equally as a gift.
Chilhowie High School
graduation is scheduled
for May 29 at 6 p.m.
Motorcycle
crash shuts
down I-81
Staff
Virginia State Police

Trooper E.B. Lyles is investigating a single-vehicle crash that occurred in
Smyth County on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Virginia State Police, a 2014
Harley-Davidson
was
traveling south on Interstate 81 around 3:35 p.m.
when it ran off the left side
of the interstate as it came
through a slight curve. The
motorcycle overturned off
the left side of the highway
near exit 35 in Chilhowie.
The motorcyclist, Joseph
M. Masi, 54, of Colonial

Heights, was thrown from
the bike. He was wearing a
helmet.
Masi was transported to
Bristol Regional Medical
Center for treatment of
serious injuries.
Northbound lanes were
temporarily shut down to
allow MedFlight to land
and transport the victim.
Southbound lanes were
also closed temporarily.
The scene was cleared by
5:15 p.m.
Cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Corrections reported
County Administrator
Michael Carter was misquoted in the Wednesday
edition in the article about
the Octagon House being
named an endangered
Virginia historic site. The
article should have said
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
that he hoped the comTony De La Rosa of Marion is pictured with other members of munity would support the
the 4212th USAH in Hawkins County, Tenn.
Worldwide Leaders in
Healthcare magazine. The
INA is a New York based
organization that highlights and profiles the
worlds top nurses, those
who have demonstrated
success and leadership in

their profession as well as
provide an opportunity to
network and share information with other medical
professionals around the
world.
preservation project at the

Abijah Thomas Octagon
House in Adwolfe.
***
In another correction,
the top team in the March
of Dimes March for Babies on May 9 was Oak
Point Elementary School
raising $7,709.
swvatoday.com

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A2

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

SMYTH COUNTY NEWS & MESSENGER

LINDA BURCHETTE/SMYTH COUNTY NEWS & MESSENGER

care units from 1982-1990.

And I told them that this is

he liked the idea of his

notes to a soldier, she

one last celebration in a

Virginia State Police

M. Masi, 54, of Colonial

success and leadership in

preservation project at the

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