Published: July 18, 2008 09:29 pm         

Thumbs

Thumbs up ... to winners of the pop top collection for the Ronald McDonald House: Jack Tanner, Sherry Lucero, Janet Walton and Robert Riffle, first-place award for the Raleigh County Commission on Aging; Roger and Loraine Tolliver of Cornerstone Freewill Baptist Church, second-place award; and Karen and Larry Dixon with Eakle Chapel UMC Friends of White Sulphur Springs, third-place award.



Thumbs up ... to Southern University’s Kevin Manns, recently named the 2007-08 Southwestern Athletic Conference Sports Information Director of the Year. Manns is a 1986 Woodrow Wilson High School graduate.



Thumbs down ... to the state’s teen birth rate. For the first time in eight years, the number of teenage mothers in West Virginia is rising. More than 2,600 teens in the state had babies in 2006, a jump of more than 130 over 2005.



Thumbs down ... to the state’s suicide rate. The Health Statistics Center found 83 people between the ages of 20 and 24 committed suicide between 2001 and 2004, compared with 45 young adults who took their own lives between 1999 and 2001. Men are more at risk.



Thumbs up ... to the Friends of Coal Ladies Auxiliary, celebrating its first anniversary by collecting canned goods for the Salvation Army during this weekend’s auto fair at the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA’s Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex.



Thumbs up ... to Summersville native Alan Wharton, winner of the 28th annual BNI Memorial Tournament. Wharton finished with a three-day total of 207.



Thumbs up ... to six Beckley area residents — Doug Lehman, Shawn Cox, Walter Noyes, Deborah Sizemore, Joseph Spadafore and Rick Toby — given SMART529 Honor Roll awards for their excellence in spreading the word on the advantages of the state’s SMART529 college savings plan.



Thumbs up ... to State Police Troop 6 Troopers of the Year: Sgt. D.B. Rogers accepted the plaque for District 3, which had all of its troopers selected; Cpl. M.S. Haynes, District 4; Senior Trooper C.H. Mitchell, District 1; and Senior Trooper D.B. White, District 2.



Thumbs up ... to a state effort that will use postcards, the Internet, a television commercial and other such media to encourage the estimated 1.2 million West Virginians living in other states to come home to work, live and retire.