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That is what the 102-year-old veteran said after receiving the Friends of Scouting Distinguished Citizen Award in front of a packed house at Claudia Sanders' Dinner House Monday night.

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During the regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, Shelby County Board of Education members heardin a report from Superintendent James Neihof that the district, like many schools across the nation, is experiencing a shortage of teachers in math, science and special education. Neihof said the issue is a matter of competition. Those studying in the math and science field can receive higher pay in other job markets outside of education.

"Industry is just gobbling them up for twice the money," he said.

Neihof said the pool of recruits for elementary level teachers is healthy but they struggled throughout the spring and summer to find teachers in math and science fields.

He added that those who choose to go into education are seeking districts with higher pay.

"Once again this year we had the last minute pressure of teachers asking out of their contracts the week before school started to go to Jefferson County for much higher pay," Neihof said.

Board members discussed incentives to attract and keep teachers in the district.

Chief Academic Officer Susan Dugle said the district is piloting a new pathway called Teaching and Learning. She said 32 students from both Collins and Shelby County attend the two-hour class where they received the same professional learning experiences as the teachers.

"So we're teaching them the things we're teaching the teachers," she said, noting they encourage the students to come back to Shelby County to teach after they graduate college.

Neihof added the district is looking into offering scholarship opportunities for students who commit to returning to the district as educators after college.

Board members agreed that might not be enough.

Brenda Jackson noted the board might need to start considering the idea of a tax increase to cover a raise for teachers.

"If we're wanting to keep our teachers we're just going to have to bite the bullet and actually discuss a tax increase," she said.

There was no further discussion on the matter but the district will hold its tax hearing at the Sept. 14 meeting at Shelby County High School, 1701 Frankfort Road.

Eagle Scout project

Ben Ferguson, a senior and band member at Collins High School, presented to board members his Eagle Scout project Thursday, which would help clear space in the band room while also protecting instruments.

"Our room really isn't as organized as it should be right now. We have instruments just lying around waiting to get damaged," he said, noting he wants to build a shelving unit to help eradicate the issue.

After ensuring the project met the satisfaction of Assistant Superintendent of Operations Kerry Whitehouse, the board approved the project unanimously.

Also at the meeting, the board will:

§ Heard an update from Harry Dumesnil of K. Norman Berry Architects on the Shelby County Area Technology Center. Dumesnil said work to the building is nearly complete and he will return to the board next month to present a plan for building tennis courts on the property.

§ Held a work session to establish dates and times for board member's community forums to discuss the district's new strategic plan: Profile of a Graduate.

§ Declared a positive first reading of revised board policy and a positive review of revised Administrative Procedures.

§ Approved declaring items surplus and offering them for sale via auction on the website public surplus.

§ Approved allowing Shelby County High School students to use common carrier transportation for a field trip on Sept. 19 and West Middle and Collins students on Sept. 18.

§ Approved the emergency certification of a visual impaired teacher.

§ Approved the monthly financial report for July.

§ Approved the unaudited financial report.

§ Approved awarding bids for machine tool equipment for the Area Technology Center for a new CNC turning center, a new milling machine, six 14-inch manual lathes, three 16-inch manual lathes, and four manual milling machines.

§ Consider approval of contract with OVEC for financial services for 2017-2018.

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SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD - Teacher shortage raises concerns

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During the regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, Shelby County Board of Education members heardin a report from Superintendent James Neihof that the district, like many schools across the nation, is experiencing a shortage of teachers in math, science and special education. Neihof said the issue is a matter of competition.

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Crackers lose zest at Kroger | SentinelNews.com

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Shoppers at Kroger stores will notice that a favorite brand of saltine cracker is missing from the shelves recently.

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It happened around 6:53 p.m. at The Arch apartments, a university-affiliated complex at 2501 S 4th St.

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"Major aquarium headed to southern IN..."

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"Major aquarium headed to southern IN..."

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Major aquarium likely headed to southern Indiana

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There is not an exact location picked out, but developers believe the impact would be regional.

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A driver is in serious condition after police said a Volkswagen driving the wrong direction on Interstate 64 collided with a semi-truck early Thursday morning.

The crash happened around 3 a.m., closing westbound I-64 at Mellwood Avenue for several hours. It reopened around 8 a.m., MetroSafe said.

Police said the Volkswagen driver got onto I-64 the wrong way, driving eastbound in the westbound lanes, LMPD spokesman Dwight Mitchell said in a statement. The Volkswagen collided with a semi-tractor trailer driving westbound on I-64 near Third Street.

The driver was taken to the University of Louisville Hospital in serious condition.

The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating. Mitchell said alcohol has not been ruled out as a factor.

For several hours Thursday morning, police also diverted traffic on southbound Interstate 71 at Zorn Avenue to ease traffic in Spaghetti Junction. The ramp from I-65 north to I-64 west was also closed but reopened Monday morning, MetroSafe confirmed around 9:30 a.m.
Rachel Aretakis can be reached at raretakis@courier-journal.com or 502-582-7132.
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Driver seriously injured after going wrong way on I-64, colliding with semi

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A driver is in serious condition after police said a Volkswagen driving the wrong direction on Interstate 64 collided with a semi-truck early Thursday morning. The crash happened around 3 a.m., closing westbound I-64 at Mellwood Avenue for several hours. It reopened around 8 a.m., MetroSafe said.

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A person suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck was found Monday afternoon at the pavilion of the Norton Healthcare building on East Broadway.

MetroSafe officials said they received a call about the victim around 1:25 p.m., but said he was shot somewhere near the intersection of South Jackson and East Jacob streets in the Smoketown/Phoenix Hill neighborhoods.

The condition of the victim is unknown at this time, according to police spokesman Vadim Dale.

MetroSafe said the individual was transported by EMS to the University of Louisville Hospital.
Reach Reporter Thomas Novelly at 502-582-465 or by email at tnovelly@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.
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Person found shot at Norton Healthcare Pavillion on Broadway

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A person suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck was found Monday afternoon at the pavilion of the Norton Healthcare building on East Broadway. MetroSafe officials said they received a call about the victim around 1:25 p.m., but said he was shot somewhere near the intersection of South Jackson and East Jacob streets in the Smoketown/Phoenix Hill neighborhoods.

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Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling when locally owned Impellizzeri's Pizza opens its fourth location this fall.

The pizza joint announced in a press release it will open a new location at Blankenbaker Centre in Middletown in the space that formerly housed Mellow Mushroom.

Samuel Ault, who owns and operates the Holiday Manor Impellizzeri's, will also operate the new location.

"As a Middletown resident, I am thrilled for the opportunity to bring Impellizzeri's back to the area," Ault said in the release.

The Middletown location will open at 805 Blankenbaker Parkway this fall. For more information on jobs (they're hiring now) and restaurant updates, find them on Facebook.
Taylor Riley is a producer at the Courier-Journal. You can reach her at triley@gannett.com or on twitter @taylorrileycj.
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That's amore! New Impellizzeri's Pizza to open in Middletown

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CLOSE Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling when locally owned Impellizzeri's Pizza opens its fourth location this fall. The pizza joint announced in a press release it will open a new location at Blankenbaker Centre in Middletown in the space that formerly housed Mellow Mushroom.

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Louisville man accused of brandishing rifle at JCPS school

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WDRB Media is Louisville's number one source for news, weather, crime, education, sports and traffic information. WDRB covers news from Kentucky and southern Indiana focusing on in-depth content.

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Louisville's place in the world has long been debated, usually over a tumbler of bourbon and a nice clam chowder. It's a simple question with a complicated answer that boils down to this: Where do we belong?

The debate normally centers on North vs. South, an old story. Depending on your perspective, we're either an orphan city caught in the pull of two strong regional sensibilities or a Machiavellian municipality that plays both sides with abandon.

The only sensible response is that we're both, but there are layers within that cheap and easy answer, some of which no one likes to talk about at those genteel Mint Julep garden parties that never actually happen except on the first Saturday in May.

Physically, Louisville is clearly in the Southeast. Even the American Association of Geographers can agree on this - and those people will fist fight over topography. A city's identity is only tangentially related to its physical location, however.

In its heart, Louisville is a Southern city primarily because it desperately wants to be seen as Southern, meaning friendly, slow-paced, elegant. It's a romantic fantasy of Tara, only with condos.

But Louisville also clearly wants to have its cornbread and dip it in Vermont syrup, too, because it has long identified with big-city aspirations associated with Northern culture, such as civil rights, cutting-edge arts and sarcasm.

We're Southern when it suits the narrative and greatly enjoy adopting a persona dressed up in string ties and hats that double as flower arrangements. But when it comes to the South's more deplorable legacies - racism, segregation, poverty - we're quick to look northward even though Louisville is guilty of all of the above.

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Swerving from lane to lane is a consistent thread in our history and Tracy K'Meyer, professor of history at the University of Louisville, confirmed in a thankfully unequivocal email that Louisville has always danced with whoever drove the nicest car.

Despite siding with the North in the Civil War, Kentucky didn't abolish slavery until after the war was over, K'Meyer wrote. It then chose to be Southern in order to grow the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, instituting a Jim Crow system which was just slavery-lite even as Louisville gradually built a community that embraced religious diversity and immigration.

"After World War II there was a concerted effort by white political leaders, businessmen, journalists, and others to promote the idea that Louisville, because of these 'Northern' characteristics, was a natural leader for the South in race relations, and as a progressive place was a good site for investment," K'Meyer said.

So Louisville apparently enjoyed being the Gateway to the South until aligning with the North in the Civil War, but then went Southern as the embers in Atlanta still cooled because it was good business, and then switched back to being Northern because it was even better for business.

Tough decisions such as choosing to defend or attack slave states led to other slightly less important decisions: sweetened or unsweetened tea, tomato sauce or fried green tomatoes, hold the door for women or let it swing, "y'all" or "you guys."

In those cases, Louisville has always chosen to be Southern, which means that it is Southern. Except when it isn't. Sort of. Equivocation is rampant in these parts.

Restaurants here may give you the option of sweetened or unsweetened tea, but in Deep South Mississippi, you're getting sweet tea or an uncomfortable silence if you order anything else.

Louisville restaurants don't shy away from fried green tomatoes but they always want to elevate them with garnish and ridiculous sauces instead of just frying the damn things. Cornmeal, salt, pepper, hot oil, done.

We love being considered a city where fried chicken rules but how many restaurants not named KFC actually serve fried chicken? It's fewer than you think, and only a handful specialize.

Straddling the line between genteel and gentrified is hilariously prevalent throughout the state.

When data king Nate Silver set out to determine which states were considered to be in the South at FiveThirtyEight.com, his team conducted surveys with residents in 23 states - and only 50 percent of Kentuckians picked the South (the surveys aren't complete but a small percentage chose the Midwest).

That's what we do! We love the trappings of Southern culture, the idea that we're easy-going ladies and gentlemen who can simultaneously pour three fingers of 22-year-old bourbon, help a widow cross the street and handicap the sixth at Churchill.

We pride ourselves on friendliness, manners, whiskey, an inability to drive in snow, and worship traditions such as the Kentucky Derby and, um, the Kentucky Derby. Things get done here at a slower pace, in the luxurious shade of magnolia trees.

But we also abandon those tropes as needed and love being considered part of the North, which is reflected most clearly in Louisville's diversity, arts scene, food culture, embrace of technology, and politics, which lean liberal.

We adore the fact that New Yorkers love the Humana Festival of New American Plays. We court Google Fiber, genuflect before National Public Radio, open high-end restaurants at an absurd rate, and have more Catholic churches than any two actual Southern states combined. We sewed a hand back onto an arm!

But we also pride ourselves on being progressive yet remain racially divided in very real ways; the gulf between Indian Hills and the West End has never been more pronounced.

So maybe there's a third thing we could be, something that isn't Midwestern because those people say "pop" instead of "soda" and that's not acceptable. Something that's historically sound and definable.

Galen Clavio, a journalism professor at Indiana University, has an idea and it's a good one. His "river culture" theory postulates that large cities located on major bodies of water have long been flooded with cultural influences, which has led to Louisville being the most Northern of Southern cities.

"That's simply because there is always a constant influx of new people and new money from outside, which doesn't allow the social stratification and calcification that often happens in a landlocked city," Clavio wrote in an email.

"The other caveat here is that the river has to represent some kind of natural cultural border, which I think the lower Ohio and lower Mississippi Rivers obviously do."

It's not an airtight theory because it revolves partly around the idea that the Ohio was an immigration dividing line that served as a barricade for the Scots-Irish from the South and Germans from the North.

But it is an airtight theory when specifically applied to Louisville, which has always had strong contingents of Scots-Irish and Germans. We're confused because we've always been confused, and that's fine.

Louisville is the ultimate mutt, a town without a regional identity but also one with many. It may struggle to define itself but maybe that's part of its charm, the reason that people so often return here to live after visiting.

We all like to put on a mask occasionally, to be someone we aren't, and Louisville offers several for the taking. So have a sweet tea, write some code, kick back with the latest Interview and a perfectly tilted trucker's hat.

Y'all earned it.
Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at 502-582-4160 and jpuckett@courier-journal.com.
Is your Louisville in the North or South? Take this quiz.

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Is Louisville the North or the South? Let's decide this once and for all

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CLOSE Louisville's place in the world has long been debated, usually over a tumbler of bourbon and a nice clam chowder. It's a simple question with a complicated answer that boils down to this: Where do we belong? The debate normally centers on North vs. South, an old story.

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Saturday night's kickoff against Purdue starts Bobby Petrino's fourth season at Louisville.

Actually, it's his second fourth season at U of L, the first being in 2006, a fondly remembered Cards campaign that ended with a 12-1 record and Orange Bowl victory.

In 2011, Petrino's fourth season at Arkansas ended in similar fashion, with 11 wins and another victory in a prominent postseason game, the Cotton Bowl.

What is it about a team's fourth season under Petrino? Why are his fourth years so successful? And what indicators exist to show that this may be another big fourth season for Petrino at Louisville?

Two key players from Louisville's 2006 team, Kolby Smith and Eric Wood, and Petrino's friend and mentor, John L. Smith, answered those questions.

The common thread between the three of them was stability in players and staffers.

"When you bring guys with you when you move to a new place," Smith said, "they understand what Bobby's all about and vice versa, and then what he's asking for."

Petrino's staff through his first Louisville tenure featured the same two coordinators, Paul Petrino (Bobby's brother) on offense and Mike Cassity on defense.

Petrino took his brother with him to Arkansas in 2008, and when Paul left to become Idaho's head coach two years later, Garrick McGee moved into the offensive coordinator position after coaching the quarterbacks. Willy Robinson was the Razorbacks' defensive coordinator all four years.

In Petrino's second run as Louisville's head coach, McGee ran the offense for two years and Todd Grantham ran the defense for three. Lonnie Galloway is entering his second year as McGee's replacement, and Peter Sirmon replaced Grantham this past offseason, but there are familiar assistants working underneath them.

Continuity and experience among players may be even more important, the trio said. (That can be said of most programs, too.)

For Louisville's 2006 run, juniors Harry Douglas and Brian Brohm led the Cards in receiving and passing, respectively, while senior Kolby Smith was the leading rusher. Senior Nate Harris led the team in tackles; senior William Gay was tops in interceptions; and junior Malik Jackson had the most sacks.

The 2011 Arkansas team had pretty much the same level of experience.

"We had a special team that year," Wood, who started at center and is now with the Buffalo Bills, said. "That was essentially a full group of (Petrino's recruits) who he recruited to his system. ... We had a ton of talented players, and when you combine that with his scheme, it allowed us to win a lot of games."

Wood said Petrino tries to simplify the playbook for younger players who are new to the system, giving them only the specific things they need to execute a play.

For example, Wood knew his assignment on each play without knowing exactly what the slot receiver or tight end might be doing. Eventually, Wood said, he grasped the larger elements of Petrino's system well enough to make decisions for the offensive line.

"He does a great job of implementing guys so you have a clear-cut role," Wood said. "There's no gray area on a play."

For Kolby Smith, that process started in game preparation and carried over to games.

"We earned our victory at practice, by working hard there and paying attention to detail," Smith said. "So, when it was game day, we were out there having fun. We knew the way we practiced and prepared was harder than anybody else."

John L. Smith, who is now the head coach at Kentucky State, called Petrino one of the top game planners in college football. But the reason Petrino can game plan so well, Smith explained, is that he amplifies his players' strengths, even when they're newcomers, and educates them as they go.

"He does a great job of teaching football and forcing guys to have to learn football," Smith said. "When that fourth year rolls around, they're pretty dang football smart."

The best example of that on the current team is Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Petrino has long been known for his talent as a quarterback developer, and Jackson is his most talented and accomplished pupil yet at the college level. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Jackson produced more than 5,000 yards of total offense and 51 touchdowns in just his first full year as U of L's starting signal caller.

And he still has a lot to learn.

"It's always going to be tougher with the quarterback," Wood said. "I'd assume he'd have a great understanding of the entire offense by now. (Petrino) can call whatever he wants at this point."

That, at least on paper, could spell another big fourth season for Petrino - his third one.

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Louisville football | The recipe for Bobby Petrino's success in his fourth year as a coach

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Saturday night's kickoff against Purdue starts Bobby Petrino's fourth season at Louisville. Actually, it's his second fourth season at U of L, the first being in 2006, a fondly remembered Cards campaign that ended with a 12-1 record and Orange Bowl victory.

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Benjamin P. Marcus Fellow for Religious Freedom

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The Freedom Forum’s mission is to foster First Amendment freedoms for all.

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CNN 10 is an on-demand digital news show ideal for explanation seekers on the go or in the classroom.

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"Biopower in Taiwan Market"WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". SUMMARY WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market...

"Biopower in Taiwan Market"WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". SUMMARY WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". ...

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Louisville preparing for potential flooding from remnants of Harvey

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"Biopower in Taiwan Market"WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". SUMMARY WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market... "Biopower in Taiwan Market"WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". SUMMARY WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "Biopower in Taiwan, Market Outlook". ...

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Google Fiber began installing its ultra-fast Internet and TV service in a small part of the Highlands on Wednesday, the third area of Louisville to get wired since construction of the network began in June.

Crews with contractor Hutchins Telecom dug a small "micro-trench" about 2 inches deep and half an inch wide, according to a Louisville Metro Public Works permit, around Tyler Lane and Whiteway Avenue in the Gardiner Lane neighborhood on Wednesday.

Google Fiber, a unit of Silicon Valley giant Alphabet, dug similar trenches in an area of the Portland neighborhood and in a small slice of the Newburg area in June and July, according to right-of-way permits obtained under the Kentucky Open Records Act:

The permits show Google Fiber divides the work up by U.S. Census block groups, which are neighborhood-level clusters containing about 600 to 3,000 people.

Google Fiber declined to comment on its construction progress, which areas of the city are next and when its service will be available.

However, an official on the construction job showed WDRB a map indicating Wednesday's work was the beginning of plans to wire the general area bounded by Eastern Parkway, Newburg Road, Bardstown Road and Watterson Expressway.

"We began construction on our network in Louisville earlier this summer, and it's exciting to see the support from residents and city leaders for Google Fiber!," the company said in a statement submitted through a Nashville public relations contractor. "Construction will continue to take place in phases, which allows us to be more efficient in our build and reduces disruption across the city."

The continued construction of the network comes two weeks after a federal judge gave Google Fiber a major boost by dismissing a lawsuit AT&T had filed against Louisville Metro government over a utility pole ordinance meant to streamline Google Fiber's entrance to Louisville.

AT&T remains far ahead of Google Fiber in providing so-called "fiber to the home" connections to the Louisville area.

AT&T said in a news release earlier this month that its AT&T Fiber product is available at more than 80,000 houses, apartments and small businesses in the Louisville-Southern Indiana metro area.
Reach reporter Chris Otts at 502-585-0822, cotts@wdrb.com, on or on . Copyright 2017 WDRB News. All rights reserved.

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Google Fiber moves into Highlands area of Louisville

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Google Fiber began installing its ultra-fast Internet and TV service in a small part of the Highlands on Wednesday, the third area of Louisville to get wired since construction of the network began in June.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.

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The mayor's hike, bike and paddle draws thousands to Waterfront Park every year on Labor Day, and Monday was no different.

The community event brings together people in the community to practice living a healthy lifestyle.

Cyclists took off at 10 a.m. Monday for a 9-mile ride to the Portland neighborhood and back.

Paddlers hit the Ohio River for an adventure downstream to New Albany, and those exploring by foot traveled along the riverwalk for a 5K.

Other activities included zumba, tai chi and yoga.

The mayor said the goal is to get people moving.

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Annual hike, bike and paddle helps community practice living healthy lifestyle

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The mayor's hike, bike and paddle draws thousands to Waterfront Park every year on Labor Day, and Monday was no different. The community event brings together people in the community to practice living a healthy lifestyle. Cyclists took off at 10 a.m. Monday for a 9-mile ride to the Portland neighborhood and back.

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The Simpsonville Police Department will lose one of its finest today with the retirement of officer Todd Rankin.

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - On a farm in Shelby County, two young men manage 750 plants. They do everything from tilling to weeding.

"It's a lot of work in the heat of Kentucky," Logan Jelsma said.

Logan and Henry Jelsma are 18-year-old twins from Louisville. They own J.Bros Tomatoes.

"J.Bros Tomatoes can be a joke around sound of our friends," Logan said.

The jokes don't bother the young entrepreneurs who grow over 60 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

"We have been growing tomatoes for about seven years before, growing for our church," said Henry.

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Turning their operation into a business wasn't easy. The Jelsma brothers say at first, cold calls weren't successful.

"They would pick up the phone and say our chef just stepped out," Henry said.

With the support of family, the twins persisted.

"They realized if they showed the chefs the tomatoes they might actually buy them," Mr. Jelsma said.

In the second year of business J.Bros Tomatoes can be found at restaurants like Decca, Whiltshire Pantry, and Anoosh Bistro.

The tomatoes sold are organic, so without the help of pesticides the two teens have to work quickly before their product turns.

"And we don't want to just throw them in our compost pile and just go to waste," Henry said.

"We don't require anybody to pay for them when they want them. We give them out for free," Curtis Taylor, who feeds the homeless on Saturdays.

This is the second year the Jelsma's tomatoes are donated and served in Taylor's kitchen.

In August the Jelsma brothers are off to college. The twins don't know what will happen next season.

"This all started with giving back," Logan said.

Both brothers say they feel like J.Bros has come full circle.

"It make us feel great that we are doing something, we are making money, but we are also helping the community," Henry said.

For more information on the Jelsma brothers and J.Bros Tomatoes click here.

Copyright 2017 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.

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Louisville teens give back with heirloom tomato business

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - On a farm in Shelby County, two young men manage 750 plants. They do everything from tilling to weeding. "It's a lot of work in the heat of Kentucky," Logan Jelsma said. Logan and Henry Jelsma are 18-year-old twins from Louisville. They own J.Bros Tomatoes.

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Highlands Kids Raise Money For Harvey Victims (WAVE3)

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Highlands Kids Raise Money For Harvey Victims (WAVE3)

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Highlands kids raise thousands or Harvey victims with lemonade stand

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A group of Louisville kids raised more than $2,500 for Hurricane Harvey victims by selling lemonade on Labor Day.

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Racers young and old participate in USA BMX Nationals in Louisville this weekend

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WDRB Media is Louisville's number one source for news, weather, crime, education, sports and traffic information. WDRB covers news from Kentucky and southern Indiana focusing on in-depth content.

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Healing with horses: Green Hill Therapy to host fundraiser to continue mission

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Green Hill Therapy's 10 acre horse farm integrates occupational, physical and speech therapy with hippotherapy or treatment using horses. To continue their mission, the east Louisville facility is ...

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One evening in May 2007, two scientists in a forest in India heard a curious noise. It sounded like "tik-tik-tik," "croink-croink," recalls one of the researchers, Sathyabhama Das Biju.

Biju is an amphibian biologist at the University of Delhi in India. He knew that frogs were likely making the sounds. But the calls came from high in the trees, and he couldn't climb up to investigate.

The next day, Biju returned with a boy named Tengbat from a nearby village. The teen easily scrambled about 10 meters (33 feet) up into the trees without any ropes or ladder. "He's a magical boy," Biju says.

Tengbat discovered that the noises came from brownish-green frogs with oval-shaped heads and long legs. The frogs were living inside hollows in the trees' trunks. Like apartments in high-rise buildings, these holes provided the animals with homes.

Biju's team set out to identify the frog. They eventually figured out that the species had been first observed in India about 140 years ago. No one had seen it since then. People had assumed it was now extinct. The frogs, though, had just been hiding overhead in the tree hollows. The scientists published their results last year in PLOS ONE.

This frog is just one of many creatures that take refuge in such tree cavities. From owls in Japan to pythons in Australia, wildlife around the world nestle into these nooks. Inside the holes, the animals raise their young and hide from predators. The cozy homes also protect their inhabitants from snow, rain and other harsh weather.

But the number of tree hollows is shrinking. People are clearing forests to sell the wood or to make space for farms and buildings. In cities, people often cut down big old trees because they're afraid they might topple or that they will drop branches and hurt someone.

Scientists are investigating how the loss of tree hollows affects wildlife - and what to do about it. One team in Australia found that birds and small mammals may be fighting over scarce hollows in cities. Scientists in South America learned that it's important to conserve trees with cavities on farms, not just in pristine forests. And some researchers are taking desperate measures to restore these wildlife dwellings.

Biju is concerned about the frogs that his team found. They discovered these frogs need the hollows to breed. Females lay jelly-covered eggs in the nooks, and those eggs stick to the sides of the cavities. When it rains, water fills the bottom of the hollow. After the eggs hatch, the tadpoles swim in the water and grow.

But hollow-bearing trees are dwindling. "I'm really, really worried," Biju says. "The future of this amazing animal is fully dependent on the tree holes."

Where hollows come from

There is no single way to make a tree hollow. Woodpeckers are a group of birds found on all continents but Australia and Antarctica. A woodpecker hammering the wood with its beak can gouge a hole in a tree within a few weeks or months. It will use that hollow during breeding season then usually abandon it. Other species may later move in.

Some cavities form when a tree is damaged. Lightning might strike the trunk, or strong winds might break off a branch. It's "like getting a cut in your skin," explains Adrian Davis. He is an ecologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. Fungi, bacteria and termites may eat away at the damaged site, creating a hollow. This process can take hundreds of years.

Once a hole forms, many animals can use it. Bats squeeze into small crevices. Birds nest in the hollows. Some cavities are even big enough for bears to enter and hibernate.

Tree hollows are particularly important in Australia. More than 300 bird, mammal, reptile and frog species need the holes to survive. "They can't live anywhere else," says David Lindenmayer. He is an ecologist at Australian National University in Canberra. "They use them for everything."

But once a tree is cut down, it's hard to replace its hollows. Australia doesn't have any woodpeckers. All the cavities have to form the slow way. And they're not being created fast enough to replace the homes being lost.

An urban housing shortage

Tree hollows are particularly scarce in urban areas. A lot of trees in cities and surrounding suburbs have been cut down. Davis wondered whether animals in these areas were competing for the remaining homes. If there weren't enough tree cavities left, some species could be pushed out.

Davis decided to investigate. He installed video cameras near 61 tree hollows. Some were in forests in national parks. Other hollows were in patches of trees, called bushlands. These bushlands are the fragments of habitat left behind after people construct houses and other buildings. The bushlands Davis monitored were in the suburbs of Sydney.

Davis had to climb as high as 20 meters (66 feet) to set up the cameras. First, he used a giant slingshot to shoot a rope over a high branch. "That was the best part," he says. Then he tied one end of the rope around the base of the trunk. He then would climb up the other end to reach the tree hollow.

Once, the branch broke while he was climbing. Luckily, he didn't get hurt. At the time, he was only about 2 meters (some 7 feet) off the ground.

Another time, birds called cockatoos started chewing on the rope as he was climbing. Davis had to shake the rope to shoo them away. "They're cheeky," he says.

Davis monitored each hollow for about six months. When he watched the videos, he saw differences between trees in the suburbs and those in forests. Suburban animals visited the hollows about three times more frequently than did those in national parks.

Suburban dwellers also fought with each other more. Birds called rainbow lorikeets defended their hollows against other birds, such as sulphur-crested cockatoos and laughing kookaburras. In one video, the cockatoos attacked a common brushtail possum that had entered their hollow. "There were feathers and fur actually flying," Davis says.

The animals might visit suburban hollows and fight more often over them because they are scarcer. If there are not enough cavities for everyone, some animals might try to steal other animals' hollows. All that fighting could stress out the animals, Davis suggests.
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Last year, Davis started a citizen science project in Australia called Hollows as Homes. Ordinary people, including kids, can monitor a tree cavity and report which animals are using it.

The information could help managers decide whether it's okay to cut down certain trees. For example, if someone sees an endangered owl using a hollow, the city wouldn't be allowed to cut down that tree.

"We can't just keep clearing habitat," Davis says.

Living on the farm

In another part of the world, Kristina Cockle has investigated how best to preserve hollow-bearing trees. Cockle is an ecologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Salta, Argentina.

Cockle knew it was important to protect hollow-bearing trees in pristine forests. But what about on farms or in partly logged forests, where some trees already had been cut down? Maybe baby birds raised at those sites wouldn't have a good chance of survival anyway. For instance, less food might be available. Or animals here might now be more vulnerable to predators. So if hollows in farmland or logged forest didn't provide useful habitat, they might not be worth investing a lot of effort into keeping their trees. Money and conservation projects might provide bigger benefits elsewhere.

To find out, Cockle's team studied nests in 98 tree cavities in northeastern Argentina. Some were on farms. Others were in partly logged forest. Still others were in pristine forest.

The researchers spied on the hollows in a couple of ways. Sometimes they climbed a ladder or rope to get to the cavity. Then they put a tiny camera in the hole. Other times, the team used a long pole to hoist a camera to the hollow.

Cockle and her colleagues checked the same hollows over and over. They recorded how many eggs or baby birds remained from one visit to the next. Sometimes the parent birds attacked the researchers while they tried to peek at the nest. For instance, Cockle recalls a "clowny-looking bird" called a surucua trogon once flew straight at her.

The scientists discovered that tree hollows on farms and in logged forests were being used. Not only that, baby birds raised in those cavities fared pretty well. They were just as likely to survive as were the ones raised in pristine forests.

What appeared to matter more was where a tree hollow was located. For example, some birds were more likely to survive if they were raised in hollows high above the ground that had small openings. Predators would find it harder to enter such a nook. Cockle's team published its findings two years ago in Biological Conservation.

This research suggests that tree hollows, no matter where a tree is, are valuable. "All cavities matter," Cockle concludes. "We should work to conserve cavity trees even if they are in an isolated tree in a pasture full of cows."

Resurrecting trees

People have tried to replace tree hollows with artificial homes called nest boxes. Typically made of plywood, these can be attached to a pole or the side of a tree. Animals can enter the box through a hole and live inside.

Sometimes, nest boxes work well. For example, bluebirds lost a lot of tree-hollow habitat in North America. In addition, some new bird species that arrived from other countries stole existing bluebird homes. Installing nest boxes helped some bluebird communities recover.

But nest boxes are not tree hollows. They may not always work as well as the real thing. They may not protect animals from heat and cold as effectively. Making and installing a lot of these boxes can be expensive. They won't last as long as a tree's hollow. And pests, such as common bees, can hog the boxes, displacing other animals.

Plus, old trees have other important features besides hollows. Their big canopies provide shelter. They have peeling bark, where insects such as beetles and ants can live. And they produce lots of nectar and seeds that birds can eat. "We've got to keep them around," says Darren Le Roux. He is an environmental project officer at the Australian Capital Territory Parks and Conservation Service in Canberra.

So Le Roux is trying a radical approach. In 2016, his team selected large trees in the Canberra suburbs that were being cut down because they were considered unsafe. Tree experts, called arborists, used a crane truck to move the trees onto a giant semi-trailer.

Then Le Roux and his colleagues hauled the trees to a site near the Molonglo River. A forest here had been cut down. The researchers now wanted to restore woodland habitat at the site for wildlife. Using the crane, the team propped up each tree within a steel cylinder anchored by a concrete base. The cylinder extended about 1.5 to 2 meters (5 to 7 feet) into the ground. The dead tree could thus stand upright - branches, hollows and all.

The researchers are monitoring the resurrected trees to see if animals use the hollows. The team also has planted new trees, but those young trees will not form hollows for about two centuries. In the meantime, the propped-up old trees could offer dwellings to some homeless animals.

"We're trying to bypass the incredible time period it takes for a little tree to turn into a big tree," Le Roux says. Even dead trees can support wildlife for decades.

Le Roux's strategy might seem dramatic. But he is worried that without help, hollow-dwelling animals may go extinct. "They're losing their habitat left, right and center," he says. "We need to do something here on an epic scale."

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As trees come down, some hidden homes are disappearing

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One evening in May 2007, two scientists in a forest in India heard a curious noise. It sounded like "tik-tik-tik," "croink-croink," recalls one of the researchers, Sathyabhama Das Biju. Biju is an amphibian biologist at the University of Delhi in India. He knew that frogs were likely making the sounds.

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Hurricane Harvey has been a tornado master

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Harvey and other hurricanes have spawned tornadoes - sometimes by the dozens. And these tropical cyclones they don't need the typical recipe to spin those twisters loose.

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Most kids in middle and high school believe that smoking now and then isn't bad for them, a new study finds. In fact, they're wrong.

In a national survey, just 1 in 3 students thought that smoking on some days, but not others, can cause a lot of harm. This smoking pattern is common. It also is dangerous. In fact, its health risks are about the same as smoking heavily, report Stephen Amrock and Michael Weitzman. Both work at New York University School of Medicine. Their new study's findings highlight that most kids do not see risks in smoking the occasional cigarette.

For their study, Amrock and Weitzman analyzed data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey. It had probed tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in 24,658 students. All were in grades 6 through 12 and lived throughout the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Most teens knew that heavy smoking can be seriously harmful. About 2 in every 3 students recognized that smoking even just a few cigarettes each day can be hazardous. Only 1 in 3 students, however, recognized that occasional - non-daily - smoking is harmful.

Among teens who smoke this way - intermittently - just 1 out of every 7 understood their habit was dangerous. Details appeared January 12 in the journal Pediatrics.

Occasional smoking is not safe, so "we really need to have a conversation" with whoever thinks otherwise, notes Dave Dobbins. He heads research and public education at Legacy, a group based in Washington, D.C. It encourages teens to reject tobacco. "Intermittent smoking carries substantial risks," Dobbins explains. These include the chance that light use will progress to heavier smoking. "We explain to kids that light smoking is smoking," says Dobbins, who was not connected with the study. And, he adds, his group points out that the "dangers kick in right away."

Adults who are light or intermittent smokers are those most willing and able to quit, Amrock and Weitzman note. Most smokers start by age 18. That's why the NYU School of Medicine researchers suggest anti-smoking efforts should target youth who today are only light or occasional smokers.

The good news: Cigarette smoking among American teens has been falling. The bad news: Teen use of other tobacco products is on the rise. That's the finding of a second new study, due out in the March Pediatrics.

Youn Ok Lee works at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Her team also mined data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey. In 2012, more than 1 in 5 American teens - at least 20 percent - used tobacco products, they found. These expose kids to nicotine. And nicotine is an addictive drug.

But only 4 percent of these kids got their nicotine solely from cigarettes. At least twice as many teen smokers also use some other tobacco product. Among these: cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, hookahs and electronic cigarettes. This use of two or more tobacco products "should be a concern to the health community," Lee's team says. At a minimum, the extra exposure to nicotine increases a teen's risk of becoming addicted.

One tobacco habit not strongly associated with conventional smoking in teens: vaping. Currently, teen use of electronic cigarettes is just under 1 percent. But an especially troubling fact: That number is double what it was just one year earlier.

Power Words

adolescence A transitional stage of physical and psychological development that begins at the onset of puberty, typically between the ages of 11 and 13, and ends with adulthood.

behavior The way a person or other organism acts towards others, or conducts itself.

data Facts and statistics collected together for analysis but not necessarily organized in a way that give them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), those data typically are numbers stored in a binary code, portrayed as strings of zeros and ones.

electronic cigarette (also known as e-cigarette) Battery-powered devices that disperse nicotine and other chemicals as tiny airborne particles that users can inhale. They were originally developed as a safer alternative to cigarettes that users could use as they tried to slowly break their addiction to the nicotine in tobacco products.

hookah A water pipe used to cool smoke - usually tobacco smoke - that will be inhaled. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes."

nicotine A colorless, oily chemical produced in tobacco and certain other plants. It creates the 'buzz' effect associated with smoking. It also is highly addictive, making it hard for smokers to give us their use of cigarettes. The chemical is also a poison, sometimes used as a pesticide to kill insects and even some invasive snakes or frogs.

pediatrics Relating to children and especially child health.

survey (in statistics) A questionnaire that samples the opinions, practices (such as dining or sleeping habits), knowledge or skills of a broad range of people. Researchers select the number and types of people questioned in hopes that the answers these individuals give will be representative of others who are their age, belong to the same ethnic group or live in the same region.

vaping A new slang term for the use e-cigarettes, because these devices emit vapor, not smoke. People who do this are referred to as vapers.

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Most students wrong on risks of smoking occasionally

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Teens know that heavy smoking can seriously harm health. But most, a new study finds, don't realize that smoking only now and then also is harmful. Data from a survey highlight teens' mistaken ideas about the risks of intermittent smoking.

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As best James White can remember, he had never scored a game-ending touchdown before. Like, never never. He had certainly never played in a Super Bowl before, nor had he put together a game like he did Sunday, setting career highs for receptions (14), yards from scrimmage (139) and points (20). So of course he didn't think to hold onto the football after breaking the plane and making history on the final play of Super Bowl LI.

Instead, he dropped the ball and sprinted around the end zone until an equally euphoric LeGarrette Blount swung White around and threw him to the turf. White didn't care. He hardly felt the 250-pound thumper. We did it, Blount yelled. You played your tail off!

"Or something like that," White says. "To be honest I was gone at that point."

As Tom Brady told his teammates to calm down- They've got to review it! They've got to review it!-White put his hands on his head. He wasn't in a state of disbelief about forgetting the ball (that would come later), but he was incredulous about everything else that had occurred. "It was just crazy."

The never befores kept coming. An iPhone with nearly 500 text messages (he replied to all of them, even if it took a couple days). A Good Morning America interview with Michael Strahan (on no sleep!). A private plane ride to Disney World ("That was really cool," White says, though not quite cool enough to prevent him from dozing off). He'd enjoyed a Boston victory parade before, back in 2015, but he was inactive for that Super Bowl and went largely unrecognized on the parade route. This time was different.

Then, following a mini mob at NikeTown and a championship party at Icon Nightclub in Boston, it was off to L.A., White's fourth city in as many days. Thursday, he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where the host surprised him with a Ford F-150. Days earlier, Brady had promised White the truck that traditionally comes with MVP honors (as Brady did with Malcolm Butler in 2015), only to find out that Ford no longer offered such a promotion. Now, O'Brien, a Massachusetts native, was making good for the QB. White roared with delight.
* Patriots fans, order SI's Super Bowl championship package right here
Another first for White? All of these political questions! Since the Patriots' win, a handful of players have committed to skipping the traditional White House visit. Now, White gets asked his thoughts on the trip as often as people bring up him leaving that dang ball behind. "I'm still up in the air about whether or not I'll go," he says. "I'm not really big into politics and whatnot. I honestly haven't even thought about it. I'm just trying to enjoy this experience for now."

He's also still getting his head around what exactly happened in Houston.

On Edelman's preposterous catch: "I still don't know how he found a way."

On his own performance: "I knew I had a great role in the game plan and the opportunity to catch passes, but I never thought 14 catches and three touchdowns. I'd never imagined that in a million years." White does his best to rationalize it-he worked to get open on every route, he thought the Falcons D might have been tired by halftime, nothing is impossible with Tom Brady on your team-and yet, "If we play that game 100 times, we probably lose 99 times and win once," White says. "It still seems really crazy."

But from another perspective, Sunday's game fit perfectly into White's story. He was basically bred for New England's next-man-up backfield. He shared the ball with Melvin Gordon and Montee Ball at Wisconsin, backed up Giovani Bernard at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and wasn't even the featured back on a youth team his dad coached. So he was ready to do whatever was asked of him Sunday, which included running plays he hadn't practiced after Dion Lewis got hurt at the end of regulation. When he did get on the field in high school, it was often behind center in the so-called WildWhite formation, which came in handy when the Patriots called for a direct snap to White on their first two-point conversion attempt.

And on the game-winning play in overtime, White had an experience from his Badger days guiding him. As a freshman, what would have been White's first college score turned into a fumble when a San Diego State defender knocked the ball out of his outstretched hands. Then-coach Bret Bielema found White on the sideline afterward. "Remember this play the rest of your career," he told White. "Never reach the ball into the end zone. Run the ball into the end zone." That's exactly what White did Sunday, barreling through Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen to get there.

None of his coaches ever told him how to handle what came next, though, the folk-hero status and the geopolitical questions, but friends and family have been pleased to find the same White they've always known.

* Patriots fans, be sure to stock up on your Super Bowl LI title gear

Growing up, White earned the nickname "Smiley" because he always seemed to be beaming, and the spotlight has not yet wiped away his grin. It was there Sunday night, when Bill Belichick palmed White's head on the way off the field, and was still shining Thursday on O'Brien's set. At Disney World, White was smiling so much that his St. Thomas Aquinas coach, George Smith, couldn't help but add to his former player's queue of texts. "Hey James," he wrote (according to Saturday Tradition), "You've got a better smile than the frickin' Disney characters."

That day gave White his first taste of a new reality. During the season, he was hardly ever recognized in Boston. Now, as he strolled through the theme park, he could hear fellow tourists chattering, "Look, that's the guy from the Super Bowl." He also had his first run-in with a star-struck fan, when both were boarding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. White is disappointed that he can't remember the young teen's name-he certainly would if it weren't for the preceding sleepless night-but he does recall how "in shock" the kid seemed, so excited to meet a Super Bowl legend that he could hardly hold a conversation. "It's pretty cool to interact with new people and get to make somebody's day," White says. Soon enough, the ride took off. As the group flew through one of the steeper embankments, the kid let out a joyful holler. White's girlfriend, one row back, could hardly open her eyes, while the rest of his family either braced or screamed through the curve. But the Super Bowl champion in front looked different. Sleep-deprived, maybe, but also buoyant. Undaunted by the twists and turns to come. Smiling from ear to ear.

And this time, he was not letting go.

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Patriots RB James White just had the best week ever

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As best James White can remember, he had never scored a game-ending touchdown before. Like, never never. He had certainly never played in a Super Bowl before, nor had he put together a game like he did Sunday, setting career highs for receptions (14), yards from scrimmage (139) and points (20).

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A couple of times a week Calvin Stengs steers his blue spaceship through empty space, avoiding swarming red enemy craft, and fires a glowing yellow hexagon at a fluorescent green panel. On weekends, the 18-year-old strides across a green field, dodging opposition players, and shoots a white ball at the rectangular mouth of a soccer goal. Stengs is a striker at AZ Alkmaar, a Dutch soccer team that plays in the country's top division, the Eredvisie. Soccer is his career, but space captain is more than just a hobby.

Video games might be the future of soccer. But that doesn't mean EA's FIFA series or any of the computer programs fueling eSports. The game Stengs plays-IntelliGym-isn't supposed to be fun, or to look much like real life, but to train his cognitive skills: how quickly he can anticipate plays, how well he can recognize movement patterns and keep track of multiple players at the same time, how quickly he can mentally switch from offense to defense, or vice versa, and how much memory space his brain has to process all of that.

More than two decades ago, Daniel Gopher, a former Israeli Air Force psychologist, found that a video game called Space Fortress actively improved cognitive skills in pilots. (The game had originally been developed by psychologists at the University of Illinois to investigate skill acquisition.) A study Gopher published in the journal Human Factors in 1994 showed a significant improvement in the flight performance scores of 33 Israeli Air Force cadets.

Danny Dankner was in flight school back then, but wasn't part of the study. But years later, when he finally picked up the controls to Space Fortress, he saw the game's potential. In 2001, Dankner co-founded Applied Cognitive Engineering, the company that makes IntelliGym, and set his sights on first basketball and hockey. "Sport, from a cognitive standpoint, is very similar to flight," Dankner says. "If you think about competitive athletes, and particularly team sports, you have a very complex environment." Gopher, and professor emeritus at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, now supervises ACE's research.

In sports, smaller teams who can't simply bankroll the most valuable rosters have to find their edges elsewhere. Unlike the powerhouses of European soccer-teams like Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid-Dutch clubs like PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar have little to tempt the most sought after players. Both PSV and AZ have won the Netherlands' top division, the Eredivisie, in the last decade, but neither has reached a major European final since 1988.

These are the Oakland A's of soccer. "A relative low budget means you are forced to be smart to stay competitive," explains Luc van Agt, a sports physiologist at PSV. The Moneyball analogy is more than skin deep; A's executive VP of baseball operations Billy Beane signed on as an advisor to AZ two years ago.

In 2015, ACE received a $2.2 million grant from the European Union to develop a soccer specific version of IntelliGym. PSV, AZ, and eight other European teams signed on to help ACE determine what cognitive skills are required for soccer.

When the new system was up and running, PSV and AZ rolled it out to their junior teams. "The academy is the laboratory of the club," says Marijn Beuker, head of performance and development at AZ. Younger players are also more teachable than their more established elders. "The most tactical phase to train the players is between 14 and 17," van Agt says.

The Football IntelliGym looks a little like a soccer game with the players switched out with blue and red spaceships. A user pilots one of those ships around a rectangular arena, dragging teammates into position, and passing and shooting a yellow hexagon. Players are challenged to track multiple objects and anticipate movement. And as the user succeeds or fails, the drills adapt.

Beuker believes that smarter players will free players from rigid formations and make soccer more exciting. "Tactics basically means that I tell you what to do," he says. "The problem is that that's not football. In general, that's not how people get creative."

An analysis by Geert Savelsbergh of the department of human movement sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, funded by ACE and the EU, found a significant improvement in the on-field performance of youth players at PSV and AZ last year. Performance was rated by recording, and then reviewing, video of short games played over a small area. Players trained with IntelliGym were seen to improve by an average of 35% compared to 5% for a control group.

"We saw progress in the attacking part and the switching to transition play, the switching to attacking," Beuker says. However, Jurrit Sanders, a sports scientist who runs the IntelliGym program at PSV, cautions that understanding the reason for performance changes can be tricky. "It's very difficult to say whether a player improved because of IntelliGym or because of something else," he says.

The real test will come in the Eredivisie. Stengs might be the first IntelliGym player to graduate to AZ's senior team, but others will soon follow him.
(Photos courtesy of Intelligym)

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How Soccer Players Are Getting Smarter On the Field With Brain-Training Video Games

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A couple of times a week Calvin Stengs steers his blue spaceship through empty space, avoiding swarming red enemy craft, and fires a glowing yellow hexagon at a fluorescent green panel. On weekends, the 18-year-old strides across a green field, dodging opposition players, and shoots a white ball at the rectangular mouth of a soccer goal.

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Disabilities don't stop these experts in science and tech

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People with disabilities are as varied as the careers some of them pursue in science, technology, engineering and math.

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When Gillian Bowser was a kid in Brooklyn, N.Y., she loved exploring the borough's botanic garden and museum. She remembers them as "the two most magical places on Earth." And a favorite spot was the garden's display of tiny bonsai trees. They were so small that they seemed to be made for fairies.

At first, Bowser wanted to be a medical illustrator, a person who draws the human body. She liked sketching animals. But in a medical illustration class in college, she proved better at drawing dragons than people. Her teacher suggested that perhaps medical illustration wasn't the career for her. Maybe she should consider science, her teacher said. So Bowser joined a biology lab and studied the African striped mouse. This rodent with orange-tinged ears "was the cutest little booger," she says.

In time, Bowser became an ecologist, someone who investigates links between animals, plants and their surroundings. She has worked with a "wacky variety" of species, including prairie dogs and desert tortoises. For one project, Bowser and two colleagues wanted to know where U.S. elk and bison got their nutrition in winter. So the team collected snowballs of frozen urine the animals left behind in Yellowstone National Park. Other people working at the park gave the researchers a fitting nickname, she recalls: the "Pee Amigos."

Today, Bowser is a research scientist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She monitors butterflies and other insects in national parks around the world. One of her projects is in the Andes Mountains of Peru. There, she studies how a glacier's retreat affects insects such as dragonflies and bumblebees.

Being a scientist is a great job for curious people, Bowser says. "If you like asking questions, science is the perfect field," she says. "We're always exploring."

Bowser is African-American, and one of about 700,000 black, Hispanic and Native American scientists and engineers in the United States. They do everything from predicting weather to writing computer programs that simulate biological molecules. These minorities are what researchers call "underrepresented" groups in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The reason: Even though the combined number of black, Hispanic and Native American people in the United States is high, they hold relatively few of the degrees and jobs in these fields.

STEM fields need smart, talented people. They need many such people - and it helps when these workers have a broad range of different experiences and perspectives. So when members of minority groups are left out, research may not advance as quickly or as effectively. Consider the main story line in the book and movie Hidden Figures: A black female mathematician makes important contributions to a NASA team by performing very complex computations needed to ensure the safety of astronauts.

Some research even suggests that when groups have to solve problems, diversity is more important than skill. So increasing the number of minorities in STEM could help the world tackle hard issues better, such as climate change and disease.

"We need the best talent we can get," says Shirley Malcom. She heads the education and human resources programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C. She argues: "We need people who are coming at problems from a lot of different directions."
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A different standard

Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans make up nearly one-third of the U.S. population. But their numbers in science and engineering are far lower. These American minority groups earn only 20 percent of bachelor's degrees in STEM. They hold 11 percent of the jobs in these fields. And they obtain a mere 8 percent of PhDs in science and engineering.

Why might this be happening? Well, maybe students from these backgrounds just don't like science and engineering. But "that's not true," Malcom says. For instance, consider the results of a 2016 survey. It suggested that black, Hispanic and Native American first-year college students were nearly as interested as white and Asian students in STEM majors. The data were collected by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

So several other factors might instead explain the trend. Students in underrepresented minority groups simply may not be encouraged to study science and engineering. If their schools don't offer good STEM classes, the students may arrive at college less prepared than their classmates. And people may assume - without even realizing it - that black, Hispanic or Native American researchers aren't as smart as white researchers. This thinking, called implicit bias, also can make employers less likely to hire a minority scientist or engineer.

Minority researchers often are judged by a different standard, Malcom says.

That sounds pretty depressing. But many hard-working, passionate minority scientists and engineers have succeeded. For some, they meet an inspiring mentor or teacher. When they run into trouble, they ask for help. And new programs at universities are now attempting to jumpstart students' progress.
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Someone to look up to

The path to science can start with a strong role model. That was the case for DaNa Carlis. He grew up in Tulsa, Okla. His best friend's father was a doctor - the only black physician Carlis knew. The doctor often bragged about how smart he was. "You would think he was Einstein," Carlis says. "But to me, he was Einstein!"

Carlis eventually became a meteorologist, a scientist who studies weather patterns. For one project in Hawaii, he helped write computer programs to predict events such as flash floods. These dangerous events can occur after heavy rains. He now works at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Md.

Seeing his friend's successful dad made Carlis feel confident that he could excel in science. "If you see it, you can be it," he says.

If kids don't know any scientists of their race or ethnicity, they may have to get creative. For example, they might read books or watch movies about minority scientists, such as Hidden Figures.

Students also can find programs where they might meet role models. For instance, Black Girls Code offers workshops around the country to teach girls about computer programming. Many federal science agencies run summer activities and internships. Bowser co-founded a program called the Rocky Mountain Sustainability and Science Network. Many minority college students have taken part. Students in it have, among other things, shot videos in national parks of butterflies, bees, flies and spiders.

Staying on track

Sometimes, just a small nudge can help minority students succeed. That's what school administrators at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta have found.

In 2003, the school's black and Hispanic students were about 20 to 30 percent less likely to graduate within six years than were white students. Some of these minority students were the first in their family to attend college. So they might have had less guidance from parents than would their peers from more educated families. Many also had gone to high schools that didn't prepare them well in science and math.

Timothy Renick wanted to close that gap. He is in charge of GSU programs for student success. Renick's team analyzed 10 years of student records. They linked about 800 types of events with problems later in school. For example, science students who got a C in their first chemistry class had only a 40 percent chance of graduating on time.

That list of events became the core of a new plan. In 2012, GSU started tracking all those factors for every student. If one of the 800 incidents occurred, an advisor quickly offered the student tips. For instance, a student who failed a math test might be directed to the math tutoring center.

Renick compares GSU's new program to the global positioning system, or GPS, that can provide driving directions in real time. In the past, no one noticed if students made a wrong turn. Many of those students eventually failed classes or dropped out. But the new tracking system corrects their path right away. "If you discover after one block or one turn, 'Whoops, I made a mistake,' the GPS will make a couple of adjustments," Renick says. "You'll be right back on the right road."

This program attempted to do the same thing for GSU students. And it worked! Black and Hispanic students started graduating at equal or even higher rates than white students. The number of STEM degrees earned by black students increased by 69 percent. The number granted to Hispanic students more than doubled.

But what should students do if their college doesn't offer this support? They may have to seek help on their own. They could ask a dorm resident advisor, academic advisor, teacher or older classmate for guidance. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Renick says. "You just need to be a little bold."

Building up your brain

Struggling in science and engineering is normal. Melisa Carranza Zúñiga remembers that feeling. She is a computer scientist who is currently participating in a training program offered at Google in Mountain View, Calif.

Zúñiga fell in love with computers when she was only a few years old. Her dad encouraged her to play with one at home. "They seemed like magical big boxes of mystery," she says. "I couldn't believe how awesome they were." She decided to be an engineer.

But her first classes in college were tough. "I was completely confused," she says. "I was so sure I would have to drop out." Still, Zúñiga kept studying hard. She did all the exercises in her textbooks. She worked with classmates. And she asked her teacher for help. By the end of the first semester, she had gotten the hang of it.

Zúñiga went on to earn a master's degree in computer science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. She worked on a software program - a computer model - that simulates the formation of biological molecules called proteins. This program might one day help researchers design better treatments for illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease. In July, she started an engineering residency program at Google.

Students shouldn't feel discouraged if they have trouble, she says. "If you're feeling dumb, it's a good sign," Zúñiga says. "You're learning something new!"

Ramon Lopez seconds that assessment. Today he's a physicist at the University of Texas at Arlington. But during his second semester in college, he got a bad grade on a calculus test.

"I decided that there were two possibilities: Either I was really stupid or I had studied very poorly," he recalls. "And I decided, I don't think I'm really that stupid, so it must be that the way I had studied was wrong."

He changed his study habits and worked carefully through the problems in the book. On the next test, he got an A. "Students should always begin by believing in themselves," he concludes. "And it should take a lot of evidence to prove otherwise."

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton compares struggling in science to exercising. He is a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley. When your legs burn, he notes, you're getting stronger. And wrestling with a hard science or math problem builds intelligence, he says. "You're working out your brain."

Graduate school often poses the biggest hurdle to a student in STEM. It requires advanced research, difficult classes and teaching college students. Many science and engineering grad students want to give up at some point.

"The first year, it's just crazy," notes Lopez. "You're just trying to figure out: 'How am I going to survive this?'"

And the work isn't the only problem. Students may feel isolated in a new place where they don't know anyone.

Minority students should seek a graduate school where they feel comfortable, Lopez says. He suggests that they ask current students whether people are friendly and teachers are supportive. If their cultural identity is important to them, students should look for a school located where they can find the food they like and meet people with similar backgrounds.
The need for community
Much of the world's cutting-edge science and engineering work happens at what are known as research-intensive universities. Sometimes, though, even the most talented minority graduate students decide they don't want those jobs.

Kenneth Gibbs, a biologist, has studied this issue. He works at the National Institutes of Health* in Bethesda, Md. Part of his job at its institute of general medical sciences involves studying science education and diversity. Gibbs' team surveyed 1,500 people who had just received PhDs in biomedical sciences. They asked the participants how interested they were in working at research universities. Then they compared responses between graduates with similar levels of accomplishments, confidence and support from advisors.

Black, Hispanic and Native American graduates were 40 to 54 percent less likely than white and Asian men to be very interested in becoming professors at research universities. White and Asian women were 36 percent less likely than their male counterparts to express strong interest. (Women also are underrepresented in science.) The researchers published their results three years ago in PLOS ONE.

Underrepresented minority researchers might feel like they won't fit in at a research university. Few of their colleagues may be of the same race or ethnicity. Perhaps others at their graduate school have treated them in a biased way or did not value their work.

"People need to feel as though they belong," Gibbs points out. Universities should build better communities for scientists from underrepresented groups, he says.

Where a school is not supportive, minority researchers may need to look for peers online. Some people connect on Twitter. They can search for terms such as #BLACKandSTEM or #SACNAS (the name of an organization for Chicanos, Hispanics and Native Americans in science). "You won't be alone if you go down this path," Gibbs says.

A chance to make a difference

The number of black, Hispanic and Native American scientists and engineers is growing. For example, in 1995, underrepresented U.S. minorities earned about 4 percent of PhDs in STEM. Within two decades, that fraction had roughly doubled. But when people imagine a typical scientist, many still picture a white man.

Jani Ingram doesn't fit that picture. She is a chemist at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She's also a member of the Navajo Nation. (The Navajo are one of many Native American tribes in North America.) Growing up, she liked math and sports. Now, she studies the effects of mine pollution on a Navajo reservation.

Earlier this year, Ingram visited another university. A white male scientist showed her around. Then another woman met them for the tour. She kept calling the man "Dr. Ingram." Finally, the man pointed at his guest and said, "No, this is Dr. Ingram."

The woman "was so surprised," Ingram recalls.

Her Native American students have had similar encounters. When they go to scientific meetings, some people seem to think they are conference center staff members instead of fellow researchers.

These incidents are tough. And it's natural to feel mad. But Ingram advises simply pointing out, politely, that they were wrong. "Usually, the person gets embarrassed," she says.

Black, Hispanic and Native American students still face obstacles in STEM. But determination can go a long way. Their reward is a career tackling some of the most pressing issues the world faces. "This is a chance for you to use your brainpower to solve important, hard problems," Gibbs says of a STEM career. "Don't lose sight of that."

NEXT WEEK: " Disabilities don't stop top tech and science experts"

* Disclosure: Author Roberta Kwok has written articles for the National Cancer Institute. It's one of the National Institutes of Health, as is Gibbs' institution.

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