Scarselli to award seven alumni scholarships

Scarselli Elementary School’s recent Scholarship Basket Raffle was a resounding success with more than $4,500 raised.

The funds enable the school to provide seven scholarships valued at $600 each to graduating former students of SES who plan to attend either college or vocational school this fall.

SES established their alumni scholarship nearly twenty years ago. Events held to fund the program have included an annual talent show, silent auction, and a raffle for the themed baskets, which are compiled and assembled by each class throughout the school.

In response to evolving health guidelines related to COVID-19, SES opted to host this year’s basket raffle virtually instead of in-person, and first grade teacher Nancy McCullough said the event raised more money than ever before.

“We are grateful to all the people that donated basket items and who bought raffle tickets,” McCullough said. “Our community is so generous.”

The scholarship committee is currently reviewing student applications and will announce winners in the coming weeks.

A rocking start to the day

Who else felt the earthquake on Sunday morning?

When it happened, I was seated at our kitchen table looking through some paperwork. The wind was blowing steadily when a large gust suddenly pushed against the house, and I heard a roar at the same time the chair beneath me felt like it jolted to the right. I looked up at the hanging lights to see if they were swaying (they weren’t) and said to my husband, “I think we just had an earthquake.”

He was standing at the counter pouring a cup of coffee and said he didn’t feel anything. I started to worry that I might be having a vertigo episode, which happens sometimes when the big winds blow through the valley and the pressure changes quickly. I sat still for a moment to see if the sensation continued and was relieved when it did not.

A little while later we saw reports of the Lake Tahoe quake and the subsequent aftershocks, but we didn’t feel any of those.

The last significant earthquake I felt was a few years on a late December night during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I was getting ready for bed and heard what sounded like the rumbling of a freight train before I felt the house shudder and saw the mirrored door of the medicine cabinet in our bathroom swing open. Fortunately nothing was damaged, but the lights definitely swayed that time.

Although it can be frightening to experience an earthquake, it helps to be informed and aware about what to do before, during, and after an event. UNR’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory (seismo.unr.edu) provides helpful information related to earthquake preparedness and offers earthquake notifications for those who register through the link on their website.