Quick hits: N.C. AP test scores up, solid waste down

N.C. students' AP test scores beat U.S. average

"More than 17 percent of the state's 2009 high school graduates scored a 3 or higher on at least one Advanced Placement exam, outpacing the percentage of students nationally who performed that well," says the News & Observer.

"Across the country, 15.9 percent of students scored at least a 3 on a test in which 5 is the highest score.

"AP tests are a gauge of how many students take challenging courses in high school. Colleges and universities routinely offer students college credit for AP courses on which they receive a score of 3 or higher. White students are overrepresented among AP test-takers, while black students are underrepresented, say data released Wednesday by the College Board. ..."


Landfills down, recycling up
"Want some good news generated by the recession? When the economy shrinks, so apparently does the amount of waste put into public landfills," says The (Shelby) Star.

"People disposed of less solid waste in North Carolina landfills last year than any previous year in nearly two decades.

"On the other hand, residents recycled more glass, plastic and aluminum containers than in any previous fiscal year. ..."

The Carolinas Shrine Bowl: America's first all-star high school football game

(Disclosure: I am not a Mason; I came across the information below in searching for this year's Shrine Bowl rosters.)

On December 20 in Spartanburg, S.C., the Tar Heels will take on the Sandlappers in the 72nd Annual Carolinas Shrine Bowl, the all-star game between North and South Carolina high school football players.

The proceeds from the Shrine Bowl - the oldest high school all-star football game in America - go to the Shriners' Hospitals in the Carolinas. I never knew that Pulitzer prize winner Ralph McGill wrote the Shrine Bowl slogan, “Strong men run so weak children may walk" or that Walt Disney drew the Shrine crippled children design and donated it to Oasis Shrine. Nor was I aware that by "1986, the game’s 50th year, 62 million fans tuned in on the Shrine Bowl TV and radio networks. One million had watched from the grandstands." But the most impressive fact is that $28 million had been raised (from projects plus game tickets), far exceeding all other North American Shrine fundraising events.

Not too shabby at all.

Here is the North Carolina roster for this year's Shrine Bowl. I don't say this often (actually, never), but here 'goes ... Go Tar Heels!

OG Nick Allison, Asheville Roberson
OG Whit Barnes, Rocky Mount
LB Hawatha Bell, Charlotte Butler
LB Joseph Blanks, Pembroke Swett
WR Jheranie Boyd, Gastonia Ashbrook
DL Justin Brewington, Richmond County
TE Wesley Carter, North Stanly
OT David Collins, East Forsyth
DL Jamaal Dixon, Gates County
RB Kevin Fogg, Apex
RB Hunter Furr, Winston-Salem Mount Tabor
WR Corey Gattis, Durham Hillside
LB Brandon Grier, West Charlotte
C Taylor Hanson, Wake Forest-Rolesville
C Ty Howle, Bunn
DB Joshua Hunter, Mallard Creek
LB Justin Jackson, Richmond County
LB Perry James, Davie County
DL Jared McAdoo, Chapel Hill
LB Lamer McClendon, Fayetteville Seventy-First
K Matt Millisor, Greensboro Page
QB Brett Mooring, West Craven
DL Donte Moss, Jacksonville Northside
LB Andrew Nallenwag, Erwin
OT Xavier Nixon, Fayetteville Britt
OG Perry Owens, Edenton Holmes
ATH Randy Pressley, North Buncombe
WR Michael Price, New Bern
QB Everett Proctor, Fayettteville Britt
RB Larry Raper, Shelby
DB JaQuan Rucker, West Iredell
DB Marcel Sargent, Charlotte Butler
DB Terry Shankle, South Stanley
FB Tyler Shatley, East Burke
LB Spencer Shuey, South Mecklenburg
TE Perry Simmons, Sanderson
OT Will Simmons, Hertford County
DB Jocquin Smith, Hibriten
DL Andrew Stryffeler, Lee County
RB Damonte Terry, Scotland County
DL Rodney Torain, Chapel Hill
DB Tony Washington, High Point Andrews
WR Reese Wiggins, Southern Durham
DL Pat Worley, South Columbus