‘Singing Mayor’ Rich Blankenship guest DJ Friday

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — JB Miller welcomes Ironton Mayor Rich Blankenship as another Magic 97.9 Guest DJ beginning at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

During the hour listeners may hear the strumming of an acoustic guitar as he promises to entertain with one of his favorite hobbies. In fact show host JB Miller, a current Ironton resident recently nicknamed him “The Tri States Singing Mayor”

Miller welcomes all those with an interest in slipping behind a microphone for strictly fun to contact him during regular business hours at (304) 399-9603.

Previous Guest DJs video can always be found, including Rich’s past performance, on the stations website www.magic979.com under the on demand link.

Boating classes offered April 3

PORTSMOUTH — Ohio’s mandatory education law requires anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1982 who operates a vessel powered by more than 10 horsepower to successfully complete a boating education course or a proficiency test.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Watercraft is offering the Ohio Boating Education Course at Rio Grande University in Gallia County on Saturday, April 3 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Topics covered in this course include: required equipment, safe boating practices, Ohio Boating Laws, rules of the road, aids to navigation, and commercial traffic. The cost of this course is $5 per person.

Anyone interested in attending either the Ohio Boating Education Course or the Proficiency Testing must register by calling the Portsmouth Office of the Division of Watercraft at 740-353-7668, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Sunburst Pageant set for March 20

ASHLAND, Ky. — The Ashland Town Center will host a Miss Sunburst model search and baby contest on Saturday.

The pageant will take place between Body Central and Samuels Jewelers.

Winners will go to the state finals in May to represent their county. Entries are now being accepted.

Everyone will receive a trophy.

The baby pageant is for girls and boys. The baby pageant will begin at 11 a.m. The age groups are as follows: Baby — under one year, Tiny — 1 year and Little — 2 and 3 years. A King and Queen will be chosen in each age group. They will receive a crown, trophy and banner. The runners-up in each age group will receive a trophy.

The model search is for girls, ages 4 to 27 years old. The model search will begin at noon. The age groups are as follows: 4-6, 7-10, 11-13, 14-27 and 18-27. A winner in each age group will receive a crown, trophy and a banner. The runners-up in each age group will receive a trophy.

Entry forms for the pageant are available at the Ashland Town Center Guest Services or available online at www.pageantinfo.com.

St. Mary’s to offer advanced stroke life support training

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — St. Mary’s Regional Stroke, in conjunction with the WV Cardiovascular Health Program, Bureau for Public Health, will offer advanced stroke life support training on Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Room 212 of St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute building.

Training will cover practical stroke patient assessment suitable for routine use by EMS personnel and nurses.

The course is open to pre-hospital and hospital personnel. The WV Cardiovascular Health Program is funded by a grant through The Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Developed by experts in stroke, emergency medicine, pre-hospital care, nursing and education

Used to train thousands of EMS personnel, nurses and physicians from more than 100 institutions across the nation

Provides a unique neurologic assessment tool ideal for both prehospital and hospital use

Consistent with Joint Commission stroke center criteria

Describe why early treatment may result in a marked reduction in risk of disability

Identify the five main stroke syndromes and relate them to pathophysiology and clinical signs

Perform focused evaluation to identify stroke, its location and severity, and t-PA contraindications

A $10 registration fee will be refunded upon completion of the course. To register, or for more information, call St. Mary’s Regional Stroke Center at (304) 526-1469.

Free health screenings Saturday

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — St. Mary’s Medical Center will offer free health screenings to the public on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Dawson-Bryant High School in Ironton.

Screenings will include blood pressure, oxygen and cholesterol. Dietary information will be provided.

Motorcycle skills course offered

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Motorcycle riders in the tri-state area will have an opportunity to learn the skills and techniques used by police officers at an upcoming motorcycle skills course, sponsored by the Huntington Police Department and St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Certified police motorcycle instructors will conduct several two-day courses in the parking lot at St. Mary’s Center for Education on the corner of 29th Street and Fifth Avenue in Huntington.

Courses will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the following weekends: March 20-21, March 27-28 and April 3-4.

The cost is $150 per weekend, and all proceeds benefit the City of Huntington Foundation for community policing efforts.

To register, call Sherrie Casey at (304) 696-4470.

MU urges community to join Google campaign

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall University is urging people to tweet, post videos on YouTube and write songs or poems about how much they want Google Fiber.

It’s part of the university’s effort to persuade Google to choose Huntington as a trial location for a high speed fiber network.

University Portal Administrator John Cummings is encouraging students, faculty and staff members to nominate Huntington by going online to http://googlefiberhuntington.com. He also wants them to “make some noise” to capture Google’s attention.

Members of the Google Fiber Huntington team will be at Pullman Square on Thursday, helping people record video messages to Google.

Google plans to test networks with Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than most Americans have access to today.