MHS Continued from pg. 2
Wangensteen will continue her academic journey at UVA and is currently undecided in her major. She said she is honored to be named as the salutatorian and wishes the best for the entire Class of 2022. Despite not having a “traditional” high school experience, she said
HABITAT Continued from pg. 1
Jeff Heie, director of GiveSolar, spearheaded a project in 2021 to raise funds to help Habitat affiliates in Virginia launch solar programs. He will be partnering with 10 Habitats across the state. Hanover and King William Habitat is the second Habitat in Virginia to partner with GiveSolar. “One of the reasons I work with Habitat homeowners is that they have a harder time gaining access to solar,” said Heie. “So this project is about trying to make solar accessible to people who kind of fall in that lower income spectrum.” Heie said Young will save around $70 a month on her electric bill and thousands of dollars overtime with her newly-installed 5-kW solar system, which consists of 14 solar panels. Steve Trivett, Town of Ashland Mayor and Habitat board member, said he is very excited for the solar home installation and hopes it will become more widespread. “The money that she saves on the solar, that’s money for family, outings, education… So it is wonderful that the savings that come from this can go into a family’s life,” Trivett said. In addition, her new energy source is better for the environment than relying on fossil fuels, which are the primary source of electricity in Virginia, said Heie.
she will “forever hold these memories close to [her] heart.” “I am so thankful for the opportunities that high school has given me, such as the chance to build new relationships and grow in leadership,” she said. “I also want to thank all of my teachers for their dedication and mentorship. The last few years have been difficult and I applaud them for their commitment to education.”
“We’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Every kilowatt hour that’s produced through solar is one less kilowatt hour that’s produced through burning natural gas or even coal,” said Heie. “So this is an opportunity to start shifting away from fossil fuels.” Solar power converts natural sunlight into useable electricity for buildings. It can also protect homeowners from the rising price of natural gas used to generate electricity, which is expected to increase rates up to 20% in the next year. “We also didn’t want to burden homeowners with systems that are going to be a lot of maintenance and have to be replaced after 10 years,” said Renee Robinson, Hanover and King William Habitat for Humanity Executive Director. “There’s been so many advancements in solar to where now it’s a much more long-term, sort of set it and forget it type of thing.” The solar system placed on Young’s home will last for 25 to 30 years with little to no maintenance. Her home was selected based on the home’s sun exposure, position, past electricity bills and Young’s willingness to partner with the organizations. Young’s home is the pilot project for Habitat’s new solar installation initiative. Habitat will monitor the installation on Young’s home in order to incorporate funding into the new initiative moving forward. “This is the pilot, so that we have the data to be able to per-
“I will always cherish my time spent at Mechanicsville, but I am so excited to see what the future holds,” she added. “I wouldn’t have made it to this point without the support of my friends, family, teachers and coaches.” The MHS Class of 2022 will officially celebrate their commencement on Friday, June 17 at the Farm Bureau Center at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell.
information.
CALENDAR Continued from pg. 3
but the students will need to purchase the books required for their class. Hanover Rotary meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Roma’s Restaurant at 7240 Bell Creek Rd. in Mechanicsville. Due to the pandemic, contact President Penny at pennyguiles43@gmail.com for current meeting at Roma’s or Zoom connection
Thursdays The Ashland Rotary Club meets weekly at noon at the Iron Horse Restaurant at 100 S. Railroad Ave. in Ashland. For more information, contact Steve Dunham at 804496-6093 or sandrdunham@yahoo.com. Overcomers Outreach & Women’s Codependency is a Christ-centered anonysee CALENDAR, pg. 14
Photo by Christina Amano Dolan
Ashland Vice Mayor John Hodges, Ashland Mayor and Habitat Board member Steve Trivett, Aaron Sutch of Solar United Neighbors, Habitat Board Treasurer John Suddarth, Ashland volunteers, Habitat Executive Director Renee Robinson and GiveSolar Director Jeff Heie are pictured with Habitat homeowner Keisha Young with her newly-installed solar panels.
suade other homeowners that this is a good thing to do,” said John Suddarth, Habitat board treasurer and champion of this cause. He has over 40 solar panels installed on his own home and has been working for years to introduce solar to Habitat homes. “We’re trying to get to the point where in the future, we make every effort for every Habitat home to possibly have it,” Suddarth said. Suddarth gathered a group of Ashland volunteers to help install the panels alongside a group of Convert Solar install-
ers, which took a few hours under the sweltering morning heat. Convert Solar is a full-service solar energy system provider based in Virginia Beach. Solar United Neighbors connected Habitat with the local installer, Convert Solar. Solar United Neighbors is a national nonprofit that represents the needs and interests of solar owners and supporters across the country. According to Aaron Sutch, Atlantic Southeast Region Director for Solar United Neighbors, they have conduct-
ed around 1,100 solar installations in Virginia since 2014, which is the most out of any nonprofit in Virginia. “And so in doing that, we have a lot of knowledge of the industry,” Sutch said, which allows them to help connect interested nonprofits with local installers. In addition, they partnered with Heie to raise $30,000 for homes in Rockingham County as part of GiveSolar’s seed fund initiative in Virginia. Sutch said he believes solar energy will continue to take off among homeowners.
While not every house is a perfect fit, the technology is getting cheaper and constantly advancing, he said. “And the beauty of this is… everybody loves it, they love to save money,” Sutch said. “So it’s apolitical.” “And the idea of growing your own energy on your house… there’s something empowering about it,” he added. “Like, I am an energy producer.” For more information on Hanover and King William Habitat for Humanity, visit https://www.hkwhabitat.org/.
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