Two Wausau West High School students teamed up and won 3rd place at the 2019 National Future Farmers of America Agriscience Fair in Indianapolis, reports the Wausau television station WAOW.

Lexi Voight and Trinity Foster researched the flammability of different popular types Christmas trees and how to prevent them from going up in flames.

“If you water your tree it will be less flammable, but there wasn’t much out there already about specific species,” said Lexi Voight of FFA Wausau.

The duo worked on their research for over two years, testing top purchased Christmas tree species locally.

The pair experimented on the Balsam Fir, Blue spruce, Fraser Fir, and White Pine, finding which are better at retaining water, making them less likely to start on fire.

“Water your trees, because they will be less flammable. If you don’t water your tree they will dry out. Also, Balsam is the safest tree, so if that’s what your looking for to have in your house, pick Balsam,” said Trinity Foster, secretary for FFA on Wausau’s westside.

Read the full story here.

An elementary school in Jefferson is using a new app to move storytime outside of the classroom, the Daily Jefferson County Union reports. 

West Elementary School students can take advantage of this opportunity through a new Facebook feature being debuted this fall through the Jefferson school’s Facebook page.

The new Facebook “Bedtime Stories” program is an outgrowth of the school’s Literacy Committee, which formed a couple of years ago and which has been meeting regularly ever since to come up with new 

events and efforts aimed at increasing students’ literacy and making reading fun.

One of the most important factors in a youngster’s future literacy is being read to as a small child, especially when that reading time is celebrated as a fun ritual.

The Literacy Committee includes principal Mike Howard and other staff representatives from a variety of grades and areas, including one specializing in English Language Learners.

The group has set its purpose as instilling a love of reading in students, with the vision of making West into a “community of readers.”

Starting last week, the school has invited one staff member per week to share a favorite bedtime story.

Read the full story here.