Olivia Thoney, a 6th grader at Sheridan Junior High School, earned one of four Powder River Basin Resource Council Youth Conservation Awards for her science fair project on “efficiency of wind turbines”.
Kevin Lind is with the Powder River Basin Resource Council and was a judge at this year's PRBRC awards, held during the state science fair March 5 and 6 at the University of Wyoming.
Thoney won in the PRBRC category of renewable energy and energy conservation and efficiency along with Katrina Maria Haines, 9th grader at Southeast High School in Yoder. They, along with Brexton Bennett, 8th grader from Big Piney Middle School, and Travis Sylvester, a senior from Greybull High School, received a combined $750 in prize money. The PRBRC distributes the awards in memory of Gillette-area rancher and co-founder of the PRBRC Bill Barlow.
At the state competition, Thoney placed third overall in the energy and transportation category and won a U.S. Navy and Marine Corp. special award.
