Emily Lawrence, Amber Ferguson and Trent Robinson, on the front row, claimed the top three places in the 12th annual Civil War Journal writing contest. The awards were presented at a dinner Monday, April 13. The dinner honored the top 11 contestants and their families. The top 11 honorees were chosen from among more than 100 Mount Vernon Junior High eighth grade students who entered the contest. See the April 23 edition of the Optic-Herald for more information.








