Camel race results and Carson's National Merit semifinalist

Tasmanian camel jockey Shorty Smith brought the International Camel Cup Championship back to Australia at the 48th annual Virginia City International Camel Races last Sunday.

In Virginia City's sister city, Alice Springs, Australia, on July 14, American Whitney Shannon won the International title. The International is a contest between American and Australian camel jockeys.

Shannon came in second in the Virginia City International race.

Smith also won the Virginia City Camel Cup, sponsored by The Gifted Cowboy in Virginia City.

Second place finisher Greg Andrus was sponsored by PADI Scuba Instruction.

Shannon went home with the third-place cup, and she was sponsored by Danielle's Mix of Virginia City.

The Ostrich Race winner was Bradley Emmans, sponsored by Grandma's Fudge.

According to Diane Jackson of the Nevada Camel Co., Saturday's races were elimination rounds. Sunday's races were for the titles.

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It's been a good year for Allison McCarty. The 17-year-old took home the national title in debate during the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association competition earlier this year and followed it up by being named Carson City's only National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist. More than 1.4 million juniors in nearly 21,000 high schools entered the 2008 National Merit Program by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a finalist, McCarty must have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended, and earn SAT scores that confirm her earlier qualifying test performance. She must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes a self-descriptive essay and information about her participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Allison, who was homeschooled, has entered Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, a year early on a full scholarship. She hopes to obtain her juris doctorate from Pepperdine University. Allison participates in debate, has had several of her written works published and plays classical piano.

She moved to Carson City about 2 years ago with her parents, Brad and Cindy McCarty and her sister Rachel, 14. She will learn in April if she has been selected as a finalist.

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Lula Kendall, of Silver City, celebrated her 95th birthday Saturday at a special party at the Silver City Fire Station on High Street. She turned 95 on Sept. 1.

She was hoping to celebrate her birthday at the new Silver City Schoolhouse Community Center, but it won't be completed until December.

Kendall attended the schoolhouse when it was a school, as did her sisters, parents and children.

Kendall spent first through seventh grades at the then 51-year-old schoolhouse, called simply the Silver City School, from 1918-25.

She then transferred to Dayton High School, another historic building now containing the Dayton Community Center on Pike Street.

The Silver City building was used as a school until 1958.