A veteran Montgomery County school bus driver will compete in a national bus driving competition this month after taking top honors in his division at a state contest last month.

Josh Simpkins, 21, who trains other county drivers, won first place driving a bus for students with special needs at the state's School Bus Road-e-o in Virginia Beach on June 17.

Part of his win came after a test on how to transport students in wheelchairs.

The "Road-e-o" is a safety competition in which drivers show off their driving skills and test their knowledge of how to handle students. Drivers compete in one of three classes -- the 65-passenger conventional bus, the 78-passenger transit bus or a 35-passenger special needs bus. All drivers must take a written knowledge test that includes questions about school bus laws, rules and regulations, in addition to knowledge of the proper procedures for their daily pretrip bus inspection. They must also score well in a behind-the-wheel test using cones set up on a course to test their driving ability. The winner of each competition is eligible to compete at the state event.

Another driver, Kathleen Graham, who has driven a school bus for 12 years, placed third in the state's competition. She drove a transit bus.

Low-income scholarships available from Va. Tech

Virginia Tech this week announced its Presidential Scholarship Initiative to assist low-income and first-generation college students.

The scholarship, slated to be first awarded in fall 2009, will provide up to 50 Virginia students a renewable full scholarship each year.

Aside from money, recipients will be offered special orientations, faculty mentors and other programs to help them assimilate to college.

To be eligible, students must:

Be a Virginia resident graduated from a state high school.

Demonstrate strong financial need.

Show leadership skills.

Maintain a 3.0 grade-point average.

At the program's height, as many as 200 students could receive the scholarships, according to a Virginia Tech news release.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com.