Rock Hill man's run on 'Jeopardy!' ends

The third time wasn't a charm for "Jeopardy!" contestant Leland Graham, a 25-year-old research specialist from Rock Hill.

After wins on Wednesday and Thursday, Graham came in third place on Friday's show after struggling throughout most of the episode.

With $7,000, he made a bold move and doubled his money in the second round with a true Daily Double. He caught up with then-leader Charles and entered Final Jeopardy with the lead at $16,800. But he wagered $15,601 on a question about advertising icons and fell to third place with the incorrect answer.

The question was "On Advertising Age's list of the Top 10 Ad Icons of the 20th century, they're the two alliterative entries that end in "man'" The correct answer is Michelin and Marlboro. Graham guessed Good Humor and Michelin.

Fort Mill teacher a finalist for honor

Miriam Hunt, a teacher at Orchard Park Elementary in Fort Mill, is one of five South Carolina teachers named as state finalists for the 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

The annual award is the highest accolade that a kindergarten through 12th-grade math or science teacher can receive in the United States. Enacted by Congress in 1983, the program is run by the National Science Foundation for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The five finalists were selected from applicants throughout South Carolina. The state Board of Education will honor them in June.

Each year, a national panel of scientists, mathematicians and educators recommends up to 108 teachers for Presidential Awards -- one math teacher and one science teacher from each state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. territories and schools run by the Department of Defense Education Agency.

Winners get $10,000, a presidential citation and a trip to Washington for an awards ceremony.

Children's School in running for state award

The Children's School at Sylvia Circle is one of five South Carolina public schools in the running for the S.C. School Improvement Council's annual Dick and Tunky Riley School Improvement Award.

The Rock Hill school was recognized for its School Improvement Council's efforts to boost parent and civic engagement.

The award, created in 2002, is named after former S.C. Governor and U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley and his wife, Tunky.

This year's winner will be announced at a luncheon in Columbia on March 14.

Winthrop to dedicate room in donor's name

Winthrop University plans to name a conference room after Thomas Slaughter, a donor who created a scholarship that will ultimately amount to $1.2 million.

The fund, which now sits at $200,000 and doles out $1,700 scholarships, is available for students from Hickory Grove and York County who fill out a financial aid form. The scholarship was awarded for the first time in the fall of 2008 to a special education major from York County.

Slaughter endowed the scholarship in memory his mother, sister and cousin Sally Allison Slaughter, Sara Emily Slaughter and Tommy Wilkerson, respectively.

Winthrop will hold a dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, when college officials will rename the first-floor conference room in the Sims Science Building the Slaughter-Wilkerson Conference Room.