Hardy County Commission approves $5,000 to help Moorefield High School robotics teams attend national contests

The Hardy County Commission approved a $5,000 contribution to support Moorefield High School’s robotics teams traveling to national competitions, the commission said during its meeting.

Moorefield High School students who identified themselves as the Jackpots told commissioners they had qualified for the international competition in Houston, Texas, and said the combined cost to send three teams and their equipment to Houston and a middle-school invitational in Jersey City, New Jersey, was about $50,000. “We are the Jackpots from Moorefield High School,” a student representative said.

Commissioners heard that hotel costs for the Houston trip were estimated at about $10,000 and that the group had raised roughly $44,000 toward their $50,000 goal but remained short. A commissioner moved to fund the request and a second was recorded; the commission then voted in favor of the $5,000 allocation by voice vote.

The commission’s contribution is intended to help cover travel, hotel and equipment transport for the three teams. No member requested additional conditions or follow-up reporting at the time of the vote.

The students showed trophies and described technical details of their robot, including self-written Java code and a laser odometry sensor used for autonomous operation. “This will be held in Houston, Texas,” a student said when describing the competition schedule.

Commissioners congratulated the students and encouraged them to return with results. The commission did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; the approval was announced by voice vote.