The U.S. Government is using competition to get America's youth interested in math and science.

Several middle school students from around our area are participating in a regional competition for the 23rd Annual National Science Bowl, put on by the Department of Energy.

In the regional competitions, teams of four are asked "tough mathematical problems and tested on their knowledge of a vast number of areas including astronomy, biology, Earth science and physics."

Middle school students from Centennial, Chase, All Saints, Kettle Falls, Creston, Lincoln and Moscow will all be part of the competition.

For the past 23 years, more than 225,000 students have participated in what has become one of the nation's largest science competitions. For 2013, about 9,500 more high school students and 4,500 middle school students are expected to participate.

A local raptor biologist dropped by Holy Family Catholic School in Coeur d'Alene Tuesday to introduce the children to some of her winged-friends, and to teach them a lesson about being good stewards of the Earth.

Jane Fink, of Birds of Prey Northwest, held an hour-long presentation about the importance of conservation, never poaching and habitat preservation to a group of “forward-thinking” fourth through eighth-grade students toward the end of their school day.

Fink wanted the children to understand that birds of prey can be a “bio-indicator,” which means that one can gauge how healthy an ecosystem is by the health of its birds.

“My generation brought birds – peregrine falcons, condors – back from near-extinction,” Fink said. “It's these kids' jobs to sustain their existence.”

The bird specialist brought out a range of species for the kid's to learn about: Roscoe the Raven, Harry the Harrier Hawk, Larry Bird (an Arctic Gyr Falcon), Emma the Peregrine Falcon and Liberty the Bald Eagle.

While the weather outside remains frightful, the fire delightful, the tree in your living room might be seeming more and more ridiculous the further away Dec. 25 becomes. But, good news, Spokane-area residents have plenty of options in getting rid of that festive fir.

If you live in a single-family home in the city of Spokane, you have a number of options, but the most convenient would be to drop it off on your regularly-scheduled pickup day with the rest of your trash – if the tree is taller than 6 feet, the city requires you to cut it in half. Waste Management will stop offering this service Jan. 18.