Daugherty takes second place at regional science fair

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN. (WLAF)- Sawyer Daugherty (TOP PHOTO) took second place overall at the Clinch-Powell Educational Co-op Science Fair.

Daugherty, an Elk Valley 6^th grader, won his school science fair advancing him to the competition.

He was awarded a $400 cash prize at the Clinch-Powell Education Cooperative Science Fair.

Below is the original story:

After initially thinking he would test the cleanliness of water, and talking with his science teacher, Josh Hicks, Daugherty settled on testing the cleaning properties of bleach and alcohol.

“I wanted to figure out if bleach or alcohol was a better cleaner,” he said.

Daugherty took over a month to conduct his experiment.

Using Petri Dishes, swabs, a heat lamp and a closed box, Daugherty checked the samples every seven days and recorded his observations, he said.

At the end of the experiment, bleach edged out alcohol as the winner but it “was pretty close,” he said.

Daugherty won $150 for his work. At stake today is a $500 prize.

“We are so proud of him,” said his mother Dana Heatwole Daugherty.  “This was a month-long project. He had to be dedicated to it.”

Today’s competition is being held at Lincoln Memorial University. Twenty-one students from Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Scott and Union Counties will compete for prizes that range from $300 to $500.

The annual Clinch-Powell Education Cooperative Science Fair is held in conjunction with the LMU College of Math and Science.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED- 4/19/2024- 6AM/ ORIGINAL PUBLICATION 3/1/2024- 6AM)