Joplin girl claims agronomy award

It's not easy being successful. Just ask Joplin grad Laine Lybeck, 18, who won a top award from among nearly 1,500 participants from 36 countries at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Cleveland, Ohio last week.

Lybeck won the agronomy award, given to the best experiment in the study of agriculture, for her study of sawfly infestation rates in spring wheat and barley.

It was an impressive achievement, said Lybeck's science teacher, Jeff Wehr. Students from a small town in rural America can be at a disadvantage, particularly in science.

"That makes it pretty rewarding, to kn...