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Melody Rodríguez, director of the Hispanic Outreach & Leadership at Armstrong (HOLA) program and the College Access Mentoring Information and Outreach (CAMINO) program at Armstrong Atlantic State University, was given a Women Who Rock Award at the Global Women's Summit conference in Savannah on March 8.

As part of a celebration of Women’s Month and International Women’s Day, the Global Women’s Summit recognized outstanding women in Savannah, ranging from firefighters to business leaders.

• Melody Rodriguez

As the HOLA program director at Armstrong, Rodríguez "has secured critical grant funding for scholarships to help attract and retain Hispanic students," a university spokesperson says.

Under her leadership, "Armstrong has doubled its Hispanic/Latino population and secured more than $70,000 in grants to sponsor cultural and educational programs focusing on underserved Latino populations. In addition, The Goizueta Foundation has awarded Armstrong nearly $2 million in scholarship funding as a result of her leadership and dedication to Latino students," the spokesperson continues.

Originally from Merida, Venezuela, Rodríguez earned a M.Ed. in Adult Education, a B.A. in Spanish and a B.A. in Political Science from Armstrong.

Former presidential candidate and colon cancer survivor, Herman Cain, will speak at a local benefit, A Night of Wunder, on March 21 at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center.

The non-profit WunderGlo Foundation, which has raised funds for colon cancer research across the country, was spearheaded locally by Carlyle Dorroh. Dorroh, a Savannah resident and mother of three, was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in Fall 2012.

Dorroh, who lives with her husband and children on Dutch Island, founded the local effort in addition to fighting her own diagnosis. She is currently recovering from her second Cytoreductive procedure, a complicated surgery done at Wake Forest University.

“March is Colon Cancer awareness month and we are so excited to have Herman Cain speaking at our event to help highlight this important mission,” said Dorroh.

Herman Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in 2006. His diagnosis included cancer in his colon which metastases to his liver. He was given a 30 percent chance of survival. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy and has since been in remission.

The deadline to purchase tickets for A Night of Wunder is March 17. The event begins at 7 pm and tickets are $125 per person. Admission includes dinner, dancing and entertainment by local band, Tell Scarlet. Tickets can purchased at www.stayclassy.org/anightofwunder or by calling Jennifer Wiggins (912) 220-7509.

For more information on the Wunder Project, visit www.thewunderproject.org.

Savannah/Chatham police officers located year-old kidnapping victim Malaysia Robertson with her father at a residence on the 1000 block of Elliot Street. Malaysia is in good condition. Her father, McCoy Robertson III, 21, is in custody.

Robertson allegedly "took his child from a daycare center after assaulting a teacher Tuesday afternoon," police say. The daycare center is on the 800 block of West Bowden Street.

• McCoy Robertson

SB 318, the bill to let Savannah bars open the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day, passed its final legislative hurdle in the Georgia General Assembly earlier today, after passage by the Senate. The bill goes to Gov. Nathan Deal's desk for his signature sometime in the middle of the week.

After that, Savannah City Council still must vote in favor of the law.

Currently, the only establishments in Savannah that can serve alcohol by the drink on Sundays are those which derive over 50 percent of their revenue from food sales.

Detectives from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department are seeking the public’s help in identifying a car that heavily damaged a historical park Sunday morning.

The purple or dark blue Ford Mustang fastback "drove onto Battlefield Park at Louisville Road and MLK Jr. Boulevard just after midnight Sunday morning and spun around in circles on the parade ground and monument section before driving away on Harris Street," a spokesman says.

"The stones on the monument were heavily damaged and deep ruts were left in the parade ground lawn," police add.

• Screen capture of the offending Mustang

Detectives have released a video showing the Mustang, believed to be about a 2010 model with chrome exhausts, crossing MLK Boulevard headed west onto Louisville Road about 12:08 a.m. Sunday. It can be seen a few seconds later in the background spinning circles in the park.

The car appears purple in the video but may be a color Ford calls Vista Blue.

Anyone with information on the case, the Mustang or the driver is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

Bethesda Academy, a residential and day school for boys in grades 6-12, recently hosted Fort Stewart’s 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion for Veterinary Training on the school’s campus.

One of the many missions of the 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion is "to conduct veterinary and agriculture infrastructure support in host nations in a variety of global environments and market economies," a spokesperson says.

In order to prepare for these missions, Capt. Mary Avriette, 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion veterinarian, recently brought a group of ‘Warrior Diplomats’ of the 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion to Bethesda Academy’s campus for a hands-on training workshop.

“We’re thrilled to help support the military’s critical veterinary training efforts,” said Brian Byrne, Director, Bethesda Academy Farm & Gardens. “This unique partnership offers our military a chance to work directly with the livestock they will encounter during their missions. In addition, our 9th grade students were also on-hand to benefit from this exclusive training opportunity and were able to listen to the heartbeats of unborn goats in the womb.”

Topics that were covered included the proper trimming of goats’ hooves; assessment of overall health and fitness of goats, sheep and cattle; livestock handling techniques and interaction methods; and third-trimester health exam on pregnant goats.

Capt. Avriette most recently returned from Juba, South Sudan in December 2013. While there, her team worked with the South Sudan’s Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army during a two-week operation to enhance South Sudan’s veterinary capabilities, which included vaccinating thousands of cattle, goats and sheep against multiple diseases.

“Our main goal of these exercises are to help build enduring civilian-military relationships and help train others in livestock production,” said Capt. Mary Avriette, 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion veterinarian.

Future training workshops are planned at Bethesda Academy in March and May and will include instruction on proper livestock vaccination techniques, tagging of animals, pest management and birthing of baby goats.

The band Magic Man has canceled Saturday night's appearance at the Savannah Stopover Festival. According to Stopover producers, the band abruptly decided to accept a last-minute offer from South By Southwest Interactive in Austin.

Baltimore's Sun Club will take the midnight spot at Club One, after their afternoon set at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

The Georgia Senate passed a measure Monday to allow Sunday alcohol sales in bars to stimulate the Savannah economy during the St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year. While the actual holiday falls on a Monday, current law would keep bars closed the Sunday before.

SB 318 passed 32-18. It now goes to the House for consideration. The Senate originally took up the bill two weeks ago in a slightly different version, but it did not have enough votes at the time for passage.

State law already allows Sunday sales of alcohol for on-site drinking in establishments that derive a majority of income from food sales. This bill expands the law to allow bars to serve.

Researchers and educators from the University of Georgia's Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Marine Extension (MAREX) are creating an education program focused on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), also called gliders or underwater robots.

The program, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” will capitalize on Skidaway Institute's expertise with AUVs and MAREX's extensive history of marine education. Skidaway Institute scientist and UGA faculty member Catherine Edwards, and MAREX faculty members Mary Sweeney-Reeves and Mare Timmons will direct the one-year project.

The AUVs are torpedo-shaped vehicles equipped with sensors and recorders to collect observations under all conditions. They are launched into the ocean and move through the water by adjusting their buoyancy and pitch.

Because they are energy-efficient, gliders can remain on a mission for weeks at a time. Every four to six hours over their mission, they surface, report their data by satellite phone and receive instructions as needed.

Skidaway Institute's AUV, nicknamed "Modena," has been used in several recent projects, including “Gliderpalooza,” a simultaneous, cooperative launch of 13 AUVs from different institutions in 2013.

• Catherine Edwards (center) describes the workings of a glider to Mary Sweeney-Reeves (l) and Mare Timmons.

“Gliders are education-friendly, but the existing outreach activities are stale,” said Edwards. “Our program will develop the next generation of AUV outreach programs by combining cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research with educational activities and strong STEM components.”

The work will highlight the problem of working with the strong tides characteristic of the Georgia coast. The Gulf Stream, 100 miles off the Georgia beaches, also introduces navigation problems.

“Although the AUVs have Global Positioning Systems and can be programmed to travel a set course, tidal and Gulf Stream currents can exceed the glider's forward speed, which can take the instrument off course and keep us from collecting data where we need it,” Edwards said.

Historic Savannah Foundation has selected former Shuman Elementary School student Odysseus Dingle’s design as the official 2014 Savannah Preservation Festival poster.

Last May, Dingle was honored as the elementary school winner of the Pennies for Preservation Poster Contest while he was a fifth grade student at Shuman Elementary School under the direction of his art teacher, Adele Hughes. Dingle is currently attending Hubert Middle School.

“We encouraged students to submit creative, original posters with vibrant images celebrating our community’s strong sense of place,” said HSF president and CEO Daniel Carey. “We were impressed with the quality of the submissions and are delighted to share Odysseus’s image nationally as we promote the 2014 Savannah Preservation Festival.”

HSF is currently accepting submissions for the 2014 Pennies for Preservation Poster Contest. Submission rules and applications are also available by emailing Danielle Meunier at dmeunier@myhsf.org.