Free State High School will have the merchandise room open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today for parents or friends of graduates to purchase gifts. Enter through the side entrance on the north side of the school, 4700 Overland Drive.

The 1935 class of Liberty Memorial High School will have a picnic May 19 at the Shirk Barn. The class invites any Liberty Memorial graduate to share in an afternoon of visiting and reminiscing. The cost of the picnic is $5 per person. For reservations, call 843-0994 or 748-0886 by Wednesday.

Troy and LeAnn Gregory announce the birth of their daughter, Hope Lynn Gregory, born April 26, 2002, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Merriam. Grandparents are LaWanda Richardson, Irving, Tex.; Joe Richardson, Grapevine, Tex.; Janice Lueker, Herington; and George Gregory, Clay Center. Great-grandparent is Bernadette Johnson, Ellsworth.

Joshua Gipp, Baldwin, was presented with a 2002 Emerging Leader award during a leadership banquet at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Ashley Grabill, Lawrence, was named to Northeastern University’s Dean’s List for the winter quarter 2002, by earning at least a 3.25 grade point average.

John Young, Lawrence, has been offered a New Student Scholarship to attend Montana State University-Bozeman. The scholarship is awarded to selected incoming freshman on the basis of commitment to academics and contributions to school and community.

Washburn University announces area residents who are May 2002 candidates for graduation. They are: Andrea Oakleaf and Lee Hanson, Baldwin; Brandon Barnett, Cindy Williams, Dana Parhm, Dean Boyles, John Scott, Martha Wood, Rebecca Hanish and Shannon Pufahl, Berryton; Dixie Vogel and Heidi Robinson, Eudora; Abbeyrae Hawk, An-Chi Yin-Chi Kao, Audrey Waymaster, Chad Dillon, Chueh-yin Liang, Emigdio Duarte-Centurion, Ian Gibson, Jeanette Collier, Jennifer Hosford, Jennifer Lippert, Jessica Teague, Joseph Poorman, Julia Walters, Kelly Keegan, Kelly White, Kimberly Jackson, Kristen Winter, Laura Bogner, Linda Berger, Matthew Brown, Moe Sears, Patrick Laird, Raemona Webb, Richard Stanley, Robert Harvey, S. Mert Tanol, Sarah Stein, Stephanie Scherer, Suzanne Scales, Thomas DeGregorio, Yanling Bugh, Lawrence; Joseph Baranski and Susan Clemons, Lecompton; Erin Schrader and Shannon Tullis, McLouth; Brenda Evans, Cheryl Artman, Jayma Decker and Rhett Scrimsher, Oskaloosa; April Leiker, Bridgett Hout and Eric Carter, Overbrook; Jennifer Buchanan and Marcie Gonzalez, Perry; James Mahoney Jr., Tonganoxie; and Melanie McDowell, Wellsville.

Cynthia Appl, assistant professor of German at Baker University, has been selected to participate in a new leadership program in the field of German language education.

The program called TrainDaF, aims to build future leaders in the field of the teaching of German.

Appl received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in German from Kansas University. Appl has been an assistant professor of German at Baker University for six years.

The 100th annual Overbrook Rural High Alumni Banquet will be at 6 p.m. May 25 at the Overbrook Methodist Church. Those who attended or taught at the school are invited to attend the event. The cost is $10 per person.

Reservations must be made by May 22. Reservations may be made by mail to ORHS Alumni Assn., P.O. Box 277, Overbrook 66524. Please include the names of those attending and the year of graduation or attendance. There will be a business meeting, then a dance with music provided by Two Classics.

Coffeyville Community College announces area students who are May 2002 candidates for graduation. They are Nathan Floersch, Eudora; Kasie Lynne Taulbert, Lawrence; Michael Gilner, Tonganoxie; and Brandon Griffin, Valley Falls.

Ryan Edmonds and David Metsker, both Lawrence High School seniors, were chosen to receive scholarships for the 2002-03 school year at Fort Scott Community College. Edmonds will receive the Opehlia K. Henderson scholarship. Metsker will receive the FSCC Meats Judging scholarship.

Ashley Crowder, Lawrence, has received the President’s Scholarship from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Neb. She attended Lawrence High School and is the daughter of Babette Crowder.

Chris Metzler, Lawrence, a senior majoring in accounting and finance in the School of Management at Syracuse University, was among the School of Management student volunteers who are helping Syracuse-area taxpayers fill out their 2001 income tax forms.

Kristen Jordan will participate in the 2002 Blue Lake International Youth Symphony Orchestra and will tour eight European countries. This is the West Michigan summer arts school’s 33rd annual European tour.

Jordan is the daughter of Dean and Joyce Jordan, Lawrence. Kristen is a freshman at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.

Emporia State University recognized senior honor students at the annual School of Business Honor Banquet April 1. To receive the designated honor by the School of Business, a student must have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average. Those honored include Derrick Carpenter, Wellsville; Melissa Pinick, Basehor, and Gloria Reischman, Tonganoxie.

Jessica Corkill, Lawrence, has been nominated for the 2002 edition of “Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges,” and has been selected as a national outstanding campus leader. Corkill attends Barton County Community College in Great Bend.

Libby Towner, Lawrence, competed with the Kansas State University Classy Cats dance squad at the 2002 National Cheerleaders Association/National Dance Alliance College Championship April 3-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Bishop Seabury Academy Forensics Team competed March 9 in Lansing. The following Bishop Seabury students won awards: Erin McDowell, second place, prose interpretation; Erin McDowell and Aaron Landis, second place, improvised duet acting; Emily Kotay and Rachel James, first place, Amanda Look and Gabe Murphy, fifth place, and Erin McDowell and Louis Wigen-Toccalino, sixth place, all duet acting.

Caity Kennedy, a Lawrence High School senior, recently received an art scholarship from the Kansas Art Education Assn.

She is the daughter of Kevin and Christy Kennedy, Lawrence. Her art instructor is Angelia Perkins.

Nicholas Ens, Lecompton, a Free State High School senior, and Sarah Katzfey, Eudora, a senior at Eudora High School, have been awarded renewable scholarships to attend the University of Missouri-Rolla during the 2002-03 school year.

Brandon Stinnett, a Kansas University student, received a $500 scholarship and sixth place in the personality/profile writing competition of the 42nd Annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program.

KU student Sarah Warren earned a certificate of merit and eleventh place in the competition.

The University of Kansas placed third in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition based on the number of accumulated school points from five out of six writing competitions.

Darcia DeVictor, Lawrence, placed first in the Alliance Franse National Competition in French 2002 at the advanced level for the Iowa region. DeVictor, a senior French and magazines major in Drake University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the daughter of Frederick and Karen DeVictor, Lawrence.

The competition challenged students to write an essay in French about how they would respond to an opportunity to work in a foreign country. DeVictor was awarded French books, and her essay will be entered in the national competition in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Bellinder, Lawrence, received a Luther College Academic Scholarship during Scholar Recognition Day at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Bellinder, the son of David and Sonya Bellinder of Lawrence, has been offered admission to the college this fall.

Basil R. Covey, Topeka, has been voted in the Kansas Teacher’s Hall of Fame. Covey will be inducted May 31 through June 1 in Dodge City.

Covey was principal at Vinland High School in 1940. He also was teacher and coach at Vinland.

Covey has had teaching and administrative positions in Huron, Nortonville, Holton, Augusta and Topeka. He retired in 1980. He also served as a volunteer lobbyist for the Kansas Retired Teachers Assn. for 16 years.

Charles Pohl and Grant VanBlaricum have been initiated into Beta Theta Pi by the chapter at Kansas University.

Pohl, a Free State High School graduate, is the son of Charles and Judy Pohl, Lawrence.

VanBlaricum, a Lawrence High School graduate, is the son of Karen and Galen VanBlaricum, Lawrence.

Dhwani Shah, Lawrence, daughter of Naina and Kiran Shah, has been selected as one of six recipients of a four-year Blanche Robertson Bacon Honors Scholarship to attend Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh, N.C. Shah, a ninth-grader at Southwest Junior High School, will enroll at the girls’ school in the fall of 2002.

Jessica Gerard, Lawrence, has been designated a Foundation Scholar by the Board of Directors of the Highland Community College Foundation. Selection is based on an application process that documents the applicant’s academic record and involvement in a variety of school and community activities. She is the daughter of Deborah and Bernie Antes, Lawrence.

Anna Harvey has been recognize for outstanding academic achievement by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during Honors Weekend April 12 and 13. Harvey, an Honor Scholar, is a freshman in the School of Business Administration.

Connie Snow, Lawrence, earned an award for logging 250 hours in the American Quarter Horse Assn.’s horseback riding program. The program recognizes and rewards AWHA members for time spent with their horses in activities such as trail rides, working cattle, pleasure driving and riding.

Nathan Beard, Lawrence, performed during a senior vocal recital April 18 in Sterling. Beard is a tenor and a student of Arlene Jantz at Sterling College. He is the son of Phil and Eileen Beard.

Andrea Cook, a sophomore exercise science major at Central College in Pella, Iowa, will embark on a quick tour of Colorado next week with Central’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Cook is the daughter of Dave and Becky Cook and a 2000 graduate of Lawrence High School.

Jessica Maher, Lawrence, has been named a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. Fellowships are awarded to graduate students who show outstanding promise as future leaders in nonprofit or governmental conservation in the United States.

The Barton County Community College Cheer Squad placed fourth at the 2002 National Collegiate Cheerleading and Dance Team Championships April 4-5 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Jesse Peterson, Lawrence, is a member of the Barton County Cheer Squad.

Erin Schrader, Tonganoxie, is one of 14 Washburn University School of Nursing students who was inducted May 5 into the Eta Kappa Chapter-at-Large of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. To qualify, a student must have completed at least one-half of the nursing curriculum, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and rank in the upper 35 percent of the class.

The Old West Lawrence Neighborhood Assn. Applause Committee has recognized five projects as part of its ongoing program to honor neighbors for their aesthetic contributions to the OWL neighborhood.

The following addresses were honored:

703 Indiana, for mature Tudor garden;

835 Maine, porch replacement and new paint;

726 Ohio, streetside garden;

724 Ala., complete renovation from rooming house back to family-occupied home;

702 Maine, new fence on Seventh Street.

Erin Marie Jansen, 9, competed in figure skating at “A Midwest Odyssey” on April 27 in Overland Park. She received the following honors: first place, Freestyle 1 compulsory event; first place, Freestyle 1 Freeskate event; second place, Freestyle 1 and 2 Interpretive event.

The compulsory event is a required set of moves that each skater must perform. The Freeskate is a routine skated to music. In the Interpretive event, the skaters listen to the music, which is 1 minute long, three times and then the fourth time they skate to the music, making up their own routine.

Amanda Umholtz, Lawrence High School junior, has received a national Gold Award from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for a pastel drawing. There were only 20 Gold Awards given in the drawing category at the national level.

She will receive a cash award and attend the awards ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in June. Her drawing will be on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Corrie Erin McDaniel, Lawrence, made the Seattle Pacific University Winter Quarter Dean’s List by completing at least 12 credits and attaining at least a 3.5 grade point average. She is the daughter of Wayne and Judith McDaniel, Lawrence.

Sarah Kingsley, Wellsville, was honored as an outstanding senior at Kansas State University College of Agriculture. She received the American Society of Animal Science senior award.

Melissa Colgan, Lawrence, has been selected as a Kansas State University College of Agriculture ambassador for the 2002-2003 school year. She is a freshman majoring in food science and industry.

Gabe Lewis-O’Connor, a sophomore at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., is spending the 2002 spring academic term studying at the Lawrence London Center. The 10-week program emphasizes British culture and history through field trips to local museums, concert halls and theaters as well as weekend excursions to the English countryside and the European mainland.

He is a 2000 graduate of Lawrence High School and the son of Jim Lewis and Nancy O’Connor, Lawrence.

Several area high school seniors accepted Fort Hays State University scholarships for the 2002-2003 academic year at a recent Student Recognition Program.

Laura Steeby, of Basehor-Linwood High School, accepted a $500 Award of Excellence in nursing. She is the daughter of Roy and Joyce Steeby, Basehor.

Kevin Burke, of Lawrence High School, accepted a $1,200 Miller Black and Gold Academic Award, a $500 Award of Excellence in mathematics and computer science and a $400 Emprise Bank Scholarship. He is the son of Martin and Cecilia Burke, Lawrence.

Denise Gibbens, of Tonganoxie High School, accepted an $800 Hays City Silver Academic Award and a $500 Award of Excellence in chemistry. She is the daughter of Denzel and Sara Gibbens, Tonganoxie.

Curtis Kitchen, Lawrence, recently won student publications awards from the Kansas Associated Collegiate Press contest in Wichita. The annual competition is open to all Kansas community colleges and four-year universities. He received second place in the sports column competition. He attends Washburn University.

Baker University announces area students who have been selected to appear in the 2002 edition of “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.” They are Dana Barker and Michelle Hewitt, Baldwin; and John Hill and Andrew Woolard, Lawrence.

Sarah Andyshak and Timothy Bradley, both of Lawrence, were among more than 1,200 students who were recognized for academic achievement at the annual Honors Day convocation at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Honors Day recognizes students who have achieved at least a 3.3 grade point average.