Around and about

John and Jeannie Vonderbrink, Eudora, announce the birth of a son, Alexander Smith, born April 10, 2003, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He has a brother Jordan, 4. Grandparents are Tom and JoAnne Vonderbrink, Wichita, and Everett and Bernice Smith, Tonganoxie.

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Benjamin and Brianne Washee, Lawrence, announce the birth of a son, Andrew Michael, born April 14, 2003. He has a sister, Kayla Washee. Grandparents are Tim and Anita Mitts, Brenda Washee, and Mike and Paula Washee. Great-grandparents are Janet and Don Dobbins, Alice Mitts and Gary and Bunny Reid.

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Lisa Smelser and Leah Overbaugh, both McLouth High School juniors, have been notified that they are among the 50,000 highest scoring participants in the 2002 PSAT/NMSQT and have met requirements to enter the 2004 National Merit Scholarship Program. Of the 50,000 students attaining this level of competition, 16,000 will be named National Merit Program Semifinalists. The students will be notified in September.

Smelser is the daughter of David and Jean Smelser. Overbaugh is the daughter of Rudy and Cindy Overbaugh.

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Megan Lewis, Lawrence, recently was inducted into the Delta of Missouri Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo. Lewis is the daughter of Joseph and Kimberly Lewis, of Lawrence.

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Washburn University junior Adam Pruett, Lawrence, was selected to be among the 20 finalists in the annual Speak Off competition.

Speak Off is a contest among students enrolled in public speaking classes at Washburn. Each semester, several students are selected to represent each public speaking class. The communication department is the sponsor.

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Thomas Henry, a South Junior High School student, has been selected to attend the 2003 National Junior Leaders Conference in Silver Spring, Md. Selection is based on academics, community involvement and extracurricular activities. Henry will learn about defense, intelligence and diplomacy. He is the son of Bob Henry and Beverly Mack, both of Lawrence.

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Emily Scholle, a ninth-grader at South Junior High School, was a presenter Tuesday at the Northeast Kansas Leadership Conference at Kansas University. Emily was chosen to participate as a member of the Center for Civic Leadership Advisory Board at Fort Hays State University. She is the youngest member of the 14-person board.

Scholle spoke about her experience at the 2002 Kansas Youth Leadership Camp, which took place in Hays, and her participation as a Center for Civic Leadership board member.

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Hayley Morgan, Lawrence, was honored for her academic achievements at the annual Iowa State University Scholars and Leaders event. Morgan is in the top 2 percent of the College of Design.

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The 101st annual Overbrook Rural High School banquet will be at 6 p.m. May 24 at Overbrook Methodist Church. The meal will cost $10 per person. Reservations must be made by May 21 and sent to ORHS Alumni Assn., P.O. Box 277, Overbrook 66524. Be sure to include the names of those attending and year of graduation or attendance. Anyone who has attended or taught at ORHS is eligible to attend. The classes of 1928, 1933, 1943, 1953 and 1963 will be honored.

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Bill Pinches and Katharine Wise, Princeton, N.J., announce the birth of a son, Timothy Wise Pinches, born Jan. 28, 2003. Timothy has two brothers, Andrew, 7, and Colin, 3. Grandparents are former Lawrence residents George and Carole Pinches, of Ardmore, Okla.; Regina Gandy, Ardmore, Okla., and Helen and Don Wise, Princeton, N.J.

Bill Pinches is a 1989 graduate of Lawrence High School and a 1993 graduate of Bates College. He received a masters of divinity in 1996 and masters of theology in 1997, both from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J. He expects to receive his doctorate in May 2004.

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In celebration of the National Federation of Music Club’s National Music Week, May 4-May 11, several students of Sylvia Frank will present “The History of American Music.” The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Monday at Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community, 4851 Harvard Road. Students who will perform are Erin Ice, Allix Ice, Nolan Frank, Garrett Frank, Marley Sutter, Tucker Sutter, Emily Keizer, Patrick Keizer, Jackie Hewins, Bryson Hewins, Megan Andrews and Ian Zylstra.

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Lawrence High School and Free State High School students were recognized for their outstanding performance on the annual National Latin Exam.

LHS students and their awards are: Maxfield Yoder, cum laude; Erin Bennett, Martin Eisert and Andrew Miller, magna cum laude; Coleen Boley, Kristina Clement, Lacey Elmore, Ariel George, Rahul Gogineni, Amanda Hermesch, Whitney Juneau, Mishra Priyadarshi, Jacquelyn Samp and Bonnie Toplikar, maxima cum laude silver-medal award; Zachary Elmore, John Parker, Rebecca Siahann, Adam Van Horn and Phillip Wrigley, summa cum laude gold-medal award.

Free State students and their honors are: Sarah Allen, Nicolette Riggins and Philip Weinmaster, cum laude; Craig Barnes, Avery Brow, Kendra Craig, Dain Dillingham, Lindsey Durgan, Scuber Martin, Sindra Schueler, Stephan Skepnek, Kendra Smith and Dan Stah, magna cum laude; John Armstrong, Teija Cheung, James Davis, Caitlin Donnelly, Amanda Enneking, Brady Hall, Sarah Lang, Joyce Li, Emily McEnroe, Abraham Miller, Michelle Miller, Katherine Naramore, Adam Pearce, James Piller and Andrew Rhoades, maxima cum laude silver-medal award, and Anna Belcher, Richard Belcher, Laura Christensen, Sarah Elbayoumy, Joshua Dugan, Ilya Faibushevich, Jon Green, Jennifer Green, Meredith Mayo, Annie McEnroe, Michael Puckett, Zachary Puckett, Charles Rivera and Elizabeth Wagner, summa cum laude gold-medal award. In addition to winning gold medals, Richard Belcher, Joshua Dugan, Ilya Faibushevich and Meredith Mayo had perfect papers.

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Jaime Netzer, Lawrence, has received a presidential scholarship to attend Drury University, Springfield, Mo. To apply for the scholarship, a student must have earned a score of 29 on the ACT or 1300 on the SAT and must have a high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

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Corrie Erin McDaniel, Lawrence, made the Seattle Pacific University dean’s list during the winter quarter by earning a 3.5 grade point average or higher.