Around and about

¢The Lawrence High School Class of 1976 will have its 30-year reunion Aug. 4-5. If you are a member of the class and have not received a postcard, please contact classof76@sunflower.com or call Martin Moore at 841-6565 or 841-3567.

¢Sheila Schmitendorf, Lawrence, will celebrate her 80th birthday at an open house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Union Pacific Depot in Lawrence, 402 N. Second St. Hosts will be her children and their spouses, George Schmitendorf III, Glendale, Ariz.; Sandy and Dean Cordill, Topeka; and Chester Schmitendorf, Tom and Jennifer Schmitendorf, and Rose Kopf, Lawrence. She has 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

¢Cordley and Quail Run schools claimed first-place trophies in the K-3 and K-6 divisions, respectively, at the Topeka Collegiate chess tournament Feb. 4. Wakarusa Valley took second in K-6, while Southwest Junior High School and South Junior High School placed third in K-12 and K-8, respectively.

Quail Run’s Cole Reams won the first-place medal in K-6. Other top medal winners from Lawrence were Sean Stenseng, Free State High School, second, K-12; Nate McFadden, SJHS, third, K-8; and Sam Stephens, Cordley, second, K-3.

Other Lawrence medal winners in K-12 were Keely Stenseng, SWJHS, third; Thomas Reams, SWJHS, fifth; Thomas Clark, SWJHS, ninth; Roy Wedge, Central Junior High School, 15th; Peter Lesslie, SWJHS, 18th; Alan Shi, Quail Run, 20th; Nicolas Shump, SWJHS, 24th; Jason Chang, SWJHS, 26th; and Ben Preheim, SJHS, 36th.

Lawrence winners in K-8 were Douglas Rawlings, SJHS, fourth; Jacob Wilson, CJHS, eighth; and Kristopher Jackson, SJHS, 13th.

Local winners in K-6: Lucas Suchy, Wakarusa Valley, second; Garrick Clapp, Quail Run, third; Luke Lesslie, Quail Run, fourth; Cal Young, Wakarusa Valley, sixth; Robert Newman, Wakarusa Valley, seventh; Aaron Simon, Quail Run, 10th; Eddie Wilson, Cordley, 11th; Byron McClelland, Cordley, 14th; Owen McFadden, Wakarusa Valley, 16th; Andrei Elliott, Quail Run, 17th; Ian Gent, Cordley, 18th; Blake Freeman, Wakarusa Valley, 19th; Darren Rawlings, Wakarusa Valley, 21st; and Zack Curran, Cordley, 27th.

Lawrence medal winners in K-3 were Alex Cateforis, Cordley, third; Roscoe Bradt, Cordley, fourth; Ting-Ting Shi, Quail Run, 10th; Jake Burdett, Cordley, 11th; Eileen Huang, 14th; Josh Kallenbach, Quail Run, 17th; McCarthy Fitch, Cordley, 18th; and George Wedge, Cordley, 21st.

¢Aaron Landis has been selected president of Theta Chi fraternity at Kansas University. Landis is a junior at KU majoring in American studies. Landis, a 2003 graduate of Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence, is the son of Armin and Nancy Landis, Oskaloosa.

¢Marona Amandla Le Graham-Bailey made the dean’s list for the fall 2005 semester at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. She is the daughter of Maryemma Graham, Lawrence, and Ronald Bailey, Knoxville, Tenn.

¢More than 100 children and adults took part in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County annual Volunteer Recognition dinner Jan. 31 at Plymouth Congregational Church. The event honors businesses and volunteers who have shown support and service to the agency.

Winners of the 2005 awards were Don Edman, Community Based Big Brother of the Year; Bethany Beeghley, Community Based Big Sister of the Year; Dick Wise and Melissa Murphy, Community Based Big Couple of the Year; Mitch Seim and Jeremy, Community Based Match of the Year; Tom Stutz, Bigs in Schools Big Brother of the Year; Shivani Desai, Bigs in Schools Big Sister of the Year; Ione Sells and Tony, Bigs in Schools Match of the Year; Jackson Holden and CJ, Bigs in Schools Long Term Match Award; Steve Lane, Board Member of the Year; Molly McGee’s, Business Partner of the Year; and Lawrence Arts Center, Partnership of the Year.

¢Kendell Schendt, Lawrence, made the honor roll during the 2005 fall semester at North Central Kansas Technical College by receiving at least a 3.0 grade-point average.

¢Tiffany Dorssom, Kansas City, Kan., and Jerry Dudley, Lawrence, announce the birth of their daughter, Alyvia Charlae Dudley, born Jan. 20, 2006, at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. Alyvia has two brothers, Craig Stone and Jailyn Dudley, and two sisters, Trey Dudley and Kaylee Dudley.

Maternal grandparents are Randy Dorssom, Atchison, and Chris and Lisa Ball, Kansas City, Kan. Paternal grandparents are Maxine and Ricky Ross, Atchison.

¢Kori Gilliland and Salvador Alvarado, Fort Worth, Texas, announce the birth of their son, Dylan Salvador Alvarado, born Jan. 16, 2006, at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Dylan has a brother, Nick. Grandparents are Gary and Judy Gilliland, Lawrence; and Santiago and Socorro Alvarado, Kermit, Texas. Great-grandparents are Letha Mae Gilliland, Lawrence, and Salvador Gonzales, Juan Aldama, Zacatecas, Mexico.

¢The Lawrence Accredited Music Teachers’ Assn. will host a recital at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. Students who will be performing are Madeline Dethloff, Sabrea Platz, Di Xie, Hsin-Roe Pan, Wyatt Bugh, Karen McCain, Ben Brill, Will Martin, Hsin-Yi Pan, Elli Young and Cal Young. They represent the studios of Carol Cook and Elaine de San Miguel.

¢Bryan Spangler, Lawrence, made the dean’s list for the fall 2005 semester at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va., by earning at least a 3.4 grade-point average.

¢Family members of Sue Durkin, Eudora, have requested a card shower for her 90th birthday, which was Feb. 10. Cards may be sent to her at 939 Pine St., Apt. 14, Eudora 66025.