Monica and Bret Dittmer, Lawrence, announce the birth of their son, Cayden William Dittmer, born Sept. 27, 2006, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. His maternal grandparents are Linda Randall, Lawrence, and William Randall, Spring Hill. His paternal grandparents are Mark and Lana Dittmer, Spring Hill. His great-grandparents are Norman and Alice Youngman, Jamesport, Mo.; Giles and Hilda Dittmer, Melcher-Dallas, Iowa; and Jeane Randall, Louisburg.

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The Dazzler Dance Teams will conduct a Scrapbooking Day fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 at their studio, 925 Iowa, Suite O.

For a $20 registration fee, visitors may purchase scrapbooking supplies from several vendors and work on their projects. Hourly drawings also will be featured.

The Dazzler Dance Teams provide an opportunity for girls ages 3-18 to experience performance and competition opportunities regardless of financial restrictions, ability, body size and mental or physical handicaps.

To register, call 749-2251 or send e-mail to mtravis@

sunflower.com.

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Southwest Junior High School won first place in the K-12 division of the Washburn Rural High School Chess Tournament on Oct. 21 in Topeka. In the K-6 division, claiming team trophies were Quail Run School, second; Cordley School, third; and Wakarusa Valley School, fourth.

Individual medal winners in K-12 were SWJH students Peter Lesslie, first; Thomas Reams, second; Alan Shi, third; Kellen Cross, ninth; Keely Stenseng, 10th; and Jason Chang, 18th. Roy Wedge, of Central Junior High School, took 50th.

Individual medal winners in K-6 were Cal Young, Wakarusa Valley, third; Cole Reams, Quail Run, fourth; Aaron Simon, Quail Run, fifth; Robert Newman, Wakarusa Valley, sixth; Zack Curran, Cordley, eighth; Eddie Wilson, Cordley, ninth; Roscoe Bradt, Cordley, 10th; Andrei Elliott, Quail Run, 11th; Venkata Malladi, Quail Run, 13th; Jonathan Lesslie, Quail Run, 16th; Austin Bailey, Quail Run, 17th; Siyin Li, Hillcrest, 19th; McCarthy Fitch, Cordley, 20th; Byron McClelland, Cordley, 22nd; Eileen Huang, Quail Run, 25th; Charles Hopkins, Cordley, 26th; George Wedge, Cordley, 30th; Ting-Ting Shi, Quail Run, 38th; Atticus Madden, Quail Run, 44th; and Colin Bradt, Cordley, 49th.

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Sarah Szabo, a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., is spending the 2006 fall term studying in Costa Rica. She is participating in a 15-week interdisciplinary program that provides a comprehensive understanding of life in Latin America.

In addition to courses in language, literature, politics and anthropology, Szabo is participating in field trips and will conduct two weeks of individual field research in a rural area.

During the program, she is living with a host family in the capital city of San Jose.

Szabo is the daughter of Robert and Margo Szabo, Lawrence, and a 2003 graduate of Lawrence High School.

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Kelty Blagg, 8, Lawrence, will have her art-comics submission published in the January 2007 issue of Highlights Magazine.

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Julie Schwarting and Wendie Wilcken, of the Lawrence school district, and Ryan Cobbs, Angie Flax and Michelle Gray, of the Ottawa school district, attended a seminar on improving student achievement in reading Tuesday at Emporia State University. More than 40 educators from across Kansas attended the workshop, which was called “Countdown to AYP with Reading Sprints.”