Callie and Paul Castro, Shawnee, announce the birth of their daughter, Sophia Castro, Nov. 5, 2008, at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park. Sophia has a sister, Mia, 2.

Her maternal grandparents are Lynn Shultz, and Jim and Mary Shultz, all of Lawrence; paternal grandparents are Donna and Louis Castro, Kansas City, Kan.; and great-grandparents are Loyd and Colleen Wilson, Topeka.

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Congressman Jerry Moran announced that Tom Bush, son of John and Ann Bush, Lawrence, is serving as a congressional intern in his Washington, D.C., office. Bush is assisting Moran with legislative and administrative duties on behalf of the people of Kansas. Bush, a 2004 graduate of Lawrence High School, also earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington and Lee University in 2008. He currently lives in Washington and plans to continue working on Capitol Hill following the internship. Bush co-founded Lawrence’s Chapter of Young Republicans in 2003.

Congressman Moran also announced that Matt Manda, son of Ed and Kathy Manda, Lawrence, has joined his Hays office as a district representative. Manda will help Moran respond to the concerns of Kansans and will manage various issues relating to the office.

Manda, a 2001 graduate of LHS, also earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kansas University. His previous work experience includes working as a legislative assistant to Kansas Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt and as a field director for Nick Jordan for Congress.

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Shuang Jiang, Lawrence, received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s winter commencement.

The ceremony was Dec. 21 at the Kohl Center and Ben Schumaker, a UW-Madison alumnus who founded The Memory Project, addressed the graduates.

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Billie Burtrum, Lawrence, was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa honor society at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Miami, Okla. Burtrum, a freshman, is a physical therapy assistant major.

Phi Theta Kappa is an honor society for two-year colleges. To become a member, students must complete at least 12 hours of courses and maintain a 3.5 grade-point average.

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Matthew Farrier, Lawrence, was named to the dean’s list at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, by earning a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher during the fall 2008 semester.

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Col. Terry Maple, Kansas Highway Patrol superintendent, congratulated 49 graduates of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center at a Feb. 13 ceremony at the 4-H Encampment Building at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson. The graduates, who began their training Oct. 20, represented 35 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. They were the 200th basic training class of graduates. Graduates receive certificates of course completion and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, the state’s law enforcement licensing authority. Area graduates were:

Basehor Police Department: Michael Joslyn, patrolman.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Department: Vince Gonzalez, deputy.

KU Public Safety Office: Marie Haynes, officer.

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Jill and Ryan Adams, Denver, announce the birth of their daughter, Harper Wray Adams, Feb. 24, 2009, in Denver.

Her maternal grandparents are John and Janet Adams, Lawrence; paternal grandparents are Chuck and Cindy Wright, Madison Lake, Minn.; and great-grandmother Adelaine Wright, Mankato, Minn.

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Southwest Junior High School won the first place team trophy in the K-9 section March 14 at the Kansas Scholastic Chess Association’s Kansas State Championships in Wichita. Also winning team trophies were Quail Run, second in K-6; Central Junior High, fourth in K-8; and Cordley, fifth in K-6. Lawrence High School finished fifth in 6A as well.

Individual champions from Lawrence were: Alan Shi, SWJH, in K-9 and Apramay Mishra, Sunflower, in K-5. Other Lawrence medalists were:

In K-12: Roy Wedge, LHS, 11th; Thomas Clark, Free State High School, 17th; and Carl Peterson, LHS, 40th.

In K-9: Venkata Malladi, ninth; Andrei Elliott, 11th; and Luke Lesslie, 13th, all from SWJH.

In K-8: Eddie Wilson, Central Junior High School, 10th; Aaron Simon, West Junior High School, 14th; Sam Beaulieu, CJHS, 19th; Owen McFadden, South Junior High School, 31st; Austin Bailey, CJHS, 38th; and Ian Gent, CJHS, 52nd.

In K-6: Sam Stephens, Quail Run, second; Wynn Feddema, Quail Run, fourth; Kaustubh Nimkar, Sunflower, fifth; Robert Newman, Wakarusa Valley, seventh; Joseph Miller, Quail Run, eighth; Roscoe Bradt, Cordley, ninth; Josh Kallenbach, Quail Run, 11th; Jonathan Lesslie, Quail Run, 20th; Jackson Maher, Cordley, 26th; McCarthy Fitch, Cordley, 27th; and Tom Brooks, Quail Run, 28th.

In K-3: Ting-Ting Shi, Quail Run, 13th; Cole Burenhide, Quail Run, 40th; John Ely, Sunflower, 44th; Shrivatsa Malladi, Langston Hughes, 50th; Claire Feddema, Quail Run, 65th; Lacey Greenfield, Prairie Park, 68th; and Cassandra Ludlum, Quail Run, 72nd.

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Melissa C. Reinhard, formerly of Lawrence, is a first-year law student at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, in Dallas. She earned a paralegal certificate from Johnson County Community College in 2004 and worked as a paralegal for three years at Armstrong Teasdale LLP in Kansas City, Mo., and at Baker Botts LLP in Dallas.

Reinhard is also a 1997 graduate of Lawrence High School and a 2002 graduate of Kansas University.

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The Johnson County Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Iota Gamma, was recognized for its accomplishments during the past year at the Hallmark Awards Banquet, part of the PTK Kansas Region Convention on March 6-8 in Wichita. Denise Fernandes, Lawrence, was elected vice president of the Northern Kansas Region of Phi Theta Kappa for 2009-10.

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Grace Hildenbrand, Lawrence, attended Scholarship Day on March 7 at Southwestern College in Winfield. Scholarship Day is an invitation-only event for students officially accepted into SC and awarded academic scholarships at the college. Students were presented academic certificates and gifts by Southwestern College president Richard Merriman.

Hildenbrand is the daughter of Greg and Carrie Hildenbrand and attends Lawrence High School.

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Kelly and Shane Lindemyer, Lawrence, announce the birth of their daughter, Claire Elizabeth Lindemyer, March 13, 2009, at The Birthplace in Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka.

Her maternal grandparents are Kathy and Marvin Parks, Topeka, and Daniel Jones, Olathe; and great-grandparents are Bob and Mary Bodenheimer, Topeka;

Her paternal grandmother was the late Kim Lindemyer and great-grandmother was the late Norma Lindemyer.