Lisa and Rob Large, Tonganoxie, announce the birth of their son, Conlan Large, on Dec. 26, 2009, at Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

Conlan has a sister, Kenisen Large, 2.

His maternal grandparents are Ron and Linda Eberle, Glen Elder; and his paternal grandparents are Jim and Sharon Large, Weston, Mo.

Kate Albrecht, daughter of Ken and Nancy Albrecht of Lawrence, was district first place winner in the Lions Club International Peace Poster Contest, sponsored by Lawrence Noon Lions Club. Albrecht, who also placed second in the state, was honored Jan. 16 at the Lions Mid-Winter Rally in Salina. The theme for the contest was “The Power of Peace.”

Other local award winners were:

Lawrence Boys & Girls Club — Langston Hughes School: Danielle Morrison, first; and Fiona McAllister, second.

Veritas Christian School: Reagan Kanter, first; Adam Sale, second; and Chaeyoung Park, third.

Bishop Seabury Academy: Albrecht, first; Mickayla Starkey, second; and Elizabeth Padgett, third.

One hundred fifty players from northeast Kansas and the Kansas City metropolitan area participated in Lawrence High School’s first scholastic chess tournament Feb. 13 at LHS. Central Junior High and Sunflower schools won first place team trophies in K-9 and K-6. In K-12, LHS placed second, while Southwest Junior High School finished second and South Junior High School, third in K-9. Sunflower’s Apramay Mishra was the individual champion in K-6.

Lawrence-area medal winners in K-12 were: Thomas Clark, Free State High School, third; Brandon Marcure, LHS, ninth; Roy Wedge, LHS, 10th; Jacob Wilson, LHS, 14th; Carl Peterson, LHS, 16th; Doug Rawlings, LHS, 17th; and Kirk Yager, LHS, 19th.

In K-9: Austin Bailey, Central, second; Eddie Wilson, Central, third; Kaustubh Nimkar, Southwest, fifth; Aaron Simon, West Junior High School, sixth; Sam Beaulieu, Central, seventh; Andrei Elliott, Southwest, ninth; Joseph Miller, West, 12th; Robert Newman, South, 15th; Owen McFadden, South, 16th; Darren Rawlings, South, 18th; and Dustin Hauptman, SWJH, 20th.

In K-6: Ting-Ting Shi, Quail Run, ninth; Kelsey Jian, Sunflower, 10th; and Jackson Maher, Cordley, 19th.

Jarvis Doleman, Lawrence, was named to the dean’s list with honors for the fall 2009 semester at the University of Tennessee at Martin, by earning a grade-point average between 3.2 and 3.49.

Lawrence schools dominated the Jan. 30 Onaga High School Chess Tournament in Onaga. Lawrence High, West Junior High and Cordley claimed first-place team trophies in K-12, K-8, and K-6, respectively. In K-8, Central Junior High School was second and South Junior High School, third. In K-6, Quail Run earned the second place team trophy.

Lawrence players also swept the individual championships, with Southwest Junior High School’s Venkata Malladi taking first in K-12; West’s Joseph Miller, first in K-8; and Quail Run’s Ting-Ting Shi, first in K-6.

Other Lawrence medal winners were:

• In K-12: Sam Beaulieu, Central, second; Eddie Wilson, Central, third; Aaron Simons, West, fifth; Andrei Elliott, Southwest, sixth; Kirk Yager, LHS, seventh; Jacob Wilson, LHS, ninth; Carl Peterson, LHS, 10th; and Douglas Rawlings, LHS, 14th.

• In K-8: Tom Brooks, West, second; George Wedge, Central, third; and Darren Rawlings, South, fourth.

• In K-6: Andrew Wettengel, Cordley, second; and Emilynn Wettengel, Cordley, third.

Rosemary O’Malley, Lawrence, was named to the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s list at Loyola University of Chicago, by earning a grade-point average of at least 3.5 for the fall 2009 semester.

O’Malley is a 2009 graduate of Free State High School.

The Lawrence Accredited Music Teachers conducted a Feb. 4 recital at the Lawrence Arts Center. Students of Carol Cook, Jean Drumm, Elaine De San Miguel and Eric Sakamura who performed were: Brian Chang, Ava Cormaney, Isabelle Erickson, Rachel Gitter, Rita Joseph, Regan Keller, Jessica Willis, Amelia Murray, Jessica Chen, Jeffrey Chen, Angela Young, Calvin Yost-Wolff, Wyatt Bugh, Maria Matamoros, Rebecca Feng, Ryan Duan, Ben Katz, Sarah Miller and Anya Combs.

Area youths participated in the Douglas County Spelling Bee on Feb. 6 at Southwest Junior High School. They were: Grace Baxter, Marion Springs; Sydney Combs, New York; Charlotte Crandall, Sunflower; Caleb Downs, Schwegler; Sydney Gard, Deerfield; Juliana Hill, St. John Catholic School; Nikita Imafidon, Southwest; Nick Joslyn, Baldwin Junior High; Ethan Kallenberger, Quail Run; Easton Kewley, Eudora Middle; Henry Letner, Baldwin Elementary; Ginny Nace, Central Junior High; Leah Novinger, Kennedy; Stefan Petrovic, Broken Arrow; Blake Reed, Eudora Elementary; Meredith Shaheed, Langston Hughes; Thomas Silvestri, Corpus Christi Catholic School; Hannah Spriggs, Vinland Elementary; Emma Steimle, Hillcrest; Anina Supernaw, Pinckney; Bryce Torneden, Sunset Hill; Genevieve Voigt, Wakarusa Valley; Isaac Ward, Bishop Seabury Academy; Helen Weis, Raintree Montessori; and Maddie White, Woodlawn.

Megan Andrews, Lawrence, was named to the School of Education dean’s list for the fall 2009 semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Schools or colleges typically require students to rank in the top 10 percent of their class or earn a grade-point average of 3.75 or higher to achieve the honor.