Around and About for Dec. 24, 2011

The Cordley School chess tournament was Dec. 10 at the Kansas Union. Lawrence’s Free State High School (K-12), Southwest Middle School (K-8), Prairie Park (K-5) and Quail Run (K-3) swept the second-place trophies; third-place trophies went to Southwest (K-12), Langston Hughes (K-5) and Raintree (K-3). With more than 200 players competing in the tournament and coming from as far away as Wichita, Lawrence Virtual School’s Jack Easton was the only local individual champion, earning first in K-5.

Local medal winners in K-12: Venkata Malladi, Free State, fifth; Eddie Wilson, Lawrence High School, seventh; Sam Beaulieu, FSHS, eighth; Kiana Hajiarbabi, Southwest, 10th; Aaron Simon, FSHS, 11th; Kelsey Jian, Southwest, 16th; Kaustubh Nimkar, LHS, 18th; Ryan Duan, Quail Run, 21st; Joseph Miller, FSHS, 22nd; John Ely, Southwest, 25th; Ting-Ting Shi, Southwest, 26th; Lane Quick, LHS, 27th; and Thomas Peterson, LHS, 28th.

In K-8: Diane Camarda, West Middle School, second; Jeffrey Wilson, Southwest, fourth; Alex Trujillo, West, fifth; Jonathan Lesslie, Southwest, seventh; Camaron Edgecomb, West, eighth; Jackson Maher, Central Middle School, 10th; Ilya Schaeffer, Southwest, 11th; Maxwell Briggs, 21st Century Learning Academy, 12th; Shahrzad Hajiarbabi, Southwest, 15th; Edward Reyes, Southwest, 23rd; Michael Pate, West, 25th; Matthew De Guzman, Southwest, 26th; and Bennett Haase-Divine, West, 27th.

In K-5: William Schellman, Prairie Park, eighth; Shrivatsa Malladi, Langston Hughes, 10th; Lincoln Edgecomb, Sunset Hills, 12th; Rajin Nagpa, Sunflower, 13th; Liam Hoey-Kummerow, Cordley, 14th; Ben Hoopes, Cordley, 16th; Sebi Brown, Cordley, 18th; Devin Stark, Prairie Park, 20th; Myles Palmer, Langston Hughes, 21st; Jasmine Mihu, Prairie Park, 22nd; Colin Greenfield, Prairie Park, 24th; Ethan Carroll, Langston Hughes, 25th; Emily Gordon-Ross, Prairie Park, 26th; Tyson Dent, Langston Hughes, 27th; Gannon Hill, Prairie Park, 29th; and Nati Zicker, Sunset Hills, 30th.

In K-3: Oliver Rubenstein, Raintree, fourth; Caleb Prescott, Sunset Hills, fifth; Krishi Sabarwal, Quail Run, seventh; Bryce Erickson, Raintree, ninth; Guthrie Bricker, Cordley, 11th; Baker Anderson, Sunflower, 15th; Giovanni Ventello, Cordley, 16th; Wheeler Battaglia-Davis, Cordley, 17th; Kyle Devore, Quail Run, 20th; Annelise Hoopes, Cordley, 21st; Samuel Gordon-Ross, Prairie Park, 24th; Sam Hertzog, Raintree, 25th; Steven Duan, Quail Run, 26th; Jocelyn Wilson, Sunflower, 27th; Alec Wilson, Quail Run, 28th; and Ben Shyrock, Cordley, 29th.

The family of Daisey P. Deay is hosting a birthday reception for family and friends from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Baldwin City Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, 1223 Orchard Lane, Baldwin City. Mrs. Deay will turn 99 on Jan. 5. Cards may be sent to Mrs. Deay at the center.

These Lawrence students have earned academic honors for the fall semester at Bethel College in North Newton:

On the dean’s list, with grade-point averages between 3.7 and 4.0, are Laurel Nagengast, freshman, Adam Ewy, sophomore, and Genevieve Rucker, senior.

On the honor roll, with grade-point averages between 3.5 and 3.69 are Riley King, freshman, and Anna Cook, senior.

Nicholas James Burkart of Lawrence received a Bachelor of Science degree in PGA golf management from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Dec. 16.

Army Pvt. Jordan M. Briones, a 2010 Tonganoxie High School graduate, has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

Area students have accepted scholarships to Fort Hays State University for the 2011-2012 academic year. From McLouth: Jennifer Blevins accepted a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in leadership studies and a $700 Fort Hays Bronze Academic Award. She is majoring in leadership studies.

From Tonganoxie: Katelyn Colgrove accepted a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. She plans a career in athletic training.

The Kansas University Public Management Center has announced this year’s graduates of the Kansas Certified Public Manager (CPM) program. The graduation ceremony was Nov. 18 at the Capitol in Topeka. The 79 graduates, who began their course in January, represented local, county, state or federal agencies, as well as utilities, from across Kansas.

Graduates from Lawrence: Crystal J. Austin, with Black Hills Energy; Linda K. Bruce, with KU’s Center for Research Inc.; Eve A. Kemple, with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office; Mark R. Pennel, with Black Hills Energy; Patrick L. Pollock, with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office; Matthew T. Pool, with Douglas County Youth Services; Amanda M. Reusch, with Douglas County Emergency Communications; Jillian K. Rodrigue, with Douglas County Emergency Management; Stacy L. Simmons, with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office; Richard L. Ziesenis, with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.

Megan Case, a McLouth High School graduate, received the Uncle Tom Watkins Memorial Scholarship Nov. 2 at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., for her academic achievements. Case is a junior majoring in animal science.

Kelly Rockers graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center on Nov. 18. Rockers is employed by Kansas Wildlife Parks and Tourism in Lawrence. Rockers and the other graduates, who began their training Aug. 15, represented 39 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas. Graduates receive certificates of course completion from KLETC and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, the state’s law enforcement licensing authority.

Students studying piano and horn performance at Kansas University were named winners at the Music Teachers National Association auditions on Nov. 5-6 at Emporia State University:

• Junior Piano Competition winner: Chaeyoung Park, student of professors Jack Winerock and Scott McBride Smith, a student at Veritas Christian School, Lawrence.

• Senior Piano Competition winner: Mingtian Zhao Yang, student of professor Steven Spooner, from Hainan, China.

• Young Artist Piano Competition winner: Inge Buniardi, student of professor Spooner, from Jakarta, Indonesia.

• Senior Piano Duet Competition alternates: Mingtian Zhao Yang and Luke Rhodes, students of professor Smith. Rhodes is from Lawrence.

• Young Artist Piano Competition alternate: Crystal Lam, student of professor Winerock, from Hong Kong.

• Chamber Music Competition state representative: Wakarusa Horn Trio (Evan Flynn, violin; Michael Cooper, French horn; Crystal Lam, piano), coached by professor Smith. Flynn is from Baraboo, Wis. Cooper is from Bonner Springs.

• Young Artist Brass Competition winner: Michael Cooper, student of professor Paul Stevens.

• Young Artist Brass Competition runner up: Jamie Sanborn, student of professor Stevens, from Wichita.

Prize winners will go on to participate in the regional MTNA competition at the University of Colorado in January.

Two area residents have been named to the Dean’s List at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia for fall quarter 2011 for having a grade-point average of 3.5 or above: Terry Barnett, of Linwood, and Rebecca Dreifuss, of Tonganoxie.

Preston Randall, a senior at Veritas Christian School in Lawrence, received a nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy from U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan. The nomination sends Randall’s name to the academy, which will determine whether Randall meets requirements for admission.

Jason Champagne, of Baldwin City, graduated from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks on Aug. 5, with a Bachelor of Science in community nutrition.