Lucas Wempe, Lawrence, was one of five Kansas State University journalism and mass communications students recognized for their on-air talents at the Broadcast Education Association’s 2011 Festival of Media Arts held April 11 in Las Vegas.

Wempe, John Kurtz of Overland Park, and Paul Harris of Indianapolis, earned honorable mention in the specialty audio program category for “3ManWeave,” which aired on K-State’s student radio station, The Wildcat 91.9.

Fort Hays State University announces area students earning bachelor’s degrees for the summer and fall 2010 semesters.

Summer graduates are: Daniel Dulin (general studies) and Travis Mason (justice studies), Lawrence.

Fall graduates are: Candace Gay (elementary education) and Ramin Zangeneh (organizational leadership), Lawrence; Tiffany Robben (zoology), Meriden; Cheryl Sander (general studies), Tonganoxie; and Deanne Yates (general studies), Bonner Springs.

Curtis Smith, Lawrence, was named to the deans’ list for the fall 2010 semester at the University of Delaware in Newark, by earning a minimum grade-point average of 3.33.

Jarrett Lockard, Tecumseh, was one of 12 students from Emporia State University who attended the ninth annual K-INBRE Symposium held Jan. 15-16 in Kansas City, Mo. During the symposium, Lockard offered a poster presentation, “Short-Chain Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Toxicity: Influence of Anion,” with B.M. Miller and M.M. Bailey.

Drs. Marisa Dahlman and James Bartscher, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., announce the birth of their son, Max Erik Bartscher, on April 28, 2011, in West Bloomfield, Mich.

Max has a sister, Sophie Annika Bartscher, 2.

His maternal grandparents are Celia and Carl Dahlman, Chevy Chase, Md.; and his paternal grandparents are Beverly and Bill Bartscher, Lawrence.

Ashley Morris, Linwood, a student at Basehor-Linwood High School, attended the Honors & Scholarships and Fine Arts Day Feb. 12 at Bethany College.

High school seniors and transfer students interested in studio art, art education, art administration, art therapy or graphic design attended. Students brought their portfolios, which were reviewed by faculty to select recipients of art performance awards.

Dave Ranney, senior editor/writer for the Kansas Health Institute and a former reporter for the Lawrence-Journal World, was named this year’s recipient of the Helen Fluker Open and Accessible Government Award. The award was established in 1998 in memory of Helen Fluker, a longtime member who served both the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County and the League of Women Voters of Kansas in many capacities. LWVL-DC confers the award each year to a Douglas County resident whose efforts have promoted improvement in government. Ranney was honored March 12 during a luncheon at the Brandon Woods Smith Center.

The 57th annual Fleming Bailey Rice Reunion will be held June 5 at the Community Building in Melvern. A potluck dinner is planned for 1 p.m. followed by a short business meeting with time to visit. Melvern, located in Osage County, is on K-31 a few miles north of I-35 (exit 160). For more information, call 331-9598 or e-mail jhawkpride@yahoo.com.

Oklahoma City University announces area students named to its honor roll for the fall 2010 semester. Students who maintain a grade-point average of 3.9 are named to the president’s honor roll, and those earning a GPA of 3.5 are named to the dean’s honor roll.

Area students are: Jessica Prather (dean’s list), Lawrence; and Olivia Brien (president’s list), Oskaloosa.

Daphne Phillips, Lawrence, was one of nine Washburn University students who traveled to New Orleans to participate in a Leadership Exchange program March 18-22. The students attended and co-facilitated sessions at the Spring Leadership Conference on University of New Orleans’ campus and shared thoughts, perspectives and experiences about leadership with a group of young leaders from a unique part of the county.

Danielle and Richard Stephens, Lawrence, announce the birth of their daughter, Evelyn Patsy Stephens, on May 7, 2011, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center.

Evelyn has a sister, Cydnee Price, 5.

Her maternal grandparents are Mark Shuck, Baldwin City, and Janna Shuck, Ottawa; and her paternal grandparents are Mark and Casondra Stephens, Sterling.

Her great-grandparents are Warren and Elsie Shuck, Baldwin City, and Bill and Rexanna Sanders, Lawrence.

Lawrence High School’s Class of 1991 will have a 20 year reunion this Memorial Day Weekend. For more information, visit lawrencehigh1991.com.

Laura Swan, 1999 honor graduate of Free State High School, graduated magna cum laude on May 22 from Boston University. Swan majored in religion and minored in anthropology, and served as vice president of the Women’s Interfaith Action Group.

Midway through her studies at BU, she took a leave of absence to pursue studies in yoga, spirituality and holistic healing while living in Hawaii and San Diego. Swan returned to BU to complete her bachelor’s degree in 2009. During her final spring semester of undergraduate studies, she participated in BU’s study abroad program in Haifa, Israel.

She presently lives in Boston where she runs her own business, teaching yoga, facilitating retreats, and focusinig on women’s healing, empowerment and spirituality. Swan commutes monthly to Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology. Swan plans to integrate her experience with yoga and holistic healing as well as her studies in the field of psychology into her practice as a psychotherapist, educator and speaker.

Rachel Gardner, Lawrence, donated a handmade ceramic bowl to the fundraiser Bowls of Hope sponsored by Leadership Mitchell County Alumni and Post Rock Humane Society as part of her ceramics studio focus class at Bethany College. The March 12 event was held in the Beloit Municipal Building.

Emily McFarland, Winchester, spent spring break in Las Vegas, while participating in PLIA (Putting Love Into Action), a mission program with Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.

McFarland and other Dordt College students worked at an after-school child care center, a battered women’s shelter, a food shelter, and the Las Vegas Gospel Mission.