Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
9:11 am Thursday, May 31, 2001

Local students take top honors

By Staff
NEW ORLEANS Ryan Kelly McLemore has graduated cum laude from Tulane University School of Law. He is scheduled to take the Georgia bar exam in July.
He is the son of Joseph A. Cefalu and Sandra Riley Cefalu, formerly of Quitman, and Donnie McLemore, formerly of Meridian. He is the grandson of Lena Riley of Quitman and the late Morris Riley and Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss McLemore of Enterprise.
Seven Meridian Community College students have been recognized as the first Jean Winright Scholars. The $1,000 scholarships are the first to be funded by an endowment established by a bequest from Jean Winright of Meridian in 1999. The $145,000 scholarship endowment is the largest for MCC students to date.
The recipients are: Meridian High School graduates Sammie Cole, freshman in the university transfer program and Dusti Herrington Parker, a sophomore in nursing; Clarkdale High School graduates Kelly Dabbs, freshman music education major and Laura Hoffman, freshman in the university transfer program; Northeast High School graduate Justin McDonald and Southeast High School graduate Courtney Nelson, both completing their freshman year in the university transfer program; and Ryan Satcher, Lamar High School graduate, who is studying physical therapy.
Melissa Brents, a sophomore at Northeast High School, has been named a Kodak Young Leader under a national program sponsored by Eastman Kodak Company.
Students are chosen for the program based on leadership and academic achievement. She is now eligible to apply for a University of Rochester Young Leader Scholarship worth up to $6,000 annually for four years. Brents is the daughter of Dallas and Barbara Brents.
The following students received awards during the Northwest Junior High School Academic Banquet on May 17:
All A's Plaques: Anna Allred, Karen Allred, Caroline Andero, Christopher Banta, Jessica Curry, Matthew Deweese, Jessica Farrar, Amber Felton, Jon Flint, Andrew Gambrell, Lauren Harley, Zandrea Harris, Andrew Havron, Jessica Hawn, Alyshia Hicks, Sarah Holley, Mitchell Johnson, Sarah King, Jessica Litton, Jessica Lucovich, Jeffrey May, Matt Owen, Hallie Pearson, April Pierce, Jessica Rose and Christie Vaughn.
Subject Matter Awards: Jeff Brantley, Jerry Reynolds 2001 Social Studies Award, Amelia Graeser Ninth Grade English Award; Andrew Havron, U.S. History Award, Eighth Grade Mathematics Award, Eighth Grade Outstanding Band Student; Jon Flint, Ninth Grade Mathematics Award, Ninth Grade Biology Award, Technology Discovery Award; Jessica Lucovich, Ruth Fields Eighth Grade English Award; Nicole Burton, Don Laird Eighth Grade Science Award; Jeffrey May, Outstanding Spanish Student; Chris Williams, Artistic Accomplishment Award; Loreen Baker, Ninth Grade Outstanding Band Student; Bree Wiginton, Outstanding Strings Student; Kyle Boswell, Computer Discovery Award; Tiffany McCarty, Junior ROTC Award; Kate Crawford, Reading Award.
Jeffrey May was also the recipient of the Principal's Award. Faye Gullette was named Teacher of the Year and Holly Crane was named Parent of the Year.
DECATUR Shelly Riser of Forest, a 2001 graduate of the associate degree nursing program at East Central Community College, recently attended the National Student Nursing Association's annual convention in Nashville, Tenn.
Riser served this past year as first vice president of the Mississippi Association of Student Nurses. She is the first ECCC nursing student selected to attend the four-day conference. She is the daughter of Pete and Donna Riser of Forest.

Also on Franklin County Times
Mayor updates status of downtown buildings
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 3, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Mayor Greg Williams told councilmembers during their Nov. 18 meeting efforts are still ongoing to get a group of downtown buildings co...
HB 65 would benefit seniors
Main, News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 3, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Seniors in Franklin County could see longterm relief on rising property taxes under a proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution th...
55-year tradition connects family
Main, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 3, 2025
SPRUCE PINE — Regina Jackson’s home has been the gathering place for her family for more than five decades. It’s where they’ve shared songs, games, an...
Dual enrollment students explore county’s history
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 3, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Students from Belgreen and Vina stepped out of their online history class and into Franklin County’s past this fall as part of a dual e...
Close the crypto loophole before it hurts rural areas
Columnists, Opinion
December 3, 2025
As the state representative for a largely rural district in Alabama, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside farmers, small business owners, and f...
Making room for meaningful moments
Columnists, Opinion
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 3, 2025
December arrives quickly, even when we think we are prepared for it. Lights go up, schedules fill, and daylight disappears earlier each afternoon. It ...
8 place in 2 divisions
Franklin County, Sports
December 3, 2025
Franklin County Anglers teams competed recently in a tournament that included both junior and senior divisions. In the Junior Division, Eli Boyd and T...
RHS girls beat Red Bay, boys lose to Tigers
High School Sports, Red Bay Tigers, Russellville Golden Tigers, ...
Brannon King For the FCT 
December 3, 2025
The Russellville varsity basketball teams opened the home portion of their seasons with a battle with the Red Bay Tigers. The RHS girls got a 75-50 wi...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *