Names in the news

MISS TEXAS JUNIOR TEEN
>> Taylor Leigh Sheets, daughter of Leonard and Debbie Sheets of Seminole, was crowned National American Miss Texas in the 13- to 15-year-old junior teen division at the state pageant July 28 in Dallas.
Taylor will move on to compete in the national pageant held during Thanksgiving week in Anaheim, Calif.
Taylor is a junior at Seminole High School where she is in varsity cheerleading, speech and debate team and student council.
She is a member of the Solid Rock youth group at First Baptist Church. Her grandparents are Pearl Sheets, Don and Raylene Gleghorn.
The National American Miss Pageant program is based on inner beauty, as well as poise and presentation.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of gaining self-confidence, learning new skills, learning good attitudes about competition and setting and achieving personal goals. Each year, the National American Miss Pageants awards 1.5 million dollars in cash, scholarships and prizes to recognize and assist the development of young women nationwide.
SCHOLARSHIPS
>> Jordan Beal, 14, of Odessa, was awarded a dance scholarship at the Company Dance Convention /Competition recently held in Dallas.
Professional dancers /teachers/ choreographers recognized three advance dancers from the hundreds dancers in attendance. Dancers were awarded scholarships based on their technical abilities in ballet, jazz and future potential in the dance world.
>> The Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation recently awarded scholarships to Kayli Kristine Martell, Spenser Edward Bowhay and Leslie R. Vorce for the 2008-09 academic year.
Scholarships are awarded yearly to applicants demonstrating a strong academic record, extracurricular involvement, leadership and service.
The recipients, all of whom are dependents of employees of Koch Industries Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and Canada, are selected by an independent panel of judges with expertise in the field of education.
Martell is the daughter of Joe and Gina Schippers and Bob Martell. She plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin.
Spenser is the son of Glenn and Holly Bowhay. He plans to attend the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Vorce, picture not available, is the daughter of George and Barbara Vorce. She plans to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

INTERIM DIRECTOR
>> BIG SPRINGS Chris Bacorn, Ph.D., FACHE, has been appointed the interim director for the West Texas Veterans Administration Health Care System according to Susan Bowers, VISN 18 (Veterans Integrated Service Network) Network director
Michael Bell, former director, has accepted a position in the Network Office as the special assistant to the Deputy Network director.

PUBLICATIONS
>> ALPINE The first article of a trilogy by Sul Ross State University faculty member Martin Terry has been published in the current issue of Cactus and Succulent Journal (2008 Volume 80 No. 4).
Terry, assistant professor of Biology, wrote, "Stalking the Wild Lophophora," regarding his journey to the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila to locate populations of the cactus genus Lophophora (peyote) and to collect tissue samples for DNA analysis. The second part of his journey, "Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas," will be published in a forthcoming issue. 
>> ALPINE John D. Seebach, project archaeologist at Sul Ross State University's Center for Big Bend Studies, recently published a paper in American Antiquity, the leading journal for archaeological scholarship in the U.S.
Seebach, with two colleagues, co-authored "Spatial Variability in the Folson Archaeological Record: A Multi-Scalar Approach," published in Vol 73, No. 3 of American Antiquity. Brian N. Andrews of Rogers State University and Jason M. LaBelle, Colorado State University, collaborated with Seebach.
The paper questions leading models of landscape use and mobility among Folsom foragers (10,850-10,200 B.P.) by looking at site size, the number of artifacts found per site, and the evidence for site reoccupation. Current conceptions of Folsom adaptation hold that these hunter-gatherers were highly mobile, moving great distances at a near constant pace, in pursuit of bison.
The authors' findings, however, suggest that Folsom peoples were not as mobile, and that they occupied certain areas for much longer periods of time than expected. More fundamentally, they question the role of bison in shaping movement across the landscape. Instead, we believe more stable resources, such as water, wood and stone for tool production were paramount, or at the very least, as equally as important as bison herds in shaping the Folsom way of life.
>> ALPINE Donald Freed, Sul Ross State University associate professor of music, will present a paper at the fourth International Conference on the Physiology and Acoustics of Singing (PAS) Jan. 7-10, 2009 at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Freed's paper will deal with stroke, singing and the teaching of singing, arising from his experience as a stroke victim.

HONOR
>> Dean's Marine Inc. was recognized as one of the Top 10 Platinum Dealers in the United States at the 2009 Skeeter Boats Dealer Meeting held in Frisco. The award is based on sales of Skeeter Boats and customer service.
Dean Salyards and his son, Dennis Salyards began Dean's Marine in the late 70's. Now owned and operated by Dennis Salyards, they also have locations in Abilene and San Angelo. They offer a full line of boat, ATV and personal watercraft sales and service.