Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
11:28 pm Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Excellence in education

By Staff
April 19, 2001
HATTIESBURG Kimberly Amanda Burden, a senior psychology major at the University of Southern Mississippi, received an Academic Achievement Award for Academic Excellence, an Outstanding Scholastic Achievement and Excellence Membership in the Golden Key National Honor Society, she is a lifetime member of Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology, a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Academic Honor Society and has an Outstanding Scholastic Achievement and Worthy Character membership in the chapter of The Gamma Beta Phi Society.
She is a 1998 graduate of Meridian High School and is the daughter of Charles Burden of Meridian and Amanda and Jimmy Shelton of Toomsuba.
April Hand of Meridian has been named an All-American Scholar by the United States Achievement Academy.
The All-American Scholars must earn a 3.3 or higher grade point average.
Hand attends Clarkdale and was nominated by Mrs. Rainer. She will appear in the All-American Scholar Yearbook.
Hand is the daughter of Larry and Brenda Hand of Meridian.
JACKSON Julie Skipper of Meridian was selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa at Millsaps College.
The honor society recognizes and encourages excellence in liberal arts.
Skipper, a senior majoring in art history, is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Sigma Tau Delta and Order or Omega honoraries. She plans to attend Vanderbilt University Law School after graduation from Millsaps.
She is the daughter of Ed and Phyllis Skipper of Meridian.
Keri McDill, a junior at Newton County High School, received a perfect score on the Functional Literacy Examination, the exiting exam for graduating seniors.
Brandon Harper of Meridian has been named a United States National Award Winner in Leadership.
Harper attends Southeast High School and was nominated for the award by Cheryl Bean. He will appear in the United States Achievement Academy Official Yearbook.
Harper is the son of Marty and Patsy Harper of Meridian.
Sarah M. Balzli has been named to the Dean's Honor List for the fall semester at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Balzli spent the fall semester studying at the University of Notre Dame's London campus in Great Britain. Sarah is a junior majoring in English and is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Tom Balzli of Meridian.
The following Clarkdale students were named to the Honor Roll for the third nine weeks:
First Grade
Dylan Agent, Luke Birchett, Tyler Bye, John Caldwell, Brandi Caraway, Kennedy Castleberry, Harley Cochran, Sydney Dawkins, Paige Floyd, Paige Gower, Alexandria Harwell, Chad Hinton, Jessica Jackson, Aaron Jones, Slater Lott, Bailey McElroy, Michael Moody, Katelyn Shirley, Morgan Slusher, Raven Stephens, Matthew Taylor, Gregory Thomas, Ashley Tinsley, Brettany Waltman and Jacob Welborn.
Second Grade
Ashley Garrett, Thomas Graham, Katie Gunter, Emily Hodge, Jordan Hodgins, Lauren Lewis, Tyler Lott, Richie Miska, Ashley Ramey, Trevor Robinson, Tyler Robinson, Luke Smith, Daphne Smith, Cristyn Spann, Christopher Stuckman and Casey Tyson.
Third Grade
Erin Adcock, Dillon Boatner, Jallena Coffman, Katherine Gibson, Tyler Gibson, Kasey Hinton, Alexandria Joines, Jonathan McMillan, Michael Peavy, Marisa Potate and Margaret Walker.
Fourth Grade
Courtney Castleberry, Victoria Fant, Stephanie Felton, Anthony Fortin, Suzanne Opel, Alexis Robinson, Lauren Rogers, Bronson Salazar, Katie Sanders, Tyler Waltman and Olivia Whitlock.
Fifth Grade
Clark Boatner, Kylie Cumberland, Michael Green, Mac Hamburg, Elizabeth Harris, Shelby Harris, Jessica Nester, Briana Ricker, Lauren Robinson, Kevin Satcher, Jeremy Sirven, Justin Sollie, Brittany Spears, Amanda Tomerlin and Ryan Wiegand.
Sixth Grade
Trevor Allen, Christina Benson, Laraven Brooks, Kylie Gibson, Tyler Greer, Andrea McLaughlin, Kristin Monsour, Ashlea Pettengill, Jessica Porter, Lauren Roberts, Abbey Rush, Brittany Sevin, Amber Slusher, Megan Tucker and Joshua Utley.
HATTIESBURG Kelly James of Meridian, a William Carey College Theater student, won a major design award at the Region IV American College Theater Festival and will compete at the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
James won the Barbizon prize for her designs from "And David Danced," an original play by Jonathan Pope Evans.
She is co-designing costumes for "Much Ado About Nothing" and will work at Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer.

Also on Franklin County Times
Pilgrim’s renovations will add 100 jobs
Main, News, Russellville
Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
March 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Pilgrim’s Pride’s poultry processing plant is undergoing a total overhaul that when completed will create 100 additional jobs. The over...
Hardware store hosts newest Connie’s Cabinet
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
March 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Austin Williams said Monday he hopes a cabinet in front of Green’s Dependable Hardware helps those in need for food but also serves as ...
New animal control facility to cost $485K
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
March 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A new county animal control facility is set to be built next to the Franklin County Jail with construction expected to begin by month’s...
Hadrian, Navy partnering on project
News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
March 18, 2026
BARTON — Federal and local officials are gearing up for Friday’s public unveiling of a major defense project at the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park ...
Who defines professional competence in Alabama?
Columnists, Opinion
March 18, 2026
Irecently reviewed an extraordinary student paper. The student analyzed a proposed state policy, determined it conflicted with our profession’s ethica...
Gardens have their own notes in history
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
March 18, 2026
Gardens often carry more history than people realize. That felt especially true this month, as our March meeting and the Liberty Tree ceremony at the ...
High power bills has church seeking answers, solutions
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
March 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Electric bills that have more than doubled in the past two months have officials at Cedars Church working with the Russellville Electri...
Development near county line draws concerns
Franklin County, News
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
March 18, 2026
TUSCUMBIA — Concerns over a large land development in neighboring Franklin County are now reaching into Colbert County, where some property owners say...

Leave a Reply

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