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
Goodwin stepping down as Golden Tigers’ football coach
High School Sports, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
January 9, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Dustin Goodwin, who served as athletic director and head football coach, announced he is resigning his position to seek other opportuni...
Dowdy sentencing delayed due to medical emergency
News, Russellville, Z - News Main
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
January 7, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The sentencing of Brandy Dowdy will have to wait until another day after her defense attorney suffered a “medical emergency” on Tuesday...
Legislative session opens Jan. 13; Kiel prefiles 2 bills
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
January 7, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE -- State Rep. Jamie Kiel has prefiled two bills ahead of the 2026 Alabama legislative session. The bills, which will be considered when l...
Hollimon reflects on 40 years in education
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 7, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Dr. Deanna Hollimon always felt she was called to be an educator. After 40 years as a teacher, reading coach, administrator and educati...
Firefighters train for vehicle rescues
News, Russellville, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 7, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — City firefighters trained last week on how to stabilize overturned vehicles and remove trapped occupants. Fire Chief Joe Mansell said t...
Neighbors helping neighbors, one soda pop tab at a time
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
January 7, 2026
Most people don’t think twice about the small aluminum tab on top of a soda can. But those tiny pieces of metal have quietly helped families stay clos...
2025: A year of results for Alabama families
Columnists, Opinion
January 7, 2026
The past year has certainly been a memorable one — and, more importantly, a rewarding one. Beginning the year by leading the Laken Riley Act through t...
Author’s collapse was motivation for comeback
News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
January 7, 2026
When Pete Key collapsed on the bathroom floor in 2024, it didn’t feel like a turning point. It felt like an ending. He had been sick for days — dehydr...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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