The following West Lauderdale High School Students placed at the Mississippi Health Occupations Students of America competition held in Jackson: Alexis Kelly, third place, dental spelling; Nicole Hudson, fifth place, dental terminology; Kacy Covert, third place, growth and development; Stephanie Breland, first place, administrative medical assisting; Brittney Winstead and Sarah Tabb, emergency medical technology, third place.

Haley Williams, extemporaneous writing, first place; Kristi Lantz, Roni Evans and Kayla Eubanks, creative problem solving, fourth place; Neil Robinson, Tony Carroll, Jataria Martin and Elizabeth Page, Health Occupations Scholars Bowl, first place; and Beth Ann Davis, Sarah Kiehn, Kacie Brown, Brooke Mowdy, Bliss Pigott, Jessie Fortson and Ericka Haskins, parliamentary procedure, first place.



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OXFORD — The following area students earned degrees this month from the University of Mississippi: Anna Victoria Aycock, bachelor of arts degree in education; David Ralph Bailey, master of accountancy; Kacey Amanda Bailey, juris doctor; Robert Thomas Bailey, juris doctor; Katherine Ann Briggs, juris doctor; Daniel Paul Culpepper, juris doctor; Matthew Reid Davis, bachelor of business administration degree; Shannon Leigh Fountain, doctor of pharmacy; Ann Marie Hall, bachelor of arts degree; Benjamin Jeffery Moffett, juris doctor; Jennifer Elizabeth Nichols, doctor of pharmacy; and Lee Royal Slayton, bachelor of business administration degree — all of Meridian; Jason Michael Josef of Bailey, juris doctor; David Logan McPhail of Collinsville, juris doctor; Damien D Gibbs of Lauderdale, bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering; and Joseph Henry Hime of Toomsuba, bachelor of science degree.



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DECATUR — Newton County High School students Dylan Harris and Ashley Williams recently placed first and second, respectively, in the high school division of Meridian Community College’s annual Literary Competition. Dylan and Ashley entered the competition by submitting short stories they had composed in their Mississippi Authors class at NCHS.



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Pamela Davis of Meridian and Lisa Hancock of Union have been selected to receive the Dr. George Howell Nursing Scholarship at Meridian Community College.

These $1,100 awards are funded through the MCC Foundation from an endowment established by Mathilde Howell in memory of her husband, who practiced for more than 40 years. Howell was the first board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist in Meridian.

Davis is a 1989 graduate of Enterprise High School. She works full time at Riley Hospital and is the mother of a 12-year-old son. Davis is a member of the Mississippi Organization of Associate Degree in Nursing. Her plans are to complete the nursing program and to work several years before returning to school for the master of science degree in nursing. She would like to become a nurse practitioner.

Hancock is a 1984 graduate of Clarkdale Attendance Center. She is married and the mother of three children. Hancock serves as organist and class teacher at the church where her husband is pastor. A President’s List scholar, she is a member of the Mississippi Organization of Associate Degree Nursing and Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students. Oncology and hospice care are her main areas of interest.



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Peggy Chandler of Meridian has been selected to receive the Karen Bounds Hamilton Memorial Scholarship at Meridian Community College. This $1,000 nursing award is funded through the MCC Foundation by Fred Hamilton. Mrs. Hamilton was a graduate of the MCC Associate Degree Nursing Program.

Chandler is a 1977 graduate of West Lauderdale High School. A non-traditional student, she has three children and three grandchildren. Chandler has been a licensed practical nurse for 18 years and is currently working on her associate’s degree in nursing. She is a member of the Organization of Student Nurses and works part time at Specialty Hospital of Meridian. Chandler’s plans are to work in labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care.