Higher education

* The following students from Bryan and College Station graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi during the 2008 Fall Commencement.

From Bryan, all receiving a bachelor of science in nursing -- Kassie Michelle Brown; Janice Marie Dudley, Summa Cum Laude; Ashley Elizabeth Hammons, Cum Laude; Sonja Lynn Hughes, Magna Cum Laude; Megan Christine Roth, Cum Laude; Lindsey Renee Vybiral, Summa Cum Laude.

From College Station -- Kent Wesley Chrisman, bachelor of business administration and Denton Chase Williams, bachelor of arts; and the following received a bachelor of science in nursing: Ashley Jean Burrows, Magna Cum Laude; Veronica Ann Crowley, Summa Cum Laude; Cassie Anne Giles, Summa Cum Laude; Ashlee Anne Green, Magna Cum Laude; Lindsay Leigh Hollis, Summa Cum Laude; Ameena Shakuntla Jain, Cum Laude; Dana Marie Olson; Kristina Louise Teselle, Magna Cum Laude; Lauren Rachelle Young, Magna Cum Laude.

* The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced that 356 students have been listed on the fall 2008 Provost Honor Roll. To receive this recognition, a student must achieve a 3.7 grade point average (GPA) or better on a 4.0 scale.

Brazos Valley students earning honor roll include: Paige Nicole Glasco and Britney Lian Williams of Brenham; Candace Jean Cross of Caldwell; Rebekah L. Cheatham, Zanna Marie Haney, Suellen Sabas Lumbreras and Jada Lynn Parker of Cameron; Isaac C. Beckworth of Chappell Hill; and Naomi Lillian Johnson of College Station.

The university's fall 2008 Dean's List includes 248 students who achieved a 3.5-3.69 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Brazos Valley students on the dean's list include: Jordan Matthew Lara and Sara Beatriz Roman of Bryan; Jennifer Brooke Lake of College Station; Amanda Leigh Cearley of Milano; and Weston Ryan Savell of North Zulch.

* Two area residents graduated from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls in December. They are: Leah Courtney Rolett of Bryan, bachelor of science; and Dana Irene Ramczyk of College Station, bachelor of science in nursing.

* Brittany Green-Gibson made the president's list at Sam Houston State University for the fall 2008 semester. She also planned and performed her senior recital while planning a December wedding. She recenlty began student teaching at Bryan High School.

Bridge Club

Star Duplicate Bridge Club met Jan. 2 at the College Station Conference Center. The winners were:

N/S -- 1. Sheryl Pace and Barbara Petty; 2. Billie Watkins and Jim Hibbetts.

E/W -- 1. Freddye Thompson and Alan Wolfenden; 2. Joyce England and Nell Page.

On Jan. 5, the winners were:

N/S (tied) -- 1. Petty and Josephine WIlliamson; 2. Ruth Coker and Alan Bachman.

E/W -- 1. Ann Fleischer and Lynda Shepard; 2. Shirley Edmiston and Carl Ruch.

On Jan. 9, the winners were:

N/S -- 1. Elizabeth and Ed Booker; 2. Kathy Baldwin and Chuck Gates.

E/W -- 1. Nick Pace and Dan Turner; 2. Sheryl Pace and Richard Duble.

On Jan. 12, the winners were:

N/S -- 1. Sheryl Pace and Duble; 2. Lois Fox and Lucy Nelson.

E/W -- 1. Beth Coker and Jane Turner; 2. Edmiston and Ruch.

Youth athletes

The Powersports Level 5P Gymnastic Team placed first at last month's Wintercup Invitational in Pearland. Back row (from left): Avha Mohanty, Carsen Grom, Taylor Harber, Julia Greenwood, team director and coach Geoff Craft and Taylor Davis. Front row: coach Bethany Roche and Grace Dye.

The Level 6 Gymnastic Team placed second at the Wintercup Invitational. Back row, left to right: Roche, Julie Lawrence and Craft. Front row: Sydney Ewald, Amanda Clegg and Kelly Krenek.

A&M Garden Club

Barron Rector, associate professor and AgriLife Extension specialist, spoke to the A&M Garden Club on "Invasive Plants -- Identify, Prevent and Control Practices" at the club's January meeting. Hostesses were Penne Mathews, Faye Caldwell and Norma Jean Stokes.

Suzanne Milstead presented "Plant Material for Small Designs for Small Arrangements," showing ideas and a variety of materials for design and color for theme, line and scale.

The 2009-10 officers were elected: President Jane Cohen, 1st VP Programs Heather White, 2nd VP Yearbook/Web Sally Koestler with assistant Sarah Barrick, 3rd VP Flower Show Milstead, 4th VP Hospitality Eugenia Williams with assistant Stokes, Recording Secretary Kaye Hobbs, Corresponding Secretary Idalia Aguilar, Treasurer Angelika Hoepfl, Historian Kay Hamn with assistant Geneva Eubanks, and Reporter Millie Parrack.

Clarice Bredthauer and Hamn requested hostess assistance for the Landscape Design School, planned for Feb 15-16. Registration for the classes is available through TAMU Extension Horticulture, Tammy Landry, 845-7342.

Milstead discussed the landscape design plan for the civic project at the Wellborn Community Center, and members volunteered plants. Hoepfl discussed the Arbor Day memorial planting set for March 6. The Polly Hatcher Memorial Scholarship will be given to an A&M horticulture student.

Judy Schafer announced the classes for the Flower Show to be held April 16. Stokes displayed a "nut" tree decoration and proposed a workshop for next summer. Mary Staffel circulated cards from the Cheer Committee for members to sign.

Cohen presided, Sheila May led the pledges to the flags, Hoepfl gave the treasurer's report and Hamn shared the minutes. White staffed the plant sale table and announced the decorative pot workshop for March 2 and 4. Mary Ann Taylor read thank-you cards for Seeds for Life donations and from Habitat for Humanity.

Seven guests attended. Penne Cash is a new member.

The next meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 13 at the Exit Center on Rock Prairie Road in College Station. The program will be "Small Design" by Anna Archer, a floral design judge and distinguished designer from Waco. Hostesses will be Dorothy Lorenz, Dian Jones, Joyce Menefee and Hoepfl.

Prosecutor of the Year

Jim Kuboviak, recently retired County Attorney in Brazos County, was named the 2008 State Bar of Texas Prosecutor of the Year at the Annual Criminal & Civil Law Update, organized by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

Kuboviak was honored for his longtime service (he was the Brazos County Attorney for 24 years before retiring last year) and pioneering the use of video cameras in police cars, which changed the way law enforcement conducts traffic and other investigations across the state.

"Videotaping criminal suspects during the actual commission of crimes has made the greatest impact ever on prosecuting such offenses," said Brazos County Attorney Rod Anderson, who was the first assistant county attorney under Kuboviak. "It places the judge or jury right there at the scene of the crime as it's being committed. Much like DNA in homicides and sexual-related offenses, in-car videos serve to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent."

Additionally, Kuboviak is a trainer for the attorneys association, traveling all over the state. "Jim tirelessly trains law enforcement and prosecutors on the effective use of in-car video and other techniques for catching intoxicated drivers," said Executive Director Rob Kepple. "That's true leadership."

College Station

College Station has been awarded the 2009 Texas Public Pool Council Agency of the Year Class 2 Award. The award is given to three agencies, based on population, that best demonstrate:

* Significant impact on the youth and families of their community.

* Successful implementation of an innovative program.

"College Station Parks and Recreation has set the standard by which others look to in teaching swimming lessons, providing excellent aquatic facilities and creative programming," said Charles Logan, past president and chair of the group's awards committee.

The department was honored with a plaque and award banner at the annual TPPC conference in College Station earlier this month.

Shipwreck display

Hundreds of items from the oldest-known seafaring ship -- thought to date to 1,300 B.C. -- discovered off the coast of Turkey and excavated by Texas A&M University's Institute of Nautical Archaeology are displayed in New York's legendary Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit, "Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.," includes priceless items that represent a time capsule of Bronze Age art and culture and are on view in the U.S. for the first time, said George Bass, A&M professor emeritus of nautical archaeology, who helped catalog and archive many of the artifacts. The more than 350 items retrieved from the wreck -- referred to as the Uluburun for the region of southern Turkey where it was found -- show the intricate artwork of some of the earliest civilizations. The ship was carrying a full cargo, and Bass said it's thought the items came from Africa, Syria, Cyprus, northern Europe and other areas.