Newsmakers

Andy Adams has been promoted to managing editor of the Lufkin Daily News.

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Lou Antonelli has been named editor of the Bowie County Citizens Tribune and DeKalb News. Antonelli came from the Winnsboro News where he spent the last year as sports editor. Before that he was with the Malakoff News.

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Quinton Bagley joined the Gonzales Inquirer as sports editor. He hails from Nashville, Ark.

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Caron Blake joined The Katy Sun as general manager. Blake most recently was the senior advertising account manager for Texas Monthly’s Houston and Louisiana divisions.

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The Colorado County Citizen welcomed two new employees, Jacob Truchard as a reporter/sportswriter and Lora Weishuhn as bookkeeper.

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Blaine Crimmins has been promoted to managing editor of Star Community Newspapers’ Little Elm Journal, Frisco Enterprise and Celina Record as well as a free newspaper also owned by the group. Crimmins had been a staff writer, sports editor and community editor within the group.

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Jay Ermis joined The Sealy News as managing editor. He came from the Del Rio News-Herald where he also served as managing editor.

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The Houston Chronicle announced several staff changes.

Dan Cunningham and George Haj have been named deputy managing editors. Haj becomes deputy managing editor/news. He joined the Chronicle in 2003 as assistant managing editor/business.

Assistant sports editor Fred Faour has been promoted to sports editor.

Russ Shaw will become assistant managing editor/news. He had been the national editor.

Joining the Chronicle is Jacquee Petchel, who becomes assistant managing editor/projects. Petchel came from the Miami Herald, where she was most recently the investigations editor.

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Matt DeWalt is the new sports writer in the two-man Palestine Herald-Press sports department. DeWalt comes from the Jacksonville Daily Progress where he worked since August 2004.

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Dawn Dressler was named executive editor of the Amarillo Globe-News. She comes from the Bakersfield Californian where she was night assistant managing editor for nearly three years.

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Reese Dunklin, a reporter for The Dallas Morning News, won the national reporting category of the 2004 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists for the series he helped author, “Runaway Priests: Hiding in Plain Sight.” The awards honor professional journalists under 35 and are sponsored by the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation.

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The Facts in Clute hired several new editorial staff members.

David Doerr and Lucretia Fernandez are new staff writers and Dan Dalstra is the new chief photographer, replacing Todd Yates who moved up to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Chris Robinson is this summer’s intern.

Velda Hunter was promoted to senior reporter and news editor. Chris Greene became sports editor. Copy editor P.J. Brown was promoted to the new position of presentation editor.

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Charles Galindo Jr. is a new reporter for the Fort Stockton Pioneer. He started just 10 days after graduating from Texas A&M University.

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James R. Gray is the new publisher of the San Benito News and Port Isabel South Padre Press. Gray replaced Ben Brooks who became publisher at the Ennis Daily News. All three newspapers are owned by Fackelman Newspapers.

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Mark Hall is the new sports and news editor at the Winnsboro News. Hall came from Kentucky where he also worked on a newspaper.

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Debbie Hiott has been named assistant managing editor of the Austin American-Statesman. In addition to continuing to direct the local and state reporting staffs, Hiott also oversees the nation and world reports. Hiott joined the paper in 1990 as a part-time reporter while still in college.

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John Kelso, columnist for the Austin American-Statesman, won the National Press Club’s Angele Gingras Humor Award.

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The Dalhart Texan announced several staff changes.

Zelda Beth Lang editor resigned after being with the newspaper on and off for more than 50 years. Her father, Albert Law, served as editor from 1936-82. Lang served as editor from 1982-93, 1994-98 and from 2000-05.

Christi Noble joins the reporting staff as lifestyles and ag news reporter.

Stephanie Turpin has taken over duties as advertising manager.

Ode Menefield is the pressroom manger. Adrian Guilfu serves as assistant pressman. The Texan also welcomed back Charles King Dean as typesetter.

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Tim Locklear is the new composing manager of the Sweetwater Reporter. He received an associate’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

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Lacie Morrison is a new reporter for the Mineral Wells Index. She is a recent graduate of Tarleton State University.

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Denton Ramsey has joined the staff of the Alpine Avalanche as a staff writer. His previous job was sports editor for The Demopolis (Ala.) Times.

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Ronald Paul Richard Jr. wed Shelli Jeanine Patrick Feb. 26, 2005, in New Orleans. The groom is the assistant sports editor at the Denton Record-Chronicle and the bride works for Raytheon in Dallas.

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Amanda Rogers joined the Mansfield News Mirror as managing editor to replace Brigitte Cummings. She most recently was a features and community editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which owns the News Mirror.

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Cristin Ross has returned to the Jacksonville Daily Progress after a nearly two-year hiatus from journalism. Ross worked the Daily Progress county beat from December 2000 to November 2003.

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Rochelle Stidham is the new publisher of the Stephenville Empire-Tribune. She previously served four years as publisher of the Richmond (Ky.) Register. She replaced Mike Coggins.

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Kenneth Wood, former pastor and columnist for The Monitor in McAllen, pleaded guilty June 3 to two counts of sexual assault. He received five years deferred adjudication and a $2,500 fine and must register as a sex offender. Before Wood was arrested Feb. 4, 2004, he wrote a column in the Monitor.