Christina Barlow is the newest staff writer of the Alpine Avalanche. She is a student at Sul Ross State University.

Brian Brisendine is the newest member of the Snyder Daily News staff. He came on board last month as general assignment reporter and is a management trainee for the Roberts Publishing Group, of which Snyder is a member. Publisher Roy McQueen said Brisendine was the first such trainee to be selected for the group. Brisendine is the son of TPA Board Chairman Lynn Brisendine, publisher of The Brownfield News also a Roberts publication. He worked at The Canyon News while obtaining his journalism degree at West Texas A&M University.

Brisendine eventually will replace Joyce May, who will leave her staff writer position this fall to attend the University of Texas-Austin.

Mary Alys Cherry, editor of The (Clear Lake) Citizen, was honored by the Assistance League Ball of the Wild for her contributions to bay area volunteer activities. She began working for The Citizen 20 years ago.

In the first change of publishers in six years, The Bastrop Advertiser announced that Steve Taylor would turn his position over to 11-year Advertiser employee Janice Butler. She began working part time in production and soon became a full-time reporter/photographer until she moved to the advertising department. Taylor gave up the publisher job to focus his efforts full time as vice president of Austin Community Newspapers, a division of Cox Newspapers.

Jeremy Corley became the editor of The Olney Enterprise. He came from Austin where he worked as an editor at two trade publications. Shawn Jones added the title of general manager to his current role as advertising manager.

George Cox is the new editor of the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen. He served five years as editor of The Brownsville Herald and replaced Jerry Deal, who retired after 18 years at the newspaper.

Joy Cressler, formerly Prichard, returned to the Crowley Star as managing editor. She left last year to attend one semester at the University of Arkansas. She hopes to eventually complete her degree in the Metroplex.

Chris Crews has joined the staff of Victory Publishing Co. as editor of the River Cities Tribune in Marble Falls. Crews has lived in Texas for most of his life and has worked at several community newspapers.

The Dallas Morning News announced the retirement of longtime publisher Burl Osborne effective June 15. Osborne joined the staff in 1980 as executive editor after a 20-year career with The Associated Press. He will retire as an executive officer of Belo, which owns the News, as the end of the year and will become publisher emeritus. He held a variety of positions at the News and became publisher in 1991. The Texas House on May 28 passed a resolution, sponsored by Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, honoring Osborne’s service and recognizing that the newspaper won six Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure. James M. Moroney, 22-year veteran television and web executive with Belo, will take over as publisher June 18. He is only the seventh publisher since the newspaper’s founding in 1885. His father, James M. Moroney Jr., retired as publisher in 1985 and his great-grandfather George Bannerman Dealey was the News’ first publisher and held the post longer than any other publisher — 55 years. Robert W. Mong was promoted to president and editor of the News, a title last held by Osborne before being named publisher. Mong joined the staff in 1979 and rose through the ranks to most recently president and general manager.

Allyson Reynolds-Dixon, a reporter with the San Angelo Standard-Times, received the Anson Jones, M.D. citation of merit from the Texas Medical Association for her coverage of the medically under-served.

Erika Estelle Durham joined The Madisonville Meteor as staff writer. She is a student at Sam Houston State University.

Amarillo Record Stockman publisher Harry Green announced his retirement after 63 years in the livestock publishing industry. He sold his stock to veteran newspaper publisher John Thomas, who has had a lengthy weekly newspaper career in Colorado.

Wilson Griffin, former general manager and publisher of the Corsicana Daily Sun, is running for re-election as mayor of Corsicana.

Lydia Tilbury Hair will join the Wise County Messenger as reporter on July 1. She currently works for the Bastrop (La.) Daily Enterprise as a news reporter.

Joanne Hale, reporter for The (Clear Lake) Citizen, earned the first Christy Drennan Memorial Scholarship from the Houston Chapter of the Association for Women Journalists and a $500 scholarship from President and CEO Robert McMaster of Houston Community Newspapers, which owns The Citizen. Hale is a junior communications major at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Mark Henry, president of Granite Publications, is leaving his position to start his own company. He will remain on as a consultant until the new business launches. He joined Granite in 1993 and held various positions before being named president in 1998. Burnet-based Granite Publications owns 10 weeklies, three semiweeklies and the Taylor Daily Press. Owner and chairman Jim Chionsini announced that the company would begin looking for a replacement immediately.

Heather Herrington joined The Silsbee Bee as a reporter. Herrington is a 1996 graduate of Silsbee High School. She worked for the school newspaper and as a free-lance reporter.

Stacey Higginbotham joined the Austin Business Journal as staff writer covering technology. She came from a daily financial newspaper in New York City and graduated last year from the University of Texas.

Houston Chronicle outdoors staffers Shannon Tompkins and Joe Doggett won five awards, including four first-place honors, in the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s 2001 Excellence in Craft contest. Tompkins took first-place in the Camping/Backpacking category for a feature on canoe camping in East Texas and first place in Take Pride in America/Public Service category for a piece on private citizens assisting in combating the spread of giant salvinia, an alien aquatic plant. He took the third-place award in the Big Game Hunting category for a column on the trend toward privatization and commercialization of white-tailed deer in Texas. Doggett was awarded first place in the Saltwater Fishing category for a column on taking sailfish on a fly rod. His column on public perception of guns in the wake of high-profile shootings took first place in the Outdoor Ethics category.

The Laredo Morning Times last month promoted seven people to managerial positions and named Gerardo Rivera as controller over its 10-person accounting department. Accounting promotions included Thelma Rodriguez as accounting systems manager and Armando Gonzalez as human resources-accounts payable manager. Circulation department promotions included Agustin Magallanes as circulation director, Alex Dominguez as city zone manager and Rogerio Garcia as customer service manager. Advertising promotions included Margie Briones as classified advertising manager and Eduardo Cruz as creative services manager.

Vince Leibowitz has been named editor of the Canton Herald and Wills Point Chronicle and two other publications for Van Zandt Newspapers. He succeeds Kathryn Culver, who accepted a reporter position with the Round Rock Leader. Leibowitz has been associate editor for Van Zandt Newspapers since May 2000. A former copy editor for the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Leibowitz serves as secretary on the board of the Council of Van Zandt County Communities, and is active in the East Texas Genealogical Society and the Van Zandt County Historical Commission.

Melissa McCaghren is the summer intern at the Hereford Brand. She is a senior at West Texas A&M University.

Veteran newspaper ad-man Jerry Miller retired from the Jacksonville Daily Progress after 26 years. “When I started here in 1975, I never would have believed all the changes that have taken place today,” Miller said.

Dan Moore succeeded Jim Bardwell as publisher of the Lindale News & Times. Bardwell became publisher of the Gladewater Mirror, Big Sandy/Hawkins Journal and Overton Press. Moore started with the News & Times three months ago as advertising director and he has been with parent company Westward Communications for two years. Roger McKenzie was named editor after serving as sports editor and reporter for two years.

Ramona Gordon-Moore joined the Alpine Avalanche as staff reporter. She most recently worked for the Skyline, the newspaper at Sul Ross University.

Connie Moss joined the staff of The Normangee Star and will ultimately be involved in all phases of the newspaper’s operation. She had worked at Aggieland Credit Union in College Station.

Lezley Norris has joined the staff of the Ennis Daily News as a reporter. Norris is a contributing writer and photographer with more than 20 years of photography, journalism and advertising experience. She will cover general assignments and evening meetings.

The Plainview Daily Herald added two people to the sales staff. Sue Crawford became a classified sales representative and Mary Beth Fox was hired as an advertising account executive.

Vanessa Sanders is the summer intern for the Azle News. She attends Howard Payne University where she is on staff of The Yellow Jacket.

William Dean Singleton was named “publisher of the year” by AdWeek magazine. Singleton is vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group, which in Texas owns The Graham Leader, Breckenridge American, Jacksboro Gazette-News, Jack County Herald and Olney Enterprise.

Lifelong community newspaperman and active member of the Texas Press Association for 50 years Carter Snooks, is having a 90^th birthday celebration. His daughter Barbara Kretzschmar would like to invite present and former members of TPA to attend. The reception will be Sunday, July 1 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the First Baptist Church in Kenedy. Contact her at 602 Swallow Drive, Casselberry, FL 32707 or e-mail bbkgroup@juno.com.

Richard Townley on June 1 took over the newly created position of senior editor at the Malakoff News. Townley came out of retirement after a 32-year journalism career to accept the position.

Candace Velvin assumed the role of publisher of The Light and Champion in Center. Former publisher Jim Beaver left to accept a publisher job in Batesville, Miss. He had been in Center for 18 months. Velvin, who served as editor of The Light and Champion from 1987-95, returns to East Texas after publishing a weekly newspaper in Bowling Green, Mo. for the past six years. Under her direction, the Bowling Green Times began the annual Progress and FYI editions, which won best in the state in the 1999 Missouri Better Newspaper Contest.

The Weatherford Democrat announced staff changes and additions this month. Melinda Weaver is the newest reporter staff. She came from the University of Kansas where she earned a journalism degree. Reporter Joel Kertok took on additional duties as business editor and Bottom Line editor. Dave Cowley was promoted to community relations manager and assistant to publisher Jim Wilson. He had served as advertising manager. Anna Kertok replaced him in that position. Heather Nagle left the Stephenville Empire Tribune to join the composing room staff and Lisa Quackenbush was hired as the new circulation director.