The Abilene Reporter-News announced winners in its second annual High School Journalism Contest. Out of 200 entries, the newspaper narrowed the field and awarded 66 contestants with honors. Sara Abel of Abilene High School won the Bernard Hanks Scholarship of $500 per semester for four semesters. The award was named for the newspaper’s early publisher.

Jim Brown joined the Tri County Leader as reporter. He worked on the East Texas staff for the Tyler Morning Telegraph and before that for a newspaper in Pennsylvania. He replaced Russ Obar who became Troup city administrator.

The Corsicana Daily Sun announced two staff changes. Derrick Stuckly was promoted to sports editor. He first joined the staff in October 2001 after three years as sports editor at The Banner Press in Brenham. Jayson Larson moved from sports to news where he will cover law enforcement and courts. He came on board last July after stints at the Athens Daily Review and Marshall Messenger.

Scott Frantzen joined the San Antonio Express-News as vice president of circulation, managing the home delivery operations and single-copy rack sales.

The Kilgore News Herald made two staff appointments. Becky Crabtree is the newest reporter. She is a 1999 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler. Tom DeBerry joined the advertising staff as ad representative.

Marty Kufus, news editor and senior reporter at the Wilson County News, married Kim Gilbert June 15 in Floresville.

Steve Linam is the new publisher of the Moore County News-Press in Dumas. He came from the same post at the Mineral Wells Index and has worked at newspapers in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Linam replaced Ineze Lewis who announced her semiretirement. She joined the staff in 1994 and was named publisher in 2000.

Mineral Wells Index has a new publisher. Mel Rhodes returned to the newspaper as publisher. He first worked for the staff in 1990 selling ads before moving to the editorial department. He was managing editor from 1995-2001 when he left for the same position at the Cleburne Times Review. Bill Starr also rejoined the staff as distribution manager. He worked for the Index for 17 years from 1981-98.

The McKinney Courier-Gazette announced staff changes. Jim Moser was named editor and publisher. He had been the assistant to publisher Jim Robertson, who resigned to assume another position within parent company Hartman Newspapers. Moser started in newspapers at The Banner Press in Brenham and later worked at the Waxahachie Daily Light and Taylor Daily Press. He joined Hartman in 1994 as ad director of The Herald-Coaster in Rosenberg. Timothy Lee joined the staff as reporter covering the county beat. He is a student at the University of North Texas in Denton. Rodney Williams was named sports editor. He came to the Courier-Gazette in March 2001 covering sports.

The Plainview Daily Herald announced two staff additions. Brandon Wright has joined as district manager for the circulation department. Mary Vuong came on board as reporter through parent company Hearst’s Fellowship program. She will work in Plainview for eight months and then move to another Hearst newspaper. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she also completed eight months as a reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

The Port Aransas South Jetty joined the local community in helping award more than $72,000 in scholarships to Port Aransas High School students. During the school’s scholarship assembly 35 of the 44 members of the senior class of 2002 were honored. Civic and church groups, businesses and individuals in Port Aransas, population 3,330, contribute the scholarships. One of the scholarships was the $1,000 Anson Jones MD Award, which the South Jetty presented to the valedictorian Blithe Casterline, who won a TOPS in Texas Award, the highest high school journalism award, from the Interscholastic League Press Conference for a story on sex education. She plans to major in chemistry at Southwestern University in Georgetown.

Gene Powell Jr., an Odessa native who broke into the business with internships at his hometown paper, has returned as the assistant managing editor at the Odessa American. Powell came back to Texas after a little more than a year as editor of the Tribune in Seymour, Ind., another Freedom Communications property. Before that he was with The Shreveport Times and spent six years on the copy desk at the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Keith Shelton will say good-bye to journalism and retire at the end of the year from the faculty of the journalism department of the University of North Texas. He was a reporter at the Wichita Falls Times Record News and the Dallas Times Herald before moving to the Denton Record-Chronicle where he was executive editor.

William Dean Singleton was elected chairman of the Newspaper Association of America. He is vice chairman and CEO of Media-News Group, which in Texas publishes The Graham Leader, Breckenridge American, Lake Country Sun, Jacksboro Gazette-News, Jack County Herald and Olney Enterprise.

Susan Smith, metro columnist of the Austin American-Statesman, is among the 12 United States journalists selected for the 65th class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard University.

Natalie Spencer is the new publisher of the Castroville News Bulletin and Medina Valley Times. She replaces Thomas Barnes who, along with his wife Albina Valencia-Barnes, left daily operations to pursue other interests. The Barnes have managed the newspapers since 1993 and purchased them in 1999. Spencer, who served four years as news editor, joined the staff in 1995 as reporter. She became editor of the Times in 2001.

Elizabeth Stone, editor of the Cooper Review, married Seth Pinson June 8 in Peerless.

The Taylor Daily Press announced one staff promotion and the hiring of a replacement for retiring editor Don McAlister. McAlister announced his retirement after 23 years. He served on the Texas Press Association board of directors for six years and was named Taylor’s Man of the Year in 2001. David King, who has served as a newspaper executive in three states, was named editor. He previously served as editor and publisher of newspapers in Colorado, New Mexico and Alabama. Publisher Robert Swonke was promoted to vice president - printing operations for parent company Granite Publications.

The Waxahachie Daily Light announced three promotions. Neal White was promoted to publisher. He had been serving as interim publisher there and for sister publication The Midlothian Mirror since February and before that was editor. JoAnn Livingston was promoted to managing editor, a post in which she also was serving on an interim basis. Reporter John Shaw was promoted to news editor, filling Livingston’s old post.

Jeff West is the newest writer on staff at the Farmersville Times and Princeton Herald. He has worked as a reporter at the McKinney Courier-Gazette, Pampa News, Amarillo Globe-News and Tulia Herald.