The Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation released its list of top players, which included four Corvallis children.

Players ranked on the list qualify for the state All-Stars Invitational tournament in July.

Top-ten lists are based on the highest ratings achieved during the last school year.

Ian Dickson was ranked in the top ten of state sixth grade chess players.

Lance Roy made the top ten for third-grade players.

Maxwell Sun and Isaac Mcevoy were listed as top chess players at the kindergarten through second-grade level.

Four local players were recognized for having played more than 30 scholastic-rated games in the 2006-2007 school year: Craig A. Still, Maxwell Sun, Matt Dalthorp and Lance Roy.

MacDonald earns nursing degree

Erin MacDonald earned an Associate in Science in Nursing degree from Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y. MacDonald is a resident of Corvallis.

Smith completes basic training

Air Force Airman Trevor K. Smith has graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

Smith is a 2004 graduate of Toledo High School and is the son of Zack Smith of Toledo and Angie Flatt of Philomath.

P.E.O. awards scholarships

Michele Lizon and Janet Maddox were awarded Marguerite Scholarships by the Oregon State chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood for the current academic year.

Lizon is a graduate student at Oregon State University studying resource geography. Maddox is in her second year of the nursing program at Linn-Benton Community College.

The P.E.O. Sisterhood is a philanthropic education organization that provides opportunities for qualified women.

Williams wins scholarship

Darryl Thomas Williams of Philomath earned a Northwest Food Processors Association scholarship.

Williams is a senior at Oregon State University working on a degree in food science.

He was head pastry chef at the Downtown Athletic Club in Eugene and is certified by the American Culinary Federation as a pastry chef and baker.

Liburdy named ASME fellow

James A. Liburdy was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Liburdy is professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University.

Fellowship in the organization is the highest grade of membership. It is conferred upon those with at least 10 years active engineering practice and significant contributions to the field.

Liburdy has carried out significant research in aeronautics and astronautics.

Jones earns governor’s volunteer award

Don Jones is the regional winner of the Senior Volunteer of the Year Award, part of the Oregon Governor’s Volunteer Award program.

After retiring from Oregon State University in 1999, Jones began supervising the county’s AARP Tax-Aide classes.

Ultimately, Jones became involved in other volunteer services, racking up 3,532 lifetime hours of service.

Additionally, the local Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance program was recognized with a governor’s award as an outstanding program.

Nearly 20 SHIBA volunteers in Linn and Benton Counties helped 3,000 people better understand the new Medicare drug program through one-on-one counseling and public presentations.

Corvallis rowers win Row for Cure bronze

The Corvallis Rowing Club brought home a bronze medal from Portland’s “Row for the Cure” regatta.

The Corvallis club finished third in the women’s master’s eight competition with a time of 19 minutes, 3.2 seconds. Portland Women’s Rowing won the event with a time of 18 minutes, 46 seconds.

More than 370 people from 26 clubs in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Pennsylvania and New York participated in the events, raising $48,000 for breast cancer research.