Each week ''At Our Best'' highlights the achievements of those in our community. It includes honors, awards and other recognition that is being earned by local residents.

Please continue to send or deliver such information, along with pictures of those honored, to the newspaper in care of managing editor Rob Priewe, 600 S.W. Jefferson Ave., Corvallis, OR 97333.

Trunk earns Eagle

Philip Trunk, a member of Boy Scout Troop 3, and a senior at Santiam Christian High School, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor held April 7 at First Baptist Church. Troop 3 Scoutmaster Brent Adams presented Philip the award.

Philip has been involved with scouting for five-and-a-half years. During that time he has served in several leadership positions within the troop, such as quartermaster, chaplain and senior patrol leader.

For his service project, Philip led the refurbishing of a donated gazebo that is on the Santiam Christian School campus. The project entailed the pouring of a concrete platform, replacing all of the 4x4 posts, and adding benches. Since its completion the gazebo has become a favorite gathering spot for students. A portion of the lumber was donated by Spaeth Lumber.

Philip is the son of Gerry and Lenore Trunk of Monmouth. Upon graduation, he plans to attend LeTourneau University in Texas, majoring in mechanical engineering.

College honor rolls

University of Oregon - Winter term dean's list for a GPA of 3.75 or higher: Caitlin Brickman of Corvallis.

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Southern Oregon University - Winter term president's list (4.0 GPA): Holly Page of Philomath, pre-nursing. Winter term dean's list (GPA of 3.5 through 3.99): Mary Gust of Corvallis, pre-English major; Breiana McCoy of Philomath, business administration major; Michael Murphy of Corvallis, criminal justice major; and Danyn Oakes of Philomath, English and writing major.

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Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. - Winter quarter dean's list (GPA of 3.70 and higher): Victoria N. Larson of Corvallis, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

College graduates

University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho - Amanda Jean McAlexander of Corvallis, Bachelor of Science Business in marketing; Christianne Nadege Mattes of Corvallis, Bachelor of Science in psychology; and Clinton Robert Reinhard of Corvallis, Bachelor of Science Business in accounting.

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University of Portland - Christina Jamros of Corvallis, bachelor's degree in philosophy; Erin Crotty of Corvallis, bachelor's degree in life science; Ryan Orozco of Corvallis, bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering; and Heather Huff of Corvallis, bachelor's degree in nursing.

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University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. - Andrew William Beck of Corvallis, Master of Fine Arts

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University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. - Christopher Payne, Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude. Payne is a 2002 graduate of Corvallis High School and the son of Michael and Nancy Payne of Corvallis.

College scholarships

Corvallis area students Allison M. Wilsey and Jake W. Peterson have received scholarships from The Oregon Society of CPAs. Wilsey was awarded the Spectrum CPA Group LLP & Robert L. Gantenbein Endowment scholarship and plans to attend Oregon State University in the fall. Peterson was awarded the Perkins & Company PC scholarship and plans to attend the University of Oregon in the fall.

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Annie DeMeo, a senior at Corvallis High School, has been awarded a $2,500 scholarship in the annual Bob Hasson Memorial Scholarship Contest sponsored by the Oregon Collectors Association. DeMeo received the award for her creative short story on the subject of "Credit in the 21st Century" at the annual ORCA convention in Newport in April. She is the daughter of Tony and Cece DeMeo of Corvallis and will attend the University of Oregon in the fall.

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Andrew Embry, a graduating senior at Crescent Valley High School, has been awarded the President's Distinguished Student Scholarship from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Andrew is the son of Alan Embry and Wyn Schoch and will be participating in the university's Guthrie Theatre Actors Training Program.

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Ten high school seniors from Benton, Lincoln, Linn, Marion and Polk counties have each been awarded $1,000 Tomorrow's Leaders Today (TLT) scholarships from OSU Federal. Winners from Benton County are Jemie Walrod from Corvallis High School, and Calida Danko and Lara Browning-Kamins from Philomath High School.

Jemie's goal is to become a pediatrician and she plans to major in pre-medicine at Colorado College. Calida plans to attend Scripps College and then medical school prior to joining Doctors Without Borders. Lara plans to major in English, and minor in international relations.

Fulbright scholarship

Annie Moss, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., will be going to Venezuela in September on a Fulbright Scholarship. She is a 2002 Philomath High School graduate.

Firefighter of the quarter named

Jeremy Van Gelder, resident volunteer with the Philomath Volunteer Fire Department, was named Philomath Firefighter of the Quarter for January through March. Van Gelder is certified as an EMT Basic and working toward becoming certified as a pumper operator. He is currently attending Oregon State University majoring in radiation health physics as part of the Naval ROTC program.

Prior to coming to Philomath, Jeremy served as a volunteer for Saluda Fire and Rescue in Saluda, N.C., and Caromi Fire Department in Ladson, S.C. Since his arrival at Philomath Fire and Rescue, Jeremy has encouraged other members to become more involved, by example and cheerleading them on. He has also started a workout program to help members become more physically fit.

Military news

Army Reserve Spec. Kyle E. Cooper and Army Reserve Spec. Michelle R. Cooper, a husband-and-wife team from Corvallis, received the Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen Award for serving at a forward operating base in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The award recognizes all Army Reserve Citizen-Soldiers who excelled in the performance of their duty while mobilized, activated and deployed to support the missions of Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation Enduring Freedom. The couple is assigned to the 104th Division (Institutional Training) based in Vancouver, Wash. They both have served in the military for three years.

Commuter wins nine awards

Linn-Benton Community College's student newspaper, The Commuter, won nine awards, including three first place awards, at the annual Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Collegiate Day held May 4 at Western Oregon University.

The event included 15 Oregon colleges competing in 20 different categories. Entries in each category were judged in three divisions: four-year college or university daily newspapers; four-year college or university non-daily newspapers; and two- year college non-daily newspapers. The Commuter is a two-year college weekly newspaper.

First place awards for The Commuter included; Commuter staff, Best Design; Michelle Turner, Best Headline Writing; and Erin Mallon, Best Columnist. Second place awards went to Elizabeth Uriarte, Best Writing; Chris Campbell, Best Photography; Jesse Skoubo, Best Feature Photo; and Nancey West, Best Feature Story. Honorable mentions for The Commuter were Elizabeth Uriarte for Best Feature Story and Skyler Edwards for Best Spot News Photo. First and second place winners received certificates from ONPA. Portland based ONPA hosts the annual awards for Oregon college's that are members of Oregon Collegiate Press.

Music honors

Student composers Michael Sheng, 10th grader at Crescent Valley High School; Rebecca Lomnicky, ninth grader at Corvallis High School; Ellie Estreich, fifth grader at Garfield Elementary; and Kieley Trempy, fourth grader at Franklin Elementary, have been selected as Honored Composers for the Oregon Music Teachers Association Composition Celebration 2007.

Their compositions will be included in the "Student Compositions, Original Works by OMTA State Entrants," a yearly publication. They are also invited to present their compositions at the state workshop which will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at Central Lutheran Church, 1857 Potter St., Eugene. Their teachers are Joan B. Gathercoal, Mary Ann Guenther and Laura Relyea.

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Linn Benton District students Zeit Cai, Kayleen Hannaway, Kourtney Hannaway, Matthew Neuffer, Megan Nugent, Michael Sheng and Tony Wu have successfully completed the Level 10 piano syllabus recently held at Benton Hall at Oregon State University. The OMTA piano syllabus is an outline of study in 10 levels designed to provide students with a thorough and comprehensive background in keyboard skills, musical understanding and performance ability.

Students will perform and be honored with a medal in a special Level 10 recital to be held on Sunday, June 3, at Sherman Clay recital hall, 131 N.W. 13th St., Portland. The performance times are 1 to 2 p.m., 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. The students' teachers are Arthur Baines, Joan B. Gathercoal, Mary Ann Guenther and Caren Luckenbill.

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Corvallis High School student Rebecca Lomnicky was awarded the Corvallis Folklore Society Folk Music Award on April 19 at Local Folk, the open-mic program of Corvallis Folklore Society and ArtCentric. The award is given to high school students who best exemplify the performance of music in the folk tradition.