She Makes Reading Come Alive for Kids

The Orange County Reading Assn. named Donna Chamber Orange County’s Reading Specialist of the Year at its spring conference at Katella High School in Anaheim.

Chambers, who teaches reading at the Sunkist and Juarez elementary schools in Anaheim, said she was “surprised and pleased” with the award, which is given annually to the outstanding reading or resource specialist in Orange County.

In addition, the Huntington Beach woman works part time for 112 USA, an organization that contracts with companies for on-site English language training.

Surfside resident Sheri Ross was selected Member of the Year by the California Optometric Assn. Auxiliary.

The auxiliary’s highest honor was presented to her at the optometric group’s recent annual congress in Hawaii.

She has been a member of the auxiliary board for the past 7years and is also president of the board of directors for the Surfside Colony Community Tax District, as well as a member of Orange County Family Services.

Chevron USA announced a grant of $6,150 to the educational programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs of La Habra/Brea. The grant will be used to support the agency’s computer education program, according to Ron Fliss, president of the clubs.

Derek Dunn-Rankin, Enrique Lavernia and Arthan Shaka, all assistant professors at UC Irvine, were selected to receive Presidential Young Investigator Awards from the National Science Foundation to support their research.

Each will receive $25,000 a year for 5 years to provide research support for their work and is part of an overall program to support the nation’s most promising science and engineering faculty.

Dunn-Rankin works on advanced research on combustion using lasers; Lavernia is investigating the structure and mechanical behavior of metals and alloys and Shaka is in the process of building a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, a device that uses radio waves to probe chemical samples.

The Orange County Aviation Council was presented a certificate of achievement from the Federal Aviation Administration for “significant accomplishments in providing exemplary service to . . . the flying public while successfully promoting a variety of pro aviation activities at the local airport . . . “

The Saddleback Community College District forensic team won four gold medals and seven other awards at the 1989 Phi Rho Pi Community College national championships in Concord, Calif. The 10-member squad competed against more than 400 students from 71 2-year colleges and ended up eighth overall.

Gold medal winners were Dale Dorsey of Capistrano Beach, Denise Graham of El Toro, who won two gold medals, and team captain Wendy Cagle of Irvine.

Newport Beach attorney John R. Simon, through a nationwide vote of his peers, has been named one of the country’s best attorney’s and is listed in the reference guide The Best Lawyers in America.

This is the third time Simon has been selected, primarily for his work in real estate law. He was also named in 1983 and 1987.

The Corona del Mar resident has been practicing law since 1964 and in 1988 launched Citizens for Traffic Solutions, a political action committee aimed at finding solutions to Orange County’s traffic congestion.

Don Price, a Fountain Valley resident and director of information services for the Coast Community College District, has been named president-elect of the California Community Colleges Chief Information Systems Officers Assn. The group is composed of information officers of the state’s 71 community college districts.

Placentia resident Brian J. Harris won

second place in the humorous entertainment review division of the 1989 College Newspaper Gold Circle Awards open to all 2- and 4-year-college students in the nation. The article was submitted while he was a student at Fullerton College. He now attends Cal State Fullerton.

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