School and military news

FVCC dean's list

The following students were named to Flathead Valley Community College's fall 2011 semester dean's list: Columbia Falls - Lucas Baumann, Zane Brown, Andrew Burgi, Laura Burgi, Elizabeth Cheff, Sara Christensen, Lori Church, Nicole Creighton, Heidi Dettmering, Heather Ellsworth, Barak Evans, Sharilyn Fairweather, James Grisez, Casey Jensen, Suzanne Johnstone, Amy Kienas, Michael Koskela, Morgan Kuzmik, Corey LaChance, Alesia LaRoque, Aleena Lukenbill, Aimee Moriarty, Jordan Mueller, Gary Parkhill, Joy Pattengale, Kathleen Pearson, Kayla Piquett, Cassia Pross, Yelena Raymond, Brandon Rice, Leon Sax, Anthony Schnetter, Lindsay Smith, Eric Smythe, Kasey Steele, Angela Tanguay, Tyson Thompson, Donita Toavs, Hillary Van, Catharine Ward, Austin Wargo, Vadim Zvyagelskiy; Coram - Cecilia Byrd-Rinck, Jennifer Martinez, Hannah Rajkowski, Isaac Rajkowski, Lorri Tustin; Essex - Rebekah Sullens; Hungry Horse - Trevor Brown, Clayton Martins.

Navy recognition

Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class Richard Walsh, a 2002 graduate of Columbia Falls High School, was recently recognized with a monetary award for an idea he submitted to the Navy. Walsh's suggestion could change the way troubleshooting is done for F/A-18 aircraft. His idea has been suggested for implementation throughout the Department of Defense. Walsh was recognized during a Jan. 6 ceremony at Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic Oceana, in Virginia Beach, Va. He was runner-up for the same award in 2010.

MSU award

Thomas Wright, a biochemistry major at Montana State University-Bozeman from Columbia Falls, and his mentor, Martin Teintze, from MSU's College of Letters and Science, will be among 40 students and staff recognized at the 30th annual Awards for Excellence banquet on Feb. 21. Honored students were nominated by faculty in their college or department. Qualified seniors must have at least a 3.5 GPA as well as demonstrated campus leadership and community service.