– Axle Wisor, a 13-year-old Beaumont resident, for winning first place in the Super Stock Division last Sunday in Beaumont’s All-American Soap Box Derby. The weekend race on the Maury Meyers Bridge marked the 10th year since it was conceived by Rotary Club powerhouse Jack Hauser. It was run once again by Spindletop Rotary and sponsored by companies including Wal-Mart, Beaumont Products & Services, Inc. and ExxonMobil. The event concluded with a banquet and awards ceremony at the MCM Elegante Hotel, where each racer got a trophy for participating.
– O’Shanique Foster, a 17-year-old from Orange, for being selected for the 2011 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for men’s boxing in Mobile, Ala. He will fight in the 123-pound weight class with a chance to go to the 2012 Olympics in London. The trials, to be held July 31 to Aug. 6, consist of a double-elimination tournament of eight boxers per weight class. The winners of the 10 divisions will represent the United States at the Olympics. The second-place finishers will serve as alternates. Foster was a junior on the WO-S basketball team in the 2010-11 season.
– The Ozen High School girls track team, for winning the state track and field championship last week in Austin. This is the first girls state track and field title in Ozen’s history. The girls finished with a total of 60 points. Bealoved Brown won the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. She was also part of the state champion 4×100 relay team along with Jameka Fontenot, Robyn Hancock and Asia Booker. Brown also finished seventh in the long jump. Nekia Jones won the state title in shot put and was seventh in the discus throw. The 4×400 relay team of Hancock, Dominque Brannon, Raven Williams and Renika Williams finished fourth. Brannon also was fifth in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump.
– The Lamar University’s Community Outreach Program, for completing its fourth successful year of providing free tax preparation. This year the Community Tax Center Program helped more than 500 people with income tax returns and processed more than $1 million in refunds. Tax preparation was provided by trained volunteers among Lamar students and the local community. They were honored at the annual Volunteer Awards Program on May 7. LU student, Milagro Egeonu, Houston, received the Student Leadership Award for his role in the success of the program. Milagro serves as president of the Lamar University chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. Lamar student Dalton Couch, Sour Lake, also received the Outstanding Student Volunteer Award. Dalton has served in the tax program for three years.
– Whoever stole a Goodwill employee’s purse and the store’s money last week in a Friday night robbery. The Beaumont Goodwill at 166 Gateway St. had just closed for the evening, and the employees were walking to the parking lot at about 7:40 p.m. when a white Ford F-150 pickup truck drove up and stopped near them. A man got out of the truck and took hold of a woman’s purse. When she wouldn’t let go, the man pulled out a black semiautomatic pistol and told her it was a robbery. He got back into the truck, which drove west toward Interstate 10. The suspect is a black man with a medium complexion, about 5 feet, 6 inches and slim. He was wearing a brown baseball cap and a white T-shirt. Anyone with information about the crime can call Beaumont Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-TIPS, go to BeaumontCrimeStoppers.com or text BMT and a message to CRIMES (274637). All tips are anonymous and a cash reward of up to $1,000 is possible.
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