8 Reach Finals in Contest for Scholarship at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Orange County Chapter of the American Friends of Hebrew University of Jerusalem has selected eight county high school seniors as finalists for its Jewish Young Leaders in Sports Awards.

The eight and their sports are Gregg Diamond, La Habra High, soccer and football; Stacey Gunthorpe, Marina High, gymnastics; Jeffery Jacobson, Loara High, tennis; Reed Kiefer, San Clemente High, water polo; Jennifer Kolsky, Cypress High, tennis; Scott Lasensky, University High, track and field; Aaron Malo, Villa Park High, water polo and swimming, and Steven Stolzoff, University High, basketball.

They were chosen for athletic, scholastic and leadership abilities. The winner will be announced Sunday and will receive a summer scholarship at the Rothberg School for Overseas Students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A tempera painting of a ballerina’s slippers by Jenee Foss of Garden Grove, a junior at Rancho Alamitos High School, will hang in the Capitol in Washington for one year. Foss won first place in the 38th Congressional District art contest.

Her work will and that of other winners from participating congressional districts will be part of the exhibit “An Artistic Discovery” opening June 28 in a Capitol corridor.

Two women whose quick thinking foiled the kidnaping of a 4-year-old girl received Villa Nova Restaurant’s Outstanding Citizen Award. Irvine resident Trudy Kaech and friend Shavonne Hilliard of Costa Mesa called police after noticing a man holding a girl and acting strangely.

Costa Mesa Police Capt. Tom Lazar said, “Due to the courage and quick response of Kaech and Hilliard, the suspect was apprehended and the little girl was returned to her family.”

Newport Beach businessman Rogers Severson, 48, who was paralyzed from the chest down when he fell from a horse, was named Rehabilitant of the Year by Casa Colina Hospital in Pomona, where he regained the use of his legs after four months of treatment.

The former star athlete at Tustin High School is again running his Orange County real estate development company.

Severson, who returns to the hospital for outpatient therapy toward his goal of walking without a cane, has established a special fund at the center for patients who need financial help.

George Rowell, senior at Anaheim’s Canyon High School, has been appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. He will report in July. Rowell also is president of the campus Key Club and a member of the water polo and swim teams.

Dean Gray, senior at Katella High School in Anaheim, used the slogan “Plant Freedom . . . and Reap the Benefits!” to win first place and $650 in the Americanism Educational League’s 18th Annual Patriotic Slogan Contest in Orange County.

Federico Navarro, senior at Corona del Mar High School, won $200 for first place in the Mini Essay Contest, “The U.S. Constitution: Foundation of Our Nation.”

UC Irvine physics professor Norman Rostoker was named the 1988-89 recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Research by the UCI Academic Senate.

During his 16 years at UCI, Rostoker, who lives in Irvine, has focused his research on plasma physics, work that has potential application for controlled nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the sun. His latest research project, the development of a new kind of particle accelerator called a plasma betatron, has demonstrated technology that could make fusion reactors smaller and cheaper.

Marshall Elementary School in Garden Grove placed first in a districtwide “Right On” contest for its clean campus and anti-vandalism program. The contest was sponsored by Volunteer Center West and the school received $400 from Target stores for winning.

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