Kenneth Richard Wong, 16 of Newport...

Kenneth Richard Wong, 16 of Newport Beach, earned the Boy Scouts’

highest rank, Eagle Scout, in June 2004 after completing his service

project by building 27 wooden benches at the Isaiah Catholic Worker

House in Santa Ana. Kenneth has 46 merit badges and is Senior Patrol

Leader of Troop 90 in Newport Beach. He is a junior at Corona del Mar

High School and son of Newport Beach residents Ken and Mary Wong. ...

Navy Seaman Apprentice Kevin Olson, a 2000 graduate of Newport Harbor

High School, recently graduated from the Basic Enlisted Submarine

Course at Naval Submarine School in Groton, Conn. Olson was trained

to operate nuclear-powered submarines and practiced firefighting and

submarine-escape procedures. Olson joined the Navy this year and is

the son of Mark Olson of Newport Beach ... Navy Reserve Hospitalman

Anna I. Zakharova recently graduated from the Basic Hospital Corps

School at Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Ill. Zakharova

studied medical procedures used to provide first aid and assist Navy

doctors and nurses. Zakharova joined the Navy Reserve in March and is

the daughter of Edward Mudd of Costa Mesa and Inna P. Mudd of

Huntington Beach ... Navy Midshipman Stephen E. Rodriguez, a 2000

graduate of Estancia High School, recently completed Plebe Summer at

the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Rodriguez’s

orientation included training in seamanship, navigation, infantry

drill, marksmanship and sailing ... Navy Airman Brandon G. Roldan, a

2001 graduate of Costa Mesa High School, was recently deployed aboard

the amphibious assault ship Saipan, based in Norfolk, Va. Roldan and

his shipmates will team up with 14 ships from Canada, Germany, the

Netherlands and Spain for training in a coalition in the waters off

the eastern United States ... Dwight Belden has been named executive

vice president of the Costa Mesa-based Arnel Development Company.

Belden will be responsible for investment and development of

multi-family, mixed-use and commercial properties in the western

states, with a primary focus on California. Belden has nearly 25

years of experience in the real estate development industry and is a

graduate of UCLA ... Costa Mesa-based Weichman Realtors held their

fourth annual ice cream day on Sept. 18 by delivering free ice cream

to neighborhoods in north Costa Mesa. The company’s president, Larry

Weichman, said the event was a fun way to get in contact with local

residents, and it gets bigger every year. This year, nearly 500 ice

cream cones were given away. ... Erin Chin of Newport Beach has begun

her first year at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. The

school is the oldest women’s college in the United States. A graduate

of Newport Harbor High School, she is the daughter of Ellen Van Eck

and Matthew Lynes of Newport Beach.

* NEIGHBORS spotlights achievements in the community. Please

direct noteworthy information to Jeff Benson by fax at (714)

966-4679, or send e-mail to jeff.benson@latimes.com.