Talk of the Neighborhood highlights Central Texans’ achievements.

* Applause *

* Friends and family recently celebrated the 100th birthday of Bennie Lange, a resident of Quality Care of Waco for the last 11 years. She received a proclamation from the city of Waco.

She was born in Limestone County on Jan. 20, 1910. She earned her undergraduate degree from Prairie View A&M University and her master’s in library science from the University of Denver in Colorado. She taught at Francis Scott Key High School in Houston and was a librarian for more than 30 years.

She married in 1935. Although she didn’t have any children, she has numerous nephews and nieces, including former Waco mayor the late Mae Jackson.

* George Johnson Jr., Waco assistant city manager, is the Citizen of the Month for January for the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce.

A native of Sweet Home, Ark., he is the fifth child and only son of the late Rev. George Johnson Sr. and Carrie M. Johnson. He is a graduate of Chaminade University of Honolulu where he earned his baccalaureate degree. He also has a Master’s of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University, and has done graduate work in finance.

He served in the U.S. Army, and as a Texas National Guard chaplain in 2005, he completed a 12-month deployment in Afghanistan. He has received a Bronze Star medals among his military honors.

He is an elder and senior pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Waco.

Johnson serves on numerous community boards. He and his wife, Phyllis, have been married 38 years and have three children.

* Class Acts *

* Waco High School held its campus History Fair competition. Those who placed first, second or third advance to the Heart of Texas Regional History Fair in February. Winners are:

Individual performance — 1st, Claire Moody; honorable mention, Maddie Tinney.

Group performance — 1st, Jordan Blair, Reed Cooper, Kristein Chapman and Stefan White.

Individual documentary — 1st, Calley Powell; 2nd, John Salveson; 3rd, Erik Kranz.

Group documentary — 1st, Chris Fagner and Justin Shen, 2nd, Dakota McDurham, Joshua Conatser and Olan Blount.

Individual exhibit — 1st, Jolyn Hahn; 2nd, Katherine Alford; 3rd, Miranda Brenner; honorable mention, Alex Leos; honorable mention, Tyler Massey.

Group exhibit — 1st, Laura Franks, Ariel Garcia and Rosalinda Rodriguez; 2nd, Fernando Ramirez, Andrew Wells and Zak Nelson; 3rd, James Mazza, Dylan McDonald and Emanuel Dominguez; honorable mention, Samantha Koehler and Bea Baker; honorable mention, Josue Villanueva, Juan Castillo and Sabino Medina.

Historical papers — 1st, Corey Roberts; 2nd, Helen Hoover; 3rd, Ian Larson; honorable mention, Edgar Perez.

* In the Military *

* Army Reserve Sgt. Clinton W. Dickey, a 2005 graduate of Waco High School, has returned to the U.S. after being deployed overseas at a forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dickey, a psychological operations specialist assigned to the 345th Psychological Operations Company in Dallas, has five years of military service.

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