Favorite Sons & Daughters Aug. 20-26

A member of Troop 99, Wattenbarger helped upgrade the playground at Kids Co-Op Preschool for his Eagle project.

A 2013 graduate of the College of Southern Nevada High School West, Wattenbarger is the son of Mark and Jessica Wattenbarger and brother of Joshua and Jordan, also Eagle Scouts.

Christian Hopson has graduated from Air Force basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio.

A 2012 graduate of Arbor View High School, Hopson is the son of Chad Hopson of Las Vegas.

Brandon Granil has graduated from Air Force basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio.

A 2012 graduate of Centennial High School, Granil is the son of Bryan Granil of Las Vegas.

Alex Del Valle has graduated from Air Force basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio.

A 2010 graduate of Nevada State High School, Del Valle is the son of Marsha Goldberg of Henderson.

Alexis Benitez has graduated from Air Force basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio.

A 2011 graduate of Sunrise Mountain High School, Benitez is the son of Juan Benitez and Isabel Ponce, both of Las Vegas.

Chad Van Kuren has graduated from Air Force basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio.

A 2012 graduate of Desert Oasis High School, Van Kuren is the son of Monique Van Kuren of Las Vegas.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced winners of National Merit Scholarships.

These college-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

The local recipients are:

Nicholas Andrew of Henderson, Coronado High School; Kamen Tsvetkov of Henderson, Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts; Casey Barber of Las Vegas, The Meadows School; Marcy Brown of Las Vegas, West Career and Technical Academy; Austin Heerema of Las Vegas, The Meadows School; Robyn Mathews of Las Vegas, home school; Tyler Michael of Las Vegas, Palo Verde High School; Owen Stewart of Las Vegas, Clark High School; Mackenzie Strabala of Las Vegas, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; Malia Zinn of Henderson, Coronado High School; Eliana Belden Crawford of Las Vegas, The Meadows School; Edward Hendrickson of Las Vegas, The Meadows School; Sean Mikhail of Las Vegas, Advanced Technologies Academy; Varun Patel of Las Vegas, The Meadows School; Justin Wofford of Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman High School; Nicholas Reiter of Las Vegas, The Meadows School.

Weerachai Poorakkiat has graduated from Army National Guard basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.

Poorakkiat is the son of Chumpoonut Poorakkiat of Las Vegas.

Nicole McCoy was named to the dean’s list with highest honors at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn., for the spring 2013 semester.

McCoy is the daughter of Kristine McCoy of Las Vegas.