FAVORITE SONS & DAUGHTERS

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"A Port of No Return" is loosely based on local resident Christine L. McKellar's real life experiences as a hired deckhand. But she said "Port of No Return" is not a memoir. "There are tiny grains, like sand, of truth in my stories but as to my characters and their experiences, I have embellished, updated, and let my imagination run free," she said.

The novel's cover art was created by local artist dbdonovan.

View welcomes announcements of recent achievements of Favorite Sons & Daughters who have graduated from local high schools. Achievements may run the gamut from earning a college degree to successfully climbing Mount Everest. Please include student's name, age, area high school attended and graduation year, parents' names and city of residence. Send announcements and photos by mail to: Lynn Benson, View, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV, 89125-0070; by fax to 477-3852; or by e-mail, viewcalendars@viewnews.com.

Nicholas Grieco, 17, won second place for the state of Nevada in the 2006 Southern Nevada Bridge Building Contest sponsored by UNLV and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

His bridge weighed 11.8 grams and held 109 pounds.

He also was the recipient of a certificate of achievement for participating in the 2006 AIA Las Vegas High School Design Awards.

He received a $500 scholarship to Ohio Technical College in Cleveland for participating in an automotive diagnostics competition in Sparks.

Grieco will begin his senior year at Arbor View High School in the fall. He is the son of James Grieco of Las Vegas.

Pasquale Anthony Antonelli, 18, has accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Antonelli graduated from Durango High School in June of 2005, then attended two semesters at CCSN. He received nominations from Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.

Advisors Ed Joyce and Col. James McElvoy guided him through the nomination and admission processes.

Antonelli is the son of John and Helen Antonelli of Las Vegas.

Ashley Anne Felix, an airman in the United States Air Force, was deployed to Iraq in February of this year.

After basic training in 2005, Felix attended tech school for Security Forces and was then stationed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

Felix also trained in Korea and Texas and received a certificate for the automatic grenade launcher, the Mark 19.

Felix, a 2003 graduate of Green Valley High School, is the daughter of Enrique Felix of Henderson and Janet Felix of North Las Vegas.

Brittani Ann Rowe, 7, was crowned National American Miss Nevada Princess at the state pageant June 17 at Palace Station.

She received a crown, banner, trophy and $1,000, and will next compete in a national pageant during Thanksgiving week in Anaheim, Calif.

Brittani will be a second-grader next year at Alexander Dawson School. Her hobbies are swimming, horseback riding, gymnastics, acting and modeling.

She is the daughter of Timothy Brooks and Vickie Ingram of Las Vegas.