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Lauren Ashley Stapleton, daughter of Philip and Evelyn Stapleton of Chapel Hill, was named to the dean's list for the first and second semester of the 2005-06 academic year at UNC-Wilmington. Lauren has also been excepted into the Phi Sigma Pi Co-Ed National Honor Fraternity.

Peter H. Priest of Chapel Hill won $5,600 during a World Series of Poker event in June in Lake Tahoe, Nev., according to the Triangle Poker Journal. Priest is a patent lawyer with an office in Durham.

Gillian Fink of Orange County finished in first place in two equestrian events this month during the 2006 Special Olympics North Carolina at the Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh. Fink competed in the Working Trails-English and Dressage events.

Marisa Sarah Schnider of Chapel Hill was named to the dean's list for the spring semester at the University of Delaware. To make the list, a student must be enrolled full-time and have a grade-point average of 3.33.

Arnav Tripathy, a rising senior at East Chapel Hill High School, won a gold medal in the 2006 International Mathematics Olympiad in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Tripathy competed on the U.S. team, which garnered two gold medals and four silver medals and finished fifth among the 90 competing teams.

Rachel Christine Williams of Chapel Hill received a medical degree in veterinary medicine during commencement ceremonies in the spring at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Oleg Alekseev Jr. of Carrboro was named to the dean's list at Bates college in Lewiston, Maine. To qualify for the list, a student must have a minimum of a 3.65 grade-point average. He is the son of Oleg Alekseev and Victoria Alekseeva and a 2003 graduate of Chapel Hill High School.

D B Sutton & Co, a hair-styling salon on West Franklin Street, is mentioned in the "Where to go" section of the August issue of Elle magazine.

Steven Offenbacher, the OraPharma distinguished professor of periodontal medicine at UNC's School of Dentistry, has been named the recipient of the 2006 Norton M. Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research. The Ross Award, sponsored by the American Dental Association through the ADA Foundation, recognizes scientists whose clinical research has had a meaningful influence on clinical dentistry. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare provides support for the award. Offenbacher will receive the award, an accompanying plaque and $5,000 in August. Offenbacher, also director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases, based in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, has been a member of the dental school's faculty since 1990. He is a past recipient of the International Association for Dental Research's Basic Research in Periodontal Disease Award and is the first dental scientist to receive the national Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies' Special Impact Award.