Milestones

Teen named Eagle Scout

Alex Arey recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in Scouting.

He has been a member of Troop 202 at St. Francis United Methodist Church in Cary since 2002 and has earned 35 merit badges, along with other honors.

For his Eagle Scout project, Alex led Scouts from his troop and other volunteers in building six benches for Yates Mill County Park on Lake Wheeler Road in Wake County.

Alex is a senior at Cary Academy. He is the son of Robert and Jane Arey.

Chapel Hill officer wins Torch Run honor

Chapel Hill Police Officer Phil Smith has been honored for his 15-year involvement with the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Smith has sold T-shirts and hats, and he has hosted numerous events and a golf tournament that raises more than $60,000 annually. Smith has been a member of the N.C. Torch Run committee and served on the North Carolina support team for the final leg of the 1999 World Games.

During the course of Smith's involvement, his agency has raised more than $875,000 for Special Olympics of North Carolina.

Smith is a 19-year police veteran and serves the Chapel Hill department as the special events coordinator and court liaison officer.

Penny Road wins NC Beautiful Grant

NC Beautiful, a provider of environmental education and beautification, has announced this year's recipients of its environmental education grants. The grants are available to certified, full-time teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade.

In the Triangle, Penny Road Elementary School in Cary received the Windows of Opportunity Grant. Teacher Michael Hopkins submitted the winning entry.<

Windows of Opportunity provides $1,000 grants. Each school must use its grant by June.<

Each grant applicant was required to complete a five-section online application that included a two-page project narrative, a budget and commitment letter, which commits the school to complete the projected work.

NC Beautiful has been part of the state's environmental preservation community for 40 years, supporting awareness, education and beautification efforts.

For more information, visit www.ncbeautiful.org.

ASU graduate gets perfect LSAT score

Christian Kucab of Raleigh has scored a perfect 180 score on the LSAT, the law school admissions test.

Perfect scores on the test are rare -- about 25 perfect scores out of 125,000 test takers nationally.

Kucab, a recent graduate of Appalachian State University, is working as a courier at the law firm of Jordan, Price, Wall, Gray, Jones and Carlton in Raleigh.

Kucab is a graduate of Raleigh Charter High School and is the son of Bob and Ruth Kucab of Raleigh.

Durham wins Budget Excellence Award

For the fifth consecutive year, Durham County has received an award for budgeting excellence. The Government Finance Officers Association named Durham County a winner of the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its fiscal year 2008-09 budget document.

The award reflects that the county's budget satisfies guidelines in four categories -- as a policy document, an operations guide, a communications device and a financial plan. Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories to receive the award.