For the City Times 

Entries in the second annual Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve Writing, Art, and Photo contest will be exhibited during December at the Portage County Public Library in Stevens Point.

First and second-place winners in each of the categories will be honored at an opening reception at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2. The public is welcome to attend. All contest entries will be on display through Dec. 30 in the main lobby of the library, 1001 Main St.

The Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve hosts the contest to raise awareness of the reserve and the friends group, which supports the natural area.

“We hope the community will come see these beautiful photographs, the stunning artwork, and the thoughtful and moving writing entries,” said Barbara Dixson, a Friends of Schmeeckle board member who serves on the arts contest committee. “Taken together, they evoke the beauty of Schmeeckle Reserve and reveal how dearly we hold it.”

Winning entries were submitted by:

• Photography (animal/plants category): First place, Angela King, Stevens Point; second place, Tom Razner, Stevens Point.
• Photography (landscape/scenery category): First place, Matt Brabender, Stevens Point; second place (tie), Bob Mosier, Plover, and Jacob Elliot, Stevens Point.
• Artwork: First place, Bronda Smeltzer, Stevens Point; second place, Erin Kloskowski, Junction City.
• Writing: First place tie between Lisa Trogdon, Martin, Tenn., and group research project by UW-Stevens Point students Shane Loesch, Grant Haynes, Brian Adams and James McCoy.

All winners will receive a certificate of recognition. First-place winners also will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Browse Shop, a gift shop in the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center that features natural and cultural gifts.

Contest submissions and winning entries are posted on the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve website. Visit www.uwsp.edu/schmeeckle and then click on “Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve” and “Arts Contest.” The Friends will host the arts contest again in 2016. Entries are due Nov. 1.

Schmeeckle Reserve, part of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, is located at 2419 North Point Drive.