June 19 LG

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JUNE 2019

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Music teacher named Citizen of the Year

Top 10 seniors on the move

Squad goals

By angel orTiz American Legion Post 414 in Lawrence has several requirements for its annual Citizen of the Year award. Lawrence Middle School music teacher Ron Taglairino has all of those qualifications and more, and that’s why Post 414 named him Citizen of the Year at a ceremony on May 3. For starters, the honoree has to be a resident of Lawrence Township, as the committee of Post 414 observes people in their community. The individual should contribute to Lawrence Township activities and programs, and they should be enthusiastic about what they do. The selection committee consists of Steve Arnold, Sam Alphin and Nick Loveless, who are all members of Post 414. They look for individuals who get involved in and care for the community. The committee doesn’t choose an individual right away, but instead watches anyone who constantly contributes to the community over a number of years before going to a vote. Taglairino is not the first in his family to win an award from American Legion Post 414. Back in 2018, his father, Ron Taglairino Sr., was awarded Veteran of the Year by Post 414. Taglairino has been teachSee TAGLAIRINO, Page 8

Lawrence High School held its annual Mr. LHS pageant May 4, 2019 at the high school. Front: Mehdi Raza, Jack O’Reilly, Nikhil Kotta and Kelvin Blanco. Back: Trauchan Robinson, Wilson Leon, Jack Schloesser, Cole Hamer, Kristian Hajduczka, Zamir Gorden, Jonathan Molineros and Alex Marion. For more photos, turn to Page 9. (Photos by Suzette J. Lucas.)

Finding community out on the trail Lawrence-Hopewell Trail walking club to meet monthly By JenniFer goeTz Summer is here, and with warm, sunny weather on the way, the Lawrence Hopewell Trail has a new initiative for locals to take advantage of. On Saturday, May 11, The LHT Saturday Morning Walking Club gathered to take a four-mile neighborhood walk up Gordon Avenue and on to the town’s Village Park. The

LHT Saturday Morning Walking Club’s first walk took place on Saturday, April 13, ETS campus off Carter and Rosedale Roads, and LHT will host walks each second Saturday of the month. Becky Taylor, co-president of the LHT Saturday Morning Walking Club, shared that the goal of this new initiative is to encourage the public to use the trails. “Once we had some trails for people to actually go out on, we have been very interested in making sure that we get people to come out to the trail,” said

Taylor, “because if they see it and they enjoy it, then they’ll want to come back.” Taylor, a longtime member of a book club, and shared that “it is just so much fun to see the same people every single month.” She knows first-hand how having a common connection can bring people together, and “over the years become really good friends [with members of her book club].” This gave her the idea to pair the LHT and a club that can bring the community together. “I thought to myself, why don’t See LHT, Page 6

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The 2018-19 school year is coming to a close, and this year’s Top 10 academic seniors at Lawrence High School are looking ahead toward college and careers as graduation approaches. Each student filled out a questionnaire about themselves, including information about their career plans, favorite Lawrence memories, extracurricular activities and teachers. The seniors will attend colleges such as Rice University, Rutgers University, Georgia Tech, University of Washington, American University and UCLA. They will study engineering, biochemistr y, neuroscience, bioinformantics and political science on their way to prospective careers like doctors, accountants and politicians, among others. During their time at Lawrence, this year’s Top 10 students were involved with clubs like chemistry club and DECA, extracurriculars ranging from tennis, National History Day, swimming and Math League to STEM Academy, Science Olypiad, Model Congress and Students Against Violating the Earth. They were also members of academic organizations like the National Honor Society and Deloitte Academy. The class of 2019’s graduation ceremony is set for Thursday, June 20, 2019 at the Cure Insurance Arena, starting at 3 p.m. To read more about this year’s Top 10 students, turn to Page 10.

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