April 2017 www.readingtonnews.com
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Readington News A Community Newspaper
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Serving All of Readington Township, NJ
Readington Superior Speller Headed Township to National Spelling Bee Christopher Serrao, a fifthTree Giveaway grader representing Holland Brook School, won the second April 29 annual Discover Lehigh Valley Regional Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word “ronin” on Thursday, March 16, at the Lipkin Theater in Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, PA. He beat 37 other students from schools in Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey, and Northampton and Lehigh counties in Pennsylvania when he correctly spelled the word for a vagrant samurai. He succeeds his older sister, Danielle Serrao, as the reigning regional champion. Danielle was the first-ever to represent the township at the national event in Washington D.C. last May. Christopher described the 3 1/2-hour competition as “intense.” Going 22 rounds, he successfully spelled words such as “sural,” “sticktoitiveness,” “doublure,” and “parvule.” He said he was grateful for the support from family and friends, and couldn’t have done it without assistance from his sister.
Readington News Readington Township’s popular annual Tree Giveaway will be held on Saturday, April 29, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 509 County Route 523. Working in partnership with the state Division of Parks and Forestry, the Open Space Advisory Board will be distributing, free of charge, more than 1,000 seedlings of various species to township residents. They will be handed out on a first come, first served basis, with a limit of about five trees per household. Residents can use them to replace lost trees or to add trees to their yard. The seedlings, which range in size from one to three feet high, will arrive bare rooted and will need to be planted promptly or stored in a cool damp place. A variety of native species will be available, including various deciduous and conifer species. Last year’s selection included oak, maple, cherry, sycamore, birch, walnut, white pine, norway spruce, and a number of less common varieties such as red bud and persimmon. Planting instructions will be available when you pick up your trees. See the Readington Township website for more details. In addition, the Open Space Advisory Board has scheduled a Community Tree Planting event for Sunday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dobozynski Farm Park, 452 Woodschurch Rd. This is a great activity for kids, families, individuals, and scouting troops, and even if you can only stay a short time, your help is appreciated. To register, contact John Klotz at Jwklotz@embarqmail.com.
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Pictured, from left, are Eugene Ngai, Diane Redling, NJ State Police Lt. Howard Butt (NJ CERT State Coordinator), Joe Doerer, Paul Grassie, and Bob Schoenfeld.
Readington Township CERT Offers Training The Readington Township Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be offering an eight-week training program to anyone who would like to better protect themselves, their family and their neighbors in emergency situations where municipal emergency response agencies may be overwhelmed and unable to provide an immediate response. This Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed program will instruct participants on a wide variety of subjects such as disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation, fire safety, emergency communications, and traffic control. Handson training will include basic first aid, correct use of fire extinguishers, and light search and rescue methods. Demon-
strations of proper emergency procedures will be presented by local fire and first aid organizations. Readington Township OEM/CERT invites you to attend an informational recruiting meeting on April 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building on Route 523, Whitehouse Station. Classes start the following week and will be held one evening per week for approximately three hours per session. To confirm your availability to attend this introductory meeting or to request information about Readington CERT contact Joel R. Kerwin, Coordinator for the Township of Readington Office of Emergency Management at 908534-4051 ext. 265 or oem@ readingtontwp-nj.org.
Serving All of Readington Township, NJ
Christopher Serrao of Readington Township is headed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington D.C. area in May. The 10-year-old won the second-annual Discover Lehigh Valley Regional Spelling Bee championships March 16. He becomes the first-ever to represent Holland Brook School at Nationals.
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