SHARON A red, white and blue day at school
The public recognition of 11 school district employees who have served in the military was a highlight of the program.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- When teachers asked Sharon Middle-High School pupils what they would like to do to mark American Education Week and Veterans Day, they came up .with a wealth of ideas.
They got to act on most of them in a ceremony Thursday in the school commons area.
The pupils presented the school district with a new American flag they had raised the money to buy, honored school district employees for their military service and left a huge American flag painted on the hillside in front of the school, facing East State Street.
Chain of unity: Part of the program involved linking sections of paper chains in a show of unity.
The pupils created the chains with red, white and blue links for each of them, and each room's links were joined.
The final link came during the ceremony, when Mayor Robert T. Price, schools Superintendent Richard Rossi and other invited guests stapled the individual room chains into one giant 100-foot-circumference circle.
Not everyone could be involved in painting the flag on the lawn, but some who didn't paint worked out the project design in an algebra class as their contribution.
Fund raiser: A consumer science class designed, made and sold red, white and blue popcorn balls to raise money for the projects, and the school's Students for Charity announced they had raised $1,500 to aid the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
That money will be matched by a grant from the Shenango Valley Foundation.
The highlight of the program was the pupils' recognition of 11 school district employees who have served in the military. Those who were present were called to the stage and given a round of applause.
Who was honored: The employees and their branch of service are:
U Ed Bailey, Air Force.
U James Kashmer, Army; Served in the Vietnam War.
U Ed Likovich, Marine Corps.
U Duane Patterson, Army Special Forces; Served in the Vietnam War.
U Thomas Riffe, Air Force.
U Richard Rossi, Army; Served in the Vietnam War.
U Gene Sarazen, Army; Served in the Vietnam War.
U Joseph Simons, Marine Corps.
U Steve Spadafora, Army Reserve; Served in Desert Storm.
U Ron Taylor, Army; Served in the Vietnam War.
U Ralph Trenga, Air Force.