Winner has ties to Valley

NILES -- Patricia Salerno, wife of Niles native Dennis P. Salerno, has been named 2006 Department of Defense Education Activity's Teacher of the Year.
Salerno, a 35-year teacher, is a fourth-grade teacher at Vicenza Elementary School, Vicenza, Italy. Her husband is retired from the Army and works for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Italy. He is the son of the late Loretta and the late Frank Salerno of Niles.
Mrs. Salerno, a graduate of The Ohio State University, taught at Izmir Elementary School in Izmir, Turkey, and Fort Campbell Schools at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The award is to promote excellence in education. She will receive the honor Tuesday in Washington, D.C.