Law Day Contest winners
The annual Law Day Contest resulted in 460 bookmarks, 42 editorial essays, 13 “Peep” dioramas and 35 creative arts entries from students enrolled in a dozen different school districts and parochial schools, as well as students who entered independently and those who are homeschooled.
This year’s theme is “The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy.” Law Day U.S.A. is celebrated nationally on May 1 .
Awards will be presented at the public Law Day Celebration at 6 p.m. Monday at the Washington County Courthouse. The event is free.
Law Day activities and awards are coordinated by the Washington County Bar Foundation, the bar association’s public relations and education committee and the Observer Publishing Co. Law Day contest entries were judged by Observer Publishing Co. representative Bridget Vilencia and attorneys Rebecca Bowman, Lisa Buday, Dawn Haber and Rachel Lozosky.
Paul Cech, a teacher at Bethlehem-Center High School, will receive the “Liberty Bell” Award, which is presented annually by the bar association to a nonlawyer for outstanding service in promoting a better understanding of government, encouraging respect for law and the courts, stimulating individual responsibilities, contributing to the effective functioning of government and developing an appreciation of the rule of law.
The Trinity Leadership Team will receive the Citizenship Project Award for its yearlong “Our School, Our Community, Our Home” project. Trinity seniors Michael Golaski, Mackenzie Halliday, Quinton McIlvaine, Jacob Metts and Cameron White comprise the core of the leadership team. Students will donate $100 of their prize money to Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania and use the remaining $150 for seed money for next year’s team’s charitable projects
Law Day Essay Contest winners for sixth- through 12th-graders were:
• Emma Malinak, eighth grade, Trinity, first place;
• Amanda Keister, 10th grade, Washington, second;
• Natalie Cummings, 12th grade, Canon-McMillan, third.
Honorable mentions went to JFK seventh-grader Robert McElheny; Trinity seventh-graders Claudia Capelli and Ethan Iams; Trinity junior Carly Croft; and Washington sophomore Ian McNaught.
Law Day Creative Arts Contest winners for sixth- through 12th-graders were:
• Mia Altman, seventh grade, JFK, first;
• Rayne Elling, sixth grade, Trinity, second;
• Group entry from JFK eighth-graders Sophia Curry, Madyson Frazee and Elizabeth Raimondi, third.
Honorable mentions went to California junior Madeline Mounts; Washington sixth-grader La-Tayah Mull; and Peters Township sophomore Emma Ostrom.
Law Day Peeps Diorama Contest winners for sixth- through 12th-graders were:
• Hunter Smith of Canonsburg, ninth grade, the Linsley School, first;
• Desaree Collins, 10th, Washington, second;
• Elijah Jones, seventh grade, homeschooled, third.
Honorable mentions went to JFK sixth-grader Gabrielle Leadbitter; a group entry from JFK eighth-graders Samuel Nicolella, Elizabeth Volz and Cael Nicolella; and Ringgold freshman Jenna Sargent.
Law Day Bookmark Contest winners for second- through fifth-graders were:
• Emma Ledger, fourth grade, Trinity South, first;
• Kayla Bonnett, fifth grade, Trinity West, second;
• Tyler Johnson, fifth grade, Trinity South, third;
• Mae Coburn, third grade, Joe Walker, fourth;
• Ben Ondrejko, fifth grade, JFK, fifth;
• Deedra Closser, fifth grade, Burgettstown, sixth;
• Sydney McWreath, fifth grade, JFK, seventh.
Honorable mentions went to Burgettstown fourth-grader Caden Anderson; Trinity South fourth-grader Lilly Batson; St. Francis fifth-grader Gunnar Bjornson; St. Francis third-grader Ava Jenkins; Trinity West fifth-grader Rylee Perry; Burgettstown fifth-grader Katelyn Rodgers; and JFK fifth-grader Nicolas Stiehler.
Winning entries will be featured in a special Law Day insert that will be published Sunday in the Observer-Reporter, and will be displayed at the courthouse during the afternoon of May 1. Insert will be sent May 2 to all schools that participate in the Newspapers in Education program.
For more information about programs offered by the Washington County Bar Association, call 724-225-6710 or email wcba@washcobar.org.