By: T.J. Hug
The Village Reporter
With no students in the building, there was still one last day of school to be had at the North Central Local School facility.
And it belonged to the teachers.
The day was kicked off with a special breakfast, which was dedicated to recognizing the district’s staff for all of their hard work. After the meal was over, a ceremony designed to honor particular members of the attending crowd was held. Volunteers were the first to be thanked, as Angie Lashaway presented the Friend of Education Award to Beth Pickford.
For the past fifteen years, Pickford has donated her time to North Central. Her goal has been to help teach those younger students within the district how to read. Her commitment to such a noble endeavor has served as an inspiration for many teachers over the years, and she was thus recognized for her efforts.
After Superintendent Kenneth Boyer’s year-in review, staff members hitting milestone years in their tenure at North Central were honored. Joe House celebrated his fifth year with the school, while Linda Cochran, Carolyn Hopper, and Ashley Stewart each observed their tenth. Y’vonne Montague saw her fifteenth year pass by. Mary Smith has been with the district twice as long as that, however, as she culminated her thirtieth year at the breakfast. Trumping them all, though, was Diane Veres. The veteran guidance counselor has thus far completed thirty-five years at North Central.
Veres was again recognized when the audience turned their attention to those retiring from the school. Veres, along with Connie Myers and Jill Filler, were each enjoying their last day as full-time employees of the district, though Veres and Myers will be returning for the 2015-16 school year in a retire/rehire capacity.
The event concluded with a list, presented by members of the current staff themselves, which named The Top fifteen Ways To Know When You’re Ready to Retire. Their reasoning included such gems as number ten, Cutting edge computer technology meant slipping in a floppy disk, number nine, You remember the good ole’ days at the Kunkle Building, and, of course, number two, You were a Chaperon leaving a dance to toilet paper their principal’s house while he was still at the dance.
The morning was filled with as full of fun, laughs, and nostalgia as the staff members’ stomachs were with food. It was almost enough to make one forget whose last day was actually taking place.
T.J. Hug can be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com