By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER School officials saluted 13 Southington High School seniors at a special ceremony to aknowledge their enlistment in the United States military. Following their graduation from Southington High School, the students will serve in the Army National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and U.S. Navy, with one student attending the U.S. Naval Academy and two entering Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs—the University of Connecticut Army ROTC and the Eastern Connecticut State University Air Force ROTC. To honor the enlistees, the Southington Municipal Center was covered in red white and blue décor, as town representatives, educators, and families gathered to hear speeches of well wishes and present the students with tokens of recognition. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connellan opened the ceremony, which included the distribution of military cords by Southington school administrators, and remarks from John Brian Durbin, Southington High School social studies teacher and retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army. As the group enjoyed a lunch provided by CC Carvers in downtown Southington, dozens of veterans were asked to stand, recognizing parents, current recruiters, town officials and members of the American Legion Kiltonic post 72—among them were Durbin and town manager Gary Brumback, who shook hands […]
By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER School officials saluted 13 Southington High School seniors at a special ceremony to aknowledge their enlistment in the United States military. Following their graduation from Southington High School, the students will serve in the Army National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and U.S. Navy, with one student attending the U.S. Naval Academy and two entering Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs—the University of Connecticut Army ROTC and the Eastern Connecticut State University Air Force ROTC. To honor the enlistees, the Southington Municipal Center was covered in red white and blue décor, as town representatives, educators, and families gathered to hear speeches of well wishes and present the students with tokens of recognition. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connellan opened the ceremony, which included the distribution of military cords by Southington school administrators, and remarks from John Brian Durbin, Southington High School social studies teacher and retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army. As the group enjoyed a lunch provided by CC Carvers in downtown Southington, dozens of veterans were asked to stand, recognizing parents, current recruiters, town officials and members of the American Legion Kiltonic post 72—among them were Durbin and town manager Gary Brumback, who shook hands […]