Claire Toomey's poster wins first in state

LORDS VALLEY — Claire Toomey of Hemlock Farms won first place award in the annual statewide School Bus Safety Poster Contest.

Claire is the daughter of Dr. Lihua Zou and Robert Toomey and attends Notre Dame Junior/Senior High School in East Stroudsburg.

She and other winners were invited to attend a ceremony at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg to receive their recognition and to meet with their elected state senators and representatives.

Sen. Lisa Baker, whose 20th Senatorial District includes Pike County, was on hand to congratulate Claire and to present her with a certificate marking her achievement.

Claire competed in a group open to students in grades 6 through 8.

The contest was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and held in conjunction with the annual National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 19-23. This year’s poster contest’s theme, “Bully Free Zone!,” encouraged students to stress the importance of having a bus and bus stop free from harassment.

This year’s winners were chosen from 623 public and private school student entries. The first-place entries will be forwarded to a national competition to be judged at the end of this month.