By Joe Olenick<br><a href="mailto:joe.olenick@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joe</a>
PENDLETON — Next week, Starpoint will honor scholars then and now at a special ceremony.
“Starpoint Scholars ... Past and Present” will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the high school auditorium, 4363 Mapleton Road, Pendleton. The event includes an Academic Wall of Fame and Achievement induction ceremony for three graduates and the recognition of 67 current students who kept a 90 percent average for each of the four marking periods of the previous school year.
This year’s Wall of Fame inductees are Ruth Klein-Pirinelli, Paul Layer Jr. and Maj. Paul White. Pirinelli, who works for Starpoint as district clerk and public relations coordinator, said she was honored to be inducted.
“I am so thrilled to be a part of Starpoint’s history in this way,” Pirinelli said.
n Pirinelli is a 1967 graduate of Starpoint, where she has spent 39 years, 11 as a student and 28 as an employee. In 1984, Pirinelli became the executive assistant to the superintendent of schools, a position she holds today, in addition to being district clerk.
She has also served as community education coordinator and volunteers on the office technology advisory committee at Niagara County Community College. A graduate of NCCC and a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, she has also co-authored a book, “Consider it Done,” a true story about her nephew who was shot in Iraq in 2004 while on patrol with his Army unit.
n Layer is a 1977 graduate of Starpoint, a 1979 graduate of state University at Canton and a 1981 graduate of SUNY Fredonia. During college, Layer interned at Prudden and Kandt Funeral Home in Lockport and received his New York State license for funeral directing. Afterwards he moved to New Mexico and began his career as an apprentice embalmer, later receiving his cemetery certification from Memphis State University in 1993. Layer is currently the vice president of development for French Mortuary in Albuquerque.
During his tenure at French’s, Paul obtained his contractor’s license and built three new mortuaries for the corporation. Paul also is a course instructor for Albuquerque TVI Community College and Wayland Baptist University. He has served as chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, leading the Hometown Heroes Program commemorating medal recipients and as president of Rotary Del Sol and chairman of the Mid Rio Grande Chapter of the American Red Cross.
n White is a 1989 graduate of Starpoint and received a bachelor’s at the University at Buffalo in exercise science in 1993. He also earned a master’s degree in education from Niagara University in 2002. White served as a captain in the U.S. Army for seven years and was deployed to Iraq. He received numerous awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal and many others. White is currently an instructor in the physical education department at the West Point Military Academy, where he trains young cadets.
Superintendent C. Douglas Whelan said Wall of Fame inductees must meet criteria including excellence in their chosen field, outstanding contributions to humanity and outstanding service to their community or profession, whether it is at the local, regional or national level.
After the inductions, 67 current students will be honored with the Starpoint Scholar Award. Since 1984, more than 580 students have won the award, many of them more than once. Following the ceremony, there will be a general reception at about 8 p.m. in the high school student dining room. The event is open to the public.
Last year’s inductees to the Academic Wall of Fame and Achievement were: Thomas Lee Waild Jr., class of 1982; John White, class of 1985; Peter Layer, class of 1990; and Janet Meyers-Schultz, class of 1969.
Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.
