JUNE
June was a big month for retirements. Laning Principal Frank Albano took his leave of Verona, as did Forest Avenue second grade teacher Kevin Jennings. The Rev. Erik Spencer retired from First Presbyterian Church, becoming one of three clergy members who left Verona houses of worship this year: Rev. Lucy Ann Dure left the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit after a decade of service and Rabbi Aaron Kriegel retired from Congregation Beth Ahm. But perhaps the biggest departure–of a human, that is– was that of Marilyn Varallo from Laning. She had been the first grade teacher of decades of Verona children–and often their children too.
The prize for the biggest animal to leave Verona went to a black bear, who after a week of criss-crossing the eastern ridge of town, settled down for a nap in a tree in the Afterglow section on June 14. State animal control police escorted her back to western Jersey.
