FEBRUARY 2023 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
BY RICH FISHER
BY DAN AUBREY
When Michael Boiselle went out to work on his jump shot last summer, he needed someone to rebound for him. Who better than the person who taught him the game of basketball in his formative years—his mom, Ortha Allen. “She was a good player,” Lawrence coach Jeff Molinelli said of the 2002 LHS graduate. He added with a laugh “She’s better than him!” Boiselle didn’t deny that, but did say, “I still play her sometimes, it’s not a tough match-up anymore. I can beat her now.” He probably beats her because of what he learned from Ortha as a kid. “She brought me into the game of basketball, she introduced me to it,” Boiselle said. “I actually started playing basketball in second grade but never played on a team,” he added. “She used to take me to the court, let me shoot around, just give me the ball. I used to play her for fun in one-on-one in third grade. That’s when I really started to get into it, See BOISELLE, Page 9
Libraries are safe places that connect to the world of ideas and human memory and are always on the front lines of combatting censorship. Yet they are often the physical representations of past values and designs — if one just takes the time to check them out. So, let’s take a quick tour of some of the region’s vintage libraries. First stop, the Trenton Free Public Library on Academy Street in Trenton. It’s the oldest organized library in New Jersey and the embodiment of a particular American movement. Founded in 1750 as the subscription-styled Trenton Library Company, it allegedly started with 50 books purchased by Benjamin Franklin. Yet the person who turned that first page in Trenton’s history was Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, who served as the town’s first chief Burgess and contributed 500 pounds. The collection was housed in rented spaces or subscribers’ homes until the British arrived in 1776 and destroyed the building that housed See LIBRARIES, Page 7
Explore history at area libraries
Boiselle a leader for LHS boys’ basketball
Members of the Lawrence High School Science Olympiad Tournament Team competed at the 2023 N.J. Science Olympiad Regionals on Jan. 10, 2023.
LHS Science Olympiad Team to compete in state finals EDITED BY BILL SANSERVINO
The Lawrence High School Science Olympiad Tournament Team took 5th place overall in their division at the 2023 NJ Science Olympiad Regionals at Camden County College held on Jan. 10. The team is set to move on to the state finals, which will be held on
Thursday, March 16 at Middlesex College. Top finishers there will go to the 2023 Science Olympiad National Tournament at Wichita State University on Saturday, May 20. After months of preparation, the Lawrence High School competitors demonstrated mastery in 12 scientific and engineering disciplines at
college level. The following students won medals at the competition: Graham Wild and Kavni Batra for Anatomy and Physiology; Grace Chang and Ethan Wang for Cell Biology; Milan Naropanth and Farhaan Shroff for Epidemiology; Rajassai Keerthi and Sonia Munawar for Forensics; Ridhima See AROUND TOWN, Page 2
Lawrence Hamnett Soccer Association
Spring Soccer Programs – Ages 3+ See ad in SIX09 on page 13
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