Law Day and Naturalization Ceremony held at Washington County Courthouse
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Margaret Garcia, Meredith Bryant and Kaitlyn Pierrard, Ambassadors Girl Scouts, Troop 16210, begin the 2022 Law Day ceremony with a presentation of colors.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lisa J. Buday, left, presents the 2021 Liberty Bell Award to Kim Sheehan, wife of California police Chief Timothy Sheehan, who received the honor posthumously.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Eighteen men and women representing 12 countries stand to take the Oath of Citizenship inside the Washington County Courthouse Tuesday evening.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Washington County Judge Traci McDonald congratulates Umajayalakshmi Veukata Rambhala, of Bridgeville, on her new status as a U.S. citizen. Rambhala was one of 18 men and women to be naturalized at the Washington County Courthouse Tuesday.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Newly naturalized citizens of the United States celebrate by waving flags and applauding. Eighteen men and women took the Oath of Citizenship Tuesday evening before a panel of judges inside the Washington County Courthouse.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Flags wave and people applaud as 18 men and women celebrate their new status as American citizens. The naturalization took place Tuesday in the Washington County Courthouse as part of the annual Law Day festivities.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lorena Eulalia, Donna Stemski, Rosa Eulalia and Brandi Miller, executive director of the Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania, celebrate Rosa’s naturalization following a ceremony inside the Washington County Courthouse Tuesday. Rosa worked with Stemski through the Literacy Council to improve her English and study for the naturalization test.
Young and old filled the benches inside the Washington County Courthouse Tuesday evening, and folks chatted quietly as they waited for the annual Law Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony to begin.
“This is our first in-person celebration since 2019. By the size of the crowd, I think it’s a fair statement that we are all happy to be here,” Rachel Lozosky, chair of the Washington County Bar Association Public Relations and Services Committee, began, welcoming attendees to the 55th Law Day.
“This day is held in high esteem and high affection by our bench and our bar,” she continued. “This day is bigger than any one person’s control. The rule of law is bigger than any one person or any one group.”
Law Day has been celebrated each May since it was established in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Law Day celebrates the liberty, justice and equality granted through the American Constitution and offers citizens an opportunity to explore the role law plays in society.
This year’s event was hosted jointly by the Washington County Bar Association and the Washington County Bar Foundation, in conjunction with the Observer-Reporter and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Lozosky and Kathy Sabol, executive director of the bar association, presented area students certificates of achievement for projects centered on American law, including bookmarks, artwork and essays submitted for the Law Day contest.
Of the 320 bookmarks submitted by area students in grades two through five, fifth-grader Audrey Heckman, of Trinity South Elementary School, was awarded first place.
There were 26 entries in this year’s creative arts contest, and 18 essays were submitted to the editorial contest, both open to students in grades six through 12.
Trinity High School’s Rayne Elling, grade 11, received first-place recognition for her painting titled, “Our Love is Equal.” Gryffyn Jones, a home-schooled eighth-grader, won this year’s essay contest.
This year’s Citizenship Project Award went to the Trinity Leadership Committee for its “Celebrating Volunteerism” project. The project was led by senior Krista Efaw who, along with peers Emma Bowman, Claudia Cappelli, Macy Comfort, Samantha Dames, Marissa Dobich, Hannah Eisiminger, Anna Johnson, Alexandra Koffler, Emma Lorenzo, Madison Shook, Isabella Naddeo, Luke Webb and Emily Wickham, was awarded $250, to be donated to the Washington Health System’s Teen Outreach Program.
The 2021 Liberty Bell Award, presented to a non-lawyer for work including outstanding service promoting a better understanding of government, encouraging respect for law and courts and cultivating appreciation for law, was awarded posthumously to California Borough Police Chief Timothy Sheehan.
Sheehan’s wife, Kim, accepted the award in her husband’s honor.
“He was very well-deserving,” Sheehan said after the ceremony. “I’m speechless. I was very honored to receive it.”
And 18 new Americans representing 12 countries were honored to take the Oath of Citizenship before Washington County judges and the community.
Steve Rice, field officer director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Service’s Pittsburgh office, presided over the naturalization ceremony.
The courtroom erupted in applause when Rice proclaimed them American citizens.
“I love the people,” said Rosa Eulalia, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador and worked with the Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania to improve her English and earn her citizenship. “This country is safe.”
Law Day concluded with a keynote speech delivered by President Judge John F. DiSalle.
“Congratulations, new citizens of the United States. Welcome to our nation,” he said. “As you know, the United States was founded by the immigration of people just like you.
“Together, we are all one people, all united under our constitution of equality,” DiSalle said. “We are nothing if we are not a diverse people. It is our diversity which makes us a strong and greater nation. We are much more alike than we are different. All of our citizens are entitled to equal respect and equal protection under the law.”