The Friends of the Oneida County Public Library named the winners of their spring Read-a-Thon on Friday.  Colt Price and Mariah Price were recognized for their reading efforts over the duration of the contest, and were presented with Thank You cards and a gift card to Bamma Wamma’s.  Mariah was unable to attend in person due to illness.

Levi Balasz was named the winner of the contest, with a total of 80 hours of reading, which brought in $100 for the library.  Representatives from the American Legion and the Lions Club, who both donated $100, were on hand to congratulate the winners.

Ann Rethard, on behalf of the Friends of the Oneida County Public Library, congratulated the participants and overall winner on their dedication and effort in the contest.  While the read-a-thon did not bring out as many participants as the Friends had hoped, those in attendance expressed the feeling that it was a worthwhile endeavor, and should be continued in the future.

“Nothing sparks creativity like reading.  I’ll let you know that this young man here,” Rethard said, motioning to Balasz, “is right now working on a very creative project.”

“I’m making a chainmail vest out of old soda cans,” Levi said, holding a large bag of can tops.  He is collecting pull-tabs from empty cans to form into an armor vest for the Renaissance Faire.

“It’s wonderful to see we have such literate and creative kids here,” Rethard said.    

Levi explained that he liked to read a wide variety of books, but specifically mentioned the “I Am America” books, which he said were about “people in all kinds of situations.”

The Enterprise congratulates the Friends of the Oneida County Public Library for their promotion of reading, and the winners for their own pursuit it!