John P. Salamone Computer Lab Dedicated

After accepting a from the John P. Salamone Memorial Foundation last June, West Essex Regional Schools went to work using the funds to construct a new computer lab. The district dedicated the lab, which is located adjacent to the high school's media center, on Monday.

"This will be used by students and staff. His memory will live on," District Superintendent Barbara Longo stated.

Salamone, a , was killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. After his death, family and friends created the John P. Salamone Memorial Foundation.

Greg Vassallo, a trustee of the Foundation, friend of Salamone and fellow 1982 West Essex graduate, attended the dedication ceremony. "This means a lot to Bud (Salamone's father, Benedict "Bud" Salamone) and the Foundation.

"John grew up in Fairfield. That is where I met him," Vassallo said, adding that Salamone was a "phenomenal student and athlete on both the soccer and baseball fields."

After Salamone was killed, Vassallo recounted how he and some other friends were wondering how they were going to manage without Salamone. "John was the guy who held us together," Vassallo recalls one friend saying.

The Foundation is "part of the answer. "We are doing things for the community John loved. We remember who he was and how he lived his life," Vassallo stated.

In addition to the donation for the computer lab, the Foundation annually awards scholarships to graduating seniors at West Essex.