And the winner is …

By: Purvi Desai
   ALLENTOWN — A 10-year-old girl’s painting of the Presbyterian Church will be on the special 300th anniversary pictorial postal cancellation this October .
   Leah Gilbert, a fifth-grader from Millstone who has been learning fine art drawing and painting with Main Street’s Village Fine Art since the studio opened in Oct. 2005 received the most votes in a contest sponsored by Village Fine Art and the U.S. Postal Service to find the image of Allentown that would grace borough mail in celebration of the town’s 300th birthday. Leah’s painting of Allentown Presbyterian Church was selected from seven paintings that hung at the borough post office between Aug. 16 and Sept. 9. Her victory was announced Sept. 11.
   Village Fine Art Studio owner Roni Browne, whose students participated in the art contest, said Leah was in shock and was unbelievably happy when she heard the news.
   Leah’s mom, Tuminia Gilbert said Tuesday that her daughter "screamed out loud" when she heard the news. "She’s so happy," Ms. Gilbert said. "She had been in art contest in third grade once before. She’s always loved art. Anything with art and music is her thing."
   "I think Roni brings out the best in her," Ms. Gilbert said, adding that the family moved from Allentown to Millstone this month, but promised her daughter she would continue taking her to Ms. Browne’s classes. "It was important to her to continue her art lessons with Roni," she said.
   Postmaster Joe Devonshire said Leah’s drawing has to be shrunk down enough to be used on the cancellation, and then he will send it to Washington D.C. at the post office headquarters for approval, which is expected to take two weeks.
   "Normally they don’t refuse anything," he said of the post office headquarters’ decisions on such matters. "It’s part of protocol and is put it in a national publication."
   Sixth-grader Addie Calabro’s painting of the Allentown Library won second place and third went to fifth-grader Taylor Oakley, who painted the Imlay House, said Mr. Devonshire. They will have their paintings printed on collectible size 10 business envelopes for the borough’s 300th anniversary, Mr. Devonshire said.
   The other participants included Victoria Cheff, Meghan Fallat, Monica Fulmer and adult student Melanie Sullivan.
   Ms. Browne said of her students, "They’re very supportive. They’re all being made to feel very special about what they did."