Published on September 11, 2025
This morning, Warwick High School Civics Club, led by advisor Mr. Paul Castellitto, held its 9th annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.
The ceremony began with the national anthem sung by students Yana Argulski, Lucy Taylor, Leah Turnbull, and KoriElle McMillion.
Today marks the 24-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, and today we remember those who gave and lost their lives that day. We take time to remember the brave individuals who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, and we thank the firefighters, police officers, first responders, emergency workers, armed forces, and other brave servants who willingly give their lives for our safety and freedom.
This morning, we recognized three of our local heroes: Officer Paula Shumaker, School Security Officer for the Warwick School District; Detective Theresa Stauffer of the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department; and Nazier Rivera, a firefighter for the Lititz Fire Department.
Officer Shumaker is in her second year as a Security Officer for the district, and she serves our middle school and four elementary schools. She comes to Warwick with 28 years of experience in law enforcement. She retired after 25 years as a Police Officer with the Ephrata Police Department, where she worked in the Patrol Division.
During her police career, Officer Shumaker took on numerous specialized responsibilities. She mentored new police officers as a Field Training Officer, served as Officer-in-Charge during transitional periods, and was part of the Police Bicycle Patrol Team. Officer Shumaker also led community engagement and crime prevention programs, was a certified Crisis Negotiator, was an Instructor in Standard First Aid and CPR, and a SHARP (Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention) Instructor. She was the Coordinator for the police department’s Cops for Tots Program, which earned her the Lancaster County Chiefs of Police Officer of the Year Award in 2006.
Thank you for your service, Officer Shumaker!
Detective Theresa Stauffer began her law enforcement career at the age of 19, joining what was then the Penn Township Police Department shortly after graduating from Manheim Central High School. The department later merged to form the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department, where she has proudly served for the past 25 years.
After 15 years as a Patrol Officer, she was promoted to Detective and now serves as the agency’s senior detective. In this role, she has led investigations into many of the department’s most serious and complex cases, including homicides, child abuse, and armed robberies. Over the years, she has earned numerous commendations for her work and counts her Life Saving Award among her proudest achievements.
Thank you for your service, Detective Stauffer!
Nazier Rivera is a proud graduate of Warwick High School and the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center, where he studied Protective Services. Nazier currently volunteers as a firefighter with the Lititz Fire Department, a role he took on to give back to his community, help others in need, and make a real difference. Serving others has always been a passion of Nazier’s.
Thank you for your service, Nazier!
We also took time to honor our local first responders with Warwick Ambulance, Rothsville Ambulance, Northwest Ambulance, the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department, the Lititz Police Department, members of the VFW and the American Legion, volunteers from our local fire departments in Lititz, Brunnerville, Rothsville, and Brickerville areas, and our Warwick Emergency Services Commission Administrator, Duane Ober.
Lastly, District Judge Joe Stauffer, who currently serves the Lititz and Manheim area as Magisterial District Judge, a role he has held for the past two years following his retirement as Chief of Police for the Manheim Borough Police Department, shared a few words.
The ceremony ended with a moment of silence to remember the families of the victims who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and over Shanksville, PA.
In addition to the high school ceremony, each of our buildings held announcements and activities to honor and remember those affected by 9/11.
We will never forget.