MILLVILLE — Ashlee Donelson, daughter of Marvin and Rose Donelson of Millville, recently moved up the ranks in Taekwondo to obtain her 1st Dan Black Belt. Ashlee, 12, has been training in Taekwondo at Cumberland County Martial Arts Training Center in Millville under Master Jason Renyo since she was 5 years old. She has gone through nearly eight years of training, many tournaments and championships and has devoted countless hours to her passion. Ashlee has competed in tournaments since she was a 6-year-old high yellow belt. Through this period of tournaments, Ashlee has earned 97 first-place golds, 14 second-place silvers, 18 third-place bronze and three, fourth-places, totaling 132 awards as seen above. Ashlee is a prospect for this year’s National Team in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. where she will be only the second female athlete in Cumberland County Martial Arts history to compete as a Black Belt. World Taekwondo Federation certified through the World Taekwondo Headquarters, Kukkiwon, in Seoul, Korea, Ashlee owns four national championships and several Junior Olympic titles.

The Millville Senior High School recently unveiled its Percussion Ensemble. Students signed up last year to be a part of the new course and all of their efforts were displayed at the Winter Concert. The group is under the direction of Robert DeSantis who instructed them to play rhythmic melodies on xylophones, marimbas, congas and even trash cans. With some added choreography and costuming, the ensemble was well-received by all who attended, according to Henry J. Hartman, IV, kindergarten through 12th grade Fine & Performing Arts supervisor.