Francesca Augello is a hometown hero.
 
 Augello, in her sixth year as a school monitor at Wood Park Primary, successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver after alertly spotting a second grader choking on pizza during lunchtime on Friday.
 
 Augello had seen posters on the Heimlich maneuver over the years, and was prepared when the need urgently arose.

 

“I’m just happy everything worked out,” said Augello, who has three of her own children in the district. “You just have to pay attention and be aware what’s going on in the cafeteria.”
 
 Superintendent Dr. Jordan Cox stopped by Wood Park on Monday to personally thank Augello for her quick thinking.
 
 “It’s amazing,” Cox told her. “That’s scary stuff.”