The Carbon County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children honored R. Newton Davenport at a testimonial dinner last night at Trainer’s Inn, Lehighton.

Davenport recently retired as special education director for the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unity and formerly served as superintendent of schools in Carbon County.

The honored guest was cited for his dedication to the cause. Following a series of meetings he initiated in 1952 with mothers of the children, a class opened in the Packerton School in 1954, signaling the start of the county’s special education program that grew from one to three schools with elementary and secondary classes.