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No masks or rain, just high spirits and a tear or two, as 37 Oakridge graduating seniors receive diplomas

by Doug Bates | Jun 13, 2021 | Arts, Entertainment and Events, Commentary, Communities, Front Page, Oakridge/Westfir

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oakridge high school, commencement, class of 2021

Boys wore black gowns and girls wore purple (some with embellishments on their caps) as 37 Oakridge High School seniors received their diplomas Saturday morning at Ziegler Field.

By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — Robbed of a traditional commencement ceremony last year because of the scourge of disease, Oakridge High School made up for it Saturday morning with a sun-splashed, joyful graduation on the freshly mowed grass of Ziegler Field.

oakridge high school,class of 2021 commencement, valedictorian ashton tilton,supt. reta dolandDoug Bates/The Herald

Valedictorian Ashton Tilton gives his address as Oakridge Supt. Reta Doland, seated at left, looks on.

Hardly a mask was in sight, but more than one parent could be seen in the stands with a tear or two in their eyes. Months and months of isolation and suppression of rites of passage have taken a toll on every community in America, and Oakridge is no exception.

Saturday morning, the people of Oakridge and Westfir celebrated — not just the graduation of 37 high school seniors but the enormous step back toward normalcy that the event represented.

It began at 11 a.m. with a pitch-perfect rendition of the National Anthem by high school principal Greg Chapman. And it ended with the presentation of diplomas by Oakridge School Board member Susan Hardy and a spirited, lump-in-the-throat recessional.

Ashton Tilton of the Class of 2021 gave the valedictory address, followed by Melanie Stevens, the salutatorian. Then came the presentation of scholarships by Chapman.

Members of the Class of 2021

Those receiving diplomas (with names as they appear in the commencement program):

Hunter Louis Allen, Lillian Hope Allen,  Alonso Arellano, Jacob Elliott Boone, Alexis Ryan Brewer, Drake Evan Brossart, Preston Chase Burton;

Jabaar Albert Edwards, Jessica Marie Garrison, Leah Hymer, Jeffrey James Kephart, Mason Jack Ketch, Conner Alex Lane, Josiah Charles Larsen, Kyra Maris Liberidhs;

Kristyn Makenzie Madden, Isaiah Andrew Mark, Kalina Rochelle Matney, OronMorris, Jacob Jose Nuno, Ciara Parks, Renalyn Pagaduan Rief, Joseph Robertson, Zachary Conner Rowan

Mathew Fredric Royer, Kodi Lee Skordahl, Randall Keith Edward Smith, Jeremiah Deshea Stanley, Melanie Marie Stevens, Dalton Loyd Terpening, Ashton Roan Tilton;

Cedric Vincent Rayme Vance, Alfredo Vargas, Cole Weatherford, Jordan Elaine Wilder, Dalton John Wingo.

Class motto (Sir Winston Churchill)

“This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Class song (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

“Fortunate Son”

Herald Editor Doug Bates is a retired newspaper journalist who lives in Oakridge.

 

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Written by Doug Bates

June 13, 2021

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