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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2020)
B2 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 3, 2020 Long Creek “If you want to look good in front of thousands, then you have to outwork thousands in front of nobody.” Damian Lillard James Michael Kreamier, Jr. Class Valedictorian – Long Creek High School James will be having a private graduation ceremony with his family and a few LCS staff members. His father, James Michael Kreamier, Sr., an LCS board member, will be conferring his diploma. James will be attending EOU in the fall, where he will be playing basketball. James was named 2020 High Desert League Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year. This is Long Creek High School’s Valedictorian, James Michael Kreamier, Jr. He is a scholar-athlete, and was named Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for the High Desert League in 2020. In high school, he earned Varsity Letters in Basketball, Soccer, as well as Track and Field. He was also an officer in the LCHS Student Government, was the Assistant Basketball Coach for the middle school team, and is very active in community service projects for LCHS and his youth group.James has chosen to attend EOU in La Grande, where he will be playing basketball. He will be pursuing a degree in Health and Human Performance, with a focus on physical education and sports. James’ career goal is coaching and sports physiology.James will be having a private graduation ceremony which is tentatively set for May 29, 2020, with his family and possibly a staff member or two to take photos. His father, James Michael Kreamier, Sr., in his capacity as a Long Creek School Board Member will confer James’ diploma. James has been awarded the Long Creek Scholarship, as well as the Durst Scholarship. Congratulations on all your hard work and accomplishments! Education is truly our finest investment! Long Creek Education Association Valedictorian! High Desert League Basketball Player of the Year! Scholar Athlete! Proud Mountaineer! Long Creek School We are proud of you! Congratulations Class of 2020! Long Creek Booster Club Congratulations! Best wishes for a bright future! Blue Mountain Herbs, Inc. Dayville Mackensey Barzee Denali Twehues Class Motto: “Chase your dreams, but always know the road that will lead you home again.” –Tim McGraw Valedictorian Valedictorian Speech - Denali Twehues Well, we did it. We are finally completing the first chapter of our lives and taking a step into our future. I would have never imagined our senior year to end the way it did, but we have had an endless amount of support from our community and family through this time. I could ramble on about the countless memories I have made with my friends or the many people I have to thank for making me the person I am today, but I am going to keep this short and sweet. During my sophomore year, it was just me and one of our foreign exchange students. I knew that after he left, I was going to be the only one graduating in my class. That was until Kensey came at the end of our sophomore year. I was extremely excited because that meant I wasn’t going to be the only one graduating. Kensey and I grew a friendship that I know will last forever. With just the two of us, it made going on class trips or even doing class fundraisers way easier. During our junior year, we put on a can drive for a class fundraiser. Our awesome junior advisors, Mrs. Larson, and Mrs. Schmadeka took us to John Day to turn the cans in. Well on the way the pickup broke down, and we had to sit there and wait for someone to bring another rig. It doesn’t seem like much of a story, but we all had a big laugh afterward. There were many of those kinds of adventures. If it wasn’t for Kensey, I’d be doing all this crazy stuff by myself like decorating for prom or putting on the Halloween Carnival, so thank you Kensey for making the rest of high school something we will never forget. I want to thank a couple of people that deserve a lifetime of thank you’s. So mom and dad, thank you for putting up with me for the past 18 years. I don’t know what I would do without your never-ending love and support from coming to every basketball and volleyball game to all of my play days. You have taught me to stay true to my beliefs and value the little things in life. I know that I wouldn’t be here accomplishing so many goals without you two pushing me to strive for my best. So thank you again for everything that you guys have done for me. I love you, mom, and dad. To my sister who has been the biggest inspiration in my life, thank you for being that person I can go to for anything. I have always been able to count on you, to be honest with me, and always tell me when I can do better. I cherish all of our sit down talks and the fact that I got to play for you my last year of basketball. Those will be the memories I hold onto forever. Thank you and I love you. Also a big thank you to my grandparents for pretty much housing me every summer. Thank you to my grandpa for teaching me how to ride and for giving me the love I have for horses. I love you guys. I’d like to thank all of my teachers for making my academic career successful. And I want to give special thanks to Mrs. Thompson for being my go-to in every class and putting up with me five class periods a day. You put in a lot of effort into making sure Kensey and I got the best for our senior year, especially these last couple of months, so thank you so much for everything. Thank you to all of my friends for making high school so memorable. The traveling to games every weekend and staying up late with the never-ending conversations are memories I will always keep with me. And a special thank you to my best friends, Kyla and Aubrey for being people I can count on no matter what and always knowing how to make me laugh. From the late-night adventures during the summer to the basketball tournaments every weekend, there was never a dull moment between us. You guys have supported me in everything including every dumb idea I had. I cannot wait for the future and see what we have in store for us. I could stand up here and tell you that every day of high school was full of success and smiles, but the truth is, it wasn’t. I’m not saying that it wasn’t memorable, but it sure wasn’t easy. It was more than just go to class and sit there all day. We were taught in school and in the community to never throw in the towel and give up just because it got a little hard. That is something I really appreciate about this small community because, in life, there are always going to be obstacles in the way or failures that you have to overcome. Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” So thank you to our community, our school, and our families for sticking with us and teaching us what is really important in our lives. Monument Salutatorian Speech – Drew Wilburn Well we made it! This isn’t quite how I imagined we would be having our ceremony. Instead of a packed gym we have packed cars. While I stand here and given my limited time before some of you fall asleep listening on the radio or watching at home, I wanted to give a special thanks to those who have helped me on my path to achieve my goals and not only that but have been true friends. As I was writing this speech, I wondered what I would say…something important, something memorable. Since I first came to Monument, there have been a few people at the school who have made an impact in my life. First, I’d like to recognize Chuck. I’ll never forget our adventurous hunting and fishing stories in the bus going to and from school every day. Mr. Masonheimer… I’m going to miss our long discussions over why Ford is the best vehicle out there and yes even our political debates as well. Kristi and Peggy… thank you for always keeping us well fed and always checking to make sure we got our fill. Mrs. Engle… because of you I have found a passion for welding and is now something I want to continue for my future. There’s something truly special about the people in this small community. All the love and support that you have shown us through sports, fundraisers, and other activities, we are so thankful for. We will never be able to repay all of you for everything that you have done for us. Also thank you to whoever is watching and caring enough to recognize our achievements by completing high school. I have yet one more thank you and that goes to my family. No one has supported me more than they do. In all four years of high school basketball, my grandparents only missed one game. They have helped shape me into the person I am now. My parents… they did the unthinkable. They lived with me for eighteen years. On a serious note, I couldn’t feel more loved and blessed than I am. I’ll never forget the things you both have taught me and the many joyful memories you’ve given me. And to my sister, believe it or not, I’m going to miss our arguments between one another and all the fun adventures we’ve had. I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have a family that cares so much and has been with me every step of the way. Growing up in such a rural community with good people and good friends are memories that will last forever. I don’t know where life will take me, but wherever I might be, this place and the people in it will always have a place in my heart. Each year I’ve watched the graduating class receive their diplomas and move on. I always wondered what it would be like to graduate, to be done with high school, and here we are. Now we’re that class, ready to begin a new adventure and start a new chapter in our lives. I hope that each one of you pursue your goals and dreams. It’s exciting and scary to go away from what we’ve always known, but I believe that each one of you will take hold of the opportunities given to you and make a place for yourself in this world. Theodore Roosevelt stated, “It is hard to fail. But it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” So, chase your dreams and thrive to succeed. Valedictorian Speech – Aubrey Bowlus High School is an interesting time; I want to show thanks and appreciation to everybody that got me to the place that I am today. First, I want to thank my best friends, Aubreianna, Kyla, and Denali for always being there for me and supporting me through everything. We have so many memories together that I do not think that I can name any single one. Kyla and Denali, from the nights of hanging out and being reckless to basketball tournaments and being completely out of our minds. Aubreianna, from going out to the pond and not catching a single fish to gossiping about nearly anything and everything boy related. Thank you for having my back and never giving up on me. I want to thank my teachers, especially Mrs. Engle for truly pushing me to the best that I can possibly be. Mrs Engle helped me with any problem that I had and worked so hard to make sure that I received what I deserve. She taught me how to accomplish my goals and push to receive what I want. In my junior year of high school, I came to Mrs. Engle with this crazy idea that I had concocted in my mind one day. I told her that I wanted to be a part of the community service competition in SkillsUSA and I wanted to do something crazy. My original plan was to redo some of the structures that already existed and just simply make the park look a little cleaner and nicer. Instead, we came up with the idea to put an ADA accessible sidewalk and picnic area so all people, elderly, parents with strollers, the disabled, anybody who wanted to enjoy the park had the chance to do so. The extensive grant process and all the work that went into this was so stressful and I truly could not have done it without Mrs. Engle. She pushed me so hard on the days that I just wanted to give up completely, but here we are today, with a beautiful $10,000 sidewalk stretched across our little community park. Thank you, Mrs. Engle, for being the best teacher anybody could ever ask for. Thank you to my family for loving me unconditionally no matter what happened and raising me to be the hardworking woman that I am today. My grandparents for always making me feel loved and appreciated. Giving me the best childhood life that anybody could ever ask for, letting me watch aquamarine in your motorhome nearly every second of the day. Still, the best movie ever made by the way. My second family, Aunt Christy, Uncle Chicken, and DJ for being my other family. You guys have helped me so much and supported me and loved me since forever. My parents for going to all of my basketball and volleyball games, somehow staying sane as I broke my ankle over and over and over again and me not allowing you to stop me from playing basketball. Especially for dealing with my mood swings as well as you guys did. Most of all, thank you to the amazing community that I had the opportunity to grow up in. You all have watched me grow up, from being the little girl in the front yard in her diaper, waving at any person that came by, to being the girl at her graduation saying goodbye to this beautiful high school and soon, everybody involved. Thank you all for joining us seniors as we get closer to closing the doors of this strange chapter in our lives. Even though we are experiencing an unusual time right now, I am so grateful to be able to be standing here and reading you this speech. There are so many other people that I could give thanks to, but I want to keep this speech short and sweet. Everybody in my life has influenced me in some sort of way; no matter what happened during that time, I truly thank you. Without every single person in my life, I would not be the person I am today. I have grown exponentially since the time I entered school and even since the beginning of this year, so thank you all for taking this long trip with me. It definitely has been quite the rollercoaster but I wouldn’t wanna be strapped into that ride with anybody else. Thank you all for coming and I hope that you realize just how much you made me the person I am today. Aubrey Nicole Bowlus Valedictorian Miranda Mabel Cook Drew Charles Wilburn Salutatorian Brooklyn Ryan Near Wesley William Adams – Choate Awards Scholarships Boyer’s Cash Store Outstanding Athlete of the Year – Drew Wilburn Columbia Power Cooperative Scholarship – Aubrey Bowlus and Drew Wilburn - $700/each Dream Scholarship – Drew Wilburn - $1,000 Inland Development/Windwave Communications – Aubrey Bowlus and Drew Wilburn - $2,500/each Gaither Scholarship – Drew Wilburn – $500 Flowers Scholarship – Aubrey Bowlus and Drew Wilburn – $250/each Treasure Valley Community College – Aubrey Bowlus – $1,035 John Day Elks Scholarship – Aubrey Bowlus – $500 each year for 2 years Oregon Promise – Aubrey Bowlus Sig and Mistsuko Murakami Scholarship – Drew Wilburn – $2,334 Class motto: “Chase your dreams, but always know the road that’ll lead you home again” - Tim McGraw S191580-1
