The Shadow
On the afternoon of Friday, April 19, Mountain View Elementary held its first DARE graduation in five years. Emceed by Captain Chris Fisher, the event was particularly bittersweet, as the DARE Instructor saw his fourth and final child complete the program. Fisher had previously been the instructor for all three of his other children.
With a room full of family and friends, the 5th grade class entered the doors of the small, quiet room and took their places in the reserved chairs which made up the first four rows. Principal Mallory Thompson was first to speak, welcoming the graduates and guests to the program. “I want you to remember that you are strong and smart and that you can overcome any peer pressure,” Thompson said. “We’ve talked a lot this year about standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves and we’ve also talked about being kind to everyone. Dare has taught you a lot of things… We’re all here to help you succeed.”
Fisher was next to speak to the crowd. “…You gotta stand behind these kids. It’s that important and if we don’t stand behind them and we don’t know what’s going on in their lives, I’m here to tell you that’s when things start to happen when we don’t communicate… We talk about opioids in the fifth grade now. It’s the number one drug problem in the world. They [fifth graders] know more than what you think,” Fisher said in his moving speech.
Afterwards, several other speakers graced the small stage including Sheriff Kyle Moore, Fred Vaughn, Deputy Scott Dudding, and Madi Nicely. Madi Nicely was a Varsity Cheerleading Captain for the Alleghany Cougars and was present to offer a few remarks about the middle school and high school experience. She then took questions from the fifth graders who were curious about what the next steps into a new school might entail.
Finally, it was time to present the fifth graders with their DARE certificates. There were four classes altogether who received certificates. Those included the home rooms of Charlee Bland, Brandy Moye, Rachel Smith, and Rebekah Wolfe. This year’s DARE graduates are:
Charlee Bland’s Homeroom:
Ryder Anderson
Kennedy Brown
Matthew Butler
Kaylee Campbell
Ellie Flenner
Kaelyn French
Joshuya Hampton
Austin Hoke
Yarielys Lebron Gonzalez
Liliana Maccentelli
Claire McGraw
Gisselle Moran
Carly Phillips
Khiran Smith
Dean Stegall
Lucas Tidd-Whiting
Stella Via
Brandy Moye’s Homeroom:
Matthew Alvarez
Kesslyn Barricks
Ava Carter
Connor Fisher
Brooks Gilbert
Donta Gross Jr.
Remington Holestin
Hayden Jeter
Axyl Knick
Carmyn McClenny
Braedyn Stevens
Ethan Tucker
Fabiana Valle Chahua
Shelby Vass
Jaxon Via
Tom Warlitner V.
Aubree Wolfe
Rachel Smith’s Homeroom:
Chayse Anderson
Emma Bland
Daisy Catron
Veronica Daugherty
Elijah Goode
Hannah Herald
Kaycen Jefferies
Lillie Kern
Rhylen May
Maci Mullins-Doran
Aidareece Phillips
Aubrey Pullin
Gia Ross
Nixie Sink
Balin Walton
Vincent Williams
Raith Wright
Rebekah Wolfe’s Homeroom:
Wendi Enamorado Peraza
Aniya Forbes
Brantley Gibson
Riley Golt
Chloe Haggard
Aniyah Hall
Lucille Hook
Samuel Hostetter
Graham Kenny
Levi Meadows
Alanna Neal
Joy Peel
Cherish Rumble
Ajionna Texeira
Austin Witt
Cade Wolfe
