Loup County graduates five
TAYLOR - Fittingly enough, for the five seniors at Loup County High School in the heart of farming and ranching country, keynote speaker Tanner Dunbar titled his speech, “Life Lessons from Cleaning the Cattle Trailer.”
Dunbar, the ag teacher and FFA sponsor, gave bits of advice to graduating seniors Macy Brown, Madison Guest, Raif Ruppert, Jack Simpson and Alicia Thoman. He recommended “staying ahead of the stuff, don’t procrastinate,” because, true to the cattle trailer analogy, “stuff piles up.” He added, “If you see a problem, solve it,” he said.
While there is always a time to take a stand, Dunbar also advised, “When stuff starts flying around, sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut.”
Retiring Superintendent Rusty Rupert, overseeing his final graduation class, added humor to his comments. Alluding to the fact that the May graduation was postponed until June 27 due to the COVID-19 crisis, Ruppert said, “The class of 2020 probably took the longest time to graduate in LCPS history. And nobody was late!”
Having graduation at last made the ceremony more special to Macy Brown. “Especially when there was the possibility of not having it at all,” she said. Raif Ruppert had good words to say
about his classmates as they prepared for the ceremony. “Even during hard times, we come together and get stuff done,” he said.
Due to current Directed Health Measures (DHMs), school board members could not hand out the diplomas and seniors received diplomas from parents. “You can hand out food at McDonald’s” Rupert said with a smile. “But we can’t hand out diplomas.” As a parent, Rupert was able to hand a diploma to his son, Raif Ruppert.
Each student had a part in the ceremony. Jack Simpson and Alicia Thoman gave the welcome. Raif Ruppert delivered the invocation. Valedictorian Macy Brown and Salutatorian Madison Guest gave speeches. Each class member presented the class flower, white carnation tipped in royal blue, to loved ones. Each senior was allotted 16 chairs for family on the floor and additional guests were encouraged to social distance in the bleachers. At ceremony’s end, Ruppert reminded attendees that receptions are not allowed under current DHMs. “So if you get together afterward, be sure and call it a ‘non-reception,’”he said, adding, “In conforming to the plans we submitted under the DHM, please exit as family groups.”
During her address, Macy Brown recalled that, back in March, as the possibility of closing school became a reality, she was in denial. “I wish I would’ve taken everything in. Now I know to not take people for granted…or toilet paper!” Madison Guest thanked family, staff and faculty, saying, “You made sure I received the best education I could have. I owe so much to the school and the people in it. You believed in me and that’s what made all the difference.”