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June 2, 2023 | Vol. 2 Iss. 22
Covering Your Community
Track stars sign letters of intent
Gordon and Weiers ink plans for the future page 7
MORGAN COUNTY NEWS Since 1929
Class of 2023 Graduates
NEWS BREAK 8 people rescued after the partial collapse of an apartment building in Iowa
GROUP OF SENIORS celebrate after graduation.
Eight people have been rescued after the partial collapse of a six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa on Sunday, May 28, 2023. No one was killed by the collapse, rescue officials confirmed on Monday. Throughout the night following the incident, search and rescue teams worked with specialized dog units to locate survivors, after fire crews helped escort around a dozen people from the building. On Sunday afternoon after first arriving on the scene. Seven people were rescued on Sunday, with an eighth person who had been pinned down by wreckage evacuated overnight from inside the crash. Photos from the scene showed a gaping hole in the side of the building, and a plastic and metal fence erected around the perimeter as rescue efforts continued. Photo by Kimberly Tripp
Morgan High School celebrates its graduating class
The bipartisan deal struck by Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would extend the debt limit for two years alongside modest federal spending cuts and a series of policy provisions. The core of the deal is a suspension of the debt ceiling – currently at $31.4 trillion – until January 1, 2025. The Treasury Department can then take “extraordinary measures” to pay the bill off. This typically lasts for months. This will effectively resolve the issue through the 2024 election leaving it for the next President and the new Congress to deal with. The spending limit for the fiscal year 2024 would limit military spending to $886 billion and nonmilitary discretionary spending to $704 billion. The next year those numbers would rise to about $895 billion and $711 billion.
By Gwen Romero MCSD Public Information Officer
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estless anticipation rippled through the Dee Events Center on Friday afternoon, May 26, as family, friends, and school personnel gathered to celebrate with the graduates of the Class of 2023. A wave of maroon filled the seats in front of the stage, as this year’s graduates took their places at the beginning of their last assembly as high school students. For most, the finality of graduation represented a stepping-off point that they have been anticipating for some time; for some, this change of routine comes with trepidation; for others, it’s a bit of relief to have made it. After the processional, some of our local veterans posted the flags and led the attendees in the pledge of allegiance; after which, Vocal Sterling Scholar Brickman Walker sang the national anthem, the first of three musical performances during the ceremony. Senior Class Vice President Brock Duke and Secretary Breck Shupe then formally welcomed the crowd and congratulated their classmates, before turning the podium over to Principal Crae Wilson to recognize the class valedictorian and salutatorian. Valedictorian Ben Hadley drew from historical figures to inspire his peers to “find motivation from the persistence, bravery, and passion of both military and civilian stories of people fighting for principles that they believed in” and that “if we never bend to the pressures of potential failure and discouragement by others, we can be persistent and determined to accomplish what we set our minds to.” Salutatorian Lucy Tripp joked that “I don’t know about you, but I’m a little sad until I think about doing another year,” followed by reminders of some challenges the class faced, including “test to play” during covid and the steep rise in gas prices just as the class was beginning to drive.
Debt Ceiling deal details: What does the Biden-McCarthy bill include?
THE CLASS OF 2023, in new all-maroon robes, listens during the ceremony.
Courtesy photo
She then shifted gears to joke about her peers’ improved dance moves and to compliment their athletic accomplishments before asserting, “We'll encounter successes and even face unfair tragedies, but we've proven we can handle and even thrive through unanticipated changes.” Challenges and change were also the central themes for Class President Ben Clayton and SBO President Cade Johnson. Ben shared an experience from his junior math class, when he had asked the teacher why they had to do the problems, to which she had replied, “It’s not about what the problem is; it’s about the skills you develop while solving the problem.” He went on to encourage his fellow graduates to “go out into the world with courage and determination” and that as “we embark on our different paths, let us remember the lessons learned and the trials overcome.” Cade also talked about the paths he and his classmates would be following over the next few years, then
turned to expressions of gratitude for his teachers and family, saying, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all them and all these wonderful people in my life.” He concluded with further words of encouragement: “Graduates, go live your lives and be your best selves.” Before the actual awarding of the diplomas, Principal Wilson took a few moments to recognize MHS Class of ‘92 alumna Kim Cox as a “light” for the graduating class and others. Kim has done a second complete run through the district’s educational program as an interpreter for our hearing-impaired students, using her positivity and skills to lift others as they overcome unique challenges. After each graduate was recognized and each diploma awarded, the class joined with the crowd to sing the school song before transitioning their tassels from right to left as a symbol of their success–so far. Congratulations, Class of 2023.l
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Has Dementia
Rosalynn Carter, wife of former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, and longtime advocate for better access to mental health has been recently diagnosed with dementia. The announcement of her diagnosis come just three months after the Carter Center said that Mr. Carter, who at 98 is the longest living president in American history, had decided to forgo further medical treatment and would enter hospice care at the couples home in Plains, Georgia. The center said in a statement on Tuesday that Mrs. Carter, who is 95, “continues to live happily at home with her husband…”