Hurley graduates 46 in a hot ceremony

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Hurley - The 46 seniors who graduated from Hurley High School Saturday will reap more than $100,000 in scholarships, school counselor Sarah Eder said.

On a 93-degree cloudless day in Kimball, the class celebrated its many accomplishments, as singled out by advisor Shannon Peterson in a poem.

Of all of the many accomplishments achieved by the graduating class, the one that drew the loudest ovation was Arthur Johnson's last-second desperation half-court buzzer-beater that sunk the hearts of the arch-rival Ironwood Red Devils.

It will be etched in Hurley history as "Arthur's shot."

"Find something you have a passion for," advised district administrator Chris Patritto. He said his passion was to be a basketball coach, which he achieved.

For valedictorian Eli Harma, who had the top grade point average in the senior class, the passion is robotics, Patritto said.

Skylar Traczyk's passion is singing.

Josh Kallas plans on becoming a firefighter.

"There's nothing wrong with having many passions," Patritto said. "Life's going to get busy, so find time for your passions."

Salutatorian Cortney Makolondra told the class, "High school is like toilet paper; you only miss it when it's gone."

She said graduating isn't the end, but only the beginning for her classmates.

School board president Joe Simonich, of Kimball, offered three nuggets of advice for the grads:

-Have a good work ethic.

-Be careful what you post on social media.

-Learn to live within your means and start saving for retirement now.

National Honor Society graduates include Harma, Makolondra, Ashley Abts, Victoria Anderson, Paige Kendall, Aiyana Nickel, Shannon Skoviera and Jaclyn Vinopal.