Students take part in DARE graduation

Essay winners Democrat Photo/Lindsay Reed Cassville Middle School held its 2012 Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) graduation on Monday. Several students were recognized for writing exceptional DARE essays this year. Pictured above, in the front row, from left, are: Trevor Mitchell and Jaime Aguinaga. Back row: Abbi Atkinson, Ashlynn Howe, Grace Schell and Jesse Edie.

"This is when you really begin to use what you have learned," said Cassville DARE Officer Jennifer Luckey. "This is when you begin to make the decisions that make a difference in your future.

"I challenge you to continue to practice and improve upon the skills I have taught you," said Luckey. "Apply those skills as you seek to make good decisions throughout your life. Recall the decision making model when you are faced with decisions."

Luckey introduced six students who were selected as the 2012 DARE Essay Contest winners. Recognized students included Jaime Aguinaga, Abbi Atkinson, Jesse Edie, Ashlynn Howe, Trevor Mitchell and Grace Schell.

After a slide show presentation, Luckey presented each student with a DARE graduate certification card. The 2012 DARE graduates are listed below by class.

Sherri Brooks' class: Veronica Aldaba, Chandler Brattin, Grant Davis, Issac Dodson, Josie Dougherty, Efren Hinojosa, Ashlynn Howe, Hallie Long, Dakota Moss, Austun Periman, Erica Reyes, Colton Robinson, Megan Sloan, Jacob Smith, Hayley Stewart, Madilynn Stokes, Audrie Thorpe, Gavin Upchurch, Jessica Velasquez, Cameron Verde, Austin Wilson and Skyler Wolf.

Janet Kice's class: Amber Arnold, Hunter Bailey, LeeAnn Beck, Kevin Bickford, Seth Blevins, Ellie Cahalan, Alyssa Case, Image Dotson, Jesse Edie, Jaden Fink, Lauren Greek, Andrew Griffis, Jaque Holz, Bradley Marshall, Kaylee Morgan, Tristan Mosley, Brayden Nelson, Dyllan Robar, Mark Romero, Bub Schell and Emily Privett.

Ann Nickle's class: Kaylee Coursley, Jacob Crouthamel, Michael Dickson, Sarah Field, Dylan Garner, Tempest Gray, Grady Greene, Alex Hopper, Samuel Hunter, Tawsha Kirkpatrick, Carley Klewer, Elissa Lawrence, Savannah Lawrence, Maddison Long, Hailey Matthew, Jake McNeill, Samantha Mitchell, Trevor Mitchell, Morgan Smith, Braden Strahan, Caden Swearingen and Autumn Youngblood.

Darlene Post's class: Jaime Aguinaga, Yesenia Aguinaga, Chris Buckner, Sky Dill, Haley Donovan, Miah Fisher, Triston Garner, Mason Jacobson, Hannah Kelley, Lisa Lambel, Josie Lone, Britney Nowak, Gage Null, Dalton O'Neill, Madisyn Popanz, Jennyfer Ramsey, Megan Richter, Ariana Robinson, Andie Roper, Joshua Schreiner, Remington Taylor, Alex Wells and Connor Wolf.

Shari Rhea's class: Audra Brooks, Lawrence Dickson, Marisa Dotson, Dillan Foltz, Kory Harvey, Zach Jones, Abby Lasley, Josh Leary, Michael McCracken, Dakota Miller, Lucio Moreno, Thomas Mosley, Jordan Reed, Kaylee Reibert, Michael Rivera, Grace Schell, Rachel Scott, Sarah Shumaker, Taylor Stanton, Laura Stringer, Aaron Wogoman and Faith Wood.

Donna Youngblood's class: Angelica Aldaba, Kaylee Aldridge, Mason Arndt, Abbi Atkinson, Kameron Board, Shania Bowman, Faith Brooks, Emma Coenen, James Curtis, Trey Dalton, Shyanne Grant, Collin Hang, Levi Holtzman, Coleman Hoppes, Garret Knight, Brett Renfrow, Elijah Sturgell, Jaia Thao, Dominic Wilerbuer, Kayla Williams and Nicole Wright.

The DARE graduation ceremony also offered a performance by Cassville High School DARE band members Taylor Dodson, TJ Matthews and Mikhaila Burbridge. The band, which performed Burbridge's original song "Dare To Be You," was assisted by Derek Judd, CHS faculty member, and sixth grader Issac Dodson.