06/09/2008
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Staff photo by Doug Harlowfrom the Kennebec Journal
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The 18-member Class of 2008 at Upper Kennebec Valley High School in Bingham graduated Sunday afternoon. The guest speaker was popular strength- and-conditioning coach Jack Kaplan.
Miller, 18, of Bingham, and Cates, 17, of Moscow, say their roots in rural Maine and those of their classmates, have created a bond that, even if they go away for a time, will always be there.
"We all got to know each other -- we may not always agree, but we always get over it, get past it," Cates said. "I'm sure we'll all see each other around. If people go away, I think they'll come back, definitely."
Miller, who played basketball, soccer, baseball, track and ran cross-country for Valley, agreed.
"Me and all the guys are really good friends," he said. "I think a class of 18, we're all really close. It's really fun and it makes graduation a whole lot better when you can know everyone.
"I can't imagine graduating with 300 kids and not knowing everyone."
They said there also is more one-on-one instruction time with teachers and extra help is just around the corridor corner.
But class size aside, Cates and Miller said they can thank their mothers for being able to stay at home while they were growing up.
"My mom home-schooled me until eighth grade, I learned a lot of everything I needed to know at home," Miller said of his mother Lisa, who raised six boys. "She was there all the time, whenever I needed help. When some of the school work got hard, she didn't know everything, my mom, but she was just always there, always helped me however she could."
Miller's father, Allen Miller, owns a trucking business.
Cates said having her mom, Mary, at home definitely was an advantage for her.
"If I ever needed help with anything, she was right there," she said. "She was always the one to try and help me however she could. She was always there and always helped me as best that she could."
Her dad, Calvin Cates, works in the woods as a logger.
Cates, who is a dancer with Fancy Feet studios in Anson, will attend Husson College in Bangor in the fall. She will major in chemistry and pre-pharmacy.
Miller will be going to the University of New England in Biddeford to study applied exercise science and sports management.
After college?
"I want to stay in Maine," Cates said. "I'm just used to it. I'm used to a small place."
Miller said he isn't so sure about the short term -- he has his eye on the big city right after college.
"I might end up back in Maine, but I love the city, too, so we'll see what happens," he said.
The following is a list of Upper Kennebec Valley High School graduates:
Sierra Lynn Blanchard, Tasha Marie Carver, Ashley Lynn Cates, Melanie Katherine Coldwell, Rachel Ann Flannery, Scott Gerald Hunnewell, Sebastian Jackson, Jillian Teal Jones, Jacqueline Mae Mathieu, Curtis Dale Miller, Trevor Holden Miller, Brandon James Osgood, Dillon Michael Pierce, Austin Mitchell Plourd, Chelsea Lynn Rand, Portia Lynn Routhier, Morgan Dale Staples, Kassandra Rose Strickland.
Doug Harlow -- 861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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