File photo
Lyonel Doherty
Aberdeen Publishing
The Town of Oliver wants to salvage this year’s graduation ceremonies by honouring grads in a special way.
Councillor Petra Veintimilla said she saw an idea online where some small towns in North America are putting the names and photos of high school grads on banners.
“I thought it was a cool way to do something to honour the grads,” she said.
Veintimilla noted that Oliver’s 94 graduates won’t be having a traditional ceremony in June, so she wanted to see a “spirit building” project that would salvage it.
She pointed out that the Parents Advisory Council (PAC) is supportive of the banners and has funds to put toward the idea. The councillor said she is looking for other partners to help pay for the project.
While Councillor Dave Mattes supported the idea in principle, he didn’t support paying for the banners directly, only for Public Works’ time in erecting them.
Councillor Aimee Grice supported the plan but said there are not enough poles for every student. But it was subsequently suggested the banners be dual-sided.
Councillor Larry Schwartzenberger said he was in favour of the concept, with the Town putting in the budget to make it happen.
Public Works manager Shawn Goodsell said the banner project would cost approximately $1,500 to pay for a crane truck and a couple of workers.
Mattes said he supported spending this money but cautioned council that this will likely become an annual request (even when the high school goes back to its normal ceremonies). He said the actual purchase of the banners should be a grad and/or a PAC expense.
In either case, Veintimilla said the project is a “win-win” for the community.
