Six Teachers Honored at Wapato High School for Their Service

[darrels joy]

Six Teachers Honored at Wapato High School for Their Service
By PHILIP FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic

WAPATO ? Holding a staff draped with eagle feathers, Morris Miller led a procession of Yakama Warriors Association members in Wapato High School's gym Friday.

Following behind, warriors displayed various military flags and colors while warrior John Smith kept the line formation stepping to the sound of his drum.

It was the school's largest assembly of the year, and student leaders wanted to use the gathering to honor veterans at the school.

"We thought, people are at war and we need to honor our veterans," said senior Katie Weeks, who helped organize the event.

After turning to the bleachers crowded with students at the west end of the gym, Yakama Warriors gave a salute before looping the floor and taking their seats.

Adjacent to the warriors sat the six veterans from the high school who were to be honored: principal Linda Ricker; teachers Randy Wheeler, Bill Bailey and Junior Jackson; computer tech Jim Graham; and graphic artist Dan Walsh.

Acknowledging their service, the school gave each of them a dark-blue T-shirt displaying their names and service branch.

Weeks read a poem honoring veterans of foreign wars and a student played "Taps" on a bugle. Behind, a choir standing on a slightly elevated platform sang "We Are the Voices of America."

"There are all kinds of veterans out there from foreign wars," Mayor Jesse Farias told the crowded gym, "and they all have good memories, and they all have bad memories."

From his wheelchair, Farias ? who lost both legs to a land mine in Vietnam ? admitted that he sometimes recalls the roughness of war, and has on several occasions awakened in a cold sweat.

But he also told students that despite the tragedies of war, there's a bond among service members that cannot be found anywhere else.

"There is no other place that a poor Mexican man can share a can of fruit cocktail with the attorney general's son," he said. "These memories stay with you the rest of your life."

He told an attentive crowd waving small American flags to spend time with a veteran they know.

"Shake their hand," he said, before paying tribute to Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, a Wapato High School graduate who was killed Aug. 5 while fighting in Iraq. The city has a proclamation honoring him on Aug. 5. Farias also paid tribute to Ricky Hilario, a Yakama tribal member and Wapato graduate who is currently serving in Iraq.

The POW/MIA flag flew behind Farias while he told students of its importance.

"This is a very special flag," he said. "We fly it over City Hall now. It is for those who have been left behind, but not forgotten."

Students applauded after each segment of the assembly, and Ricker was pleased with the respect and honor displayed.

"I thought it was outstanding," she said.

Yakama Warriors Association members also noted the interest and respect students had for service members, Miller said.

"It's great," he added. "They really paid attention."
Left to right, Jess Ortiz, Morris Miller and John M. Smith of the Yakama Warriors salute during Taps during a ceremony at Wapato High School on Friday.

[darrels joy]

JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic
Veteran Bill Bailey, right, shakes hands with Morris Miller of the Yakama Warriors after a ceremony honoring veterans at Wapato High School on Friday. Bailey is a teacher at the school.