By Terry Karkos,Staff Writer

RUMFORD – Saturday afternoon’s graduation at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford was short and sweet, but it had a rousing ending.

Diplomas in hand, 115 seniors sang their hearts out inside the gym on the class song, “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. They were accompanied by senior musicians Daniel Bordeau on bass, Michael Derouche on guitar, and Scott Milligan, percussion.

“It was very exciting, with a nice closing,” said graduate Kayla Brown of Hanover about the 45-minute ceremony.

“But it was wicked hot,” she added.

Superintendent James Hodgkins agreed.

“I saw a sign that said it was 93 degrees downtown, so I figured it had to be over 100 in here,” he said.

Before to the 4 p.m. ceremony, several graduating seniors stood in front of large floor fans. Inside the gym, though, many fanned themselves with programs.

A thunderstorm and downpour flushed cooled air through open doors, but did little to alleviate the heat for several hundred people seated in front of the seniors in the center bleachers.

In her senior address, Sasha Theriault thanked the community and crowd for their commitment to the Class of 2005.

“What separates us from the rest, is our commitment to each other, and the communities’ commitment to us,” she said.

“The support and dedication of this town is like none other than I have seen,” she added.

She reminisced about teachers and administrators, then keyed on Principal Bruce Lindberg, emphasizing his “ability to reach out to all students.”

Class adviser Chris Carver called the Class of 2005 achievers.

“It’s a terrific class,” he said. “We had a lot of kids who lived up to their potential. These kids really made this community proud, I think.”

Parent Darcy Howard of Rumford said she was proud to see her son, Jeremy Howard graduate. Enrolled in SAD 43’s Alternative Education program, Jeremy Howard had just two credits when entering his junior year, she said.

“He did two years of high school this year and graduated on time,” she said. “The teachers are just incredible here. It’s just an awesome, awesome program.”

“I was so proud of him, and more than a little amazed that he graduated. He had the biggest smile on his face,” she added.

After the event, about 110 graduates boarded three Northeast Charter and Tour buses out of Auburn, bound for Agawam, Mass., for Project Graduation, Carver said.

They are to stay at a hotel there, hold a dance and a big feast, then spend all day Sunday at Six Flags amusement park, returning to Rumford by 11 p.m., he added.