By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

PARIS – The threat of thunderstorms drove 254 graduates, their family members and friends indoors for the 2005 Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School commencement ceremony Saturday but hardly darkened their mood.

“Graduates, welcome to the next step of your lives,” said class Vice President Meredith Jones before the room was asked to rise and sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and salute the flag.

The 7 p.m. event was held in the gymnasium, with an overflow crowd in the high school forum watching a remote broadcast. Speakers looked over a room full of fluttering commencement schedules as people in the gymnasium tried to weather the heat and humidity.

Principal Joe Moore reflected on his time with the class of 2005, saying he was fond of the group partly because its members have never given up on their goals.

“And it’s great that I have you as one of my last memories of Oxford Hills,” he said, referring to the fact that he will leave the district for a position at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington this year.

“There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed,” Moore quoted from the John Lennon song “In My Life.”

“You can bet that I’ll often think about you, and please remember that I love you,” he said.

After a round of applause, Salutatorian Paul Apollo and then Valedictorian Sarah Ladner took the stage.

Apollo quipped that he’d been invited to speak because someone wanted to “placate me by giving me five minutes to rant about all the things I don’t like in society.”

But he quickly changed his tune, offering a piece of advice from his parents. “Decide what’s important for you and live your life accordingly,” he said. Then he laughed. “This is actually a lot harder than it sounds.”

The commencement address was given by former Lewiston Mayor and state Sen. John Jenkins, who peppered his speech with colorful stories and anecdotes. “It doesn’t matter how much you know, it’s how well you use what you know,” he told the class after a story about racing a camel in a desert and stopping just at the brink of a ravine.

Gray skies could be seen through doors that were open at the back of the gym near the podium, but the thunderstorm held off as the students lined up to gather their diplomas and yellow carnations.