During Class D basketball tournaments this year, Buckfield girls and boys went farther than they had in past years. One little boy, Jared Eastman, sat in the Augusta Civic Center and watched fans from other communities fill the end bleachers with rousing, loud support. He made a shirt, a Bucks hat with horns and sat alone in the end bleachers with an occasional friend or relative. He began pleading with Buckfield fans to join him. The picture of him all alone during one of the games must have registered with people.

I’d like to commend the group of students and fans, and the four cheerleaders (who were attending on their own time) Kaitlyn Bradbury, Naomi Caron, Brittany Wylie and Kayla Jordan, who gathered around the boy in the end bleachers for the fourth Buckfield game. They painted their faces and gave the girls’ basketball team a crowd with spirit and support. A community of young people coming together. It was nice to see.

Diana Tolman, Sumner