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Perfect attendance! Westlake High School graduate never missed a day of school

Perfect attendance! Westlake High School graduate never missed a day of school

Yahoo15-05-2025
Westlake High School graduate never missed a day of school, all the way back to kindergarten.
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Westlake High School senior Lincoln Fletcher will lead the color guard for the school's upcoming graduation ceremony.
He wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, at school he has never missed anything.
'My parents prided themselves on making sure I was always present every day, no matter the cost,' Fletcher said.
Since the first day of kindergarten through the last day of his senior year, Lincoln has had perfect attendance.
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He's a perfect soldier, too.
Last year, Channel 2 Action News reported on Fletcher being named the Top Cadet at the National Flight Academy.
'You hear the cadets all the time. I want to be like Lincoln. I want to be just like Fletcher. He sets a great example. He's an awesome kid. He was raised very well,' Senior Army instructor Dana Fort said.
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A little shout out to his mom, Patrice, and uncle Matthew Hutcherson, who set the perfect example: He, too, never missed a day of school. Ever.
'I know I may have mentioned to my sister maybe once. Is he really sick? Is he just playing? Let that boy go to school, right?' Hutcherson said.
During Lincoln's 13-year scholastic career, there were 2,340 days of school. He was in class for all 2,340 of them.
Now he's going to be a Morehouse Man, where he plans to keep his perfect record intact.
'If there's an excuse for me to not go to college classes, I still want to show up and be there every day like I was for high school, middle school, and elementary school,' Fletcher said.
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Lively's Gerry Wagner got married on D-Day, then went to war
Lively's Gerry Wagner got married on D-Day, then went to war

Hamilton Spectator

time5 days ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Lively's Gerry Wagner got married on D-Day, then went to war

To reach 100 years old is quite the milestone. It is with sadness that the family of Gerald (Gerry) Wagner share that their dad is no longer here to recount his memories. He was in otherwise good health right until his last days. Born March 24, 1925, and leaving us on July 19, 2025, Wagner represented a chapter of Canadian history that is soon to disappear. 'I am writing to let you know of the passing of Private Gerald Wagner, of Lively, the last known member of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI) who served in World War 2,' posted Captain (retired) Tim Fletcher. As a young man, Wagne joined 'RHLI late in the war and fought through some of their toughest battles towards war's end,' said Fletcher. 'I was supposed to meet him last year. The fates conspired against us getting together. I was in the Army Reserves for 36 years. I try to stay involved with as many veterans as I can.' Wagner served in Italy, then France. After hospitalization, he caught a returning English convoy to Belgium. In Holland, he was at Nijmegen, then off to Essen and ended up with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. He was then part of the occupation of Germany as part of the Queen's Own Rifles. 'The loss of someone like Pvt. Wagner is a loss not just for our regiment but for all Canadians, Fletcher said. 'His experience was a reminder of the human condition and that we have to work towards something better. It is an erosion of memory.' For this reason, donations to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #564 Lockerby Poppy Fund would be appreciated. His daughter Kathy O'Neill recalled her father's last days. 'We were just loading the motorhome on the ferry to Newfoundland and in the lineup. We got the call. We came back fast. I even offered to drive. Dad was in hospital and he waited for us. My sister was here. We were soon all here.' Like many pensioners across Sudbury, Wagner had long service with Inco (34 years.) 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I proposed with a box of Laura Secord chocolates. Robert Brown Jewellers sold me a ring. There was a tray of rings. My Mum chose, and I paid in full. 'I drove my Dad's green Buick out to Creighton. I put the ring in the centre spot of the box. Ivy did not see it. She took the box, thanked me, and put the chocolates to the side. It was only when her grandmother said that Ivy should have a second look inside that she realized what was there.' Wagner had to get permission from the Canadian Army to get married. 'I was just a private. We got married on D-Day (June 6, 1944.) The church was packed … I thought they were there for our wedding, but actually the doors were open for everyone and anyone to pray. They all stayed.' The ceremony was delayed for hours. 'I was waiting patiently for Ivy as she and her parents went into town to get her flowers and found everything was closed. We were 65 years married when Ivy left us. I had no appetite, but I had my little dog.' 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You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

State report: MARTA escalator had missing parts during mishap that hurt Beyoncé fans
State report: MARTA escalator had missing parts during mishap that hurt Beyoncé fans

Yahoo

time6 days ago

  • Yahoo

State report: MARTA escalator had missing parts during mishap that hurt Beyoncé fans

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I Don't Scorn Mixed Motives. I Live by Them.
I Don't Scorn Mixed Motives. I Live by Them.

New York Times

time24-07-2025

  • New York Times

I Don't Scorn Mixed Motives. I Live by Them.

When you cover politics as I do, you find yourself around a lot of highly ambitious people. I don't mind it. In fact, I like ambitious people. They're energetic, trying to achieve big things, taking a big bite out of life. Their burning drive gives them the stamina they need to pursue their dreams year after year, and stamina is a vastly undervalued superpower if you want to contribute something to the world. But, of course, ambition is both a blessing and a curse. Ambitious people are also more likely to be ruthless, manipulative, status-obsessed and so focused on worldly success that they become hollow inside. 'Macbeth' is a play about a man who becomes a slave to ambition — that insatiable, destructive beast — which hardens, isolates and destroys him. So the million-dollar questions are: How can you marshal ambition's energies without being consumed by its insatiable demands? How do you live a driven life, seeking to achieve great things, without becoming a jerk? Some sages say: Don't even try. You can't control ambition, so you should renounce it. Die to self. Abandon selfish desires and offer the world a pure and selfless love. This advice is not as unrealistic as it may seem. I've known many people who live utterly generous lives — serving the poor and the weak with great love without clamoring for applause. Their lives are wondrous to behold. Unfortunately, many of us, and I include myself here, can't seem to achieve that. Sad to say, my altruistic desires alone are not powerful enough to drive me through the hard labor required to do anything of note. If I'm going to get through the arduous work of, say, writing a book, I need to put my egotistic desires at the service of my loftier desires. I start the book hoping it will be helpful to people, but to propel me to work on it for years, I also need my name on the cover and the ego-pleasing possibility that readers might think I'm clever. In other words, if I'm going to be really driven, I need to harness both selfless and selfish motivations. I don't scorn mixed motives; I live by them. I think a lot of us live this way. Abraham Lincoln is the patron saint for those of us who hope to live well even in the grip of ambition. Lincoln's law partner reported that 'his ambition was a little engine that knew no rest.' And yet one of Lincoln's major speeches, the Lyceum Address of 1838, was about the danger of overweening ambition, and you get the impression he was very much worrying about his own. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

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