The Palm Beach Post photographs your graduations because we're proud, too
Of course, my high school graduation (from Martin County High School in 1978) was memorable for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was the look of pride on the faces of my grandmothers; two women who grew up in the Old South and were never able to go beyond the fifth grade because they had to work, but always stressed to me the importance of education.
But that's not the primary reason I believe these annual events are special. It's because they are a true source of community pride. Watching those wide-eyed youngsters go across a stage to receive their diploma is symbolic for both the students' first step into adulthood and parents' acknowledgement of a job (hopefully) well done. There are tears of joy from friends and family who had a hand in bringing this young person along through good times and bad, and tears of sadness from the graduates who realize that some of the best times of their young lives are coming to an end.
For The Palm Beach Post, as a newspaper that has had the opportunity to report and write about a handful of these new grads at some point — in triumph or tragedy — marking this occasion is important. Despite so many other things going on in our busy and growing county, we're there to capture in photos and video, the graduation ceremonies of more than two dozen of our public high school classes.
It's tough, but as you, our readers, oft remind, it's worth it. The looks on the graduates' faces just never seems to get old. Our photographers — , , and — rotate spending the entirety of their day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the South Florida Fairgrounds shooting one colorful ceremony after another.
The result has been the beautiful photo galleries that we will be and have been publishing in the print editions, and posting on our website, PalmBeachPost.com, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and in our community newsletters.
Well, I could go on and on. But we'd honestly rather you spend the time going through the photos and video, and feeling the same pride that we do.
This is a special time of year for our community. Congratulations to all of our graduates!
Rick Christie is the Florida State Opinion Group Editor for the USA Today Network, and currently serves as the interim Editorial Page Editor for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at rchristie@gannett.com and find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @rchristiepbp or Facebook @Rick Christie. Subscribe to independent reporting that supports democracy via subscribe.palmbeachpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County graduation photos are worth taking | Opinion
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dramatic video shows small plane crash on golf course in Australia
Video footage captured the dramatic moment a small plane crashed onto a golf course in Australia. Around 2:20 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 17, the plane, a Piper Cherokee, made an emergency landing at Mona Vale Golf Club in Sydney's Northern Beaches region, the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau said in a news release. Onlookers at the golf course rushed to aid the two passengers, a pilot and instructor, surveillance footage released by the golf course showed. The two individuals emerged from the aircraft without serious injury, the golf club announced. Earlier in the day, the plane had departed Camden Airport, about 82 miles south of Sydney, to conduct a training flight, the Transportation Safety Bureau said. Watch video of plane crash-landing onto golf course After taking off, the aircraft reportedly experienced an engine power loss, prompting the pilot to conduct an emergency landing on the course, the agency said. 'Big crunching sound': Witness details plane crashing onto golf course Both individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries and later transported to an area hospital for further evaluation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing information from New South Wales Ambulance. One person suffered minor facial injuries, the outlet reported. Witness Keanu Turnewitsch told the outlet he was on the course with a friend when a 'nice big shadow came over the top.' 'It was dead silence,' he said. 'About 30 seconds later, we had a big crunching sound… then all the ambulances and everything started coming past and sirens for 20, 30 minutes." He added, 'By the time we got back up around, there was an airplane on the golf course.' In a Facebook post, the golf course said, "A huge credit goes to the pilot for an incredible landing that avoided greater harm, and a heartfelt thank you to the members and patrons who rushed to help without hesitation. 'Moments like these remind us of the strength and spirit of our community.' More news: TSA's faster PreCheck lane is now available at these 15 airports Investigation into small plane crash underway The Transportation Safety Bureau said it would interview the pilots, other involved parties and witnesses and collect available recorded information, including footage and flight tracking data. The agency is also asking for anyone with footage of the incident to come forward and submit it on their website. The Transportation Safety Bureau will later publish a final report with its findings. An investigation into the crash remains ongoing. Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Plane crashes onto golf course in Australia: Watch video
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Dramatic video shows small plane crash on golf course in Australia
Video footage captured the dramatic moment a small plane crashed onto a golf course in Australia. Around 2:20 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 17, the plane, a Piper Cherokee, made an emergency landing at Mona Vale Golf Club in Sydney's Northern Beaches region, the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau said in a news release. Onlookers at the golf course rushed to aid the two passengers, a pilot and instructor, surveillance footage released by the golf course showed. The two individuals emerged from the aircraft without serious injury, the golf club announced. Earlier in the day, the plane had departed Camden Airport, about 82 miles south of Sydney, to conduct a training flight, the Transportation Safety Bureau said. Watch video of plane crash-landing onto golf course After taking off, the aircraft reportedly experienced an engine power loss, prompting the pilot to conduct an emergency landing on the course, the agency said. 'Big crunching sound': Witness details plane crashing onto golf course Both individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries and later transported to an area hospital for further evaluation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing information from New South Wales Ambulance. One person suffered minor facial injuries, the outlet reported. Witness Keanu Turnewitsch told the outlet he was on the course with a friend when a 'nice big shadow came over the top.' 'It was dead silence,' he said. 'About 30 seconds later, we had a big crunching sound… then all the ambulances and everything started coming past and sirens for 20, 30 minutes." He added, 'By the time we got back up around, there was an airplane on the golf course.' In a Facebook post, the golf course said, "A huge credit goes to the pilot for an incredible landing that avoided greater harm, and a heartfelt thank you to the members and patrons who rushed to help without hesitation. 'Moments like these remind us of the strength and spirit of our community.' More news: TSA's faster PreCheck lane is now available at these 15 airports Investigation into small plane crash underway The Transportation Safety Bureau said it would interview the pilots, other involved parties and witnesses and collect available recorded information, including footage and flight tracking data. The agency is also asking for anyone with footage of the incident to come forward and submit it on their website. The Transportation Safety Bureau will later publish a final report with its findings. An investigation into the crash remains ongoing. Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Photos claiming to show Russian man saving drowning bear in Lake Tahoe tell a different story
Claim: Online photographs show Ivan Stepanov, a Russian tourist, saving a drowning bear beneath the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. Rating: A seemingly heartwarming story of an animal rescue spread like wildfire across social media in August 2025. The story, accompanied by photos in each post, was of a Russian tourist named Ivan Stepanov, who dove into frigid waters to rescue a sedated, drowning bear beneath the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. According to the story, Stepanov said when asked why he risked his life, "In my country, we say a man's strength is measured by who he chooses to protect—even if it has claws." A Facebook post (archived) of the story got nearly 400,000 reactions in just a couple of days. Another Facebook post (archived) of the same story got 16,000 reactions. An Instagram post (archived) sharing the story got over 40,000 likes. Several readers reached out to Snopes to ask if it was true and many others searched the site for the story. The story as told in the Facebook posts was false. The photos were real, though, and from a real drowning bear rescue by an American man in Florida. A Google search for "Ivan Stepanov bear" yielded no legitimate news outlets covering the rescue, just social media posts spreading the story. A reverse image search (archived) for the photo attached to the story, however, returned 17-year-old news articles about a man who rescued a bear in Florida. The rescue, according to The Gainesville Sun, Tampa Bay Times and Gulf Breeze News, was the work of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Adam Warwick in 2008. After the bear wandered too close to people's houses, state wildlife officials shot it with a tranquilizer gun so they could move it, but the bear reacted by paddling out into the Gulf of Mexico. Warwick, believing he had only a few minutes before the tranquilizer dart took effect and the bear would drown, jumped into the water and first tried to splash it to encourage it to go back to shore. But that didn't work, so Warwick got behind the bear, hugged it and tried swimming it to shore. "The bear was heavy. Warwick used the animal's buoyancy to help him haul it to shore," the Tampa Bay Times wrote. "The animal was awake but could barely move. The bear tried to help out with a little doped-up paddling of its own." According to the Times, Warwick and a colleague drove the bear three hours east to Osceola National Forest the next morning. Two weeks later, the bear wandered into another residential area and Warwick found it a home at Hardee County Animal Refuge to save it from being euthanized, The Gainesville Sun reported at the time. Six years later, in 2014, the rescue got some national attention with stories from Game & Fish Magazine and the Financial Times. The version with "Ivan Stepanov" wasn't a real bear rescue shared with the wrong photo, either. Not only was there no real reporting of the tale, it also happened at a place that doesn't exist. While there is a Tallac area around South Lake Tahoe, there is no Tallac Bridge, even where the road crosses Tallac Creek. In fact, there are no bridges that cross Lake Tahoe. "Daring Rescue: FWC Biologist Saves Drowning Bear from Gulf." Gulf Breeze News - Your Community Newspaper, Gulf Breeze News, 3 July 2008, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. Garry, Stephanie. "Biologist Pulls Doped Bear from Gulf." Tampa Bay Times, 10 July 2008, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. Hanson, Debbie. "Florida FWC Biologist Makes Heroic Black Bear Rescue - Game & Fish." Game & Fish, Game & Fish, 20 Mar. 2014, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. "Ivan Stepanov Bear - Google Search." Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. "Lake Tahoe - Google Maps." Google Maps, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. The Associated Press. "Rescued 375-Pound Black Bear Will Go to Hardee County Zoo." Gainesville Sun, 10 July 2025, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. van Gilder Cooke, Sonia. ""I Saved a Bear from Drowning."" Financial Times, Financial Times, 13 June 2014, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
