Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

Scotland Is Coming to Thanksgiving Point

LEHI -- Scottish athletes like to throw things. They will get their chance, said Jeff Loosle, athletic director of the "Heavy Events," when the Utah Scottish Association holds its ScotFest 2007.

Orem High Tigers Start Journey to Find Oneself

OREM-- Orem's 51st commencement exercises wrapped up the prep careers of more than 300 graduates, each one beginning a different journey from the same starting point. The theme of the evening was a quote by Jim Stovall: "A journey may be long or short, but it must start at the spot one finds oneself."

Adventure Passport Is Out This Week

PROVO -- Back by popular demand, the 2007 Utah Valley Adventure Passport debuts this week. Created by the Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Adventure Passport is billed as a fun and convenient way to enjoy many of Utah Valley's attractions.

'Dropouts' Beat the Odds, Earn Diploma

PROVO -- Dropping out of high school for any reason can be a death sentence to obtaining a high school diploma. But a group of 26 adults plus three high school seniors were bound and determined not to let that important certificate elude them. Held at Centennial Middle School, the group graduated May 22 from the Center for High School Studies, part of Provo School District.

Grads From Dan W. Peterson School Are Unique

AMERICAN FORK -- Graduations are always emotion-packed occasions. At the Dan W. Peterson school, the event is joyful and remarkable and unusual.

Am.F. Graduates Reminded to Be People of Value

OREM -- More than 500 Cavemen took that important walk May 31 as they left high school behind and started toward their future as high school graduates in the school's 94th annual commencement. Working around the class motto ("Try not to become someone of success, but rather try to become someone of value," Albert Einstein) the speakers, valedictorian Samuel Smith, and salutatorians Kyle Kiriyama and Jeremy Mefford urged the graduates to change the world.

Nearly 400 Bruins Turn Their Tassels

OREM -- Three hundred and ninety pairs of dress shoes, high heels, high-tops and flip-flops walked, skipped, spun and marched into the McKay Events Center May 30 as members of the Mountain View High School Class of 2007 took their places for graduation. The class of Bruins, dressed in gold and maroon, were addressed by their peers Jacob Glenn, Annelise Kelly and Braden Hellewell.

Never Give Up, Lehi Grads Told

OREM -- Basketball great Michael Jordan, President Abraham Lincoln and inventor Thomas Edison shared at least one thing in common -- they didn't fail because they never gave up, said speaker Michael Maher at Lehi High School's graduation. "Take what you have and build on it," he said, "strengthening and improving."

Pleasant Grove Seniors Have Big Plans for Future

OREM -- With the theme "Dream Big," the Pleasant Grove High School Class of 2007 listened to challenges for coming years. Honor students Nathan Adams, Katherine Andrus, Heather Johnson and Katherine Pitts used "Dream Big" as their themes while speaking to classmates and supporters.

Summit High's Class of 2007 Ready to Embrace New Lives

LINDON -- Most high school faculty members don't serenade a graduating class. Then again, most high school faculty members don't equal the number of graduating seniors, but that was the case as Summit High graduated 22 students May 31. The serenading came after speeches and awards and an initial mixture of decorum and frivolity. "Pomp and Circumstance" melded with shouts, whistles and horns as green cap and gown-clad seniors took their places and Principal Doug Nielsen welcomed the crowd. Thi...

Lone Peak Graduates Are Compared to Spider-Man

OREM -- Lone Peak High School graduates and Spider-Man could have something in common, said a board of education member. "Great power carries great responsibility," said Christine Hannemann of the Alpine School District Board of Education, quoting the comic book superhero.

Timpanogos Grads Ready to Move On

OREM -- Timpanogos High School set 359 of its Timber Wolves free to enter the "real world" May 30. "The strength of the wolf is in the pack, but the strength of the pack is in the wolf," said Malia Burrows, a graduating senior who spoke at commencement. "As graduating Timpanogos Timber Wolves, let's make a difference."

Sawyer Brown: Country Stars Thrill Utah Fans

SAWYER BROWN; Eagle Mountain Silver Lake Amphitheater; one night only EAGLE MOUNTAIN -- From babies to baby boomers, more than 6,000 fans filled the Silver Lake Amphitheater on June 2 to dance and sing along with the energetic country tunes of Nashville's Sawyer Brown.

Ragtime the Musical

OREM -- Audiences will get a powerful portrait of early 20th- century America when the epic Tony Award-winning drama "Ragtime: The Musical" makes its Utah County premiere on the SCERA Shell stage. "Ragtime" intertwines the stories of a wealthy white family, a poor Jewish immigrant and his motherless daughter and a black Harlem musician and revolutionary named Coalhouse Walker to poignantly illustrate wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair and love and hate that was a way ...

Hale Brings Back Disney's 'Beauty'

OREM -- Due to overwhelming demand, both from those who saw the show in 2005 and those who couldn't get a ticket, Hale Center Theater Orem is producing Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" again. Most of the same production staff is back on board to re-create the magic made the first time around.

Preparing Meals for Your Family Is Blessing

There are times when you cannot help but feel disheartened when you read what's happening at home and in the rest of the world. It's times like this when we need to keep our home fires burning, regardless of what is going on. The one place where we do have some control is in our homes. We cannot control the Middle East, we cannot control the winds of war or the price of gas, but we can control the environment around us that we call home. Your home is a gift. Your family is a gift, too. And wi...

Byu Staging the Opera 'Gondoliers'

PROVO -- For its annual spring opera production, the Brigham Young University theater arts department is staging Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers -- The King of Barataria." The show is directed by Lawrence Vincent. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center.

Y. Brings 'Charlie Brown' to Life

YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN; Pardoe Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU campus; through June 16; 422-7664; running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. PROVO -- Brigham Young University's production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," is not unlike any one of the Charlie Brown holiday specials on television. This Peanuts troupe is great and -- thanks to some fantastic costuming -- seem to have stepped right out of the small screen or off the page of the paper.

Don't Let Cluttered Home Stifle Your Imagination

Do you feel that no one in your family understands you? My heart goes out to you!

Saratoga Splash Events Next Week

Saratoga Spring's annual city celebration is this month. For more information, go to www.saratoga-springs.net. Thursday, June 14