Panther Valley High School held a baccalaureate service for its graduating seniors on Sunday evening, in the high school auditorium. The event was sponsored by the Panther Valley Gathering of Clergy.

The Reverend John Hazel, Jr., of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and Zion Lutheran, delivered the homily. Referring to his own upcoming high school class reunion, Hazel reminded students that "good, bad, or ugly," their high school years have provided them with memories they will have for the rest of their lives. Hazel also provided a light-hearted impression of comedian Jimmy Durante, who, during his act, frequently found himself "flabbergasted" by the antics and the jokes that were played on him. "He'd adopt the posture of a penguin, and say, 'I'm surrounded'," said Hazel. "God surrounds you," he said, echoing Durante. "Never forget that."Citing the Gospel lesson, Matthew 19: 16-23, which had been read by Katelyn Louden, Hazel asked the seniors if they were "possessed by possessions." "Nineteen seventy nine was a magic time of my life," he said. "My whole life could fit into a 1967 Rambler sedan. Those were some of the happiest years of my life." Hazel cautioned against ideas of status and where a person is in society. "People with their noses in the air usually end up falling into open manholes and wind up in the sewer." Hazel reminded students that they were just starting out. Referring to the matrimonial counseling that he does, he said that often times, new couples want to start out where their parents are. "They forget, it took their parents twenty or thirty years to get to that place," he said.Hazel closed by reciting a poem by Leroy Brownlow. "You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day; by things that you do; by things that you say. Others read that gospel, whether faithless or true! Say! What is the Gospel according to you?"Panther Valley High School Principal Joseph Gunnels also added a few words of advice for the students, referring to a poem written by Mother Theresa, and inscribed on the wall of a children's home, in Calcutta, "Do it Anyway." "Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway."Panther Valley students participating in the ceremony included Kayley Caputo, Katelyn Loudon, Christa Mantz, Abigail Markovich, Carly Markovich, Danielle Natividad, Virginia Rivera, Hope Skaggs, and Katelyn Zulic. Brittany Erbe provided a vocal selection, Amazing Grace and Wade Matika provided a vocal and guitar selection, Time of Our Life. Participating clergy included the Reverend James Burdess, the Reverend John Hazel, Jr., the Reverend John Keiter, the Reverend Doctor Marjorie Keiter, the Reverend Mike Netznik, and the Reverend Fred Rogers. The colors were presented by members of the Panther Valley JROTC.