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Eight months after fire, seniors to re-enter school for graduation

Spring Valley Academy building has been closed since Sept. 8 blaze.

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer 12:49 AM Sunday, May 31, 2009

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — With part of the building still blocked off, 35 Spring Valley Academy seniors will have their graduation ceremony in the school’s auditorium today, May 31, more than eight months after an electrical fire gutted the structure and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Officials at the Seventh-day Adventist Church school, located at 1461 E. Spring Valley Road, weren’t certain until recently that they would be allowed to hold the graduation in the building. Parents had said they would gladly pitch a tent outside if it meant being on the grounds.

Instead, the seniors will graduate inside the school, which they haven’t seen since the fire on Sept. 8.

“If we went the whole year and never got to step back in school, we wouldn’t have closure,” said Jeff Bovee, the school’s principal. “Being in here, it’s just a great celebration for our school family. It brings things full circle.”

The fire, which began in a school utility room at about 7 p.m., quickly spread thick black smoke throughout the building. Officials soon understood that it would takes months to repair and reconstruct the damaged 40-year-old structure, and the school’s approximately 300 students moved operations to the former Ridgeville Christian school building.

The seniors, some of whom have attended the K-12 school since they began their education, spent their final year off-site.

That makes today’s return even more significant for the school’s community, which has annually honored its graduates in the academy’s auditorium.

“So many things have taken place this year,” said Bovee, whose daughter Kristie is one of today’s graduates. “It’s going to be a very emotional moment.”

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