Junior First Citizens named

Scott Swanson

Sweet Home has Junior First Citizens for the first time since the fall of 2019.

Sweet Home High School seniors Zoe Opperman and Alex Kisselburgh have been chosen as this school year’s representatives in the Linn County Junior First Citizen program.

Typically, Junior First Citizens are high school seniors chosen in the early fall of the school year, and winners ride in the annual Veterans Day Parade in Albany.

Kisselburgh and Opperman were nominated by teachers and administrators. Typically, students apply for the honor, which includes a $250 college scholarship provided by the Rotary Club.

Opperman, 18, is the daughter of Mark and Robin Opperman. She has one sibling, Noelle, 11.

Kisselburgh, also 18, is the son of Chris and Alicia Kisselburgh. He also has one sibling, Gracie, 15.

The two said they weren’t very familiar with the program, which has been on the shelf during the COVID pandemic.

“I didn’t know anything about it until we found out,” Kisselburgh said.

“I just know that, my freshman year, I knew, like, Nich James and somebody else (Megan Hager) were doing it and they had to go do stuff for it,” Opperman said. “I didn’t know anything else.”

Opperman has been very active during high school, playing volleyball for four years, during which the Huskies won their first-ever state championship, and this year serving as student body president. She’s also in Leadership and “I’m very involved with my church and youth group” at Hope Church, where her father is pastor. “I’m the worship leader in both of those.”

She’s also headed Sweet Home’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which meets weekly at the high school.

“Mr. (Athletic Director Dan) Tow wanted to start it and he was like, ‘Zoe, I want you to lead this.’ I was like, ‘OK, cool.’ So there’s that.”

Both she and Kisselburgh are also involved in the National Honor Society, which meets regularly to discuss community service opportunities.

For instance, they plan to volunteer at the All-School Track Meet for Sweet Home elementary students on June 7.

Kisselburgh said a lot of volunteer opportunities come through former schools Supt. Dr. Larry Horton, who is active in the Sweet Home Rotary Club and who also advises the Interact Club on campus.

“He’ll let (NHS Advisor Ann) Knight know if he needs help and how many people and she’ll kind of throw that out there for anyone that wants to volunteer,” he said, adding that when that happens NHS calls a meeting.

Opperman was also involved in this year’s May Court and she’s also been involved in Interact Club early in her high school career.

“This year I haven’t been able to do many community service things,” she said.

Kisselburgh was involved in wrestling and golf before “COVID started and so everything got shut down,” he said. “And then I just decided to play baseball my junior and senior year.”

He’s also been involved in a variety of volunteer projects.

“One of the big ones was the Fire Department got a new search and rescue boat and it was all aluminum, and they were trying to find someone that could polish it. Somehow the word got out that I knew how to polish aluminum, so I ended up doing that.”

He said he’s seen his dad, who owns log trucks, polishing equipment, and “I kind of picked it up.”

“I’ve done people’s four-wheeler wheels and stuff.”

In addition to NHS, Kisselburgh also participated in the Mr. Husky contest held earlier this year, he said.

Following high school, he said he plans to move on to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers school in Tangent to train as a union electrician.

Opperman said she plans to attend Northwest University in Brooks to pursue a degree and a career in ministry. She also plans to attend Oregon Youth Alive Ministry Academy, a two-year mentorship-style program that focuses on ministry training and experience.

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