GHS Class of 2022 Chooses Guest Speaker for Graduation Ceremony

Normally, the class speaker for the annual Glasgow High School graduation ceremony must themselves be a former graduate of GHS. In spite of the fact Wade Nelson is a graduate of Hinsdale High School, his positive impact on the Glasgow High School Class of 2022 led them to request a special exemption just for him.

"Each one of us took his class and we all have integral memories from the days we spent with him," Blaire Westby said during the last Glasgow School Board meeting. He was very committed to making sure we were prepared for high school. As 8th grade students that year, our class was involved in a devastating accident. Mr. Nelson was there with us the entire time and was always a support system for us. Mr. Nelson has been teaching in Glasgow for 22 years. His presence in our lives never goes unnoticed."

And "while Mr. Nelson does not hold a GHS diploma, and has a Hinsdale High school one instead, he remains a specially influential figure in all of our lives," Westby continued. "It is our desire to be able to extend the invitation to him as our speaker."

Fatal Crash

A Sept. 19, 2017 crash involving a Glasgow Public Schools bus and a pickup on Hwy 2 killed both drivers. The driver of the truck was Julie Steiger (31) of Troy, Mont., and the school bus driver was Harold James "Jim" Belcher, a 73-year-old Fort Peck resident. According to former Valley County Sheriff Vern Buerkle, the accident was called in at 6:35 a.m. that morning. The bus was headed westbound at mile marker 526 near the rest stop between Glasgow and Hinsdale when a truck in the eastbound lane crossed the center line. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.

Four children and one adult chaperone were passengers on the bus, which was en-route to an eighth-grade field trip in Havre. They were taken to Francis Mahon Deaconess Hospital and treated for injuries.

"That morning we were going on a field trip to Chinook and to Havre, eighth graders go every year," Nelson said. "We had two cruisers and our short bus, our handicapped bus. The plan was to have me driving one cruiser and our regular driver driving the other one. We had a teacher on each bus. Jim and I swapped clip boards. Fifteen minutes later, he was dead.

The loss of the Belcher that morning had a dramatic impact on the eight graders. Fortunately for them, they found a shoulder to cry on nearby on Nelson.

"As a 14-year-old, you have so many emotions running through your brain constantly, so to be able to talk to someone about a bus wreck where some people lost their lives ... it was really nice to have someone to be able to talk to and he was there with us every day afterwards," Westby said.

After hearing the formal request, the School Board voted unanimously to allow Nelson special permission to act as class speaker.

"I did not see this coming. I did not anticipate this. It is an honor for me, and I would gladly do it. the love I have in my heart for these guys has not wained. It has probably gotten stronger, and I feel that now for the kids. To see them excel does an old man's heart wonders."