Sargent held its inaugural Christmas tree lighting at the high school on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

MONTE VISTA— Sargent hosted its first-ever Christmas tree lighting on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The idea for the event was hatched when Aliesha Carpenter approached the Sargent Booster Club about the possibility of a tree lighting somewhere around the K-12 school. Carpenter, a booster member, has two daughters attending preschool in Sargent.
The boosters ran full throttle with the suggestion.
For most community members, the event began on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. But much of the fun began prior to the tree lighting. Cody and Aliesha Carpenter cut down a big conifer tree, which they set up in a field at Sargent High School. Schoolboard members Tyler Kyffin and Tyler Mitchell, along with community member Nathan Burkhart, decorated the tree with lights. And Sargent students pitched in with ornaments, hanging them ceremoniously on the tree before the lighting.
For the event, PTO members and preschool moms brought cookies and the high school sprung for hot cocoa— both of which were sold to benefit one of the school’s kindergartener students with cancer.
Santa handed out candy canes, and the singing of holiday carols was directed by elementary school teacher Heather Hefner. Sargent cheerleaders even got in on the fun with a pompom-dominated performance to “Jingle Bell Rock.” Then---at 5:30 p.m---the countdown began: “Ten, nine, eight …,” chanted everyone, “…  three, two, one!”
And with that, it was lights on.
The Sargent tree will stay lit through the holidays, and the boosters plan on continuing the tradition from year to year, says Sargent elementary administrative assistant, Michelle Burkhart.  
“It is always fun to have an event to get everyone together,” she said. “And, of course it was neat to see the community come together to help a family in need. We have such a giving and loving community— and [I] feel so lucky to be a part of it.”

‘Wild Pink’ hits the stage
Also in Sargent news— on Wednesday, Dec. 5, the eighth grade drama class performed “Wild Pink,” a whacky whodunnit by playwright Margaret Witt about the three sons of a hog farmer who vie for their estranged aunt’s inheritance by donning dresses, wigs, heels and even “wild pink” nail polish.
Turns out the aunt believes she has nieces rather than nephews, and the boys (played by Jonah Waggoner, Wyatt Cross and Mitchell Plane) visit her for a weekend to convince her they are her nieces and worthy of her millions. The brothers end up discovering a thief who is draining their aunt’s fortune. Alternating between boy and girl, they set up a trap to catch the embezzler, never realizing they’ve been set up themselves.
The drama class gave matinee and evening performances of the two-act play, which had audiences laughing at every turn. Waggoner, Cross and Plane stole the show, from the moment they first clicked onto stage in high heels to their endless fidgeting with dresses and wigs. A broken zipper on one of the boy’s dresses during the matinee had the audience rolling in the aisles as he bravely continued performing while holding up his dress.
As the old saying goes, “The show must go on!”