Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield and House Majority Whip, gives his weekly view from Capitol Hill.
"With summer right around the corner, many students in our community are eagerly awaiting the end of the school year. I know my son Connor is as I helped him move out of his freshman dorm at Georgetown this week, as well as my daughter Meghan. I am proud of their accomplishments during this past school year and, as we celebrate the numerous achievements of all of our local students this year, we are reminded that some of the nation’s best and brightest can be found right here in Bakersfield.
"Over the past few weeks, I have been able to present our outstanding seniors with the 23rd Congressional District of California 2013 Merit Award, which recognizes outstanding high school students who have demonstrated exemplary school citizenship, volunteerism, community service, involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership skills, and on top of all of that, maintained excellent academic scores. Congratulations to this year’s merit award recipients from Kern, Los Angeles and Tulare counties:
• Andrew McCan – Bakersfield High School
• Kenton Crabtree -- Bakersfield Christian High School
• Heather Hansen – Centennial High School
• Charles Hale– East Bakersfield High School
• Sean Jensen – Foothill High School
• Jessica Pilgram - Frazier Mountain High School
• Katie Cornford – Frontier High School
• Jacob Elliott – Garces Memorial High School
• Bryan Bumgarner – Highland High School
• Ying Wu – Independence High School
• Jessica Yasin – Kern Valley High School
• Paige Basconcillo – Liberty High School
• Emily Phillips – Maricopa High School
• Peter Buto – North High School
• Amanpreet Sarai – Ridgeview High School
• Nia Abbas – Stockdale High School
• Eric Bailey – Taft Union High School
• Ryan Flick – Tehachapi High School
• Renae Lewis – West High School
• Milton Ramirez – Granite Hills High School
• Seth Steen-Fuentes – Harmony Magnet Academy
• Mary Crocker – Monache High School
• Kaitlin Smithey – Porterville High School
• Cady Whicker – Lancaster High School
• Anthony Hernandez – Rosamond High School
• Ever Gonzalez – Mojave High School
• Daely Dewar – Boron High School
• Marie Watschke – California City High School
• Aaron McCain – Sherman E. Burroughs High School
• Houston Osburn – Desert Christian High School
• Edward Vasquez - Desert High School
"Also recognized this week is the artistic talent of our local high school students. On Friday, I was pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Congressional Art Competition. Congratulations to all of the winners, especially the overall winner, Christiana Kallemeyn, a senior at Grace Christian Academy in Lancaster. She created her winning piece, “Waiting in the Wings” using colored pencil as her medium. I look forward to Christiana’s visit to the Capitol to unveil her painting in Washington, where it will be displayed for visitors to see during their visit to the Capitol building this year. In addition, all of this year’s winners will be hung in my office in Washington for the next year.
"On a much more somber note, this past week we also continue to mourn the loss of Tech Sgt. Herman “Tre” Mackey III, a Bakersfield native, who tragically died in a tanker plane crash over Kyrgyzstan on May 3rd. Sgt. Mackey, along with two other brave American airmen, were supporting combat operations at the time of the crash. A graduate of Bakersfield High School, Sgt. Mackey was by all accounts a family man who loved his country and served with honor. Judy and I send our thoughts and prayers to Sgt. Mackey’s family, especially his wife Megan and their daughter Peyton, during this difficult time. Tre embodied the very best of our country, and I know I join a grateful community and humble nation when I say that we will never forget his sacrifice.
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