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Inauguration trip sets quite a precedent Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Kyle Lumsden, 14, gets measured for a tuxedo by Clint Cerro, manager of Tuxedo Den in Medford. Lumsden and other Applegate Elementary School students are set to attend the presidential inauguration of George W. Bush next week in Washington, D.C. Applegate students prepare for a �once-in-a-lifetime chance� By Damian Mann Wandering through the nation�s capitol next week, among lobbyists, senators and congressmen, will be a group of little penguins from Applegate. Dressed in tuxedoes and formal gowns, five boys and four girls � most attending Applegate Elementary School � will dodge and weave their way through these corridors of power to watch George W. Bush become president on Jan. 20. "It�s a once-in-a-lifetime chance," said 14-year-old Kyle Lumsden of Applegate. Caleb Benedict, 14, also of Applegate, said, "I�m very excited. Not many people have the chance to go." The youths will be able to sit in a special section for the inauguration surrounded by dignitaries. "I hope we won�t look like the hicks from the sticks," worried Debi Benedict, Caleb�s mother and tour coordinator. To make sure they don�t look too out of place, the boys are being fitted with tuxedoes, courtesy of the Tuxedo Den in Medford, which is providing them at a substantial discount. Girls will wear formal gowns Dyed-in-the-wool Bush supporters, the students will also go to one of many inaugural balls that will take place in the area. But Benedict said, "You can pretty much bank that the president won�t be at the one we�re at." Benedict, a teacher at Brighton Academy in Grants Pass, said she received an invitation from EF Explore America last summer, a week before she went on a European tour. The Boston-based organization organizes tours for students throughout the United States. "They told me I only had a week to get it together," Benedict remembers. Immediately, she started contacting parents in the Applegate area to see if they could afford to go. As part of the tour package that costs each student less than $1,000, they can spend five days in Washington, with most expenses paid for � including air fare, hotels, tours and food. The students will get quite a civics� lesson, visiting the National Archives to see the Constitution; Mt. Vernon; the Smithsonian; the Lincoln Memorial; and the Washington Monument, as well as a first-hand look at the trappings of Washington power. For 14-year-old Andrew Krug of Applegate, this will be an especially important trip. "I hope to run for president someday." A student at Hidden Valley High School in Grants Pass, Krug, like some of the other students, said he holds no grudge against Vice President Al Gore. "It was quite the political boxing match," he said. Krug and some of the other students said they would even jump at the chance to shake Gore�s hand during the inauguration. Benedict said many of her friends in the Applegate area thought they would cancel the trip because the election became so contentious over the Florida results. "We never for a moment thought we wouldn�t go." Applegate parent Jenny Krug said the students will present Bush with a present of a combination clock, thermometer, barometer and hygrometer, donated by the Myrtlewood Factory in Grants Pass. It has an inscription, donated by Rogue Valley Engraving, that says, "Presented to the president of the United States from Applegate School and Brighton academy on behalf of southern Oregon." Benedict said the students are hoping that Bush puts it on his desk in the oval office. "The kids told me, "Oh, we�re going to have to watch when he�s on TV." Other Applegate students who are going include: Andy Head, 12; Jan Coughlin, 15, Meghan Debo, 14; Christa Krug, 12; Mary Beth Head, 14; and Caroline Welling, 12, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who once attended Brighton. Other parents who will travel with the youths include Applegate residents Katie Head, Mary Lumsden, Shelly Debo. Medford resident Pam Straum and Grants Pass resident Lisa Coughlin will also go. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.