Locals to attend Trump’s inauguration

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By Krystle S. Morey and Donna Frischknecht

On Friday, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States – and Granville native Brooke Stanley will be there to witness it.
Trump, who won the presidency in November with 306 Electoral College votes, will take the oath of office at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20.
“I think any inauguration is important,” Stanley said. “It’s an important date in history, so I am excited to be a part of it.”
Stanley said she saw an article about how to get tickets to the inauguration when she was scrolling through her Facebook news feed.
“I emailed our representative,” she said, just as the article suggested.
“I got an email back a couple of days later telling me I got a ticket,” she added. “It was just a couple of weeks ago, so I was surprised that there were any left.”
Though she won’t be seated right in front of the stage, Stanley will likely have a nice view of the podium from the North Standing Area.
“I am just hoping to see him and see the podium,” Stanley said.
“I don’t know who gets the seated tickets, but I assume those are for important people,” she joked.
Stanley said she is looking forward to hearing Trump speak.
“I’m interested to know what trump is going to say,” she said. “…and hear how he plans to institute a lot of proposed changes.”
Though she didn’t cast a ballot for Trump, Stanley’s been his supporter since he announced his bid for the presidency in June 2015. Away at school, she did not request her absentee ballot in time to vote in the general election.
“I think Hillary would have just been a continuation of Obama’s presidency … not much would have changed. I think trump will offer a change,” she said. “I would like to see changes on immigration … stop the large influx of illegal immigration … and I’m excited to see how he plans to keep jobs in America.
Stanley, who graduated at the top of her class from Granville High last year, is studying finance and international business at Georgetown University. Georgetown is less than 5 miles from the National Mall, where Trump will be sworn in.
The inauguration ceremony kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Opening remarks are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and Trump will be sworn in at noon by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
After he’s sworn in, around 3 p.m., Trump and other officials will proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House in a parade.
“I’m excited,” Stanley said.
Across the canal, in Whitehall, John Diekel has been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Whitehall High School graduate, who often made time helping others by delivering Thanksgiving meals to those in need, will be marching in the presidential inaugural parade this Friday, Jan. 20.
“I never could have imagined this,” said Diekel, a senior at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Diekel was one of 83 cadets chosen to march the 1.7-mile route from the nation’s Capitol to the White House.
Academy cadets have marched in every parade since the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957. The parade begins after the newly sworn in president delivers his first speech to the nation.
Diekel will arrive in Washington a few days before the event and he and his fellow cadets will explore the nation’s historical sites and museums before getting down to the business of parade practice.
“The organizers wanted us to get in some educational opportunities while we are there,” Diekel said.
While aware of what a great honor it is to personally participate in this historic moment, Diekel finds himself thinking about his Whitehall community who have supported him. He especially finds himself thinking about the students in Whitehall High School and how important it is for them to keep believing in themselves and to always dream big.
“You don’t need to go to a community college if you don’t want to go. You can do anything, really, if you put your mind to it,” Diekel said.
For now Diekel has made more than just his mom proud. He has made the Whitehall community proud as well.