This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.BUTLER TOWNSHIP — The 33 graduates of the Butler County Youth Leadership Class of 2020 missed out on the typical graduation.But they didn’t seem to mind the scaled-back event held Tuesday.Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the graduates, 2019-20 high school juniors from each school district in the county, drove the half-circle in front of Butler County Community College’s Succop Theater, donned a mask and accepted a new backpack from a youth leadership board member in addition to a box of cookies from a Saxonburg bakery.In previous years, the graduation ceremony occurred before parents and family members and included speeches by officials from BC3 and Slippery Rock University.The backpacks contained scholarships from BC3 and Slippery Rock and certificates of completion from the county commissioners and Butler Chamber of Commerce.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.