Local police and officials at the Gaŗezers campground are continuing their investigations into two crimes that have made an already busy summer season even more hectic.

Officials of the Gaŗezers summer high school discovered July 25 that USD 3,000 in cash was stolen from a safe in the high school office, high school director Elisa Freimane said. The safe was not broken into, leading officials to suspect that someone may have learned the code needed to gain access to the safe.

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department still is investigating the case.

Meanwhile, Gaŗezers officials had posted a USD 500 reward for information about an Aug. 2 vandalism to several buildings in the camp, including the kitchen, said Gaŗezers Administrator Pēteris Burģelis. The vandalism apparently occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. after a staff party.

A total of 34 students have finished the Gaŗezers high school program this year and were honored in a commencement ceremony at the Latvian camp near Three Rivers, Mich.

Students in the six-week summer program study Latvian language, literature, history and geography, as well as participate in such activities as folk singing, folk dancing, theatre, sports and art. In addition, the entire school this summer also participated in the 11th Latvian Song Festival in Chicago.

Most of the students hail from the eastern United States and Canada.

The graduates this year are Gints Aldiņš, Arianna Apelgren, Maruta Auģe, Artūrs Bērziņš, Linda Bilsēna, Dāvis Bolšteins, Maxwell Burkett, Nikolajs Burvikovs, Karīna Čunčule, Māra Dajevska, Maris Gudrā, Egija Irbe, Tamāra Kalniņa, Andrejs Kances, Māris Kancs, Marlīna Kauliņa, Miķelis Kramēns, Andra Krautmane, Krista Kubuliņa, Jānis Ķīsis, Māra Lazdiņa, Āris Lazdiņš, Ērika Lebedeva, Jūlijs Liepiņš, Larisa Līzenberga, Aina Lorberga, Anna Lucāne, Sandra Memene, Ēriks Miklašēvica, Aldis Raisters, Lāra Šķiliņa, Laura Šteinmane, Katrīna Veidiņa and Melita Zušēvica.

A new scholarship for students from communities without Latvian schools has been established at the Gaŗezers summer high school near Three Rivers, Mich.

The USD 500 scholarship, financed by a USD 10,000 endowment, was established by Kārlis and Anda Šteinmanis of Cincinnati, Ohio. Laura Šteinmane, their daughter, is among this year’s graduates of the summer high school.

The annual scholarship, announced by Kārlis Šteinmanis during the post-commencement concert at the high school, will go to a studious, continuing student who comes from a community—such as Cincinnati—where no Latvian school is present.