PHOTOS PROVIDED

For the first time since his motor vehicle accident on Dec. 9, Bucktail senior, Xander Shearer, returned home on Wednesday afternoon with the entire junior and senior high school faculty, staff and students welcoming him as he rode by the entrance of the school. The Renovo Fire Department Station ambulance crew were ready and prepared as they pulled over and brought Xander out in his stretcher so that his friends and teachers could say hello. Many in the anxious crowd had signs and plenty more had tears as they cheered and welcomed their fellow student back home. The Class of 2026 from Bucktail has just 25 students, so Xander is well known to all at Bucktail.