The post-graduation plans of many Class of 2013 at Forks High School students received a big boost over the weekend.

Over $70,000 was raised at the annual Quillayute Valley School District Auction held at the Forks High School Commons on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, auction board member Marcia Bingham told the Forks Forum. She said cash donations were still being tallied with the total take of auction sales at $66,379, plus cash donations, tallying up to $71,166.

Some 1,086 items were sold including many products of the Olympic Corrections Center’s wood shop, plus hundreds of other donations ranging from Edna Leppell’s dried fruit baskets to certificates for a variety of goods.

Forks High School seniors Rachel Horner and Nathan Brock co-chaired the student side of the event.

Jerry Leppell was again chair of the volunteer committee that ran the auction, with help from auction board members Bingham, JoMarie Miller, Cheri Dahlgren, Robert Dickinson and Bill Brager.

Bingham called the auction a great success.

Among the items auctioned was a 2000 Honda Accord donated by Wilder Auto, with a wining bid of $3,600 made by a Forks High School teacher.

The graduating class of 2013 is estimated to number 65. They are vying for funds raised at the auction, with scholarship applications due no later than April 1.

The funds support vocational training, setting up graduates for work with tools, as well as providing college scholarships. Over $1 million has been raised since the auction started in the early 1960s.