While it's not June quite yet, this is usually the time of year when students across Sullivan County and their families are getting ready to celebrate graduation. It's usually a time of great excitement, when many students are looking forward to the end of one chapter in their lives and to the beginning of a new one.

Here at the Democrat, it's one of our favorite times of the year as well. We never cease to be amazed by the deep well of talent, intellect and ambition of our young people here in Sullivan County.

If this were like any other year, our photographers and reporters would be getting ready to attend every graduation ceremony being held throughout the county. We would publish a special graduation insert in July filled with photos of students gathering in their caps and gowns, quotes from school principals and administrators imparting one last dose of wisdom to the graduates, and proud parents embracing the young adults they've raised.

But this is not like any other year.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, chances are very good that there will not be in-person graduation ceremonies. It's hard to argue with that reasoning. The danger of bringing hundreds of people together in close proximity during a pandemic should be obvious.

It's uncertain at this time what each district will do when it comes to their own graduation ceremony. Maybe they'll choose to hold them virtually, maybe they'll be outdoors with appropriate social distancing and limited invitees. We just don't know.

One thing we do know, however, is that we will still publish a graduation supplement congratulating all the students in Sullivan County who are about to embark into an uncertain future. This special insert will still contain photos, speeches and an overall message of hope and good luck.

This year's graduates are dealing with an unprecedented situation that has affected their studies, disrupted their social lives and influenced their future job prospects. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic still spreading across our state and taking lives every day, life can and will go on.

This is still a time of celebration for many families. This important milestone in the lives of our young people should not go by unobserved.