It was also hard to argue with the success of the newly combined Silver Creek-Forestville modified football team in the state's Southern Tier during its first year this past fall.
"Now, don't get me wrong, we would love to have you at our prom, but there's another school in the West Clark family that deserves it more than any other school in the country, " SilverCreek High School senior Luke Gillenwater said in the winning video.
Hecla has traditionally been among the largest and lowest-cost silver producers in the U.S. Besides its Greens Creek and Lucky Friday mines, the company has exploration properties in four other mining districts in the U.S. and Mexico.