OXFORD – Maintaining a balance of tradition and school spirit is, without question, becoming a more difficult ruse to pull off, especially given ever-rising costs and shrinking budgets faced by many schools.

The yearly chronicle of those all important high school memories continues to be a staple among our youth – and it's no wonder. Yearbooks are invaluable cherished keepsakes that follow many a graduate for the balance of their lives.

In Oxford, when times get tough, the tough get creative. And that's exactly the sentiment the Oxford yearbook staff employed to ensure that future classes of graduates could continue to have something to hold from their youth.

In a unique effort to keep yearbook costs down for this year's Oxford High School students, Oxford High Library Assistant Melissa Gross has been hard at work planning what she's calling the “First Annual Craft Fair and Indoor Yard Sale,” to be held this Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the high school gymnasium located at 50 S. Washington Ave.

For the past few months, Gross has been coordinating with some 50-plus vendors to bring the craft fair and indoor yard sale into fruition, and has been pleasantly surprised with the amount of cooperation and support from the community.