Central senior accepted to Air Force academy

The U.S. Air Force Academy has accepted Krista Stone, a Butte Central high senior, into the class of 2015, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Tester nominated Stone to attend the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., last December. She is scheduled to begin her appointment this summer.

Stone is the daughter of Randy and Debbie Stone, and Lonnie and Kathy Jo Persons.

Stone has said it is her dream to attend the academy, according to the release.

She is captain of Central’s speech and debate team, a member of the Key Club, and a Girls’ State participant. Stone also volunteers time with her church and with the Maroon Activity Club.

She served as a representative in the Young Leaders Exchange Program last year. The month-long exchange took her to Indiana and Kentucky, where she lived with several young Iraqis to “promote a mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between the United States and Iraq.”

Stone is the sixth Montanan nominated by Tester to be accepted to a military academy for the class of 2015.