Mike's Corner

ENTERPRISE, Ala. - Rachael Ray made sure that the students who lost eight classmates and their school in a tornado got a senior prom, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The celebrity chef planned the menu and helped prepare dinner at Enterprise High School's prom, The Dothan Eagle reported. The star of the Food Network's "The Rachel Ray Show" paid for the dance and filmed it for an episode to air this month.

Earlier in the day, Ray appeared with Gov. Bob Riley and Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell to greet students at an assembly.

The prom, held at Fort Rucker, was themed "Caught in a Moment." Photographs of seniors Jamie Vidensek and Michael Tompkins _ two of the students killed _ lined the dance floor, the Eagle reported.

Senior Mitchell Baker, 17, said the prom was bittersweet after the death of his friends. "It makes it a little harder for me," Baker, 17, said. "I'm used to all of them being around."

The governor on Thursday signed a bill that appropriates $32 million to rebuild Hillcrest Elementary School and Enterprise High School. The schools were damaged in the tornado March 1. Classes resumed March 14 at a community college.