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Three too many unexplainable tragedies test us
n Sunday, May 27, I was able to attend commencement ceremonies at both Durant and Wilton. Whether or not the schools consider each other when scheduling graduation, Id like to say its really nice that one began at 1 p.m. (Durant) and the other was at 2 p.m. (Wilton). This allowed me to easily and safely get from one to the other. We know that the school calendars are already being planned together. Having commencements on the same day wont change, but staggering the times is great! Perhaps theres a lesson there for things like prom? Ive written about the fact that its asinine to have Wilton and Durants proms on the same day. Of course staggering times wont work there, but having them a week apart would be a start as Im sure there are kids from both high schools that would go to both. I digress. The take home message for me while attending both graduations was one very sad statistic both classes were faced with the death of a classmate. In December of 2010, the community of
Durant lost Emily Bohnsack, who was killed Never could I imagine that in the interim, in an automobile accident not far from school one of our schools would deal with another or home. tragedy. On May 29, on what should have In January of this year, the community of been the first day of summer for WHS and Wilton lost Krysten Reddick, who was killed DHS students, the community of Wilton was in a car crash while attempting to drive to rocked again for the second time in six months school on a snowy morning. as WHS sophomore Justice Melton was killed Both schools acknowledged their fallen in a car accident just outside Wilton (see page classmate. In Durant, a 1 for the story). group of very emotional In two years, the WHS seniors sang a song in class of 2014 will also commemoration of Emmark commencement ily and in Wilton, student with the fact that one of council president Abbi their own wont be there to Leathers talked of Krysten graduate due to tragedy. in her welcome speech to Justice was so involved By Derek Sawvell those in attendance. in WHS activities, it was All the while I was impossible to not know left to wonder, when was the last time either who she was, at least by face recognition. school dealt with the death of a student while Unfortunately, due to her still being an ungoing through commencement. Also, had there derclassmen, I hadnt ever spoken with her. ever been a year in which both schools had However, I can say that whenever I saw her graduating classes with a fallen classmate? at a Wilton event, she always seemed to comBased on our snake issue last week in mand attention as her peers would gravitate Wilton, those thoughts from commencement toward her. got pushed aside. Yet I felt theyd be just as She seemed to be the type with a very fun, applicable this week. bubbly personality. The kind of girl that was
Case in Point
fun to be around. It showed, as I always saw her being the life of whatever group she was in when I would see her around events. These tragedies are often unexplainable, leaving families and communities asking why? At the same time, it also brings out the best in our communities. As WHS principal Ken Crawford said, these communities give us a sense of family. Im often interviewing high school seniors on the verge of big decisions, such as deciding to go to college to continue their athletic or music careers and one thing I like to tell them is dont forget about Wilton (or Durant) because it wont forget about you. My parents live very close to Heartland Fellowship Church, where Justices visitation and funeral were held. On Sunday during her visitation, every time I went outside, the line outside the church stretched down the street. The continued outpouring of support from our hometowns is amazing. Sadly, this is the third story of its kind that I have had to prepare in the 3 1/2 years that Ive been back here at the AN. Thats three too many.