Standing Together

To remember and pray for the Goodnight Middle School student who died in an auto and pedestrian accident early Friday, members of the community gathered at the Historic Courthouse to share their sorrow for the loss.

The Sunday evening vigil was organized by Victoria Raymond, a 30-year-old mother of a middle school and an elementary school student here. She said she wanted to create a moment where students, families and others, reeling from the loss of this 11-year-old student, might come together.

Raymond said, “The fact that you are standing here in fact tells me you love this community.”

The vigil was called following the death of the student who was hit by a vehicle in the parking lot drop off area of the school located at 1301 State Highway 123, at approximately 8:30 a.m. Friday, according to a statement issued by the San Marco Police Department. No charges were expected to be filed in connection to the accident. The student was pronounced deceased at the scene by Justice of the Peace Maggie Moreno. Responding to the call for assistance in addition to SMPD were the Texas Department of Public Safety, Hays County and the San Marcos City Marshals Office.

Those attending the vigil heard several local pastors and others offer words of comfort in a time of great sorrow. At one point, the grandparents of a close friend of the student who died described how their granddaughter was overcome by the loss of her best friend.

Sam Montoya, pastor at Sinai Pentecostal Church, 208 Laredo St., said, “Let us never forget we are one in this,” adding that he and the other pastors were present to show that this was not just one faith responding to the tragedy but a united effort.

He quoted from the Bible and the Book of Psalm 147, saying, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” Montoya implored the crowd to take this opportunity to be aware of the needs of the young people of San Marcos and Hays County. He said there were hurting families, hurting students and a hurting school district community that required more than this one moment to grieve and lift each other up.

Jeff Latham, chaplain for the San Marcos Police Department and pastor at Westover Baptist Church for 22 years, said his daughter, Grace, an alumna of Goodnight Middle School and now a student athlete at John Brown University in Arkansas, texted him to be sure and go over to the school and provide prayer and comfort. He said her words to him were “Please go help.”

Latham spoke briefly and then asked the crowd to sing “Amazing Grace.”

Robin Steele, pastor at PromisedLand San Marcos Church, was the last of the three pastors to speak. He, too, reached to the Psalms, this time the classically spoken, Psalm 23, reminding the crowd, “ The Lord is my shepherd … yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

Steele noted that the tragedy reminds people that there are always so many questions when a child dies, and that “We don’t have the answers,” other than to reach out in prayer for that wealth of understanding that may come through shared moments like this vigil.

At one point in the vigil that began at 6 p.m., the first names of the student and her parents were shared, but it was asked early on that this not be the focus of the event. Attending was SMCISD School Superintendent Michael A. Cardona, who stayed as one of the mourners rather than move forward to speak.

Instead, each person who spoke acknowledged that there were classmates of the student present in the audience who needed comforting and continued support from the community in the days ahead. Later in the vigil, another speaker asked each adult in the audience to raise their hands and arms over the students present next to them as a sign of their commitment.

Raymond read a poem she had written the night before, “I Thought You Would Live Forever,” saying, “I knew in my heart, you would be mine forever.”

One speaker did suggest that SMCISD consider having the student’s name be part of any upcoming graduation ceremonies involving her class.

As the vigil was coming to an end, with the sun setting and a wind making it difficult to light candles lined up at the front of the crowd, those with purple and white balloons were asked to release these together. The balloons rose high above the courthouse in a darkening sky.

Raymond then told those in the crowd, including many of the Goodnight Middle School students, that a memorial had been established at the front of the school and she encouraged those who could, to go over to that memorial and pay their respects. At the front of the school, candles were placed in front of a broad display of flowers, stuffed animals and personal messages, including a poster board covered with purple hearts that many had signed. Here the name of the student lost was identified only as “Isabella.”

“I went there Friday night,” Raymond said, adding the memorial display continues to grow, day by day.

An earlier community- wide vigil was held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, at Cottonwood Creek Neighborhood Park, coordinated by First United Methodist Church of San Marcos, with a large swath of the community expressing their grief and sorrow.

In solidarity with their fellow school, other campuses across SMCISD, beginning on Saturday, were calling on their students and staff and others to wear purple this week to show their empathy and understanding for students, teachers and staff at Goodnight Middle School.

baudet @sanmarcosrecord.com