I’ve been teaching for 18 years and in that time, I’ve never experienced the kind of raw emotion from co-workers, students and myself as I experienced this past month at Carson High School. On Nov. 9, seven students, six from Carson High and one from Dayton High School, were involved in a tragic car accident. The lives of these children, their families, and our community were forever changed.
As teachers, parents, and friends, we were having conversations with our students and children we should never have to have.
Looking around a classroom and seeing empty desks where beautiful students once sat. School books were pushed aside for life lessons and nurturing. Interruptions to lessons and lectures to hug a grieving child as tears silently rolled down their face.
Answering questions like, “why do bad things happen to good people?” And praying during lunch hours and in the halls for hope and recovery. They say God isn’t allowed in school, but I know for a fact we invited him to our lives a lot this past month praying for miracles.
Each day was filled with rumors of good news and the next hour bad news about the conditions of our students. But we held each other close and we kept believing. Then Nov. 26 hit. The news traveled like wildfire we had lost one of the seven. Timothy Mitchel Jones had succumb to his injuries. This past Monday, a celebration of life was held at Calvary Church to honor Timmy. I’ve never seen so many people gathered to remember one person as I did that day. A testament to the amazing young man Timmy was. As the ceremony concluded, I remember thinking to myself I didn’t want it to end because then somehow the finality of it all had to be faced. I wanted one more person and then another and then another to get up and tell us more stories about Timmy. As long as the stories continued and we were all gathered together, then Timmy was still there. If that’s how I felt, then I can only imagine how his family felt. It’s just not natural for parents to have to say goodbye to their children in this world, it’s not the natural progression of life.
Unfortunately for those dealing with the finality of Timmy’s life here on earth, life continues. We must pick up and carry on. I learned much about Timmy’s life, even though I didn’t know him personally and that is, if there is a will, there is a way. I understood Timmy never missed practice, never missed school, and gave 100 percent of himself to whatever task he was given. He played hard, prayed hard and lived each day with love and smiles. He had the drive and motivation to be the best he could be. He had the will, and therefore found the way. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us and we must live now in the grace he exhibited. I know many friends and family are broken hearted with Timmy’s passing, but remember a heart that’s broken is a heart that’s been loved. Timmy loved everyone and everyone loved Timmy. We will miss him but we will never forget him. I know this is the legacy of Timmy Jones that he’d want us to live life to the fullest, pick up the pieces and continue on, to find the will and the way.
The sentiment of #carsonstrong was born with this horrific accident. Businesses and other entities rallied behind our children and gave life to what it means to be #carsonstrong. I’ve lived in Nevada for 14 years and the support given in this situation has really inspired me and makes me proud to call Carson City home. Renown Hospital was inundated with visitors to the intensive care wing to visit children fighting life-threatening and life-changing injuries as well as to gather to give support to each other. Immediately, the day after this accident, the communities of Carson City, Dayton, and Douglas rallied with support for the victims, their families, our students and faculty. I don’t know where it originated but within 24 hours of the accident, social media was viral with the sentiment #carsonstrong. It didn’t take more than 48 hours to have a full week of fundraisers lined up around Carson City. Support, love and donations poured in from all over the country, from former CHS students to our rivals from the southern part of the valley, the Douglas Tigers.
On behalf of the staff at Carson High School, I would like to send out thank yous to the following for holding fundraisers for our injured students and families. There were so many people, businesses, and entities. The list is incredibly long but it serves as the example to what a community can do when it comes together. Thank you sincerely for all of your support, not just monetarily but in prayers. Thousands of dollars have been raised for the families of the seven victims of this accident. We deeply appreciate your contributions. Disclaimer: there were so many and this list may not be complete. Our sincerest apologies if we left anyone out.
Carson Businesses: Carson Flag Store; Opulenza Designs Jewelry by Heather Cerniglia; Buffalo Wild Wings; Yogurt Beach; Chili’s Restaurant; La Enchilada Restaurant; Firehouse Subs; Fox Brew Pub; Pizza Factory; Scoup’s; Artisan’s Cafe; Dutch Bros.; Silver State AV (Steven Earle); Adam’s Hub (Miya MacKenzie); Instaimage (Jeff Mulhivill); Carson City Firefighter’s Union Local No. 2251; In Plain Sight Marketing.
School Entities: CHS Student Leadership; Fremont Elementary; Bordewich Bray Elementary; Eagle Valley Middle School; Carson Middle School; CHS Baseball; Carson Boys’ Basketball; Carson Girls’ Basketball; CHS HOSA; CHS FBLA; Carson CTE Photography; Carson Theatre Arts Department; CHS Boys Soccer (Efron Ramirez); CHS student body (miracle minute); Carson High Craft Fair (Cathy Barbie); CHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes; CHS SkillsUSA; Douglas High School; Dayton High School; Hug High School HOSA; West CTA HOSA.
Community Individuals: Jasmyn Riediger; Chris & Kelly Woodward; Dawn LoPresti; Pete & Carol Earle; Heidi McFadden; and Charity Dale.
There are not enough words to express our sincere gratitude to the first responders who fought to save the lives of those seven children on Nov. 9. Those men and women face dangerous situations each day. We know how difficult your job was that night, we understand the excruciating task of saving their lives, and we realize how your own lives were affected and changed. We never saw your tears, but God did. We sincerely thank the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, the Carson City Fire Department, the EMTs, the ambulance drivers and the lifeflight crew.
Finally, we will continue to pray for our students, two who are still hospitalized and fighting serious injuries and the others who are at home finding the will and the way to get back to life as they once knew it. Nothing will ever be the same, but we love them and as a staff at Carson High School, we will continue to nurture and be there for our kids. The staff at Carson High School is second-to-none and have provided strength to a hurting student body. I’m proud of our school and our students. We are #carsonstrong!
