This and That (Sad Edition)

 





This letter went to the Kent School District. Since this is statewide, that news will probably impact SPS but how much I don't know.



In a very sad story from the Seattle Times that affects family, friends, and a community but also one elementary school, I am sad to report that three young sisters in Wenatchee appear to have been murdered by their father.

The parents were separated and there was a visitation order. The father is ex-military and has been struggling with mental health issues. When the girls were not returned to their mother, she alerted authorities. There was not an Amber alert because that is a federal law where certain criteria have to be met.

The girls - Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker - all attended Lincoln Elementary School. Here it is the end of the school year and all their classmates have this sadness to take into the summer. It is probably very hard on the staff especially their teachers.

Sympathies to the entire school community.



In another sad story from The Seattle Times, a student athlete and one of his baseball coaches lost their lives when a last minute decision was made to take the team to a beach. 

The night before the Northport Mustangs were set to play the quarterfinals of the Class 1B state baseball tournament in southwestern Washington on May 24, the team ordered some pizzas.

Coach Don Baribault, who doubles as the Northport School District superintendent, took the team bus to get them, said Erik Stark, Northport High School’s athletic director.

“Some of the kids had never seen the ocean,” Stark said of the team representing the town of about 300 people in northern Stevens County. “They swung by the beach” at Long Beach, and some of the players got into the water.

It appears that there were two coaches and one was the student's father. For whatever reason, the boys were allowed to get into the water. This puzzles me because Washington State is not known for its warm ocean waters. 

One student found the waves too much and other players tried to help (and almost did) and then both coaches went into the water. The boy and his coach (not the father) appear to get hypothermic.

A bystander recognized the danger and called 911, Stark said.

That rescue call was made about 8 p.m. U.S. Coast Guard crew members raced to the scene on a Jet Ski.

They were able to pull Baribault and Ronnie Heberling to shore, but Noah Heberling’s body has yet to be found, Stark said.


Northport is a very small town and so these losses are felt deeply. The high school graduation in Northport is on Saturday. Again, deepest sympathies to the Northport High School community.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I listened to the budget meeting and read Melissa’s post. It is abundantly clear that the district doesn’t have dollars for Collective Bargaining Agreements. It is also clear that the district will have massive deficits and declining enrollment in years to come.

6/4/25, 10:42 AM
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