Dear Cleveland County,
I know you are hurting. I am hurting too. Even though I am not directly experiencing your pain, I feel it.
For the majority of the past year and a half I have been living somewhere other than here. I even lived in a different state for a few months. In some ways, I feel like an outsider with and inside perspective, or maybe I am an insider with an outside perspective. Either way, I still see the struggles and hardships that you are going through, even when I myself am not physically going through them.
I believe this time of sadness and pain began around six months ago. On May 3, 2016 a young woman lost her life in a fatal car accident. This young woman was Elizabeth Drum, senior in high school, a dear friend to my sister and someone I considered a friend as well. I remember when I received the call from my father. He told me that the unnamed female in the Shelby Star was, in fact, Lizzy. I asked if she was okay and my father responded by telling me that she had not made it. A wave of grief overcame me as I sat in the hall outside of the Blue Ridge Ballroom in the student union. I watched as a community, my community, grieved a life that was lost way too soon. In the weeks after, I also watched a community come together and lean on each other, both emotionally and spiritually. It gave me hope.
A month later, a tender soul ended her battle with cancer on July 31, 2016. I was in Florida when this happened. Melissa Eaker Edwards was one of the sweetest women I ever had the pleasure of meeting. I remember walking int Papa's Pizza in Boiling Springs and seeing her smiling face. My mother was the teacher assistant to her children at Springmore Elementary. Her family had started coming to my church. Her oldest child graduated with my sister. Melissa was so sick that she was not even able to attend, though she was able to watch a live stream of the ceremony from her hospital room. She touched many lives. Her and my mother had become very close. I hurt for her.
A month after this, another life was lost, this time a young man. Michael Parsons did on August 6, 2016. He would have been a senior. I rode the bus with Michael and two of his older sisters for years. While cleaning his gun there was a misfire, resulting in his death. I watched again, from the outside, as my community grieved another life lost too soon. I saw he pain in his family's posts on Facebook. I hurt for them.
A month after this, Lauren Ledford died in a car accident on Sept. 5, 2016. Now, I did not know Lauren, but I understand the feeling of losing someone close to me far too early. I saw her community come together to support her friends and family. I saw the Facebook and Instagram posts. I saw the hole she left in the community.
Two weeks after this, Officer Tim Brackeen died in the hospital in Charlotte on Oct. 15, 2016. His funeral procession was live streamed. Thousands watched, whether on Facebook, the news, or on the side of the road. I watched as not only our community came together, but the communities around us did as well. There was support from all across the state for his family and his co-workers. There were many fundraisers to help cover his medical costs. There is still so much support, not only from individuals, but from local businesses as well. I know he is missed.
A month after this, a former school employee was charged with sexual indecencies with students, two young girls. This is not the first time something like this had happened in our community, and let's be honest, it happens more then I think any of us would like to admit. My heart aches for the trauma these young girls went through and the struggles they and their families will face in the years to come as a result of one mans actions. I am disgusted.
Not even a week later, there was a tragic home shooting that took the lives of a three-year-old child and a woman. Liam Murray and Miranda Woods died on Oct. 27, 2016 in a drive by shooting. Devastation gripped our community. Many people I know were close with the family. I cannot begin to imagine what it is like for them. I saw posts and videos made in the memory of young Liam. They gave me goosebumps and made me emotional. I was devastated.
Less than a month later yet another tragedy struck our beautiful, resilient community. On November 14, 2016, three men died in a car accident. I personally knew one, Toby Reinhardt, and my sister knew another, Jacob Wright. I was sitting in Walker Hall at App State between classes when I read the article. I had seen posts about Jacob that morning, but did not yet know what happened. When I saw that Toby was also lost, my heart dropped. There were three holes left in our community that day.
Still going on today are the crazy wildfires that are effecting not only our community, but those around us. Beautiful natural landscapes destroyed. Volunteers from all across the country have showed up to help our surrounding communities combat this natural disaster. I have faith.
We may be a hurting community, but we are also a strong one. We have not let these unfortunate happenings hinder us, but have used them to make us stronger. We are more united today than we have been ever before. We have been through so much together and I know that we will be there for each in the future, no matter the circumstances. You have given me hope, and faith, and showed me that there is still good and humanity in today's corrupt world.
Sincerely,
Casey Hubbard, a grateful citizen
