EE Volume 153, Issue 113 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2024 Follow us online: HeraldCourier.com Monday, April 22, 2024 SW Virginia NE Tennessee The Birthplace of Country Music 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service 2018 Scripps Howard Award for Community Journalism COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER A girl who wrote to God in her diaries, a boy with learning dis- abilities who was just learning to like who he was and a teen who would spend every free minute fi shing were among the 13 victims of the Columbine High School shooting remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th an- niversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time. As small candles fl ickered on 13 empty chairs, short biographies of Col- umbine students Rachel Scott, Kyle Ve- lasquez, Corey DePooter and the other victims were read one by one. After each, the crowd of about 150 people replied together and a bell tolled. The youngest killed in the attack that has inspired dozens of copy cat shoot- ings was Steven Curnow, 14. The old- est was teacher Dave Sanders, 47, who shepherded students out of the cafete- ria to safety and was shot as he tried to get students upstairs into classrooms.
The others killed were Cassie Bernall, Kelly Fleming, Matt Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Dan Rohrbaugh, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin and Lauren Townsend. daughter, Coni Sanders, said her father changed the world for- ever by saving hundreds of students. kids that he saved now have children and those children will have she said before the ceremony began, generations from now, peo- ple will know they exist because of his The gathering, set up by advocates including gun safety organizations, was the main public event marking anniversary, which is more subdued than previous milestone years. In addition to remembering those killed, the vigil also drew attention to those who were wounded and those who survived the shooting but suff ered trauma. Daniel father, Tom Mauser, decided to set up the vigil after learning school offi cials did not plan to organize a large community event as they did on the 20th anniversary.
Mauser, who became a gun safety advocate after the shooting, urged the crowd of about 150 people gathered at a church across from the state Capitol never to forget the victims of Colum- bine and to take some kind of action to reduce gun violence. most importantly we ask you to never forget, never forget the victims of Columbine. The slain, the injured, the traumatized and their families. And especially never forget those who lost their said Mauser, wearing his sneakers, a tradition he reserves for special occasions. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giff ords, who began campaign- ing for gun safety after she was nearly killed in a mass shooting, attended and spoke about her long recovery, drawing a comparison to the small steps needed to make change in the world.
happen overnight and we do it alone. Join me. move ahead she said, drawing a standing ovation. President Joe Biden, in a statement Saturday, said his administration has taken numerous steps to try to curb the that shat- tered some 400 schools since Col- umbine, including the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. met with countless families lost loved ones because of gun violence.
Their message is always the same: do the statement said. Administration will con- tinue taking action, but Congress must do their part. We need universal back- ground checks, a national red fl ag law, and we must ban assault weapons and high-capacity First lady Jill Biden on Saturday also urged Congress to act. She held a mo- ment of silence for the Columbine vic- tims while visiting Aurora, Colorado, for an event to support a White House initiative on health. In 2012, the Denver suburb was the scene of a mass shooting in a movie theater that left 12 people dead.
CAROLYN R. WILSON Special to the Bristol Herald Courier EMORY, A group of Southwest Virginia col- lege students recently had the chance to pitch their concepts for a business venture with the top fi nishers earning nearly $20,000 in prize money. It began when a Bristol, Ten- nessee, nonprofi organization became one of only 13 agen- cies throughout the country to be awarded a $20,000 grant to support of small business and entrepreneurship. YWCA Northeast Tennes- see and Southwest Virginia received the grant money in February which was used to fund a student pitch compe- tition held at Emory Henry College this week. Teams of students presented their ideas for startup businesses.
The event, which was facil- itated by YWCA with the as- sistance of Virginia Highlands Small Business Development Center, was sponsored by the TJX Foundation through a grant from YWCA USA. When Leslie Peterson, se- nior manager of public rela- tions and engagement at the local YWCA, learned about the grant, she asked the national or- ganization if she could apply for funding that would go toward a competition, off ering students experiential opportunities. loved the idea, and said, explained Peterson, who developed the concept for the program in collaboration with Emory Henry College. goal is to focus on expanding more YWCA pro- grams into Southwest Vir- ginia. create collaborative initiatives by connecting with groups, brainstorming ideas, and helping to make them hap- she said.
The TJX Student Pitch Com- petition was the culmination of extensive study sessions during the semester conducted by Cindy Fields, director of Vir- ginia Highlands Small Business Center, which covered business basics such as customer acqui- sition, fi nances, and business planning. In the end, fi ve teams of seven Emory Henry College students presented their en- trepreneurial ideas during the pitch competition, earning a total $18,500 in prize money. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Emory Henry students who participated in the TJX Student Pitch Competition presented their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges and room full of spectators this week on campus. Columbine remembered 25 years later Clayton Cassiday, fi rst place winner, delivered a pitch in front of a panel of judges and a room full of spectators on developing an asphalt sealing and line stripping company. BUSINESS VENTURE PRESENTATIONS students earn grants by winning pitch competition Please see Page A2 Please see COLUMBINE, Page A2.
