‘We're doing the best we can' By Amanda Isley AND James Jacenich • Staff Writers
WARM SPRINGS and MONTEREY - "It's definitely difficult being here," said Sarah Harman, a Highland High School graduate enrolled at Virginia Tech. "I think I've gotten over the initial shock. It's hard to grasp that it happened here. The good thing about Virginia Tech is everybody is pretty close. Everyone is getting together to get over this, but some of our close friends are gone. We are doing the best we can."
As news of the horrific shootings on the Virginia Tech campus early Monday morning spread quickly, Bath and Highland residents urgently moved to make sure the 12 students from this area known to be enrolled in the Blacksburg university were unharmed, and all were accounted for by parents and friends in a few short hours.
Officials at Bath County High School and Highland High School confirmed there were at least eight BCHS graduates and four HHS graduates attending Virginia Tech when a student there opened fire, killing 32 people and himself, and wounding dozens more Monday.
Harman is staying on campus at least until Friday. She said she will attend the Relay for Life cancer walk that had been scheduled there before the shooting, but she expects turnout to be low.
"So many people went home," she said. "The campus is deserted."
She says classes may resume Monday, but people aren't ready to get on with normal life. The semester ends May 9. "One of my finals has already been canceled," she said.
"You think nothing bad ever happens here," she added. "But stuff happens everywhere. I am a little apprehensive now. I am a little less naive now."
She said the university's resident poet Nikki Giovanni, who spoke at yesterday's convocation, was inspirational.
"Nikki Giovanni sums up how I will deal with this," she said. "It was a bad thing that happened, but bad things happen all over the world. Deal with it as it comes."
Harman was acquainted with one of the victims, Caitlin Hammeren, a sophomore studying international studies and French. She attended a leadership class with her last year. Hammeren was a resident advisor in one of the dorms. "She was a really nice person," said Harman . "I didn't know her well, but she would smile and say hi to me."
Former Highland resident and HHS graduate Amy Halterman, a registered nurse living in Roanoke, was on duty in the emergency room at Roanoke Memorial Hospital Monday morning when the first shooting victim arrived, and others soon followed.
Her mother, Cathy Halterman, a public health nurse in Monterey, said her daughter was holding up under the stress. Amy had been an Emergency Medical Technician in Highland before pursuing an education in medicine at Virginia Tech and Jefferson College. Now a registered nurse, Halterman said her daughter has achieved her goal and feels she is in the right place to help others.
But no amount of training can prepare even experienced emergency room and rescue squad personnel for what Cathy described simply as "horror."
Thirty-three died following the shootings, first at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory, later at Norris Hall, including two professors and the gunman.
Ambulances carried the dead and injured to nearby hospitals while police began their investigation. Tuesday morning police confirmed only one shooter had been responsible.
Virginia Tech is one of the schools Bath and Highland students routinely consider for their undergraduate and graduate level education. The school's agricultural programs consistently attract students from this rural farming community.
Amy Halterman was one of them. She originally went to Virginia Tech with hopes of becoming a veterinarian. An allergy to animals changed that career choice, and she began instead pursuing emergency services work and medicine. One of her goals had been to work on rescue helicopters.
If she had been assigned to a helicopter this week, her skills as a flight nurse would have gone unused - high winds kept rescue helicopters from flying Monday and victims had to be transported by ambulance to area hospitals.
Bath school officials were quick to provide information on the safety of their former students this week. School superintendent David Smith said eight BCHS graduates were currently known to be enrolled at Virginia Tech, but there was a possibillity others had transferred in or out, and he couldn't determine the status of them.
The eight attending include Jennifer May, Megan Thomas, Dustin Dunnagan, Carla Peery, Mary Megan Hardbarger, and Allyson and Jason Lancaster, plus one other student whose name was not released according to the wishes of his or her parents.
In Highland, HHS principal Randy Hooke said Monday afternoon he did not want the identity of any former HHS students now attending Virginia Tech released. Superintendent Gary Blair said if he could, in general, he would prohibit the release of any names of Highland County Public School students, for fear of what some people might do with the information. There are those who would harm the children, he said.
In addition to Harman, Matthew Sponaugle, Kenny Nesselrodt, and Ben Ralston are the four HHS graduates currently attending Virginia Tech. All were contacted by family and friends Monday and found unharmed.
Marianne Harman, Sarah's mother, said Sarah called her around 10 a.m. Monday to see if she knew what was going on. All Sarah knew was they were told to get out of the buildings. Sarah headed for the drill field. In all the confusion, Sarah heard people yelling, "Run, run."
She could have come home after the shootings, but opted to stay on campus with her friends and classmates. She attended candlelight vigils, prayer services and the convocation.
Slowly, life on campus will return to normal, said Marianne.
Bath grad Austin Schwend had attended Virginia Tech for a semester, and now attends New River Community College and resides in Blacksburg, according to his mother Kathie Schwend.
Schwend is a sophomore engineering student and works part-time as a bus driver for public transit. "He drove the evacuation bus, and he's seen these kids suffer," said Kathie. "We as parents want to know what we can do for our kids. This is a tough time for them."
Dustin Dunnagan, Schwend's roommate, is a junior engineering student at Tech and was still in his townhouse during the first attack, said father, Timmy Dunnagan. Later, during the second shooting at Norris Hall, Dunnagan had just boarded the bus to head to class.
"I didn't know anything about the shooting when he called to tell me he was all right," Dunnagan's father said this week. "I probably would have been a lot worse off if I had been somewhere and seen the news; I'm glad he's safe."
Virginia Tech cancelled classes for the rest of the week and Dunnagan was on his way to pick up his son Monday. "He didn't want to stay down there," he said.
Kim and Paul Lancaster have two children currently attending Virginia Tech - Jason and Allyson. Both received the first e-mail notification of the shooting and did not venture onto campus Monday, said their mother.
Allyson is a junior biology major and Jason is a senior engineering major. He has had classes in Norris Hall in the past, but does not this semester, she said. "Ally sent me an e-mail letting me know she was OK before I knew anything had happened."
At first, Ally had trouble getting in touch with her brother, Jason, but she soon confirmed they were both safe off-campus.
"Both looked out for the other," their mother said. "It was neat to see how all the Bath County kids came together creating a network to make sure everybody was OK."
The Lancasters met their children in Roanoke for dinner Monday night and Allyson and Jason will likely come home for the week, Mrs. Lancaster said. "My heart is so heavy for those parents who didn't get that e-mail saying, ‘I'm OK,'" she said. "It's just going to take time for everybody to heal."
Matthew Sponaugle's mother, Caroline, a guidance counselor at Highland High School, said her son came home after the convocation Tuesday.
Matthew is a 2006 HHS graduate and a freshman at Virginia Tech. "He was safe. He did see some of the police and ambulance traffic; then watched much of it unfold on the television with other students," Caroline Sponaugle said Wednesday. "As a parent, I support the school and want him to go back and finish the semester. I was probably more upset with national reporters who tried to stir up criticism of Tech's students and the nation. Hindsight is better than foresight. Virginia Tech is such a big place it is very difficult to know where one is the safest. I am just so thankful to have my son OK and pray for those who were not so lucky. I can only imagine how hard it is for them and for the students who went through the horrible trauma of being in the buildings where the shootings took place and those who were close to the victims.
"My biggest surprise has been the outpouring of concern and desire of everyone to know that all those on campus were OK. The calls to us and contact with Matt have been unbelievable. I thank everyone for their outpouring of love to the whole Virginia Tech family."
Highland supervisor Robin Sullenberger was deeply concerned as he monitored unfolding events this week. Sullenberger is a 1970 graduate of Virginia Tech, and still has a network of friends and colleagues in the Blacksburg area.
"I've been in touch with some of my old fraternity brothers," he said, "and so far I haven't heard from anyone I know who's been killed, but there are so many affected … I still have friends there working for the university, close to that situation.
"Obviously (this is) a tragedy with national implications," Sullenberger added. "It's difficult to even describe the impact - it's different when it's this close to home."
Caroline Sponaugle added, "I think that what happened to Virginia Tech can happen most anywhere, especially when there are so many hurting and angry people who blame others instead of asking for help to get better … We can't live our lives based on fear. Our most dangerous place is most often our public highways, yet we do not stop driving. I wish our television stations, marketing, video games, etc., were not so filled with violence so as to desensitize our nation, especially our young people."
Bath emergency services coordinator Andy Seabolt said the county hadn't made any formal arrangements to provide support to the Blacksburg area, although he had been in contact with a rescue squad captain in that area.
Seabolt sent the captain, with whom he was acquainted, an e-mail offering support, but the captain replied his crews were in the clean-up stage, he explained. It is unlikely anyone with Bath emergency services will be sent to Blacksburg at this point.
County administrator Bonnie Johnson said the county supports Seabolt's offer to assist. "We of course stand ready to help," she said.
First Sergeant Bob Chappell of the state police said troopers in Bath, Highland and Alleghany counties were assigned to Virginia Tech and continue to provide campus security.
"Our function now is to bring things back to normal so young people can go back to class," he said, pointing out that it was important to "look forward" rather than dwell on the tragedy.
By press time this week, Virginia Tech Police had identified Cho Seung-Hui, 23, of South Korea, a student at Virginia Tech majoring in English and a resident of Centreville, as the man responsible for the deaths of 32 others and himself.
Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency this week and shortened his trip to Asia to return to Virginia. President George Bush arrived in Blacksburg Tuesday to speak, along with Kaine, at a memorial service.
Kaine has declared a statewide day of mourning for the victims Friday, April 20. He encourages communities in Virginia and across the nation to hold their own simultaneous ceremonies and participate in prayer services, beginning with the ringing of bells at noon, eastern daylight savings time.
"As our commonwealth begins the long and difficult healing process, I am filled with images of a Virginia Tech community that is resilient and unified," said Kaine. "I ask that everyone in Virginia pause at noon on Friday to offer prayers of support for the victims, their families, and for all those affected by this tragedy."
- With reporting by Charles Garratt and Anne Adams
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