kent reporter_wnpa entry_cat. 309_forever in my heart
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High school community turns out in memorial service, basketball game, to honor one of its fallen students.TRANSCRIPT
WNPA ENTRY: Category 309"Forever in my heart"
To the WNPA Judges:
When a much-loved high school student, Dorian Tursic, died Jan. 3, 2009 in a car crash, the Kent community came together. Especially the student body of Kent-Meridian High School, where Tursic had been a student and a gifted athlete.
Kent-Meridian High School is not your average school. For years, it had reputation problems and issues with student violence. Morale suffered, as did grades and student achievement. But over the last several years, under new leadership, Kent-Meridian has blossomed. Its students, faculty and parents have become close enough to feel like family.
When Tursic died in January, a large segment of the school – students, teachers and parents – reacted with a sense of loss that made it clear just how tight-knit the Kent-Meridian family is.The Kent Reporter did its best to reflect that sense of compassion and community to its readers.
Laura PierceEditorKent Reporter253-872-6600, ext. 5050
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LOCAL | The Kent City Council welcomes its new president; hands out committee assignments to its members [3]
SPORTS | Kentwood’s Ruben Navejas wins Paci� c Coast championship, aims for perfect season [9]
BY LAURA PIERCE
A frigid wind caused a multi-tude of candles to sputter out Wednesday night at French
Field.But the group that gathered at Kent-
Meridian High School’s football stands just hunkered closer together, sharing � ames from other, still-lit candles to en-sure each of their comrades had a � ame to call their own.
In a lot of ways, that spirit of compassion and unity mir-rored the reason why roughly 500 people were at the � eld in the � rst place.
� ey were there to help each other bear witness to the passing of a much-loved K-M student.
He hadn’t been at K-M long, but it was obvious the late Dorian Tursic, 18, had become an integral part of the K-M family.
“� ough Dorian may be gone, he’ll be forever in my heart. I love you, Dorian,” said a teenager to the group, one of many who got up and spoke at the student-organized candlelight vigil.
Tursic, a straight-A student
“...Forever in my heart”
Allegedly involved in cock� ghtingBY STEVE HUNTER
King County prosectors have charged a 37-year-old Kent man as well as three other men in connection with illegal cock� ghting operations in Kent and Au-burn. All have been charged with animal � ghting, a felony.
Antonio Montiel Flores, of Kent, faces a charge that on or about Nov. 12 he did knowingly own, possess, keep, breed, train, buy, sell, advertise or o� er for sale a rooster (also known as a cock or male chicken) with the intent that the rooster be engaged in a � ghting exhibition with another rooster, according to charg-ing papers.
Willie Manuel Castro, 66, of Enumclaw, and Godofredo J. Ramac, 74, of Seabeck, face the same charge as Flores in con-nection with an Aug. 15 incident. Prosecutors � led the charges Dec. 31 against Flores, Castro and Ramac.
� e three men are not in custody. Each man has received a summons to appear for arraignment in King County Superior Court Jan. 13 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
In a separate, unrelated case, prosecutors charged Lazaro Murillo-Flores, 34,
Kent men facinganimal-� ghting charges
VIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEkentreporter.com
Candlelight vigil for Kent-Meridian teen Dorian Tursic, who died in fatal car wreck, draws crowd of 500 to French Field for tears and words of comfort
[ more ARRESTS page 8 ]
Students’ faces are illuminated during a candlelight vigil Wednesday night at Kent-Meridian’s French Field. Approximately 200 people came to the vigil in a show of grief and support over the death of K-M student Dorian Tursic. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
[ more VIGIL page 6 ]
Jordan Thompson Walker, a teammate of late Kent-Meridian student Dorian Tursic, holds up Tursic’s jersey following K-M’s emotional 68-71 loss to Tahoma Jan. 5. With him is student Sykell Brown. See the complete story on page 9, and a photo essay on page 12. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
Tursic
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K E N T
Gerald Ashton HiebertGerry, age 56, died suddenly on
December 25, 2009, at his home in Kent, with his friend JoAnn Bussa by his side. Born August 6, 1953 in Vancouver Canada, son of Sheilah and Henry (Hank) Hiebert.
He was preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his mother, of Winnipeg Canada; daughter, Amanda of Seattle; son, Trevor Dalton of Spokane; brothers, Colin, of Florence OR, Shawn of Puyallup, James
of Vancouver Canada; Aunt Helen Kamara of Seattle; companion JoAnn of Port Townsend/Brinnon and extended family.
The memory of his spirit and presence will remain indelible, he will be dearly missed. Words he expressed and was living at the time of his passing. “just imagine a new dream today and find satisfaction and awe in its realization”
An online memorial can be viewed at http://gerryhiebert.blogspot.com
315015
Gail LaRue PattersonGail will be remembered
as an artistic and passionate mother, wife and teacher by her family, friends and loved ones. She passed away peacefully at home on December 23, 2009 after a long illness at the age of 72. She was born April 13, 1937 in Philadelphia to Charles and Mildred Pfahler. She is survived by spouse Dean, sons Kynan Patterson (Jill) and Lt. Col. Kyle Patterson (Gina), brother Charles Pfahler (Gay), and grandchildren Kira, Collin, Ryan, William & Charles.
She graduated from Abington High School PA in 1955 where she was a cheerleader. She then attended Houghton College in New York where she studied Education and participated in the Foreign Missionary Fellowship, graduating in 1960. Her true creative nature had shown brightest in the classroom during her long teaching career. She taught and nurtured children in the Kent School District for 30 years, but that was only part of the story. Whether teaching at an elementary, in Sunday School, as a scout leader or with her own children and grandchildren, she made minds grow, ideas blossom, and the unusual happen.
Gail married her husband Dean of 49 years in 1960. They moved to the Seattle area in 1961 and lived in the Kent area since 1963. Two teaching careers with the Kent School District were split by a time of raising her two sons Kynan and Kyle. Her many volunteer activities included chairing the Seattle Symphony Family Concert in Kent, and working with the Kent area PTA, receiving the Golden Acorn Award for some of those efforts. Her other interests included taking automobile trips, fine foods, cooking, Native American culture, jewelry making, Celtic music, playing tennis, and movies. She found particular peace and joy with the time spent in her many trips to the ocean. Gail was a cherished wife, mother, friend and co-worker to many. Her sense of humor, unconditional love and dynamic personality will be missed, but never forgotten. We’ll miss you Mom.
A private family service was held for Gail on Saturday January 2nd, 2010, where she was laid to rest at Hillcrest Cemetery in Kent. Please sign the online guest book for Gail at marlattfuneralhome.com. Remembrances may be given to World Vision child relief, Gail Patterson Memorial Fund, 1-888-511-6519, reference source code
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and varsity basketball player, died early Sunday morning, when the 2004 Impala he was driving crashed into a tree in the 23800 block of 64th Avenue South in Kent. Three other K-M students in the car survived, although all were initially taken for treatment of the serious injuries they sustained in the crash. (See related story, page 6.)
Tursic, however, died at the scene.
At Wednesday’s vigil, it became obvious just how many lives the senior student had touched, in his first year at K-M, where he’d transferred from Tyee High School at SeaTac.
“None of us are going to forget what he did for us,” admonished another teen, one of Tursic’s many friends who got up to speak at the vigil, his voice breaking.
“All I knew was that he was an awesome friend. When you came to him with a problem, he was there,” another student shared with the group.
If there was a recurring theme in what speakers shared that night, it was that Tursic was that rare kind of person who could find something in common with nearly anyone. It didn’t matter if they were in the academic track, shooting hoops, or just happy to
be making it through school somehow. And boy, was the kid
upbeat.“There wasn’t one day
Dorian was sad, and if he was, you didn’t know it,” another boy told the group, as candle flames continued to flicker. “He was a friend to everyone.”
He then sang a song to Dorian, accompanied by piped-in background music.
“All I hear are raindrops falling on the roof,” he sang, noting, “I’m officially miss-ing you.”
And when his voice faltered as he choked back tears, two of his female friends, who had been standing with him, kept singing through additional stanzas of the song. Their voices, carried on the cold night air, generated warm applause from the audience.
Other students reminded the audience of what Dorian’s passing meant for their future.
“We need to take every day and tell the people you love, that you love them,” one teenage boy said. “You might not get a second chance. I just want to say, ‘I love you, Dorian.’”
A number of adults also spoke, including one man who noted that while he didn’t know Dorian, he knew the teen’s short life
could serve as a wake-up call to others.
“Do not live your life saying ‘I coulda, woulda, shoulda,’” the man told the teens. “Live your life.”
Another adult, a woman referring to herself as Nani, who said she’d known Dorian since he was in second grade, reminded the teens they needed to be adamant about making good choices, and showing good judgement.
“Don’t make mistakes that are going to take you out,” she said. “All of us are
going to deal with this for a very long time.”
K-M Principal Wade Barringer, who also spoke at Wednesday’s vigil, said Thursday the vigil was one of a number of ways K-M has been working to help students with their grief.
“Like all of the other events we’re doing for Dorian, the purpose was to honor him in all the dif-ferent ways that his friends wanted to honor him,” Barringer said. “We’ve been very accepting of every-thing the kids want to do. Every little bit enables the kids to process this a little more.”
Other activities this week at K-M included a mo-ment of silence Monday, putting Dorian’s picture on front page of the K-M Web site, sending a letter home to families, putting an announcement on the school reader board and letting students leave items in memory of Dorian near the school flag pole.
Memorial services for Tursic at Marlatt’s Funeral Home in Kent Thurs-day were standing room only, with attendees - the majority of them young people - flowing outside the building.
Barringer also said that while counselors were available, all of K-M’s staff were available to talk with students.
“Maybe you’re the one person that student has that connection with,” Bar-ringer said, of what he told his staff. “We’re all in this together - for the kids.”
[VIGIL from page1]
By BrIan BeckLey
Kent Police are still investigating the early morning accident that killed a Kent-Meridian student, but early indications are that speed and and driver inexperience played a role in the crash.Dorian Tursic, 18, was killed and three passengers were injured when the 2004 Chevrolet Impala Tursic was driving hit a tree on the 23800 block of 64th Avenue South. The accident occurred at approximately 3:58 a.m. Jan. 3. Tursic was pro-nounced dead at the scene and the other passengers were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.The other passengers have been identified as Malaika Henry, 14, Jordan Bell, 17, and Molly Kirk, 14. As of Thursday, Henry had been released from the hospital, Kirk was in satisfactory condition and Bell was listed is serious condi-tion in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Details of their injuries have not been released.According to Lt. Lisa Price of the Kent Police Department, Tursic was driving south on 64th Avenue when his car struck the tree. Price said Tursic’s car sustained “significant damage” in the crash, but that Tursic was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.It’s not known if alcohol was a factor. Toxicology results could take four weeks.
crash investigation continues
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● MEET OF THE WEEK: The fourth-ranked Kentwood High wrestling team will play host to No. 14 Kent-Meridian at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a South Puget Sound League North Division showdown between two of the area’s top teams.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTENK-M boys basketball team delivers inspirational performance in memory of fallen teammate
The Kent-Meridian boys basketball team (foreground) played their � rst game on Tuesday since the passing of friend and teammate Dorian Tursic. In honor of their fallen teammate, the Royals displayed Tursic’s No. 22 jersey on a fold-out chair during the game, a scene that will carry through the rest of this season. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
BY ERICK WALKER
He wants perfection.A little less than a half way
through the prep wrestling
season, Kentwood High standout Ruben Navejas has got it. Navejas, the state’s top 103-pound wrestler and the defending Class 4A state cham-pion, continued his dominance
during the holiday break in the Paci� c Coast Championship held at Hudson’s Bay High in Vancouver on Jan. 1-2.
� e Kentwood junior cruised through the 103-pound
weight class, working three pins and two major decisions en route to the title in his bracket.Ruben Navejas
Thinking perfection: KW’s Navejas wins Pac Coast title
[ more WRESTLING page 11 ]
BY ERICK WALKER
Jordan � ompson Walker couldn’t conceal the pain
any longer Tuesday night at Tahoma High. � e previous 48 hours simply had been too much for him and his Kent-Meridian basketball teammates.
Playing their � rst game since the death of teammate and close friend Dorian Tursic, the Royals dropped an epic, 71-68 double-overtime heartbreaker to Tahoma on what appeared to be an impos-sible shot at the buzzer.
Pacing the locker room moments later, teeth clenched and � ghting back tears, � omp-son Walker delivered an emotion-laced message to the Royals.
“� is close, man! � is close,” he barked, holding up his right hand, his index � nger nearly touching his thumb. “But you know what? Dorian is up there right now looking down on us and he’s smiling with how we played.”
Tursic, 18, died Sunday morning a� er the 2004 Chevrolet Impala he was driving crashed into a tree.
He is gone, but won’t be forgotten — especially not by the Royals.
“We came out here to play hard for Dorian,” said guard Gary Bailey, who wrote in red on his shoes Tursic’s name and jersey number. “He’s in our hearts.”
Tursic, a 6-foot-2 guard who transferred to Kent-Meridian from Tyee before the school year, recently had moved into the starting rotation.
� e Royals dedicated Tuesday night’s game – and the rest of their season – to Tursic, a kid who grew into a charismatic and emotion-al leader in just a few short months with the team. In
honor of their fallen team-mate, the Roy-als wore black armbands with Tursic’s number 22 stitched in white. In ad-dition, Tursic’s jersey was draped over an aluminum,
fold-out chair on the bench.“He meant so much to us.
He was an inspiration to me and the rest of the team,” forward Sergio Arroyo said. “He was one of those guys who worked the hardest, and � nally, he got out there and was starting.”
� e loss of Tursic re-mains surreal to the Royals.
“It’s like a dream,” said forward Brandon Harris. “He was just with us the other day. I can’t explain it.”
� e emotion of Tuesday
[ more ROYALS page 10 ]
“Dorian is up there right now looking
down on us and he’s smiling with how we
played.”
K-M’s JORDAN THOMPSON WALKER
CLASS 4A BOYS1. Federal Way (7-0)
2. Jackson (7-0)3. Curtis (10-0)
4. Gonzaga Prep (7-1)5. Lake Washington (7-1)
6. Decatur (7-2)7. Foss (7-2)
8. Kamiakin (8-0)9. Richland (7-0)
10. Walla Walla (6-2)Others who receiving votes:
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CLASS 4A GIRLS1. Auburn Riverside (9-0)
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8. Kentlake (8-0)9. Edmonds-Woodway (6-1)
10. Monroe (8-1)Others receiving votes:
Bellarmine Prep (5-3), Jackson (6-1), Gar� eld (4-3)
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night’s game also spilled into the bleachers, where several K-M students sported white, hooded sweatshirts with Tursic’s number on the sleeve and picture on the back. Several students signaled the number 22 with their hands throughout the game.
Playing with their hearts on their sleeves and Tursic on their minds, the Royals delivered their � nest game in more than two years, coming back from double digits down to force the � rst overtime and a four-point de� cit to force the second.
“We fought, we fought and we fought. We made big play a� er big play, but so did they,” said Kent-Me-ridian coach Brian Lockhart, tears in his eyes. “Emotionally, the kids were wiped out. Any K-M team in the past would have folded. � ese guys showed major resiliency.”
It was a game that, if played at the college or professional level, would be seen in reruns for years to come on ESPN Classic. A game that included big defensive stops, tears of joy and of sorrow, and more than a handful of clutch shots, the last of which was delivered by 6-foot-8 Tahoma star Christian Behrens.
With 2.9 seconds le� in the second overtime and with his back to the bas-ket, Behrens collected the inbounds pass just past halfcourt with K-M’s Harris and Barento Ahmed draped all over him. In a fraction of a second, Behrens turned, elevated and drained an o� -balance, fade-away 3-pointer from 23 feet out, li� ing the Bears to victory.
� e ball cleared the net just as the � nal buzzer sounded, sinking the Royals’ spirits.
“We let our emotions go wild all night and that was kind of like a dag-ger in the heart,” Arroyo lamented.
Behrens celebrated the shot, but fully understood the gravity of the situation on the other end of the court.
“We knew coming in about their loss (of Tursic) and we wanted to sup-port them,” said Behrens, a junior who is one of the state’s top college recruits. “But, at the same time, we needed the win and we were going to do anything to get it. And then, a� er the game, we’d give them all the love we had.”
Behrens’ game-winner wiped out all the big shots the Royals delivered throughout the night – the 3-pointer from Bailey to tie it at 49-49 with 1:40 le� in regulation, the two free throws � ompson Walker hit moments later that gave K-M a short-lived 51-49 lead, and the teardrop lay-up the 5-foot-3 Djuan Miller converted past Behrens with 20 seconds le� in the � rst OT that gave the Royals a 58-57 advantage.
But Behrens’ big play didn’t erase K-M’s performance entirely. � ompson
Walker (19 points) and Bailey (11) both recorded season highs. Miller proved to be the igniter o� the bench, scoring 15, and Ho� man added 10.
It was a performance that would have made Tursic proud, � ompson Walker conceded.
“We wanted this so bad. We wanted this for Dorian,” the K-M guard said while wiping away tears. “All we wanted to do was win this game for him. Even though we lost, it feels good that we played well for him. He’s proud of us. He’s happy with how we played. He’s happy with how all of us played.”
Tursic le� a bit of himself with all of the Royals, as well.
“I was out there going hard and didn’t get tired the entire game, and I couldn’t understand why,” Arroyo said. “I think (Tursic) gave me that extra gear. He was in my heart.
“He le� us all with that inspiration.”
Many Kent-Meridian players had Dorian Tursic’s name and number written on their shoes during Tuesday night’s game. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
[ ROYALS from page 9]
Kent-Meridian’s Sid Verma, left, Daveontae Ho� man, second from the left, assistant coach Marcus Graham and Jordan Thompson Walker take a moment before Tuesday’s game to collect their thoughts. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
January 9, 2010[12] www.kentreporter.com
CLICK!
Kent-Meridian basketball players huddle together moments before Tuesday night’s game against Tahoma. It was K-M’s first game since the death of teammate Dorian Tursic. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
PLAYING IN DORIAN’S MEMORYPlaying its first game Tuesday night since the loss of teammate and close friend
Dorian Tursic, Kent-Meridian dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker to Tahoma, 71-68. Jordan Thompson Walker and Gary Bailey each scored season highs, but it wasn’t enough as Tahoma’s Christian Behrens drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Bears to victory. Reporter photographer Charles Cortes
chronicled the emotion-filled night from behind the camera.
Many fans, like the one at top, during the game used two hands to show the No. 22, Dorian Tursic’s number with the Royals. A handful of fans, like the one above, also wore white, hooded sweatshirts with Tursic’s picture on the back and his No. 22 on the sleeve in red. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter
Kent-Meridian assistant coach Marcus Graham walked off the court showing a picture of Tursic. CHARLES CORTES, Kent reporter
Freshman Martel Taylor Barone, above, goes up strong for a rebound. At right, the emotion is evident on the face of K-M guard Gary Bailey as he walks off the court after the tough loss. Bailey, a sharpshooting lefthander, drilled a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining in regulation to tie the game 49-49, but the Royals were unable to put away the Bears CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter