Paint Creek Superintendent Praises Faculty's Response to Deadly Car Wreck
By: Katie Thompson
Updated: January 29, 2013
It wasn't a normal Monday morning for Paint Creek Superintendent Don Ballard.
Hours away from his school, Ballard was walking into a doctors office when he got the call.
"Telling me that there had been an accident, and we had several students involved," said Ballard.
Tragedy had struck the tiny school system of only 160 plus kids.
A vehicle carrying six students had lost control, killing a fourteen year old girl instantly, and sending two others to the hospital.
"Immediately things start going through your mind. Whats going on, I need to be there," Ballard said.
Their leader was miles away, but in the midst of a crisis, Ballard's staff was stepping up to the plate.
"We had six or seven teachers at the scene and the others were covering classes, taking telephone calls, and they were just working as a team," he said.
"You know we have fire drills, storm drills, bomb threat drills, but you cannot prepare for one of these things," said Ballard.
The scene of the tragic accident is only a few miles from the school. It's a popular route many students and teachers will continue to take. While the stretch of roadway may serve as a reminder of what happened, the superintendent says it wont stop the small school district from moving forward.
"You have a tendency to wanna stop everything were doing...but yet we need to go forward because things have to continue," said Ballard. "Every class is doing something a little bit different and plus the faculty too. Like I say I've got the greatest faculty you could ever put together."
Hours away from his school, Ballard was walking into a doctors office when he got the call.
"Telling me that there had been an accident, and we had several students involved," said Ballard.
Tragedy had struck the tiny school system of only 160 plus kids.
A vehicle carrying six students had lost control, killing a fourteen year old girl instantly, and sending two others to the hospital.
"Immediately things start going through your mind. Whats going on, I need to be there," Ballard said.
Their leader was miles away, but in the midst of a crisis, Ballard's staff was stepping up to the plate.
"We had six or seven teachers at the scene and the others were covering classes, taking telephone calls, and they were just working as a team," he said.
"You know we have fire drills, storm drills, bomb threat drills, but you cannot prepare for one of these things," said Ballard.
The scene of the tragic accident is only a few miles from the school. It's a popular route many students and teachers will continue to take. While the stretch of roadway may serve as a reminder of what happened, the superintendent says it wont stop the small school district from moving forward.
"You have a tendency to wanna stop everything were doing...but yet we need to go forward because things have to continue," said Ballard. "Every class is doing something a little bit different and plus the faculty too. Like I say I've got the greatest faculty you could ever put together."
