Wednesday, May 28, 1997
Fire latest tragedy to hit community
By ROY A. JONES II / Abilene Reporter-News
RULE - "This little community has really had it this year,"
Rule High School Principal Eddie Wolsch said Tuesday, slumping
in his chair and wiping reddened eyes.
Wolsch was one of the few people at the high school Tuesday
- commencement exercises were Friday - but it was just as well.
"There's no way we could have held classes today,"
he said.
The Monday night death of Erika Sanders, a popular junior-to-be,
and three relatives was just the latest tragedy to befall the
Haskell County town, population 774, this year.
"We've got some outstanding students here," Wolsch
said, pointing to a wall filled with state championship plaques,
"and she was one of them."
A trophy-lined wall in English teacher Bobby Robinson's home
also has colorful T-shirts earned by the cast members of the school's
one-act plays. Wolsch lingered in front of the last blue shirt
labeled "Little Women."
Beneath it, Erika's name was on the trophies the all-girl cast
won in zone, district, area and regional competition.
"Erika made the all-star cast once. She helped them get
almost to state," the principal said. The play won regional
this year and was alternate to state. Rule was third in 1996 and
won state in 1995.
"It's been a year of real highs and real lows," Wolsch
said. The highs included Rule's winning its second straight UIL
academic state championship earlier this month.
Until Monday night's tragedy, the UIL successes had encouraged
a community that had been hard hit since the last week of January.
During one 10-day stretch the school system had four deaths and
a near-death.
-- On Jan. 29, Kathleen Butler, a Rule teacher for 12 years,
lost a long battle with cancer.
-- On Jan. 30, retired Supt. Tom Kutch was killed when his
farm tractor was struck by an 18-wheeler just south of Rule. He
had been in the school system for 35 years.
-- On Feb. 6, Wallace Allison, owner of Allison Farm Supply
and a prominent civic leader, died.
-- On Feb. 7, retired longtime Rule teacher and one-act play
director Faye Dunnam died.
-- Just three days before the string of deaths began, on Jan.
26, John Pike, manager of the Rule Co-Op Gin and Elevator and
former president of the school board, collapsed in the pulpit
while leading the singing at First Baptist Church. He underwent
emergency brain surgery in Dallas for an aneurism, and was able
to return to work several weeks later.
-- On May 11, John Greeson, minister of the Rule Church of
Christ, became ill after preaching Sunday morning service. He
subsequently underwent triple bypass heart surgery in Abilene
and was listed in stable condition Tuesday in Hendrick Medical
Center.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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