Town remembers three children struck by train
NATIONAL
JOPLIN. Mo. (AP) — The scene is
awful beyond belief — a four
engine freight train bears down on
three children stranded on a trestle
high above a shallow, sun-dappled
fishing hole.
Hand-in-hand (hey try lo flee, scrambling over rough
hewn railroad lies and the 6-inch gaps between them as
their stepfather, frantic on the creek hank below, screams
for them to run faster.
They almost made it.
"Thev would have been better off if they had jumped."
said police Lt. Ed Brown "But they all joined hands and
ran.”
They had reached the end of the 102-foot, one-trar k
trestle but wore still 20 feet from level ground and safe
ty when the locomotive, braking but unable to stop 112
rolling cars laden with coal, ran them down
Melissa Seay, 12. and her 9-year-old brother. William,
known as "Bud.” were killed instantly Sunday. The
youngest, 5-year-old Austin, held on until Monday.
The Seay siblings were buried Thursday Six hundred
people gathered for funeral services at the Central Chris
tian Center, housed in an ornate, old downtown Joplin
movie theater.
Austin's coffin was flanked by those of his sister and
brother, mirroring their places as they raced across the
trestle. Mementos were tucked in beside them a teddy
(war for Melissa, toy cars for the hoys.
The tragic poignancy of their joint funeral echoed the
very closeness that may have contributed to their deaths.
"They all stuck together They had the youngest by the
hand, and Bud's leg slipped through the space between
the ties. The other two went back to got him." said I.arry
Sherman, a family friend and pallbearer. "They almost
made it."
At North Middle School, where Melissa was finish
ing sixth grade, teacher Diane Elliott cleared the girl's
locker this week and recalled her last conversation with
Melissa, on Friday before the Memorial Day weekend
Like so many times before. Melissa was teasing her
"She flashed a big smile and said she wasn't coming
back, that she was going to have her dad t all in sick for
her because she didn't think she should go to school in
June." Elliott said. "Sht! was looking forward to her vaca
tion, ”
Classes ended Wednesday, and departing classmates
had pasted signs around Melissa's locker. "Love you
always." read one. and "She was one of my best
friends." A third stood out "This locker is dm lared
retired by all of her friends."
Principal Jim Cobum said some classmates had sug
gested the locker he retired, set aside and never used
again, as with the uniform numbers of sports heroes
"There will tie some typo of memorial for her." Cobum
said.
Across town at Mc Kinley Elementary School, family
dren. about 1H seconds before reaching tho trestle," said
Jensen.
Tho train was traveling no mow than 30 mph up o
gradual grade, and Wada braked immediately. |ensen
said It stiil took the heavy train 1.489 f«*««t to stop after it
hit the children.
"We are talking about in ext ess of 30 million pounds
coming down the track, and you need a lot of room to
stop with that kind of mass." Jensen said
Wade, reached at his home in Heavoner. Okie .
declined to talk about the accident.
Anthony Reynolds. 11, who was fishing nearby, said
he had heart! Me I’herson warn the children not to stray
members came by Wednesday to
collect one of fifth-grader Bud’s
art projects, now an irreplaceable
treasure. In a discarded shoebox.
Bud had created a diorama, a
scene of miniature clay trees and
the dinosaurs that fascinated him
"You look at some people and
they have a pleasant look on their
face, and he was like that." said
his principal, Doris Conyers.
Sherman, the family friend, said
the c hildren had iust come home
*7heir only thought was
to run away from danger.
To them that would have
been less scary than
jumping
Sgt John Jensen,
tend mvostigAtor
too far "All of a sudden, I heard
tlit< beep of Ilia train," the fxiv said
"Their dad said. Run' Run1"'
Jensen said tlui children's only
other route to safety was to jump
over the edge. a choice th.it might
have seemed even more frighten
ing,
"Their only thought was to run
away from danger. To them that
would have been less si ary than
jumping." he viid.
Sunday afternoon from a weekend nearby with their
father, Tom Seay, when their stepfather, Gregory
McPherson, packed them off to Turkey Creek, a popular
spot to catch catfish and porch
As the sunshine gavo way to slanting evening shad
ows, the children left McPherson fishing and climlwd up
the loose rocks on a steep incline to the rusty trestle,
which runs north to south about iJ4 feet above the < reek
An old sign posted near the track warns against Ires
passing on railroad property.
"We don't know why they were up there, probably
exploring and playing like kids do," said police Sgt John
Jensen, the load investigator.
Jensen said the children were about a quarter of the
way across when a southbound Kansas City Southern
Railway Co. train rounder! a curve about Hits feet behind
them — the first glimpse engineer Martin Wade would
have of the children.
"The engineer had only a few seconds to see the chi I
At the Wednesday night visitation at a funeral homt',
tile children's mother. Monica Mi Pherson. spoke pri
vately with friends and family McPherson said she [list
didn't feel like talking.
"All the could-be's and would-be's don't count after
(tie accident All that counts is that there's a great loss."
the stepfather said
Their father also was there and said he couldn't blame
McPherson for the tragedy.
"I'm not holding a grudge against anybody at tills
time," Seay said.
A former babysitter, |eannie Armijo. 22. came to
Turkey Creek on Wednesday to show a friend the plat e
of tragedy. She remembered the children as "fun kids."
"Melissa was smart and sophisticated.” she said "Hud
was a normal little Ixiy, and Austin was a hyper child
At the trestle, someone planted three small crosses
beside the rail laid and covered them with flowers
Poll says support increasing for ban on handgun sales
WASHINGTON (AH) — More Ameri
cans than ever support a ban on handgun
sales, saying it is needed for the safety of
children in an increasingly violent soci
ety. according to a poll released Thursday.
The poll of 1,250 adults conducted April
3-12 by Louis Harris of LH Rosean It Inc
found 52 port ent in favor of a ban and 43
percent opposed
That would be the first time a majority
of Americans expressed support for a ban.
Harris said. Hut the margin of error was
plus or minus 3 percentage paints, leav
ing the possibility that support was as high
as 55 [tenient or os low as 49 percent
Previous polls have shown over
whelming support for a five-day waiting
period for handgun purchases Harris
called the latest results "a sea change of
public opinion on this issue."
Growing fear for the safety of children
in an increasingly violent society appears
to have focused attention on gun-control
as a solution, Harris said
Only 25 percent of adults surveyed full
that most children live in safe neighbor
hoods, and only 29 pen-ent said most chil
dren attend schools free of violent n.
The poll also found:
— 18 percent of adults knew of at least
one youngster killed or wounded by anoth
er child with a gun
— 14 percent of adults and lti percent
of parents knew ofchildruii found playing
with a loaded gun
— 13 percent of adults knew of a child
killed or wounded by a gun fired by an
adult.
Americans in increasing numbers have
concluded that "guns they are getting for
their self-protection are a menace in their
lives," Harris said
Although 42 percent of adults report
ed having a gun in the household, many
expressed doubts about whether such
weapons actually afford more protection,
Harris said
Fifty-nine pen tint reported fueling mom
secure owning a gun, 14 percent felt less
secure and '27 percent weren't sun*
Harris said 2T> percent of those favoring
a ban on handguns expressed willingness
to vote against those who disagreed.
Previous polls have shown that oppo
nents of gun control are more likely to vote
us a group against politicians who favor
stricter laws.
A lower proportion of opponents of gun
control — HI percent — expressed will
ingness to vote against candidates who dis
agreed with them on the issue.
The results also suggest that gun control
could become "the next great women's
issue in the country." Harris said He com
pared a change in attitudes alxiut toward
handguns to the crystallization of public,
support for abortion rights.
Sixly-ono percent of women favored
banning handguns compared to only 44
percent of men. I larris said
James Maker, a spokesman for the
National Rifle Association. < ritn i/nd the
findings.
"They ore asking people to respond to
one side of the argument, they never ask
them the critical question Will any of
these gun-control proposals actually
work?" Maker said
Susan Whitmore, spokeswoman for
Handgun Control Ini . cited a number of
actions by state legislatures to strength
en gun-control laws as evident e of the shift
in public opinion
Virginia enacted u law restricting hand
gun purchases to one a month per person,
and New Jersey defeated an attempt to
repeal a ban on semi-automatic weapons
The poll was i ommissioned by the Har
vard University School of Public Health
and sponsored by tile Joyce Foundation, a
Chicago-based organization that sponsors
studies on a variety of social issues
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The Department of Leisure Studies and Services has purposefully scheduled classes to compliment the majority of the University of
Oregon’s Summer Session classes Campus wide, more than 90 percent of classes are offered Monday through Thursday (or Friday)
Each of the workshops start at 12 00 noon on Friday until 4 50 p m , 8 00 a m to 5:00 p m on Saturdays and Sundays While the
academic assignments vary, generally a paper or project report is assigned and due within two weeks of the completion of the
workshop The Environmental Awareness workshops give students a rare opportunity to truly understand the many facets of our
region Students will be close to the things they study see, smell, hear and touch in order to gam a wide perspective and a magical
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Following are one to two credit workshops currently offered in Leisure Studies and Services during Summer Session
EmiroMtsUmss
Deschutes Headwaters
River Recreation
Deserts
Volcanic Cascades
Crater Lake
Tidepools
Rivers
Dunes 4 Beaches
Lakes.
Environmental Projects
Wilderness
June 10-13
June 16-20
June 25-27
July 9 11
July 16 18
July 23-25
July 30-August 1
August 6 8
August 13-15
August 18-22
August 27-29
SiteianteitesiFmeBiiMPnpi
DART.
June 30-July 2
Research Adolescent
Substance Abuse
Adult Child of Alcoholics
Alcohol College Student
Drugs & Sports
AAHE7BEST .
July 28 30
July 12-14
August 4 5
July 8 9
July 19 21
OR Institute of Addiction Studies.... July 26 30
Conference at lewis & Clark College
Tobacco Prevention. Conference, July 14-16
Hazard
Compulsive Behavior.Conference, July 21-23
Organization & Operation June 28-30
Peer Helper
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome June 21-23
Drug Abuse June 23-25
Prevention Education
AIDS & Other STDs.July 26 28
Recrwiion and Teonsm
leisure/Work Motives June 18 20
Event Management June 18 20
Consumer Behavior. June 25-27
International Tourism July 2 4
Computer Information July 9-11
Systems in Tourism
Festival Management . July 16 18
Delivering quality Leisure Services.... July 23 25
Canadian Tourism. July 30-August 1
Oregon Tourism Issues August 6 8
and Opportunities
Sustainable Tourism A*ugust 13-15 and 20-22
this is 13 credit class