Ross Township shooting, one year later
By Andrew Scott, Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
A year later, longtime township residents haven't forgotten the tragedy, but haven't let it stop them from continuing to be the peaceful, close-knit community they've always been.
Looking at the municipal building today, a total stranger to the township, unless told, would never guess it was the scene of a horrific incident.
The blood has long since been cleaned away and the bullet-shattered window replaced. One tell-tale sign: faded pieces of tape measure used to mark bullet hole locations in one of the columns by the front entrance.
The stranger might find it curious, though, that visitors must be buzzed into the building via intercom and possibly searched by a security guard, an employee of a firm hired by the township. Not a practice at other municipal buildings, where people haven't brought in weapons and committed violent acts.
On Monday, a day before the first anniversary,
"Let's all please stand and have a moment of silence for those who've passed away and those of us who've been affected by last year's ... fiasco," Supervisor Chairman
The meeting lasted only 20 minutes, during which supervisors briefly announced plans to accept bids at their
However, supervisors said, that doesn't mean what happened or the people it happened to will be forgotten. Here are those being kept in the community's memories, thoughts and prayers.
FLEETWOOD FAMILY
The family of Chestnuthill Township Supervisor
A plaque, a three-quarter-mile park trail, a scholarship and a
The inaugural
Those who knew Fleetwood say saving someone else's life, even if it meant possibly losing his own, was no foreign concept to the
"Each and every day, I think of and miss Dave," said his wife of 31 years,
"I've been blessed by my family and this community, who have helped me whenever needed," she said. "They have really carried me some days. I try very hard not to let the evil of that night overtake my thoughts. I instead think of how Dave's positive impact continues."
KOZIC FAMILY
Community volunteers have renovated
But those colors, now matter how bright, cannot keep Kozic's emotional pain from flaring up fresh, as the pain from the bullet wound in her leg sometimes does, at the anniversary of her husband's death.
Kozic, 57, has a background in singing while her husband,
Newell shot
Finding it ironic that her husband was killed by the same man whose property he had wanted to organize community volunteers to clean up, the now wheelchair-bound
She plans to continue her husband's push for more extensive background checks for gun owners and limiting access to assault weapons not used for hunting, as well as start a foundation in her husband's memory to supply musical instruments to children unable to afford them.
LAGUARDIA FAMILY
It's tragically ironic, then, that
"I feel that we need greater gun control not out of some naïve idea that it will curb all gun violence, but because it communicates something deeper about our nation's values concerning the sacredness of life and the sanctity of our nation's welfare,"
As the family continues dealing with this loss,
Helped by
If not for the actions of Kozen and Kresh, Newell would have killed more people, witnesses said.
In a letter to the editor published five days after the shootings, Kozen said he believes the community should continue focusing on helping those directly affected to heal and recover from the tragedy.
"By doing so, we can ensure that the shooter doesn't win a second time by destroying the bonds of our community," he wrote at the time. "The...criminal case against Newell is of primary importance. It is time for us to move on through the grieving and healing process."
His father,
Calling himself a junk collector and saying he'd been unable to work due to a crash injury, Newell for nearly two decades had fought what he called harassment from the township and its view of his junk-strewn property with non-permitted structures as an eyesore, saying he got no help with cleaning up the property to a more acceptable condition.
With Newell's property sold at a sheriff's sale last year and now cleaned up, the community has been divided in its opinions about Newell.
While no one condones what he's charged with doing, some say he should have gotten more help with his property and that the township pushed him too far by singling him out while ignoring other dilapidated properties.
Newell's own family recalled a long history of mental health issues including hoarding, a
The prosecution is seeking the death penalty if Newell is convicted.
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