Messages written on Gussner sidewalk to remember Lawson brothers
Jul. 19—JAMESTOWN — Thoughtful messages to remember two children who died in a single-vehicle accident earlier this week about 7 miles west of Jamestown were written on the sidewalk on Thursday, July 18, leading to the entrance of Gussner Elementary School.
Thirteen children with Solid Foundations Growing Center in Jamestown wrote messages such as "Heaven gained two angels," "You will be remembered" and "You are in our hearts and prayers" for brothers Kamari and Logan Lawson.
"We have some of our children who go to Gussner who were friends with the boys," said Lindsey Voeltz, director of Solid Foundations Growing Center, a child care ministry in First United Methodist Church in Jamestown. "We've been talking a lot about it this week. So we wanted to just come and write them a little message and let the family know we are thinking of them, praying for them."
Kamari and Logan passed away
after an SUV went off Interstate 94 and rolled
into a slough by Exit 248 on Monday, July 15. The 1997 Chevrolet Suburban landed on its side in the water after Stachia Lawson, 30, Cleveland, North Dakota, lost control after a semi passed her, according to a news release from the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
Family members later identified the children killed in the crash as Kamari, 10, and Logan, 7. Their bodies were found under water about 25 feet from where the SUV they were riding in landed, WDAY reported. The water in the slough was 9 feet deep due to the recent rain.
Seven children were in the car ranging in age from 5 to 11. Four children, ages 5, 6, 9 and 11, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the patrol said.
Stachia Lawson and five children were out of the water or coming out when first responders arrived, WDAY reported.
Voeltz said a speech therapist at Gussner Elementary School, who is a good friend of hers, talked Wednesday, July 17, about making some cards or creating a memorial to show the family others are thinking about them.
"My children go to school here. I'm on the (Gussner Elementary) PTO and the Gussner family wants them to know they'll be missed," she said.
Gussner Elementary School Principal Luke Anderson said every student at the school has a big impact on the lives of others. Anderson was contacted to see if the children with Solid Foundations Growing Center could write messages of support on the school's sidewalk.
"I thought anything that we can do to show we are thinking of them is a positive in a time of need for the family," Anderson said.
Voeltz said three children who attend Solid Foundations Growing Center were very close friends with the Lawson brothers. She said her husband, Travis, who is a pastor at First United Methodist Church, has spoken with the child care ministry's youth.
"We understand how it is to have young children and our hearts hurt for that family and we just wanted to show as much love and support as we could for the families and also not just for the families but for the children who were friends with Logan and Kamari," she said. "We want to show that we support them because it's hard to understand a tragedy like that and I think everybody supports the family but the children in our community who miss them need to be supported too."
Voeltz said the child care ministry's staff has allowed the children to talk about the Lawson brothers.
"A lot of times all that they will say is, 'It's sad,' and we just let them say that because it is sad," she said.
Anderson said the school will provide opportunities for people to come in and speak with its counselors sometime next week. He said messages will be sent to all of the families at Gussner.
"There will be some handouts and some things that we will share out with them too as far as sharing difficult news with their children," he said. "With it not being in the school year, access is tougher for our counselors to be able to reach them so they are finding alternatives to make sure that they have an opportunity to help anybody that needs some support right now."
Gussner Elementary PTO announced that staff at Gussner Elementary School in Jamestown decided to donate directly to Eddy Funeral Home to offset funeral costs. Donations will be collected at the Jamestown Public Schools' Central Office located at 207 2nd Ave. SE. All donations will go directly to Eddy Funeral Home in the Lawson/Smith name.
"That's a way to help financially and anything you can do during this time I think is big," Anderson said. "It was the way we thought we could make the biggest impact. ... You want to give families time for processing and everything. We didn't want to be prying or interrupting the process for them.
"So this is a way where we thought we could make an impact or help in this difficult time," he said. "If it's one less thing they have to worry about, then that's a positive."
In addition,
benefit accounts have been set up
on GofundMe to help the families involved in the accident. To help the families, visit
bit.ly/467T3U6
and
bit.ly/3zHnoNc
.
Cleveland Seventh-day Adventist Church announced on social media that anyone can help out with funeral and medical expenses by donating to its benevolent fund and label it "Stachia Lawson Family." Proceeds will go to the families or funeral home.
Checks should be made to Cleveland Seventh-day Adventist Church. Donations can be mailed to Cleveland Seventh-day Adventist Church, PO Box 77, Cleveland ND, 58424 or can be made at
.
"We are blessed to be in a really great community, we are blessed to have a lot of great students that care about each other and we are blessed to have a tremendous staff that really cares for all the kids in our building," Anderson said. "You always know in difficult times, it's a sad reminder of how close and how supportive we all are during a difficult time."
