Getting back in game

Bailey looks forward to football, next step on road to normalcy

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 3, 2006 at midnight

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BAILEY - It was their first day back at school since a gunman took hostages and killed a teenage student, and so, for some Platte Canyon High School teachers, their first forays into the hallways Monday were tentative.

"We had a meeting this morning and everyone is going at their own pace," Platte Canyon School District Superintendent Jim Walpole said. "We called in grief counselors to help."

They called in 55, in fact.

Walpole said they pulled counselors from as far away as Colorado Springs and all over the Denver metro area so teachers and staff could have one-on-one attention.

School isn't set to resume its normal schedule until Thursday, but Walpole wanted to make sure teachers and staff had a chance first to get used to being back on campus, which has been a crime scene since Duane Morrison invaded the school on Wednesday, taking six hostages and shooting and killing 16-year-old Emily Keyes before killing himself.

The small mountain town has been reeling for days, trying to figure out how and why Morrison did what he did.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation spokesman Lance Clem said investigators have learned a bit more, including picking up surveillance video of the 53-year-old gunman driving through the school parking lot 24 hours prior to the shooting.

Clem also said two rifles found at a makeshift campsite a mile from the school have been tied to Morrison. A .44-caliber revolver found Saturday along a trail in nearby Shawnee also might be linked to Morrison, he said.

But while grieving has been going on since Wednesday over the death of Keyes, there were signs Monday that the community is regaining some sense of normalcy as well.

Football players took the field to practice for a game today against Colorado Springs' Christian High School - a game that originally was scheduled for Saturday.

The players, dressed in their jerseys and goofy hats - commemorating a school tradition called "Hat Day" - tossed the ball around and practiced a series of plays.

"It's good to see them out there," said Krista Hopkins, whose son Josh plays on the offensive and defensive lines. "They needed this."

And even though the players joked and joshed with each other, it was impossible to forget that they were on the eve of playing a game that would garner more attention than any of them had ever seen.

Jim Owsiany knew it all too well.

The school's athletic director arrived at the field mid-morning on a golf cart with his wife, Cindy Owsiany, armed with cans of spray paint and a healthy dose of pride.

He's been at the school for more than 20 years and has been the athletic director for about a decade. At this small school, that also means being the groundskeeper.

After this tragedy, he wanted to make the field look just right.

Owsiany went out to midfield where the school's emblem, a giant paw print, was painted white. Inside, in blue lettering, he wrote the word "Emily." After inspecting his work closely, he decided the name didn't stand out enough.

"Highlight it," he said to Cindy, who began the painstaking process of trimming the blue letters with gold paint. As the wind began to gust, Owsiany tried to block it with his body so his wife could finish the task.

He gave her a final instruction: "Nice and thin."

When she finished, they both stood and gazed at it.

"It's not the school colors, but it will emphasize and accent it," he said. "It's what we need."

They weren't done, either.

Owsiany said some students wanted to see Keyes' final text message to her parents before she was shot. So he painted "I Love You Guys" in white at the 20-yard line on the north side of the field. His wife added the gold trim.

Just to make sure all was OK, Owsiany climbed the stadium steps to see what it looked like from that perspective.

To him, it looked just fine.

"I understand this is just a game, but it can also help us get back on our feet," he said. "We're doing the best we can and it can be a beginning for us."

And maybe an end to the way the world now views Bailey, too. At least Lori Jimenez hoped so as she watched her son practice.

"We're not going to let us be beat down," she said. "I don't think that monster can change the image of the town. It's still a wonderful place. It always will be."

This week in Bailey

TODAY

• 2:30 p.m.: News conference updating the community on the results of the investigation into the shooting. Media tour of the school to follow.

• 3:30 p.m.: Home football game at Platte Canyon High School. The Huskies play the Colorado Springs Christian High School Lions.

WEDNESDAY

• 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Parent, student and teacher sessions at Platte Canyon High School and Fitzsimmons Middle School. Deer Creek Elementary will be closed for the day.

THURSDAY

School will resume, with counseling available for students throughout the day.

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5236

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