Well; for the rest of our neighbors in Butler, MO and all of Bates County this was no way to ring in the New Year! Because I live in Kansas City I look forward to my weekends and holidays in the country, away from all the killing, violence and mayhem.
But this holiday season, violence erupted in our tranquil town of Butler, MO.
It seems these days, there is just no getting away from it, as our culture becomes more crass, violent and vulgar; we drift further and further from our Christian roots and our love for one another.
On New Years Day, a under a Blue Moon; 25 year-old Carl Thomas lay dead on a Butler, Missouri street and his sister, 29-year-old Latonya Cooper was shot inside a house. She was later pronounced dead at Bates County Memorial Medical Center. Another 7 year-old was injured in the fracas also.
This is not the norm for our part of the country and the talk at the local diner Saturday was a mix of sorrow and anger. Sorrow for the family and anger for the fact that our pleasant community should have these trials and worries.
A town where barefoot children ride bicycles to Sam's Hi-Way Hamburger to get an ice cream in the Summer, a town where people still often leave the doors unlocked, a town where helping your neighbor is as common as going to church on Sunday!
Allegedly; Decarlos Newsom was the shooter who later took his own life while parked in his truck. A quick search of Casenet, shows that Mr. Newsom had run afoul of the law before but mostly traffic incidents; that is until August 13, 2008 when he was convicted of a misdemeanor firearm offense and sentenced to 180 days in jail. The sentence was suspended and he was assigned 2 years unsupervised probation and 40 hours community service.
No one knows what could lead someone to do something like this, we can only pray for the families, our community and for our country, that we do not continue this descent into corruption and depravity that seems to be so commonplace in America today.
But this holiday season, violence erupted in our tranquil town of Butler, MO.
It seems these days, there is just no getting away from it, as our culture becomes more crass, violent and vulgar; we drift further and further from our Christian roots and our love for one another.
On New Years Day, a under a Blue Moon; 25 year-old Carl Thomas lay dead on a Butler, Missouri street and his sister, 29-year-old Latonya Cooper was shot inside a house. She was later pronounced dead at Bates County Memorial Medical Center. Another 7 year-old was injured in the fracas also.
This is not the norm for our part of the country and the talk at the local diner Saturday was a mix of sorrow and anger. Sorrow for the family and anger for the fact that our pleasant community should have these trials and worries.
A town where barefoot children ride bicycles to Sam's Hi-Way Hamburger to get an ice cream in the Summer, a town where people still often leave the doors unlocked, a town where helping your neighbor is as common as going to church on Sunday!
Allegedly; Decarlos Newsom was the shooter who later took his own life while parked in his truck. A quick search of Casenet, shows that Mr. Newsom had run afoul of the law before but mostly traffic incidents; that is until August 13, 2008 when he was convicted of a misdemeanor firearm offense and sentenced to 180 days in jail. The sentence was suspended and he was assigned 2 years unsupervised probation and 40 hours community service.
No one knows what could lead someone to do something like this, we can only pray for the families, our community and for our country, that we do not continue this descent into corruption and depravity that seems to be so commonplace in America today.
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