Woman stops drag race ‘tribute’ Fri. along Sims Bridge Road
A large crowd of teenagers and some adults gathered in front of the home of Tyler Bush just hours after his funeral Friday to cheer on cars drag racing down Sims Bridge Road.
The drag racing was apparently a “tribute” to the Banks County teen, who died on Sept. 9 when he fell while trying to run along side a jeep.
Jennifer Schmid reported that she was driving down Sims Bridge Road when she saw the event and stopped to confront the crowd of around 50 people, most of whom were parked in a pasture along the road. In the crowd was Bush’s mother who told Schmid to leave the scene. Schmid refused to leave and called 911 for a deputy.
Schmid said a deputy passed by the scene, but didn’t stop until after she made two calls to 911 asking for help.
Sheriff Charles Chapman said Monday a deputy did go the scene, but most of the people had left by the time the deputy arrived.
“There is nothing else that can be done since it would be impossible to make an indictment in a situation of this nature,” the sheriff said.
The following is Schmid’s statement about the incident:
“At 4:07 p.m. Friday, September 12, as I drove down Sims Bridge Road toward Hwy. 59 from my Banks County home, I witnessed the following event. I saw significant smoke as I rounded a curve. A car was peeling away about 300 feet in front of me, swerving badly, barely in control, leaving rubber streaks on the road. Another car closer to me then peeled away as well, leaving two piles of rubber dust where the back wheels had been.
“Fifty or more teenagers were standing to my right in a pasture, along the fence, looking on and cheering the drivers. More teenagers were in vehicles to my left. I stopped immediately and asked the crowd of kids standing in front of a long line of their vehicles whether anyone was 18 or older. About eight hands went up, with many of the kids cheering and yelling. I then asked whether anyone was 21 or over. About three hands went up, with more cheers and yelling. I asked whether any adults were around, and at that point, with jeering and cheering continuing, a couple of the kids came toward me.
“Some of the crowd were yelling things like ‘It’s none of your business, go away.’ I yelled back that if they wanted to risk their lives drag racing, they should do it in the pasture behind them, and not endanger other drivers on a public road. One young man stood in front of me and told me to get in my car. When I didn’t move, he said ‘I’m serious - get in your car.’ I said ‘So am I,’ and remained standing in the ditch.
“He told me that they were gathered after a funeral for a 17-year-old (who I believe was Robert Tyler Bush). The mother of the dead child was pointed out to me behind the fence. She yelled at me to leave, and said that her son had died. I asked her how he died, and she said it was none of my business - that I was on private property (I was in the ditch by the road), and again demanded that I leave.
The crowd was slowly simmering down - no one else was racing away at any rate. At this point, it was about 4:15, a minute or two after I stopped, a police car went by slowly, but didn’t stop - I would have flagged it down, but I thought it was stopping, and was surprised when it kept going east toward 441, given the black, swerving streaks on the road, and the crowd.
I called 911 and asked for an officer to come to the location. I explained what was going on, and remarked that I didn’t feel very safe. About eight or 10 minutes later, an officer still had not arrived, so I called 911 again. About four or five minutes later, an officer arrived. Some of the kids were leaving, but there were still at least 20 trucks and cars in the field - many of them customized big wheel pickups.
The mother’s brother came over to my car and talked to me for a few minutes. He said “She’s not thinking right.” As I was giving the officer my statement, a man identified as Gene Hart, a Banks County commissioner, pulled up. I approached him to discuss the problem, and I believe it was at that point that the mother said I was “ruining her son’s day.” I understood that to mean that she was allowing and condoning drag racing in front of her house, as a way of honoring her son’s memory.
I started to speak to Mr. Hart, but he told me he was not going to talk to me, told me to get back in my car, that “the officer would take care of it.” I walked back to my car and continued to give the officer my statement. I said I wanted to know what was going to be done, and the officer said I could contact the Banks County Investigations department on Monday.
An accident would very likely have occurred if I hadn’t stopped - and Mrs. Bush would have been liable for the injury to or death of more people. Those kids were unsupervised, unaccompanied by parents or teachers, and out of control - emotionally and physically. Mrs. Bush was also out of control - certainly no parent in a rational state of mind would have allowed teenagers to participate in such an illegal and dangerous way of expressing their feelings at the death - I believe in a car accident - of their classmate.
The Banks County High School website top story is about Superintendent Chris Erwin’s pride in the success of the Banks County High School driver education program. That story needs to be replaced right away with a story about the death of Tyler Bush, and the near deaths of his classmates and other innocent drivers, because of the failure of these children’s parents, teachers, county officials and school system. I request that the school system hold a meeting with Tyler’s classmates, their parents, and teachers, and discuss what happened as soon as possible. Here are some questions I have:
•Did Tyler Bush’s classmates and friends receive any counseling after Tyler’s accident and subsequent death?
•Were the parents of Tyler’s friends called to ask them to make sure their children were handling his death safely, with phone numbers to call if they felt that professional counseling was called for?
•Did those parents who found out that some of their children were drag racing on a public road at 4 in the afternoon in front of Tyler Bush’s house, four hours after his funeral - did they take action to counsel their children, and help them get in a more sane frame of mind?
According to the article in The Banks County news last week, Tyler died in an automobile accident while riding in an open Jeep. He fell out of the vehicle, which means he likely wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Do his friends and family really believe drag racing down a county road is the proper way to honor his memory and support the Banks County driver’s education program?
Is Banks County commissioner Hart going to respond to the situation as an elected public official for the good of all those other children and passerbys?
I stopped an illegal, dangerous situation so another family wouldn’t have to bury a child. Our children must receive better care and guidance in the future, and our elected officials, school board, and parents must act responsibly and swiftly to confront the reasons this situation was allowed to occur."
Editor's Note: The comments on this article are now closed. If you wish to comment further, you may submit a letter to the editor to The Banks County News. Letters must be signed and have a contact phone number.
Jennifer Schmid reported that she was driving down Sims Bridge Road when she saw the event and stopped to confront the crowd of around 50 people, most of whom were parked in a pasture along the road. In the crowd was Bush’s mother who told Schmid to leave the scene. Schmid refused to leave and called 911 for a deputy.
Schmid said a deputy passed by the scene, but didn’t stop until after she made two calls to 911 asking for help.
Sheriff Charles Chapman said Monday a deputy did go the scene, but most of the people had left by the time the deputy arrived.
“There is nothing else that can be done since it would be impossible to make an indictment in a situation of this nature,” the sheriff said.
The following is Schmid’s statement about the incident:
“At 4:07 p.m. Friday, September 12, as I drove down Sims Bridge Road toward Hwy. 59 from my Banks County home, I witnessed the following event. I saw significant smoke as I rounded a curve. A car was peeling away about 300 feet in front of me, swerving badly, barely in control, leaving rubber streaks on the road. Another car closer to me then peeled away as well, leaving two piles of rubber dust where the back wheels had been.
“Fifty or more teenagers were standing to my right in a pasture, along the fence, looking on and cheering the drivers. More teenagers were in vehicles to my left. I stopped immediately and asked the crowd of kids standing in front of a long line of their vehicles whether anyone was 18 or older. About eight hands went up, with many of the kids cheering and yelling. I then asked whether anyone was 21 or over. About three hands went up, with more cheers and yelling. I asked whether any adults were around, and at that point, with jeering and cheering continuing, a couple of the kids came toward me.
“Some of the crowd were yelling things like ‘It’s none of your business, go away.’ I yelled back that if they wanted to risk their lives drag racing, they should do it in the pasture behind them, and not endanger other drivers on a public road. One young man stood in front of me and told me to get in my car. When I didn’t move, he said ‘I’m serious - get in your car.’ I said ‘So am I,’ and remained standing in the ditch.
“He told me that they were gathered after a funeral for a 17-year-old (who I believe was Robert Tyler Bush). The mother of the dead child was pointed out to me behind the fence. She yelled at me to leave, and said that her son had died. I asked her how he died, and she said it was none of my business - that I was on private property (I was in the ditch by the road), and again demanded that I leave.
The crowd was slowly simmering down - no one else was racing away at any rate. At this point, it was about 4:15, a minute or two after I stopped, a police car went by slowly, but didn’t stop - I would have flagged it down, but I thought it was stopping, and was surprised when it kept going east toward 441, given the black, swerving streaks on the road, and the crowd.
I called 911 and asked for an officer to come to the location. I explained what was going on, and remarked that I didn’t feel very safe. About eight or 10 minutes later, an officer still had not arrived, so I called 911 again. About four or five minutes later, an officer arrived. Some of the kids were leaving, but there were still at least 20 trucks and cars in the field - many of them customized big wheel pickups.
The mother’s brother came over to my car and talked to me for a few minutes. He said “She’s not thinking right.” As I was giving the officer my statement, a man identified as Gene Hart, a Banks County commissioner, pulled up. I approached him to discuss the problem, and I believe it was at that point that the mother said I was “ruining her son’s day.” I understood that to mean that she was allowing and condoning drag racing in front of her house, as a way of honoring her son’s memory.
I started to speak to Mr. Hart, but he told me he was not going to talk to me, told me to get back in my car, that “the officer would take care of it.” I walked back to my car and continued to give the officer my statement. I said I wanted to know what was going to be done, and the officer said I could contact the Banks County Investigations department on Monday.
An accident would very likely have occurred if I hadn’t stopped - and Mrs. Bush would have been liable for the injury to or death of more people. Those kids were unsupervised, unaccompanied by parents or teachers, and out of control - emotionally and physically. Mrs. Bush was also out of control - certainly no parent in a rational state of mind would have allowed teenagers to participate in such an illegal and dangerous way of expressing their feelings at the death - I believe in a car accident - of their classmate.
The Banks County High School website top story is about Superintendent Chris Erwin’s pride in the success of the Banks County High School driver education program. That story needs to be replaced right away with a story about the death of Tyler Bush, and the near deaths of his classmates and other innocent drivers, because of the failure of these children’s parents, teachers, county officials and school system. I request that the school system hold a meeting with Tyler’s classmates, their parents, and teachers, and discuss what happened as soon as possible. Here are some questions I have:
•Did Tyler Bush’s classmates and friends receive any counseling after Tyler’s accident and subsequent death?
•Were the parents of Tyler’s friends called to ask them to make sure their children were handling his death safely, with phone numbers to call if they felt that professional counseling was called for?
•Did those parents who found out that some of their children were drag racing on a public road at 4 in the afternoon in front of Tyler Bush’s house, four hours after his funeral - did they take action to counsel their children, and help them get in a more sane frame of mind?
According to the article in The Banks County news last week, Tyler died in an automobile accident while riding in an open Jeep. He fell out of the vehicle, which means he likely wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Do his friends and family really believe drag racing down a county road is the proper way to honor his memory and support the Banks County driver’s education program?
Is Banks County commissioner Hart going to respond to the situation as an elected public official for the good of all those other children and passerbys?
I stopped an illegal, dangerous situation so another family wouldn’t have to bury a child. Our children must receive better care and guidance in the future, and our elected officials, school board, and parents must act responsibly and swiftly to confront the reasons this situation was allowed to occur."
Editor's Note: The comments on this article are now closed. If you wish to comment further, you may submit a letter to the editor to The Banks County News. Letters must be signed and have a contact phone number.
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why are you trying to tear apart a good citizen that had her wit's about her and thought enough of our county's youth to stop them from endangering themselves when no one else was going to.
if you want to have a tribute to a lost life have a car show, raise money and awareness, do something positive - if you want to drag race in his memory then talk to the drag strip about a fundraiser... someone needs to take control.
I am not a very Happy Person right now infact I am so angry about this artical that I dont believe that our news paper should have even published such trash and that is what it is TRASH If the reporter would have done there job correctly they would have known the people laying the drag were grown up not children... the children were in the pasture while the grown ups laid drags There was nothing wrong with what happen if there was the deputy would have put a stop to it if they could leave this family alone havent you done enough to this family Ms. Schmid go back to the big city where people have no feelings about anyone around here people care and we show it and we express our feelings the country way not the city way we take pride in our children and our schools and our teachers and our community, and I take pride in knowing this family and Im glad that they did this because I just am I wouldnt have expected any less The gentlemen who were driving the cars were grown men and they were this childs friends they did what they felt like doing so Ms. Schmid sweep under you own door before you go sweeping under somebody elses
i know that your sad about Tyler but does that give a reason to put someone else at risk?
Why you feel the need to pick at him when this was about something totally different beats me. I believe he's heartbroken enough by this and doesn't need your negativity.
If you have nothing to say that pertains to the matter at hand then I suggest you "hush" before you say something you'll be liable for!
"we take pride in our children and our schools and our teachers and our community"
so that means let the kids do what they want and continue to endanger their lives and others... i hope you don't have a child because if you do we know they are doing whatever they want...
pride my rear - trying doing something positive like showing some maturity and showing the county's youth some positive role models not just the good old boy ways
As a former emergency responder it angers me that"ANYONE" WOULD CONDONE THIS IN ANY WAY.
There should be an immediate investigation of the Sheriff and Gene Hart for misconduct in office.
I don't care if it was his grand son playing Russian roulette with other kids lives and condoning it is warped beyond belief.
What happened to Tyler Bush was tragic...what happened on Sims Bridge road is criminal misconduct...none of you are above the law.
PERIOD!
But more importantly, please don't speak for anyone but yourself. Don't go telling everyone who can access this website that this is how everybody in Banks County acts, "expressing our feelings the country way"......good lord that's embarrassing!!!
You might be angry? But you sure as heck aren't speaking for me.
By the way, if you think the fact that it was "grown men" laying the drags is ANY kind of justification, explanation or excuse, you're even dumber than your email would indicate!
The emotions run high when we lose loved ones especially when it is a child. We all deal with death in our own way. These teenagers & adults were friends and family of Tyler and they were dealing with his death in a matter that is not always common but was related to Tyler as they all knew him.
I didn’t know Tyler personally, but from what I can gather he was a typical teenage boy, living and loving life to the fullest. The fast cars, large trucks and mud seemed to be his heart and soul. They sent him out the best way they thought he would like to go.
So with that said, no, they may not have been doing the safe thing at the time, but from the pictures, the teenagers were in the field and the adults were in the cars and doing burn outs, not drag racing (which is 2 cars side by side going from point A-B)
Ms Schmid called the police (which most of you agree with) - It should have been left at that and let the sheriff deal with the task at hand and the parents deal with their own teenagers as they see fit instead of publicly denouncing the Bush family and causing more grief.
You can say what you want about Tyler and any teenager around. We parents raise our kids as we see fit and as the best we can. Everyone does it different and not everyone agrees with how we do it and most of the time they are people without kids. And as a parent, we keep tabs on our kids the best we can. Keeping teenagers at home all the time and knowing every move they make is impossible. All you can do is trust they are doing the right thing. sometimes it is, sometimes not.
We all have skeletons in our closet and things that we have done that we are not proud of or our family history is not the cleanest in the world, but all we have is family - good or bad. So why go trashing the Bush family & friends when you have your own family garbage to tend to?
So why don’t we all back off, including the story hungry reporters and show some respect to this child that is no longer with us, the mother that has raised him by herself & the family and friends that have supported them over the years through thick and thin. And Ms. Schmid, let’s hope that you never have to go through the grief that this family has endured. From the emotional attack you have placed on them just from the “tribute”, I’m not sure you could handle it anyway. I can only pray that you find the Lord in your troubled times.
May God Bless all our children and pave the roads for all of our teenage drivers and their riders. “Jesus take the wheel”.
Love & Miss U always
Tracy & Zach
But I have to add:
Evidently Jennifer Schmid did not realize this "Banks County commissioner Hart" was Tyler's grandfather. Leave him alone!!
She really should be ashamed of herself.
Call the police, fine. Call them on your way down the road lady. She is obviously not part of this community and will never understand.
She has no idea what she is talking about, they weren't "drag racing" they were LAYING DRAGS and there is a big difference.
And another thing, Jennifer I assume you will be reading this so, I have something I would like to say personally to you.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! You are in the county now. And yes, we do thing a little differently out here! If you don't like it, I can give you directions to Atlanta.
And to the family and friends of Tyler Bush, you are in my prayers. I am sorry the paper had nothing better to report this week.
newspaper NOT Ms. Schmid. Thanks a lot Ms. Schmid for
cheating him out of that!!!!
Since Ms. Schmid has had her 15 minutes of fame and shame,
would the newspaper be so kind as to have an article about
Tyler?
(thats the day we learned who she is via newspaper.)
Poor ole lady.....It's all about her you know. Hail Mrs.
Schmid.
Is the law different in Banks County? Can we all come over and lay drags on public roads and not get a ticket from the police or is it just you people from Banks County that are well known by the Police.
I take it that you have never driven over the speed limit without getting a ticket? Or jay walked. We have laws that are broken EVERYDAY.
These kids were doing what they thought was right at the moment.
Sometimes, believe it or not we (the general public) do things that are illegal. I've never seen or heard of anyone going to jail for dragging tires? Not out here.
this is funny obviously you don't realize that banks co. and 441 are a drug corridor which of course has nothing to do with this but come on... really!
i think that all need to drop this (including me) and let it be - enough is enough and the whole situation should be dropped and we should remember Tyler instead.
not fact. "to cheer on cars drag racing down
Sims Bridge Road." This is not a factual
statement.
You knew full well the response it would receive, you are the kind of "reporter" AGAIN I USE THE TERM LIGHTLY, that gives your paper a bad reputation. You knew the pain this would cause to the already hurting family and friends.
This woman Ms. Schmid is a nut and you gave her a voice. She had a right to be concerned but NO RIGHT to get out of her car and demand ANYTHING of ANYBODY.
The deputy and 911 both realized she was a nut, you are the only one who didn't!
The facts that were missing -
1. They were NOT drag racing.
2. The kids were in a field, not on the road.
3. There was no evidence of wrong doing when the police arrived. (black marks on the road obviously do not make a case against people gathering to support friends after a funeral)
4. You made it sound like "Banks County commissioner, Hart" was there in some professional capacity. He is the GRANDFATHER!
You should be ashamed of yourself, do you have some personal reason for publishing this woman's rant?
1. The car that is in the picture was not involved in the "drags."
2. There were no teenagers involved in the so-called "drag racing."
3. The teenagers were in the pasture with their vehicles to take a picture as a group.
4. This Schmidt women was using obscenities and was not as innocent as she pretends to be.
5. Schmid's comments, "An accident would very likely have occurred if I hadn’t stopped - and Mrs. Bush would have been liable for the injury to or death of more people." I would like her to explain exactly whose death Mrs. Bush was liable for.
This Schmid woman is a cold hearted, insensitive human being, if you could even call her a human being. I personally think more of my dog than I do her. This is the country and when you move here from other communities you need to just suck it up and realize things ARE done different in the country! All I have to say to this pathetic excuse for a person is, what goes around comes around.
I was not born and raised in this county but I am a part of this community. At a time like this a community needs to come together and lift each other up, not tare each other down.
Mr. Buffington, when are you going to print the TRUTH of what happen in front of this beloved son, grandson, nephew, and friends house? When are you going to give Tyler and his family, what he deserves, a front page story on all his many accomplishments?
This community is grieving over the loss of this young man. He was a teenager doing what teenager's do. The best any of us can do is raise our children with strong morals, values, and common sense and just pray to God that they use what we teach them.
The Bush/Hart families are strong Christians, they are good people and my heart breaks for their loss. My prayers and love are with you!
wasn't any of the teenagers in the car.
It's not a country redneck vs. uppity city thing, it's a common sense vs. dumbass thing.
And as for the picture with the article, when was the last time you saw a reporter on the side of a back road waiting for something to happen. This picture was staged with cars that were not even at the incident and are depicting false information.
I knew Tyler all his life. I thought the world of him and loved him. It is a shame that he could not be on the front page because this bias article stole the spotlight. I fully stand behind Rita and the Hart & Bush families in this time of need. Our community should be comforting each other in the aftermath of a tragedy. What has happened is that our community has lost their sense of compassion. Years ago not a single person would dare say a negative thing against a family that was grieving a loss of this magnitude. But people in this day and age have lost that sense of compassion. I ask Ms. Schmid what would you do if the tables had been turned and you in Rita Bush’s situation.
So please let’s try to get our community back to the good old days when people took care of one another and had a sense of compassion.
KUDOS to you!
It is about time that stuff like this stops. We lost one life because of silly stuff and with the drag racing that was going on, there was sure to be another. Too many young lives are lost because of no thought as to the consequence. Where were the parents of all of the teenagers that were there? I can honestly say that if one of my children were hurt by one of those drag racing "fools", then there would be a lawsuit.
I know the school didn't do much for the kids. They had counselors available "if" you wanted to talk with them. That was all they did.
I do believe that Mr. Hart turned his eye to this as he is a relative to the young man and his family. Either way, BCSO should have responded on the first call. Maybe we did do bad by voting in the incumbent.
If you were there or you were the driver contact the paper with your side of the story and then we all will see that there were 3 people involved in this and none of them were teens.
1. The man driving off
2. Ms. S
3. The Writer
the only reason anyone else was involved is because Ms. S overreacted to the situation. My speculation is that she didn't realize what was going on and thought they were hanging out. When she realized that it was an entirely different situation it was too late she'd already showed her butt and by then she was the only one who could make herself sound credible.
Rest in Peace Tyler and stop laughing up there!!! If you weren't the talk of the town before you are now... you were a sweet boy and loved by all that crossed your path.
Aren't we suppose to cry at a birth and laugh at a death-- in todays screwed up society I would definally think so. Now maybe Banks Co. news can dedicate 2 pages next week to Tyler's life and how he was loved by everyone that ever met him and actually ask some of this family and friends what they are going through instead of taking the word of some nutcase "psychologest" who can judge their heartache and pain just by stopping on the side of the rode and hollaring and cussing at them!!! There is NOTHING wrong with these kids, they don't need counseling, they need to be kept away from crazy women like Ms.S. Leave the kids, the Hart's, the Bush's, the BCSO, Commissoner Hart and BCHS ALONE!!!!!!! Let's pick on stupid people like Ms. Schmid!
Love and Prayers to all of Tyler's family and friends--we know he is lovin' the attention!!!
STUPID!! You must have hit EVER branch from the stupid tree.
The Law states that it is ILLEGAL to drag race what so ever,
They could have killed the oncoming drivers, or the students in the other cars who were doing the drag races. I mean 18 wheelers
travel that road as well. If they were to approach them whose
to say they couldnt stop so quick. There's fatalites right there.
There were also Buses full of CHILDREN(Me being one of them)
take that road to go home. Y'all could've done dounuts in the
pasture.
And for the sheriff's office, they should have arrived ASAP!
Also there should've been arrests made on site for illegal
drag racing. That Commissions officer should have KNOWN better!
He should be judged on his judgement on cases such as this.
His emotional feelings should not come into play.
So, Thank You Mrs. Schmid for reporting that. I hope when
this blows over I would like to meet you to give you a
sincere Thank You!
I'd be upset if the police did nothing as well and would have further pursued getting someone out there. They obviously dont care about the citizens of their town or they wouldn't have allowed such a childish and dangerous thing to happen in the middle of the street! I see lies posted above about how there was nothing going on in the street, but there are marks on the road to prove it and this Rita woman admitted to Jennifer that they WERE dragging in memory of her son. Yeah... I'm sure TYLER is looking down and watching his friends and family put the lives of others in danger on a public road and he's proud... Hopefully now he has some sense and he's looking down shaking his head in shame!
Before making assumptions like a bunch of fools one has to get the facts, instead of believing everything in the newspaper. Speaking of which I am ashamed at the writer of this article; instead of honoring Tyler Bush this idiot decides to glorify some stupid woman by writing a story of what she said and taking some pictures to make it seem true, DUMBASS!!!
I knew Tyler Bush, he was a good ole boy, and I feel sorry for Rita and the rest of the family's loss. Now somebody is emabarrassing the family by writing some bogus article. God help the idiots and God help the Bush family in this time of their lives. I dont know if this woman was from around here or from the city, I don' care, she needs to SHUT UP AND LEAVE THE FAMILY ALONE!!!
1. the driver was an adult
2. friends and family of Tyler miss the hell out of him and the attention that Ms. Schmid is getting should be focused on him.
Seriously, get over it. Ms. Schmid should be ashamed of herself for trying to get attention at the expese of a grieving family.
And as for all the people that won't put their names on the posts that they write... if you're going to write on a public forum and use it to attack a grieving family then you need to be an adult enough to claim it.
Rita, and the Bush and Hart families... I'm still praying for you.
Rest in Peace Tyler
The school system has absolutely nothing to do with what took place on Sims Bridge Road that day. What does counseling have anything to do with friends and family gathering together to celebrate the life of a loved one and grieving the loss of that very same life? I commend the school system for handling the deaths of students the way they have over the past year and a half. Having counselors available is the only option. Nobody can be forced into counseling.
Also, the drivers education program in Banks County is great. It teaches the essentials for driving to the students, but that's it...you must be a student for that to effect you. Since the person involved in the so-called "drag racing" was 40 years old, I doubt he is still a student with the opportunity to participate in this course. So next time you begin to criticize a program, you should definitely make sure you take a better look.
And as far as Ms. Schmid... get a grip! You look like a completely idiot. If you were concerned, stop and ask what's going on, rather than assuming things...because it's like the old saying says...you definitely made an ass of you and me. You made Ms. Bush about to be an ass, and let me tell you, she is far from that. She would NEVER support anyone doing anything that would endanger someone's life, especially at this point. Be thankful she has a heart and chose not to press charges against you for trespassing.
And the reporter - if your goal was to cause more pain and grief, good job! You accomplished your goal!
This is the country. And things will happen differently. To categorize everyone as being either "rednecks" or those of the city is ridiculous. One thing about living in the country that I have always loved is being able to come together as a community and support each other in times like these. It's sad that we can do that anymore, thanks to people like Ms. Schmid.
Ms. Schmid, I think you owe an apology to many people...
-All of the people who were in the pasture who you wrongly accused of being involved in something that was very much out of their control.
-Friends and family that were not present, because this effects them too by sparking more emotion than is necessary.
-Mr. Hart who is a GREAT man, and definitely wasn't in a position emotionally to deal with a crazy person like you in this time of loss for him. I don't know any grandfather who would have been willing to deal with you in any other way.
-The writer of this article, because by giving him these false accusations, you helped him look like just as big as idiot as you!
And for you Tyler, you are truly missed! I love you...forever!
Mrs. Shmid I think that this could have been approached in a better way. How unkind and cruel this letter was. What was the purpose? How could you dare be so self-righteous? I understand that what supposedly happened could have been dangerous but you should have handled this in a better more private manner. I hope you never have to suffer the grief that Rita is suffering right now. She lost her only child. I can't even fathom where your heart was when you wrote this letter. You not only poured salt on the wound; you dug the knife in deeper. The description you gave of Rita sounded fierce and callous. Of course a grieving mother is not going to come off like "Pollyanna" Good gosh, where is your common sense?
How can you call her an irresponsible parent? You don't even know her. Let me guess, your kids were perfect because you are a "responsible parent." Give me a break! I have college-aged sons and as responsible as I have been as a parent, they have still done stupid things, as have you and your kids.
If you knew of all of the children that Rita has reached and ministered to throughout her years in the school system, you would not have called her irresponsible. I have seen students completely turn around because of how much she loved them.
This has nothing to do with city people-Vs-country folks. This is about a human being not having the decency and compassion that you Ms. Shmid may need yourself one day.
After this article I refuse to buy another paper and I really think people should boycott the paper until Banks Co News makes a "front page" personal apology to Rita in bold type with a large picture of Tyler.