Editorial: Tragedy hits close to home

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 8:41 a.m.

As new information unfolds about the senseless attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we regrettably have come to learn that Las Vegans have been personally touched by the loss of a loved one. We share in the grief over the loss of Barbara Edwards, a Palo Verde High School foreign language teacher who was aboard the hijacked airplane that crashed into the Pentagon Tuesday. None of the passengers or crew survived.

Edwards, 58, taught French and German and left her mark by creating a German program for students. She participated in clubs and other school activities and was described by a friend as outgoing and jovial, a person who loved to laugh and who stood out in a crowd.

"Right now we are all feeling kind of blank," Palo Verde Principal Theresa Smith told the Las Vegas Sun. "The teachers and students are just trying to grieve in their own way. We will be providing counseling and will be doing everything we can to help people get through this."

The counseling will be no small task. We do not envy school administrators, counselors and preachers, who have the tough assignment of trying to explain why this happened to a popular teacher. It is difficult enough for adults to comprehend why terrorism occurs. Think of how tough it is to explain terrorism to our young.

Edwards was aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which departed Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., en route to Los Angeles. The killers who hijacked this plane and sent Edwards to her death created a void at Palo Verde High School that will never be filled.