Note: This is an article I wrote in the Cavalier County Republican in Langdon on May 10, 1999, 20 days after the Columbine, Colo., school shooting.

Ever since the senseless tragedy in Littleton, Colo., a number of people have asked if we had any intentions of writing any articles about it. I told them probably not, as long as there isn’t anyone locally who is connected to Columbine High School in some way.

But there is, and has been. In last week’s Republican, correspondent Rita Maisel used her Langdon Long Ago column to talk about her connection to Jefferson County, Colorado, and how she followed the tragedy through the Denver newspaper Internet sites. She once worked in schools in that area. And despite the situation, Rita’s article was well written. Her information is timely and to the point. She is to be commended for that.
We also received a letter from De Ann Danielson, the granddaughter of Ernest and Gay Agar, who lives in Englewood, Colo.

Our local school superintendent Bernie Lipp, also used his newspaper column School Zone, to write about the tragedy, but from a different perspective. His was sympathy from one school to another.

So we do have connections here in indirect ways. And what can one say that hasn’t already been said.
On the Sunday morning TV news shows, Charlton Heston, who now heads up the National Rifle Association, agreed that Columbine was a senseless disaster but went on to say roundabout that the guns didn’t do the killing, the people who pulled the trigger did.

Dan Matheson, who hosts the Canada AM news program on CTV, reported on a similar shooting in Taber, Alberta several days after Columbine. He said TV and video can be a major part of the blame that has eroded our society to want to kill each other for nothing more than a jacket or a pair of shoes. He said today’s generation will get what they want when they want it and if they don’t, it doesn’t matter who or what is affected.

We really didn’t have any plans to cover this issue, however, as editor, I changed my mind while sitting at a Langdon School Board meeting Monday night. They talked about Columbine High School and pondered if it could happen in rural North Dakota. The answer is yes.

Although the chances are remote, Lipp and principal Rich Rogers both told the board that students have become scared of what might happen. Indeed that is the case of several high school students interviewed the Grand Forks Herald last Sunday.

So what can be done to change this behavior? Who knows at the present time. But Rogers and Lipp both agree that communication is probably the best thing that can take place right now. Administrators, teachers, coaches and counselors need to talk more with the students and, if there may be a troubled student, they need to recognize the signs and try to deal with them.

Columbine is an institution about the size of Minot High School. By North Dakota standards, that’s a large school. In Langdon, everyone knows everyone so the danger signs might pop up faster and could theoretically be fixed quicker.

Communication is probably the best answer as Lipp and Rogers pointed out. It is certainly better than seeing another public school shooting.

Since Columbine, there have been more than 430 public school and collegiate shootings in the United States that have affected 397,000 students, according to the Washington Post. There have been 1,728 fatalities since April 20, 1999.