By Madison Ford
Staff Writer
In the past decade, Coppell has been faced with a number of tragedies, ranging from terminal illness, to suicides, overdoses and murder. With another tragedy occurring in Coppell this summer, perhaps the most shocking so far, questions are rising about tragic occurrences both locally and nationwide.
In July Coppell mayor Jayne Peters fatally shot her daughter, 2010 CHS graduate Corinne, and herself, a story that was a harsh blow to the town.
“I was in shock; completely and totally in shock. Sad doesn’t even describe it,” Principal Brad Hunt said. “Corinne was a great student and a great girl. Mayor Peters was really supportive of Coppell High School. Sometimes I think about it and still can’t believe it.”
This news shocked students as well, many of which knew Corinne intimately.
“I was in Laredo at the time [of the Peters tragedy],” Coppell High School junior Lauren Cruz said. “There were a lot of Lariettes with me there who knew Corinne. It was really traumatic, especially for them. Just seeing their faces…it was the worst night there.”
Mayor Pro Tem Bob Mahalik, who stepped in as mayor following Peters’ death, began his new duties with the thought of strengthening the community following its most recent tragedy.
“I was happy to do whatever I could to get the city back on track and back to doing what we are supposed to be doing and getting us through that process and letting the world know that this was a very terrible thing in a very good place,” Mahalik said. “I avoided all the CNN national TV interviews and all the other things the national media wanted of my time because what good would me going on national media help our community?”
Assisting the town through a grieving process has been a focus in Coppell following the Peters’ case. However, this was not the first tragedy to ravage Coppell’s morale. Within the past five years, the town has seen suicides, overdoses, fatal car accidents, and a tragic skiing accident. Many of the past tragedies have involved children, teens and young adults from the Coppell community.
“Death is terrible, but when it’s a young person even more because they didn’t have a chance to live a full life,” Hunt said.
The string of tragedies in Coppell has caused residents to reflect on contributing factors to these incidences and what the town can do to address them.
“Certainly our town has had more than our fair share of tragedies,” Hunt said. “You don’t think things like that can happen here, but these things can happen anywhere. Coppell’s ‘bubble’ gives a false sense of security. It is a safe town and people should feel safe. But people may turn their backs to some things. Then reality hits them right in the face.”
However, suburban tragedy is not exclusive to Coppell.
“I think just the tragedies that are popping up in Coppell in the top of my mind are tragedies that could have occurred in any community,” Mahalik said. “Unfortunately I think the thing we do have in common in our community with those communities, is people willing to reach out or cry out or whatever for help.”
The issue of pride overpowering the will to ask for help was a proposed element in these tragedies.
“I know that in an affluent community no one ever wants to admit failure or defeat or financial distress. But whether you live in Coppell or whether you live in a very low-income community, financial distress is financial distress.,” Mahalik said. “You know pride is a tough thing to get past for a lot of people. So I guess that’s the biggest lesson: if you need help, ask.”
Aspects of the Peters’ case were put under scrutiny, by both the media and citizens of the town. However, the question arises on where the line is between the right to voice one’s opinion, and inappropriate dissection of people’s personal lives.
“Everybody’s got a right to know,” Mahalik said. “That’s the society we live in. It’s an information-based society and it’s a global information society. But at some point you got to be able to draw the line between what’s appropriate and what’s inappropriate.”
How a high school should go about addressing these incidences is an element, as well.
“It’s best just to put it out there, but to put it out there in a respectful way,” Hunt said. “Trying to bury it makes it worse. Depending on age, you don’t want to get into terrible details, especially with elementary school and middle school students. But high school students are respectful and mature enough.”
The small town feel of Coppell gives way to the everybody-knows-everybody atmosphere of tight knit communities. To some, this trait is seen more supportive than intrusive in times of tragedy.
“Well, I think that is one of the nicest things about the size and the community feel of Coppell. Anytime a tragedy hits, you know whether it be a car wreck or an overdose or you know whatever the tragedy may be I think everyone feels touched by it,” Mahalik said.
Coppell High School also has a support system in place to respond to tragedies affecting students and locals.
“We always provide counseling services to anyone who needs it, whether its students, parents or people within the community,” Hunt said. “We try to help with the grieving process. In the wrong hands, however, sometimes [talking about these things] can do more harm than good.”
The number of tragedies occurring in Coppell seems to be high in relation to the short amount of time in which they occurred. This could just be a reflection of a nation-wide trend.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health website, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States in 2006, while it was the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24.
To know for certain that Coppell’s tragedies are not statistically unique, one would have to compare the frequency of the town’s tragedies to that of the nation. However, Coppell seems more interested in pushing forward.
“I think [the recent tragedies have] made us a stronger community,” Mahalik said. “Every family in every community is going to have a tragedy. It shakes you and it affects you, but I think that we’ve done a real good job of supporting one another, coming together and kind of circling the wagons and getting past whatever it is. Unfortunately a lot of these tragedies we just can’t understand. And we’ll never understand why.”
To some, these tragedies are just a reflection of life.
“I think it’s more that it’s just life, it’s unpredictable. It’s sometimes not fair, but you just have to deal with it,” Cruz said.
