Deaths of 4 children grip Cottonwood in sorrow

COTTONWOOD, MINN. -- Students and families arrived at Lakeview School on Wednesday in clusters, heads lowered against the bitter wind, and quietly filled the gym's bleachers in the grim aftermath of a school bus accident that killed four children who attended school in this tightly knit town.

During a morning prayer vigil that drew hundreds, sobs punctuated each update that Principal Beth Schwarz gave about students' injuries.

A broken femur. Cracked ribs. Concussions. Muffled cries broke through a prayer for the injured and dead.

It was only afterward, when Schwarz asked the crowd to sing "Amazing Grace," that the collective voice of Cottonwood sounded strong in response to tragedy.

Then, with the same silence with which they entered, students gathered at the center of the gym and held hands. They prayed together.

Meanwhile, on Cottonwood's main street, lifelong Cottonwood resident Carol Kompelien stood in the empty Hardware Hank she manages, noting the ghost-town feel.

"I think we're all in shock right now," Kompelien said. "I don't think anybody knows what to think or what to do next."

At a nearby cafe, patrons sat stock still, struck speechless by the accident.

Just outside of town, little remains of the crash at Hwy. 23 and County Rd. 24 that also left eight children hospitalized -- one in critical condition -- and a spirited community scarred. A boy's black size 6 sneaker lay among shards of broken glass, plastic and chunks of metal. A paper instruction manual for a board stretcher fluttered in the wind.

Investigators examined the scene, marked with spray paint, and disclosed little about the accident.

'A great life ahead of her'

In April 1997, a school bus accident in Monticello killed three children. That was the previous deadliest crash since 1985, according to Minnesota Department of Public Safety records.

In the chill of the school parking lot and in a farmhouse brimming with gifts of food from mourners, friends and family members remembered the deceased: brothers Hunter and Jesse Javens of Cottonwood, 9 and 13, respectively; Emilee Olson, 9, of Cottonwood, and Reed Stevens, 12, of Marshall.

"Emilee was full of life," said her aunt Terri Hutchinson, noting her pony-riding competitions, piano lessons and 4-H activities.

Hutchinson's eyes dimmed and her voice grew heavy as she recalled how Emilee was whisked away after the accident, leaving her parents, Traci (who works at the school as a physical education teacher) and Charlie, clueless about her whereabouts for almost four hours.

After a flurry of calls they finally found the little girl they adopted from China in 1999.

She was at a funeral home.

"She had such a great life ahead of her," said her grandmother Dorothy Poffenberger. "She was just like a little sponge. She soaked up everything."

Emilee's brothers, 11-year-old Sidnee and 6-year-old Rilee, were also on the bus. Rilee complained of soreness but was running about Wednesday as his parents tended to Sidnee, who is hospitalized in Sioux Falls, S.D. Sidnee broke his right hand and also underwent surgery at 2 a.m. Wednesday to repair his right eye after glass scratched the cornea, Hutchinson said.

He's expected to recover, she said.

Kayla Stapleton, 9, last saw Emilee on Tuesday. At the mention of her friend, Kayla squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't know how we're going to get through this," said Kayla's mother, Loretta Stapleton.

Honorary grandma

Beulah Lavoie shares a ZIP code, not DNA, with Reed Stevens, but the Boy Scout called her "Grandma Beulah" and included her in invitations to school plays and birthday parties.

Wednesday afternoon Lavoie clasped a pink Valentine's Day card that Reed helped deliver with his three younger siblings. She had known him nearly all his life, and as the Stevens' porch lights burned in the broad daylight, their driveway vacant and a newspaper outside, she couldn't imagine that his life was gone.

"He was just a wonderful kid," she said. "He'll always be in my heart."

Like Emilee, Reed had two siblings aboard the bus. His parents also were in Sioux Falls on Wednesday at his brother's bedside, Lavoie said. His sister escaped without serious injuries.

Reached at their rural Cottonwood home, a relative of the Javens brothers said the family did not want to comment.

'A long time to recover'

Back at school, some students smiled in fond memory of their classmates from the K-12 school of 577 and hoped for the healing process to begin.

School will be back in session today to help that process along, and a memorial service is set for tonight in the gym.

"We need to get the kids back out of the hospital," said Andrew Glenn, 17. "We need to see everyone again."

But it's clear the horrors from that long night won't be easily forgotten. Cottonwood Fire Chief Dale Louwagie, the third to arrive at the scene, described an overwhelming site strewn with debris, bystanders helping children out of the bus and the familial ties that raised emotions to unusual heights.

Like other emergency responders from the area, Louwagie knew many of the children. Some emergency responders were helping their own children.

"At the time, the adrenaline is rushing and you put that out of your mind and do your job," he said, tears filling his eyes. "It's afterward that it kind of hits you."

Said Kompelien at the hardware store: "It'll take a long time to recover from this. Oh heavens, there's no time limit on that. It'll be forever. It'll never be the same."

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