America has seen more than her share of tragedy this past week as two separate explosions rocked the lives of both the Boston community of Massachusetts and the West community in Texas. These explosions also registered in the hearts of many Americans across the country.
It was a Monday afternoon on April 15 during the Boston Marathon. As runners finally made their way to the end of the race, a bomb exploded yards from the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 140.
“The tragedy at the Boston Marathon was a big shock to me,” said Carly Durham, freshman Sports and Exercise major, who ran her first marathon last March in Dallas. “As a runner and an American I am devastated by what happened.”
Three days after the bombing, footage was released of the alleged suspects, two brothers. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 years old, was killed and 19 year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured after an intense confrontation on a boat in Watertown, Mass. the next day and taken into custody.
Nearly 2,000 miles south of Boston, on Wednesday, April 17, 9-1-1 operators responded to a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. near Waco, Texas. First responders showed up and quickly tried to extinguish the fire, when all of a sudden the plant exploded into a blast of power and destruction. The explosion heavily damaged or destroyed buildings and homes within a five mile radius. The blast killed at least 14 and injured more than 200.
WTAMU students, staff and faculty members have come together to give aid to the victims of the plant explosion.
WT Student Government has teamed up with Texas A&M AgrilLife in Amarillo for a West Texas helping West, Texas campaign.
“Many students and the community are all making donations and working with Texas A&M Extension office in Amarillo,” Kim Coe, student government secretary, said.
Hygiene products, clothes, diapers, cases of water bottles and an array of other products lay neatly stacked in the office of Student Affairs. These products will soon be sent to West, Texas, to help the victims as they face a devastating time.
“It’s a huge effort,” Student Body President Nick Geottsche said. “We’re receiving everything from clothes to even lumber and building supplies.”
The program has secured FedEx trucks to come and haul the products to West, Texas, for free.
Local United Market stores are also asking if customers would like to donate bottled water when they checkout and the Wal-Mart from Borger has also brought in a large supply of donations to ship as well.
In a Huffington Post article, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the plant had not been inspected since 2006. That incidence was a result of a complaint of a “strong ammonia smell.” A fine was later issued for permit reasons. Also in the Huffington Post, according to WFAA-TV Dallas, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined the plant $2,300 for “failing to have a risk management plan that met federal standards.”
