Oran's loss

This has been a tough week for the Oran community. Two well-liked teenagers died after the pickup they were in crashed on a county road in Scott County. Four other teens in the pickup were injured.

For a small community, this is much more than another accident. Oran High School is the heart of town. The school is something just about everyone has in common, having been students there or being the parents of students now.

Funerals were held this week for two of those students, and the community shared its grief as well as its compassion and support for all of the families involved.

Students and townspeople alike gathered, mostly at the high school, to remember Alexis Cummins and Austin Todt. Huge get-well cards were signed for Timothy Abner, Ryan Trankler, Brandon Phillips and Brent Phillips. There were tears aplenty because of the sudden and untimely loss of two vibrant lives. And there were smiles, too, as better days were recalled.

This is all part of a process that will engage many folks in Oran for days and weeks to come. As they continue to mourn and to mend, we join so many others in expressing our condolences to the families and friends of Alexis and Austin.