The heart of Cassville has been exposed in the last two weeks, as we have faced tragedy after tragedy with little signs of slowing.
The first break in the barrage came Sunday at the courthouse square, where more than 100 people gathered on just seven hours’ notice to grieve, love, support and uplift one another through whichever loss was affecting them most.
The all-in-one event could have encompassed a handful of deaths. Early last week, Arkansas police announced they had found the body of Dr. John Forsyth in Beaver Lake, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.
He had disappeared a week earlier, and after a couple of days, I had a feeling his story would soon become national news.
By the time he was found, multiple national sources were following his story, putting behind it more resources than I could muster and publishing enough information to make us believe Dateline will be coming knocking soon.
Keeping up with Dr. Forsyth’s story was a challenge with so many agencies and organizations involved, and despite him being a Cassville ER doctor, his story was not quite as personal to the community as the ones to come.
On Wednesday, it was a somber afternoon as we attended the funeral of a family friend gone much too soon.
Later that evening, we learned of the loss of Rylan Wilson, 19, and Keaton Fare, 14, in a motorcycle wreck on Highway 248. Again, lives lost even more too soon.
A few days later, on Saturday night, news came of the stabbing death of Andey Hunter, punctuated by the story of the minor who ran to escape the assailant and was picked up by a stranger and driven to the Sheriff’s Office. We are thankful that it was not any worse.
As if all that bad news wasn’t enough, in the midst of it all on Friday morning, we learned seven inmates — all on the sex offender registry or who were charged with sex crimes — escaped from the Barry County jail.
Fortunately, all but one have been captured, and the one left has the federal justice system on his tail.
Simply put, there has never been a 14-day period like this one, with five breaking news stories and more tragic deaths than a community can continue to bear.
Most of these stories are firsts for me coverage-wise since we bought the paper. That transition from editor to publisher made me think much harder about how we do things. Namely, how can we tell what needs to be told with greater respect for all involved?
The funeral we attended, for instance, was for a fairly prominent individual and whose death was shocking. We reported when and where person’s body was located, but nothing more.
The situation was similar to another in Monett a few years ago, and I recently had an interaction with a member of that individual’s family that was less than desirable. It was awful to learn the way I reported that incident still left such harsh feelings so many years later.
As I struggled with the situation, I concluded that with unequivocal editorial control, our community newspaper should lead with its heart and tread lightly in the wake of tragedy.
Timeliness is one of the most important news values, but respect can and should, at times, outweigh it.
Those conclusions framed my coverage of unfortunate events to come. In the motorcycle wreck and the stabbing, there was about a 12-hour period between my knowledge of the situation and my reporting it.
In the past, I would have felt pressure from my bosses to post both immediately — not now.
On Sunday afternoon, I found a shared Facebook post about a vigil that night on the courthouse square. I had anticipated an impromptu event like this, and a big thanks should be given to Stephanie Hilburn Jacobson for organizing one.
On its face, it was simple. The Cassville community gathered to pray, sing in worship and show support for one another after so many days of heartbreak.
The power of the moment was palpable. As we move forward after this uncharacteristic wave of tragedy, that is the image I am left with and why it is so prominent on the front page.
We are Cassville. We show up for one another in love and support when things get tough. That is exemplified in the vigil. It’s exemplified in the memorial and scholarship funds established. It’s exemplified in the community’s social media sharing of the family’s wishes regarding motorcycles at the funeral. It’s exemplified in the calls, messages and posts lifting the community up through action and prayer.
The heart of Cassville may be bruised, but it remains beating as strong as ever — and we will heal.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
