USU remembers ag van rollover
A remembrance gathering and tractor procession will be held Tuesday, Sept. 26, during USU Agriculture week activities to honor the eight students and instructor killed in a university van accident one year ago.
The class was returning from an agriculture field trip when the rollover occurred near Tremonton. Students Steven Bair, Dusty Fuhriman, Justin Gunnell, Justin Huggins, Jonathan Jorgensen, Curtis Madsen, Ryan McEntire, Bradley Wilcox and instructor Evan Parker were killed. Survivors are Robbie Peterson and Jared Nelson.
The remembrance gathering, held in respect of these individuals, will be Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the USU Taggart Student Center Ballroom.
“The event is open to whoever would like to participate,” said Logan Ipsen, ASUSU Agriculture senator, “and those who want to display a continued message of love, hope and support.” Ipsen will give remarks at the gathering, along with USU President Stan L. Albrecht and Noelle Cockett, vice president for Extension and Agriculture.
“The remembrance gathering is a time for the university family to come together and honor the contributions of the exceptional men we lost a year ago,” Cockett said. “It is also a time to look forward to the promising future they would want us to embrace.”
Prior to the gathering, 11 symbolic tractors with memorial wreaths will park south of the TSC during a tractor procession organized by the Agriculture Technology Club.
“We have an assortment of tractors,” said Bruce Miller, head of the agriculture systems and technology education department, “and 11 specific tractors matched to the interests of the students and Mr. Parker.”
These tractors will lead the procession south on 800 East from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum parking lot to the TSC from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Survivor Robbie Peterson will drive his own tractor; several other tractors will be driven by family members of the individuals involved.
“I believe these activities are being student-driven and organized, which is indicative of the support from the student body in general,” Miller said. “It seems appropriate and reflective.”
Another tribute will sound at 6:15 p.m. as the bells of Old Main Tower will ring once for each 11 individuals involved. In the evening, the ‘A’ on the tower will be lit blue.
“We hope that students, faculty and staff will take a pause to remember the events of that day,” says Tiffany Evans, director of USU’s Student Involvement and Leadership Center, “and remember the significance it will always play in our institutions history.”
A poster, reading “We Will Always Remember,” will hang from an orange tractor on the TSC Patio throughout Ag Week. Wristbands with “Always Remember” will be on sale at the TSC and Agriculture Building to benefit the College of Agriculture Memorial Sculpture Fund.
A memorial Web site has been created at http://remembrance.usu.edu.
————————LROSE@cc.usu.edu