From KAAL-TV: More than 250 students walked through the hallway of their new school Monday at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, Iowa. Their old school building was destroyed in May 2008 by a tornado, and classes were held in the middle school. ALSO....from The New York Times: Family of slain Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas work to keep the community together after tragedy.
JUNE 2009: From The Des Moines Register: A troubled young man with a pistol walked into a building at Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa) High School Wednesday morning and gunned down longtime high school football coach Ed Thomas. The alleged shooter, Mark D. Becker, 24, played for Thomas at the school. The coach was admired nationally for the juggernaut football program he built, the successful men he shaped and the resilient town he helped rebuild after a devastating tornado last summer. The shooting happened before 8 a.m., as the 58-year-old coach supervised a weight-lifting session with about two dozen football players and other students.
