Webster Groves, WU community affected by Kirkwood tragedy
By: Lanz Christian Bañes, Nikole M. Brown, Amanda King and Brittany Whitlow
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Kirkwood
A quick check on Google maps puts Webster University's home campus about six and a half miles from Kirkwood City Hall, where Charles "Cookie" Thornton killed five people before he succumbed to
police fire.
The sheer proximity of Kirkwood, Webster Groves' sister city, means that WU has not gone unaffected.
Most prominently, Don Corrigan, a WU journalism professor and adviser to The Journal, had Councilwoman Connie Karr speak to his Community Reporting class on Feb. 4 and had Kirkwood police Sgt. Tom Ballman scheduled to speak Feb. 8 - the day after Thornton killed them both.
The Kirkwood police chief gave Corrigan a tour of the crime scene Feb. 9, during which he asked Corrigan what the city could do to fulfill Ballman's commitment as a guest speaker.
"He was sort of saying, 'We're going to get through this. Life isn't going to go away,'" Corrigan said. "Some people might find that crass. I found it kind
of touching."
Corrigan is also the editor of The Webster-Kirkwood Times and The South County Times and had a reporter, Marty Harris, covering the Kirkwood City Council meeting.
Harris sat just a few seats behind Public Works Director Ken Yost, who was also killed by Thornton. Though she was
unharmed, Corrigan has encouraged Harris to go to grief counseling. This incident has been tough on reporters, Corrigan said. There was also a St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a Suburban Journals reporter at the meeting.
"They all thought they would be executed," Corrigan said.
Todd Smith is the reporter for the Suburban Journals, specifically The West County Journal. Smith was shot in the hand by Thornton, though he survived. His editor is Jeff Tobin, who graduated from WU
in 1999.
"It was pretty shocking," Tobin said. "You kind of take meetings for granted, and you assume that they're going to be safe. It's unfortunate it happened."
Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda's son, also named Mike Swoboda, was a photography professor at WU up until a few years ago. Thornton shot the mayor twice in the head; he remains in critical condition as of press time Feb. 13. The younger Swoboda was unavailable for comment.
police fire.
The sheer proximity of Kirkwood, Webster Groves' sister city, means that WU has not gone unaffected.
Most prominently, Don Corrigan, a WU journalism professor and adviser to The Journal, had Councilwoman Connie Karr speak to his Community Reporting class on Feb. 4 and had Kirkwood police Sgt. Tom Ballman scheduled to speak Feb. 8 - the day after Thornton killed them both.
The Kirkwood police chief gave Corrigan a tour of the crime scene Feb. 9, during which he asked Corrigan what the city could do to fulfill Ballman's commitment as a guest speaker.
"He was sort of saying, 'We're going to get through this. Life isn't going to go away,'" Corrigan said. "Some people might find that crass. I found it kind
of touching."
Corrigan is also the editor of The Webster-Kirkwood Times and The South County Times and had a reporter, Marty Harris, covering the Kirkwood City Council meeting.
Harris sat just a few seats behind Public Works Director Ken Yost, who was also killed by Thornton. Though she was
unharmed, Corrigan has encouraged Harris to go to grief counseling. This incident has been tough on reporters, Corrigan said. There was also a St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a Suburban Journals reporter at the meeting.
"They all thought they would be executed," Corrigan said.
Todd Smith is the reporter for the Suburban Journals, specifically The West County Journal. Smith was shot in the hand by Thornton, though he survived. His editor is Jeff Tobin, who graduated from WU
in 1999.
"It was pretty shocking," Tobin said. "You kind of take meetings for granted, and you assume that they're going to be safe. It's unfortunate it happened."
Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda's son, also named Mike Swoboda, was a photography professor at WU up until a few years ago. Thornton shot the mayor twice in the head; he remains in critical condition as of press time Feb. 13. The younger Swoboda was unavailable for comment.
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