KITTERY (NEWS CENTER Maine) - Safety is on the minds of everyone involved in schools these days.
From students to teachers to parents and administrators. For one Maine superintendent of schools, the issue hits close to home. He recently shared his emotional and tragic story in a letter sent home to parents, with the hope that it will spark change.
Eric Waddell is the superintendent in Kittery. In 1997, as Athletic Director at Presque Isle High School, he was the first person to reach a 16-year-old student bleeding badly from a stab wound.
“The anniversary of the day is coming right up here; it was March 17,” he said.
It was a Monday morning when a student came to Waddell screaming for help. Just outside Presque Isle High School, a 16-year-old freshman lay on the ground.
“It seems like it just happened and there was no one around, not a soul, except for the victim lying on his back in the circle of the main entrance,” he said.
David Pelkey had been stabbed in the chest by another student during a fight. Waddell applied pressure to the wound and tried to comfort the boy. Four days later he would die at the hospital.
“It was a devastating experience for the school, and even now on the anniversary, its a difficult day for me as well,” he said.
Waddell says that tragic event will always stick with him, but the one thing that continues to bother him to this day is that many students and adults knew the fight was going to happen that day. No one said anything.
“I do believe there would have been an opportunity to prevent a horrific tragedy in that town if someone had said something,” Waddell said.
Inside Traip Academy photos of the 17 Parkland victims flash across a screen.
“The Parkland massacre hit us all very hard,” he said.
The superintendent believes the shootings were a turning point, spurring a call to action by students. These days he says they are much more likely to speak up.
“I don’t believe that there’s any preventive measure more effective,” he said.
After Parkland, Waddell decided to share his story, sending a letter home to parents. He’s asking them and their children to pledge, that if they hear or see something, say something. He doesn’t want to see this community go through what Presque Isle did nearly 21 years ago.
“There were a lot of educators that were never the same after that and me included. It had an impact on me and will for the rest of my life,” Waddell said.