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Father of murdered teen talks to students about grieving

BY DIANE GILHULA Burying friends and loved ones is difficult at anytime. It is particularly difficult for those grieving the loss of a young life. Dale Lang Dale Lang shared his experiences with teens in Val Caron last week.
BY DIANE GILHULA

Burying friends and loved ones is difficult at anytime. It is particularly difficult for those grieving the loss of a young life.

Dale Lang
Dale Lang shared his experiences with teens in Val Caron last week. Young people there have had to cope with several tragic deaths in recent years.

Lang?s story begins April 28, 1999 when his 17-year-old-son, Jason, was shot and killed in a random act of violence at his high school in Taber, Alta.

It was just one week after the shootings at Columbine, Colorado that left 15 people dead.

Lang is a church minister and his appearance at a Free Youth Concert at Ecole Secondaire Catholique L?Horizon was organized by the The Valleyview Community Church.

Rev. Gary Landers, pastor at Valleyview Community Church, says the two-day Missing Peace event was organized because of the growing violence and number of personal trageadies that have left many people hurting in the Valley.

Touched by tragedy

It was particularly poignant when a young man got up on the stage last Thursday evening to talk about a teen who had recently committed suicide.
Landers began planning the Missing Peace event several years ago following the death of one teenager after a March Break party.
Lang and his family live with hope despite their tragedy, said Landers.

It through the power of forgiveness that his family has been able to go on with their lives.

?We forgave Jason?s killer at Jason?s memorial service,? said Lang. ?Forgiveness is an act that sets you free.?

Lang talked about his son?s new car. He had only had the 1983 Camaro for two days when he was killed.

That fateful day began with Jason and his father getting up early to take a spin so Jason could practise using the clutch.

?It makes me feel so good to know that Jason was so happy in the days before his death because of the exhilaration of having his first car.?

Lang and his wife then headed into Lethbridge for the day to do some shopping. Life for the family of seven would soon change forever.

?I answered the telephone, and said hello, and our life changed forever,? said Lang.

Life changed forever

At the hospital he and his wife learned Jason had been shot. Immediately ?an empty, cold shocking feeling overcame him,? he said.

Within a very few more minutes, Jason?s parents were told that ?Jason hadn?t made it.?

Jason had just finished lunch and was walking toward his classroom with two friends when a 14-year-old boy?someone Jason didn?t know?walked into the school with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire.

Jason was shot in the chest near the heart. Another boy was injured, but he later recovered.

Teen was bullied

The youth who did the killings had bragged that ?it would be really cool to go in the high school, and blast some people away like in Columbine,? said Lang.

If a shooting in a high school can happen in Taber, an agricultural community of 6,000, it can happen anywhere, said Lang.

The boy who shot Jason was not very popular and was a victim of teasing and name-calling, said Lang.

Bullying takes place in many high schools and this can create an environment which promotes random acts of violence

?My son?s death has made people ask some hard questions about the way people treat each other.?

Jason?s killer spent three years in an youth detention centre, and is currently on probation for four years. The gun belonged to his step-father.

Lang took his Missing Peace message to several school assemblies during his visit last week including Ecole Secondaire Hanmer, Sudbury Secondary School, Confederation Secondary School, St. Anne?s Middle School and Ecole Secondaire Catholique L?Horizon. He also participated while in Sudbury at two assemblies at Cecil Facier.

?I do about 150 talks a year, and I?d say average 12 to 14 days a month,? said Lang.

When he?s not on the road, he is the pastor at St Theodore?s Anglican Church in Taber.


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