Latest news with #Ragsdale
Axios
4 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Republicans on Cobb school board vote to end broadcast of public comments
The Cobb County Board of Education will no longer broadcast what the public says to them during their work sessions or regular meetings. Why it matters: The school board's move is the latest in a series of decisions critics say reduces transparency and limits public feedback of elected officials and the Cobb County School District. The latest: The board's four Republicans — David Chastain, John Cristadoro, Brad Wheeler and Randy Scamihorn — voted in favor of the policy change. Democrats Becky Sayler, Nichelle Davis and Leroy "Tre" Hutchins opposed it. What they're saying: Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who proposed the policy change, said during Thursday's meeting it will remove the liability of broadcasting comments that could potentially be defamatory or slanderous. Ragsdale said the district will still have public comment opportunities for its work sessions in the afternoon and evening meetings and will continue to live-stream both sessions. But the district won't broadcast or publish the portion of the meeting that's reserved for public comment. Ragsdale said the district has had to edit recordings over concerns about copyright infringement and "tortious" comments. "The risk is not necessarily attached to what is said, but the risk is attached to the fact of broadcasting what is said." Reality check: Richard T. Griffiths, president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, told Axios that Ragsdale's comments about copyright infringement are a "red herring." Griffiths also said anyone who brings legal action against the school district over comments made by a member of the public would have to prove that the board and school system organized, promoted or scripted the remarks. "What they appear to be doing is totally disrespecting and disregarding those comments and saying to the public, 'we really don't care what you say,'" Griffiths told Axios. The other side: Several members of the public also spoke in opposition of the rule change. Democratic board members said they were concerned about the message this would send to Cobb parents, students, teachers and stakeholders. "I think that public comment being broadcast gives a unique pressure and urgency that gets people a response that sometimes emails have proved unable to do," Sayler added. Context: Thursday's action is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Republican-led school board to limit how the public can address them, as well as what board members can discuss. In 2019, the GOP majority voted to scrap a portion of the meeting where they could talk freely about anything due to concerns that some of the topics were "political." In 2021, the GOP-led board limited how many people could speak during public comment and how long they could speak for. In 2022, the board started requiring people to sign up in person if they wanted to speak and mandated in 2023 that speakers line up outdoors — rather than inside the lobby — if they wanted to speak.
The Age
07-07-2025
- General
- The Age
‘He died trying to save Mystic girls': Camp director's last desperate bid to reach Bubble Inn cabin
Eight-year-olds Sarah Marsh and Renee Smajstrla, along with hundreds of other girls, descended on Camp Mystic this summer, ready to fish, play games, exchange bracelets and make lifelong friendships. They were nestled among the oak and cypress trees in Texas Hill Country on Friday, when torrential rain raised the Guadalupe River and floodwater swept through the nearly century-old camp. With it came death, devastation and destruction at a place that generations of campers have held dear every summer, decade after decade. As of Sunday, the central Texas flood has killed nearly 80 people, including at least 28 children – Marsh and Smajstrla among them. At least 68 of the people who died in the flood were in Kerr County, where Mystic is. The flood also left two beloved camp directors dead, one of Camp Mystic and another of the nearby Heart O' the Hills. Loading As rescuers continued their search through the flood wreckage, muddied cabins and felled trees on Sunday, 11 Mystic girls and one counsellor were still missing. A total of 41 people in the state remained unaccounted for after the flood, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday afternoon. The tragedy shattered the beloved, once serene scene of summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, leaving hundreds taking stock of what was lost. In a Facebook post on Friday, Smajstrla's uncle, Shawn Salta, shared a photo of the eight-year-old from the previous day at camp wearing a hot pink top and a wide smile. 'We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday,' Salta wrote. 'She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.' Hour by hour, the names of more children who died in the flood over the weekend were revealed – Janie Hunt, a nine-year-old whose mother described as 'brave and sweet'; Blair and Brooke Harber, sisters who attended a Catholic school in Dallas; Linnie McCown, an eight-year-old whose father drove to Mystic to try to find her himself. On Sunday, roughly 200 parishioners gathered at the First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, which lost one of its members to the floods, Jane Ragsdale, the 68-year-old director and co-owner of the Heart O' the Hills camp. She had spent her entire life at the camp, which was her family's business. She climbed from junior counsellor to counsellor before becoming director about 25 years ago. The camp was in between sessions this week. Jack Haberer, retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, said Ragsdale served on the board of elders, focusing on missions, and sang in the church choir. 'She was the one that lit up the room when she walked in. An effervescent personality,' Haberer said. 'Always a positive word, an encouraging word – always building people up.' Inside Ragsdale's church on Sunday morning, the service began with 'Hymns of Comfort' and a long silence. The readings included Psalm 23, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.' The pastor giving the children's message told the young faces before her, 'It's OK to be angry about what's happened. It's OK to be really scared. It's OK to be terribly sad.' The Reverend Jasiel Hernandez Garcia said he, too, had struggled to find the right words amid such ongoing tragedy. 'We lost extraordinary people, like our beloved Jane Ragsdale … Our hearts ache for all the children and people who have not been found as of this morning,' Garcia said. 'Our hearts ache for all the damage done to our community. Our hearts ache because we love.' To those who knew Richard 'Dick' Eastland, co-owner and co-executive director of Camp Mystic, it was no surprise that he was found alongside three girls he had tried to save from the rising water. 'He died trying to save Mystic girls,' said Cami Wright, 57, who attended the camp and later served as a counsellor. 'That was his whole life.' Eastland was the third generation of his family to manage Mystic. Though he'd worked at the camp for decades, he remembered every camper's name, Wright recalled. He taught campers how to fish, build fires and fold a flag, she said. On Sundays, he led the service at Chapel Hill, a site overlooking the camp. 'He was like a father to thousands of little girls,' Wright said. Before he was found, Eastland had been trying to rescue the campers in the Bubble Inn cabin, which sat about 150 yards from the river's edge. But the water, which came from the Guadalupe River in one direction and from a nearby creek in the other, came too fast. 'It made like a swirl right around those cabins like a toilet bowl,' said Craig Althaus, who worked on the property for 25 years. Eastland died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital, according to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who said he was in men's Bible study with Eastland. Like him, others confirmed to have died had been trying to save their loved ones as the water rose quickly. Julian Ryan had been at his Ingram home with his children and mother-in-law early Friday when floodwaters poured into the house, his fiancee told Houston television station KHOU. Christinia Wilson said Ryan punched through a window to help get his family to safety, causing severe bleeding along his arm. His body was recovered hours later, after the waters had receded. 'He died a hero, and that will never go unnoticed,' Connie Salas, Ryan's sister, told KHOU. A friend, Kris Roberts, told the station that he was 'the kindest person' Roberts had ever met. 'I'll forever love him no matter what,' Roberts said. At Mystic, Sundays had always been riddled with traditions, including wearing white and praying at Chapel Hill, said Wright, who wore white herself to honour the victims, as did many alumni of Mystic who had been sharing updates among one another. Loading Sundays were also the day campers got to eat fried chicken, but only after they completed their 'chicken letters' – written messages to friends or family back home. Earlier on Sunday, Wright said she had heard that a friend of a friend had lost her daughter, who had been staying in Bubble Inn. Days earlier, the parent had received what Wright said was probably a chicken letter from their daughter: a last message from Mystic.
USA Today
07-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Twin sisters. Woman who 'shaped generations of campers': Texas flood victims remembered
Camp directors. Sisters. Teachers. Grandparents. More than 80 people died in flooding in central Texas. Here are stories of those who lost their lives. A director of a Texas summer camp for girls who was known as the "heart and soul" of the program. Two sisters found together after being swept away by floodwaters. A beloved teacher from the Houston metropolitan area. Destructive flooding triggered by unrelenting rain that rapidly overwhelmed the Guadalupe River has killed at least 81 people across central Texas. State and local officials said search and rescue efforts were still underway, including for 10 children and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp at the edge of the Guadalupe River. At least 27 children and counselors from the all-girls summer camp, which has long had ties to top Texas political figures, have died. The river surged over 26 feet in less than an hour on July 4, carrying away cars, RVs and structures. It blew out the wall of one camp building where children slept, leaving debris-covered mud amid pink blankets and stuffed animals. Flooding-related deaths have been reported in six counties. The victims include summer camp directors, teachers, grandparents, parents, and children. Here are the stories of those who lost their lives: Jane Rasgdale Jane Ragsdale was the "heart and soul" of Heart O' the Hills, a summer camp for girls in Kerr County, according to the program's website. She was a camper and a counselor there before becoming a co-owner of the camp in 1976. Ragsdale later served as the camp's program director from 1978 to 1987, and went on to become the camp director in 1988, the website added. In a statement, the camp said it was "right in the path of the flood" and its facilities sustained serious damage. They noted that since the camp was between sessions when the flooding occurred, no children had been staying there. "However, our Director and the camp's longtime co-owner, Jane Ragsdale, lost her life. We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane's death," the camp said in the statement. "She embodied the spirit of Heart O' the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer." The camp also paid tribute to Ragsdale in a Facebook post, saying she was "the heart of The Heart." "Jane wasn't just our director, she was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important. Her kindness, strength, and wisdom shaped generations of campers and staff," the post states. "Her legacy lives in every laugh heard on the hill, every tradition passed down, every song we sing, every manner she taught us and every life she touched, which is too many to count," the post continued. − Thao Nguyen Blair and Brooke Harber Two young sisters, Blair and Brooke Harber, were staying in Hill Country over the Fourth of July holiday when their "lives were tragically cut short" by flooding along the Guadalupe River, according to St. Rita Catholic School. The school said in a statement on Facebook that Blair was a rising eighth grader, while Brooke was entering the sixth grade. The school described Blair as an "outstanding student" who was enrolled in advanced classes and actively involved in school activities. She played several sports, cheered for the school's cheerleading team, served as a student ambassador, and was part of the yearbook team and speech and drama program. Brooke was an "excellent student who brought joy and energy wherever she went," according to the school. She also played several sports, and loved speech and drama, in which she had a gift for improv, the school noted. "Blair had the kindest heart and loved to serve others," the school said. "Brooke never met a stranger and loved everyone she met." The two girls had been with their grandparents, who remain missing, when the flooding occurred. The girls' parents were in a separate cabin and were safe, according to the school. "Blair and Brooke were young women of deep faith, and religion was one of their favorite subjects. On the night they died, they went to the loft of their cabin with their rosaries," the school said. "When Blair and Brooke were found the next day, fifteen miles downriver, they were together. Even in their last moments, they held tightly to each other, a powerful symbol of their lasting bond and their trust in God." − Thao Nguyen Jeff Wilson Jeff Wilson died in the flood, according to a social media post from the Humble Independent School District. "Tonight our #HumbleISDFamily is grieving the devastating loss of @HumbleISD_KPHS teacher Jeff Wilson, who passed away due to the catastrophic flooding in Kerrville," the school district said, which is located in the city of Humble in the Houston metropolitan area. Wilson had been a teacher in the school district for 30 years. He worked at both Humble High School and Kingwood Park High School. "He was a beloved teacher and co-worker to many and will be deeply missed," according to the school district. "Jeff's brother-in-law has shared that at this time, Jeff's wife Amber and son Shiloh are still considered missing. Please continue to keep their entire family, and ours, in your prayers." − Thao Nguyen Sarah Marsh Sarah Marsh, an 8-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, died in the flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas, according to Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch. Welch said the city of Mountain Brook was heartbroken over the "tragic loss" of Sarah, who was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary. The mayor noted that the community would come together and support the Marsh family. "This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community," Welch said in a statement on Facebook. "Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her. As we grieve alongside the Marsh family, we also remember the many others affected by this tragedy." − Thao Nguyen Dick Eastland Camp Mystic owner Richard "Dick" Eastland died while trying to save campers, the Houston Chronicle and the Washington Post reported. Family and friends of Eastland described him as a father figure for generations of girls who attended the summer camp, according to the Chronicle. In an Instagram tribute, his grandson said Eastland was more than his grandfather. He said Eastland was his "dear friend, fishing buddy, hunting guide, golf partner, avid Texas Longhorns fanatic, my #1 fan, and above all else: a hero." "If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for," George Eastland wrote in the post. "That's the man my grandfather was. A husband, father, grandfather, and mentor to thousands of young women, he no longer walks this earth, but his impact will never leave the lives he touched." − Thao Nguyen Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence The twin granddaughters of David Lawrence Jr., the former publisher of the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, were among the dozens killed over the weekend, he told the Miami Herald. The girls, both 8 years old, and their sister, 14, attended Camp Mystic, the newspaper reported. 'It has been an unimaginable time for all of us," Lawrence told the Herald. "Hanna and Rebecca gave their parents, John and Lacy, and sister, Harper, and all in our family, so much joy. They and that joy can never be forgotten." Contributing: Charles A. Ventura, USA TODAY
The Hill
07-07-2025
- General
- The Hill
What we know about victims of devastating Texas floods
(AP/KXAN) — A beloved director of Texas summer camp for girls. An Alabama elementary student away from home. A woman found dead after an intensive search. These are a few of the dozens of victims lost in devastating flooding in Texas. The flooding in central Texas originated from the fast-moving waters on the Guadalupe River on Friday, killing more than 70 people, including 15 children. Authorities say search and rescue efforts are still underway for dozens missing from a summer camp for girls. Jane Ragsdale, 68, devoted her life to the Heart O'the Hills Camp, a summer camp for girls in Texas Hill Country. She was a camper and counselor there herself in the 1970s before becoming a co-owner. By the 1980s, she was director of the camp in Hunt. 'She was the heart of The Heart,' the camp said in a statement. 'She was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important.' Since the camp was between sessions, no children were staying there when the floodwaters rose. The camp's facilities, directly in the path of the flood, were extensively damaged and access to the site remained difficult, according to camp officials. The camp has been in existence since the 1950s. Camp officials said Ragsdale would be remembered for her strength and wisdom. 'We are heartbroken. But above all, we are grateful,' the camp said. 'Grateful to have known her, to have learned from her, and to carry her light forward.' In a 2015 oral history for the Kerr County Historical Commission, Ragsdale, whose first name was Cynthie, but went by her middle name Jane, talked about how her father was also a camp director and how much she enjoyed her experiences. 'I loved every minute of camp from the first time I stepped foot in one,' she recalled. Videos of Ragsdale strumming a guitar and singing to campers during a recent session were posted in a memorial on the camp's Facebook page: 'Life is good today. So keep singing 'til we meet, again.' Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh from Alabama had been attending Camp Mystic in Texas, a longtime Christian girls camp in Hunt where several others were killed in the floods. As of Sunday, afternoon, 11 children were still missing. Marsh was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary in suburban Birmingham. 'This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community,' Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said in a Facebook post. 'Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her.' He said the community — where about 20,000 people reside — would rally behind the Marsh family as they grieved. Her parents declined an interview request Sunday 'as they mourn this unbearable loss,' the girl's grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, told The Associated Press in an email. 'We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!' Marsh wrote on Facebook. 'We love you so much, sweet Sarah!' She declined further comment. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama also noted the girl's tragic death. 'We continue to pray for the victims' loved ones, the survivors, those who are still missing, and our brave first responders as search and rescue efforts continue in Texas,' she said in a post on social media platform X. The last time Tanya Burwick's family heard from her was a frantic phone call about the flood waters as she headed to work at a Walmart early Friday in the San Angelo area. When Burwick didn't show up for work, her employer filed a missing persons report and sent a colleague to look for her. Police investigating the 62-year-old's disappearance found Burwick's unoccupied SUV fully submerged later that day. Her body was found the next morning blocks from the vehicle. 'She lit up the room and had a laugh that made other people laugh,' said Lindsey Burwick, who added that her mom was a beloved parent, grandparent and colleague to many. She and her brother Zac said the day was especially difficult because it happened on July Fourth as they were working at a fireworks stand that's been in the family for generations. As word of Tanya Burwick's disappearance spread, people from from Blackwell, a small community of about 250 people, showed up to the stand that's run out of a trailer painted orange. 'People came to our aid,' Lindsey Burwick said. Police in San Angelo said more than 12,000 houses, barns and other buildings have been affected by the floods in the community of roughly 100,000 people. 'We ask that the public continue to keep the Burwick family in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this heartbreaking tragedy,' the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post. Sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, both students at St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas, had been staying along the Guadalupe River when their cabin was swept away, according to the school. Pastor Joshua J. Whitfield of St. Rita Catholic Community, which shares a campus with the school, said the girls' parents, Annie and RJ Harber, were staying in a different cabin and were safe. However, their grandparents were unaccounted for. Annie Harber has been a longtime teacher at the school. Blair was headed into eighth grade while Brooke was a rising sixth grader. 'We will honor Blair and Brooke's lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them,' Whitfield wrote in a Saturday letter to parishioners. 'And we will surround Annie, RJ, and their extended family with the strength and support of our St. Rita community.' The church held a special prayer service Saturday afternoon and offered counseling. 'Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief,' Whitfield wrote. 'May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead.' The family of camper Lila Bonner confirmed to Nexstar's KXAN on Saturday that she was among those killed in the flooding. In a statement, her family said, 'We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.' Austinite Michael McCown posted on Instagram that his daughter, Linnie, did not survive the flood at Mystic Camp. 'It's with the heaviest of hearts we must share that our sweet little Linnie is with the Lord in heaven,' McCown said on Instagram. 'She filled our hearts with so much joy we cannot begin to explain.' KXAN's Kelly Wiley and Sally Hernandez contributed to this report.
Sydney Morning Herald
07-07-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘He died trying to save Mystic girls': Camp director's last desperate bid to reach Bubble Inn cabin
Eight-year-olds Sarah Marsh and Renee Smajstrla, along with hundreds of other girls, descended on Camp Mystic this summer, ready to fish, play games, exchange bracelets and make lifelong friendships. They were nestled among the oak and cypress trees in Texas Hill Country on Friday, when torrential rain raised the Guadalupe River and floodwater swept through the nearly century-old camp. With it came death, devastation and destruction at a place that generations of campers have held dear every summer, decade after decade. As of Sunday, the central Texas flood has killed nearly 80 people, including at least 28 children – Marsh and Smajstrla among them. At least 68 of the people who died in the flood were in Kerr County, where Mystic is. The flood also left two beloved camp directors dead, one of Camp Mystic and another of the nearby Heart O' the Hills. Loading As rescuers continued their search through the flood wreckage, muddied cabins and felled trees on Sunday, 11 Mystic girls and one counsellor were still missing. A total of 41 people in the state remained unaccounted for after the flood, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday afternoon. The tragedy shattered the beloved, once serene scene of summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, leaving hundreds taking stock of what was lost. In a Facebook post on Friday, Smajstrla's uncle, Shawn Salta, shared a photo of the eight-year-old from the previous day at camp wearing a hot pink top and a wide smile. 'We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday,' Salta wrote. 'She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.' Hour by hour, the names of more children who died in the flood over the weekend were revealed – Janie Hunt, a nine-year-old whose mother described as 'brave and sweet'; Blair and Brooke Harber, sisters who attended a Catholic school in Dallas; Linnie McCown, an eight-year-old whose father drove to Mystic to try to find her himself. On Sunday, roughly 200 parishioners gathered at the First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, which lost one of its members to the floods, Jane Ragsdale, the 68-year-old director and co-owner of the Heart O' the Hills camp. She had spent her entire life at the camp, which was her family's business. She climbed from junior counsellor to counsellor before becoming director about 25 years ago. The camp was in between sessions this week. Jack Haberer, retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, said Ragsdale served on the board of elders, focusing on missions, and sang in the church choir. 'She was the one that lit up the room when she walked in. An effervescent personality,' Haberer said. 'Always a positive word, an encouraging word – always building people up.' Inside Ragsdale's church on Sunday morning, the service began with 'Hymns of Comfort' and a long silence. The readings included Psalm 23, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.' The pastor giving the children's message told the young faces before her, 'It's OK to be angry about what's happened. It's OK to be really scared. It's OK to be terribly sad.' The Reverend Jasiel Hernandez Garcia said he, too, had struggled to find the right words amid such ongoing tragedy. 'We lost extraordinary people, like our beloved Jane Ragsdale … Our hearts ache for all the children and people who have not been found as of this morning,' Garcia said. 'Our hearts ache for all the damage done to our community. Our hearts ache because we love.' To those who knew Richard 'Dick' Eastland, co-owner and co-executive director of Camp Mystic, it was no surprise that he was found alongside three girls he had tried to save from the rising water. 'He died trying to save Mystic girls,' said Cami Wright, 57, who attended the camp and later served as a counsellor. 'That was his whole life.' Eastland was the third generation of his family to manage Mystic. Though he'd worked at the camp for decades, he remembered every camper's name, Wright recalled. He taught campers how to fish, build fires and fold a flag, she said. On Sundays, he led the service at Chapel Hill, a site overlooking the camp. 'He was like a father to thousands of little girls,' Wright said. Before he was found, Eastland had been trying to rescue the campers in the Bubble Inn cabin, which sat about 150 yards from the river's edge. But the water, which came from the Guadalupe River in one direction and from a nearby creek in the other, came too fast. 'It made like a swirl right around those cabins like a toilet bowl,' said Craig Althaus, who worked on the property for 25 years. Eastland died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital, according to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who said he was in men's Bible study with Eastland. Like him, others confirmed to have died had been trying to save their loved ones as the water rose quickly. Julian Ryan had been at his Ingram home with his children and mother-in-law early Friday when floodwaters poured into the house, his fiancee told Houston television station KHOU. Christinia Wilson said Ryan punched through a window to help get his family to safety, causing severe bleeding along his arm. His body was recovered hours later, after the waters had receded. 'He died a hero, and that will never go unnoticed,' Connie Salas, Ryan's sister, told KHOU. A friend, Kris Roberts, told the station that he was 'the kindest person' Roberts had ever met. 'I'll forever love him no matter what,' Roberts said. At Mystic, Sundays had always been riddled with traditions, including wearing white and praying at Chapel Hill, said Wright, who wore white herself to honour the victims, as did many alumni of Mystic who had been sharing updates among one another. Sundays were also the day campers got to eat fried chicken, but only after they completed their 'chicken letters' – written messages to friends or family back home. Earlier on Sunday, Wright said she had heard that a friend of a friend had lost her daughter, who had been staying in Bubble Inn. Loading Days earlier, the parent had received what Wright said was probably a chicken letter from their daughter: a last message from Mystic. The Washington Post
