SJE students recognized as good citizens

SJE students Jilley Root, Kat Wiley, Alahna Hubert and Adam Staves pose in front of the trophy case at SJE School Tuesday morning. The four students are being recognized as good citizens for their actions when they came across the scene of a car accident on Endicott-St. John Road on their way to school Nov. 16.

The reader board near the SJE School acknowledges Alahna Hubert, Adam Staves, Kat Wiley and Jilley Root as good citizens for their actions at the scene of a car accident Nov. 16.

Four St. John-Endicott High School students are being recognized as good citizens following their efforts when their school bus came across the scene of a car accident Nov. 16.

Alahna Hubert (15), Jilley Root (14), Adam Staves (17) and Kat Wiley (15) are all students at SJE High School who ride the school bus from Diamond and Endicott each morning en route to school in St. John.

On Nov. 16, their bus was about five miles north of Endicott when it had to slow and come to a stop because of a single-car accident. The students described the accident scene as “pretty bad.”

“There were car parts all over the road,” said Hubert.

“There was a lot of glass everywhere,” said Root.

Sheriff Brett Myers said that the accident was in freezing temperatures, but not adverse weather conditions. He said that the accident was believed to have been “due to some driver inattention and inexperience,” but also noted that the driver was not cited for anything. The accident, the students said, was on a narrow spot of the road which was curved.

Their bus driver, Dan Sinclair, got off the bus to assist at the accident scene, and the four students offered their assistance, too.

“They responded immediately when asked,” said SJE Principal Mark Purvine.

Staves, a senior, was asked to sit at the front of the bus to keep the rest of the students calm and make sure that no one got off.

“I was making sure people did not look toward the front,” said Staves. “Dan asked me to come up to the front with him and sit in the driver’s seat and make sure no one got off the bus.”

Staves added that Sinclair assisted at the scene by getting off the bus and informing people behind the bus about what was happening.

Hubert, a freshman, knew a young girl who was in a car parked on the road. The young girl, Isabella Huntley, was being driven by her father to the doctor in St. John due to a fever. Her father was assisting at the scene of the accident, so Hubert got off the bus and kept Huntley calm.

“I went and sat in the car with her and sat and talked to her,” said Hubert.

Root, a freshman, and Wiley, a sophomore, assisted on the bus.

“I was just thinking about Katie and Owen,” said Wiley.

Katie and Owen at seven and five years old, respectively, are the youngest students to ride the bus between Endicott and St. John. The students said the bus is usually about half-full each day. Wiley said she knows both students, who, like her, live in Diamond.

“I just did not want them to see what was happening,” said Wiley.

Root agreed.

“It looked pretty bad,” she said.

Katie and Owen were in the front of the bus, where they would have had a view of the accident scene, but Root and Wiley took them to the back of the bus and sat talking with them, distracting them from the scene ahead.

“If anything it was to protect those little kids, that they did not see the accident,” said Wiley.

Purvine said that their efforts helped to keep the atmosphere on the bus calm.

“They were keeping some of our elementary students calm,” he said. “They provided a bit of a diversion there.”

Purvine was aware of the car accident that morning, knowing that the accident involved a student, Hannah White, and that the bus was delayed in getting to school on time. He was not, however, aware of the efforts of the four students. He said he found out about an hour or two after the students arrived at school about what they had done.

“One of the things that impressed me so much was that they were not looking for any fanfare about it,” he said. “They were just trying to help. And when they got to school, they went and sat in class and came in and went about their business.”

White, the student in the accident, had to be “removed from the vehicle with assistance from emergency personnel,” Myers said, and was transported to Whitman County Hospital in Colfax with minor injuries.

“Kudos to her for wearing her seat belt. She suffered minor, non-life threatening injuries,” said Myers. “When someone unfortunately has an accident, it is very nice to see that the injuries are not more severe.”

Purvine sent a letter home to each of the four students’ parents the same day, recognizing them for their actions.

“I just wanted to recognize their good will toward men,” he said. “We hear a lot about people just standing by, and they were just quietly making themselves useful in a stressful situation.”

The students’ names are also on the SJE Eagles readerboard, which reads: “Thanks Alahna, Adam, Kat, Jilley. Great SJE citizens.”

Purvine said he was proud of Hubert, Root, Staves and Wiley, and he added that the students at SJE are good-natured and look out for one another.

“It is really a sense that these guys did the right thing, what you would hope kids or adults would do in a situation like that,” he said. “I do not know that it is a complete anomaly here. There are a number of kids here, who, given the circumstances would do the same kinds of things.”

Each of the students say that their parents have told them they are proud of them for taking action and being good citizens.

“My mom was proud of of me that I did something instead of just sitting,” said Hubert.

Wiley said she acted on instinct, and she gave credit to her mom, Mary Wiley, for teaching her.

“I really don’t think about myself in situations like that,” she said. “Once we were in a car wreck, and I just tried to do what my mom had done then.”

Staves said his parents have instilled in him good ethics.

“My parents, they just raised me like that, along with my brother and sister,” he said.

Root said her parents are very happy with her.

“My mom came home a few nights ago with a picture of the school sign,” she said. “She is really proud!”